Corporate Social Responsibility does not have a universally accepted definition, however the core of
concept may be described as awakening of corporate conscience which aims at embracing the
responsibility for the company’s actions and having a sense of responsibility towards the society and
people from whom they derive their success .
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization defines corporate social responsibility as “a
management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business
operations and interactions with their stakeholders.”
CSR Regulations Across The Globe
USA
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs leads the
Department’s engagement with U.S. businesses in the promotion of responsible and ethical business
practices.
UK
It is a part of Corporate Governance. The Companies Act 2006 has now added to those pressures by
requiring directors to have regard to community and environmental issues when considering their duty
to promote the success of their company and by the disclosures to be included in the Business Review.
CSR is, now, an integral part of good governance, for bigger companies in particular.
Europe
The CSR strategy is built upon guidelines and principles laid down by the United Global Compact, United
Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social
Responsibility and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
France, Denmark, South Africa and China have a mandatory reporting obligation on the amount spent
on CSR activities
Position in India
India is the first country in the world to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR ) mandatory. In India,
the concept of CSR is governed by Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 imposing statutory obligation
of CSR for companies meeting certain criterion.
The CSR provisions within the Act is applicable to companies with an annual turnover of 1,000 crore INR
and more, or a net worth of 500 crore INR and more, or a net profit of 5 crore INR and more. The new
rules, applicable from the fiscal year 2014-15 onwards, requires companies to set-up a CSR committee
consisting of their board members, including at least one independent director. The Act encourages
companies to spend at least 2% of their average net profit in the previous three years on CSR activities.
Companies Amendment Act 2019
Until now, if a company was unable to fully spend its CSR funds in a given year, it could carry the amount
forward and spend it in the next fiscal, in addition to the money allotted for that year.
The CSR amendments introduced under the Act now require companies to deposit the unspent CSR
funds into a fund prescribed under Schedule VII of the Act within the end of the fiscal year. This amount
must be utilized within three years from the date of transfer, failing which the fund must be deposited in
to one of the specified funds.
CSR Trends In India
A total of INR 71, 277 Cr have been spent on 1,05,358 CSR projects till FY2019. The top domains
receiving maximum funding are education, health, rural development and environment
sustainability. Since FY 2015, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have received more than
30 per cent of the total CSR spend. Almost 44 per cent of all spending is done by the companies
themselves or via trusts/societies/ Section 8 companies set-up by them. Another 43 per cent is done
through various implementation partners
CSR In India During Covid 19
(a)Initiative by the Government
On 23 March 2020, the MCA declared that the funds spent on COVID-19 management would be treated
as eligible CSR activity
The MCA circular also stated that the CSR funds can be spent by companies for various activities related
to COVID-19 as enlisted under item nos.
(i)- eradicating extreme hunger and poverty and
(xii)- disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities of Schedule VII
appended to the Companies Act, 2013 and relating to the promotion of health care, including preventive
healthcare and sanitation and disaster management.
The MCA, in a subsequent notification issued on 28 March 2020, clarified that all donations and
contributions to the PM-CARES Fund will be counted towards a company’s mandatory corporate social
responsibility spend. This was done by amending Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 by including
PM-CARES Fund as a permissible CSR activity along with the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
On 26 August’20, the Government amended the CSR norms to include research and development (R&D)
spending on new vaccines, drugs, medical devices related to COVID-19. for financial years 2020-21,
2021-22 and 2022-23 subject to certain conditions, .
These conditions are “such research and development activities shall be carried out in collaboration with
any of the institutes or organisations mentioned in item (ix) of Schedule VII to the Act. And, details of
such activity shall be disclosed separately in the Annual Report on CSR included in the Board’s Report”,
according to the corporate affairs ministry notification.
While the relaxation is applicable for three years till 2022-23, it comes with the caveat that such R&D
activity must be carried out in collaboration with specified public institutions. This step is expected to
enhance manifold the flow of funds towards the COVID-19 vaccine and drug development.
(b) Initiatives by the Corporates
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CSR has played an even greater role with corporates, and individuals
undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility projects over and above the minimum criteria determined
by law. Corporates have stood by the Government, during the time of crisis to strengthen the country
both socially and economically.
Mahindra and Mahindra Limited
Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, declared a series of interventions after the
pandemic hit the nation, from manufacturing ventilators to using Mahindra Holidays resorts for COVID19 patient care. Project teams have assisted the Government and the defence forces to build quarantine
facilities. The company has set up a special fund through the Mahindra Foundation to assist small
businesses and professionals who have been affected financially. The chairman donated 100% of his
salary to the fund, and urged his colleagues to volunteer their contributions.
ITC Limited
CSR of ITC set up a COVID Contingency Fund of INR 215 crores for those affected. Together with local
authorities, they distributed cooked meals, food and hygiene products across 25 States and Union
Territories
Infosys Foundation
Infosys Foundation provided Rs 50 crore to PM CARES Fund. It also contributed additional Rs 500 croroe
to be utilized for providing testing kits, masks, ventilators, food and nutrition to the poor persons. It
also joined hands with Narayan Hospital to provide 100 beds quarantine facility .
Reliance Industries Limited
RIL provided the first q100 bed covid hospital, 50 lakh free meals, one lakh masks, free fuel for
emergency vehicles, daily wise 1000 PPE for health care workers. It also provided Rs 500 crores to PM
CARES fund
TCS
It prioritized itself in providing covid- 19 patient trackers, health kits , ventilators for the poor persons.
TCS Digital Class room softwares empowers for online learning facilities .
State Bank Of India
SBI employees provided Rs 100 crore to PM CARES fund. SBI also announced to provide 0.25% of its net
profit of financial year 2019-2020 to combat Covid -19
Hindustan Unilever Limited
HUL along with providing Rs 100 crore, reduces prices of Lifebuoy santizers. It also donated cleaners,
sops, handwash, health kits to the hospitals and underprivileged persons
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) AND CSR
SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more
sustainable future for all. These 17 goals consist of 169 targets which must be achieved by 2030. Many
companies are aligning their CSR focus areas according to SDGs to meet their CSR mandate.
Comparing CSR activities by Indian origin and non-Indian origin companies, it is observed that 35 per
cent of Indian origin and 22 per cent of non-Indian origin companies are executing CSR projects
exclusively through implementing agencies.
Conclusion