Abstract When India enacted the Companies Act, 2013, it became one of the few countries of the world to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a legal obligation for a large number of Indian companies. Using a comprehensive analysis of companies’ CSR disclosures and the interviews of relevant stakeholders, this article provides a bird’s-eye view on the major issues plaguing the current regulatory framework on CSR in India. In addition, this article highlights the major differences between privately owned and government companies on their motivations, approaches and challenges to the implementation and enforcement of CSR law of India. This article finds that the Indian CSR regulations are excessively broad and provide wide flexibilities that are possibly being misused, and hence, need legislative amendments to make them more concise, and improve accountability and transparency. From a broader corporate law perspective, this article finds that while the current company law in India may have adopted a more stakeholder-centric approach by its construction, the approach of many companies towards the enforcement and implementation of CSR and the law remains essentially shareholder centric. In light of the above observations, the article suggests that the existing regulatory framework needs to be strengthened with several legislative measures such as stricter auditing and monitoring measures for third-party implementing agencies and pre-and post-project impact assessment mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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印度的立法企业社会责任 (CSR)：合规的法律和实践

摘要 印度在 2013 年颁布《公司法》时，成为世界上为数不多的将企业社会责任（CSR）作为大量印度公司的法律义务的国家之一。本文通过对公司 CSR 披露的综合分析和相关利益相关者的访谈，对困扰印度当前 CSR 监管框架的主要问题提供了一个鸟瞰图。此外，本文重点介绍了私营企业和政府企业在实施和执行印度企业社会责任法的动机、方法和挑战方面的主要差异。本文发现印度的 CSR 法规过于宽泛，提供了广泛的灵活性，可能会被滥用，因此需要立法修改以使其更加简洁，并提高问责制和透明度。从更广泛的公司法角度来看，本文发现，虽然印度现行的公司法在其结构上可能采取了更加以利益相关者为中心的方法，但许多公司在执行和实施企业社会责任和法律方面的方法仍然基本上以股东为中心. 鉴于上述意见，本文建议需要通过多项立法措施加强现有的监管框架，例如对第三方执行机构采取更严格的审计和监测措施以及项目前后影响评估机制。本文发现，虽然印度现行的公司法在其构建上可能采取了更加以利益相关者为中心的方法，但许多公司在执行和实施企业社会责任和法律方面的方法仍然基本上以股东为中心。鉴于上述意见，本文建议现有监管框架需要通过多项立法措施加强，例如对第三方执行机构采取更严格的审计和监测措施，以及项目前后影响评估机制。本文发现，虽然印度现行的公司法在其构建上可能采取了更加以利益相关者为中心的方法，但许多公司在执行和实施企业社会责任和法律方面的方法仍然基本上以股东为中心。鉴于上述意见，本文建议现有监管框架需要通过多项立法措施加强，例如对第三方执行机构采取更严格的审计和监测措施，以及项目前后影响评估机制。