Funding ‘Green Good Deeds’ the CSR way

Five years ago when Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 was notified along with Schedule VII which included activities that could be included by companies within their Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) Policies, it was met with a fair bit of scepticism. Not many were sure as to how the policy would play out in a jurisdiction which has its own fiscal uncertainties and challenges. More importantly it was anticipated that many would cite information asymmetry as a reason for not spending on CSR in the initial years. However, the CSR initiative was also hailed by many quarters as it would greatly aid and add to the government steps in improving health, education, nutrition, gender empowerment, job creation and most importantly environmental sustainability.