By Jan Lee, Source: Triple Pundit

We laud corporate social responsibility. As a society, we put those generous acts of concern that companies do at the top of the scale when it comes to trust and our concept of product reliability. Safeway’s many local donation campaigns, McDonald’s long-standing Ronald McDonald charities, the numerous companies that have donated to community hunger programs, child education and the like. In fact, these days, it would likely be harder to find a company that doesn’t have a well publicized CSR program than 20 that do.

And American society is not alone. In India, Mahatma Gandhi introduced the concept of trusteeship to companies in the early 1900s, encouraging them to take a leading role in social responsibility. So, the Indian parliament’s landmark legislation in 2013 that large companies must donate 2 percent of their earnings to CSR projects each year is really not earth-shaking when it comes to social perspectives in the world’s largest democratic nation.
India’s new CSR mandate

Under India’s Companies Act of 2013, companies that have a net worth of $80 million, a turnover of at least $160 million, or net profits of at least $800,000 must develop a CSR policy and spend the minimum (2 percent of net profit) required on CSR. And of course, they are required to report their CSR projects.

Companies can direct the funds to a wide spectrum of needs, ranging from program that combats hunger and poverty to protecting the environment. While they cannot fulfill their obligation by donating money to political causes, they can donate to projects that have been initiated by the government. They can donate the funds through a third-party source, and small and medium startups also have the advantage of collaborating with other companies and pooling their resources for special projects.

Read more at: Triple Pundit