INDCARE College of Law

Corporate Social Responsibility is not a new concept in India, however, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India has recently notified the Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 along with Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 "hereinafter CSR Rules" and other notifications related thereto which makes it mandatory (with effect from 1st April, 2014) for certain companies who fulfill the criteria as mentioned under Sub Section 1 of Section 135 to comply with the provisions relevant to Corporate Social Responsibility.

The term "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)" can be referred as corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company's effects on the environment and impact on social welfare. The term generally applies to companies efforts that go beyond what may be required by regulators or environmental protection groups.
Corporate social responsibility may also be referred to as "corporate citizenship" and can involve incurring short-term costs that do not provide an immediate financial benefit to the company, but instead promote positive social and environmental change.
Moreover, while proposing the Corporate Social Responsibility Rules under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Chairman of the CSR Committee mentioned the Guiding Principle as follows:
"CSR is the process by which an organization thinks about and evolves its relationships with stakeholders for the common good, and demonstrates its commitment in this regard by adoption of appropriate business processes and strategies. Thus CSR is not charity or mere donations. CSR is a way of conducting business, by which corporate entities visibly contribute to the social good. Socially responsible companies do not limit themselves to using resources to engage in activities that increase only their profits. They use CSR to integrate economic, environmental and social objectives with the company's operations and growth."

FOR WHOM it’s APPLICABLE?
The companies on whom the provisions of the CSR shall be applicable are contained in Sub Section 1 of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. As per the said section, the companies having Net worth of INR 500 crore or more; or Turnover of INR 1000 crore or more; or Net Profit of INR 5 crore or more during any financial year shall be required to constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board "hereinafter CSR Committee" with effect from 1st April, 2014.

CSR Activities
The Policy recognizes that corporate social responsibility is not merely compliance; it is a commitment to support initiatives that measurably improve the lives of underprivileged by one or more of the following focus areas as notified under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 and Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules 2014:
1. Eradicating hunger, poverty & malnutrition, promoting preventive health care & sanitation & making available safe drinking water;
2. Promoting education, including special education & employment enhancing vocation skills especially among children, women, elderly & the differently unable & livelihood enhancement projects;
3. Promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes & hostels for women & orphans, setting up old age homes, day care centers & such other facilities for senior citizens & measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially & economically backward groups;
4. Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health by providing good hospital facilities and low cost medicines;
5. Providing with hospital and dispensary facilities with more focus on clean and good sanitation so as to combat human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, malaria and other diseases;
6. Ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora & fauna, animal welfare, agro forestry, conservation of natural resources & maintaining quality of soil, air & water;
7. Employment enhancing vocational skills
8. Protection of national heritage, art & culture including restoration of buildings & sites of historical importance & works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion & development of traditional arts & handicrafts;
9. Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows & their dependents;
10. Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, sports & Olympic sports;
11. Contribution to the Prime Minister‘s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development & relief & welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities & women;
12. Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions, which are approved by the Central Government;
13. Rural development projects, etc
14. Slum area development.