Author: Sreejoy Pattanaik, III year of BBA LL.B from Kiit School Of Law, Kiit University
INTRODUCTION
From any perspective the idea of corporate social responsibility is prominent. The current company messaging concept is continually changing and a new concept of corporate social responsibility has emerged. Many of the world's largest companies have recognised the role of socially relevant causes in marketing their brands. It comes from the drive to achieve good and self-confidence and the company's responsibility. As a motor to social growth, CSR assists businesses and corporate citizens and urban residents in a rapidly developing environment in their obligations. CSR can be an incentive, an advancement and a strategic edge for Indian companies while still being able to positively contribute to sustainable growth. Organizations in India are very responsive to the adoption and integration of CSR policies in their business processes. It has gradually become part of Indian corporate environments, and companies have realized the importance of building responsible and sustainable ties with society as a whole, as well as developing their businesses.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN INDIA
The provisions for Corporate Social Responsibility were established in India by the new Companies Act 2013. CSR is defined in most concepts as a concept in which companies incorporate social and environmental issues into their business activities and their voluntary relationship with their stakeholders. The commitment to improving community well-being through discretionary business activities and contribution to corporate capital is corporate social responsibility. Social corporate programmes are key actions that a company undertakes to promote social issues and to meet its social justice obligations. Corporate social initiatives are big corporate activities that support social causes and meet corporate social responsibility commitments. From time to time, every business company and company has social security. Although CSR is important within all communities, it is especially important for developing countries like India, in which limited funds are available to satisfy the increasing expectations and plurality of a pluralist society. CSR-based engagement, staff-volunteer mobilisation, creative approaches, technology-appropriate and continuous collaboration have created lasting changes in vulnerable people's lives.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ORIGIN AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
In Indian societies, the idea of CSR has been imbibed from the start. Gandhi's trusteeship ideology is close to current CSR. Companies such as TATA and BIRLA have imbibed their social good argument for years before CSR became mainstream. Tata Group's strong interest in community welfare goes back to the 1860s when Jamshedji Tata was founded. This explains why two-thirds of Tata Sons, the promoter of the Tata Community, are owned by philanthropic trusts that have developed a host of national science and technology, medicine, social studies and the performing arts institutions.
It was already textured into the belief systems of the Birla Group before Corporate Social Responsibility had found its spot incorporating dialect. The maker, G.D. Birla, had already in the 1940s adopted the management trusteeship model. In other words, the capital one creates and retains is to be maintained in the confidence of our many parties concerned. In terms of CSR, this involves spending some of our earnings for the greater benefit of society outside the industry.
CSR has become increasingly important over the years in India as businesses realise the importance of investing in CSR to bring benefits from stock-holder value creation, and increasing revenue base, strategic branding, operating performance, improved capital access, human and intellectual capital, and lower business risks. CSR has developed as an efficient method that synergizes corporate and social initiatives to develop economic growth and social goals generally.
CHANGING TRENDS IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
A picture of the history of CSR shows that the notion of philanthropy was exclusively dominated before the 1990s. Because of CSR as a philanthropic gesture, companies mostly limited themselves to one-off grants and did not devote their money to such ventures. In addition, companies have never considered the stakeholder when preparing such projects to reduce CSR programmes' effectiveness and effectiveness. The CSR definition has, however, changed in recent years. There was an obvious change from duty or charity to a policy or responsibility. A review of the case studies and work of companies in India on CSR shows that CSR is gradually shifting away and building on capacity and collaboration.[i]
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STANDARDS IN INDIA
Applicability
The threshold cap on the applicability of the CSR to the Business is set in paragraph 135 of the Corporate Act, which means
(a) the company's net value is 500 pounds or more.
(b) the company's revenue of Rs 1000 crore or more.
(c) the corporation's net profit is 5 pounds or more.
According to the CSR Rules, the CSR regulations apply not only to Indian firms but also to branches of a foreign company and project offices in India.
CSR Committee/Policy
For the immediate three financial years preceding this period each eligible corporation would need to invest in CSR operations a minimum of 2% of its annual net profit. In addition, a CSR committee comprising three or more directors is required to constitute a qualifying corporation. A strategy to suggest the actions to be taken shall be formulated and recommended by the CSR Committee to the Board SSR SR Policy) recommends and track the organisation CSR policy on the amount of spending expended on the tasks referred to. The Board shall take the advice of the CSR Committee into account and support the CSR Policy.
Boards Responsibility
The Board of Management is obliged to publish in its report, and put on the group site, the membership of the CSR Committee and other compliance. If CSR does not invest the amount recommended, the Board will also have to indicate the reasons why the amount will not be spent on its report.
Penal Provisions
There is currently no penal provision under the CSR norm for non-compliance. Penalties can however be imposed on the Act if, they do not make the requisite disclosures of the Board report annually apart from the prosecution of officers in default.[ii]
IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Social Responsibility is a kind of self-regulation of corporate consciousness that is incorporated in business models, ensuring that the company is compatible with national and international codes of law and ethical standards. Since the 1960s, the term has been used widely to protect legal and moral obligation. At its inception, businesses have been chosen to represent their competitiveness in this sustainability policy. Their overarching objective is to have a beneficial effect on society thus maximising the profit generation for owners, partners and even employees. While CSR is very capable of catching up with businesses, many businesses express great frustration with this obligation and some of them have announced that they have taken CSR as a marketing strategy first and that some regard CSR as a forced liability, which in the long run may have contributed to the company's absence even more.
Therefore, we must take a look at some of the following points to understand what significance CSR has in today's age and whether or not its graft is worth the result:
1. Customers are preferred by companies who are seen as less self-sufficient. It can be psychological, but somehow it is more accessible for consumers to identify businesses with corporate responsibility. Sending tweets about the philanthropic behaviour of the organisation will help design the corporate profile as a reflection of the company's empathy. This can be accomplished through companies funding NGOs or grants.
2. Companies must show a positive public view of the seriousness of their duty to society to be in the best books of policymakers and government regulators. This is not only the perfect way to make communication with government authorities smoother but even to prevent some inquiries and samples or even public campaigns.
3. When you have a pretty clear message to share, it is easier to speak to or follow clients. If buyers are finally involved in your cause, they will increasingly believe your company's goals. This is not a manoeuvre, but an organisation is reaching the public in new directions than it will do without CSR and no social responsibility. Equally, today's generation is competitive and constantly want to be linked to businesses that have a strong public profile and that are still in the media for their positive choices.
4. The brand distinction is one reason why CSR was incorporated mostly by corporations from the past. But now that this is a widespread occurrence, companies are exploring new ways of building their positive intentions through their social commitments. They take it not only seriously, but also have a great deal of imagination to fulfil your visionary mission and provide a clear picture on the market.
5. Companies who look after their lives beyond their corporate barriers encourage and empower workers to work with enthusiasm every day. This strengthens the bond between the top management and the lowest-paid workforce by believing in a single solution. Alongside them, there are other benefits of CSR establishment, such as maintaining donors who want to know continuously that their contributions are well used by non-profit organisations and businesses, building a close relationship and digesting the best of their employees.[iii]
CHALLENGES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Though CSR has gained focus in India, its efficacy and scope are challenged by several issues. Any of the numerous difficulties faced by CSR programmes include an inadequate interpretation of CSR definition, the lack of authentic information and specific detailed information on the CSR operations, the scope, policies etc. An additional challenge with decreased CSR programmes is the absence of recruitment and underdeveloped personnel. The Times Group survey reported responses to numerous issues faced by CSR programmes in different parts of the world from participating organisations.
1. The local society is not interested in engaging in CSR programmes and contributing to them. This is primarily due to knowledge of CSR in local communities being low or not, as there have been no significant attempts to spread CSR awareness and to instil confidence in local communities on CSR initiatives. A lack of coordination between the business and the population in the grassroots areas makes the problem much worse.
2. Resource development for local NGOs is essential, as the qualified and successful organization will contribute in an effective way to ongoing company CSR activities. This seriously compromises the scale of CSR initiatives and limits their scope.
3. One of the main questions raised by the survey is lack of transparency. Companies share that the municipal implementation authorities are not transparent when they are not making sufficient attempts to report information on their programmes, audit problems, impact assessments and the use of finance.
4. It is also reported that well-organized NGOs in remote and rural areas are not available to evaluate, identify and work with companies to ensure that CSR activities are implemented successfully. This also leads to investment in local areas through the growth of their capacity for local development initiatives.
5. The media's position in bringing out positive cases of CSR initiatives is encouraged because it spreads good news and raises awareness among local populations of different corporations' ongoing CSR initiatives. This obvious impact of the acquisition of exposure and branding also involves many NGOs in event-based programmes, which often fail to achieve concrete grassroots actions.[iv]
CONCLUSION
The amendment in the Companies Act,2013, which made CSR obligatory for the large industry in India, brings both advantages and disadvantages for companies. There are no limits to CSR and race, colour or faith are not limited. Unfortunately, the community's concern for socialism is often mistaken. On the other hand, every resident has the opportunity to be an asset in economic activity. CSR is a culture and a contract with society that has not been written. The unseen culture will mould nations' brighter future. Initiatives are unlikely to be successful if workers don't see the purpose or appreciate the message of CSR projects. Organizations must understand that the government alone can't succeed in raising society's downsides.
[i]Dr. Reena Shyam, An Analysis Of Corporate Social Responsibility In India, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND GRAHAALAYAH, May 2016 at Volume-4, Issue
[ii]Chambers of Ranjan & Indraneel, India: India's Corporate Social Responsibility Norms - What's Next? MONDAQ (November 21, 2018) https://www.mondaq.com/india/directors-and-officers/757220/india39s-corporate-social-responsibility-norms--what39s-next [Last accessed on: April 09, 2021]
[iii]Shreya Ghosh, Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), INDIAN YOUTH http://www.indianyouth.net/importance-corporate-social-responsibility-csr/ [Last accessed on: April 09, 2021]
[iv]Ibid, N1