Social Responsibility India.
Know exactly where you stand.

SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) is a social audit framework widely used by global retailers and brands to assess supplier labour practices. It covers labour standards (wages, working hours, child labour, freedom of association), health and safety, environment, and business ethics. UK, EU, and US retailers (Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Walmart, H&M) routinely require SMETA audits from their Indian suppliers. SMETA 4-pillar audit takes 1–2 days on-site. Reports are uploaded to the Sedex platform and shared with requesting buyers.

Employee PF (Provident Fund): mandatory for all businesses with 20+ employees; employer contributes 12% of basic salary; employee contributes 12%. ESI (Employee State Insurance): mandatory for businesses with 10+ employees where any employee earns below ₹21,000/month; employer contributes 3.25% of gross wages, employee 0.75%. Gratuity: payable to any employee who completes 5+ years of service — 15 days salary per year of service. Maternity benefit: 26 weeks paid maternity leave for the first two children for businesses with 10+ employees. Non-compliance penalties: fines, prosecution, and blacklisting from government procurement.

CSR spending is mandatory under the Companies Act 2013 for companies meeting any of these thresholds in the preceding financial year: net worth ₹500Cr+, turnover ₹1,000Cr+, or net profit ₹5Cr+. Such companies must spend 2% of average net profit from the preceding 3 years on CSR activities in Schedule VII. Most Indian SMEs fall below these thresholds and are not mandated. However, voluntary CSR activities and community engagement are positive BRSR and ESG indicators that strengthen relationships with large buyers, lenders, and government authorities.

BRSR requires listed companies to disclose: number of male and female permanent employees, number of male and female contract employees, percentage of women in senior management and on the board, and pay ratio between male and female employees in the same grade. BRSR does not set a target percentage — it requires disclosure of the current state. However, EU CSDD and many global buyers' supplier codes of conduct include gender equity expectations. IBEAN's social assessment benchmarks your gender diversity against sector peers and identifies practical improvement steps.