Amid sharp differences over making CSR mandatory, the government may ask corporates to only disclose to shareholders whether they have made a contribution of 2 per cent of net profit toward corporate social responsibility activities.
The Companies Bill, 2009, will retain the original provision which asks companies to earmark 2 per cent of the average profit of the preceding three years for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, amid strong opposition from industry to the clause.
However, “Only disclosure will be mandatory and not implementation,” said a senior official of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, adding, “They will only have to disclose to the shareholders what their CSR policy has been and if they have not been able to fulfill the target, why have they not done so.
