BW Communities

Socially Responsible Corporations Are Our Hope For Better Tomorrow

Prabhat Shukla Sep 11, 2023

It was in 2013 when the government of India came up with a statute that it would be mandatory for corporates to channel two per cent of their annual revenue in any development space, and that made India the first country to do so. Prior to the Companies Act 2013, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India has traditionally been seen as a philanthropic activity.

In keeping with the Indian tradition, it was believed that every company has a moral responsibility to play an active role in discharging social obligations, subject to the financial health of the company. In the early 1900s, Mahatma Gandhi introduced the concept of trusteeship helping socioeconomic growth. CSR was influenced by family values, traditions, culture and religion.

Explaining the importance of collaboration in CSR during the second edition of the BW Social Impact Summit and Awards, Anusha Srinivasan Iyer, Founder and Mentor of Make Earth Green Again (MEGA) said, "While working in the development sector the main hurdle to deal with is funds then working together comes into rescue, for example, I wanted to plant trees, BMC came with us and brought in people, then sponsors came and we worked with brands. So it is very easy for us to give back to the brand, if you plant a tree it will bring a celebrity on board and that would create news so it is a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

Chetan Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer at Tech Mahindra Foundation expressed his views on the topic, saying, "Importance of collaboration doesn't just remain to channelising funds but also in helping each other across their expertise while collaborating some points should be taken into consideration like purity of intent, commitment to the cause and alignment of the objective.”

Arindam Lehri, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Skills Development Council added that the area of concern should not be bigger corporates but small and medium-sized industries as the employees working there had to suffer from a variety of challenges from lacking proper skills to low initial wage rates. “So, communities should collaborate to address this issue of skill development and our organisation has made a significant impact in this direction," Lehri said.

Dr Ambika Prasad Nanda, Head - Odisha, Tata Steel Foundation, explained the role of CSR in tribal community building, saying, "CSR activities should be more focused on working together than working for a particular group, especially with tribals as they have a lot to return and as an organisation, we learn a lot from them, and this is what community building means to us.”