Has India's multibillion dollar CSR law delivered for development?

In 2013, India became the first country in the world to pass a law making it compulsory for companies to allocate profits to corporate social responsibility.

The law says that companies with an annual net worth of at least 5 billion Indian rupees — equivalent to around $61 million — or a net turnover of 10 billion rupees, or net profits of 50 million rupees, must spend at least 2% of their average net profit on CSR.

Despite high initial levels of non-compliance, official data shows that regulating CSR spending has resulted in a large year-on-year increase in spending, now worth more than $3 billion a year.

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