CSR for Women’s Skill Development in India: Schedule VII Explained

Every year, CSR teams in India have to answer the same question: which projects will turn this year’s CSR budget into change that lasts and can be measured? Programmes that train women for work are one of the strongest answers. They sit squarely within Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, and their outcomes, such as course completion, jobs and income, can be tracked and reported.

This guide is for CSR heads, foundation managers and finance teams considering CSR women skill development projects. It explains the legal basics of Section 135, the two Schedule VII items most relevant to women’s skills, what is worth funding, how to measure outcomes and how the Karuna Media Master Program fits. It is a practical overview, not legal advice, so always confirm the treatment of a specific project with your CSR committee and advisers.

Section 135 in brief

Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 applies to companies that, in the preceding financial year, had any one of the following:

• net worth of ₹500 crore or more;
• turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more;
• net profit of ₹5 crore or more.

These companies must spend at least 2% of their average net profits of the three immediately preceding financial years on CSR activities listed in Schedule VII, in line with a CSR policy approved by the board. The Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, as amended in 2021, set out how this works in practice, including the rules on implementing agencies, ongoing projects, unspent amounts and reporting.

Schedule VII items that cover women’s skill development

Item (ii): education and employment-enhancing vocational skills

Item (ii) covers promoting education, including special education and employment-enhancing vocational skills, especially among children, women, the elderly and the differently abled, as well as livelihood enhancement projects. Job-focused training for women is one of the clearest examples of this item, because the purpose is employment, not just learning.

Item (iii): gender equality and empowering women

Item (iii) covers promoting gender equality and empowering women, among other activities such as homes and hostels for women and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups. Programmes that give women from low-income families the skills and confidence to earn their own income contribute directly to this goal.

A well-designed women’s skills programme can therefore align with both items. Your CSR policy and annual action plan should state clearly which item or items a project falls under.

Who can implement your CSR project?

A company can run CSR projects directly or through an implementing agency. Under the CSR Rules, an implementing agency such as a registered public trust, a registered society or a Section 8 company generally needs to:

• be registered with the Central Government by filing Form CSR-1 on the MCA portal;
• hold registrations under Sections 12A and 80G of the Income-tax Act;
• have an established track record of at least three years in similar activities, for most independent organisations.

These are minimum requirements. Your due diligence should also cover governance, audited accounts, programme quality and reporting capacity.

Rules that shape multi-year skills projects

• Ongoing projects. The Rules allow ongoing projects that run beyond one financial year, which suits training programmes with a full annual cycle and placement phase.
• Unspent amounts. If money allocated to an ongoing project is unspent at the year end, it must be moved to a dedicated Unspent CSR Account within 30 days and spent within the following three financial years. Other unspent amounts generally go to a fund specified in Schedule VII.
• Administrative overheads. These are capped at 5% of the company’s total CSR expenditure for the year.
• Impact assessment. Companies with an average CSR obligation of ₹10 crore or more in the three immediately preceding financial years must commission an independent impact assessment for projects with outlays of ₹1 crore or more that have been completed for at least a year.
• Who benefits. Activities that benefit only a company’s own employees, or that fall in its normal course of business, do not count as CSR.

What to fund in a women’s skills programme

The most useful CSR grants pay for what actually changes outcomes:

• Training costs for learners, so more women can attend;
• trainer and mentor salaries, the single biggest driver of quality;
• studios, equipment and software that match what employers use;
• career services such as mock interviews, portfolios, industry visits and placement support;
• learner support such as counselling and well-being, which helps women complete the course;
• monitoring and evaluation, so you have credible data to report.

You can fund a whole cohort, a set number of student places, equipment or a specific component such as placement support.

How to measure outcomes

Agree indicators before the project starts, and ask for a baseline. Useful measures for women’s skill development include:

1. Number of women enrolled, against the target and the eligibility criteria.
2. Attendance and course completion rates.
3. Skills gained, shown through assessments and portfolio work.
4. Placement or self-employment within an agreed period after the course.
5. Income at entry and at a follow-up point, such as six or twelve months later.
6. Job retention and progression over time.
7. Qualitative change, such as confidence and decision-making, captured through surveys and case studies with consent.

Ask how the agency collects and verifies this data, how often it reports and whether it will share audited utilisation statements.

How the Karuna Media Master Program fits

Puppets Picture Education Trust (PPET), Noida, runs the Karuna Media Master Program (KMMP), a 12-month, studio-led programme for women aged 16 and above from low-income families. It trains learners in filmmaking, cinematography, video editing, audio, graphic design and AI content creation, followed by a three-month career development phase with industry masterclasses, interview preparation and placement support.

For CSR teams, KMMP is designed as an employment-focused vocational skills programme for women, which is the purpose described in Schedule VII items (ii) and (iii). How your company classifies a specific grant remains a decision for your CSR committee.

On our donate and partnership page, PPET lists its Trust Deed, 12A, 80G, CSR-1 and ISO 9001:2015 documents, along with downloadable audited financial statements. The page also explains that CSR partners receive quarterly reporting, audited statements and measurable student outcomes. The About page sets out the Trust’s governance and policies, and the infrastructure page shows the studios, newsroom and labs where students train.

Start a CSR conversation with PPET

If your team is planning CSR women skill development projects for this or next financial year, we would welcome your due diligence. Visit our donate page and use the CSR / Corporate Partnership option to request documents, a proposal or a site visit to our Noida studios. You can also email info@karunamedia.org with your company name, focus areas and timelines, and our team will respond.

Invest in skills that become livelihoods

A women’s skills programme succeeds when its graduates are earning, not when the training ends. Choose a partner that measures what matters, reports transparently and keeps learners at the centre. That is how a CSR budget becomes a career, and a career becomes a family’s way forward.