INDEX

Chapter No. Content Page No.

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
1.0 Introduction 4
1.1 Meaning 5
1.2 Objective 7
1.3 Research Methodology 7
1.4 Scope of Study 8

CHAPTER 2 : COMPANY PROFILE

2.0 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd 9
2.1 Wipro Technologies 10
2.2 Infosys Pvt Ltd 11
2.3 HCL Technologies 13
2.4 Tech Mahindra Limited 14
2.5 Mind Tree Ltd 15
2.6 Accenture India 17
2.7 Cap Gemini 17
2.8 Cognizant Technology Solutions 18
2.9 Microsoft Corporation 19

CHAPTER 3 : THE CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

3.0 Introduction 22
3.1 Some existing CSR policy initiatives across countries 23
3.2 Evolution in India 24
3.3 How CSR activity helps in business growth 25
3.4 Approaches to CSR 26
3.5 Methods of CSR 28
3.6 Effects of CSR 29
3.7 Policy Framework for CSR in India 30
The National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and
3.8 31
Economic Responsibilities of Business
3.9 Importance of CSR 33
3.10 Benefits of CSR 34
3.11 The Four Phases of CSR Development in India: 38
3.12 The Current Scenario : What Companies Are Doing As A Part Of CSR 41

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 CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
4.0 Introduction 51
4.1 Major of CSR activities in India 54
4.2 A Health 55
4.2 B Education 56
4.2 C Community development 57
4.2 D Environment 58

CHAPTER 5 : FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION

5.0 Summary Of Findings 60
5.1 Conclusion 62
63
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

3.1 The budgetary allocation is determined by the profit after tax of the
31
company in previous year
4.2 Companies whose CSR activities are studied classified based on the type of
53
Industry
4.3 Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of health 55
4.4 Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of Education 56
4.5 Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of
57
Community development
4.6 Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of
58
Environment
5.1 Summary of findings 60

LIST OF CHARTS

CHART NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

3.1 Education 44
3.2 Thematic Areas 45
3.3 Health Care 46
3.4 Environment 46
3.5 Livelihood 47
3.6 Rural Development 48
3.7 EAG States 49
5.1 Summary of Findings 61

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

1.0 Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation conjoined with

business model and strategies. It focuses on companies being responsible for their actions and
encourages a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees,
communities, shareholders and stakeholders. The World Business Council for Sustainable
Development defines CSR as “Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by
business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the
quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society
at large”. Carroll says "The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal,
ethical and discretionary expectations that a society has of organizations at a given point in time"
Carroll says "The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and
discretionary expectations that a society has of organizations at a given point in time.". There is
no single definition of CSR; each definition mainly highlights the impact the business has on
society and environment and majorly the social expectations of them. CSR has its origin in
philanthropic activities like charity, donations etc., of corporations, but now it mainly revolves
around, corporate citizenship, strategic philanthropy, corporate sustainability, business
responsibility and shared ethics and values. According to UNIDO “Corporate social
responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental
concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR in general can
be understood as a way through which a company achieves a balance of economic,
environmental and social imperatives (Triple-Bottom-Line Approach), while at the same time
addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. In this sense it is important to draw
a distinction between CSR, which can be a strategic business management concept, and charity,

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sponsorships or philanthropy. Even though the latter can also make a valuable contribution to
poverty reduction, will directly enhance the reputation of a company and strengthen its brand, the
concept of CSR clearly goes beyond that”. This distinction between CSR and philanthropy has
been further emphasized by The Centre for Business and Government of the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University in its definition “Corporate social responsibility encompasses
not only what companies do with their profits, but also how they make them. It goes beyond
philanthropy and compliance and addresses how companies manage their economic, social, and
environmental impacts, as well as their relationships in all key spheres of influence: the
workplace, the marketplace, the supply chain, the community, and the public policy”. In nutshell
it can be concluded that CSR has its soul in business contribution to sustainable development
that is how strategically corporate take into their fold the economic, societal and issues
concerning to environment and this endeavor of theirs impact their operations and thus society at
large

1.1 Meaning

The voluntary compliance of social and ecological responsibility of companies is called

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Corporate social responsibility is basically a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to
contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. Corporate social responsibility is
represented by the contributions undertaken by companies to society through its business
activities and its social investment. This is also to connect the Concept of sustainable
development to the company‘s level.

Over the last years an increasing number of companies worldwide started promoting their
Corporate Social Responsibility strategies because the customers, the public and the investors
expect them to act sustainable as well as responsible. In most cases CSR is a result of a variety of
social, environmental and economic pressures.

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The Term Corporate Social Responsibility is imprecise and its application differs. CSR can not
only refer to the compliance of human right standards, labor and social security arrangements,
but also to the fight against climate change, sustainable management of natural resources and
consumer protection.

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility was first mentioned 1953 in the
Publication Social Responsibilities of the Businessman‘by William J. Bowen. However, the term
CSR became only popular in the 1990s, when the German Beta pharm, generic pharmaceutical
company decided to implement CSR. The generic market is characterized by an
interchangeability of products. In 1997 a halt in sales growth led the company to the realization
that in the generic drugs market companies could not differentiate on price or quality. This was
the prelude for the company to adopt CSR as an expression of the company‘s values and as a part
of its corporate strategies. By using strategic and social commitment for families with
chronically ill children, Beta pharm took a strategic advantage.

In July 2001, the European Commission decided to launch a consultative paper on Corporate
Social Responsibility with the title „Promoting a European Framework for Corporate Social
Responsibility―. This paper aimed to launch a debate on how the European Union could
promote Corporate Social Responsibility at both the European and international level.

The paper further aimed to promote CSR practices, to ensure the credibility of CSR claims as
well as to provide coherence in public policy on CSR.

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1.2 Objective

 To study the benefits of CSR activity to business and economy.

 To understand how CSR activity helps in business growth.

 To determine the impact Corporate Social Responsibility has on business performance.

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES

Descriptive studies are undertaken when the researcher is interested in knowing the
characteristics of certain groups such as age, sex, education level, occupation or income. It can
also be conducted when he wants to know the proportion of people in a given population who
have behaved in a particular manner, making projections of a certain things; or determining the
relationship between two or more variables. The objective of such a study is to answer the “who,
what, where, and how” of the subject under investigation. Descriptive studies are well structured.
It is therefore, necessary that the researcher gives sufficient thought to framing research
questions and deciding the types of data to be collected and the procedure to be used for this
purpose. If you are not careful in the initial stages you may find that either the data collected are
inadequate or the procedure used is cumbersome and expensive. To be collected and the
procedure to be used for this purpose. If you are not careful in the initial stages you may find that
either the data collected are inadequate or the procedure used is cumbersome and expensive.

Data Collection
 Data Collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing & collecting data.
 Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources that has been
systematically observed, recorded, organized.
 Data are the basic input to any decision making process in business.

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Data Collection Method
Secondary Data:-
Secondary data is the data that has been already collected by & readily available from other
sources. When we used statistical method with primary data from another purpose for our
purpose we refer to it as secondary data. Its means that one purpose primary data is another
purpose of secondary data. So that secondary data is being reused. Such data cheaper and more
quickly obtainable than the primary data.

Sources of Secondary Data

 The data is collected through internet from different website's
 Data collected through books
 Reports
 Newspapers
 Some data collected through bank
 Library

1.4 Scope of Study

The study has covered major CSR activity in India with special reference to selected IT
Companies of India.

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 CHAPTER 2

COMPANY PROFILE

2.0 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd is a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions
organization. The company offers a range of IT services, outsourcing and business solutions.
They also offer IT infrastructure services, business process outsourcing services, engineering and
industrial services, global consulting and asset leveraged solutions. Their segments include
banking, financial services and insurance; manufacturing; retail and distribution, and telecom.

The company is a part of Tata Group, one of India's most respected business conglomerates and
most respected brands. They are headquartered in Mumbai. They are having 142 offices in 42
countries as well as 105 delivery centers in 20 countries. The company shares are listed on the
National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange of India.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd was incorporated in the year 1968. Tata Sons Ltd established the
company as division to service their electronic data processing (EDP) requirements and provide
management consulting services. In the year 1971, they started their first international
assignment. The company pioneered the global delivery model for IT services with their first
offshore client in 1974.

In the year 1981, the company set up India's first IT R&D division, the Tata Research Design
and Development Centre at Pune. In the year 1985, they set up their first client-dedicated
offshore development center for Compaq (then Tandem). In the year 1989, they delivered an
electronic depository and trading system called SECOM for SIS SegaInterSettle, Switzerland.

In the year 1997, the company opened their new corporate training facility at Trivandrum. In the

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year 1998, they started virtualization of business. In the year 1999, they got SEI-CMM Level 5
certification for their Qwest, HP, SEEPZ & Sholinganallur centers. Also, in the year 2000, they
got SEI-CMM Level 5 certification for their Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, GEDC,
Ambattur and Ahmedabad centers.

2.1 Wipro Technologies

Wipro Ltd is a leading India based provider of IT Services, including Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) services, globally. The company provides comprehensive IT Solutions and
Services, including Systems Integration, Information Systems Outsourcing, IT Enabled Services,
Package Implementation, Software Application development and maintenance, and Research and
Development Services to corporations globally.

The company is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified IT Services Company
globally. In the Indian market, they are a leader in providing IT Solutions and Services for the
corporate segment in India, offering System Integration, Network Integration, Software
Solutions and IT Services. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East markets, they provide IT
Solutions and Services for global corporations. The company is headquartered in Bangalore,
India.

The company provides the integrated business, technology and process solution on a global
delivery platform to customers across Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. They
offer business value to clients through process excellence and service delivery innovation such as
Information Technology services, Product Engineering services, Technology Infrastructure
services, Business Process Outsourcing services and consulting services.

During the financial year 2013, Wipro carried out demerger of consumer care and lighting,
infrastructure engineering businesses and other non IT business of the company. After the
demerger, Wipro became a company focused on the IT services business.

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Wipro Ltd was incorporated in the year 1945 at Karnataka by Azim H Premji who is promoter
and chairman of the company. The company started as an edible oil producer and then
transformed itself into leading player in Fast Moving Consumer Goods and IT services &
Products business. During the year 1994-95, the company secured ISO 9001 certification for
their five manufacturing and development facilities.

2.2 Infosys Pvt Ltd

Infosys Ltd is a global technology services firm that defines designs and delivers information
technology (IT)-enabled business solutions to their clients. The company provides end-to-end
business solutions that leverage technology for their clients, including technical consulting,
design, development, product engineering, maintenance, systems integration, package-enabled
consulting, and implementation and infrastructure management services.

The company also provides software products to the banking industry. They have developed
Finacle, a universal banking solution to large and medium size banks across India and overseas.
Infosys BPO is a majority owned subsidiary. Through Infosys BPO, the company provides
business process management services, such as offsite customer relationship management,
finance and accounting, and administration and sales order processing. The company is having
marketing and technical alliance with File Net, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle and System
Application Products.

Infosys Ltd is a public limited and India's second largest software exporter company was
incorporated in the year 1981 as Infosys Consultants Pvt Ltd by Mr.N.R.Narayana Murthy at
Karnataka. The company was started by seven people with the investment of USD 250. The
company became a public limited company in the year 1992. The company was the first Indian
company to be listed on the NASDAQ in the year 1999. Infosys also forms a part of the
NASDAQ-100 index. Continuously in the year 2001, 2002 and 2003, the company wins the
National award for excellence in corporate governance conferred by the Government of India.

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In April 2002, Infosys BPO Ltd was incorporated in India to address opportunities in business
process management. In the year 2004, the company acquired 100% equity in Expert
Information Services Pty Ltd, Australia for USD 24.3 million. The acquired company was
renamed as Infosys Technologies (Australia) Pty Ltd. In October 2, 2004, they set up a wholly
owned subsidiary in People's Republic of China named Infosys Technologies (China) Co Ltd. In
the year 2005, the company established Infosys Consulting Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary in
Texas, US to add high-end consulting capabilities to their Global Delivery Model.

The company was selected as 'Best Outsourcing Partner' by the readers of Waters, a publication
covering the needs of chief information officers in the capital market firms. In the year 2007, the
company increased the stake value in Progeon to 98.9% after acquiring shares from Citicorp
International Financial Company. Infosys had taken over Philips' finance and administration
business process outsourcing (BPO) centers spread across India, Poland and Thailand for USD
28 million.

Infosys set up various Special Economic Zone that for the company has an additional tax benefit.
They set up another Special Economic Zone unit in Chandigarh which will be eligible for 100%
deduction of profit from exports tax calculation for the first five years followed by 50%
deduction for next five years. Infosys has been pursuing their expansion plans over the past few
years. The future enhancement of the company is to emerge the developing economies changing
the business landscape with help of accessible talent pools and the adoption of non-linear growth
model. It is a long term strategy. Infosys Technologies Ltd has partnered with ACDI/VOCA for
promotes broad-based economic growth and to develop information and communication
technology-enabled application to improve efficiencies in the agro supply chain in India.

In the year 2008, the company established their first Latin American subsidiary, namely Infosys
Technologies S de R L de C V in Mexico to improve proximity to their North American clients.
They also opened a development center and office for the region in Monterrey, Mexico. As of
April 2008, the company acquired Internet Protocol (IP) from an Australian company to add
more functionality to Finacle. The IP, that provides a comprehensive set of financial tools to

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company's existing product line. In July 2008, the company launched ShoppingTrip360 to help
retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies achieve visibility into in-store activity.
ShoppingTrip360 is a platform that enables a suite of managed-information services to create a
360-degree view of real time in store shopper and shelf activity.

The company was ranked among the top 50 most respected companies in the world by
Reputation Institute's Global Reputation Pulse 2009. They have been voted the 'Most Admired
Indian Company' in The Wall Street Journal Asia 200 for 10 years in a row since 2000. The
company was also listed in the Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) 2008 study and
Forbes' Asian Fabulous 50 for the fourth consecutive year.

2.3 HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies Ltd is a leading global IT services company that helps global enterprises re-
imagines and transforms their businesses through Digital technology transformation. The
company is primarily engaged in providing a range of software services, business process
outsourcing and infrastructure services. The company leverages an extensive offshore
infrastructure and its global network of offices in various countries and professionals to deliver
solutions across select verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing,
Telecommunications, Media, Publishing, Entertainment, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences &
Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Energy & Utilities, Travel, Transportation & Logistics and Government.

HCL Technologies Ltd was incorporated in the year 1991 as HCL Overseas Ltd. The company
received the certificate of commencement of business on February 10, 1992. In July 14, 1994,
the name of the company was changed to HCL Consulting Ltd. In the year 1996, the company
formed a 50:50 joint venture namely HCL Perot Systems NV with Perot Systems Corporation to
provide access to high value client base of Perot Systems.

HCL Technologies focuses on Transformational Outsourcing, working with clients in areas that
impact and re-define the core of their business after their IPO in 1999 with aim of foray into the
global IT landscape and in the same year; the company changed its name to HCL Technologies

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Ltd. The company started to create wholly owned subsidiaries to cater specific geographic
regions from the year 1999. They had the widest service portfolio among Indian IT service
providers, with each of its services having attained critical mass.

2.4 Tech Mahindra Limited

Tech Mahindra Limited is a specialist in digital transformation, consulting and business re-
engineering solutions and is a part of the Mahindra Group. Started its life in the year of 1986 as
Mahindra-British Telecom Limited, for over two decades, Tech Mahindra has been the chosen
transformation partner for wire line, wireless and broadband operators in Europe, Asia-Pacific
and North America. As a leading provider of IT Solutions to the Telecom industry, the company
committed to quality, Tech Mahindra adds value to client businesses through well-established
methodologies, tools and techniques backed by its stringent quality processes. It is ISO
9001:2000 certified and is assessed at SEI-CMMI Level 5. Also awarded the ISO 20000-1 (IT
Service Management standard) and ISO 27001 (Security Management standard) certification for
its development centers across India and UK. Tech Mahindra is certified at PCMM Level 5 for
its people-care practices and is the third company in the world to have been appraised for SSE-
CMM Level 3. The company's global footprint spans 24 locations in 14 countries including 11
state-of-the-art development centers and 13 sales offices in Americas, Europe, Middle East,
Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Commenced its business during the year 1987 and incorporated MBT International Inc. in 1993,
the first overseas subsidiary of the company. As for quality, the company was awarded the ISO
9001 certification by BVQI in the year of 1994. After a year, in 1995, Tech Mahindra established
one branch office in UK, following this; the company incorporated MBT GmbH, Germany
during the year 2001. In 2002, the company assessed at Level 5 of SEI CMM by KPMG and in
the same year Tech Mahindra incorporated MBT Software Technologies Pvt Limited, Singapore.
Re-certification happened in the year 2003 to ISO 9001:2000 by RWTUV. Due to market
changes, the company combines leading offerings in Application Off-shoring (AoS) with scarce
skills and COTS integration capabilities in the year 2003. To meet the off-shoring challenge the

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Company developed a transition process framework (mASTER) during the year 2004 for
effective service delivery to customers. Moreover, the company developed a revolutionary
diagnostic tool - ShoreCan - to evaluate the off-shoring potential of a project or group of projects
in any phase of development. During the year 2005, the company was certified as BS 7799-
2:2002 (Information Security Management Framework) by RWTUV now known as TUV Nord.
In the same period Tech Mahindra acquired Axes Technologies (India) Private Limited,
including its US and Singapore subsidiaries and the company assessed at Level 5 of SEI CMMI
by KPMG.

The name of the company was changed from Mahindra-British Telecom Limited to the present
name Tech Mahindra Limited on 3rd February of the year 2006. In the same year 2006, the
company assessed at Level 5 of SEI People-CMM (P-CMM) by QAI India. In August of the year
Tech Mahindra raised Rs 4.65 billion ($100 million) from a hugely successful Initial Public
Offering (IPO) to build a new facility in Pune, to house about 9,000 staff and formed a JV with
Motorola Inc. under the name CanvasM to develop a focused entity that would leverage Tech
Mahindra's solution integration expertise and Motorola's R&D capabilities. The Company noted
as Leaders in the Telecom Vertical in India (Frost & Sullivan 2006) and received Deloitte Tech
Fast 50 2007 Award for Outstanding Achievement in the industry (Billing & OSS World 2007).

2.5 Mind Tree Ltd

Mindtree Limited is an international Information Technology consulting and implementation

company that delivers business solutions through global software development. The company is
structured into four industry verticals - Retail, CPG and Manufacturing (RCM), Banking,
Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Technology, Media and Services (TMS) and Travel
and Hospitality (TH). The Company offers services in the areas of agile, analytics and
information management, application development and maintenance, business process
management, business technology consulting, cloud, digital business, independent testing,
infrastructure management services, mobility, product engineering and SAP services.

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The Company is has its registered office at Bengaluru, Karnataka, India and has offices in India,
United States of America (USA), United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia,
Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, UAE, Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, France,
Ireland, Poland and Republic of China.

Mindtree was incorporated on 5th August 1999 as MindTree Consulting Private Limited. It was
promoted by 10 industry professionals who came from Cambridge Technology Partners, Lucent
Technologies and Wipro. In January of the year 2000, an investment of Rs. 169 million was
made by way of subscription to Equity Shares of the company in first round of funding by LSO
Investment (P) Limited, a Promoter company promoted by three of the Promoters, and Walden
Software Investments Limited (managed by Walden International), Amalgamated Holdings
Limited and Vaitarna Holdings Private Limited. After a year, in August 2001, investment by
Global Technology Ventures Limited, Walden Software Investments Limited and Capital
International Global Emerging Markets Private Equity Fund LP in second round of funding. In
December of the same year 2001, the company had commenced IT outsourcing partnership with
Volvo Information Technology. MindTree assessed as a People Capability Maturity Model (P-
CMM) Level 5 company in year of 2003 and following year, in 2004, the company assessed as a
CMMi Level 5 company.

MindTree had executed a contract with AIG Offshore Systems Service Inc. in January of the
year 2004 for supply of IT Services. During September of the identical year 2004, the company
had acquired the software division of ASAP Solutions Private Limited and Arachno Solutions
Private Limited (ARPSL). West Campus development center of the company was opened in
February of the year 2005 at Bangalore. In June of the same year 2005, MindTree had acquired
100% share capital of Linc Software Services Private Limited, which engaged in the business of
application development and maintenance, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) product support
and web development. During the year 2006, in July, the development centre of the company
was launched in Chennai. The Company's status was changed from private limited to a public
limited in September of the year 2006.

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The Company obtained fresh certificate of incorporation consequent on change of name as
MindTree Consulting Limited in November 2006. In December of the same year 2006, the
company had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for expansion of facilities in the
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Chennai. In February 2007, the company came out with Initial
Public Offerings with 5,593,300 Equity Shares. MindTree was declared the Number 1 Most
Admired Knowledge Enterprise in India during the same year 2007 by Teleos, in association
with the KNOW Network. The Company made its strategic alliance with Borland Software India
Private Limited in June 2007 to launch state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence (CoE) in India and
in November of the same year signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the equity in
TES-PV Electronic Solutions Private Limited ('Purple Vision'), the India-based, fully-owned
subsidiary of TES Electronic Solutions SA.

2.6 Accenture India

One of the leading multinational companies in the field of management consulting and
outsourcing, Accenture Incorporated has now become the global leader in consulting services
and is also a Fortune 500 Company. Not only is the brand now on Fortune’s list, but also offers
efficient services and solutions to multiple companies who are on the Fortune Global 100 and
Global 500 lists. Accenture was previously a business and technology consulting division of an
accounting organization called Arthur Andersen. The first undertaking was automating payroll
processing and manufacturing for a client in Kentucky. In 1989, Arthur Andersen and Andersen
Consulting became separate units of Andersen Worldwide Société Coopérative (AWSC). On 1
January 2001, Andersen Consulting adopted its current name, "Accenture".

2.7 Cap Gemini

Cap Gemini is one of the top employers in the world. Graduates from the stream of technology in
both Asian and American countries dream of working for this Multinational Company. Over the
years, the company has established itself across the world and now is a brand of trust people

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invest in.Small businesses and people from across the world are dependent on the services of
CapGemini for a better world, with their effective tools managing data in a streamlined way.

Their IT and Consultant services have made it easier for the newbie entrepreneurs to understand
requirements and then acquire services accordingly. Paul Hermelin, the contemporary CEO has
been leading the company since 2001 and CapGamini has registered substantial growth in the
last decade. It has a wide range of control offices established in various corners of the world,
some of them are situated in Asia pacific, Sothern Europe, North America and Northern Europe.

Serge Kampf founded the company in the year of 1967, when at that time the company aimed to
help other enterprises with data processing. The arrangement of data and their utilization for a
better business was and is very important and CapGemini understands this very intricately. The
services helped thousands of companies in managing their data processing in a better way and
CapGemini has never looked back ever since.

2.8 Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions, founded on January 26, 1994 by Kumar Mahadeva &
Francisco D'Souza, is an American multinational IT services provider. It also provides
consulting and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. In the course of dot com boom, it
flourished by receiving the application maintenance work that the big corporations were reluctant
to carry out. Gradually, it moved into application development, complex systems integration and
consulting work. Cognizant grew rapidly during the 2000s and became a Fortune 500 company
in 2011. It is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000 and the
Fortune 500 and is positioned among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the
world.

The headquarters of the company is in Teaneck, New Jersey. It was founded originally as a
technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet, and the headquarters are in Chennai, India.

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In 1996, Cognizant started exceeding performance with its international clients. The next year,
the company had its headquarters moved from Teaneck to Chennai in India. Cognizant was the
first company to be listed on NASDAQ 100.

2.9 Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft is an American multinational computer technology corporation whose history started

4th April 1975. Formed by Harvard College dropout, Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul
Allen, Microsoft has now become the biggest software company. It is also one of the most
valuable companies in the world.

So how did Microsoft become so successful?

Microsoft is engaged in developing, licensing and supporting a range of software products and
services catering to different requirements. In 2000 Steve Ballmer was appointed the new CEO
of Microsoft. Bill Gates had met Steve Ballmer at Harvard University before he left. Although
there was some concern over Ballmer’s ability, Microsoft retained its top spot in both business
and personal computer markets. Microsoft’s primary strengths and most of its profits were
obtained from the business side. Although the company recognised that they had a major
presence in consumer markets as technology advances.

The successful Altair deal back in January 1975 inspired Bill Gates and Paul Allen to form
Microsoft. Their revenues for 1975 totalled $16,000. Microsoft’s big break was in 1980, when a
partnership was formed with IBM which resulted in Microsoft providing a crucial operating
system, DOS, for IBM PCs. This meant that for every IBM Computer sold a royalty was paid to
Microsoft. In 1990, Gates showed the future plan for Microsoft with the introduction of
Windows 3.0. 60 million copies of Windows had been sold now which effectively made
Microsoft the sole keeper of the PC software standard.

Microsoft before 1990 was predominantly a supplier to the hardware manufacturers. That was
their target market. As technology advanced and personal computers become so popular, the
bulk of Microsoft’s revenue was generated from sales to consumers. It was the first software

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company to reach $1 Billion in revenues. As more and more versions of Microsoft Windows
were launched, Microsoft captured a higher market share the world’s PC (around 90%).

Project Longhorn in 2001, saw many of Microsoft’s previous operating systems being replaced
starting with Vista. Vista was released to the general public in 2007 and it was the new operating
system. There was many Vista options available catering for different consumers; Home (Basic
or Premium), Ultimate, Business and many more. Microsoft’s core customers, the corporate
market preferred Windows XP as the operating system was fast, stable and secure.
Windows 7 was released in 2009 to replace Vista which secured Microsoft’s lead in the software
market. This was followed by the release of Windows 8 in Oct 2012 which included major
changes to its OS platform and user interface to improve user experience on tablets. Since then
Windows 8.1 has been released (October 2013) which contained more improvements.

Microsoft also entered the gaming and mobile phone market and was successful in capturing a
large market share. The Windows Mobile OS is used by numerous sellers including HTC, LG,
Samsung and LG. In 2001 Microsoft released the Xbox followed by Xbox Live in 2002. Both
releases were very successful which placed Microsoft second in the video gaming market. The
Xbox 360, released in 2005 was a very powerful gaming console while facing strong
competition. Microsoft had to cut the prices of their gaming consoles to gain a higher market
share due to competition. This was a successful move; the Xbox 360 was the most used game
console in American homes.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 Billion; this was the largest acquisition in Microsoft’s
history. Microsoft acquired Skype to compete with Apple’s Facetime and Google’s Voice.
Microsoft planned to add Skype to its products such as Outlook, Xbox and Windows
smartphones.

Microsoft has also recently moved into cloud computing with Windows Azure platform which
was announced in 2008. The Windows Azure platform lets consumers build computing
infrastructure in the “cloud” and offer it to its users. In 2011, Office 365, a cloud version of
Office business software suite was released which included applications such as Word and Excel.

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Another popular product, Microsoft’s SQL Server 2012, featured many enhancements to
previous versions. This included Always On which provided options to improve the database
availability and easy cloud set up and compatibility. Features also included performance and
programmability enhancements. dsp provide support for all versions and features of
Microsoft SQL Servers, across a wide variety of windows platforms.

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 CHAPTER 3

CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

3.0 Introduction

Over the past few years CSR, as a concept, has been the focus of many deliberations and
research. It has grown in importance both academically as well as in the business sense. It
captures a spectrum of values and criteria for measuring a company’s contribution to social
development. As the term “CSR” is used continually, many complementary and overlapping
concepts, such as corporate citizenship, business ethics, stakeholder management and
sustainability, have emerged. These extensive ranges of synonymously used terms indicate that
multiple deflinitions have been devised fo CSR, mostly from different perspectives and by those
in facilitating roles such as the corporate sector, government agencies, academics and the public
sector.

A widely cited dflinition of CSR in the business and social context has been given by the
European Union (EU). It describes CSR as “the concept that an enterprise is accountable for its
impact on all relevant stakeholders. It is the continuing commitment by business to behave fairly
and responsibly, and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of
the work force and their families as well as of the local community and society at large…

In other words, CSR refers to ensuring the success of the business by inclusion of social and
environmental considerations into a company’s operations. It means satisfying your
shareholders’ and customers’ demands while also managing the expectation of other
stakeholders such as employees, suppliers and the community at large. It also means contributing
positively to society and managing your organization’s environmental impact. Hence, CSR is a
contribution to sustainable development, implying the way a company balances its economic,
environmental and social objectives while addressing stakeholder expectations and enhancing
shareholder value.

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CSR not only includes the activities that a company undertakes in order to utilize their profit to
enable social and environmental development, but also includes the methods that a company
employs in order to earn these profits including socially responsible investments, and
transparency to various stakeholders among others. Realizing the importance and the long-term
benefits of being socially responsible many companies have incorporated socially responsible
business practices. The basic objective of CSR is to maximize the company’s overall impact on
the society and stakeholders while considering environment and overall sustainability.

3.1 Some existing CSR policy initiatives across countries

As the importance of being socially responsible is being recognized throughout the world,
governments are aware of the national competitive advantages won from a responsible business
sector. Large corporations have progressively realized the benefit implementing CSR initiatives
where their business operations are located.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) established a set of
guidelines for multinational enterprises in 1976, and was thus a pioneer in developing the
concept of CSR. The purpose of these guidelines was to improve the investment climate and
encourage the positive contribution multinational enterprises can make to economic and social
progress. In addition to the OECD’s 30 member countries, 11 observer countries have endorsed
the guidelines.

It is observed that, transparency in reporting enhances the focus on economic, social and
environmental factors. It motivates companies to intensify their efforts in becoming socially
responsible. Several efforts have been taken by various governments, to encourage CSR
reporting, such as incentivizing companies who voluntarily report their CSR activities or by
taking measures such as mandating CSR reporting. In 2007, the Malaysian government passed a
regulation to mandate all publicly listed companies to publish their CSR initiatives in their
annual reports on a “comply or explain” basis. Accordingly, all public listed companies (PLCs)
in Malaysia have to either publish CSR information or they need to explain why they should be
exempted.4 In another example, in 2009 Denmark mandated CSR reporting, asking all state-

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owned companies and companies with total assets of more than €19 million, revenues more than
€38 million and more than 250 employees, to report their social initiatives in their annual
financial report

To enable transparency from businesses on the environment, social and governance front, France
passed a law called Grenelle II, which mandates integrated sustainability and financial reporting
for all companies listed on the French stock exchanges, including subsidiaries of foreign
companies located in France and unlisted companies with sales revenue of more than €400
million and more than 2,000 employees.

Although some CSR standards are mandatory, there are others, which comprise of both,
mandatory and voluntary standards. For instance, in 2006 the British Companies Act mandated
all companies listed in the UK to include information about their CSR activities in their annual
reports; however, a full length CSR reporting was made voluntary.

A corporate responsibility index challenges and supports large organizations to integrate

responsible business practices. Emerging markets such as Brazil, China and South Africa have
become forerunners in CSR reporting in the developing world in terms of their involvement in
CSR-related activities in order to promote the listed companies’ credibility, transparency and
endurance. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was the first emerging market stock exchange to
create a socially responsible investing (SRI) index in 2004. China has also encouraged CSR
reporting in guidelines released through the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

3.2 Evolution in India

India has a long tradition of paternalistic philanthropy. The process, though acclaimed recently,
has been followed since ancient times albeit informally. Philosophers such as Kautilya from
India and pre-Christian era philosophers in the West preached and promoted ethical principles
while doing business. The concept of helping the poor and disadvantaged was cited in several
ancient literatures. In the pre-industrialized period philanthropy, religion and charity were the
key drivers of CSR. The industrial families of the 19th century had a strong inclination toward
charity and other social considerations. However, the donations, either monetary or otherwise,
were sporadic activities of charity or philanthropy that were taken out of personal savings, which

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neither belonged to the shareholders nor did it constitute an integral part of business. During this
period, the industrial families also established temples, schools, higher education institutions and
other infrastructure of public use.

The term CSR itself came into common use in the early 1970s. The last decade of the twentieth
century witnessed a shift in focus from charity and traditional philanthropy toward more direct
engagement of business in mainstream development and concern for disadvantaged groups in the
society. In India, there is a growing realization that business cannot succeed in isolation and
social progress is necessary for sustainable growth. An ideal CSR practice has both ethical and
philosophical dimensions, particularly in India where there exists a wide gap between sections of
people in terms of income and standards as well socio-economic status (Bajpai, 2001).

Currently, there is an increased focus and a changing policy environment to enable sustainable
practices and increased participation in the socially inclusive practices. Some of these enabling
measures have been illustrated in the next section of this report.

3.3 How CSR activity helps in business growth

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become something of a buzz phrase in recent years.
There have been many arguments regarding whether CSR can actually help companies to
improve their reputation and improve profit margins, if it costs businesses money and whether
businesses are doing it to genuinely help the environment and society, or if it is solely a
marketing technique.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become something of a buzz phrase in recent years. There have
been many arguments regarding whether CSR can actually help companies to improve their reputation
and improve profit margins, if it costs businesses money and whether businesses are doing it to genuinely
help the environment and society, or if it is solely a marketing technique.

Despite the arguments, many companies have found that CSR does help them – it improves their
reputation, attracts better employees and saves them money. While all businesses must operate within the
law (e.g. health and safety standards, human rights laws, emissions guidelines) many are now becoming

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proactive and going above and beyond what the law requires.

When correctly employed, CSR should create value for all stakeholders (e.g. anyone who has a direct or
indirect interest in a company) in a business, not just shareholders.

3.4 Approaches to CSR

One of the most popular approaches to CSR is philanthropy. This usually involves financial
donations or other aid to local or international charitable organisations. However, many
companies do not like this approach to CSR as it does not involve building any skills, either
within their employees or with the recipients of the donations.

Community-based development is a less common method, although it is becoming more popular.

Companies using this method become more involved with communities to help them improve
their skills or better themselves. This method can involve helping disadvantaged communities to
educate children or assisting adults to develop new skills.

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Other companies are now building CSR into their corporate strategies. One example of this could
be Cadbury’s, who have only recently been able to label their packages as Fair Trade certified.

A more intricate approach to CSR is creating shared value (CSV). This model is based on the
idea that social welfare and corporate success are inextricably linked. The idea behind the model
is that businesses need a healthy, well-educated workforce, suitable government and sustainable
resources to survive and compete, whereas society requires profitable businesses to create
income and opportunities. CSV focuses on how companies can build competitive advantage by
adding social value to their activities. A paper by Michael E Porter, entitled Strategy & Society:
The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility, describes in
detail how companies have linked their business strategies and CSR.

Many companies now use benchmarking to ensure they remain competitive in their CSR
activities. This involves measuring and evaluating the impact that CSR activities undertaken by
competitors have on both the environment and society, and how customers perceive this activity.
Companies then develop their CSR strategies according to the outcome of their research.

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3.5 Methods of CSR

There are many different forms of CSR, both social and environmental. These can include
reducing waste, recycling, community projects, changing working methods and monetary
donations. Some of the main CSR activities currently undertaken are listed.

 Using fair trade goods to create products, or selling fair trade goods

 Ensuring that no animal testing takes place anywhere in your supply chain

 Removing harmful chemicals from the production process, or decreasing emissions

 If purchasing from abroad, ensuring that all factories pay a living wage to employees, that
health and safety standards are up to the same standard we would expect in the UK and
that no human rights violations are made by other companies in the supply chain

 Using less energy and / or fuel

 Using organic materials in production

 Recycling office waste, and ensuring recycled materials are used in production or
packaging

 Taking part in community projects or making donations to charities and organisations

 Ensuring diversity and equality in the workforce

 Ensuring employees have a healthy work/life balance

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3.6 Effects of CSR

When undertaken appropriately, CSR can have many positive impacts on a business such as
helping to enhance the reputation of a company. However, business owners must be sure to take
care with their activities. In the past some consumers have questioned CSR activities, arguing
that businesses partake only to improve their public image. While this has mostly been the case
with large companies such as McDonald’s and BP, small businesses must ensure that they are
undertaking CSR for the right reasons.

Another reason for including CSR activities is product differentiation. This allows businesses a
unique selling point over their competitors. An example would be the Body Shop. The Body
Shop was the first cosmetics company of its kind in the UK, using all natural ingredients in its
products. The company was from its inception heavily involved in social and environmental
awareness campaigns.

Many companies now find that CSR is essential in attracting and retaining talented employees.
Many graduates now say that they would prefer to work for companies with a CSR policy, which
can also help to improve staff perception of a business and motivate employees, e.g. through
community volunteering or fundraising activities.

There are several ways in which CSR can help companies to reduce costs or improve profits.
Firstly, businesses can aim to reduce their use of energy and fuel, saving money by having lower
bills. Those who are able to differentiate their product or service via their CSR activities may
find that consumers are more likely to choose their product over competitors, as buyers become
more ‘green’ or socially aware.

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3.7 Policy Framework for CSR in India

In the developing world, governments and businesses understand that their respective
competitive positions and access to capital increasingly depend on being able to respect the
highest global standards. At one end of the spectrum, CSR can be viewed simply as a collection
of good citizenship activities being engaged by various organizations. At the other end, it is a
way of doing business resulting in a significant impact on community and long-term
sustainability.

The essence of CSR comprises philanthropic, corporate, ethical, environmental and legal as well
as economic responsibility. An alternative, synonymous to CSR, is People, Planet, and Profit,
also known as triple bottom line. In India, the evolution of CSR refers to changes over time in
cultural norms of corporations’ engagement and the way businesses managed to develop positive
impacts on communities, cultures, societies, and environment in which those corporations
operated. CSR motives changed during the independence movement in India toward social
reforms to encourage empowerment of women and rural development.

In the last decade, CSR has rapidly evolved in India with some companies focusing on strategic
CSR initiatives to contribute toward nation building. Gradually, the companies in India started
focusing on need-based initiatives aligned with the national priorities such as public health,
education, livelihoods, water conservation and natural resource management. Intensive national
level deliberations on the potential role and responsibility of the corporate sector in contributing
toward addressing social issues were witnessed in the last decade. In the last five years, the
Government Of India has also enhanced its focus on persuading companies to participate in
addressing social and developmental issues, not only as a part of their social responsibility but
also their business practices. Setting an example for the private sector, guidelines regarding
expenditure on CSR activities for Central Public Sector Enterprises were issued by Department
of Public Enterprises. According to these “Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility and
Sustainability for Central Public Sector Enterprises” revised by the Department of Public
Enterprises (DPE), Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises every year, each CPSE
shall with the approval of its Board of Directors make a budgetary allocation for CSR and
Sustainability activities/projects for the year.

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Table:-3.1 The budgetary allocation is determined by the Profit after Tax of the company
in the previous year:

Range of budgetary allocation for CSR and

PAT of CPSE in the previous year sustainability activities
(as % of PAT in previious year)
Less than INR 100 crore 3% - 5%
INR 100 crore to INR 500 crore 2% - 3%
INR 500 crore and above 1% - 2%

These guidelines came into effect from 1 April 2013 and are a revised version of the previous
comprehensive “Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility for Central Public Sector
Enterprises” issued by The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), in April 2010. While the
earlier guidelines focused mainly on CSR activities for external stakeholders, the revised
guidelines by the DPE also take internal stakeholders, particularly employees, into account.8 The
new CSR Guidelines also include a dedicated section on sustainability reporting and disclosure.

3.8 The National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and

Economic Responsibilities of Business

Voluntary CSR guidelines create a common standard for how companies can improve their CSR
efforts, especially with regard to sustainability. The adoption of a common set of standards
creates an expectation that companies will strive to meet the guidelines, and can create peer and
public pressure for companies failing to comply. In this regard, the National Voluntary
Guidelines (NVGs) on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, have
been laid down by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in order to provide companies with
guidance in dealing with the expectations of inclusive growth and imperatives of climate change,
while working closely within the framework of national aspirations and policies. These are
applicable to all businesses irrespective of size, sector or location. The NVGs were designed with

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the intent of assisting enterprises to become responsible entities whereby they formulate their
financial/business objectives while considering the impact on various diverse stakeholders
including society and environment at large.

The nine principles of National Voluntary Guidelines are:

1: Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with ethics, transparency and
accountability.

2: Businesses should provide goods and services that are safe and contribute to sustainability
throughout their life cycle.

3: Businesses should promote the wellbeing of all employees.

4: Businesses should respect the interests of, and be responsive toward all stakeholders,
especially those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalized.

5: Businesses should respect and promote human rights.

6: Business should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the environment.

7: Business, when engaged in influencing public and regulatory policy, should do so in a

responsible manner .

8: Businesses should support inclusive growth and equitable development.

9: Businesses should engage with and provide value to their customers and consumers in a
responsible manner.

In the last decade, CSR has been a focus of all stakeholders including the government, corporate
sector, media, customers, suppliers, employees and communities. The Government of India’s
initiative to provide a mandate to public sector enterprise to spend a certain percentage of profit
after tax for CSR has set the wheels in motion for increased contribution and more socially
responsible behavior to lead to inclusive growth. Moreover, the National Voluntary Guidelines
on Social, Environmental and Economic responsibilities of business by the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs indicates that governments emphasize on CSR and engaging public and private

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companies and enhancing their contribution toward lessening the gap between economic and
social progress.

3.9 IMPORTANCE OF CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a major role in developing the economy of a
country. It can be defined as the way in which a company manages various business entities to
produce an impact on the society. Companies with high CSR standards are able to demonstrate
their responsibilities to the stock holders, employees, customers, and the general public. Business
organizations that have high corporate social responsibility standards can attract staff thereby
reducing employee turnover and cost of recruitment. What is the importance of corporate social
responsibility? Anyone can give a clear answer to this question. Companies voluntarily
contribute a large sum of money to make a better society and a clean environment. Corporate
social responsibility is a process in which all companies come together as one and take part in
the welfare of the society. Many organizations conduct campaigns to create awareness among
corporate, civic bodies, and government bodies about the importance of corporate social
responsibility. Many national and multinational firms are booming in various developing
countries. But at the same time, these countries suffer social challenges such as poverty,
corruption, population growth, etc. Therefore, it is important for all companies to strive together
and adapt corporate social responsibility standards to make the society better than before. An
organization can exhibit a better image in the society if it cares for its employees and involve
them in social activities. The responsibilities of an organization may range from providing small
donations to executing bigger projects for the welfare of the society. Many business houses
around the world show their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

What is the importance of corporate social responsibility? The answer lies in two things:

1) organizations understanding their role in developing a society and

2) awareness among business houses, corporate bodies, and the people. Versatile ,profitable, and
dynamic businesses are the driving forces that build the economy of the country. We must

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remember that the growth of a country purely depends on the growth of the society and the
people in the society.

3.10 BENEFITS OF CSR

Organizations of all sizes are rapidly discovering that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and
sustainable business practices can foster improved green programs and overall environmental
stewardship.

Today, we are seeing increased awareness and active participation by business professionals in
the development of CSR policies. Organizations are increasingly more involved in green
initiatives by adopting sustainable processes and practices, adapting products and services to the
low-carbon economy and innovating in all areas their business. The net positive on reducing
waste, designing green buildings, implementing green operations and maintenance plans—all
have continually proven to yield a positive return on investment (ROI).

CSR has come to rely on a more complex set of factors than corporate governance alone, and
likewise also depends on sustainable development, environmental impact and supply chain
management.

The development of the new carbon trading markets, verified emission reductions (VERs), also
known as carbon offsets, and renewable energy credits (REC‘s), it has become easier for
organizations to create and measure direct ROI from CSR. Likewise, CSR efforts have shown to
yield measurable returns in waste reduction, improved efficiency, diminished liabilities,
improved community relations, and brand recognition.

Through communicating clear and measurable sustainability objectives and the implementation
of practical and equally functional corporate governance mechanisms, organizations are realizing
that they can have a achieve ROI through their sustainability efforts.

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Integral strategies in ensuring substantive long-term results include:

 Define path of progress in CSR and strategically manage expected organization al

outcomes
 Ensure basic CSR values are culturally integrated across the organization
 Adopt an effective engagement strategy with stakeholders to create buyer awarenessand
loyalty
 Properly map organizational objectives and critical success indicators with CSR
performance metrics

Innovative organizations that understand the value of CSR work to create a corporate culture in
which each employee is committed to doing his or her part to improve the environment.
According to Forrester Research, effective CSR and sustainability practices within large
companies have been shown to contribute to a profit increase upto 35 percent.

What’s Your ROI?

There are proven methodologies that demonstrate ROI benefits to CSR. A partial summary of
such strategies has been outlined below and reflect best practices in the implementation of
successful CSR programs designed to drive improved operational performance and net positive
ROI.

Business Benefit: Improving Operational Efficiency

Perhaps the strongest—and best documented—argument for engaging employees in

environmental practices is the connection between CSR involvement and increased operational
efficiency. Front-line employees are often in the best position to identify inefficiencies and
propose improvements. Educating employees on CSR can improve profitability by supporting
greater efficiency through less waste, water and energy usage.

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Business Benefit: Innovation

Employee E&S education is also a source of innovation and savings resulting from the
development of new product and service lines as well as new technologies ,materials or
processes that reduce water, energy usage or harmful materials.

Business Benefit: Supply Chain Management

Educating employees on sustainability practices throughout the supply chain can lead to greater
efficiencies and help build collaboration to meet sustainability, quality and other goals. It can
also strengthen relationships between a company and its suppliers by aligning values and
objectives.

Business Benefit: Financial Responsibility

We are seeing an unprecedented level of government programs and initiatives designed to drive
corporate decision-making within markets that include manufacturing, construction, etc., to
invest in implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations,
and maintenance solutions. In many cases, the good news is that implementation of sustainable
operations can drive increased efficiency through reductions in energy consumption,
implementation of building maintenance methodologies that are often cost neutral, and
decreasing the

cost of workspaces through use of recycled furniture while changing too low–Use lighting
(which provides eco-friendly work environments), to name a few.

Government subsidies and incentives often further complement and reward efforts to develop
and implement successful sustainable operations and maintenance programs. Nearly all of the
points needed for LEED Certification (40 points) can be achieved through the energy and
atmosphere category (35 points). It is by far the largest category within the rating system, and
emphasizes the combination of energy performance and renewable energy, which has shown can
lower costs by up to50percent in the first year alone.

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It is widely accepted that green building occupants are healthier and much more productive in
their work. With an average of 90 percent of Americans spending more of their time indoors,
green buildings often have better indoor air quality and lighting, among other key advantages.

Measuring the impact of CSR in achieving social and environmental goals can be difficult, but is
becoming more common if not expected within corporations, often as a factor of CSR. Typically
in business, what gets measured gets managed, and as long as the right metrics system is created
and data is tracked accurately, almost any environmental CSR initiative can yield positive
results.

There seems to be a direct correlation between the implementation of effective green programs
and design of green buildings to improved office worker productivity and employee morale,
while driving efficiencies and reduced consumption .

Innovative, forward-thinking companies have learned that they must be fully committed to
strategic initiatives that are directly tied to their business‘ core competencies (or those of clients,
employees, etc.). The advantages of doing so through an effective CSR program, such as
building brand recognition, realizing increased sales and fostering trust with employees and
community, can be achieved as a win-win in almost all situations. With committed leadership
and a strategic approach most companies can find a substantial ROI benefit in CSR.

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3.11 The Four Phases of CSR Development in India:

The history of CSR in India has its four phases which run parallel to India’s historical
development and has resulted in different approaches towards CSR. However the phases are not
static and the features of each phase may overlap other phases.

The First Phase

In the first phase charity and philanthropy were the main drivers of CSR. Culture, religion.
Family values and tradition andindustrialization had an influential effect on CSR. In the pre-
industrialization period. which lasted till 1850, wealthy merchants shared a part of their wealth
with the wider society by way of setting up temples for a religious cause Moreover, these
merchants helped the society in getting over phases of famine and epidemics by providing food
from their go downs and money and thus securing an integral position in the society (citation
needed) With the arrival of colonial rule in India from the 1850s onwards. the approach towards
CSR changed. The industrial families of the 19th century such as Tata, Godrej, Bajaj, Modi,
Birla, Singhania were strongly inclined towards economic as well as social considerations.
However it has been observed

that their efforts towards social as well as industrial development were not only driven by self
less and religious motives but also influenced by caste groups and political objectives.

The Second Phase

In the second phase. during the independence movement. there was increased stress on -ndian-
ndustrialists to demonstrate their dedication towards the progress of the societ. This was
when "Mahatma Gandhi introduced the notion of “trusteeship”. according to which the industry
leaders had to manage their wealth so as to benefit the common man. “I desire to end capitalism
almost. if not quite. as much as the most advanced socialist. But our methods differ. My theory
of trusteeship is no make-shift, certainly no camouflage. I am confident that it will survive all
other theories” This was Gandhi’s words which highlights his argument towards his concept of “t
rusteeship”. Gandhi’s influence put pressure on various Industrialists to act towards building the
nation and its socio-economic development According to Gandhi. Indian companies were

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supposed to be the “temples of modern India”. Under his influence businesses established trusts
for schools and colleges and also helped in setting up training and scientific institutions The
operations of the trusts were largely in line with 3andhi?s reforms which sought to
abolish untouchability, Encourage empowerment of women and rural development.

The Third Phase

The third phase of C6R (1960-80) had its relation to the element of “mixed economy”,
emergence of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and laws relating labour and environmental
standards. During this period the private sector was forced to take. The public sector was seen as
the prime mover of development Because of the stringent legal rules and regulations surrounding
theactivitiesofthe private sector. the period were described as an “era of command and control” T
he policy of industrial licensing. high taxes and restrictions on the private sector led to
corporate malpractices. This led to enactment of legislation regarding corporate governance.
labour and environmental issues. PSUs were set up by the state to ensure suitable distribution of
resources (wealth. food etc.) to the needy. However the public sector was effective only to
a certain limited extent. This led to shift of expectation from the public to the private sector and
their active involvement in the socio economic development of the country became absolutely
necessary. In 1965 Indian
academicians. politicians and businessmen set up a national workshop on CSR aimed at reconcili
ation. They emphasized upon transparency. social accountability and regular stakeholder
dialogues. In spite of such attempts the CSR failed to catch steam.

The Fourth Phase

In the fourth phase (1980 until the present) Indian companies started abandoning their traditional
engagement with CSR and integrated it into a sustainable business strategy. In the 1990s the first
initiation towards globalization and economic liberalization were undertaken. Controls and
licensing system were partly done away with which gave a boost to the economy the signs of
which are very evident today. Increased growth momentum of the economy helped Indian
companies grow rapidly and this made them more willing conceptual study of CSR development
in India In D.B.Patil & D.D.Bhakkad, Redefining management practices and Marketing in

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Modern Age Dhule. India: Atharva Publications (p. 152-154).} And able to contribute towards
social cause. Globalization has transformed India into
an important destination in terms of production and manufacturing bases of TNCs are concerned
As western markets are becoming more and more concerned about labour and environmental
standards in the developing countries. Indian companies which export and produce goods for the
developed world need to pay a close attention to compliance with the international standards.

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3.12 The Current Scenario : What Companies Are Doing As A Part Of CSR

The Companies Bill 2012, once enacted, is envisioned to result in an increase in investments and
strategic efforts for CSR in India. Companies will need to revisit their CSR policies, strategies
and activities in order to align with the Clause 135. In this chapter, we have made an effort to
provide an analysis of the current trends in CSR in India, particularly how companies are
managing CSR, their focus areas and how they are disclosing their CSR activities to the public.
Our findings are based on research conducted using secondary literature review on information
available in the public domain.

The CSR activities of 50 companies from the S&P BSE Top 100 Index9 were analyzed in order
to identify the trends of CSR activities in India as represented by those companies that are a part
of the index. The reader is advised that research was based on publicly available information.
The accuracy of which cannot be determined.

The parameters chosen to undertake the research have been categorized broadly into — Design,
Deliver and Disclose. The Design category focuses on understanding the partnership preference
and the implementation mechanism for CSR activities. The Deliver category aims to identify the
thematic areas that best describe the company’s activities and their geographic focus. The
Disclose category provides an insight on how companies are disclosing their CSR activities and
sharing their learning with the public.

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 Design

Parameters

 Implementation mechanism such as through foundations or trusts. •

 Partnerships with governments, NGOs, or other companies

Deliver

Parameters •

 Thematic areas •
 Geographical areas •
 Campaigns •
 Contributions

Disclose

Parameters •

 CSR Reporting •
 Signatory to UN Global Compact •
 CSR budget on public domain

Design

This section provides an insight on the implementation platform used by companies to

implement CSR activities. It also highlights type of partnerships in practice for implementing
CSR activities.

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There are several platforms in use by companies to manage CSR. Out of the 50 companies
reviewed, approximately 40% have establish a not-for-profit entity to manage and execute CSR
initiatives. The remaining 60% companies are managing CSR initiatives from within the
organization — either by establishing a dedicated CSR department or giving the responsibility to
the human resources function or to the Corporate Communication department. Currently, there is
no mandate in the Companies Bill 2012 to establish a not-for-profit entity to implement CSR
activities. Once the rules related to clause 135 are finalized, the companies may need to review
the advantages and disadvantages and arrive at an implementation strategy for their CSR
activities.

Partnerships are important not only for effective implementation of CSR activities but also for
reach and long-term sustainability and to achieve measurable change brought about by social
initiatives. Partnerships with other companies could help in supporting cost-intensive social
initiatives and increasing the reach of CSR projects. It can be observed that only 28% of the
companies have established partnerships with other companies for CSR initiatives. This is one
area where strategic deliberations are required in order to evolve mechanisms and platforms
where companies can collaborate to support important social initiatives in a focused and
comprehensive manner and avoid duplication of effort and resources.

Partnership with local and state governments is another important factor that will help in better
utilization of resources. Establishing partnerships and supporting the government have the
potential to strengthen ongoing social programs and ensuring long-term sustainability. The
research indicates that 46% of companies have established partnerships and are found to be
supporting programs or schemes of local or state government through CSR. Mostly, the support
is in terms of improving infrastructure, providing equipment, learning aids and other supplies to
government programs. This is another area, which needs strategic thinking and efforts so that
companies can complement government’s efforts by supporting governmentrun programs and
welfare schemes.

Most of the companies implement CSR activities through NGOs. The research indicates that
nearly 70% have partnerships with the NGOs for implementation of CSR activities. The

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remaining companies are implementing CSR activities directly; it is possible that these
companies are not likely to have disclosed their partnerships in the public domain.

Deliver

The research focused on understanding broad thematic areas such as education, health care,
environment, livelihood, rural development and disaster relief as a focus of CSR initiatives.
Furthermore, efforts were made to understand specific areas/issues covered in each of these
broad thematic areas.

As presented in the figure most common thematic areas covered by the companies include
health, education, livelihoods, environment and rural development. Of these thematic areas,
education is the most common and research indicates that 100% of the companies included in the
research were found to have some initiatives on education followed by livelihoods and
environment and then health care and rural development.

Chart 3.1

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 Chart 3.2

The research indicates that providing infrastructure support is the most common activity in the
education domain, undertaken by approximately 88% (44 out of total of 50 companies focusing
on education thematic area) of the companies. For the purpose of this study we have included
equipment, furniture, books, teaching supplies, construction of libraries and renovation work for
school buildings as a part of providing infrastructure support. Providing scholarships to
disadvantaged students is another common activity being observed with 62% of all companies
offering some form of scholarships. The research also indicates that approximately 74% of
companies were also running projects to improve quality of education by offering coaching
classes for underserved children, training primary and secondary school teachers in new and
improved teaching methodologies and providing innovative teaching and learning aids. Around
34% of companies included in the research were found to be running their own schools.

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 Chart 3.3

In the health care domain, organizing health camps to offer curative services and raising
awareness on health issues is the most common activity being implemented by nearly 74% of the
companies included in the research. Providing infrastructural and equipment support is another
common activity in the health care domain being undertaken by around 68% of the companies.
The infrastructure and equipment support includes medical equipment and ambulances to
hospitals and health centers as well as renovation of hospital buildings and construction of new
health centers. Water and sanitation and maternal and child health are other chosen areas of
intervention in the health domain.

Chart 3.4

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CSR initiatives aimed toward the betterment of the environment include green initiatives such as
tree plantation drives to promote afforestation, efforts to conserve water and manage and dispose
of waste responsibly. Green initiatives garner the highest attention with 76% of all companies
undertaking specific initiatives to improve the environment and approximately 64% taking
measures to conserve water.

Chart 3.5

Of the 50 companies taken into consideration approximately 88% support skill development
through vocational training and career counseling to improve skills and employability of
candidates and subsequently their earning capacities. Some activities undertaken by companies
have included improving the knowledge of people in their own field of work such as sensitizing
farmers about new and improved farming techniques. Approximately 78% of the companies
were found to be supporting income generation activities for people and especially for women in
rural areas.

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 Chart 3.6

In rural development, 68% of all researched companies have been working toward betterment of
rural areas by providing infrastructure support such as building of check dams, revamping of
water pumps and laying down of roads to improve connectivity. Companies have also been
working for rural development through organizing awareness generation camps for issues such
as domestic violence, female feticide, and importance of education among others initiatives.

Geographical areas

Most companies were found to be undertaking CSR activities in the vicinity of their offices or
manufacturing units. The analysis indicates that out of the total 50 companies included in the
research, 84% undertake CSR activities near their area of operation and about 46% have
expanded their CSR activities to other areas. The study also emphasized on understanding how
many companies are focusing on major EAG states including Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Odhisha and Uttar Pradesh. There are a total of 8 states. However, for the purpose of this study,
we have focused only on five major states. The result indicates that around 79% of the 50
companies are working in at least one of the five EAG states included in the research.

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 Chart 3.7

Being one of the highly industrialized states, Maharashtra emerged as one where nearly 50% of
the companies included in this study were implementing CSR initiatives.

Other Findings:-

 Out of the 50 companies analyzed, 38% have supported disaster relief and rehabilitation
activities as part of CSR.
 Around 26 % of the companies have made a contribution toward relief funds such as PM
National relief fund, and CM State relief fund for various social initiatives.

Disclose
One of the key focus areas of research was to determine whether companies disclose their
CSR initiatives in the public domain either through a sustainability report or a specialized
CSR report. The research also determined whether the allocated budget or the total
expenditure for CSR activities was disclosed in the public domain.

Out of the 50 researched companies 40% are a signatory to UN Global Compact. This
implies that these companies are committed to aligning their business operations and

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strategies to the ten universally acceptable principles in the domain of human rights,
labor, environment and anti-corruption.

Approximately 66% of all the considered companies had compiled a report regarding
their CSR activities. Among these, 19 publish a sustainability report and 5 publish a
business responsibility report whereas 9 report their CSR activities under other titles such
as CSR Activity report, CSR Brochure, Report of Inclusive growth, amongst others.

Out of the 50 companies only 36% had specific details about the funds allocated/spent on
CSR activities.

The above analysis indicates that companies in India need to revisit their CSR policies
and strategies in order to adequately adapt their activities to the requirements of the
Companies Bill, 2012. Once the guidelines related to the CSR clause are finalized,
companies will have adequate information related to the terms of permissibility of the
expenses that will be counted as CSR and possible thematic areas and activities that could
be considered for CSR. However, the Clause 135 of the Companies Bill, 2012 is very
clear on the requirement of reporting of the CSR activities and expenses. This is one area
where many companies have to focus and evolve mechanisms to regularly document,
collate and analyze data regarding CSR activities and prepare a CSR report to share at the
public domain for all stakeholders.

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 CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.0 Introduction

CAROLLS’S PYRAMID OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

According to Carroll (1983), “Corporate Social responsibility involves the conduct of a business
so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be socially
responsible then means that profitability and obedience to the law foremost conditions when
discussing the firm’s ethics and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with
contribution of money time and talent.”

Legal Responsibilities refer to the businesses that should not only operate for profit motive but
they are also expected to abide by the laws and regulations promulgated by state, local and
federal governments.

Ethical responsibilities refer to the legal part and Law does not impose ethical responsibilities,
but the government and the society expect them. Ethical responsibilities encompass those norms,
standards and expectation that employees, consumers, shareholders and the community regard as
fair.

Philanthropic responsibilities focus on improving the quality of life of employees,

communities and society. It is fulfilling the charitable expectation of the society, while

Economic responsibilities concerns the responsibility of business of produce goods and services
needed by society, and selling them to make acceptable profit.

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Fig.1 Carroll’s pyramid of CSR

1– Legal responsibilities

2 -Ethical responsibilities

3 - Philanthropic responsibilities

4 - Economic responsibilities

Studied the following companies of CSR activities for this paper

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Table 4.2: Companies whose CSR activities are studied classified based on the type of
Industry

S.NO NAME OF THE COMPANY INDUSTRY

1 Tata Consultancy Services Information Technology

2 Wipro Technologies Information Technology

3 Infosys Pvt Ltd Information Technology

4 HCL Technologies Information Technology

5 Mahindra IT Services Information Technology

6 Mind Tree Ltd Information Technology

7 Accenture India Information Technology

8 Cap Gemini Information Technology

9 Cognizant Technologies Information Technology

10 Microsoft Corporation Information Technology

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4.1 MAJOR CSR ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

Companies are carrying out many activities as a part of CSR. These activities can be classified
using the Carroll’s Pyramid based on their nature and Included in Companies Act 2013 clause
VII The major CSR activities by Indian companies are taken in the following areas :

 Health
 Education
 Community Development
 Environment

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4.2 A. HEALTH

Health Services are should improve in India especially in villages where lack of adequate basic
health services. Companies as a part of CSR should provide health services through medical
camps. Activities that are carried out under health include conducting Blood Banks, Providing
Hospitals, Donating Ambulance and Mobile Clinics.

Table. 4.3: Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of health

Name of the Medical Blood Providing Donating Mobile

company Camps Banks Hospitals Ambulance Clinics
Tata Consultancy
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Services
Wipro
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies

Infosys Pvt Ltd ✓

HCL Technologies ✓ ✓ ✓

Mahindra IT Services ✓ ✓

Mind Tree Ltd ✓ ✓

Accenture India ✓ ✓

Cap Gemini ✓ ✓

Cognizant
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies
Microsoft
✓ ✓
Corporation
Total 4 5 6 4 5

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Among the selected companies taken for study, all of them focus in the area of health where they
carry out activities like organizing camps, running community hospitals, providing mobile health
vans, etc. Majority of the companies i.e. four out of ten companies are organizing medical camps
and Donating Ambulance. Five out of ten companies Donating Blood Banks and Mobile Clinics
and six out of ten companies providing Hospitals.

4.2 B. EDUCATION

Education programs are aimed to bring positive impacts on the lives of the children by making
them realize the importance of education and also to provide educational assistance. CSR
activities under education include scholarship programs, special coaching classes, school
infrastructure improvement, co- curricular activities, free education, etc.,

Table. 4.4: Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of Education

Name of the Infra Hostel Mid Day Vocational

Scholarship
company structure Buildings meals Trainings
Tata Consultancy
✓ ✓ ✓
Services
Wipro
✓ ✓
Technologies

Infosys Pvt Ltd ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

HCL Technologies ✓ ✓ ✓

Mahindra IT Services ✓ ✓ ✓

Mind Tree Ltd ✓ ✓

Accenture India ✓ ✓ ✓

Cap Gemini ✓ ✓ ✓

Cognizant
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies

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 Microsoft
✓ ✓
Corporation
Total 7 9 4 3 5

Infrastructure to the School is the major activity that has been carried out by majority of the
companies in the area of education followed by running scholarship and coaching classes.
Infosys carries out the maximum number of activities in the field of education compared to the
other companies studied. TCS involve themselves in activities such as providing scholarships,
helping in the infrastructural development, and providing buildings and supports in co-curricular
activities.

4.2 C. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Philanthropic activities carried out by companies that help in improving the quality life of the
people such as helping in people to the locality of Income generation, skill development, and
better infrastructure. These CSR activities are implemented in the locality where the company
operates.

Table 4.5: Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of Community
development

Name of the Work Income Skill

Infrastructure
company Relief Generation Development
Tata Consultancy
✓ ✓ ✓
Services
Wipro
✓ ✓
Technologies

Infosys Pvt Ltd ✓ ✓

HCL Technologies ✓ ✓

Mahindra IT Services ✓ ✓ ✓

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 Mind Tree Ltd ✓

Accenture India ✓ ✓

Cap Gemini ✓ ✓

Cognizant
✓ ✓
Technologies
Microsoft
✓ ✓ ✓
Corporation
Total 6 5 4 7
Activities such as relief work, income generation, helping in improving infrastructure and skill
development are the major activities classified under community development. TCS, Mahindra
IT Services and Microsoft Corporation carries out the maximum of three out of four activities,
which is the maximum when compared to the other companies. They involve in relief works,
help the villages in improving their infrastructure by setting up portable water systems, bio
gas plants, community centers, and provide street lights andelectricity along with low cost
housing.

4.2 D. ENVIRONMENT

Rapid rise in Industrialization has seen overexploitation of natural resources. Companies use
large amount of natural resources for which in return they have to contribute to Environmental
conservation. To name a few, environment conservation program include Rainwater harvesting,
tree plantation, solar power generation, etc.

Table. 4.6: Classification of activities carried out by companies in the area of Environment

Rain
Name of the Pollution Waste Energy Tree Green belt
Water
company Control Management Saving Plantation Development
Harvesting
Tata
Consultancy ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Services

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 Wipro
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies
Infosys Pvt
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Ltd
HCL
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies
Mahindra IT
✓ ✓ ✓
Services
Mind Tree
✓ ✓
Ltd
Accenture
✓ ✓ ✓
India

Cap Gemini ✓ ✓

Cognizant
✓ ✓ ✓
Technologies
Microsoft
✓ ✓ ✓
Corporation
Total 6 6 2 6 5 5

Environment activities include waste management, green initiatives, soil and water conservation,
measures to reduce carbon foot printing, using wind energy, solar energy, thus making use of the
renewable energy sources. Among the ten companies, TCS and Infosys carry out four out of six
activities under environment. Six companies out of ten involve themselves in waste management
and Tree Plantation. Five companies adapt green initiatives and Rain water Harvesting.

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 CHAPTER 5

5.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The following table summarizes each company’s activities under the four major areas and their
total.

Table 5.1

Name of the
Health Education Community Environmental Total
company
Tata Consultancy
4 3 3 4 14
Services
Wipro
3 2 2 3 10
Technologies
Infosys Pvt Ltd 1 4 2 4 11
HCL Technologies 3 3 2 3 11
Mahindra IT Services 2 3 3 3 11
Mind Tree Ltd 2 2 1 2 7
Accenture India 2 3 2 3 10
Cap Gemini 2 3 2 2 9
Cognizant
3 3 2 3 11
Technologies
Microsoft 2 2 3 3 10

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 Corporation
Total 24 28 22 30 104

The above table shows that the ten selected companies all together perform 104 CSR activities
under different
areas. Out of
the 10

companies Tata Consultancy Services implements the maximum CSR activities followed by
Infosys, HCL Technologies, Mahindra IT Services and Cognizant Technologies. Tata
Consultancy Services tops in the area of Health and Followed by Infosys in Education.

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 Chart 5.1

5.1 CONCLUSION

CSR activities of the selected ten companies are categorized in four major areas as Health, Education,
Community development and Environment. It is found that all the companies giving importance to
implement many activities in the area of environment and the least preference is given to the areas
concerning community development. It is suggested that companies can implement more activities in the
area of community development where they can help in improving the locality in which they operate.

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Bibliography

www.cubegroup.com

www.workspace.com

www.tcs.com

www.wipro.com/india

www.infosys.com

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www.hcltech.com

www.mahindra.com

www.accenture.com/in-en

www.in.capgemini.com

www.accenture.com

www.cognizant.com

www.microsoft.com

www.investopedia.com

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