In 2014, India became the first country to legally mandate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The mandate introduced through Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 directs eligible companies to spend at least 2% of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR activities.

More than 20,000 companies in India are eligible under this law. The amount of funds that companies need to spend annually on CSR add to $3 billion. This puts a significant responsibility on companies. 

Unfortunately, most companies are currently struggling to fulfil this responsibility. In FY 17-18, almost 40% of CSR funds went unspent. Lack of expertise in framing CSR policy, identifying suitable projects and poor implementation and monitoring are some of the challenges that companies are facing.