3.1 Indian Saga of CSR
Every single day, the dynamics of business are changing right before our eyes and whether we acknowledge it or not, its impact cannot be escaped. The role and representation of corporate social responsibility vis-a-vis society, is one important aspect of business that has got many people interested. Since its founding, CSR has stirred numerous debates and survived all controversies to finally find its haven in the 2011 Companies Bill. With this, India became the first country to mandate corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a statutory provision.
The need to have robust public-private partnerships to engineer social change in a growing economy like India has found a greater significance. Historically, CSR has existed philanthropically and has largely revolved around activities like planting trees, community development, donations, setting up schools and so on. While these components continue to contribute to the goodwill of a company, their contribution in the company’s success (bottom line) is limited, if not non-existent. Hence, the need of adopting sustainable practices that in addition to bringing goodwill helps a company remain profitable is the need of the hour. The time has come to foster and integrate sustainability into the business process.