{"id":1251,"date":"2025-10-03T10:57:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T05:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:00:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T05:30:26","slug":"business-responsibility-sustainability-report-upsc-prelims-question-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/business-responsibility-sustainability-report-upsc-prelims-question-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report: UPSC Prelims Question 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Consider the following statements:<\/strong><br>I. The Reserve Bank of India mandates all the listed companies in India to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).<br>II. In India, a company submitting a BRSR makes disclosures in the report that are largely non-financial in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which of the statements given above is\/are correct?<br>[A] I only<br>[B] II only<br>[C] Both I and II<br>[D] Neither I nor II<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Answer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Correct Option: [B] II only<\/strong> \u2705<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Statement I is incorrect:<\/strong> It is <strong>not the Reserve Bank of India<\/strong> but the <strong>Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)<\/strong> which mandates BRSR submission. As per <strong>SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015<\/strong>, the <strong>top 1,000 listed companies in India (by market capitalisation)<\/strong> must file the BRSR annually.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Statement II is correct:<\/strong> The BRSR is primarily a <strong>non-financial disclosure framework<\/strong>, covering <strong>Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)<\/strong> parameters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report<\/strong> is an <strong>annual disclosure<\/strong> where companies report how responsibly they operate in terms of <strong>Environment, Social responsibility, and Governance (ESG)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Introduced by <strong>SEBI<\/strong> in 2021\u201322 (mandatory from FY 2022\u201323 onwards).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It evolved from earlier <strong>Business Responsibility Reports (BRR)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provides <strong>transparency<\/strong> for stakeholders (investors, employees, consumers, regulators).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can quote BRSR in GS 4 Business Ethics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prepared by the <strong>Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)<\/strong> with help of the <strong>Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA)<\/strong> in 2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inspired by <strong>United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus: businesses must act ethically, sustainably, and responsibly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>BRSR report is based on the guidelines of NGRBC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>United Nations Guiding Principles (2011)<\/strong> rest on three pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>State\u2019s duty<\/strong> to protect human rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Corporate responsibility<\/strong> to respect human rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Access to remedies<\/strong> for violations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Components of a BRSR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A BRSR broadly follows the <strong>Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Component<\/th><th>What it Covers<\/th><th>Example Disclosure<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Environmental<\/strong><\/td><td>Resource use, emissions, waste<\/td><td>Energy use, water use, carbon footprint<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Social<\/strong><\/td><td>Employees, community, consumers<\/td><td>Workforce diversity, wages, safety, CSR work<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Governance<\/strong><\/td><td>Ethics, transparency, compliance<\/td><td>Anti-bribery policy, risk management, board practices<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nine Principles of BRSR (NGRBC)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <strong>Mnemonic: \u201cETHICAL SAFE GROWTH\u201d<\/strong> (E\u2013Ethics, S\u2013Safety, G\u2013Growth, H\u2013Human rights, C\u2013Consumers, E\u2013Environment, P\u2013Policy, I\u2013Inclusiveness, S\u2013Stakeholders).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with integrity, ethics, transparency, and accountability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide goods and services sustainably and safely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote the well-being of all employees, including in value chains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Respect interests of stakeholders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Respect and promote human rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protect and restore the environment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Engage responsibly in policy and regulation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote inclusive growth and equitable development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide value to consumers in a responsible manner.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in Simple Words<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Environmental<\/strong>: How business impacts nature (pollution, waste, resources).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social<\/strong>: How it impacts people (workers, customers, community).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Governance<\/strong>: How it is managed (ethics, transparency, anti-corruption).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 Think of ESG as the <strong>\u201cGood Citizen Test\u201d for companies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Established: <strong>2008<\/strong> (under Ministry of Corporate Affairs) &#8211; Another Possible Question of Ministry<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nature: <strong>Autonomous institute + Think Tank<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Functions: Research, training, policy support on corporate governance and CSR.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helped MCA draft the <strong>NGRBC (2019)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practice Prelims Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Which institution mandates the top 1,000 listed companies in India to file a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)?<br>[A] Reserve Bank of India<br>[B] Securities and Exchange Board of India<br>[C] Ministry of Corporate Affairs<br>[D] Department of Revenue<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Answer: [B] Securities and Exchange Board of India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> Which of the following is <em>not<\/em> a part of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors?<br>[A] Workforce diversity<br>[B] Air emissions<br>[C] Corporate bribery policies<br>[D] Dividend payout ratio<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Answer: [D] Dividend payout ratio<\/strong> (It is a financial disclosure, not ESG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/income-of-rbi-upsc-prelims-2025\/\">Sources of Income of RBI: UPSC Prelims 2025 Question 2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/alternative-investment-funds-upsc-prelims-2025\/\">Alternative Investment Funds\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/key-government-directorates-under-department-of-revenue-upsc-prelims-2025-q3-set-a\/\">Key Government Directorates under Department of Revenue<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs on BRSR<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759468753465\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q1. Is BRSR mandatory for all companies in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Only the <strong>top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation<\/strong> are mandated by SEBI to submit BRSR. Others may file voluntarily.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759468769566\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q2. How is BRSR different from financial reporting?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Financial reports cover profit, loss, assets, and liabilities, whereas <strong>BRSR covers non-financial aspects like sustainability, ethics, and social impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759468782262\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q3. Does BRSR replace Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. <strong>CSR reporting<\/strong> is about spending 2% of profits on social causes (as per Companies Act, 2013). <strong>BRSR<\/strong> is about overall business responsibility and sustainability practices.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759468794657\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q4. Is BRSR linked to global frameworks?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, it aligns with frameworks like <strong>Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)<\/strong> and <strong>United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sebi.gov.in\/sebi_data\/commondocs\/may-2021\/Business%20responsibility%20and%20sustainability%20reporting%20by%20listed%20entitiesAnnexure1_p.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Official BRSR Report <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consider the following statements:I. The Reserve Bank of India mandates all the listed companies in India to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).II. In India, a company submitting a BRSR makes disclosures in the report that are largely non-financial in nature. Which of the statements given above is\/are correct?[A] I only[B] II only[C] [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-upsc-prelims","category-economics","category-prelims-2025"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report.jpg",2048,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report-1024x1024.jpg",1024,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report-1536x1536.jpg",1536,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bussiness-responsibility-and-sustainability-report.jpg",2048,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Varun Jain","author_link":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/author\/pushkaragarwal\/"},"uagb_comment_info":2,"uagb_excerpt":"Consider the following statements:I. The Reserve Bank of India mandates all the listed companies in India to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).II. In India, a company submitting a BRSR makes disclosures in the report that are largely non-financial in nature. Which of the statements given above is\/are correct?[A] I only[B] II only[C]&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1254,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions\/1254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}