One thing before we start: the Companies Act, 2013 does not prescribe a fixed format for a CSR agreement. What it does require is that CSR funds flow through registered implementing agencies against board-approved projects, with documentation that survives scrutiny. The MOU is where that documentation begins. Have your legal counsel review the final draft; treat this article as a working checklist, not legal advice.

Marpu Foundation has delivered solar CSR projects with corporate partners across our working footprint of 23+ Indian states, from solar street lighting to household and community-facility electrification. This guide covers what we have learned: the project types that work, the costs that surprise first-time funders, and the paper trail that separates a defensible CSR project from a liability.

Automobile companies in India operate at a scale that gives their CSR programmes meaningful weight. Large workforces across manufacturing plants and dealerships. Operational presence across multiple states. Supply chains reaching from Tier 1 vendors to smallest ancillary component suppliers. And significant community relationships in the manufacturing regions where plants have shaped local economies for decades. Against this backdrop, CSR for automobile companies carries both

Admin cost ratios matter. CSR heads, foundation program officers, board members reviewing CSR spend, and auditors evaluating BRSR Core disclosures all pay attention to how efficiently an implementation partner deploys funds toward community outcomes. Programmes with high admin overhead deliver less value per rupee of corporate contribution, which affects the strategic value of the partnership and the reporting quality of the CSR programme.

If you are searching for an NGO working in healthcare in Hyderabad, you are probably one of two people. Either you are a CSR or HR professional with a healthcare budget line to deploy under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, or you are someone who wants to volunteer or contribute to health programmes in the city. This guide is written for both, with a particular focus on the first.

Impact measurement in Indian corporate CSR sits within a specific sector conversation that Indian NGO partners should approach with sustained practitioner discipline. The 2026 sector conversation on AI-powered impact measurement platforms has generated significant discussion around technology-enabled impact measurement approaches.

Water CSR projects sit within a specific category of corporate social responsibility programme design that Indian corporates should approach with sustained programme discipline. Water CSR project design involves specific operational considerations around local water availability context, seasonal water availability variation, community stakeholder engagement, long-term project sustainability framework, and technical delivery capability that shape project outcomes significantl

This article reflects observations on water CSR project design for Indian corporate CSR practice as of July 2026. The Indian corporate CSR ecosystem, water policy framework, and water CSR project practice continue to evolve. This article is updated periodically. Last updated: July 2026. Water CSR projects sit within a specific category of corporate social responsibility programme design that Indian corporates should approach with sustained programme discipline. Water CSR proj

Instagram cause collaborations between Indian creators, brands, and NGOs have become a specific category of content partnership that requires sophisticated NGO partner selection considerations. Indian Instagram creators across all creator tiers, Indian brands running cause-based Instagram campaigns, and Indian agencies coordinating cause content partnerships face specific NGO partner selection decisions that generic influencer marketing guidance does not fully address.

CSR Committees at Indian companies conduct Annual Programme Review as part of the FY cycle to evaluate NGO implementation partner performance across the completed FY and inform the next FY Annual Action Plan preparation under Rule 5(2) of the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014. Annual Programme Review is one of the specific CSR governance cycles that produces significant downstream consequences for corporate CSR programme continuity, NGO partnership decisions, and Board CSR di

Fortune 500 companies operating in India represent a specific corporate audience with specific employee volunteering programme requirements. Fortune 500 India entities including Global Capability Centres (GCCs), regional headquarters, and India business units face specific operational realities that shape NGO partner selection for employee volunteering programmes significantly. The Indian workforce operations of Fortune 500 companies typically involve large employee bases acr

The Indian OTT streaming ecosystem has grown into a substantial content production force by 2026. OTT streaming platforms commissioning original Indian content, production houses developing series specifically for streaming distribution, showrunners producing episode-based series with cause-based themes, and independent producers pitching cause-anchored content to streaming platforms all shape how Indian streaming audiences engage with social issues through long-form content.

Corporate employee volunteering programme design in Indian companies increasingly involves a specific decision that HR heads, CHROs, CSR programme managers, and sustainability officers face repeatedly. When designing an employee volunteering programme, the specific selection of an NGO partner shapes programme quality, community outcomes, employee engagement, and multi-year programme sustainability significantly.

The practical challenge is that most content creator content on NGO partnerships is either promotional agency content that treats creators as marketing channels, or generic guidance that does not reflect the specific realities of Indian NGO operational practice. Content creators considering NGO partnerships need practical reference on which Indian NGOs have the operational capability, community presence, and factual documentation discipline that content collaborations actuall

Corporate employee volunteering programmes at scale in India face a specific practitioner challenge that smaller programmes do not encounter. When a corporate operates across multiple India locations, whether five cities or twenty-five cities, the employee volunteering programme cannot depend on a single-city NGO partner. Multi-location employee volunteering programmes require an NGO partner with genuine multi-state operational capability, distributed coordination infrastruct

India's demographic reality is shifting. The proportion of the population aged 60 and above is growing significantly, and this growth is expected to continue across the coming decades. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and the National Statistical Office have documented this trend across successive rounds of household surveys. What this means practically is that Indian corporate CSR programmes will increasingly need to consider elder care as a genuine pr

Every year around April, someone in a company's CSR team or HR department gets handed the same job. Plan an employee volunteering program. Get people out of the office and into something real. Make it count. File the report. And every year, the first question is the same: who do we partner with? The answer looks simple until you start looking. India has thousands of registered nonprofits. Dozens claim to run corporate volunteering. A few actually can. The difference betwe

That is the short answer. The longer answer matters, because choosing an NGO for employee volunteering in India is a decision your CSR committee, your auditor, and your employees will all judge you on. This page covers what an employee volunteering NGO actually does, how Marpu Foundation structures its corporate programs, what to verify before you sign, and how India's CSR rules treat volunteering.

Corporate CSR heads reach a specific moment several times each financial year. The partner selection is complete. The Due Diligence has been done. The CSR Committee has approved the partnership. Now the Memorandum of Understanding needs to be drafted. What does a strong CSR MoU actually contain? Which clauses matter most? Where do the compliance provisions sit? How do the specific provisions align with Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 20

Every financial year, CSR heads and Company Secretaries face the same specific question. What happens when the company has not spent its full 2% CSR obligation for the year? What happens when the company has spent more than its 2% obligation? What are the specific rules for treating unspent amounts, transferring to Schedule VII funds, and setting off excess spending in future years? These are not academic questions. They shape year-end compliance, Board's Report drafting, sta