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Prior research studies have discussed the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) during crisis situations in increasing the resilience and sustainability of the companies. There are two basic models of crisis management – reactive and proactive. When a crisis occurs, suddenly firms tend to act reactively and progressively take proactive steps to manage the crisis. CSR can also be reactive and proactive during crisis situations. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to explore whether CSR during the COVID-19 pandemic moved from a reactive to a proactive stance, with specific focus on CSR legislation, corporate CSR response and corporate thinking about CSR.

This paper adopts a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative research designs. This study draws upon both primary and secondary data.

The results highlighted the change in the CSR approach from being reactive to being proactive as the pandemic progressed. This was observed through the increase in frequency of CSR legislation, and the shift in the intent of CSR legislation from “prompting to donate” to “prompting to volunteer.” Similarly, the shift in reactive to proactive CSR corporate response was observed through the increased spending on CSR and improved COVID-related CSR reporting.

This study recommends companies to manage crises by becoming more proactive. CSR activities need to be closely aligned with national developmental objectives, and collaborate with various stakeholders to achieve the intended outcomes of the activities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research paper is one of the few to study the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on CSR in India at a time when India went through three waves of the pandemic. This study corroborates with other studies in terms of managing crisis.

This paper examines the prices of fishery products (an important source of protein for the poor) and drivers of their inter-regional variations in India, where fishery is a critical sector. By explaining regional price differences, we make an attempt to derive policy implications as to how fish price inflation can be controlled.

The paper is primarily based on secondary data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. In the absence of data on inter-regional trade, appropriate indicators are constructed using the gravity model to capture supply side factors that may influence regional price differences. Pooled regressions are carried out for a representative marine and an aquaculture fish variety separately for the period 2011 to 2017.

After controlling for income levels, it is found that marine fish prices can be reduced by improving intra-state transport infrastructure. For reducing the price of aquacultures, it is shown that it is imperative to reduce the distance between producers and consumers.

The study is limited by the availability of data on interstate trade and consumption of fish and has only used prices of representative fish varieties instead of average marine and aquaculture fish prices.

This paper considers trade and value chain based business theories to explain regional price differences. It analyzes the drivers of relative price differences and suggests measures to control them using a gravity model of trade.