Corporate Social Responsibility and Economic Responsiveness in India

Download or read book Corporate Social Responsibility and Economic Responsiveness in India written by Damien Krichewsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-23 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the early 2000s, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has rapidly gained significance in India, both among large companies and as a policy instrument formally intended to foster corporate contributions to the country's development goals. This book analyses this phenomenon in relation to broader political and economic changes induced by India's 'pro-business' development strategy. Using a systems-theoretical approach, the analysis shows that 'pro-business' policies have led profit-driven economic processes to increasingly override collective aspirations for social welfare, environmental protection, and democracy. In order to decipher how CSR changes the interplays between profit-making and developmental aspirations, the book provides detailed analyses of CSR in the cement industry and in regulatory policies adopted by the central government. It shows that CSR operates as an 'intermediary institution' which further enhances the autonomy of the economic system, as it makes profit-making more responsive to risks arising from competing collective values and interests.