India, Aug. 24 -- When we flip through the world's business history, we find that all large mercantile communities were great patrons of the art of philanthropy. They regarded it a divine tradition. The world today is witnessing a growing realisation in enterprises of the importance of altruism. Hence, a great deal of money has been flowing into the social sector. Like individual citizens who have moral and social responsibilities, businesses are being perceived as corporate citizens who need to commit time, talent and resources for welfare of society as they draw their sustenance from it. This idea has now been corporatised under the appellation, Corporate Social Responsibility, better known as CSR .

A social responsibility: CSR is a co...