CSR, Governance Framework and Expenditure Pattern in Indian Context: Are we Heading in the Right Direction Post Companies Act 2013?

The idea of corporate social responsibility is neither new nor radical. The core principle that the corporation has responsibilities to society beyond profit maximization objectives has long historical roots. The paper discusses various definitions and concepts on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) based on various research articles, papers and books. The paper also discusses the Governance aspects related to CSR and the expenditure pattern of CSR funds post Companies Act 2013. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been followed in this paper. The companies have been quantitatively analyzed or their expenditure on CSR activities whereas qualitative part test and vindicates the quantitative study. The analysis of the various definitions on CSR, Governance related to CSR and analysis of expenditure pattern for Section 135 companies establishes the fact the CSR has evolved over time and phases in India, expenditure on CSR is increasing and becoming more impactful, and the Governance part related to CSR has matured and grown post Companies Act 2013. It can be concluded that though CSR has evolved over phases and expenditure on CSR has been increasing but there has to be better perspective planning and implementation models which can lead to achieve the larger goals of Sustainable Development.