A Case Study of CSR Practices by Select Agri Companies in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Society and business go hand – in – hand. One cannot thrive without other. Business has its responsibility towards all the stakeholders apart from revenue generation for larger social good. Hence, business has a moral obligation to contribute to the betterment of society. In this light, Corporate Social Responsibility is a channel through which corporations address the issues of different stakeholders by integrating social, economic and environment aspects into business operations. Corporate social responsibility has intensely changed the way corporate entities conduct their business activities in the social environment in the 21st century.India is the only country which has regulated and mandated CSR. Andhra Pradesh stands in sixth place among 10 states getting Agri CSR expenditure in India. Andhra Pradesh with a good amount of rise in industries creates a societal responsibility towards society and environment by the industries. Corporate Social Responsibility activity brings a change in the lives of deprived people in rural India. Deprived people in India are mostly based on agriculture for their livelihood and CSR also plays a significant role in the agriculture sector. Business Corporate social responsibility has a positive correlation with the financial performance of the business. This paper provides an insight on the initiatives taken and future initiatives being planned by select companies of Andhra Pradesh with regard to Corporate Social Responsibility. The selected companies are namely ITC Ltd., JSW Steel Limited, Pedillite Industries Ltd., Cummins IndiaLt., HindustanZinc ltd. The data related to CSR practices of select companies of AP is collected from the websites of the industries, annual reports, newspapers, magazines, financial statements of the industries and the like. This research study explores about the contribution by the companies towards CSR practices and efforts made for the development of society.