This study aims to empirically investigate how corporate governance (CG) characteristics influence firms to go beyond the mandatory minimum corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure rule to contribute towards sustainable development. It employs the panel regression technique for analysis of top seventy-five listed companies of the NIFTY100 index at Indian National Stock Exchange (NSE) for the years from 2014–15 to 2020–21. The empirical results revealed that CG attributes like large board size, large independent directors, and female directors significantly influence the CSR performance of the companies. However, no significant evidence was found in case of the impact of board meeting frequency and CSR practices of the companies. This chapter enables a better understanding of self-induced CSR practices to policymakers, regulators, practitioners, and other stakeholders. The findings suggest that various stakeholders should concentrate on specific CG attributes to focus on CSR performance. It is one of the first studies that determines what influence the adoption of self-induced CSR practices especially against the backdrop of major CG mechanism and CSR reforms in India. It provides additional empirical evidence to the extant body of literature on the CG and CSR practices from the perspective of emerging economies.