India Releases Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Governance and Responsibility

( New Delhi, 24 December 2009 ) – Today the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in India released a set of voluntary guidelines on Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility. Released at the conclusion of the first-ever India Corporate Week, the guidelines incorporate all Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. 

Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Corporate Affairs, presided over the event. Shri Khurshid underscored various developmental challenges that need to be addressed while assuring continued corporate growth and emphasized the need for collaborative solutions and partnerships among Government, the business sector, civil society organizations and citizens to address these challenges. The corporate sector was urged to adopt these voluntary guidelines as a means to facilitate value generation throughout all societal sectors    

India is the latest Government to reference the UN Global Compact principles in formal CSR guidelines or strategies, as has previously been done in Norway and Denmark.

• Ministry of Corporate Affairs - Corporate Governance Voluntary Guidelines 2009
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs - Corporate Social Responsibility Voluntary Guidelines 2009