Corporate Social Responsibility: An overview in the Indian Context

Kiran Chitale, Country Head of Legal, Commercial, Innovation and Technology Legal, India, Barclays Global Service Centre Pvt. Ltd., India

The Companies Act, 2013 (’Act”) of India codified for the first time through its provisions under section 135 the essence and requirement of Corporate Social Responsibility (’CSR”) in the Indian context. References suggest that India has emerged as one of the pioneers in making CSR spending mandatory. The word ’spending’ which is directory in nature created much clamor in the initial years. Today, the said provision is in operation for five years. This article attempts to find out and analyze how and in what way the provisions of section 135 have benefitted India

Kiran Chitale is academically qualified as a graduate in Commerce, Law and a Company Secretary and carries corporate experience of more than 20 years in India. Kiran has written a few articles in professional journals in India and has been a visiting faculty on various topics relating to corporate legal domain.

Barclays Global Service Centre Private Limited (BGSC) is an entity providing operations and technology support to the Barclays’ group. BGSC has offices in India and acts as a global service centre for Barclays group.