For CSR & corporate teams
CSR funding for arts and culture in India — how does it work?
Under India's Companies Act, 2013, companies above certain thresholds of net worth, turnover or profit must spend on corporate social responsibility — and Schedule VII of the Act lists “protection of national heritage, art and culture” as an eligible CSR category. That means a corporate CSR budget can lawfully support heritage and cultural work, subject to the company's own CSR policy, its board's approval, and the rules on how CSR money is channelled.
Published by Bhavya Kavikala Arts, a devotional-theatre company in Jaipur, Rajasthan, whose productions are already staged with named title sponsors and cultural partners.
What does the Companies Act, 2013 actually say?
Two pieces matter. Section 135 sets out who must do CSR: companies that cross specified thresholds of net worth, turnover or net profit must constitute a CSR committee and spend at least two per cent of their average net profits of the preceding three financial years on CSR activities.
Schedule VII sets out what counts. Its list of eligible activities includes — alongside education, health and rural development — the protection of national heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art, and the promotion and development of traditional art and handicrafts. Culture is not a grey area in Indian CSR; it is named in the statute.
Is sponsorship the same as CSR?
No — and the distinction is worth getting right before any money moves. Sponsorship that buys branding and visibility is generally treated as marketing expenditure: you pay, your name appears, your business benefits directly. CSR expenditure, by contrast, is meant to benefit the public rather than the spender — the CSR rules exclude activities undertaken mainly for the benefit of the company's own marketing.
In practice, many companies support the arts through both routes, kept separate on the books: a marketing budget funds the sponsorship that carries the logo, and a CSR budget funds heritage or cultural work structured to qualify under Schedule VII. How a specific contribution should be classified is a question for your CSR committee and auditors, not for a theatre company's website.
How do companies typically structure arts partnerships?
A few patterns come up again and again. Some companies fund through registered implementing agencies, since the CSR rules require CSR money to flow through entities registered for that purpose. Some present or co-present specific productions as a sponsorship, the way Mayur Uniquoters, Okay Plus Group and Kedia Builders have presented ours. Some underwrite a season or a tour as a multi-year commitment, which cultural organisations value most because it lets them plan. And some build employee and community engagement around the work itself — hosting staff, clients or a community audience at a performance.
The common thread: the company decides what it wants — public benefit, brand association, or both — and then picks the structure and the budget line that fit.
What should you check before funding a cultural organisation?
Three sensible questions. First, does the work itself hold up — is there a real repertoire, real productions, a record you can inspect? (Ours is public: twelve devotional themes, eight staged, eight newspaper clippings and broadcast coverage, and a page of numbers we stand behind.) Second, if you intend to classify the spend as CSR, does the structure satisfy your CSR policy and the registration requirements — a question your advisors should answer before anything is signed. Third, is the organisation willing to have that conversation honestly rather than waving a certificate at you?
How could a partnership with Bhavya Kavikala Arts look?
We are a Jaipur devotional theatre company — 60+ artists, a 40-foot LED backdrop, productions of the Ramayan, Radha Krishna Leela, Meera Ke Mohan and more, premiered at the B M Birla Auditorium with First India News. If your interest is brand-side, our three partnership tiers are the starting point, and what brands get from sponsoring devotional theatre sets out the case. If your interest is CSR-side, talk to us about structure: tell us what your CSR policy requires, and we will work out with you — and your advisors — whether and how a partnership can be shaped to fit it.
This page is general information about India's CSR framework, not legal or tax advice. Classification of any contribution is a decision for your company's CSR committee and advisors.