Corporate Social Responsibility undertaken by Oil PSUs

News:Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas has informed Lok Sabha about the initiatives undertaken by Oil PSUs as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR).

Facts:

About Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR):

• Corporate social responsibility(CSR) was initiated through the Companies Act, 2013.
• The act mandates companies and government organisations with (a)turnover of Rs1,000 crore or more(b)net worth exceeding Rs 500crore or (c)having more than Rs 5 crore in net profits to spend 2% of average net profit of the preceding three years on CSR.
• The provisions of CSR are not only applicable to Indian companies but also applicable to branch and project offices of a foreign company in India.
• The qualifying company is required to constitute a CSR Committee consisting of 3 or more directors.
• The Committee will formulate and recommend to the Board, a policy which indicates the activities to be undertaken, allocate resources and monitor the CSR Policy of the company.
• The CSR amount can be spent on initiatives that would have social, economic and environmental impact or a way to give back to the society.
• Government has also widened the scope of CSR activities and companies can now contribute towards research across various fields such as science, technology and medicine. 
• Besides,CSR funds can also be spent on incubators funded by the Centre or state or any state-owned companies.

Additional information:

About Injeti Srinivas Committee on CSR:

• Government had formed a High Level Committee on Corporate social responsibility(CSR) under the Chairmanship of Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas.
• The committee has recommended that CSR expenditure should be eligible for tax deduction under the income tax law.Currently,income tax law does not allow CSR spends as tax deductible amount.
• It has suggested to align Schedule 7 of the Companies Act which outlines the kinds of activities that qualify as CSR with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• It has also recommended a provision to carry forward of unspent CSR balance for a period of three to five years.
• The violation of CSR compliance may be made a civil offence and shifted to the penalty regime.