Corporate Social Responsibility: Understanding the Legal Framework and Philanthropic Indian Companies

Business and conglomerates have never been an isolated entity as the entrepreneurs or the businessmen have always maintained a consistency in the internal and external management and also properly follow-up the movement that use to take place in the external business environment such as consumers, communities, stakeholders, shareholders, and by-laws. Gradually, with the passage of time in last three decades the changes that took place in the Indian cultural norms of corporations had brought forward the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) referring to bring about overall positive impact of corporations on the communities, societies, and environments in which they operate. The term CSR became popular in the 1960s and narrowly construed. It had remained a term used indiscriminately by many to cover legal and moral responsibility but in the present scenario, it has been used in a broader way. CSR promotes a vision of business accountability to a wide range of stakeholders, besides shareholders and investors. Key areas of concern are environmental protection and the wellbeing of employees, the community, civil society in general, customers, employees, investors, suppliers, and activist organizations both now and in the future. This article is exclusively based on secondary data and presents an in-depth conceptual framework of the CSR, major provisions and guidelines encrypted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. Further, the fundamental principle, core elements and its role in nation development are discussed briefl y for the better understanding of the reader