Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in Indian Companies

Abstract

This paper attempts to highlight the role of corporate social responsibility as a means to know what the Indian business does, over and above the statutory requirement, for the benefit of the society. Corporate social responsibility involves all those activities and social actions which a firm undertakes 'beyond the factory gate' and benefits the society in general. In this context, some of the recommendations of the Committee of Public Undertakings (COPW are presented to understand the present scenario of CSR in Public sector. On the other side, the activities undertaken in the Public and Private sectors are discussed to reveal that the social missions are part of the culture of Indian businesses. A sense of social mission has resulted in successfully building brand image, retaining talent, community development, social projects and promoting the societal-value creation. This is true for companies such as Tata Group, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Reliance, Infosys, Bharti Enterprises, Birla Group and Welcome group. In the Public sector, Oil India Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd, GAIL, NTPC, ONGC and others are also contributing considerably to the community development. While it is true that the social needs are greater in India than in most other countries, the efforts of these companies to address them are nevertheless there for all to see that business social mission becomes integral part of its goal. Partnerships of public and private institutions and the government should feel the sense of social responsibility in their mission and programmes. CSR initiatives of Indian companies should become integral parts of overall business policy and aligned with business goals and their success stories.