The political economy of corporate responsibility in India

Examining the nature of CSR in India
Sood, A.; Arora, B. 

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Technology, Business and Society Programme Paper Number 18, November 2006 

Abstract [adapted from author by www.eldis.org ]

In an attempt to better understand the actual impact of CSR in India, this paper examines past and the present corporate environmental and social behaviour in the country.

The paper points out that since the mid-1990s, CSR has been practiced and debated by businesses, industry associations, NGOs and the government. However, there is still progress to be made. CSR is not institutionalised as a part of business practice; instead it is more of a "social good" left to the discretion of chief executive officers or top management. The agenda does not yet engage with CSR in terms of workers' rights. Employee care is often left to employer benevolence. And while environmental care and total quality management have been driven by international competition as well as by legislation in India, compliance and enforcement are slack.

The nature of corporate actions and market-friendly regulations in India suggests that increased private sector participation in social and environmental affairs will need more vigilance from the government, not less. This requires democratic rights and institutions that can defend or advocate these rights, from courts to civil society institutions. The challenge, therefore, is to continue to build a vibrant set of civil institutions capable of feeding the corporate community and their markets with signals of success that orient companies toward social and environmental "goods", and away from the "bads".

Full paper available for download here