Corporate Social Responsibility of Companies in India

Abstract

Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) is emerging as a new field in the management research. Cooperate Social Responsibility is a new provision in the Companies Act, 2013, which is mandatory to be followed by all the companies those are working in India. In India all the firm are required to take initiatives to follow an institutional policy of CSR in their company practice as per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules made there under. The present study is an attempt to understand the status, progress and initiatives taken by the large corporations of India in context to CSR policy framing and implementation. In the present scenario business houses must find new ways to address the social economic and environmental effect of doing business while ensuring sustainable development whereby the companies act beyond their legal obligations to articulate social, environmental and ethical concern into company`s business operations including interaction with their stakeholder. All of this is comprised under and is popularly known as Cooperate Social Responsibility. However, the researcher feels that an exception has to be carved out under the law while mandating CSR by corporations with respect to companies dealing in demerit goods like tobacco and alcohol. Considering the huge health, economic, environmental and social burden induced by tobacco and
alcohol, their promotion through CSR by such companies should be prohibited. Besides looking at the CSR efforts and initiatives of other corporations, this study aims to examine the validity and need to restrict  SR by alcohol and tobacco companies.