Knowledge guide · CSR basics
What is CSR? Corporate social responsibility in India, explained
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 …
12 min read
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Knowledge guide · CSR law
The CSR Rules: what they say and how they’ve changed
Section 135 sets the duty; the CSR Rules supply the detail that decides most real questions. Here is what each rule says, how the Rules changed from 2014 …
12 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
Calculating net profit for CSR (Section 198)
The 2% CSR obligation and the ₹5 crore test both run on net profit, but not the figure at the bottom of the accounts. Here is how Section …
10 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
The CSR committee: who sits on it and what it does
Most companies covered by Section 135 need a CSR committee of the board. Here is when you need one, who can sit on it, what the law requires …
12 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
The CSR policy and the annual action plan
Every company that must spend on CSR needs two documents: a CSR policy that sets its approach, and an annual action plan that says what it will do …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
Unspent CSR money: ongoing projects and the Unspent CSR Account
Since January 2021, CSR money left unspent at the end of a year can’t just roll over. It must move to an Unspent CSR Account or a government …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
Penalties for breaking the CSR rules
Since January 2021, failing to spend or transfer CSR money on time has carried a civil penalty for the company and its officers. Here is how the penalties …
10 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR law
CSR and income tax: what companies can and can’t deduct
A company’s CSR spending comes out of profits that have already been taxed. Here is what the Income-tax Act, 2025 says about deducting it, where the law is …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR basics
How CSR works in India, step by step
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. …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR basics
A short history of CSR in India
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 …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR basics
CSR, philanthropy, ESG and sustainability: what’s the difference?
CSR is a legal duty in India: companies that meet a Section 135 test must spend at least 2% of their average net profit on activities in Schedule …
10 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR basics
Ten myths about CSR in India
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 …
9 min read
Knowledge guide · CSR basics
A glossary of CSR and NGO terms
… 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 …
23 min read
Knowledge guide · What CSR can fund
CSR for gender equality, older people and inclusion
… face inequality. It gets a small share of CSR money. Here is what qualifies, what doesn’t and how to do it well.
12 min read
Knowledge guide · What CSR can fund
CSR for the environment and animal welfare
… lines in 2023-24, roughly a tenth of all CSR, and animal welfare tripled in two years to ₹531.14 crore (PIB, 25 March 2026).
11 min read
Knowledge guide · What CSR can fund
CSR for rural development, slums and disaster relief
For CSR, a slum area is one declared as such by the central or a state government or another competent authority under a law; work in undeclared settlements …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · Running CSR
Building a CSR strategy
The law fixes how much a company spends on CSR and the kinds of activity that count. Everything else, from which problems to tackle to how long to …
10 min read
Knowledge guide · Running CSR
Writing a CSR agreement (MoU)
The CSR Rules don’t prescribe a format, but several of them can only be met through a written agreement with your implementing agency. Here are the clauses to …
11 min read
Knowledge guide · Running CSR
Telling the story of your CSR, honestly
Companies must disclose their CSR in set places, and the rules limit how far CSR can be used for branding. Beyond that, honest communication is a choice. Here …
8 min read
Knowledge guide · ESG and the wider sector
CSR and government schemes: working together
Government programmes reach every district; CSR can add money, skills and new ideas. Here is where the rules draw the line, which routes let CSR meet government directly, …
10 min read