Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - Statutory Status
MINSTER of Corporate Affairs, Sachin Pilot had an interactive session with the leaders and senior executives from the corporate world in Delhi yesterday to discuss ways and means of making Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a major contributor to growth and quality of life of the common people particularly as the Companies Bill now pending in the Lok Sabha proposes to give statutory status to this responsibility.
The minister emphasised the need for the corporates in the private sector to systematically plan and execute their CSR initiatives to build synergies and to achieve results that are visible within a short timeframe. While the Government wishes the corporates to decide the areas of activities and strategies for execution, it will be happy to play a facilitating role in the process. As a pointer to socially relevant activities, the Minister drew attention to the need to give priority to hygiene and sanitation in rural areas particularly for provision of toilets in Girls' schools in Government run and Government aided institutions in the Secondary and Senior Secondary sectors with water conservation technologies. 1.37crores girls are enrolled in the Country at Secondary Level (Classes IX-X) and 78.32 lacs at Senior Secondary level (classes XI and XII). There are 19,351 Girls only school in the Country, of which 10,365 are in the Government Sector, 6511 are Government Aided and 2475 are Privately Managed. Pilot said that espousing such projects as part of the CSR efforts would synergize public-private efforts in socially important areas.
The representatives in the interactive session were appreciative of the initiative taken and have promised to commence positive action with agencies like Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and the National Foundation of Corporate Social Responsibility and the National Foundation of Corporate Governance set up with an outlay of 10 crores to play an enabling and effective role.