Since 2002, Vikram “Vik” Uppal has spearheaded the humanitarian efforts of the Aid India Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the basic needs of underserved Indian communities. As co-founder of the San Francisco-based nonprofit, Vikram Uppal is instrumental in organizing events and seeking out effective partnerships that provide food, housing, medicine, and other goods to those in need.
In April 2014, India became the first country to require corporations to make charitable contributions. A new addition to the country’s body of company law required all companies reporting annual revenues in excess of 10 billion rupees (approximately 150 US dollars) to donate a portion of it to charity. Under the law, businesses can choose to support initiatives in the areas of education, hunger, poverty, or gender equality, but must contribute at least 2 percent of their net profit to the selected cause.
India’s groundbreaking legislative change greatly increased annual charitable spending from the corporate sector. Independent sources report that collective private-sector donations skyrocketed from approximately 33.67 billion rupees in 2013 to some 250 billion rupees after the law went into effect. Experts also note that the new law has brought corporate responsibility to the forefront of corporate operations, as companies now have a legal obligation to create effective corporate social responsibility strategies.
However, some fear that the law does not go far enough in ensuring corporate social responsibility. According to a survey by accounting agency KPMG, 52 of India’s 100 largest companies did not direct 2 percent of their profits to a charitable cause.
