Tanush R Reddy, Christ (Deemed to be University)
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its legal framework in India. CSR is a business practice that emphasizes a company's responsibility to make beneficial contributions to the community and the environment. The Companies Act, 2013 mandates certain classes of companies to constitute a CSR Committee and comply with CSR regulations. These include companies having a net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, companies having a turnover of Rs. 1,000 crore or more, and companies having a net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more in the immediately preceding financial year. These companies are mandated to spend at least 2% of their average net profit of the immediately preceding three financial years on activities in pursuance of its CSR policy. Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 specifies the areas or subjects to be undertaken by the company as CSR activities, and the CSR Rules prescribe the operational framework for compliance. The total CSR expenditure in India in FY 2020-21 stood at Rs. 25,714 crores, which is a 1.8x jump in the span of just 7 years. The essay also mentions the top three recipients of CSR expenditure in India and the trends in CSR expenditure in India.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Stakeholders, Shared value, Community, Environment, Economic factors, Long-term strategy, Companies Act, Schedule VII, CSR expenditure, Impact assessment, Reporting mechanism.
