Sustainable CSR Solutions for India

End to end Corporate Social Responsibility under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013. CSR strategy, committee and policy advisory, Schedule VII programme design and execution across education, health, safe water, livelihoods and the environment, impact assessment and board reporting, delivered as one accountable engagement from Mumbai across India, so the mandated spend becomes measurable social and environmental outcome.

Strategy · Execution · Reporting Schedule VII aligned Pan India delivery
On record Governing lawCompanies Act, Section 135 Mandatory CSR spend2 percent of 3 year average Applicability testNet worth, turnover or profit Programme basisSchedule VII activities Impact assessmentFrom 10 crore obligation BaseMumbai · Pan India
01

From mandated spend to measurable social and environmental outcomes

For companies covered by Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, and the boards and CSR committees that govern them.

Corporate Social Responsibility in India is a statutory obligation. A company that crosses a net worth of 500 crore rupees, a turnover of 1,000 crore rupees or a net profit of 5 crore rupees in the immediately preceding financial year must spend at least 2 percent of its average net profits of the three immediately preceding financial years on activities listed in Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013.

Schedule VII spans the social and the environmental. Its heads cover eradicating hunger, health care and safe drinking water, education and vocational skills, gender equality and women empowerment, rural development, and environmental sustainability with agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and the quality of soil, air and water. Sustainable CSR Solutions by GreenSutra channel the mandated spend across these heads, so a compliance obligation becomes a measurable programme for communities.

The engagement runs the full lifecycle: CSR committee and policy advisory, offered standalone where a company only needs governance support, Schedule VII programme design around the company sustainability goals, and execution on the ground, from school, health and safe water programmes to livelihoods, plantation, waste management and community solar, through implementing agencies registered with Form CSR-1.

Compliance closes the loop. Project impact is assessed, independently where the obligation requires it, unspent amounts are handled the way Section 135 prescribes, and the annual report annexure and Form CSR-2 filing are prepared with the evidence to stand behind them. Based in Mumbai and delivering across India, GreenSutra carries the obligation end to end.

02

How a Sustainable CSR engagement runs

From applicability and policy to executed projects and a filed report.

CSR committee reviewing a Section 135 policy at a boardroom table with a Schedule VII activity chart on the wall
01

Strategy and policy advisory

Applicability under Section 135 confirmed, the CSR committee constituted or board functions supported, and a CSR policy framed around Schedule VII, with strategy advisory also available as a standalone engagement.

Community CSR programmes underway with a village school, a handpump providing safe water, tree planting and rooftop solar
02

Design and execute Schedule VII programmes

Social and environmental programmes designed and implemented on the ground, from school, health and safe water projects to livelihoods, tree plantation, waste management and community solar, through implementing agencies registered with Form CSR-1.

CSR impact assessment dashboard glowing above a desk holding a sealed board report annexure and a filing screen
03

Assess impact and report

Project impact assessed, through an independent agency where the obligation requires it, then documented in the board report annexure with Form CSR-2 support for filing with the annual financial statements.

03

How Section 135 CSR flows from company to community

A covered company channels 2 percent of its three year average net profit through a CSR committee into Schedule VII programmes across education, health, safe water, livelihoods and the environment, assessed for impact and reported to the board.

How Section 135 CSR flows from company to communityTechnical drawing of the Section 135 corporate social responsibility mechanism. A covered company crossing the net worth, turnover or net profit threshold routes 2 percent of its average net profits through a CSR committee into Schedule VII programmes for a community, opening with awareness and engagement at the village notice board, then a school for education, a handpump for safe drinking water, a health post and a plantation grove, with the people they serve. Programme outcomes are measured, beneficiaries are counted and impact is assessed where required, unspent money moves to the Unspent CSR Account, and the board report annexure is filed in Form CSR-2.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEEFFREGULATIONCOMPANIES ACTSECTION 135SCHEDULE VIICSR RULESCOVERED COMPANYTHRESHOLD CROSSED01CSR COMMITTEEPOLICY AND BUDGET02SCHEDULE VII PROGRAMMESSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL03IMPACT ASSESSMENTINDEPENDENT WHERE REQUIRED04BOARD REPORTFILED IN FORM CSR-205APPLICABILITY TESTCONSTITUTED OR BOARD LEDEDUCATION · HEALTH · WATER · PLANTATIONAWARENESSDELIVERYASSESSED WHERE REQUIREDOUTCOME TRENDBENEFICIARIES COUNTEDBOARD REPORTANNEXUREFILED · FORM CSR-2UNSPENTCSR ACCOUNTKEYMANDATED SPENDFILED RETURNGOVERNANCEDRAWINGSECTION 135 CSR FLOWSTATUSDWG NOGS·CSR·02REVCDATE2026·06
01Covered company

A company crossing the net worth, turnover or net profit threshold in the preceding financial year becomes liable to spend on CSR under Section 135.

02CSR committee and policy

A CSR committee, or the board where the obligation does not exceed 50 lakh rupees, frames the policy and the 2 percent budget.

03Schedule VII programmes

Funds are deployed into social and environmental programmes listed in Schedule VII, from education, health care and safe water to livelihoods and plantation, with community awareness and engagement ahead of delivery, executed through implementing agencies registered with Form CSR-1.

04Impact assessment

Programme outcomes are measured against their baselines and beneficiaries counted, with assessment by an independent agency where the average CSR obligation reaches 10 crore rupees.

05Board report and CSR-2

Spend and impact are reported in the board report annexure, and the CSR report is filed in Form CSR-2 with the annual financial statements.

A covered company directs 2 percent of its three year average net profit, governed by a CSR committee, into Schedule VII social and environmental programmes executed by registered agencies in the communities they serve. Impact is assessed where the obligation requires it, then reported in the board report annexure and filed in Form CSR-2. Unspent money tied to an ongoing project moves to an Unspent CSR Account, and other unspent money to a fund specified in Schedule VII.

04

Benefits of sustainable CSR solutions

What a governed, executed and reported CSR programme earns a covered company.

B·01

Compliance assured

Spend, governance and reporting aligned to Section 135 and Schedule VII, so the obligation is met cleanly and the penalty exposure under the Act is avoided.

B·02

Measurable impact

Mandated spend channelled into social and environmental programmes that produce outcomes a board can see, assess and report rather than disburse and forget.

B·03

Reputation and trust

Credible, assessed programmes strengthen standing with regulators, investors and the communities a company operates in.

B·04

Strategy aligned

CSR built around the company sustainability goals, so each rupee of obligation advances a long term social and environmental agenda.

Board members reviewing a CSR impact report beside a thriving plantation and a community solar array
Obligation turned into measurable outcome
05

Why GreenSutra leads sustainable CSR consulting

The reasons behind the reputation.

R·01

Section 135 fluency

Engagements led by specialists fluent in the Companies Act CSR framework, Schedule VII and the CSR Rules as amended.

R·02

On ground delivery

A working practice that designs and executes programmes from school, health and safe water projects to plantation, waste and community solar, not only advises on them.

R·03

Impact discipline

Outcomes measured and assessed, so reporting rests on evidence and stands up to independent scrutiny.

R·04

End to end delivery

Strategy, policy, project design, execution, impact assessment and reporting handled as one accountable engagement, or any stage standalone.

R·05

Mumbai based, pan India

CSR programmes delivered for companies across India from a Mumbai base.

06

Built for every stage of the obligation

The same governance and delivery discipline, tuned to where a company stands under Section 135.

01

Companies crossing the threshold

First time covered companies guided from applicability through committee, policy and the first compliant spend.

02

Boards and CSR committees

Standalone strategy and policy advisory for committees framing or refreshing a Section 135 CSR policy.

03

Large CSR spenders

Companies above the impact assessment threshold supported with independent assessment and rigorous reporting.

04

Implementing partners

Registered agencies and project partners coordinated to deliver Schedule VII social and environmental outcomes on the ground.

07

Sustainable CSR questions, answered

Q·01What are sustainable CSR solutions?
Sustainable CSR solutions carry a company through the full Corporate Social Responsibility lifecycle under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013: CSR strategy, committee and policy advisory, Schedule VII programme design, execution of social and environmental programmes such as education, health care, safe water, livelihoods, plantation and community solar, impact assessment and board reporting with Form CSR-2 support. The defining idea is to channel the mandated spend into measurable outcomes for communities.
Q·02Which activities qualify for CSR under Schedule VII?
Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 lists the qualifying heads. They include eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition with health care, sanitation and safe drinking water, promoting education and employment enhancing vocational skills with livelihood enhancement, promoting gender equality and empowering women, ensuring environmental sustainability with agroforestry and conservation of natural resources, rural development projects and slum area development, among other listed heads.
Q·03Can CSR funds support education and health programmes?
Yes. Promoting education, including special education and vocational skills among children, women, the elderly and the differently abled, sits in Schedule VII alongside eradicating hunger, promoting health care including preventive health care, sanitation and safe drinking water. Education and health programmes are among the most common CSR activities in India.
Q·04Which companies must spend on CSR in India?
A company that, in the immediately preceding financial year, has a net worth of 500 crore rupees or more, a turnover of 1,000 crore rupees or more, or a net profit of 5 crore rupees or more falls under Section 135 and must spend on CSR.
Q·05How much must a covered company spend?
At least 2 percent of the average net profits made during the three immediately preceding financial years. A company that has not completed three financial years computes the average over the years since incorporation.
Q·06Is a CSR committee always required?
A covered company constitutes a CSR committee of three or more directors with at least one independent director, or two or more directors where an independent director is not required. Where the amount to be spent does not exceed 50 lakh rupees, the committee is not required and the board discharges its functions.
Q·07What environmental activities qualify under Schedule VII?
Clause four of Schedule VII covers ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of soil, air and water. Tree plantation, waste management, water conservation and community renewable energy projects sit naturally under this head.
Q·08What happens to CSR money that is not spent?
Unspent money tied to an ongoing project moves to a dedicated Unspent CSR Account within 30 days of the end of the financial year and must be spent within three financial years, failing which it goes to a fund specified in Schedule VII. Unspent money with no ongoing project behind it goes to a Schedule VII fund within six months of the end of the financial year.
Q·09When is an impact assessment mandatory?
A company with an average CSR obligation of 10 crore rupees or more in the three immediately preceding financial years must commission an independent impact assessment of CSR projects with outlays of 1 crore rupees or more that were completed at least one year earlier.
Q·10How is CSR reported?
The annual report of the board carries a CSR annexure covering the policy, the committee, the spend and the projects. In addition, the company files Form CSR-2, a report on CSR, as an addendum to Form AOC-4 with its annual financial statements.
08

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09

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A short conversation about the obligation, the company sustainability goals and the current lifecycle stage turns into a tailored CSR plan. Schedule a call directly or send a written brief.

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Maintained by GreenSutra · Last reviewed June 2026

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