What corporate social responsibility is, which companies must spend on it, how much, on what, and how the whole system works.
10 guides · about 117 minutes of reading · For everyone new to CSR
Explainer · 12 min read
In India, CSR is a legal duty as well as an idea: larger companies must spend at least 2% of their profits on causes the law lists. Here is what that means, who it covers and how the money reaches people.
Guide · 11 min read
Every company covered by the CSR law goes through the same cycle each year, from checking last year’s figures in April to filing Form CSR-2 after its accounts. Here is each step, who does it and the dates that matter.
Explainer · 11 min read
Indian businesses gave long before any law asked them to, but CSR became a legal duty only on 1 April 2014. Here is how it got there, and how the rules have changed since, with the dates that matter.
Explainer · 11 min read
A company must spend on CSR if, in the previous financial year, its net worth was ₹500 crore or more, its turnover ₹1,000 crore or more or its net profit ₹5 crore or more. Here is how each test works, and how it applies to groups, foreign companies and companies moving in or out.
Guide · 10 min read
The minimum is 2% of the company’s average net profit over the three previous financial years. Here is how to work it out, with examples for steady, loss-making and young companies, and what actually counts as spending it.
Reference · 11 min read
Schedule VII lists the thirteen areas CSR money can go to, from health and education to disaster relief and, since May 2026, the Social Stock Exchange. Here is each item in plain words, with example projects and the rules for reading the list.
Explainer · 10 min read
In India only one of the four is a legal duty with a spending minimum. Here is what each term means, how they fit together, and the mistakes that come from treating them as the same thing.
Reference · 9 min read
Companies spent ₹34,908.75 crore on CSR in 2023-24, the latest official figure. Here is the money by year, sector and state, each figure with its source and date, and what the data can and can’t tell you.
Explainer · 9 min read
CSR is widely talked about and widely misunderstood. Here are ten things people often believe about it, and what Section 135 of the Companies Act and the CSR Rules actually say.
Reference · 23 min read
From annual action plan to zero coupon zero principal instrument: the words you’ll meet in Indian CSR law, NGO tax and foreign funding, each explained in a sentence or two, with a link to the guide that covers it in full.