The present article aims to underscore the role of state in developing the context within which corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged in India. The paper traces the trajectory of the Indian economy through the five year plans which were considered to be its backbone and which have now been jettisoned. In addition, it takes a critical look at the public rhetoric of the political class to justify CSR in India. The analysis shows that Indian state since Independence has been dominated by the bourgeoisie class and hence even while focusing on planned development, it continued to create pockets of want in the social sector which have eventually been used to provide justification for the mandated CSR in India. The state had neglected the social sector throughout the plan periods. With the onset of privatization, liberalization, and globalization under the structural adjustment in India, the involvement of state in social sector was likely to reduce further. The state therefore pushed for mandatory CSR to fill the likely gap and the political class of the country provided necessary rhetorical justification for the same.