India: Guidelines on the Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has published an updated edition of its Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility (2009), now titled the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business: see here (pdf). The Guidelines contain nine principles with supporting 'core elements'. For example, principle one provides that "Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with Ethics, Transparency and Accountability", and its first core element explains that "Businesses should develop governance structures, procedures and practices that ensure ethical conduct at all levels; and promote the adoption of this principle across its value chain".