It’s Only Business!: India’s Corporate Social Responsiveness in a Globalized World

The economic reforms of the last fifteen years have increasingly brought the private sector to the forefront. This has also led to a growing expectation of the role business can play in social development. Indian corporates are beginning to respond to this ‘market force of social expectation’ through responsible business practices and contributions to social initiatives. In this informed and well-grounded book Meera Mitra uses her hands on experience as a corporate and development consultant to analyse the growth of CSR in India, especially its evolution in the post-reforms era. This is a subject rife with questions of political economy, of the interaction of government and business in development, and of the role of NGOs in moulding these processes. Using illustrations, cases, and examples, Mitra examines the efforts of the Indian corporate sector in this context. Recent issues such as the cola-pesticide controversy, the toxic waste dumping issue, and the reservation of jobs in the private sector are all touched upon to highlight the challenges today’s businesses face. Globalization, with the access to practices and guidelines from across the world, has brought with it external challenges as well. Using a multidimensional and many-layered perspective, this book argues for an innovative, voluntary, and positive approach to CSR with newer roles for business, civil society, and government. It will be useful for corporates, business leaders, and managers, NGOs, rights activists, journalists, and sociologists, as well as general readers interested in today’s India.