India’s New BRSR Mandate: What the 2025 Amendments Mean for Businesses

India’s corporate sustainability landscape is undergoing a major transformation. With the rollout of BRSR Core, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is tightening ESG disclosure norms, making reporting more uniform, auditable, and accountable. For companies navigating this shift, the new mandates are not just about compliance — they’re about corporate credibility, long-term risk management, and investor trust.

What Is BRSR Core?

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) Core is a revised framework developed by SEBI to elevate the quality and reliability of non-financial disclosures made by Indian companies.

While ESG reporting under the original BRSR framework became mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies in FY2022-23, BRSR Core introduces a narrower, deeper, and assurance-backed layer of disclosures. This includes key performance indicators (KPIs) that cut across environmental, social, and governance dimensions — with a focus on transparency, standardization, and verification.

Who Needs to Comply — and When?

The implementation timeline of BRSR Core reflects SEBI’s phased but firm approach:

  • FY 2023-24: Top 150 listed companies required to voluntarily report BRSR Core

  • FY 2024-25: The same companies must report mandatorily and obtain reasonable assurance on select KPIs

  • FY 2026-27: SEBI aims to expand the requirement to the top 250 listed companies

This phase-in approach gives companies some time to build internal systems and improve reporting capabilities — but the direction is clear: sustainability disclosures will soon be held to the same standard as financial ones.

Why These Amendments Matter

The 2025 BRSR updates are significant for several reasons:

1. Audit-Ready ESG Disclosures

Until now, many companies published broad ESG commitments without third-party validation. BRSR Core mandates assurance on specific metrics, ensuring that ESG claims are backed by evidence and methodology.

2. Sector-Neutral KPIs

BRSR Core is designed to be applicable across industries — pushing all companies to report against a common set of benchmarks. This makes cross-sector comparison easier for investors and analysts.

3. Increased Investor Scrutiny

Global capital flows are increasingly tied to sustainability metrics. SEBI’s move aligns India’s disclosure norms with global frameworks, helping businesses stay competitive on the international stage.

4. Reputational and Operational Risk Management

The updated disclosures touch on emissions, supply chain accountability, workforce well-being, and corporate governance. These are no longer peripheral issues — they are core to business resilience and stakeholder trust.

Are Indian Companies Ready?

For most businesses, aligning with BRSR Core won’t be a simple plug-and-play. It requires:

  • Systematic tracking of ESG performance

  • Standardized data collection across departments

  • Governance frameworks to validate and approve sustainability data

  • Independent assurance partnerships to meet verification requirements

This shift will demand collaboration between sustainability teams, finance departments, auditors, and external consultants. Companies that begin preparing now will not only be better placed to meet SEBI’s deadlines — they’ll also gain a competitive edge.

Looking Ahead: A Strategic Moment for Indian Businesses

While some may see the BRSR Core requirements as a compliance burden, it’s better viewed as an opportunity to rethink how sustainability is integrated into corporate DNA. Standardized disclosures can improve internal decision-making, investor relations, and stakeholder transparency — all while building resilience in an increasingly climate-conscious economy.

Want to Dive Deeper?

At NeoImpact, we recently broke down the BRSR 2025 amendments in detail, offering insights on compliance strategies and how businesses can prepare for the shift.

Read the full guide here:
BRSR Amendments 2025: What Indian Businesses Should Know

Whether you're a listed entity or an unlisted company considering voluntary alignment, this article provides a practical overview of the road ahead.

Conclusion

SEBI’s BRSR Core is more than a new reporting format — it’s a signal that non-financial disclosures are now fundamental to corporate accountability. Companies that proactively embrace this shift will not only meet regulatory expectations but also earn the trust of global stakeholders.

The time to act is now — before compliance becomes a scramble.

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