Corporate Social Responsibility: Is the CSR Law Serving the Purpose it Should Be?

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter “CSR”) had emerged as a means to hold companies and organisations accountable for the impact of their actions and operations on society. The idea behind CSR is that Business Organisations generate profits by utilising the community and environmental resources by way of labour and raw material, and so must return at least some part to society by way of quality products, employment generation, and so on. CSR has come a long way from being merely a concept of philanthropy to a mandatory law in India. The paper is an analysis of whether the CSR law has been able to serve the purpose for which it was enacted. It seeks to look into whether or not CSR should have been made mandatory at all. This paper questions the need for a CSR law in India or if it instead works as a mechanism agenda for the government to shift its responsibilities (towards the community) to the corporate sector.