Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Emerging Issues & Challenges

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has been in vogue for quite some time in the business world, though its origin can be traced back to olden times. Its roots can be traced back to all the philanthropic activities of the corporate houses and individuals across the globe. The concept has evolved globally. It encompasses all related concepts such as 'triple bottom line', 'corporate citizenship', 'philanthropy', 'strategic philanthropy', 'shared value', 'corporate sustainability' and 'business responsibility'. The CSR campaign has been actively supported by the world organizations like World Bank, UNDP, OECD, European Commission and MNCs. CSR has been top on the agenda of policy makers, managers and activists in India. It can generate values and create opportunities for corporate houses for enhancing their business performance and building strong relations with the stakeholders and community. The Tata Group for the first time introduced the notion of minimum wage, provident fund, insurance, old age pension, housing, health care, education etc. Since then, quite a few CSR initiatives have been successfully in operation. The Indian Companies Act, 2013 has introduced the CSR idea to the forefront in the country and explained the mandate in promoting greater transparency and disclosure. The Schedule Seven of the Act listing the CSR activities, suggests the communities to be focal point. Against this background, the Department of Public Administration, Lucknow University, Lucknow, organized a two day National Seminar on "Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Emerging Issues and Challenges" on February 27-28, 2016 at Lucknow. The present volume is the outcome of this national seminar and includes papers presented and contributed. It encompasses the policy and legal perspective of CSR in India; trends, models and partnership in CSR in India; facilitators, barriers, and challenges in CSR in India; and initiatives, experiences and impact of CSR. It is expected that the volume will surely be useful in understanding the issues, dimensions, aspects and perspectives of CSR in India and evolving roadmap for mobilizing resources for social development.