CSR is a way of doing business ‘will be considered in Companies Bill 2009

‘There was no question of making corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory,’ said Salman Khursheed, minister of corporate affairs, in an interview to Mint on October 9 while discussing the Companies
Bill, 2009, that will soon be tabled before the parliament.

‘I think CSR
is a way of doing business. It is not just setting aside a certain amount, but is
a part of the business itself. All such issues must be reflected in the formulation
on CSR when the bill finally gets passed by parliament. This is what we are
working on,’ the minister said.

The bill will
also make sure that investors do not get duped, he said. ‘Vanishing companies
have stopped vanishing,’ he said, adding that the government was now looking
forward to make sure companies do not vanish, and if they vanish, then those
who invested in those companies would be taken care of.

‘The Investor Protection Fund will now have a statutory structure by
which compensation will be given to those who for no reason have lost money,’ the minister said.

The bill, once passed by parliament, will replace the existing Companies Act, 1956.