The Central Government has on 27th February, 2014 notified the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules 2014 which shall come into force on 1st April, 2014. Corporate Social Responsibility Clause is applicable to every company having net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs. 1,000 crore or more or a net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended Schedule VII to the Companies Act. The Schedule contains activities which may be included by Companies in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policies. In Schedule VII for items (i) to (x) and entries relating thereto, the following items and entries shall be substituted:
i. Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting preventive health care and sanitation and making available safe drinking water;
ii. Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills especially among children, women, elderly and the differently abled and livelihood enhancement projects;
iii. Promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans; setting up old age homes, day care centers and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;
iv. Ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air & water;
v. Protection of national heritage, art and culture including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts;
vi. Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependants;
vii. Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, Paralympic sports and Olympic sports
viii. Contribution to the Prime Minister’s National relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development and relief and welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities and Women;
ix. Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located with academic institutions which are approved by the Central Government;
x. Rural development projects.
