INVITATION FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GUIDELINES ON SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL & ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF BUSINESS, 2018

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental & Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs) in July 2011 with a view to provide a clear, broad-based framework for carrying out responsible business and be accountable to all its stakeholders. The NVGs were developed based on India’s socio-cultural context and priorities as well as global best practices and finalised after extensive consultations with business, academia, civil society organisations and the government. The Security and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) has mandated that the top 500 companies furnish Business Responsibility Reports (BRRs) on the uptake of NVGs as part of the listing agreement.

In view of passage of considerable time since their launch and various new developments such as enactment of Companies Act, 2013, change in global business environment having taken place, the process for updating NVGs was initiated with a two member Expert Committee by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs under the aegis of MCA. The updated NVGs, have been renamed as the National Guidelines (NGs) and are presented here for public comment.

In view of passage of considerable time since their launch and various new developments such as enactment of Companies Act, 2013, change in global business environment having taken place, the process for updating NVGs was initiated with a two member Expert Committee by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs under the aegis of MCA. The updated NVGs, have been renamed as the National Guidelines (NGs) and are presented here for public comment.

Guidelines for comments

Responses may be sent to [email protected]

The NGs consists of 5 Chapters and 4 Annexures. While public comment on the whole document is welcome, respondents are requested to specifically provide inputs on Chapters 2 (Principles and Core Elements) and 5 (Business Responsibility Reporting Framework).

All respondents are requested to use only the attached NG Response form for furnishing their comments and feedback in any other format shall not be considered.

The draft NGs will be available for public comment till September 10, 2018 only.

All comments received till this date will be analysed by a Review Committee for updating NVGs before finalization of the National Guidelines.

Date	Description
20.06.2018	Invitation for public comments on Draft National Guidelines on Social, Environment & Economic Responsibility of Business,2018. (1.59 MB)
20.06.2018	Response Format for Public Comments on Draft National Guidelines,2018 (36 KB)

National Guidelines update invites public comment on revised business responsibility principles and reporting framework before a fixed deadline. Invitation for public comments on the updated National Guidelines (renamed from NVGs) prepared by an Expert Committee to reflect legislative and global developments. The five chapter draft with four annexures seeks targeted feedback on Chapter 2 (Principles and Core Elements) and Chapter 5 (Business Responsibility Reporting Framework). Respondents must use the prescribed response form and submit comments to the designated email by the stated deadline; all submissions will be analysed by a Review Committee for incorporation into the final Guidelines.