Cement, Energy and Environment

1. Introduc on The no on of Corporate Social Responsibility is an age old concept which has gained Importance in the 21st century corporate culture. It has evolved from primarily a philanthropic ac vity; CSR at present reaches out to the socie es/communi es, addresses bigger environmental concerns and provide jus ce with regard to living standards of internal and external stakeholders. Today, corporate social responsibility is a core focus area for an increasing number of organiza ons, which are looking at new and innova ve ways to contribute to the communi es they operate in. Over two decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increasingly gained prominence (Frisko, 2012), par cularly under increasing stakeholder awareness and expecta on. In the 1970s, the emergence of organiza ons like the Environmental Protec on Agency, labour organiza ons, the Occupa onal Safety and Health Administra on and the Consumer Product Safety norms in India, brought CSR within the purview of stakeholders like the environment, employees and consumers. Freeman furthered the concept of answerability to mul ple stakeholders, in 1984, through his stakeholder theory. In recent mes, the government has joined other stakeholders in assuming a relevant role as a driver and promoter of CSR by crea ng an enabling environment for it (Fox et al., 2002) and has been iden fied as a major ins tu onal force. Ini ally the ques on was why the government should intervene in the CSR arena and the nature of interven on has been a point of conten on and debate. In developing economies, the demands on resources and socio- economic challenges are abound and are different from those in developed na on. This paper intends to provide insight from the Indian perspec ve. What makes a study in the Indian context more interes ng is the dras c change in governmental approach towards CSR in the last decade. Governmental interven on, in India, has transformed from voluntary guidelines to introducing legisla on on CSR in the country, as provisions in the Companies Act, 2013 (MCA, 2013). Governmental efforts have been directed towards encouraging Corpora ons to par cipate in social development and inhibi ng organiza ons from rampantly u lizing and thus destroying environmental resources and damaging the ecosystem irrevocably. Through its self- defined role as an 'enabler, 30 Dr. A. K. Singh, Rajesh Sagar RCCPL Private Limited, Mumbai FOUNDATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) IN INDIA: EVOLUTION, CHALLENGES AND SUGGESTIONS Abstract This is an ar cle, giving a deep insight on evolu on of CSR guidelines in India. It aims to examine how Government of India (GoI) interpret and regulate corporate social responsibility prac ces in India. The study details out the tradi onal structure of CSR in India and the latest legal framework which has created a posi ve s r in India It also inves gate and discuss the challenges in implemen ng CSR guidelines and prac ces as well. In this, ar cle we study the evolvement of CSR guidelines and discuss on modifica on or changes on the current regula ons. Then, therefore, indicate challenges to achieve the long termgoal of CSR.