Though Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a key area for various corporates in India, it formally became a part of Corporate Governance in 2013 via Companies Act, 2013.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of business philosophy after its introduction as a statutory obligation under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
The provisions in Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013, makes is mandatory for companies to spend part of their profit on national development priorities, including community development initiatives as part of their CSR activities.
The CSR evolution started in the year 2009 which led to enactment of the CSR law in 2013 and thus making formal reporting of CSR spent by the businesses a norm in India. You can find below key CSR over the years.
CSR Journey in India - Key Milestones (starting from 2009)
Year
CSR Milestone
2009
Corporate Voluntary Guidelines released to encourage corporates to voluntarily achieve high standards of Corporate Governance
2011
Endorsement of United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights by India
2011
National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs) released to mainstream the concept of business responsibility
2012
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandates top 100 listed companies by market capitalization to file Business Responsibility Reports (BRR) based on NVGs.
2013
Enactment of Companies Act, 2013
2014
Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) comes in to force.
2015
High-Level Committee on CSR (HLC-2015) under the chairmanship of Shri. Anil Baijal makes recommendations on the CSR framework and stakeholder concerns.
2015
SEBI extends BRR reporting to top 500 companies by market capitalization
2016
Companies Law Committee reviews the recommendations of HLC-2015 for adoption.
2018
The 2nd High-Level Committee on CSR constituted under the Chairmanship of Shri. Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Corporate Affairs to review the CSR framework
2018
Committee on Business Responsibility reporting constituted under the chairmanship of Shri. Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Corporate Affairs
2018
Zero Draft of National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights released by Ministry of Corporate Affairs
2019
National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct released.
