CSR rules in Companies Act 2013 [MBA case study]

As per the companies Act, companies (meeting certain guidelines) have to take up Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects/activities.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 as well as the provisions of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 to come into effect from April 1, 2014. With effect from April 1, 2014, every company, private limited or public limited, which either has a net worth of Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore, needs to spend at least 2% of its average net profit for the immediately preceding three financial years on corporate social responsibility activities. The CSR activities should not be undertaken in the normal course of business and must be with respect to any of the activities mentioned in Schedule VII of the 2013 Act. Contribution to any political party is not considered to be a CSR activity and only activities in India would be considered for computing CSR expenditure.

Management (BBA / MBA) assignment / case study on CSR under Companies Act 2013.

Q) Choose any ONE listed company from NSE top 500 and go through its CSR Report (found in annual report under Board Report) for TWO years, 2016-17 and 2017-18, and answer the following;
Select all projects/initiatives reported by the company that fall under Swachh Bharat Campaign and National Skill Development Mission for the 2 financial years. Collate and analyse the investment made by the company, the outcome and impact on the beneficiaries over these two years providing quantitative data to support the positive impacts reported. You can also include data/ information about these projects/initiatives from the company’s website and sustainability report if available.

Q) Choose any ONE listed company from NSE top 500 (different company from a different sector than that selected for Q1 above). Go through its Business Responsibility Report 2017-18, Section E that has reporting/disclosures on “Principle 6: Business should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the environment”. Identify and list the focus areas chosen by the company and the initiatives under these focus areas. Collate and present both the qualitative and quantitative information on all the identified initiatives under principle 6 to showcase their outcomes and their impacts. You will need to visit the company website, Annexure E (Energy Conservation) under Board Report as well as its sustainability report, if available. Conclude the answer by providing your analysis of the disclosed data.

Q) With the introduction of the Companies Act 2012, spending 2% of net profit on CSR has become conditionally applicable to listed and non listed companies as per the provision laid out under section 135. The company can deploy the CSR projects themselves or through an implementing agency that fulfills all mandatory requirements laid down.
a. As the new Lead, CSR Management Committee, explain what according to you are the five critical challenges/ key factors that will influence and/or enhance working with an implementing agency/ngo that you will have to address for achieving your project objectives.
b. Suggest viable and practical solutions to any two of these challenges that you will present to your CSR Team.

Website: Companies Act (2013)