Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) In India: Origin, Evolution and Relevance in the Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

Discussions about what corporate governance aims at and how companies should cope with existing socio-economic difficulties and problems have gained traction in recent years, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the economy of many countries. With the actions of governments imposing lockdowns and curfews that were to tackle the spread of contagious COVID-19, the reactions followed which had a substantial impact on the economies of many countries and thus the socio-economic development of many countries was at a halt. Such a situation makes understanding the evolution of CSR of utmost importance to freshly initiate discussions on CSR and what role can it further play in society. The article attempts to trace the origin the evolution and development of CSR over the course of time and to initiate fresh discussions on the importance of CSR in the post-pandemic era where the economies as well as companies are slowly opening up and trying to restore themselves to the pre-pandemic era. With many people arguing that the mandatory CSR should be done away with due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on companies and the resource deterioration due to the same, we also find many people asserting that more companies should be incentivized to enter the domain of CSR. The article strives to take every possible nuance relating to the importance of CSR in society and its evolution into consideration and to come out with probable solutions regarding the current deliberations and discussions on CSR.