Ever since, The Companies Act, 2013 was passed by the Indian Parliament in August 2013, the legislation regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been capturing the interest and imagination of businessmen across the country. The Act requiring large companies to spend 2% of their profits every year on CSR activities made India the first country to mandate CSR. In any country, Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) and Business entities play a major role in alleviating social problems due to their economic power and ubiquitous presence in day to day activities of people. While the bright side of the business has been visibly touching, and transforming the lives of millions of people, its dark side is no secret. From time to time, business entities have been troubling government bodies with corruption, bending rules, the window dressing of books, exploiting employees, consumers, and natural resources, tax evasion, and violation of human rights, pushing the government to formulate laws regarding business ethics and social responsibility.
Until the provisions regarding CSR were mandated, the activities displaying social responsibility endeavors of business organizations have been voluntary with minimum reporting and regulations. These voluntary undertakings posed a separate set of problems such as fake disclosures, free-riding, and Greenwashing CSR reports. For some time, companies believed that complying with rules and regulations of the land, fulfills their social responsibility as a business, but the responsibilities of a corporation are much broader and have a wider impact on the society in which it functions.
Received : 7th January 2019
Accepted : 30th January 2019
Published : 13th February 2019
1. Responsible Business Rankings 2018 by Futurescape and IIM Udaipur
2. CSR in India – Analysis of CSR fund flow in India by NGOBOX and CSRBOX
3. Top Companies of CSR – CSRBOX