Corporate Social Responsibility in India : Law, Regulation and Politics

The book explores how the influence by the corporate sector in the economic interactions globally leads to the international governance framework pertaining to CSR, that is primarily based on soft law attributes. Such international soft law regime uniquely influences the way the legal regime around CSR has shaped up in India. Through innovative methodology, the analysis of regulatory space and instruments and the structural framework construe the relationship between state and corporate sectors. It is necessary to investigate the two-fold relationship of state and corporate actors. The book takes up a regulatory, institutional and socio-political investigations through studying the case of CSR in India in the backdrop of the transformations taking place in national arena, its international inspirations and resulting regulatory model that evolve. How the existing regulatory space is affected? What are the implications on the regulatory instruments? The pursuit of the answers would also involve investigation of questions as to how the state-corporate relationship constructed, construed and conducted post state's ratification of CSR. What are the reasons of such changes? What implications do the role of politics and corporate strategies have on the renewed interest in CSR? The book deals with these aforementioned aspects. This scholarly work synthesizes political, economic and legal aspects of the role of the state and corporate sector with narrowly defined focus of CSR which has the ability to provide a comprehensive broad-brushed account of the larger framework. Dr. Shuchi Bharti does research work on assessing the Regulatory and Governance aspects of the Indian case of Corporate Social Responsibility. She has worked in the Corporate Social Responsibility Advisory Services in KPMG and EY from the years 2008-2011. She has completed her doctoral research from the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance and has taught at multiple institutions. Her research interest is multi-pronged approach in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility as to understand the motivation and theoretical underpinning of the act and philosophy of giving and how that manifests in the regulatory governance behaviour Preface Contents 1 Introduction The State and the Corporations: Emerging Relationships State and Corporations: Understanding Global Governance Globalization and CSR: Emergence of a New Generation State and CSR: A Discursive Framework Regulation and Institutions: The Complexities CSR in India: Understanding the Paradoxes The Indian Puzzle Aim of the Book Structure of Argument References 2 Soft Law and Decentred Regulatory Space: The Logic of CSR Introduction Contextualizing CSR The Concept of Soft Law The Regulatory Space Surrounding CSR CSR and the Decentred Regulatory Scenario The Interplay of Regulatory Models Self-Regulation Responsive Regulation Meta-Regulation Logic of CSR: Exploring the Indian Regulatory and Institutional Framework References 3 Corporate Social Responsibility in India: International Arena and Social Development Introduction Evolution of CSR in International Arena The Phase of Short-Term Benefits The Phase of Long-Term Success Strategies The Phase of Adoption of International Soft Law Context and History of CSR in India Predecessors of Modern Day CSR in India Atrophy of Welfarism and the Rise of Market Economy Adverse Impacts of Corporate Actions: A Review of Selected Cases The Case of Coca-Cola India The Case of Vedanta Renewed Interest in CSR Implication of International CSR Instruments in the Indian Case The United Nations Global Compact The OECD Guidelines Social Development and CSR The Purpose of CSR: A Theoretical Understanding of Voluntary Transfer References 4 Politics of Corporate Social Responsibility in India Introduction Outlining the Sources of the Research and Field Interactions The Law and Regulatory Transformations The Outset and Advancement of Section 135 Draft CSR Rules and the Final Rules: A Comparison Schedule VII of the Companies Act: A Critical Analysis The Institutional Changes Advanced Role of IICA Establishment of National Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility (NFCSR) The Role of SEBI and BSE in CSR Regulatory Space Role of Confederations Regulatory Transformations and Evolving Paradigm Three Channels to Collaborative Partnership as Per Section 135 CSR in India: Understanding the Implementation Conundrum Conceptual Understanding of the Implementation Conundrum in India Paradoxes and Futuristic Approach Salient Features of Collaborative Partnership from the Top Spenders Future of CSR in India References 5 Conclusion References Bibliography Index