CSR

Got interested to know about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Read this article at http://www.ibef.org/artdispview.aspx?in=84&art_id=26104&cat_id=926&page=1 More to come.

There are interesting articles at

http://timesascent.in/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=64&contentid=200905312009053112045370131a710bd

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-inc-faces-2-csr-levy/407350/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100823101110.htm

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Corporate Social Responsibility / Human Resource

Last Updated: June 2010

Indian companies are now expected to discharge their stakeholder responsibilities and societal obligations, along with their shareholder-wealth maximisation goal. Nearly all leading corporates in India are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of weaker sections of the society. Notable efforts have come from the Tata Group, Infosys, Bharti Enterprises, ITC Welcome group, Indian Oil Corporation among others. The 2010 list of Forbes Asia’s ‘48 Heroes of Philanthropy’ contains four Indians. The 2009 list also featured four Indians. India has been named among the top ten Asian countries paying increasing importance towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure norms. India was ranked fourth in the list, according to social enterprise CSR Asia's Asian Sustainability Ranking (ASR), released in October 2009. According to a study undertaken by an industry body in June 2009, which studied the CSR activities of 300 corporate houses, corporate India has spread its CSR activities across 20 states and Union territories, with Maharashtra gaining the most from them. About 36 per cent of the CSR activities are concentrated in the state, followed by about 12 per cent in Gujarat, 10 per cent in Delhi and 9 per cent in Tamil Nadu. The companies have on an aggregate, identified 26 different themes for their CSR initiatives. Of these 26 schemes, community welfare tops the list, followed by education, the environment, health, as well as rural development. Further, according to a study by financial paper, The Economic Times, donations by listed companies grew 8 per cent during the fiscal ended March 2009. The study of disclosures made by companies showed that 760 companies donated US$ 170 million in FY09, up from US$ 156 million in the year-ago period. As many as 108 companies donated over US$ 216,199, up 20 per cent over the previous year. Although corporate India is involved in CSR activities, the central government is working on a framework for quantifying the CSR initiatives of companies to promote them further. According to Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr Salman Khurshid, one of the ways to attract companies towards CSR work is to develop a system of CSR credits, similar to the system of carbon credits which are given to companies for green initiatives. Moreover, in 2009, the government made it mandatory for all public sector oil companies to spend 2 per cent of their net profits on corporate social responsibility. Besides the private sector, the government is also ensuring that the public sector companies participate actively in CSR initiatives. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has prepared guidelines for central public sector enterprises to take up important corporate social responsibility projects to be funded by 2-5 per cent of the company's net profits. As per the guidelines, companies with net profit of less than US$ 22.5 million will earmark 3-5 per cent of profit for CSR, companies with net profit of between US$ 22.5 million - US$ 112.5 million, will utilise 2-3 per cent for CSR activities and companies with net profit of over US$ 112.5 million will spend 0.5-2 per cent of net profits for CSR. ----------------------------------- The following points are notable from the document http://www.civilsocietyonline.com/Polic.htm DRAFT NATIONAL POLICY ON THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR - 2006 4.4 There has been much public debate on the voluntary sector, particularly its governance, accountability, and transparency. It is widely believed that the voluntary sector must address these issues through suitable self-regulation, as is the practice in various other fields. The government will encourage the evolution of, and subsequently accord recognition to, an independent, national level, self-regulatory agency for the voluntary sector. 4.5 At the same time, there is need to bolster public confidence in the voluntary sector by opening it up to greater public scrutiny. The Government will encourage Central and State level agencies to introduce norms for filing basic documents in respect of VOs which have been receiving funding by Government agencies and placing them in the public domain (with easy access through the internet) in order to inculcate a spirit of public oversight. 4.6 Public donation is an important source of funds for the voluntary sector, and one that can and must increase substantially. Tax incentives play a positive role in this process. Stocks and shares have become a significant form of wealth in the country today. In order to encourage transfer of shares and stock-options to VOs, the government will consider suitable tax rebates for this form of donation. The government will also simplify and streamline the system for granting income tax exemption status to charitable projects under the Income Tax Act. At the same time, the government will consider tightening administrative and penal procedures to ensure that these incentives are not misused by paper charities for private financial gain. ---------------------------------- The issue raised by Ramesh K. CTO & Human Search Engine at http://www.linkedin.com/answers/non-profit/social-entrepreneurship/NNP_SOC/719461-14264156 is also important. Big problem is identifying the deserving candidates. Misuse of funds by agencies and/or identification of deserving candidates are critical factors. Some donate 'extra' money to tell others that they donate . Corporate Social Responsibility has become a style statement. Many people claim to be into charity. Ask them how much they personally contributed. And then see the salaries of the people working in NGOs/Charity organizations. I also heard that the NGOs can retain some 15% of the contributions for 'operational expenses'. Many people who claim to champion charity may have collected donations from other and they themselves would notnhave contributed a single penny. But, this is a bit better as they are atleast getting some help from others who can. I strongly believe that Corporates can do a lot. Even individuals can do a lot.