Corporate Social Responsibility Policy


W.e.f.: March 30, 2022                                                                                                 Current Version No.: Version 5

Previous Revision Date

Previous Version

October 23, 2020 4 
 March 30, 2020

August 30, 2019

2

March 22, 2019 1 


1.Background:

In conformity with the requirements laid down under Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 (the” Act”) and The Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the "CSR Rules”) as amended from time to time, issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ("MCA”), the CSR Committee of the Board has formulated a CSR Policy which has been subsequently approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. This Policy shall act as a guideline for the Company for undertaking CSR activities in line with the Company’s CSR mission as stated in the policy. The Policy is available on the website of the Company at www.acuite.in.

2. Preamble:

Acuité Ratings & Research Limited (hereinafter referred to as "the Company”), realizes the impact that it can have on communities in which it operates and believes that it has an opportunity to change the lives of these communities and aims to be a partner in contributing to the social, economic and environmental development of India. All CSR projects will be in line with the CSR vision, as well as areas listed in Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and such CSR projects will be undertaken in India.

3. CSR Objectives:

As a responsible corporate citizen, the Company is committed to sustainable development and inclusive growth. Acuite’s CSR activity shall majorly focus on the following areas:

i. Addressing issues of education among the underprivileged and create employment enhancing opportunities through vocational skills training among youth, women, elderly and differently abled persons;

ii. Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting healthcare including preventive healthcare and sanitation and making available safe drinking water;

iii. Promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans, setting up old age homes, day care centers and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;

iv. Supporting NGOs to undertake activities in the areas of financial literacy, school dropout prevention, career guidance, counselling, women empowerment, education awareness, advocacy of banking and safe and fair market practices, digital literacy, risk management, investor education, etc.;

v. Ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agro-forestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of soil, air and water;

vi. Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) veterans and their dependents including widows;

vii. Providing for development of Local Area (area in the city in which Acuite’s offices are located) in terms of providing assistance and infrastructure to local bodies, schools and public places etc.;

viii. Protecting national heritage, art and culture, including the restoration of buildings, sites of historical importance, and works of art; setting up public libraries; reviving, promoting and developing traditional arts and handicrafts;

ix. Disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities;

x.  Any other activity as may be deemed fit by the Committee in accordance with Schedule VII of the Act.

4. CSR Expenditure:

For achieving CSR objectives through implementation of meaningful and sustainable CSR programmes, Acuite shall annually contribute at least 2% of average net profit for the last three years towards CSR activities. For this purpose, the net profit and average net profit shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 198 of the Act read with the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 as amended from time to time. CSR contribution for the year will be determined by Acuite’s CSR Committee at the beginning of each calendar year based on audited financial statements for the last three years.

Acuite will strive to spend the budgeted CSR amount every year. However, any unspent CSR allocation of a particular year, will be treated accordance with the Rules framed under the Companies Act, 2013. Any ‘Income’ or ‘Surplus’ that may arise from its CSR activities would be included in the CSR corpus and will not form part of business profits of the Company.

The administrative overheads shall not exceed five percent of total CSR Expenditure of the Company for the financial year. If the Company spends an amount in excess of the CSR Expenditure in any financial year, the Board shall pass a resolution stating that such excess amount may be set off against the CSR Expenditure which is required to be spent in immediate three succeeding financial years.

Any unspent amount, other than unspent amount relating to an ongoing project, will be transferred to a Fund specified in Schedule VII, within a period of six months of the expiry of the financial year. Further, unspent CSR funds of ongoing projects will be transferred within a period of 30 days from the end of the financial year to a special account opened by the company in any scheduled bank called the "Unspent Corporate Social Responsibility Account”. Such amount shall be spent by the company towards CSR within a period of 3 financial years from the date of such transfer, failing which, the company shall transfer the same to a Fund specified in Schedule VII, within a period of 30 days from the date of completion of the third financial year.

5. Monitoring of CSR Projects:

The CSR Committee of the Board shall devise a "transparent monitoring mechanism” for the various CSR Projects / Programs / Activities undertaken by the Company including conduct of impact studies of CSR Projects / Programs on a periodic basis, wherever considered necessary. Simultaneously, it may also obtain feedback from various beneficiaries of CSR Projects / Activities / Programmes undertaken by the Company to measure their benefits, if deemed fit. The Committee and the Board shall review the progress of CSR activities at least once a year.

6. Governance

The Company has a well-defined and robust governance structure to oversee the implementation of the CSR Policy and monitoring of CSR projects as per the requirements of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. The Board level Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSR Committee) of the Company shall be responsible for formulating and recommending to the Board the CSR policy and a CSR annual action plan, provided that the Board may alter such plan at any time during the financial year, as per the recommendation of its CSR Committee, based on reasonable justification to that effect. The CSR Committee reports to the Company’s Board of Directors.

The CSR Annual Action Plan shall include the following:

  1. the list of CSR projects or programmes that are approved to be undertaken in areas or subjects specified in Schedule VII of the Act.
  2. the manner of execution of such projects or programmes,
  3. the modalities of utilization of funds and implementation schedules for the projects or programmes,
  4. monitoring and reporting mechanism for the projects or programmes and
  5. details of need and impact assessment, if any, for the projects undertaken by the company.

7. Roles & Responsibilities of the Committee

  • Formulate, monitor and recommend to the Board the CSR Policy;
  • Recommend to the Board, the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the activities undertaken;
  • Review the performance of the Company in the area of CSR including the evaluation of the impact of the Company’s CSR Activities;
  • Review the Company’s disclosure of CSR matters;
  • Recommend the deployment strategy for CSR Activities, through partnerships with various agencies, intermediaries and foundations, advisee on outreach channels, including social media and IT interfaces;
  • Consider other functions, as defined by the Board, or as may be stipulated under any law, rule or regulation, and the Companies Act, 2013.
  • 8. CSR Activities / Projects / Programs:

    At the beginning of each financial year, the Company will prepare a list of CSR Projects / Activities / Programmes which it proposes to undertake during the financial year, specifying the modalities of execution in the areas / sectors chosen with implementation schedules for consideration by the CSR Committee and thereafter approval of the Board. The Company may take up any other Activities / Projects / Programs as it may consider appropriate and obtain necessary ratification by the CSR Committee / Board. The CSR activities of the Company shall not include any benefits which are exclusively for the employees of the Company or their family members.

    9. Amendment to the Policy:

    This policy is framed based on the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and rules framed thereunder. In the event of any inconsistency between this Policy and the applicable laws, the applicable laws will prevail. The Policy shall stand amended in case of any statutory modifications / amendments in the Act or Rules pertaining to CSR to the extent of such amendment.

    10. Policy Review

    This policy shall be reviewed by the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee as and when any changes are to be incorporated in the policy due to change in regulations or as may be felt appropriate by the Committee. The Board of Directors of the Company shall have the powers to revise / modify / amend this Policy from time to time, based on the recommendations made by the CSR Committee.