Ease of data access is driving compliance 

Ease of data access is driving compliance 

Context

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the ease with which corporate data is available online had put pressure on companies to ensure compliance. It was also helping in preventing improprieties due to the fear of the possibility of such wrongdoings being detected, he said, unveiling the National CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Data Portal and Corporate Data Portal.

National CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Data Portal and Corporate Data Portal

• The National CSR Data Portal will capture information on CSR activities carried out by eligible companies, according to an official statement.
• The CSR portal contains all filed information, which can generate predefined reports with respect to expenditure across states, districts and development sectors
• The portal also provided for feedback on projects to be given by registered users 

Benefits

• The open access to data is expected to help researchers, improve quality of data filed by companies as well as involve intended beneficiaries in giving valuable feedback to companies. It will help in institutionalising and consolidating the CSR activities.
• The CSR portal would facilitate the social audit of CSR projects

User-friendly format

The Corporate Data Portal aims at making all the financial and non-financial information of the companies available in a user friendly format to the general public.