India's securities regulator requires the 1,000 largest listed companies to publish a sustainability report every year inside their annual report, covering environmental, social and governance performance.
The report has been compulsory since the financial year ending March 2023, and this financial year an independent third party checks core figures for all 1,000 companies for the first time.
Companies must report the emissions they produce directly and from the energy they buy (Scope 1 and 2); supply-chain emissions (Scope 3) and data on major suppliers and customers are each company's choice.
Companies choose an "assessment" against Indian industry standards or a formal assurance engagement; a new national assurance standard applies from April 2027.
| Regulator | Securities and Exchange Board of India, under Regulation 34(2)(f) of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, 2015. Stock exchanges rank companies and levy fines |
| Standard | The BRSR format, structured on the nine principles of India's National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, and BRSR Core, a subset of metrics under nine ESG attributes, both set out in SEBI's LODR Master Circular (last updated 30 January 2026) |
| Companies in scope | Top 1,000 listed entities by average market capitalisation from 1 July to 31 December, on lists the stock exchanges prepare each 31 December. Other listed entities, including SME exchange companies, can report voluntarily |
| Estimated population | 1,000 listed entities, fixed by the rule |
| First reporting year | Mandatory from financial year 2022-23 (voluntary in 2021-22), published in the Annual Report |
| Scope 3 required | No. Scope 3 is a voluntary leadership indicator. Value chain disclosures are voluntary for the top 250 from financial year 2025-26 |
| Assurance | BRSR Core assessment or assurance: top 150 from 2023-24, top 250 from 2024-25, top 500 from 2025-26, top 1,000 from 2026-27. Value chain assessment or assurance voluntary from 2026-27 |
| Penalty regime | Not specified in the rule for BRSR content. Stock exchanges fine a late Annual Report, which carries the BRSR, INR 2,000 per day |
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) requires the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation to publish a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR), including Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, in their Annual Report, and has done so since financial year 2022-23. In financial year 2026-27, the year now running, all 1,000 companies must also obtain independent assessment or assurance of a core set of metrics called BRSR Core, the last step of a glide path that started with the top 150 in 2023-24.
India built its regime in steps. The top 1,000 listed companies first filed a Business Responsibility Report, in a format SEBI set in November 2015. A circular of 10 May 2021 replaced it with the BRSR, voluntary for financial year 2021-22 and mandatory from 2022-23.
A circular of 12 July 2023 revised the format, created BRSR Core and set a reasonable assurance glide path starting with the top 150. Industry standards for BRSR Core, written by the Industry Standards Forum of ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI with SEBI, applied from 2024-25. A circular of 28 March 2025 added third-party assessment as an alternative to assurance and made value chain disclosures voluntary. SEBI consolidated these changes in its LODR Master Circular on 30 January 2026.
In-scope companies publish the BRSR as part of their Annual Report, with the BRSR Core metrics independently assessed or assured.
The BRSR: three sections covering general disclosures, management and process, and principle-wise performance against the nine National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct. Essential indicators are mandatory and leadership indicators voluntary, though SEBI states that companies "should endeavour to report the leadership indicators also".
Greenhouse gas emissions: Principle 6 requires total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in tonnes of CO2 equivalent for the current and previous year, with intensity per rupee of turnover, per rupee adjusted for purchasing power parity, and per unit of physical output. Companies disclose the standards, methodologies, emission factors and global warming potential sources they used, and whether an external agency assessed or assured the figures. Total Scope 3 emissions and intensity sit among the leadership indicators.
BRSR Core: the subset of metrics for third-party assessment or assurance, under nine attributes: greenhouse gas footprint, water footprint, energy footprint, circularity and waste, employee wellbeing and safety, gender diversity, inclusive development, fairness with customers and suppliers, and openness of business.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol as the measurement reference: the BRSR Core format states that greenhouse gas emissions "may be measured in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard", and its Scope 1 and Scope 2 definitions follow the Protocol.
The top 1,000 listed entities by market capitalisation file the BRSR, and the BRSR Core verification requirement reaches all 1,000 in financial year 2026-27.
Each stock exchange ranks listed entities on average market capitalisation from 1 July to 31 December and publishes the list as at 31 December. A new entrant puts systems in place by 1 April (or the start of the next financial year, if later) and reports in that year's Annual Report. A company stays in scope until it sits outside the top 1,000 for three consecutive years. Other listed entities, including SME exchange companies, can report voluntarily.
From financial year 2025-26 the top 250 can voluntarily report BRSR Core metrics for their value chain: upstream and downstream partners that each account for 2 per cent or more of purchases or sales by value, with coverage capped at 75 per cent if the company chooses. Companies that report disclose the percentage covered.
Supply-chain reach: the value chain definition carries no location test, so a supplier or customer anywhere in the world that crosses the 2 per cent line sits inside a top-250 company's disclosure. Regulation 34(2)(f) already provides for value chain disclosure and assessment or assurance "with effect from and in the manner as may be specified by the Board", so SEBI sets the start date of any mandatory phase by circular.
Note on financial institutions: the Reserve Bank of India published a draft climate-related financial risk disclosure framework for banks, large non-bank lenders and all-India financial institutions on 28 February 2024, a separate regime from the BRSR.
| Milestone | Measurement year | First reporting date |
| BRSR introduced (Regulation 34(2)(f) amended 5 May 2021; circular 10 May 2021) | Financial year 2021-22 (voluntary) | 2022 Annual Report |
| BRSR mandatory for the top 1,000 (Scope 1 and Scope 2) | Financial year 2022-23 | 2023 Annual Report |
| Revised BRSR format and BRSR Core (circular 12 July 2023) | Financial year 2023-24 | 2024 Annual Report |
| BRSR Core reasonable assurance, top 150 | Financial year 2023-24 | 2024 Annual Report |
| Industry Standards Forum standards apply; BRSR Core assessment or assurance, top 250 | Financial year 2024-25 | 2025 Annual Report |
| Exchanges rank on six-month average market capitalisation | First list 31 December 2024 | From financial year 2025-26 |
| Value chain disclosures, top 250 (voluntary) | Financial year 2025-26 | 2026 Annual Report |
| BRSR Core assessment or assurance, top 500 | Financial year 2025-26 | 2026 Annual Report |
| BRSR Core assessment or assurance, top 1,000 | Financial year 2026-27 | 2027 Annual Report |
| Value chain assessment or assurance, top 250 (voluntary) | Financial year 2026-27 | 2027 Annual Report |
| ICAI Standard on Sustainability Assurance (SSA) 5000 effective | Periods beginning on or after 1 April 2027 | Financial year 2027-28 reports |
| Scope 3 mandatory | Not yet published | Not yet published |
For the first year of value chain reporting, previous-year figures are voluntary.
1. Supply-chain ripple across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Value chain partners are defined by share of purchases and sales, wherever they sit, so a top-250 company that reports its value chain asks suppliers and customers in India and abroad for BRSR Core figures on emissions, energy, water and waste. The top 250 can report this voluntarily today, and the regulation already holds the mechanism for SEBI to make it compulsory. A supplier engagement programme built now answers both voluntary and mandatory requests.
2. A national format with global reference points. India runs its own format, and the IFRS Foundation's jurisdiction tracker (updated 24 September 2026) carries no India profile. The building blocks travel: Scope 1 and Scope 2 definitions follow the GHG Protocol, and purchasing power parity intensity ratios were added "for better global comparability". A group with entities in India, the EU, Singapore or Australia can run one corporate carbon footprint and map it into each format.
3. Assurance standards are converging. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has issued SSA 5000 for engagements on periods beginning on or after 1 April 2027. It replaces SSAE 3000 and SAE 3410 and adapts the international ISSA 5000 with stated carve-outs.
Companies ranked 501 to 1,000 are in their first year of BRSR Core verification, and their assessor or assurance provider reviews the 2026-27 figures in 2027.
Establish your greenhouse gas inventory on the GHG Protocol. Scope 1 and Scope 2 are mandatory BRSR figures, with intensity per rupee, per PPP-adjusted rupee and per unit of output. Scope 3 is the leadership indicator SEBI asks companies to endeavour to report, so build it by category alongside them.
Map your value-chain exposure. List every supplier and customer at 2 per cent or more of purchases or sales, and check which of your own customers are top-250 Indian companies whose value chain reporting includes you.
Build assurance-ready processes early. BRSR Core metrics need source records, emission factors, calculation steps and review sign-off that a third party can test, whether you choose assessment or assurance. The assessor's first question is the auditor's: where did this number come from?
Build on the frameworks you already use. BRSR lets you cross-reference GRI, SASB, TCFD and Integrated Reporting, and CDP responses draw on the same Scope 1 and Scope 2 data. The new work is BRSR Core evidence across nine attributes and value chain coverage.
Terrascope's AI-powered platform helps companies operating in India and across Asia move from baseline emissions data to audit-ready disclosures, including Dyno Nobel, the explosives manufacturer that completed limited assurance over its global Scope 1 and 2 emissions, consolidated across operations on five continents including Asia, one year ahead of its mandatory deadline, and is extending to reasonable assurance of Scope 1 and 2 in 2026.
Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions measurement. Integrations pull energy, fuel and activity data from your source systems monthly (data in any format), so your BRSR inventory stays current across every plant and subsidiary.
Audit-ready reporting. Audit Trail makes every figure traceable from data entry to disclosure, with assessor and assurance-provider access built in, so your BRSR Core verification works from evidence.
Supply-chain intelligence. Analytics shows you where your Scope 3 hotspots and 2 per cent value chain partners sit, so voluntary value chain reporting becomes reduction planning.
Multi-framework alignment (Climate reporting). ISSB Reporting drafts IFRS S2 disclosures from your measured data, reviewed by your team, so the inventory behind your BRSR also serves overseas parents and investors.
Are you ready to get ahead of India's BRSR Core requirements? Speak to a Terrascope expert and see how we help companies move from baseline emissions data to audit-ready disclosures.