Participants:

1. Shreya Sinha
2. Gaurav Kumar Singh

University
Chanakya National Law University

Title
CSR in India: An Overview

Contact Number
Shreya: 9934297669
Gaurav: 8083391444

Email
Shreya: shreyasinha1710@gmail.com
Gaurav: lawyerrgaurav@gmail.com
Corporate Social Responsibility builds a dynamic relationship between a company on one
hand and the society and environment on the other. Traditionally, CSR is driven by a moral
obligation and philanthropic spirit. Over time it has become an integral part of business. The
word Corporate Social Responsibility can be simply understood as a relationship between
business organisation and society with which they interact. Under CSR, the business
organizations voluntarily embark on various development activities for the welfare of the
society. Several other benefits like creation of goodwill, branding, risk minimisation,
consumer and employee satisfaction give the organizations additional impetus to get involved
in CSR. There is no universally accepted definition of CSR, each definition that currently
exists underpins the impact that businesses have on society at large and the societal
expectations of them. According to EC1, CSR is “the responsibility of enterprises for their
impacts on society.” To completely meet their social responsibility, enterprises “should have
in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical human rights and consumer
concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their
stakeholders.” The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines CSR as,
“responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and
the environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that contributes to sustainable
development, including health and the welfare of society; takes into account the expectations
of stakeholders; is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms
of behaviour; and is integrated throughout the organization.”2
Business organization is a part of society and its development is not possible without the
welfare and well-being of the society. Whatever a business organization possesses is, of
society or taken from the society. Therefore, they are under ethical and moral obligation to
give something back to the society. There are many areas in which business organisations
take CSR activities like labour welfare, employment, rural development, health care,
providing shelter, education, vocational training etc. As a part of CSR business organisations
are also providing scholarships, midday meal, vocational training, technical education, etc.
which help them build a trust within the consumers and local people.
In India CSR has traditionally been seen as a philanthropic activity and was considered as an
activity which was performed but not deliberated. After the Companies Act of 2013 came
into effect, it has become mandatory for certain categories of companies to form CSR
1
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/corporate-social-responsibility/index_ en.htm
2
http://www.camac.gov.au/camac/camac.nsf/byHeadline/PDFSubmissions_2/$file/CPA_CSR.pdf

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Committee and get involved in CSR activities. This law has converted the once voluntary act
into a mandatory one. A company with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or a turnover of
Rs 1,000 crore or more, or with a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more in a financial year is now
obligated to constitute a CSR committee of the board, consisting of three or more directors,
of which at least one shall be an independent director. Under the new law, the CSR spending
would be the responsibility of companies just like their tax liabilities.
With CSR being mandatory many companies have taken up certain up certain policies, some
of which are:
Infosys Limited: The CSR policy of Infosys Limited intends to:
i. Strive for economic development that positively impacts the society at large with
minimal footprint.
ii. Embrace responsibility for the Company’s actions and encourage a positive
impact through its activities on hunger, poverty, malnutrition, communities,
stakeholders and the society.
The main focus areas of Infosys are hunger, poverty, malnutrition, health, education, rural
development, gender equality, women empowerment, environmental sustainability, national
heritage, art and culture.3
Emami Limited: Emami has been engaged in charities and philanthropic activities, along
with a number of others social activities. The key objective of Emami is to promote
education, fight against hunger, provide medical relief and help in combating chronic disease
and addressing environmental issues.
The company shall identify projects / activities which will fall in any one or more of the
following areas / sector for its CSR spending; Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition;
promoting health care; making available safe drinking water & sanitation; promoting
education; enhancing vocational skills and livelihood enhancement projects; women
empowerment; promoting of home and hostels for women and orphans; reducing inequality
faced by socially and economically backward groups; animal welfare / animal care;
promoting of art and culture; rural development projects; and any other areas as may be
identified by the CSR committee from time to time. The CSR activities will be undertaken by

3
https://www.infosys.com/investors/corporate-governance/Documents/corporate-social-responsibility-
policy.pdf

2
the company, excluding activities undertaken in pursuance of its normal course of business.
Also the company will not make any direct or indirect contribution to any political party. 4
Coca-Cola India Private Limited: Coca-Cola India Private Limited recognizes the impact it
has on communities in which it operates and believes that it has a tremendous opportunity to
change the lives of these communities and aims to be a trusted partner contributing to the
social, economic and environmental progress of India. The company has been contributing its
time money, expertise and resources to help communities and undertaking a series of
initiatives that are locally relevant. 5
The main objectives of the company is to focus on issues relating to water, environment,
healthy living, music, grass roots education, social advancement and promoting gender
equality and promoting empowerment over the past several years. The company has
undertaken to spend 2% of its average net profits during every block of three years on its
CSR activities.6
Tata Steel: The vision of Tata Steel is “to be a global benchmark in value creation and
corporate citizenship.” Tata Steel’s CSR in alignment with the Tata Group focus initiatives
(Skills, Water, Governance, Education) will focus on four thrust areas – Education, Health,
Livelihoods and Rural and Urban infrastructure. Besides, it will also undertake Interventions
in the areas of sports, disaster relief, environment and ethnicity etc. all aimed at improving
the quality of life of the communities.
The Company’s CSR will revolve around six guiding principles – Impact, Partnerships,
Affirmative Action, Volunteerism, Communication and Innovation.
CSR programs of the company include education, health, livelihoods, rural developments,
sports, ethnicity, environment, disaster relief and support to technology incubators.7
Dabur India: Dabur India's CSR Policy is inspired by the words of its founder Dr S K
Burman who said "What is that life worth which cannot bring comfort to others". While
pursuing its business strategy of introducing products that give its consumers health &
wellness, Dabur operates in a manner that not just continues to generate an attractive return
for shareholders, but also minimizes our impact on the environment and helps in replenishing
the planet; while lending a helping hand to the community.

4
http://www.emamiltd.in/holistic-living/pdf/CorporateSocialResponsibilityPolicyofEmamiLtd.pdf
5
Coca-Cola India Private Limited, CSR Policy, Preamble
6
www.coca-colaindia.com/stories/ccipl-csr-policy
7
www.tatasteel.com/corporate/pdf/CSR-Policy.pdf

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The CSR vision of Dabur India is “Through sustainable measures, actively contribute to the
Social, Economic and Environmental Development of the community in which we operate
ensuring participation from the community and thereby create value for the nation.”
CSR activities of Dabur India are; eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition; promoting
health care; ensuring environmental sustainability and ecological balance; employment and
livelihood enhancing vocational skills and projects; promotion of education; promotion of
gender equality and women empowerment and rural development.8
Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, India is a subsidiary of Johnson &
Johnson, one of the world’s most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturers of health
care products, as well as provider of related services for the consumer, pharmaceutical and
medical devices markets. J&J India’s CSR policy is rooted in the J&J Group’s core values of
quality, reliability and trust guided by international standards and best practices, and driven
by our aspiration for excellence in the overall business.
The thrust areas of J&J India’s CSR activities are:
- Saving and improving lives of underprivileged women and children.
 Safe Motherhood
 Neonatal Resuscitation
- Building Healthcare Capacity
 Training of underprivileged girls as healthcare assistants and midwives.
- Preventing diseases, reducing stigma and disability
 Awareness and prevention of HIV / AIDS
- Community Responsibility
 Disaster Relief
The company works together with key community based partners that have the greatest
insights into the needs of local populations and the strategies that stand the greatest chances
of success. The Company expects no favourable treatment as a result of the social investment
that it makes; hence the corporate program designs are based upon its heritage, its values, its
equity and its motivation to be an outstanding corporate citizen.
Charity begins at home. When natural disasters strike, very often Company
employees/employees of contractors are severely affected. The company endeavours to
provide them immediate relief to meet emergency medical and rehabilitation needs. In the
case of seriously critical, life threatening medical ailments, where insurance cover is not

8
http://www.dabur.com/in/en-us/csr-be-the-change/csr-policy

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adequate, company endeavours to help employees/employees of contractors to bridge the
gap, within limited provisions.9
In today’s era of globalization and free trade, Corporate Houses have become more
economically powerful than many countries around the globe. When we are talking about
CSR we have to keep in mind a few things like; what are the core focus areas of the CSR,
why companies should invest in CSR, and does the company having a social responsibility to
make sense, whereas we know that the main purpose of any company is to mint money.
Defining CSR was another difficult task to be accomplished; and we find organizations,
jurists, and management guru defining CSR in their own way but due to prolonged and huge
discussion, the concept becomes consolidated and the definition that, CSR is economic, legal,
ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in
time, is widely accepted.

9
https://www.jnjindia.com/caring/csr-policy