An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in India

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. Over the years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a concept comparatively new to India, is rapidly picking up pace. CSR has become a fundamental business practice and has gained much attention from the management of large international companies. It facilitates the alignment of business operations with social values. CSR is deemed as a point of convergence of various initiatives aimed at ensuring socio-economic development of the community. Acknowledging the fact that mainstreaming CSR into businesses could be instrumental in delivering societal value, especially in a developing country like India, this paper specifically aims at providing an understanding of concept of CSR and analyses the development of CSR in India. It highlights the policies governing CSR in India and discusses the cases of CSR initiatives in Indian firms including SMEs role in CSR. There are several challenges facing CSR in India and the paper provides suggestions to overcome them and accelerate the CSR initiatives in India.