BRSR Core Assessment vs Assurance: FY2026-27 Guide

Key takeaways

BRSR Core is a set of key ESG metrics, grouped under 9 attributes, that listed companies must have independently checked.
The requirement reaches the top 1,000 listed companies in FY2026-27, up from the top 500 in FY2025-26.
Since March 2025, SEBI lets companies choose assessment or assurance. In practice, large companies have so far chosen assurance.
Your assessor or assurer cannot also be your ESG consultant. Plan for two separate partners: one to prepare, one to check.

BRSR and BRSR Core in one minute

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) is SEBI’s ESG disclosure. The top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation publish it as part of their annual report.

BRSR Core is a smaller set of key performance indicators (KPIs) inside the BRSR, chosen because they can be measured and checked. It covers 9 attributes:

Theme	BRSR Core attribute
Environment	Greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint
Environment	Water footprint
Environment	Energy footprint
Environment	Embracing circularity (waste)
Social	Enhancing employee wellbeing and safety
Social	Enabling gender diversity in business
Social	Enabling inclusive development
Governance	Fairness in engaging with customers and suppliers
Governance	Openness of business

Many of these KPIs are also reported as intensities: per rupee of turnover, and per rupee of turnover adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), so that Indian companies can be compared with peers abroad.

BRSR Core applicability: who needs it, and when

BRSR Core glide path: listed companies that need assessment or assurance

150FY2023-24

250FY2024-25

500FY2025-26

1,000FY2026-27

Top listed companies by market capitalisation. Source: SEBI.

Financial year	Companies that need BRSR Core assessment or assurance
FY2023-24	Top 150 listed companies
FY2024-25	Top 250
FY2025-26	Top 500
FY2026-27	Top 1,000

If your company ranks between 501 and 1,000 by market cap, FY2026-27 is your first year. The data that will be checked is being generated now.

Assessment or assurance: what's the difference?

SEBI originally required reasonable assurance. Its circular of 28 March 2025 changed the wording to “assessment or assurance”, giving companies a choice.

	Assessment	Assurance
Standard used	Standards developed by the Industry Standards Forum (ASSOCHAM, FICCI and CII) in consultation with SEBI	ICAI’s SSAE 3000 for chartered accountant firms, or equivalent assurance standards
Who does it	A third-party assessor with the necessary expertise	An assurance provider, typically an audit firm
What the market has chosen so far	Rare among large companies	All 94 NIFTY100 companies in KPMG’s review chose reasonable assurance

SEBI does not prescribe a qualification for either. Your Board must make sure the provider has the necessary expertise.

Our view: if you have foreign investors or lenders, or peers in your sector already use assurance, assurance is the safer choice because it is the more widely recognised term. Assessment can make sense for a first year, if your provider and audit committee are comfortable with it.

The rule most companies miss: independence

SEBI says your assessment or assurance provider, and its associates, must not sell you products or provide any other services, including consulting, to your company or group.

So the firm that helps you build your BRSR data cannot be the firm that checks it. You need two partners:

A preparer, who sets up data collection, calculates the KPIs and builds the evidence file.
An independent assessor or assurer, who tests it.

This is why we work as preparers only. We get your data assurance-ready, and your assurer stays fully independent.

Value chain disclosures: now voluntary

The 2023 rules would have made the top 250 companies report ESG data for their value chain on a comply-or-explain basis. The March 2025 circular eased this:

Value chain disclosure is voluntary for the top 250 from FY2025-26.
Assessment or assurance of it is voluntary from FY2026-27.
“Value chain” now means upstream and downstream partners that each make up 2% or more of your purchases or sales by value. You can limit disclosure to partners covering 75% of the total.

Voluntary does not mean irrelevant. Many listed companies are still asking their key suppliers for BRSR-style data, and suppliers who can answer quickly stand out.

Where companies stumble

KPMG’s February 2026 review of BRSR reporting found one qualified assurance opinion among the NIFTY100. It was caused by gaps in data and evidence, and in internal controls. The review also found most companies signed off BRSR assurance 21 to 50 days after their financial audit.

The common problems we see:

KPIs calculated differently from the Industry Standards Forum method.
Numbers with no evidence behind them (no meter readings, invoices or HR records).
Data held by one person in a spreadsheet, with no review or sign-off.
Intensity ratios left until the last week.

BRSR Core readiness checklist: six steps

Map each of the 9 attributes to a data owner in your plants and functions.
Calculate each KPI using the Industry Standards Forum method, not last year’s spreadsheet.
Build an evidence file: source documents for every number, filed by KPI.
Add a review step: a second person checks each figure before it is final.
Run a dry run a quarter before year-end to find gaps while there is time to fix them.
Appoint your assessor or assurer early, and make sure they are independent of whoever prepares your data.

What's next

In June 2026 a SEBI whole-time member outlined possible next steps for BRSR: consolidated rather than standalone data, sector-specific disclosures, a common taxonomy and closer oversight of ESG rating providers. These are signals of direction, not rules yet. We will update this article when SEBI publishes a consultation paper or circular.

FAQs

We are ranked around 700 by market cap. When do we start?

FY2026-27. Your first BRSR Core assessment or assurance covers the year from April 2026 to March 2027.

Can our statutory auditor do the BRSR Core assurance?

SEBI’s independence rule is about the assurance provider not selling you consulting or other non-assurance services. Check the full rule with your audit committee before appointing anyone.

We're not listed. Does BRSR Core matter to us?

Only indirectly: listed customers may ask you for similar data about your operations.

Want this done for you?Book a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll tell you exactly what applies and what to do first.

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Sources

Facts checked on 28 Sep 2026. Rules change often; we update this article when they do.

BRSR Core assessment vs assurance: how to get ready for FY2026-27