Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility: Impact on Rural Development Sector of Maharashtra

Abstract

More than 60% of India’s population lives in rural areas. This population is deprived of many basic facilities such as infrastructure, communication, healthcare, employment opportunities, modern farming techniques, sustainable lifestyle, etc. Government of India implements various schemes for rural development. However, it becomes difficult for the government to implement schemes effectively due to lack of resources. Corporate India, being an important part of the society is expected to contribute in rural development through CSR activities. In 2014 CSR was made mandatory for large profit making organisations. One of the key areas of CSR activities was rural development. Since 2014 Maharashtra has been the highest beneficiary of the CSR spending. This paper attempts to study the impact of CSR activities in rural Maharashtra. A district wise study on CSR spending has been done keeping in mind the Human Development Index (HDI) of each district as well their component of the rural population. It is concluded that the CSR spending policies need to be refined in order to implement effective rural development.