Impact of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) mandate in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69974/glskalp.02.03.35Keywords:
Corporate Social Responsibility, Nation Building, Sustainable Development, Environment, PhilanthropyAbstract
India has witnessed steady and rapid economic growth in the past few decades, thanks to globalization, liberalization, and privatization policies. The deregulation of the Indian economy at the beginning of the 1990s paved the way for robust market competition and a dramatic change in business goals from maximum profitability to sustainability and the wellbeing of stakeholders. In the light of the present circumstances, a bill was presented and passed by the Indian parliament, which mandated all profit-making corporate companies to spend a designated amount of money on activities related to corporate social responsibility. Concerning this, the Companies Act, 2013 formulated section 135, this deals with the concept of CSR. In 2013, this mandate was introduced to the general public after the president's assent on 29th August 2013. The provisions of this section are applicable only to those companies whose annual turnover is more than a thousand crores or whose net worth is five hundred crores, or net profit is more than five crores or more. Although these rules were framed and enacted in the year 2013 itself, it was made applicable to corporate giants from the financial year of 2014-2015. The article also attempts to provide an historical overview of the development of CSR mandate; it also identifies various issues and challenges faced during the implementation CSR activities in India. Finally, the article concludes by establishing a new paradigm with respect to sustainable development and it’s interlink age with CSR and makes practical solutions to implement this mandate which if followed may serve as a model for other nations confronting comparable issues within multicultural and multiethnic societies.
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