Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - hit or miss? And how is CSRinterlinked with Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? India became the first country in the world to write Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intolegislation, in April 2014, making it mandatory for companies to invest in sustainable development programs and activities. Even though this may sound great, India's business leaders are doubtful. India has a long tradition in the field of Human Rights and CSR and in line with that tradition, India is also committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), after signing the Agenda 2030 in 2015 which came into force at the beginning of 2016. (2021:UN in India). Historically, Human Rights have been deeply embedded in the Indian culture and religious belief systems to such an extent that many of the articles already existed or have been legislated or incorporatedinto national law, when the international declarations, conventions, and treaties were formed. CSR was also historically philanthropy deeply rooted in religious belief in the 1800s. Social Business practices inthe 1900s took a different form of philanthropic donations to charity, service to the community, enhancing employee welfare, and promoting religious conduct. The concept of CSR has then evolved from being regarded as damaging to a company’s profitability, to being considered as beneficial to the company as a whole, at least if done right. This essay aims to analyze the CSR status in India and focuses on finding, describing, and explaining the issues and challenges faced in India today through a human rights lens. How are Human Rights and the SDGs in India and Indian companies' relationship with CSR interlinked and which are the main factors that need to be taken into consideration by foreign companies, when investing in India and making partnerships with Indian companies, without unintentionally breaking laws or violating human rights? There is a trend of studies on CSR out there in the world, but very few have looked at the correlation to Human Rights and the Indian mandatory aspect of CSR and how it's working. Human Rights plays an important part in CSR activities in India as well as the SDGs, which include both social and environmental sustainability. This mix may look complex at first sight, but the concepts are all intertwined and may enhance each other. Respect for Human Rights or reaching the SDGs are good but not good enough if not complied with or verified. And to make that happen businesses and not only States need to review both the social and the ecological criteria as well as the due diligence process and the related assessment and compliance verification requirements to make sure they are on track. This essay will also point to important factors that need to be addressed and hopefully be very helpful in this aspect.