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The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has come up with national guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC), urging businesses to actualise the principles in letter and spirit.
For this purpose, the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGS) have also been revised.
Some of the principles for NGRBC state businesses should conduct and govern themselves with integrity in a manner that is ethical, transparent and accountable; provide goods and services in a manner that is sustainable and safe; respect and promote the well-being of all employees and the interests of all their stakeholders; and the businesses should respect and promote human rights.
Responsible practices
The MCA has been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct by companies. As a first step towards mainstreaming the concept of business responsibility, the Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility were issued in 2009. These guidelines were subsequently revised as NVGS after extensive consultations with business, academia, civil society organisations and the government. The NVGs were developed based on India’s socio-cultural context and priorities as well as global best practices.
There have been various national and international developments in the past decade that have nudged businesses to be sustainable and more responsible, the top most being the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs). These became the key drivers for further revision of the guidelines. Some of these include the thrust of Companies Act, 2013 (Act) on businesses to be more mindful of their stakeholders. The Act casts fiduciary duties on the Directors of a Company (S. 166) requiring them to promote the objects of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in the best interests of the company, its employees, the shareholders, the community and for the protection of environment .
An official release said that the MCA is also in the process of developing India’s National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights (NAP) in consultation with various Ministries and State Governments by 2020. A Zero Draft of India’s NAP demonstrating implementation of the three pillars of UNGPs has also been released and uploaded on the website of the Ministry, the release added.
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