The Political-Economy of Rural Development Through Corporate Social Responsibility: An Assessment of the INs and OUTs

The shift of rural development from the government’s agenda to the CSR units’ agenda is a recent political development. The Companies Act 2013 has made it mandatory for the corporate to play a significant role, sometimes as a supplement to or as a substitution for the State under the neo-liberal economy. In this context, the present study has tried to explore the role of two major industries, i.e., HAL and NALCO, in rural development in the backward district of Koraput, Odisha. The seminal contributions of these two industries in four major areas, i.e., construction of toilets, construction and repair of roads, installation of solar lights and construction and repair of water service infrastructure, have been analysed in this article. The study has relied on both quantitative and qualitative data drawing them from secondary and primary sources. The study concludes that no clear-cut financial investment on different heads is projected by the company’s CSR units, there is overlapping in the company’s inclusion of the heads of rural development, people’s felt needs are hardly reflected in the designing of rural development programmes by the CSR units, and follow-up impact assessments are rarely undertaken. So, the investments are made without a real spirit, and the dividends do not commensurate with the hefty investment. Rural development programmes floated by the CSR units are less people-centric, not sustainable and economically viable, and are more politically motivated and just done to comply with the policy mandates.