Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Spatial Cluster Development based on respective local-Urban/Rural area in Kerala, India

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be broadly referred to the social responsibility of the accountable companies (companies as specified in section 135, Companies Act 2013) to create enabling ecosystems that support and foster the local development goals of the community in a sustainable manner. Although CSR can be seen as a great tool for boosting a company's market value and increasing public trust in its initiatives to foster a harmonious business-community relationship, there appear to be some issues that act as roadblocks to its implementation in the Indian context, which prevents from achieving the legislative goals. CSR benefits the community and is still largely an untapped potential in programmes for spatial development as illustrated by various international and national examples that are analysed in this paper. 'Activities' that come under CSR (Schedule VIl, Companies Act 2013) closely resembles development initiatives but presented in a rather unorganised or unstructured fashion. The loopholes in the recent notification (dated 20 September 2022), which include the ambiguous omitting of information about the implementing agencies, add to the intractable problems with disclosure credibility and clarity when it comes to reporting CSR on a broader scale. The HighLevel Committee's 2019 report on CSR in India, which evaluates from 2014 to 2018, provides reflections on the aforementioned. India still has a long way yet before expectations, despite being the first nation (Companies Act 2013, India Section 135, Schedule VIl) to incorporate CSR into legislation. This is demonstrated by the country's placement of 127th rank on the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI). This paper makes an effort to examine CSR in the Cluster development activities and to identify current implementation strategies of CSR from a variety of perspectives, including those of the government, corporations, and implementing agencies (IAS).

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Business-Community Relations, Corporate Governance, Corporate Citizenship, Implementing agency, Accountability, Local cluster, Responsible business, Companies Act, Disclosure, Fund allocation