A High Level Committee (HLC), was constituted on 3rd February, 2015 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under the Chairmanship of Shri Anil Baijal, former Union Secretary, to suggest measures for improved monitoring of implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies by companies. The Committee had submitted its report on 22^nd September, 2015. The constitution of the Committee and its report, including the recommendations, have been placed in the public domain on the Ministry’s website (www.mca.gov.in). The Committee had recommended certain changes in the provisions of the Act and Rules, in addition to recommendations for monitoring of implementation of CSR initiatives. While the Committee’s recommendations that the Board and the CSR Committee should be managing the monitoring of their own CSR at their level, and that Government should have no role to play in engaging external experts in monitoring the quality and efficiency of CSR expenditure of Companies does not envisage any specific action on the part of the Ministry, the Ministry has included amendments of Section 135 in the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2016, issued a set of FAQs and instituted the Annual ‘National CSR Award’.

This was stated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Corporate Social Responsibility monitoring: Board-level oversight affirmed; Ministry proposed amendments and guidance to strengthen compliance. A High Level Committee recommended that monitoring of CSR initiatives be managed by companies through the Board and CSR Committee, with government refraining from engaging external experts to supervise CSR expenditure. The Committee's report was published publicly. The Ministry responded by proposing amendments to the statutory CSR provisions in the Companies Amendment Bill, issuing FAQs to clarify compliance, and establishing an Annual National CSR Award to promote quality implementation.