1) The document discusses the history and evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India, from ancient texts to modern laws. 2) It outlines the four phases of CSR in India and examines the Companies Act of 2013 which mandates that large companies spend 2% of profits on CSR activities. 3) While CSR spending has increased, challenges remain around a lack of transparency, clear guidelines, and ensuring activities benefit marginalized groups as intended by the law.

1. By
Dr. S. Vijay Kumar
Professor (Associate) of Economics & Head (Retd.)
Kakatiya Govt. (UG & PG ) College
Kakatiya University, Warangal
Telangana State

2. Introduction
 The Government of India in 1976 had inserted the term “socialist” in
the preamble of country's constitution thereby committing itself to
ensuring a development process. But, post liberalization (1991)
can be seen in the context of the larger role being consciously
carved for the private sector in an economy which was earlier
largely controlled and managed by the State. Now, increasing
acceptance of CSR by large number of corporate.
 The idea of CSR first came up in 1953 when it became an academic
topic in Howard R Bowen’s “Social Responsibilities of the Business”
book. World Business Council for Sustainable Development
defined CSR as “the continuing commitment by business to
behave ethically and contribute to economic development while
improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families
as well as of the local community and society at large.”

4. Brief History of CSR in India
 Atharvana Veda says that “one should procure wealth with one
hundred hands and distribute it with one thousand hands”.
 The Yajurveda says that “enjoy riches with detachment, do not
cling to them because the riches belong to the public, they are
not yours alone”.
 In the Rig Veda, there is also a mention of the “need for the
wealthy to plant trees and build tanks for the community as it
would bring them glory in life and beyond. Let us walk together,
Let us talk together, Let our heart vibrate together”.
 KautiIya also “emphasized ethical practices and principles while
conducting business”.
 CSR & Islam: Islam had a law called Zakaat which ruled that a
portion of one’s earning must be shared with the poor in the
form of donation.
 CSR & Sikhism: Similar to Islam’s Zakaat, Sikhs followed what they
called Daashaant.

7. Phases of CSR in India
1st Phase
(1850 – 1914)
2ndPhase
(1914– 1960)
3rd Phase
(1960 – 1990)
4th Phase
(1990 onwards)
Mainly
Philanthropy and
Charity during
Industrialization.
Organization
solely responsible
to Proprietor and
Manager.
During the
Independence
struggle CSR
used
as a tool for
Social
Development.
Organization is
for
proprietor,
managers and
employees
CSR under the
aegis
Of mixed
economy.
Organizations
Responsibility
towards
proprietor,
managers and
other
Environmental
Factors.
CSR in a
globalized world
in
a puzzled state.
Organizations
Responsibility
towards
Proprietor,
Managers,
Environment and
Public in general.

8. Significance of CSR
 CSR helps in strengthening the relationship between companies and
stakeholders.
 It enables continuous improvement and encourages innovations.
 Attracts the best industry talent as a socially responsible company.
 Provides additional motivation to employees.
 Mitigates risk as a result of its effective corporate governance
framework.
 Enhances ability to manage stakeholder expectations.
Drivers of CSR
 Care for all Stakeholders
 Ethical functioning
 Respect for Workers' Rights and Welfare
 Respect for Human Rights
 Respect for Environment
 Activities for Social and Inclusive Development

13. Four models of Corporate Responsibility (Arora & Puranik 2004)
Model Focus Champions
Ethical Voluntary commitment
by companies to public
welfare
M.K Gandhi
Statist Statist State ownership
and legal requirements
determine
Jawahar Lal Nehru
Liberal Corporate responsibilities
limited to private owners
(shareholders)
Milton Friedman
Stakeholder Companies respond to the
needs of stakeholders,
customers, employees,
communities, etc.
R. Edward Freeman

14. Key Issues in CSR
 Labour Rights: Child labour, Forced labour, Right to
organize, Safety and health.
 Environmental conditions: Water & Air emissions,
Climate Change, Human Rights, Cooperation with
Paramilitary Forces, Complicity in Extra-Judicial
Killings.
 Poverty Alleviation: Job Creation, Public Revenues,
Skills and technology.
 CSR Activities in India
 Education, Gender equity and Women’s empowerment,
Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases,
Eradication of extreme poverty, Contribution to the
Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and other central
funds, Social business projects, Reduction in child
mortality, Improving maternal health, Environmental
sustainability and Employment, Enhancing vocational
skills.

15. Specific Features of Companies Act – 2013
 These rules came in to force from 1st April, 2014.
 The government of India made it mandatory for companies to
undertake CSR activities under the Companies Act, 2013.
 The CSR activities will have to be within India, and the new rules
will also apply to foreign companies registered here.
 Funds given to political parties and the money spent for the
benefit of the company’s own employees (and their families) will
not count as CSR.
 The concept of CSR is defined in clause 135 of the Act, and it is
applicable to companies which have:
 An annual turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or a
 Net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or a
 Net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.
 An average of the previous three financial years PAT will be
considered for calculating the 2% for CSR.
 CSR policy of a company should ensure that surplus arising out
of a CSR activity will not become part of business profits.

16. Specific Features of Companies Act – 2013 CSR policy should specify that the CSR corpus will include the following:
a) 2% of average net profit;
b) any income arising thereof;
c) Surplus arising out of CSR activities.
 The companies can carry out these activities by collaborating either with a
NGO, or through their own trusts and foundations or by pooling their resources
with another company.
 The law also entails setting up of a CSR committee which shall be responsible
for decisions on CSR expenditure and type of activities to be undertaken. Prior
to each annual meeting, the board must submit a report that includes details
about the CSR initiatives undertaken during the previous financial year.
 This committee shall consist of three or more directors, with at least one
independent director whose presence will ensure a certain amount of
democracy and diversity in the decision-making process.
 All companies falling under the provision of Section 135 (1) of the Act should
report, in the prescribed format, the details of their CSR initiatives in the
director’s report and on the company’s website.
 In case a company has failed to spend 2% of the average net profit, the reason
for doing so should be mentioned in the annual board report. However, the act
does not provide any guidance on what constitutes acceptable reasons for
which a company may avoid spending 2 % on CSR.

17. 2013 Vs 2014 Rankings
Rank (2014) Company Rank (2013) Company
1 Mahindra & Mahindra
Ltd.
1 Tata Steel Ltd
2 Tata Power Company
Ltd.
2 Tata Chemicals Ltd.
3 Tata Steel Ltd. 3 Mahindra & Mahindra
Ltd
4 Larsen & Toubro Ltd. 4 Maruti Suzuki India
Ltd
5 Tata Chemicals Ltd. 5 Tata Motors Ltd
6 Tata Motors Ltd. 6 Siemens Ltd.
7 GAIL (India) Ltd. 7 Larsen & Toubro Ltd
8 Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd.
8 Coca-Cola India Pvt.
Ltd
9 Infosys Ltd. 9 Steel Authority of
India Ltd
10 Jubilant Life Sciences
Ltd.
10 Infosys Lt

18. A Study by NGOBOX
 Selected 100 BSE-listed companies that have published
their annual report and where information about the CSR
spending was available as on July 16, 2015. These
100 companies are a good representation of large and
medium companies and account for 33 sectors as per the
BSE sector classifications. Public Sector Units and Public
Sector Banks out of the purview of this analysis as the
required information were not available.
Key Findings of the study (2015):
 Nearly one-fourth (27%) of the companies spent more
than the prescribed CSR spend and about two-third
(64%) of the companies spent less than the prescribed
CSR spend.
 2% of the companies spent zero amount from their
prescribed CSR spend and 9% the companies spent
exactly same as the prescribed CSR amount. 39% of the
companies spent more than 50% of the prescribed CSR
spent but missed the target of the prescribed CSR spend.

19. CSR Spending in Public Sector Enterprises
PAT (Profit After Tax) of
Central Public Sector
Enterprises in the Previous
year
Range of the Budgetary
allocation for CSR and
Sustainability activities
(as % of PAT in previous year)
(i) Less than Rs. 100 crore 3% - 5%
(ii) Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 500 crore 2% - 3%
(iii) Rs. 500 crore and above 1% - 2%

20. Public Sector fails to utilize 50% of their
funds under CSR
 Though, the Companies Act, 2013 mandates 2% compulsory corporate
social responsibility spending by the companies has been in force for
over a year, yet the central public sector companies have not utilized over
50 percent of their funds under CSR.
 BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Kumar-led committee on public
undertakings presented its report on Friday (4-12-2015). The panel
pointed out an anomaly in the act saying that under the Act a
company can only be penalized for not filing of details regarding
CSR, but no penal action for no-performance.
 The committee recommended redefining the term "CSR". "CSR
should be clearly defined in the Act itself after incorporating the
broader principles of CSR i.e. serving the interest of the most
marginalized sections of the society in line with great words of the
father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, who believed that
development is 'Sarvodaya' through 'Antyodaya' implying the
welfare of all by serving the last man in the queue, the poorest of
the poor," the recommendation said.

21. Challenges of CSR
 Lack of Awareness of General Public in CSR
Activities
 Need to Build Local Capacities
 Issues of Transparency
 Non-Availability Of Well Organized Non-
Governmental Organizations
 Visibility Factor
 Narrow Perception towards CSR Initiatives
 Non-Availability of Clear CSR Guidelines
 Lack of Consensus

22. Key Concerns of the Companies Act, 2013
 The Act does not prescribe any penal provision if a company fails to
spend the stated amount on CSR activities. The Board will need to
explain reasons for non-compliance in its report.
 The threshold limit of Rs.5 crores net profit for applicability of CSR
requirements seems, in comparative terms, to be on the lower side vis-
à-vis net worth and turnover thresholds of Rs.500 crores and
Rs.1,000crores respectively. This may result in companies getting
covered under CSR even when they do not meet net worth/turnover
criteria.
 It is not absolutely clear whether a company will need to create a
provision in its financial statements for the unspent amount if it fails to
spend 2% on CSR activities in a particular year.
 After some initial confusion over the tax applicable, it is now clear that
CSR expenditure will be taxable, although for a few activities tax
exemption will be allowed from the financial year 2014-15. However,
there is no clarity yet on these activities.

23. Suggestions:
 Under the Companies Act – 2013, a company can only be
penalized for not filing of details regarding CSR, but no penal
action for no-performance. Hence, there should be a
clarification for penal action.
 Creating awareness among the general public in CSR activities
and improving communication is very important between the
companies involved in CSR and the general public at the
grassroots.
 There is a need for capacity building of the local non-
governmental organizations as there is serious dearth of trained
and efficient organizations that can effectively contribute to the
ongoing CSR activities initiated by companies.
 There is a need for improving transparency on the part of the
small companies as they do not make adequate efforts to
disclose information on their programmes, audit issues, impact
assessment and utilization of funds, which is a key to the
success of any CSR initiative.
 There is a need for well organized non-governmental
organizations to ensure successful implementation of CSR
activities.

24. Suggestions:
 The role of media in highlighting good cases of successful CSR
initiatives is welcomed as it spreads good stories and sensitizes the
population about various ongoing CSR.
 Broad perception towards CSR initiatives is essential, as non-
governmental organizations and Government agencies usually possess
a narrow outlook towards the CSR initiatives of companies, often
defining CSR initiatives more as donor-driven.
 Clear cut statutory guidelines or policy directives are required to give a
definitive direction to CSR initiatives of the companies.
 Consensus amongst implementing agencies regarding CSR projects is
the need of the hour, because lack of consensus often results in
duplication of activities by corporate houses in areas of their
intervention.
 As the act does not provide any guidance on what constitutes
acceptable reasons for which a company may avoid spending 2 % on
CSR, hence it should be clarified.
 The companies in their CSR activities should give more preference for
education, environmental issues, poverty elevation programmes,
employment generation, roads and power etc.

25. Conclusion:
 It is too early to say what the real impact of this act will be, especially
given that passing it and enforcing it are too different things. Moreover,
today the concept of CSR is firmly rooted on the global business
agenda.
 In order to move from theory to concrete action, many obstacles need
to be overcome. A key challenge facing business is the need for more
reliable indicators of progress in the field of CSR, along with the
dissemination of CSR strategies.
 No clear cut regulatory framework regarding also acts as a hindrance
in implementing CSR. It is found that the degree of CSR activities of
companies should depend upon their business size and profile. In
other words, the bigger the company, the bigger is its CSR program.
 Lack of transparency is another issue which needs focus. This is
mainly due to the fact that there is little or no knowledge about CSR
within the local communities since no sincere efforts have been made
to create awareness about CSR and win the confidence of local
communities.
 Lastly, but not least there is a need to increase the understanding and
active participation of business in equitable social development as an
integral part of good business practice.

26. Thank You