India's experience in the csr space

With the country mandating the statutory route (the Companies Act, 2013) for corporates to honour their corporate social responsibility obligation, the researchers set out to examine the status of its implementation. They examined the status of corporate social responsibility in the country and stumbled upon a few missing links. They collected primary data from 30 companies and 30 CSR consultants, using purposive sampling under the non-probability method, for the purpose. Their findings revealed that not all companies pursued “shared value” in fulfilling their corporate social responsibility obligation. Companies sought accountability from non-government organisations who were their partners in the exercise. Transparency in selection of projects as required by rules 6 (1) (a) and rule 9 and mechanisms to check the genuineness of allocation on the part of companies figured prominently among the missing links. The researchers concluded that pursuit of shared values by companies was easier said than done. The companies were right in seeking accountability from non-government organisations, though; the latter was right in seeking transparency from their corporate partners. The two complemented each other in the implementation of corporate social responsibility. In some companies, the obligation was fulfilled by a motely crowd of internal managers rather perfunctorily.