Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 enlists the activities, which can be undertaken by the companies under their CSR Policy. General Circular issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 18th June, 2014 suggests that the items enumerated in Schedule VII can be liberally interpreted to include a wide range of activities having implication for inclusive development. No proposal to include “Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana” in Schedule VII is under consideration of this Ministry.

This was stated by Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Corporate Affairs in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Schedule VII CSR activities may be interpreted broadly, but Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana is not proposed for inclusion. Schedule VII of the Companies Act lists allowable CSR activities and the Ministry has endorsed a liberal interpretation to include broad inclusive development initiatives; however, there is currently no proposal to amend Schedule VII to include the Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana.