Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assumes significance as it permit companies to engage in projects or programs related to activities related to social welfare and improvement enlisted under the terms of Companies Act, 2013. The following activities can be performed by a company to accomplish its CSR obligations:
- Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty
- Promotion of education
- Promoting gender equality and empowering women
- Reducing child mortality
- Improving maternal health
- Combating human immunodeficiency virus, acquired, immune deficiency syndrome, malaria and other diseases
- Ensuring environmental sustainability,
- Employment enhancing vocational skills, social business projects
- Contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government or the State Governments for socio-economic development, and
- Relief and funds for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women and such other matters as may be prescribed.
However due to Covid-19, the following proviso has been inserted in the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014:-
“Provided that any company engaged in research and development activity of new vaccine, drugs and medical devices in their normal course of business may undertake research and development activity of new vaccine, drugs and medical devices related to COVID-19 for financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 subject to the conditions that-
(i) such research and development activities shall be carried out in collaboration with any of the institutes or organizations mentioned in item (ix) of Schedule VII to the Act and,
(ii) details of such activity shall be disclosed separately in the Annual Report on CSR included in the Board’s Report”.