The introduction of mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility spending and reporting legislation in India: effect and prospect

The current study extends the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature by examining the effect that the introduction of mandatory CSR as summarised in section 135 of Indian Companies Act, 2013 has had on the level of social, environmental and overall CSR disclosure by publicly listed companies in India. Three inferences are provided by the study. First, annual reports appraisal of four reporting periods (three pre and one post of the effective year of implementation of section 135) show a substantial increase in the number of reporting entities as well as the volume of CSR disclosure. Second, the results show a substantial deviation in terms of the items and tactics embraced for disclosure, thus confirming the apprehensions voiced regarding the implementation of section 135. Multivariate statistical procedures confirm our hypothesis that the increase in CSR is highly correlated with the implementation of section 135 of Indian Companies Act in 2013