The Political Economy of Corporate Responsibility in India

The Political Economy of Corporate Responsibility in India takes on the topic of socioeconomic development in India under different economic governance frameworks since the 1950s, and how each has given rise to a large number of interrelated concerns, including impacts on employment and distribution of income, emergence of new forms of vulnerabilities, weakened state structures, imbalanced demographics with sub-national disparities, environmental and biomass degeneration, and dismal performance on several human development indicators.

The book includes information on the ways that institutional actors, including private sector corporations, have responded to these challenges. In addition, the increased focus and pressures by campaigners on corporations to not only minimize harm, but also maximize benefits emanating from their operations has put many leading global corporations in the line of fire, creating a profound influence in many countries, including India. This book documents these experiences in the Indian context and identifies the scope and limitations of corporations to address such concerns.