India’s Mandatory CSR, Process of Compliance and Channels of Spending

Abstract

Corporate charity is not new to India. This voluntary action of the companies, however, is now blended with a mandatory requirement. The paper lays out the provisions of the CSR norms as per the new Companies Act 2013, the process of its implementation, responsibilities of the company board and the CSR committee, list of activities that qualify for the CSR compliance, and penalties for violation. The paper also discusses the perceived arguments against mandatory CSR, industry response, the issue of anchoring CSR spending to the minimum mandatory requirement, estimate of the magnitude of total CSR spending, and the Channels of CSR Spending by companies.