10 csr& competitiveness april 2014 by CSR & COMPETITVENESS

Year 01

Issue 10

April 2014

European Parliament Mandates

Sustainability Reporting for Large Companies Full Article on Page Nos. 12 - 13

NEWS

CSR Website 'Do Little' to Change Consumer Perception ARTICLE

India: The Only Country with Legislated CSR ARTICLE

Article by AK Tripathi on Sustainable Living 'Fire' INTERVIEW

My Mobile University Makes Learning Accessible and Affordable: Vijay Sekhar

E D I T O R I A L

CSR â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Strategic Alignment for Success

RUSEN KUMAR Editor & Director rusenk@indiacsr.in

I hope CSR professionals will understand the importance of evolving, and integrating the CSR strategic roadmap with the overall strategic roadmap of the organization to write the success story off their respective organisations leaving footprints on the sands of time.

The organizations across the globe have been working in the area of sustainable CSR. The success or failure of the organization is dependent on how well the organization has been able to evolve, integrate and pursue the business responsibility strategic roadmap in the dynamically competitive business environment. The simplest style of learning about success and failures can be an optimum blend of proactive approach and observational approach. The business organizations are expected and required to be pragmatic, proactive, creative, innovative with strong observational orientation to analyse the market trends, sentiments, directions and the under currents and visualise the change in trends in the future. The organizations are working passionately towards integrating the CSR strategic roadmap with the organisational value chain for a better and brighter tomorrow. The success of CSR is akin to the game of chess. It does not matter which player is more powerful than the other in terms of resources. What matters more is the right moves taken by the player at the right time with the possible anticipated calculations of the expected actions or moves of the opponent. I am mentioning the corollary of chess with CSR just to drive home the message across the CSR fraternity that CSR is not just about the resources but it is more important to make the right strategic moves at the right time to achieve and sustain success in the domestic economy as well as in the international markets. The organizations making the right moves in terms of their CSR strategic roadmap optimally Integrated with the organisational strategic roadmap are more likely to achieve success in the country as well as in other parts of the globe. I hope CSR professionals will understand the importance of evolving, and integrating the CSR strategic roadmap with the overall strategic roadmap of the organization to create success stories of their respective organisations leaving footprints on the sands of time.

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

E D I T O R I A L

CSR Impacts Value of the Firm

DR. RANA SINGH Executive Editor ranasingh@indiacsr.in

The companies would be seeking further clarification from the Hon’ble Supreme Court in this regard for enhanced clarity and total compliance to the Supreme Court Judgment and other compliances.

The country is in the phase of transition as the election process is going on to elect the new government. CSR in India is also in the phase of transition as the newly amended law and the subsequent regulations have brought about a metamorphic change in the CSR landscape of a India. Strategic Planning and CSR are required to be proactively dynamic and dynamically proactive. The recent Judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court which has ordered the Goa miners to contribute 10% of the sales to the community. The recent Judgment which has lifted an 18-month ban on mining of ore in Goa with a production cap of 20 million tonnes (mt) a year, and the mining lease owners are required to contribute 10% of the sales to the Goan Iron Ore Permanent Fund for the community. The proactive organisations including Sesa Sterlite Ltd have started thinking and reorienting their overall strategic and operational plans in the light of the recent judgment pronounced by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The recent judgment has left with few pertinent questions. These questions are between stipulated percentage of revenue or profit. The stipulation of 2% mandatory allocation as per the recently amended companies act is already announced. So the confusion of the companies is at three levels. Firstly is it 10% of sales or 10% of revenue? Secondly will 2% mandatory allocation be considered done if this 10% is already done. The companies would be seeking further clarification from the Hon’ble Supreme Court in this regard for enhanced clarity and total compliance to the Supreme Court Judgment and other compliances. The quick action from the organisations have an impact on the market price of their shares and ultimately the market capitalisation which is the product of total number of shares outstanding and the current market price of the share. The organisations which are dynamically proactive are able to manage the overall market capitalisation. Thus it is clear that CSR adds value to the various stakeholders and it also contributes to maximise the overall value in terms of market capitalisation. CSR is becoming increasingly important from the statutory, legal, ethical and professional standpoint as well as from the standpoint of maximising the overall market capitalisation. Organisations keeping a close watch on regulatory, legal and political environment and taking swift action in the light of recent developments would be able to manage the market capitalisation of the firm in a better and professional way. I wish good luck to all CSR professionals to use CSR as a strategic tool to maximise value to all stakeholders and maximise value of the firm as well.

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

I N D E X Mentors Santosh Goenka SK Patra Sunil Ramdas Agrawal

Editorial Board Rusen Kumar | Editor rusenk@indiacsr.in Dr Rana Singh | Executive Editor ranasingh@indiacsr.in Rajeev R Mishra | Consulting Editor Anil Jaggi | Executive Editor anil@indiacsr.in Dr (Prof.) Saurabh Mittal | Sub-Editor, New Delhi saurabh@indiacsr.in Triambak Sharma (Renowned Cartoonist) | Editor-Cartoon D.D. Mishra (Disability & Development Consultant) | Associate Editor dd@indiacsr.in B. Narayan | Layout Designer

Advisory Board Jatinder Singh | Secretary- Innovation, CSR, Education & Skill Development Committee PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rani Wemel | Co-Founder & COO LTT Global Communications Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia Vijay Shekar Peesapati | Country Director (India) MyMobileUni Sdn Bhd-Global Dr Sanjay Kumar Singh | Associate Prof. & HOD-Humanities, OP Jindal Institute of Technology Vijay Kapur | Eminent CSR Consultant & Author Director – Kohana CSR Enakshi Sengupta | Eminent CSR Consultant & Author, Director – Kohana CSR Prof BD Singh | Renowned Academician & Author Dr K K Upadhyay | Head CSR-Ficci Aditya Birla CSR Centre of Excellence Monaem Ben Lellahom | Co-Founder & Head of Sustainability Advisory, Services Sustainable Square Consultancy and Think Tank UAE

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CONTENTS

Pages No.

Advertisement: Get Recognized your Innovative CSR Projects Editorial Editorial Index/Team Govt. Plans Detailed FAQs on CSR Issues Coal India Steps up CSR Efforts Finance Ministry Not Favour CSR Tax Sops in Backward Regions Crony Capitalism & Political Funding SEBI Issues New Corporate Governance Norms Investment in Tropical Forest Conservation Can Support Green and Economic Growth YES BANK to Partners with ECT, Australia to Promote Clean Coal Technology in India CSR Website ‘Do Little’ to Change Consumer Perception Samsung ‘Guru Shiksha’ Program to Train ITI Teachers DSP BlackRock to Conduct Financial Literacy workshop for Women PIL Seeks Tobacco Firms Out of CSR Regime; HC Issues Notices Tata Steel to Train 150 Youths in Hospitality Skills Every Year in Odisha European Parliament Mandates Sustainability Reporting for Large Companies Revolutionary Step Towards Cornea Retrieval IRCON Signs MoU with Transparency International India Article by AK Tripathi on Sustainable Living ‘Fire’ BALCO Taraimar Coal Block Unleashes New Strides in Community Development Interview with Vijay Shekar Peesapati, Country Director My Mobile University, Article on Career Opportunity in Corporate Social Responsibility by Dr. Sanjiv Marwah Article by Sangeeta Haindl on India: The Only Country with Legislated CSR Article by Jasmir Thakur on Hiring a CSR Professional? Article by Anil Agarwal on Fulfilling the Dreams of Biju Patnaik Article by Prabhu Guptara on Charity, Philanthropy, Nation-Building & CSR- Historical Perspective (Part-2) Article by CS Verma on Reforming the Public Sector Advertisement: Library Insures Knowledge for All

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CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

NEWS

Govt. Plans Detailed FAQs on CSR Issues The FAQs would be prepared after collating queries from various quarters, including industry chambers, on implementing CSR activities and the same is planned to be put out on the Ministry website, the official added. NEW DELHI: To help companies for their social welfare activities under the new legislation, the government plans to come out with various initiatives including a detailed set of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs) for the stakeholders. Certain class of companies are now required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. The Corporate Affairs Ministry plans to put out detailed FAQs and their answers on CSR activities to provide more clarity for companies and other stakeholders, according to an official. The FAQs would be prepared after collating queries from various quarters, including industry chambers, on imple-

CSR? !

menting CSR activities and the same is planned to be put out on the Ministry website, the official added. Besides the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) is working on efforts such as certificate programme in CSR, sources said. IICA comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry. Apart from having certificate courses to help train profes-sionals with their companies’ CSR initiatives, the institute is looking to have a list of projects that could be taken up by entities as CSR work, sources said. Under the Companies Act, 2013, CSR activities would have to be carried within India. It would be applicable to corporates having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net

worth. Such companies would need to spend two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit on CSR activities in each financial year, beginning 2014-15 fiscal. In case they are unable to spend the required amount, reasons for the same have to be given to the Ministry. As per the new rules, livelihood enhancement and rural develop-ment projects, working towards protection of national heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts would come under CSR ambit. Activities aimed at reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups, measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans, setting up of old age homes, day care centres and such other facilities for senior citizens, among others, have been included under this category. (PTI)

Coal India Steps up CSR Efforts Of the allotment of Rs 553.33 crore in 2011-12, Coal India and its subsidiaries could spend only Rs 82 crore (14.8%). It is a gross failure on the part of Coal India and its subsidiaries. KOLKATA: Coal India has stepped up efforts to meet the target allocation for its corporate social responsibility initiatives after a parliamentary panel last December pointed out that the miner had failed to meet

its target earlier. In its report on the CSR activities of Coal India, the parliamentary panel on coal and steel said, “Of the allotment of Rs 553.33 crore in 2011-12, Coal India and its subsidiaries could spend only Rs 82 crore (14.8 per cent). It is a gross failure on the part of Coal India and its subsidiaries.” Coal India sources said the failure to meet the target was more on account of procedural delays rather than lack of funds and initiative on its part. However, after stepping up efforts to meet the target, close to 60 per cent of the Rs 474.36 crore target

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

for 2013-14 has been met. The miner, like all other corporate entities, will now have to reorient its CSR spending under the provisions of the Companies Act 2013. The act mandates that any company with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or a net profit of at least Rs 5 crore would have to spend at least 2 per cent of its average net profit of the immediately preceding three years. If a company is unable to spend the amount, an explanation will be required in the director’s report.

NEWS

Finance Ministry Not Favour CSR Tax Sops in Backward Regions The parliamentary standing committee on finance, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, in its report on DTC bill, had recommended tax benefit for CSR spending in backward regions and districts. NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is not in favour of extending tax benefits to businesses for their social welfare spending in backward regions contrary to the recommendations made by a parliamentary panel. The finance ministry, while unveiling the draft direct taxes code (DTC) bill, said that CSR spend in backward regions cannot be given tax exemption. The parlia-mentary standing committee on finance, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, in its report on DTC bill, had recommended tax benefit for CSR spending in backward regions and districts. In the revised DTC bill, the finance ministry has observed that allowing dedu-

ction for CSR expenditure would imply that the government would be contributing one third of this expenditure, which is the revenue foregone by it. Effective April 1, 2014 companies with sizeable business are required to shell out a minimum 2% of their three-year average annual net profit towards corporate social responsibility activities. Unveiling the interim budget for the 2014-15 financial year in Parliament, finance minister P Chidambaram had appealed to all political parties ‘to resolve to pass’ the DTC along with GST. Industry has been seeking tax benefits for CSR activities as a kind of incentive to carry out such works. In this regard, a proposal from the corporate affairs ministry is pending with the finance ministry, sources said. “The CSR expenditure cannot be allowed as a business deduction as it is an application of income. Allowing deduction for CSR expenditure would imply that the government would be contributing one third

of this expenditure as revenue fore-gone,” the draft DTC bill said. The final decision on providing some kind of tax benefits for CSR activities under the new companies law would be taken by the next finance minister. Under the Companies Act, 2013, firms having a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or a minimum turnover of Rs1,000 crore or a net profit of Rs 5 crore are required to make CSR spend. Going by the rules, notified by the Corporate Affairs Ministry, many activities come under the CSR ambit. These include livelihood enhancement and rural development projects, working towards protection of national heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts would be considered CSR. Various activities aimed at reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups have been included.

Crony Capitalism & Political Funding Parties should be required to show source of income for such expenditure at aggregated and disaggregated levels. Once funding becomes transparent, cronyism will be difficult. India has the means to do this, if only the political will can be mustered. Crony capitalism is one of the concerns that have been raised in these elections. Industry and industrialists have had a cosy relationship with political leaders all along, particularly in the licence raj days. Many business careers owe their success to proximity to power and resultant ability to 'manage' the system. Things have changed for the better in many ways. The capacity of the private sector to undertake large projects without

crutches offered by the state has matured. The stage where industry had to be nurtured on an individual basis for it to establish itself and take off is behind the nation. Now, companies compete with one another and state patronage for some tilts rather than creates the playing field. But, old habits of cronyism have not disappeared altogether. Politicians and industrialists still cosy up to one another for mutual, unfair, benefit. For this to change, the key reform required is in political funding. The funding of Indian democracy is an opaque, murky affair in the case of all parties, save the Aam Aadmi Party. Parties show income of a few hundred crore rupees at the most, a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of crore they actually spend. Mobilising this enormous funding is carried out by loot of the exchequer, sale of patronage and extortion. While business

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

loses out as a group from such a perverse method of funding democracy, individual businessmen gain big time. The only sure cure for this is to make all spending and resource mobilisation by political parties transparent. It should be possible to require all parties to declare their monthly expenditure at the level of every locality, throw this open to challenge by other parties, watchdog bodies and the media and finally let an expanded Election Commission moderate the contest and determine the expenditure. Parties should be required to show source of income for such expenditure at aggregated and disaggregated levels. Once funding becomes transparent, cronyism will be difficult. India has the means to do this, if only the political will can be mustered. (The Economic Times)

NEWS

SEBI Issues New Corporate Governance Norms The new rules, which would be effective from October 1, require companies to get shareholders’ approval for related party transactions, establish whistle blower mechanism, elaborate disclosures on pay packages and have at least a woman director on their boards. MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on April 18, 2014 came out with detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies providing for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights, including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders. The new rules, which would be effective from October 1, require companies to get shareholders’ approval for related party transactions, establish whistle blower mechanism, elaborate disclosures on pay packages and have at least a woman director on their boards. SEBI’s norms are aligned with the new Companies Act and is aimed to encourage

companies to “adopt best practices on corporate governance”. The capital market regulator has amended clauses –35B and 49–of the listing agreement. Now, under changed 35B norms, listed companies are required to provide the option of facility of e-voting to shareholders on all resolutions proposed to be passed at general meetings. Under clause 49, pertaining to corporate governance, listed entities have to get shareholders’ nod for related party transactions. It would be effective prospectively from October 1 onwards. “All existing material related party contracts or arrangements as on the date of this circular which are likely to continue beyond March 31, 2015, shall be placed for approval of the shareholders in the first general meeting subsequent to October 1, 2014,” SEBI said in the circular. Besides, the market watchdog has come out with norms to ensure “equitable treatment of all shareholders including minority and foreign shareholders”. Apart from providing adequate and timely information to all shareholders, listed companies should also facilitate the exercise of voting rights

by foreign shareholders. “The company should devise an effective whistle blower mechanism enabling stakeholders, including individual employees and their representative bodies, to freely communi-cate their concerns about illegal or unethical practices,” the circular said. The new norms, which have been finalised after detailed consultations over draft regulations released in January 2013, excludes ‘nominee directors’ from the definition of independent directors. Besides, there would be expanded role of audit committee and enhanced disclosure of remuneration policies. Separate meetings of independent directors, and constitution of ‘stakeholders relationship committee’ are also a part of the proposals. The watchdog has decided that the maximum number of boards an independent director can serve on listed companies be restricted to seven, while the directorship would be capped at three if the person is serving as a whole time director in any listed company. The board of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had approved the new set of norms during its meeting held in February, April 18, 2014.

Investment in Tropical Forest Conservation Can Support Green and Economic Growth Restoring just 15% of degraded forest can double household income in rural areas in developing countries, as an example from Tanzania cited in the report shows. GENEVA/JAKARTA: An investment of US $30 billion per year – under 7% of the US $480 billion paid in annual global fossil fuel subsidies – in the REDD+ forest conservation initiative can accelerate the global transition to green and sustainable growth and ensure the long-term wellbeing of tens of millions in developing countries, a new report said released on March 20, 2014. Building Natural Capital: How REDD+ Can Support a Green Economy, a report by the International Resource Panel (IRP) and the UN REDD Programme, outlines how integrating REDD+ programmes into a Green Economy approach can conserve and

even boost the economic and social benefits forests provide to human society. The IRP report lays out recommendations to deliver the new integrated REDD+ and Green Economy approach, including better coordination, stronger private sector engagement, changes in fiscal incentive frameworks, greater focus on assisting policymakers to understand the role forests play in propping up economies, and equitable benefit sharing. The report stresses in particular the needs for a rights-based app-roach to ensure that benefits flow to the rural poor. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries is the approach to cut greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation-estimated at up to 20% of the global total- through payments for services. REDD+ is an expanded approach that includes the conservation and sustainable management of forests, and the enhance-

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

ment of forest carbon stocks. Forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people, with the value of ecosystem services from tropical forests estimated at an average of US $6,120 per hectare each year. Despite these economic gains, forest loss averaged 13 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This market and policy failure will undermine sustainable development by destroying the natural capital that supports so many economies. REDD+ is so far backed by a total of US $6.27 billion. However, an estimated US $30 billion is projected to be needed each year from 2020. The IRP report seeks to encourage delivery of this funding by demonstrating that REDD+ approaches can support economic development and increase long-term returns on investments.

NEWS

YES BANK to Partner with ECT, Australia to Promote Clean Coal Technology in India YES BANK to advise ECT in commercializing their patented– 'Coldry' technology in Indian markets MUMBAI: YES BANK, fourth largest private sector Bank, jointly with Greenard Willing, an Australian corporate advisory firm, has entered into an advisory agreement with Australia based Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT). The agreement aims to assist ECT in commercialization and technology transfer of Clean Coal technologies in India via a systematic knowledge-based approach. YES BANK’s Sustainable Investment Banking Group along with Greenard Willing, will jointly set in place the structures and partners for implementation of ECT’s manufacturing strategy in India, to deliver a lower capital cost structure for

Coldry plant & equipment and also in the development of commercial scale Coldry processing plants for Indian and International projects. Aditya Sanghi, Senior MD, Investment Banking, YES BANK stated, “ECT’s Coldry technology offers sustainable and long term solution to meet the growing energy demands of India while mitigating the daunting issues of climate change. We have a strong commitment to mainstreaming sustainability within the industry and this partnership with ECT is a natural extension of our efforts to create sustainable development of India. YES BANK’s Sustainable Investment Banking Group has in the past successfully delivered technology commercialization solutions to international clean technology ventures. It offers a unique knowledge-driven approach and has a strong understanding of the space

with deep rooted relationships.” ECT’s Managing Director Ashley Moore added, “We expect to conclude this initial stage of activities with YES BANK and Greenard Willing over the next quarter, and deliver qualified & capable selection of future Coldry plant and equipment suppliers, able to deliver, globally, at a highly competitive cost. This will enhance our ability to promote Coldry projects, and deliver on shareholder expectations of value from Coldry’s roll out.” India has a large demand supply mismatch of thermal coal – 97 MT in 2013, which is likely to increase to 213 MT by 2017. Coldry technology offers an efficient and cost effective solution to utilize the vast lignite resources of India (estimated reserves of 43 BT) to meet the energy needs and security of the country.

CSR Websites 'Do Little' to Change Consumer Perception Corporations need to work on earning the public’s trust when it comes to CSR. The sites did little to change people’s opinions of the brand, good or bad. Change Sciences compared twelve top companies’ CSR efforts across various verticals by analyzing what people did while exploring the sites and how they felt about the experience. Corporations need to work on earning the public’s trust when it comes to CSR. The sites did little to change people’s opinions of the brand, good or bad. Corporate Social Responsibility Web Site User Experience 2014 compares 12 major companies’ CSR efforts by analyzing what people did while exploring the sites and how they felt about the experience. In the end, CSR sites did little to change people’s opinions of the brand that were held prior to

viewing the site, good or bad, the study says. Within the group, some CSR web sites struggled more than others to foster trust. For instance, Coca-Cola’s site was rated the most misleading site of the group, which was four times greater than the average for the set. Conversely, Proctor & Gamble was the most trusted site of the group, with a 15% higher trust rating than the average site in the set. According to Change Sciences a ‘critical goal’ of CSR is to show the public that a company has a human aspect to it- that it has a greater stake in society than to make an extra dollar. This data shows that if companies want to be successful in that regard, they still have a ‘lot of work’ to do to convey that message, Change sciences says. The following companies are covered in the research: AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, The Coca-Cola Company, Exxon-

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Mobil, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Verizon Communications. According to research released in January by Clark University, companies that introduce a sustainability strategy throughout their supply chain generally see a boost in their financial performance - but those that don’t fully commit to the strategy generally see a decline in revenue. The study found that those firms that integrated sustainable supply chain management, jointly including social and environmental supply chain management, generally saw ‘marked upgrades’ in their fiscal returns, particularly through 2011, Strategy and Business reported. However, to see the improvements companies must be patient as the positive effects can have a time lag of at least two years, the study said. (EnvironmentalLeader.com)

NEWS

Samsung 'Guru Shiksha' Program to Train ITI Teachers The Guru Shiksha program is part of Samsung's Creating Shared Value platform, whereby the Company is seeking to enhance the skill levels of the ITI students. NEW DELHI: Samsung India has announced ‘Guru Shiksha’ programme, a first of its kind initiative to train teachers of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) located in Delhi NCR on troubleshooting, installation and demonstration of Samsung products including mobile phones and home appliances. Selected teachers trained as part of this initiative will get an opportunity to partner with Samsung and teach Samsung’s Advanced Repair and Industrial Skills Enhancement (ARISE) program that the Company plans to run at Samsung Technical Schools being set up in ITIs in New Delhi. The Samsung Technical Schools and the ARISE program have been set up by Samsung in collaboration with the

Department of Training and Technical Education to provide ITI students technical training and hands-on industry experience. Daniel Park, Senior Vice President, Samsung India, and V.P. Rao, Director (IAS), Department of Training and Technical Education - Delhi, formally launched the program in the presence of senior Samsung officials, principals of the participating ITIs, and teachers. The Guru Shiksha program is part of Samsung’s Creating Shared Value platform, whereby the Company is seeking to enhance the skill levels of the ITI students. Park said, “The Guru Shiksha program reinforces Samsung’s commitment to using technology to open newer possibilities for people. In an environment where technology is rapidly evolving, the Samsung Guru Shiksha program that we are initiating today serves to upgrade the skill level of all the teachers in line with our advanced technology Consumer Electronics and Mobile products and at the same time complements the A.R.I.S.E Program that

we are running at the ITIs for the students.” The first training session will be held at the Samsung CS Academy, Greater Noida and will include 57 teachers from 17 ITIs in Delhi.The company plans to hold similar sessions in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai, with an aim to reach out to 150 teachers. Each course, spanning four to eight days, will be conducted by qualified Samsung regional Customer Satisfaction Academy trainers. The teachers will be taught to repair, troubleshoot, provide demos and install products such as mobile phones, audio/video devices, refrigerators, airconditioners and other home appliances. Upon successful completion of the course, teachers from the selected ITIs in which Samsung Technical Schools will be set up, will participate in the Samsung ARISE Program in the institute. The first Samsung Technical School was set up at ITI Dheerpur in September 2013 and the company plans to set up Samsung Technical Schools in several more ITIs in Delhi/NCR in this year.

DSP BlackRock to Conduct Financial Literacy Workshops for Women 34 workshops to be organized across 24 locations to address the financial needs of women in the lower income segment NEW DELHI: DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt Ltd, one of the premier asset management companies in India, has partnered with Parinaam Foundation to organize a series of financial literacy workshops to address the financial needs of women in the lower income segment. Over 1000 women across India would benefit from the initiative. Under the ‘Diksha Financial Literacy Program’, these financial

literacy workshops aim to educate women from the lower income sections of the society and impress upon them the importance of understanding basic financial planning, which are critical for their day to day lives and for a safe and secure future. Aditi Kothari, EVP and Head of Marketing, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers said, “We are happy to work with Parinaam Foundation on this unique initiative. It is important for women to take that vital first step towards awareness and understanding of financial products for their well being and for that of their family.” The workshops are divided into five

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

modules spread over five weeks which includes sessions on simple numerical skills; how to maintain a financial record of her income and expenditure; understand the importance of savings and her different options; most crucially, understand how to borrow within their capacity to repay and to be in control of their financial condition. These workshops will be organized in 24 locations across India, which include Mumbai, Pune, Gujarat, Ajmer, Jaipur, Alwar, Bengaluru, Hosur, Salem, Erode, Dhanbad, Baramunda, Puri and Cooch Behar. Each city will have a minimum of two slots of 60 women and a few branches will have four slots of 120 women.

NEWS

PIL Seeks Tobacco Firms Out of CSR Regime; HC Issues Notices Calling for excluding the tobacco industry from the CSR regime, the PIL said they should be directed to pay the amount to state and central governments which would spend the funds on meeting the medical expenses of people affected by tobacco products, and for furthering the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) initiatives. CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on April 8, 2014 issued notices to authorities on a PIL seeking a direction to keep the tobacco industry out of the CSR initiatives as it would help them to promote their brands and earn goodwill. The First Bench, comprising acting chief

justice Sathish K. Agnihotri and justice M M Sundresh issued notices to the authorities directing them to submit their reply within two weeks on the PIL filed by S Cyril Alexander, state convener of Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC). The petitioner said they should be asked to pay their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions directly to state and central governments for welfare schemes. The petitioner pointed out that as the CSR scheme which took effect from April 1, 2014 companies are mandated to spend 5% of their profit after tax (PAT) on various welfare, development and relief activities. In the bargain, they are allowed to use their brand names and company logo, which is an opportunity to promote their brand name and create a good will.

While welcoming the legal obligation companies had been put under the CSR regime, the PIL said, “Allowing the tobacco industry to take part in CSR scheme would result only in promotion of their brand names, and would totally run counter to the very purpose and object behind the introduction of CSR scheme. In turn, it would only push up the expenditure incurred by the public exchequer towards health, environment and social welfare.” Calling for excluding the tobacco industry from the CSR regime, the PIL said they should be directed to pay the amount to state and central governments which would spend the funds on meeting the medical expenses of people affected by tobacco products, and for furthering the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) initiatives.

Tata Steel to Train 150 Youths in Hospitality Skills Every Year in Odisha This training aims at providing alternate livelihood opportunities for the youth residing in the GopalpurChhatrapur region and beyond to help them become self-reliant. BHUBANESWAR: With an aim to augment employability of the local youth through quality job oriented training, Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) has roped in Indian Hotels – Taj Group of Tata Group and Pratham, a renowned national level NGO – to start a short term, three-month long course on Hospitality Skill Development Training at Berhampur. Through this initiative, 150 trainees will be given specialized training on Food Production, Bakery and Confectionary at ‘Samarth Skill Development Center’ of TSRDS situated at Berhampur every year. After completion of the training, they will be provided with placement assistance by

Pratham, the programme implementing partner. This training aims at providing alternate livelihood opportunities for the youth residing in the Gopalpur-Chhatrapur region and beyond to help them become self-reliant. The training programme was inaugurated on March 26, 2014 by Suparna Nanda, Director & State Head, CII, Odisha in the presence of Sushanta Mishra, Chief, Gopalpur project, Tata Steel; Vasant Ayyapan, Head, CSR, Taj Group; Abhinav Anand, Area Head (Operations), Ginger Hotel; J K Mohanty, CMD, Swosti Group; Harihar Mohapatra, Resort Manager, Mayfair; Rohit Shinde, Head of Hospitality, Pratham. Lauding this initiative of TSRDS, Nanda opined that this skill development training will not only help the participants to get jobs, but will also motivate them to start their own business. Briefing about the Centre, Sushanta Mishra said, other than

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

latest training on Food Production and Bakery, the trainees will also be imparted specialized Communication & IT skills thereby enabling them to face the challenging demands of the hospitality industry. Earlier, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti last year, TSRDS, in partnership with CMC Academy, a subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services, started ‘Samarth Skill Development Centre’ to provide IT training to the local students in both software as well as hardware and networking. Established in 1907 as Asia’s first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is among the top-ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 29 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). It is now the world’s second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries.

C O V E R N EW S

European Parliament Mandates

Sustainability Reporting for Large Companies A new law passed by the European Parliament will require the large companies to include sustainability as part of their annual financial report. The Law will improve corporate governance system within business and increase transparency among stakeholders. BRUSSELS: A historic law passed in the European Parliament on April 15, 2014 under which large companies and businesses group across European continent will be required to report on social, environmental and human rights impact in their annual company report. Currently, fewer than 10% of the largest EU companies disclose such information regularly. This measure is part of the European Commission’s (EC) efforts to improve corporate governance in Europe and was announced by the EC in the Single Market Act communication in April 2011. Currently, 2,500 companies voluntarily produce sustainability reports and that will rise to nearly 7,000 by 2017, when the law goes into effect. The Law insures disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies and groups and increase of transparency and performance on environmental and social matters and, therefore, to contribute effectively to long-term economic growth and employment. The EC welcomed adoption by the European Parliament of the Directive on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large companies and groups. “Companies concerned will need to disclose information on policies, risks and results as regards environmental matters, social and employee-related aspects, respect for human rights, anticorruption and bribery issues, and diversity on boards of directors.”, European Commission said in the statement. The European Parliament –directly elected by European Union (EU) voters every 5 years, has three main roles include debating and passing European laws, with the Council; scrutinising other EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to make sure they are working democratically and debating and adopting the EU’s budget, with the Council. Parliament is one of the EU’s main law-making institutions, along with the Council of the European Union (the Council). SOCIETY TO BENEFIT FROM INCREASED TRANSPARENCY Michel Barnier, Internal Market and Services Commissioner said, “Companies, investors and society at large will benefit from this increased transparency. Companies that already publish information on their financial and non-financial performances take a longer term perspective in their decision-

making. They often have lower financing costs, attract and retain talented employees, and ultimately are more successful. This is important for Europe’s competitiveness and the creation of more jobs. Best practices should become the norm.” LAW WILL PREVENT CORPORATE SCANDALS First proposed in 1999 by Richard Howitt, European Parliament Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility, also welcomed the vote as a “major step towards ‘integrated reporting’ by businesses worldwide.” “All the evidence suggests that transparency is the best way to change business behavior. This European law will prevent corporate scandals and make a leap in the transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy for the future,” he added. Small businesses are exempt, but because the large companies required to report have to include information on their supply chains, it reaches far enough to “prevent corporate abuse of workers’ rights at home and abroad,” he noted. COMPANY EMPLOYEES WITH 500 TO DISCLOSE The new rules will only apply to large companies with more than 500 employees, as the costs for requiring small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to apply them could outweigh the benefits. In particular, large public-interest entities with more than 500 employees will be required to disclose certain non-financial information in their management reports. The scope includes approx. 6000 large companies and groups across the EU. The approach taken ensures that administrative burden is kept to a minimum. Companies will be required to disclose concise, useful information necessary for an understanding of their development, performance, position and impact of their activity, rather than a fully-fledged and detailed report. Furthermore, disclosures may be provided at group level, rather than by each individual affiliate within a group. The Directive gives companies significant flexibility to disclose relevant information in the way that they consider most useful, or in a separate report. Companies may use international, European or national guidelines which they consider appropriate (for instance, the UN Global Compact, ISO 26000, or the German Sustainability Code).

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C O V E R N EW S

European Parliament Mandates

Sustainability Reporting for Large Companies

Large public-interest entities with more than 500 employees will be required to disclose certain non-financial information in their management reports.

The Directive provides for further work by the Commission to develop guidelines in order to facilitate the disclosure of non-financial information by companies, taking into account current best practice, international developments and related EU initiatives. IMPROVING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE As regards diversity on company boards, large listed companies will be required to provide information on their diversity policy, such as, for instance: age, gender, educational and professional background. Disclosures will set out the objectives of the policy, how it has been implemented, and the results. Companies which do not have a diversity policy will have to explain why not. This approach is in line with the general EU corporate governance framework. This Directive also represents a first step towards the implementation of the European Council conclusions of May 22, 2013 on the need for further transparency on tax matters and for ensuring country-by-country reporting by large companies and groups. The Commission supports this objective and will endeavour to deliver effectively on the review clause included in this legislation. WHY DOES BUSINESS TRANSPARENCY MATTER Transparency leads to better performance. This is true not only about disclosure of financial information, but also as regards information on environmental and social matters. Transparent companies perform better over time, have lower financing costs, attract and retain talented employees, and are ultimately more successful. Investors are more and more interested in non-financial information in order to have a comprehensive understanding of a company’s development, performance, position and impact of its activity. They thoroughly analyse this information in their investment-decision process. WHO WILL BENEFIT? Each individual company disclosing transparent information on social and environmental matters will realise significant benefits over time, including better performance, lower funding costs, fewer and less significant business disruptions, better relations with consumers and stakeholders. Investors and lenders will benefit from a more informed and efficient investment decision process. Society at large will benefit from

companies managing environmental and social challenges in a more effective and accountable way. WHY DOES THE ACT ON BOARDROOM DIVERSITY? Large listed companies often have important international activities in different sectors, while many of their shareholders may also be international. Evidence shows however that EU companies often do not have a diverse board. Company boards comprising members with a similar educational and professional background, age or gender may be dominated by a narrow ‘group think’, which can lead to management decisions not being challenged effectively and to innovative ideas not being taken on board. In view of the key role of the board in the governance of companies, it is important to ensure that listed companies reflect better on the composition of their boards. To this end, this Directive will require large listed companies to be transparent about their diversity policy. However, they remain free to define what kind of diversity policy is appropriate to their specific situation. BACKGROUND § On April 16, 2013, the EC adopted a proposal to enhance business transparency on social and environmental matters. The European Parliament and the Council reached agreement on February 26, 2014. § This measure is part of the Commission’s efforts to improve corporate governance in Europe and was announced by the Commission in the Single Market Act communication in April 2011, in the communication ‘A renewed strategy 2011–2014 for Corporate Social Responsibility’ issued in October 2011, and in the Action Plan for Company Law and Corporate Governance, adopted in December 2012. § On February 6, 2013, the European Parliament adopted two resolutions (‘Corporate Social Responsibility: accountable, transparent and responsible business behaviour and sustainable growth’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: promoting society’s interests and a route to sustainable and inclusive recovery’), acknowledging the importance of company transparency on environmental and social matters.

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NE W S

Revolutionary Step Towards Cornea Retrieval Gurgaon Top Cop Alok Mittal and Y.P.Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank mull prospect of harvesting corneas of those who die in road accidents NEW DELHI: A revolutionary concept of collecting corneas is starting to take shape in the millennium city of Gurgaon. If successful, the move has the potential to be replicated across the country. The Gurgaon Police and Y.P. Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank officials are working on a proposal to retrieve corneas from unclaimed bodies and victims of road accidents with the consent of the relatives. Currently, only Delhi and Maharashtra have the provision of collecting corneas from accidental victims. Alok Mittal, Gurgaon’s Police Commissioner along with Ashok Mahindru, Managing Trustee, Mahindru Foundation; Vishnu Bhargava, CEO, Mahindru Foundation and Dr. TN Ahooja, CEO of Mahindru Foundation and Chairman of Y.P. Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank, mulled over the possibility of collecting corneas of accidental victims. With India facing a huge crunch of Eye donation – to the tune of nearly 20 lakhs, the move can go a long way in narrowing the gap between the donors and those who are curable blinds with the total number of cornea transplantation standing at a meagre 35000 to 40000 last year. Ashok Mahindru said, “This is a great endeavor where, Gurgaon Police and Eye

Mahindru Foundation Managing Trustee Ashok Mahindru and Police Commissioner of Gurgaon Alok Mittal in a meeting with Y.P.Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank officials Bank officials will work in tandem for betterment of curable blinds. Together, we can achieve so much more and help the campaign of blindness eradication from society.” Chief Executive of Mahindru Foundation Vishnu Bhargava, added, “An initiative like this can make a massive impact and will be a boon for the millions of curable blinds suffering in the country. Mahindru Foundation and Y.P.Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank officials will not leave any stone unturned to work towards eradication of blindness. If Gurgaon Police can make this happen, we can achieve the desired results much faster.” Y.P.Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank has so far harvested 1337 corneas and has

conducted more than 400 cornea transplantation free of cost. Members of the Eye Bank has requested the Commissioner to take immediate action on accidental deaths so that the Eye Bank can collect the corneas within 6 to 8 hours, with the consent of the deceased’s relatives. Mahindru Foundation, (earlier known as Mahindru Charitable Trust formed in July 2001 ) is a Public Trust, set up under the guidance and care of founder late Yashpal Mahindru. His son, as Managing Trustee of Mahindru Foundation and CMD of Advance Group, Ashok Mahindru has been carrying forward the legacy – being actively involved in noble initiatives of eradication of blindness and supporting girl child education.

IRCON Signs MoU with Transparency International India Integrity Pact is a tool conceived by the Berlin-based Transparency International to fight corruption in public procurement through a voluntary agreement between a buyer and the prospective vendors/bidders, refraining both sides to exercise any corrupt influence on any aspect of the contract. NEW DELHI: Ircon International Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking under the

Ministry of Railways, signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transparency International India (TII) for implementing Integrity Pact, here on April 22, 2014. This MOU is aimed at maintaining complete transparency, integrity and accountability in all its major contracts and procurement. The MoU was sign-ed by Mohan Tiwari, CMD, IRCON, and Dr. S.K. Agarwal, Chairman, TII in the pre-sence of senior officers of IRCON and TII. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. S.K. Agarwal said that the Integrity Pact will not only ensure efficiency, but it also helps in buil-ding public trust and enhances the credibility of

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the organisation. So far, 47 PSUs have signed the Pact, he informed. Integrity Pact is a tool conceived by the Berlin-based Transparency International to fight corruption in public procurement through a voluntary agreement between a buyer and the prospective vendors/bidders, refraining both sides to exercise any corrupt influence on any aspect of the contract. In his address, Mohan Tiwari said that the company has been voluntarily adopting all the Corporate Governance measures in its endeavour for transparency in public procurement, and implementing Integrity Pact is another step in this direction.

S U S T A I NA B L E L I V I NG-2 BY AK TRIPATHI

Connecting to Fire In the previous article under this series titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sustainable Livingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, we started with concept called Connecting to Mother Earth. We explored how the concept of connecting to Mother Earth (Prithvi) has direct and substantial bearing on the concept of Sustainability. We now take this journey forward and explore how connecting to Fire (Agni) is also closely linked to the concept of Sustainability.

he idea stems from basic fact that what derives itself from nature; comes from and gets backs to the five elements called Panchatatva viz; Earth (Prithvi), Fire (Agni), Water (Jal), Air (Vayu) and Void (Aakash). The human existence has a natural affinity to these elements and therefore it must connect, replicate and communicate with these five elements, in order to be sustainable and enjoyable. Fire (Agni) is one of these five powerful elements about which we shall talk in this article. CONNECTING TO FIRE (AGNI): Fire (Agni) has three distinct dimensions which have direct connectivity to sustainability. These three dimensions are - Fire as Purifier, Fire as Energy and Fire as Illuminator. Although these three dimensions are interlinked, Fire touches our lives distinctly through these three manifestations. We shall explore how these manifestations affect human existence and how connectivity to them takes us towards sustainability. FIRE- THE ULTIMATE PURIFIER Fire is the ultimate purifier. All kinds of bacteria, toxins, wastes are destroyed by fire. Even the worst kinds of wastes like hospital waste are finally disposed through a process called incineration, which is basically a process of burning the toxic materials. Not only fire is the best purifier, it is the quickest purifier. Although the other elements viz. Earth, Water, Air and

A K Tripathi is Additional General Manager & Senior Faculty (Strategy) at Power Management Institute, NTPC Ltd.

Void also have capacity to purify, fire surpasses all these elements in purification power. The most visible and abundant form of fire which nature has provided us is the Sun. The very first sustainability imperative of connecting to fire is to get optimal exposure to Sun. This exposure is essential for our bodies, homes and work places. It purifies us. It removes bacteria, viruses, odour, fungus, mucous, insects and prevents many diseases. It also improves blood circulation, mental health, mood, concentration and productivity. As a result, it reduces the need for anti-allergics, mood enhancing drugs, antibiotics, air purifiers and insecticides etc. and thus makes our living cleaner, purer and more sustainable. However, our quest for comfort keeps us largely away from the Sun. Many people spend most of their time closeted in houses, cars and offices with heavy curtains and air conditioning added for extra comfort. A glaring evidence of this behaviour is severe lack of vitamin D in many urban adults in the country. In an article by Pratibha Masand (Times of India May 5, 2013) it is reported that more than 80% of supposedly healthy Indians are vitamin D deficient. This report is based on the findings of Diabetes Foundation of India. It is an irony that while we live in a country full of sunshine but Indians are still deprived of the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency is also related to high incidence of Type 2 diabetes.

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S U S T A I NA B L E L I V I NG-2

Connecting to Fire

Connecting to Fire means optimally utilising the Energy of Sun (The natural and abundant source of energy) and responsibly using energy in whatever form it is available to us. Since Sun is a very powerful source, some moderation in physical exposure to Sun may be required, but the fact remains that Sun is a very potent anecdote against situations which create unsustainable living conditions.

One of India’s leading diabetologists, Dr. Banshi Saboo, founder of Diabetes Foundation of India, points out that research has established strong association of vitamin D deficiency with diabetes (type 1 and type 2), immunity disorders, asthma, TB, high blood pressure and neuro-muscular function.1 High Blood Pressure is also an all pervasive health problem. A WHO Project on Sentinel Surveillance of Indian Industrial population has documented a 28% overall prevalence of hypertension from 10 regions of the country in the age group 20-69. This means that one out of every fourth Indian adult in urban and industrial areas is suffering from hypertension. On global scale, high blood pressure is the biggest cause of deaths. An Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) global study of health risks finds that high blood pressure caused 9.4 million early deaths, while smoking was next biggest killer (The Guardian, Dec 13, 2012). Enormous amount of medicines is manufactured and consumed for curing high blood pressure, but the problem still uncontrolled. The sun’s rays are known to lower blood pressure. It has been proved that exposure to sun rays lowers blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure. Sunlight also penetrates deep into the skin to cleanse the blood and increases the oxygen content in human blood. It enhances the body’s capacity to deliver oxygen to the tissues; very similar to the effects of exercise. Ultimately and most importantly, Sunlight builds the immune system, making our bodies fit and sustainable. Connecting to Fire (Agni) in the form of sunlight, coupled with connecting to other four elements (Earth, Water, Air and Void) can cu re such large killer ailments like diabetes and high blood pressure. These so called lifestyle diseases are counter sustainability and counter well being. There is no point in allowing unsustainable conditions like high blood pressure into millions of

bodies and then opening health centres and treating them with medicines worth billions of dollars. This is an unsustainable vicious circle. Since Sun is a very powerful source, some moderation in physical exposure to Sun may be required, but the fact remains that Sun is a very potent anecdote against situations which create unsustainable living conditions. FIRE- THE ENERGY SOURCE Another powerful dimension of Fire is Energy. Fire is a well known form of energy. It is also the most widely used form of energy right from power plants to internal combustion engines to households. Connecting to Fire means optimally utilising the Energy of Sun (The natural and abundant source of energy) and responsibly using energy in whatever form it is available to us. In case of human habitats, this can be achieved by adopting some basic principles whenever we design or construct any house or building. This journey also has to start from our home. Optimising the building’s solar orientation for maximizing desirable solar gains during winter months and reducing intense solar gains during the summer months is one method. Sun is intense source of energy and if building is not designed properly, it can get heated up heavily during summer or can get cold in winters. In both situations, considerable electrical energy will be required to cool or heat up the spaces in summers and winters respectively. Electricity generated through fossil fuels has its carbon footprint. We must optimise our consumption of electricity. A good building design can reduce unnecessary electricity consumption. We must also make concerted efforts for identifying sources of wastage of energy (here again there is a need to begin from our homes) and then take systematic steps for either reducing or reutilising the waste energy.

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S U S T A I NA B L E L I V I NG-2

Connecting to Fire These days a vast majority of urban population lives in multi -storeyed residential complexes. We should insist that builders use Green Building concept while designing such complexes. For big complexes incorporating sensors and controls circuits so that lighting zones can be switched off independently and intelligently when day lighting is sufficient is another way of connecting to the Fire i.e. illumination.

Light shelves reflect and redistribute the natural light evenly in the entire room

This appears an obvious thing, but the fact remains that gigantic amount of energy is wasted in various establishments all over the world, including households. EVERY HOME HAS A CARBON FOOTPRINT We must individually examine the carbon footprint of our own homes. Seemingly trivial things like leaving electronic equipment on standby mode, leaving fans, lights, geysers or ACs in on condition when they are not needed, overcharging of batteries of cell phones and ipods, inefficient cooking methods etc. are all energy wasters. They appear as little things but millions of such little things make a big difference. Let us be aware of that. Every effort counts. Maximising the use of Solar Power is yet another powerful way of connecting to the Sun. In Europe, particularly in Germany, many houses have roof top solar power generation units. These units generate solar power to cater to internal needs of these households and sometimes also supply power to the Grid. Such solar units are called Grid Interactive Solar units. People in Germany take great pride in connecting to nature and have adopted such measures as a way of life. FIRE THE ILLUMINATOR Illumination of homes, workplaces, schools, hospitals and other buildings is also a very important area which is connected to the concept of Sustainability. Connecting to Fire also means optimum use of Sunlight and responsible use of other light sources. This can be achieved by keeping building orientation, interior colours and finishes so as to maximize the use of controlled natural day light. It significantly reduces artificial lighting energy use thereby reducing the internal cooling load and energy use. Not only it reduces electricity consumption, natural light also lifts mood and keeps people happy. Use of light shelf technology which enhances light in the

room by using reflective property of light is a technique which can be employed. It is a simple method as depicted in figure above whereby light shelves are created to spread Sunlight evenly throughout the room. These days a vast majority of urban population lives in multi â&#x20AC;&#x201C;storeyed residential complexes. We should insist that builders use Green Building concept while designing such complexes. For big complexes incorporating sensors and control circuits so that lighting zones can be switched off independently and intelligently when day lighting is sufficient is another way of connecting to the Fire i.e. illumination. CONCLUSION If we wish to have a sustainable future, we have to start from ourselves. The onus for a sustainable future lies on us and connecting to five elements shows us the way forward. Connecting to Fire (Agni) means that we connect to the Sun and respect all forms of energy while leading our day today lives ! REFERENCES AND GRATITUDE: 1. Times of India- May 5, 2013- Pratibha MasandMore than 80% of healthy Indians are vitamin D deficient 2. MindBodyGreen- 10 Healing benefits of the SunMracus Julian Felicetti, Sept 1, 2012 3. epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/ 12_8_what_is_green_GGGC 4. Indian Green Building Council- Green Homes Rating System Version 2.0 5. Toronto Green Standard Checklist 6. Canada Green Building Council

This time we discussed about connecting to Fire (Agni), next time we shall discuss about connecting to Water (Jal)

Views expressed in article are authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal views. Author can be reached at akt.global@gmail.com

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

I MP A C T

BALCO Taraimar Coal Block Unleashes New Strides in Community Development An unequivocal 'Black Diamond' Paradise – Situated 77 kms north west of Raigarh, this small town has rich deposits of coal. This natural abundance will in times to come, redefine the definition of industrial progress in Chhattishgarh. This will also beckon industrial houses to set up base here. Residents of Dharamjaigarh and the administrative body, both feel that massive progress will be seen in and around the area and ofcourse the fruits of development will also be shared by the people residing there.

ne of the World’s leading metal and mining group, namely, Vedanta Group’s Chairman, Anil Agarwal’s face radiates immense happiness whenever he talks about the community services being done by his Group Companies. He remarks “In Vedanta the position of community service is above business. I view all achievements in different areas at the same level. At my level, I too try to give my best to the work I am doing in a similar fashion as people in other levels are doing. When we think of giving back something to society, we should only think about its wellness. Our ancient books of wisdom also mention that we should serve society without any expectations.” This feeling inspires nearly 30,000 people working under Mr. Agarwal’s dynamic vision, to create new records of continuous progress all over the world. The age old saying that ‘Necessity is the mother of Invention’ is absolutely true. With the passing of time, the dimensions of progress have also changed. The world over, if you see closely, you will find that nations who have used their natural resources with prudence and established basic industrial infrastructure have made perpetual progress. Chhattishgarh has rich mineral deposits and is providing the opportunity to many Industrial houses to set up base here. Today, Vedanta group Company, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (BALCO) has also contributed to the all round industrial progress of Chhattishgarh. Under the dynamic leadership of its Chairman, Anil Agarwal, group Company- BALCO has contributed to technological development as well as community development in the State through its various projects which are bringing happiness to a myriad number of people. Along with an industrial venture in Raigarh District, BALCO has also started to touch people’s lives with its various community development projects.

Anil Agarwal Chairman –Vedanta Group

In Vedanta the position of community service is above business. I view all achievements in different areas at the same level. At my level, I too try to give my best to the work I am doing in a similar fashion as people in other levels are doing. When we think of giving back something to society, we should only think about its wellness. Our ancient books of wisdom also mention that we should serve society without any expectations.

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

I MP A C T

DHARAMJAIGARH An unequivocal ‘Black Diamond’ Paradise – Situated 77 kms north west of Raigarh, this small town has rich deposits of coal. This natural abundance will in times to come, redefine the definition of industrial progress in Chhattishgarh. This will also beckon industrial houses to set up base here. Residents of Dharamjaigarh and the administrative body, both feel that massive progress will be seen in and around the area and ofcourse the fruits of development will also be shared by the people residing there. BALCO’S COAL BLOCK Vedanta, Group Company, BALCO has been allocated ‘Taraimar Coal Block’ to meets its captive requirements of coal. Some more large companies have also been allocated Coal Blocks in the region. The coal mined from Taraimar Coal Block will be used by BALCO power project. BALCO's Coal Block comprises of five villages, namely, Taraimar, Bayasi Colony, Bayasi Basti, Dharamjaigarh Colony, Durgapur and Rupunga. The Coal Block lease area of BALCO has a very thin population of people. It is important to note that the requirement of coal is increasing at a steady pace all over the country to meet the continuously increasing power requirement. Apart from industrialization, agriculture as well as basic infrastructure development also require power. BALCO power project and its coal block are an indication of the Government's positivity towards industrial development. RISE IN LIVING STANDARD After decades, the light of progress will again shine on Dharamjaigarh, which otherwise was not in focus so far. Now the magic of ‘Black Diamond’ deposits waiting anxiously to be mined so that they can fuel the pace of industrialization which will change the skyline of Dharamjaigarh and augment its living standards for ever. Once mining starts, industrialization will rapidly pick up and will result in an all round progress and will place Dharamjaigarh in the top Industrial league of Chhattishgarh where it truly should be. It is now certain that this will also give opportunity of new jobs for local people of the area and the rise in earnings will raise the living standards of the local people. When incomes increases, expenditure also increases and the first to benefit is the area it happens in. Thus, a bright horizon is all set to light up Dharamjaigarh and its residents. A glance at Community Service projects in Raigarh-Dharamjaigarh Regions ! A Trauma Centre with an investment of Rs 25 lakh is being developed in Dharamjaigarh which falls under Taraimar Coal Block in District Raigarh. ! A Marketing Complex is being developed with an investment of Rs 26 lakhs. ! The City garden in Dharamjaigarh is being given a fresh look with an investment of Rs 16 lakhs. ! The Indoor Stadium in Dharamjaigarh is attracting sportsmen after getting a spruced look. This makeover has cost Rs 4.00 lakhs. ! The town’s pond is being deepened and cleaned with an investment of Rs 20.00 lakhs. ! BALCO gives its contribution in many social front. In the year 2013-14 BALCO participated in Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna. ! BALCO is running its Mamta Project under CSR programme. All 268 Anganwadees are covered under the project. 4200 malnourished and 300 severely affected from mal nourishment children are getting benefit from the project.

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

I N T E R V I EW BY RUSEN KUMAR

My Mobile University Makes Learning Accessible and Affordable for All HYDERABAD: Malaysia based LTT Global Communications has launched MyMobileUni.com, a free lifelong learning portal covering academic, lifestyle and lifelong learning programs for all. It empowers individuals of all ages in line with globalization and the need for human capital development towards a knowledge-based economy. Visitors to the site get opportunities to explore free courses and affordable courses made available by Universities, Business Schools and Organizations for the masses from all over the world. LTT Global Communications has over 10 years of learning and training experience and had come across many good websites that enhance and deliver education. As a global company, LTT Global saw an opportunity to enhance the education of all ages especially those who have little access to learning platforms of content and learning courses. MyMobileUni.com has started its India operation and is collaborating with India CSR Group to promote under Corporate Social Responsibility to various corporate houses. Vijay Shekar Peesapati, Country Director, My Mobile University shares his plans and scope on how it will help the community through the site’s various learning channels.

VIJAY SHEKAR PEESAPATI Country Director My Mobile University

Our programs help enhance digital literacy, learn new things or up-skill, improve one's language and soft-skills and as result help individuals improve their livelihood and give a positive impact to their workplace, social and community circle.

What is the vision and mission of My Mobile University? My Mobile University’s vision and mission is to impact lives through education and help individuals improve their livelihood and give a positive impact to their workplace, social and community circle. Kindly highlight historical backdrop of My Mobile University. MyMobileUni.com is a global initiative to impact lives through education by LTT Global an award winning mobile and web based learning company that has been pioneering learning on the go since 2004. We are a Digital Malaysia’s education sector company to help empower individuals and organizations through digital learning platform. The main reason for our initiative is that a large percentage of population still has little or no access to education and we decided to take action as we had over 10 years of learning and training experience and have come across many web sites that enhance the delivery of education to the general population. Other compelling reasons for us to launch this initiative includes: student

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study debts are on the rise world-wide, rising costs of higher education, employers are in search of high caliber staff with the right skill set for employment, a recent global study by Telefonica of young adults aged between 18-30 years said access to technology and education will help to bring them out of poverty and ensure them of their success (http://survey.telefonica .com), globally students, professionals, and businesses in their pursuit of success have to remain competitive, people retrenched, unemployed, people who come out of long medical leave and people between jobs looking for better opportunity and continuing education for professionals to maintain and upgrade skills is needed in a competitive market place. MyMobileUni.co’s platform makes it a one-stop centre to access free and quality learning content. We have links to the world’s leading Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) providers like Coursera, edX and Udacity and to other universities, organizations, NGOs’ and subject matter experts from all over the world who have content that they like to share with the world.

The other great thing is that there is no travelling required, and no need to buy books, thus no tree cutting as a result we not only make learning accessible but mobile and web learning is a go-green initiative too!

We have collaborated with CSR INDIA Corporate Social Services Pvt Ltd (CSR INDIA), who is also our global CSR partner as we embark together on a shared vision to impact lives through education and help make the world a better place. We are happy to say several local partners are on board and among them are Pragati (NGO), Hyderabad, who will be using this platform to up-skill youth and help them with employability, Trayi Educational Services is among our content providers and Voniz Inc. who is among our technology partners. We have on board with us several companies locally and globally who have come on board voluntarily to support this initiative in various ways via their skills and expertise and who all share our vision of making learning accessible and affordable and to impact lives globally together though education. What kind of services you are offering in India? According to Wikipedia India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. And according to a recent global study by Telefonica it is said that young adults have clearly stated that technology and education will help them come out of poverty and assure them of success. Our services are available to all as long as they have an internet connected device they are able to learn to anywhere, anytime. Our services offerings namely are the Free Learning Platform and the Premium Learning Platform: Free Learning Platform: Impacting lives through education via our FREE learning site MyMobileUni.com. We have 20 channels and thousands of courses, e-books and other digital content suitable for all who want to learn, re-skill or up-skill themselves, via Universities and College programs; Entrepreneur and Business Programs; Computer Science and IT Programs inclusive of Mobile App Development Programs; Professional Courses, Soft Skills and Skills Training for Workplace; Global Health and Medicine; Programs for Teachers; Programs for Teens and Children; Worldwide Radio and News; Video Talks and Lectures; Life Skills and Lifestyle Programs covering Motivation, Music, Art and Hobbies; Education Software Tools and exciting Mobile Apps you may download and learn from your mobile devices. Premium Learning Platform: And we also have a premium site for people who require services of a tutor, subject matter expert or get other educational resources, products and services made available at an affordable price to the My Mobile University community in line with our vision to make learning accessible and affordable. Local providers also get to offer their services to a global community by using this platform.

I N T E R V I EW

How My Mobile University is good for students for their study purpose? MyMobileUni.com is a platform for all ages whether they are students, employed, housewives, in business, retired; in short just anyone will find the site interactive and fun way to learn anywhere, anytime. We also offer other benefits to support personalized learning, for the first time everyone has an opportunity to learn because we leverage on technology, millions of people are able to access learning for free, anytime from all over the world and can now study science, engineering, humanities, etc delivered by the world's best professors without having to pay expensive tuition or having to quit their full-time job. It benefits professionals, or people who cannot afford, or gain admittance to traditional universities, enables to optimize the mix various educational offerings irrespective of location, time, age, and provider and build professional and personal skills. What is your view on Information Technology and the Future of Education in Indian perspective? LTT Global has been pioneering mobile learning for the last 10 years and we believe that right now everything is falling into place. Mobile devices and computers are priced affordably now, secondly improved infrastructure has better outreach, last but most important the mindset of people, now they are ready to learn on mobile devices those days there is a question as to whether one can learn on a mobile device, however today they are asking what can I learn? Our way of working, shopping, playing and learning has all changed and moved to the digital era and everyone has no choice but to embrace and leverage on it to remain competitive in this global arena. The great part of all this is that one can do it in the comfort of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home. One is now able to work and learn now. The other great thing is that there is no travelling required, and no need to buy books, thus no tree cutting as a result we not only make learning accessible but mobile and web learning is a go-green initiative too! MyMobileUni.com needs the support of organizations? We hope companies will be benefitted by supporting these initiatives through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget. A company can promot quality education and impact lives through education and training through the various channels in MyMobileUni.com. We are also offering CSR Project Implementation in the area of youth development.

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CA R E E R BY DR. SANJIV MARWAH

Career Opportunity in Corporate Social Responsibility CSR is considered as philanthropy, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all, an organization can accomplish growth with a responsible CSR programm. CSR professionals, world over, understand how to approach business problems and seek solutions that draw from different disciplines within the organization.

orporate social responsibility (CSR) also called corporate scruples, corporate citizenship, social functioning, or sustainable responsible business/responsible business across the sphere is a form of corporate self-regulation incorporated into a business model. Simply put, CSR is about incorporating economic, environmental and social aims within a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations and development. An organization can accomplish sustainable growth, if CSR becomes a fundamental part of its business process. Business companies worldwide, have recognized, that it is essential to imbibe in their core strategic vision, the concept of not just financial returns, but the important ingredient of social returns. Incorporating social returns is increasingly becoming the most sought after strategy for sustaining competitive advantage. Organization increasingly realize the importance of sustainability in their business opera-tions and in their long term strategies. CSR professionals, world over, understand how to approach business problems and seek solutions that draw from different disciplines within the organization. SCOPE The Companies Act, 2013 makes it compulsory for Indian companies to deliberately spend 2% of their profits on CSR activities. This has given a new boost to the field of Corporate Social Responsibility. The new law mandates cor-

porations with net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, income of Rs 1,000 crore or more, net profit of Rs 5 crore or more during any financial year to establish a CSR committee of the board, consisting of three or more directors, of which at least one director shall be an independent director. Within private and government sectors, new employment opportunities are increasing. Professionals are taught to translate corporate strategies into their CSR activities. The chances of making a career will be sought after and CSR/sustainability, coordinators, directors and managers will become the new buzzword in the world of hiring consultants. In India, these activities are managed by different qualified managers who are not specialists in the field. There is a clear requirement for professionals who appreciate the dynamics of government functioning, flagship curriculum, economy models and social condition. Accepting government functioning is particularly significant. Companies need to work with the government in many key areas which link health and education, even if they want to, they cannot just go to a slum and start some initiative. Mandatory corporate social responsibility is likely to enhance the demand for professionals by 50% in the upcoming years and the industry is likely to see at least 50,000 more job opportunities in this sector.

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CA R E E R

Career Opportunity in Corporate Social Responsibility Managers are accountable for determining and formulating strategies which strengthen a CSR aims. They carry out research, come up with ideas, develop policies, create comprehensive plans, build relationships with partner organizations, and then apply and synchronize a range of actions and initiatives, which are intended to have a positive contact on communities.

SKY IS THE LIMIT

SKILLS REQUIRED FOR A CSR PROFESSIONAL This is hard to elucidate due to the various roles and range of disciplines involved. Though the major skills necessary for a successful CSR Professional are: Business skills which include building insight, communication skills, decision making, commercial consciousness, IT, innovation, strategic awareness, leadership, handling complexity and problem solving. People skills like flexibility and understanding, developing others, determining without power, open mind, honesty, political consciousness, self-development and learning, building partnerships, team spirit and questioning, business as usual. Technical skills include technical know-how, understanding impacts, stakeholder dialogue, internal consultancy, selling the business case, accepting human rights and understanding property. JOB DESCRIPTION Corporate social responsibility managers are accountable for determining and formulating strategies which strengthen a company’s CSR aims. They carry out research, come up with ideas, develop policies, create comprehensive plans, build relationships with partner organizations, and then apply and synchronize a range of actions and initiatives, which are intended to have a positive contact on local communities. A corporate social responsibility manager tends to engage prospects of marketing and promotion. Indeed, in this line of work, one can perform as an internal and external spokesperson for company’s CSR policies and projects. People are also accountable for creating awareness of company’s promise to CSR and generating publicity around your organization’s

endeavors. Finally, corporate social responsibility managers are also liable for enrolling, handling and training junior staff members. ELIGIBILITY To enter into this profession, you will require an undergraduate degree in any discipline. However, studying an applicable subject, such as sociology, economics, international development, international studies, human rights, modern languages, marketing, PR, business studies, may boost your prospects of securing an entrylevel position. Different types of course are available at Masters Level and as part of MBA courses. Specialized courses like Master of Social Works (MSW) MBA in rural development and Post Graduate Diploma in rural development provided by different Institutes and universities may be the right choice for a career in CSR. SALARY AND BENEFITS Starting salaries depend on principal qualifications, skills and experience. Entrylevel CSR officers tend to earn about Rs 5 lakh per annum, while a mid level professional with a few years’ of experience can earn around Rs 15 lakh per annum. Senior corporate social responsibility managers can get annual salaries anywhere between Rs 40-60 lakh. It can go upto Rs 1 crore for CEOs. CSR teams tend to be quite small, so if you work hard and have plenty of aspirations, you can progress quickly.

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(Article first appeared in afternoondc.in) The author is the Director of ERA Business School (EBS), Delhi’s Industry anchored BSchool (Emerging Management AICTE-CII Survey 2013). He can be reached at director@ebsmail.in

A R T I C L E BY SANGEETA HAINDL

India: The Only Country with Legislated CSR The mandatory reporting standards introduced in this Companies Bill will strengthen and create uniformity, accountability of actions and will measure the impact of these activities. orporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is seen as a smart way to conduct business, making corporate entities into socially responsible citizens, visibly contributing to the social good. Socially responsible companies do not limit themselves to using their resources to engage in activities that increase only profits. They use CSR to integrate economic, environmental and social objectives into the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations and growth. The concept of CSR has evolved over the years, especially in India - now the only country with legislated CSR! With this new Companies Bill in India, it will hopefully motivate organisations to undertake CSR proactively. Organisations realise that the govern-ment here cannot alone uplift society and needs help from businesses. Under this Act, most firms with sizeable business are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three year annual average net profit towards CSR works. According to industry estimates, around 8,000 companies will fall into the remit of the CSR provisions; this would translate into an estimated CSR spend of $1.95 billion to $2.44 billion. Plus, with higher economic growth and increase in companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profits, this mandatory spending will go up. While many big companies have been actively engaged in CSR activities, the number is low, and this new law will lead to a significant increase in the numbers. Moreover, the Indian government has made it clear whether promoting healthcare can be considered as a social welfare spending activity by companies. And CSR activities would have to be within India. Livelihood enhancement and rural development projects, working towards protection of national heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art, setting up public libraries,

promotion and development of traditional arts and handicraftsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all come under CSR. Various activities aimed at reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups have been included. Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans, setting up of old age homes, day care centres and such other faci-lities for senior citizens would be considered as CSR work. Other CSR activities include ensuring ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agro-fore-stry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water. By providing more clarity on standardising the meaning of CSR in the Indian context and providing a favourable policy environment, the initiatives can be strengthened. These definitive steps undertaken by the Indian government imply that if companies employ CSR strategically, it can lead to achieving more sustainable businesses. By creating a pool of resources, whether financial or technical, a win-win situation is within reach of all the stakeholders involved. The mandatory reporting standards introduced in this Companies Bill will strengthen and create uniformity, accountability of actions and will measure the impact of these activities. (This article appeared in justmeans.com/blogs) Sangeeta Haindl, London is a staff writer for 3BL Media/Justmeans on topics - Social Innovation, Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurs.

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CA R E E R BY JASMIR THAKUR

Hiring a CSR Professional? The new CSR professionals are coming from varied backgrounds and it remains doubtful if they are able to spot things that are dissonant. The plain fact is that organizations with experience and practical knowledge of ground level realities have an upper hand in terms of delivering impactful programs.

nactment of the Companies Bill 2013, section 135, mandating business entities to actively participate, involve and bring to effect the aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility, has no doubt ushered an era of social revolution in the country. With businesses taking up, the question arises who should shoulder the responsibility of sustainability and strategic implementation of CSR at ground level. Out of 16,358 companies in India that fall into the ambit of 2% CSR spend, there are still a huge number of them who have to formulate, place and then projectivise their CSR Pro-grams. In this context role of human resource in terms of CSR consultant come into a top priority. This is a humongous task, especially when as aptly said, ‘The business of a business is business’, and CSR forms just a very miniscule part of the herculean operations that they carry out. The significance of having an experienced development consultant as partner saves time, energy and critical resources such as finance and stakeholder analysis by not reinventing the wheel. Development consultants have methodologies and tools and processes which save time. This can, thus reduce the lead-time for CSR Projectivisation precisely because they have done similar work several times over and know the process, pitfalls and opportunities, which the new CSR professionals without a knowledge or understanding of the dynamics of grass root communities sitting in the corporate offices would not necessarily have. In the era where generalization is taking its leap towards specialization, we cannot really consider the corporate professionals to switch from other departments to oversee or carry out CSR Activities. Having said that per se, experts who consult on various organization development issued too are not geared up to carry out CSR Programs. The question to ask is, do these people coming from different backgrounds have the sensitivity to understand and carry out grass root program delivery that stands as the very basic objective of CSR and the roar around it–Affecting Societies. The answer to this is No.

The situation can go haywire, the consequences can be dreadful. With the release of the rules, many articles were published predicting the rise in demand of CSR Professionals. However, what need to be further scrutinized are the existence, expertise and efficiency of such–CSR professionals. Do we have a shelf of them? YES. Do they exist in the current market scenario? YES and if they do who are they? Well, Google it and you will find a multitude of them. However, in this situation the essence of CSR can be kept intact by involving those nonprofit organizations who are a part of the grass root realities and those having knowledge and understanding of community dynamics as well. It’s imperative for businesses to establish where the synergy can take place to deliver complete output and add to the bigger picture by not just carrying out CSR Activities but also creating an impact. The new CSR professionals are coming from varied backgrounds and it remains doubtful if they are able to spot things that are dissonant. The plain fact is that organizations with experience and practical knowledge of ground level realities have an upper hand in terms of delivering impactful programs. Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of a company’s CSR attitude on a community. Section 135 clearly states immediate projectivisation and impact and it’s not the time to test waters and learn from mistakes and experiments, this is clearly not the time to adopt trial and error methods, and hence it’s significant to create maximum impact in minimum time. Unlike core business activities, CSR is about tangible and intangible deliverables that directly affect societies. CSR is actually about positively affecting human life and behaviour changes. “CSR is like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same. But you leave them all over, in everything you do!” Jasmir Thakur is the Secretary & E.O at Samabhavana Society, Mumbai

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A R T I C L E BY ANIL AGARWAL

Fulfilling the Dream of Biju Patnaik

We engaged with 7000 local people for 7 years to build Kalahandi's first industrial project, the Vedanta Alumina Refinery and India's first alumina refinery after a gap of 25 years. The only way I could bring Kalahandi into the main stream was through creation of employment opportunities and development of infrastructure through the industrialization process.

he versatility of Odisha in culture & heritage, rivers and sprints, festivals, temples, universities & colleges, beautiful beaches, highways & rain-connectivity and rich mineral resources, always excited me. While I visited the sun temple at Konark, Lord Jagannath temple at Puri and few temples at Bhubaneshwar, I realized how majestic Odisha is. The great visionary late Shri Biju Patnaik had set a vision for Odisha – to be one of the most developed States in terms of agriculture, industries, employment generation, infrastructure development and welfare of tribals. The State did develop in all directions, but a few districts were left behind, one of them being Kalahandi, the most backward districts of India. Late Shri Biju Patnaik had strong vision to bring Kalahandi into the main stream and this dream stayed with him for many decades. He motivated me to visit Kalahandi and see the distress economic condition for myself. The abject poverty, malnourishment, malaria, distress sale of babies and necessity to improve the lives of tribals were enough proof of the dismal condition of Kalahandi. The only way I could bring Kalahandi into the main stream was through creation of employment opportunities and development of infrastructure through the industrialization process. I realized, India has world’s 4th largest bauxite reserves and Odisha alone is housing about 65% of India’s bauxite. Bauxite mining has been globally accepted as green mining and aluminium as green metal. In natural resources, Odisha has a similar geology and potential that of Brazil, Latin America and Australia.

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A R T I C L E

I always felt, Odisha has immense potential to make itself global educational hub by setting universities that can be bench marked with Harvard and Oxford. Odisha also has potential to set-up large conventional centres and exhibition grounds on the lines of India Habitat Centre and Pragati Maidan in Delhi as knowledge sharing hubs by Indian and international experts.

I decided to set-up a world class 6 million tonne Alumina Refinery in Kalahandi. The State government also showed interest and promised to provide bauxite to the Refinery. India too was awaiting to open up its first large bauxite mine after a gap of 35 years. Utilization of just about 5% of this rich Indian bauxite, in most sustainable manner, could make India world’s 3rd largest aluminium producer. We engaged with 7000 local people for 7 years to build Kalahandi's first industrial project, the Vedanta Alumina Refinery and India’s first alumina refinery after a gap of 25 years. It was time now to build India's largest integrated aluminium complex in Jharsuguda with 1.6 million aluminium smelter and 4,000 MW of power project. Our plants are extremely modern, equipped with latest and world’s most environment friendly technology. While pursuing the vision of Late Shri Biju Patnaik, Vedanta had gone ahead and invested Rs 50,000 crore, the largest investment in Odisha till date. Vedanta became the catalyst of change in Kalahandi. Employment generation for the locals, infrastructure development like roads, bridges, schools, medical facilities etc. started coming into existence. Vedanta also initiated community service programs to bring women empowerment, child care, health care, agriculture development and vocational training for the locals. Slowly and steadily Kalahandi also started embracing with modern amenities like petrol pumps, gas agencies, ATM machines, shops and cinema halls. TRUE POTENTIAL YET TO UNVEIL The Vedanta Refinery is more than 5 years old but the Refinery is yet to receive the promised bauxite from the State Government. As the bauxite is being sourced from other States the Refinery is running at only 40% capacity. Once the Refinery receives Odisha

BIJU PATNAIK 5 March 1916- 17 April 1997

bauxite and it starts operating in full capacity, Kalahandi will be at par with any other economically stabilized districts in India. ODISHA, AN EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE DESTINATION I always felt, Odisha has immense potential to make itself another global educational hub by setting international universities that can be bench marked with Harvard and Oxford. It is important to develop young brains into think tanks so that they can drive India into the future. Odisha also has potential to set-up large conventional centres and exhibition grounds on the lines of India Habitat Centre and Pragati Maidan in Delhi for international exhibitions and as knowledge sharing hubs by Indian and international experts. MY PRIORITIES FOR INDIA When I think about India my top priorities remain generation of employment and eradication of poverty. India has enough potential to produce worth USD 400-500 billion in natural resources like oil & gas, gold, silver, iron ore, aluminium, copper, coal, rock phosphate and others. These natural resources are bound to generate substantial revenues, and more than 50% will go to the government. Employment opportunities will also be created for 10-15 crore people, by way of setting-up over thousands of new Large, medium and small scale industries towards processing of these natural resources. GDP will improve, deficit will reduce and a win-win situation for all. It is equally important to invest in exploration to ensure substantial natural resources for our future generation. (Anil Agarwal is the Chairman – Vedanta Group)

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

S E R I E S BY PRABHU GUPTARA

Charity, Philanthropy, Nation-Building & CSR: A Historical Perspective (Part-2) Professor Prabhu Guptara, a global thought leader, gave a talk at India International Centre, New Delhi on August 12, 2013. The topic of his speak was ‘Charity, Philanthropy, Nation-Building & CSR: A Historical Perspective’. We have started a series of article based on his talk. Following is the text, of Prof. Prabhu Guptara's talk. Continued from the previous issue.

e know that Jainism predates Buddhism because the Buddha studied under Jains, and the Buddhist way is the middle path between the materialism of Vedic practices and the renunciation and other-worldliness idealised by Jainism. So Vedic tradition, which can be described asthisworldly, was challenged on the one hand by the otherworldliness of the Jains, and on the other hand by the highly common sensically- and pragmatically-oriented tradition originating with the Buddha, which emphasized and emphasizes the Middle Way between, on the one hand, orientation towards victory in battle and thisworldy prosperity presented to us by the Vedas, and, on the other hand, the life-abandoning philosophy of Jainism. Though it was Jainism that originated many of our most popular ideas such as reincarnation, vegetarianism and care for animals, it was the middle way of Buddhism that seems to have produced in the reign of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka (3rd century BC) the first large-scale empire-wide example of care for the environment, care for animals, tree-lined roads between major towns with reasonably- and regularly-spaced facilities providing drinking water for travelers, and so on. There was also much more widespread education than had been the case in Vedic society - and Jain and Buddhist education (unlike Vedic education) did not discriminate on the basis of caste – famously in the ancient Buddhist universities, such as Taxila, Nalanda and Odantapuri. Jain centres of learning never seem to have attained that sort of eminence (even though they were better at retaining the old manuscripts and seem to have been better at retaining scholarship), principally because the most religious Jains

starve themselves to death – you know of course that Jainism is the only religion in the world that places the highest possible value on religious suicide” or “suicide in the interests of liberation from the cycle of births, deaths and rebirths”. Now the interesting question is this: was the glory of Ashoka’s reign – his care for the environment, for animals and for humans - a case of royal philanthropy or was it merely sensible state policy? In any case, this marks one of the first cases in Indian history of the convergence of philanthropy and public policy – and there are a few other cases known to Indian myth, legend and history, for example of King Harishchandra and the Emperor Bharata (after whom India is named in our classical language, Sanskrit). So let me sum up my argument up to this point: there was no concept of philanthropy involved in our earliest religious practices1, at least as far as can be judged from the text of the Rig Veda. Humanitarian content related to our religious practices originates only from the time of Jainism and Buddhism, which were absorbed into Hindu traditions during the time of the Upanishads and Puranas: T S Eliot, in what was probably the most important poem of the 20th century, The Waste Land, relates the daa in daan, etymologically, to Daatta (which Eliot translates as ‘give’ but whose sense is closer to ‘present’ (as in ‘give as a present’), as well as to Dayadhvam (which Eliot translates as 'sympathise’) and to Damyata (which Eliot translates as ‘control’, but whose sense is probably closer to ‘self-restraint’). ‘Daatta, Dayadhvam Damyata’ is of course the first line of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is considered the most important of our thirteen principal Upanishads.

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S E R I E S

Muslims arrived in India initially as traders, and then as relatively small marauding parties which attacked temples and monasteries wherever they might have hoards of gold and stores worth attacking.

In any case, the contributions of Buddhist and Jain traditions appear to have been undone by two developments, first by the rise of Tantra and second by the rise of Shankaracharya’s Non-dualism (Advaita). Tantra’s sexual mysticism may have been mystical for Tantrik adepts but seems to have given rise to sexual licentiousness and moral dissolution among our royalty and nobility (which is of course our warrior caste), and Shankaracharya, 8th or 9th century AD, was the main force (intellectual, organisational and probably physical) that dis-established Buddhism as well as Jainism in India, leading to the decline of these once-popular religions. If the world around us is an illusion, as Shankara’s philosophy asserts, then there is no incentive to try to understand its functioning or to derive empirical knowledge from it. “This logical corollary may have been in part the cause of the pedantic intellectualism which became characteristic of the … centres (founded by Shankaracharya) in later centuries” (as one of India’s foremost historians, Romila Thapar, puts it). In any case, Indian kingdoms were now ready to fall to Muslim and other invaders. Muslims arrived in India initially as traders, and then as relatively small marauding parties which attacked temples and monasteries wherever they might have hoards of gold and stores worth attacking2. At a time when the ideological assertion of neo-Hinduism of the type advocated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is reaching new heights, it is worth emphasising that the motivation of the invaders, whether pagan White Huns from Russia or Muslim Mongols, Afghans, Persians, Central Asians or Turks, does not seem to have been primarily ideological or religious (they did not destroy, for example all the small temples they came across, which would have cost them almost nothing in terms of time and effort). Rather their motivation was primarily materialistic – they concentrated on urban centres and on the large temples and monasteries where gold and other treasures were concentrated – as witnessed down to our own day: you may recollect that the vaults of the 16 th century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, were discovered to have gold, diamonds and precious stones possibly worth USD 62 billion, whose existence had till then been known to only a very few among the temple priests and trustees. The Tirumala temple in eastern Andhra Pradesh state is reported to have 3,000 kilograms of gold alone, a third of which it deposited with the State Bank of India in 2010. The total wealth in all our temples has never been properly computed3. Whatever we may think about the continuing impact of

Charity, Philanthropy, Nation-Building & CSR: A Historical Perspective (Part-2)

Vedic or Brahminic religion in terms of the accumulation of gold, diamonds and precious stones in our temples, and whatever may be our attitude to the destruction of these extremely wealthy temples and monasteries by marauding hordes from the 8th century onwards, India was in equal measure blessed and cursed by having Muslim kings and emperors4 from about that time, most outstandingly of course the Mughal rulers of India from the 16th century. Under the religiously tolerant Akbar, the country flourished materially and culturally, primarily due to sound fiscal, monetary and infrastructural policies (roads were built, there was a stable currency, and sensible policies regarding taxation and expenditure). As had earlier been the case under the Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd c BC, philanthropy appears to have been unnecessary in Akbar’s reign in the 16th century AD.Akbar’s rule was a contrast to the very intolerant Islamic policy followed by his own great grandson, Aurangzeb, from whose adventures the empire never recovered. However, it is also worth reminding our contemporary Hindu zealots that the Mughal Empire was not finally destroyed by Shivaji and other Hindus (most of us were very happy to collaborate with the Mughals and indeed with all other invaders, including the French and the British!). Rather, the Mughal empire had its most significant blow at the hands of a fellow-Muslim, the Afghan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, and the coup de grace was eventually delivered by another group of foreigners, the British. Continued ... REFERENCES (1) Nath, Vijay. (1987) Dāna, gift system in ancient India, c. 600 B.C.-c. A.D. 300: a socio-economic perspective. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, India (2) Delhi was possibly the richest city in the world when Tamerlane sacked it. Marozzi, Justin (2004). Tamerlane: Sword of Islam Conqueror of the World. Harper Collins. UK, p. 269 (3) According to one estimate, the quantity of gold in private hands in India is 26,600 tons (and this too lies almost exclusively as a non-productive asset in the nation, personal and family economies) http://2ndlook.wordpress.com/2007/11/10/indiathe-worlds-richest-economy last accessed 11 March 2013, 0628 CET (4) During the Mughal empire, India was the world’s second largest economy, with the world’s largest industrial output, the largest produce of gunpowder, the world’s most impressive shipbuilding industry, a steel industry with an international reputation, and the largest gold reserves.

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

A R T I C L E BY C S VERMA

Reforming the Public Sector Public Sector Undertakings are big employers and contribute large portions of their profits towards development and corporate social responsibility. Give SOEs the tools and framework for achieving greater growth, for their own sake and in the economy's interest, to maximise wealth creation

he way state-owned companies have grown over the last 20 years in India is noteworthy. They contribute significantly to India’s economy and promote industrial and urban infrastructure. They are big employers and contribute large portions of their profits towards development and corporate social responsibility. The contribution of central PSUs in terms of total turnover has been 20-24 % of India’s GDP during 2008-12. Despite subdued growth, the PSUs clocked a net profit of Rs 1,15,300 crore in 2012-13, a 17% jump over the previous fiscal. They employ 14.04 lakh people, and spent Rs 1,16,375 crore on salary and wages in 2012-13. Their contribution to the central exch-equer by way of excise, customs duty, cor-porate tax, interest on central government loans, dividend and other duties and taxes increased to Rs 1,62,761 crore. Four PSUs and one public sector bank are in the global Fortune 500 list. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been an important element of many economies, including the most advanced ones. In fact, SOEs have been around for more than 100 years in capitalist economies. Their role has grown after the crisis of 2008. In January 2012, The Economist pointed out that “state-directed capitalism is not a new idea: witness the East India Company. But it has undergone a dramatic revival.” With the West in recession since 2008, stimuli and SOEs have kept their economies running. Though SOEs have been characterised as lagging in business performance, some contemporary SOEs are among the largest and fastest-growing multinational companies in the world. They compete with private firms in domestic and international markets.

CUTTING-EDGE PSUs Many success stories of today began as SOEs in the developing world. In the developed world, the list includes Renault, Rolls-Royce, Posco and British Aerospace. Ownership cannot predict performance. With this logic, Singapore Airlines and Air India would be similar, as their ownership structures are similar. But things can get even better for SOEs. What about setting up a holding company on the lines as Temasek of Singapore or Sasac of China or Khazanah in Malaysia? Temasek was incorporated in 1974 to hold and manage investments and assets previously held by the Singapore government, leaving the ministry of finance to focus on policymaking. To separate regulation from ownership, the Chinese government constituted a regulatory body called State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) in 2003. Its mandate was to draft laws and regulations about state-owned assets, managing and restructuring these assets and hiring and laying off executives of SOEs. All SOEs were taken away from the control of government agencies and started reporting to the State Council. The need for creating such a holding company arises when SOEs grow too big and managing them becomes difficult. As markets reform, SOE regulation and operations need to be separated. The holding companies regulate SOEs minimally, without interfering with operations. Since Independence, the government adopted measures to accelerate industrial development by setting up SOEs in core and strategic sectors. After the reforms of 1991, the government opened up sectors reserved for SOEs, leading to increased competition from domestic and multi-

CSR & COMPETITIVENESS, APRIL 2014

national companies. Under the new economic environment, SOEs modified operating strategies and revisited the management of people, process and tech-nology. PSUs ON TOP This would not have been possible without efficient use of capital, human and financial resources and enhanced productivity. The public sector can be as competitive as the private sector. Some private sector companies benchmark themselves against the public sector. Many hire skilled people from SOEs. TIME FOR SWOT ANALYSIS India’s integration with global markets has thrown up opportunities and challenges for SOEs. Yet, what is lacking? Do they lack managerial autonomy or motivation? Is there a need to redefine the ownership structure? Is there a need to separate the ownership from management? Should we borrow ideas from Singapore or China and set up a holding company to regulate the Maharatnas and Navratnas? Can SOEs be free to define their relationships with their stakeholders? Is there any doubt that effective governance encourages better decisionmaking and improves manage-ment? The time has come to reconsider the notion that the private sector is innately efficient and the public sector is inherently inefficient. Give SOEs the tools and framework for achieving greater growth, for their own sake and in the economy’s interest, to maximise wealth creation.

(The Economic Times) The Author is chairman, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises

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National Conference on Fly Ash Management in Raipur on June 11, 2014 RAIPUR (Chhattisgarh): CSR India Corporate Social Services Pvt Ltd (CSR India) in association with INDIACSR, India's largest Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility news network, will organize a day-long 2nd National Conference on Fly Ash Management, the compelling issue that necessitates prompt focus and concern, in Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh state, on June 11, 2014. Last date of Registration is May 15, 2014. The theme of the Conference is Fly Ash: Wealth from Waste. The mega symposium, will delve at length on the disposal and effective utilization of fly ash and to what extent the fly ash management has taken strides in India over the past few years. The emphasis of the Conference is aimed to provide a forum for the producers and the prospective consumers of Fly Ash along with the policy-makers and other stakeholders to talk about opportunities for maximum utilization of Fly Ash. Conference will incorporate significant talks and discussions addressing all pertinent issues relating to fly ash including regulation, disposal challenges and practical methods of fly ash management.”, Rusen Kumar, Director, CSR India said. “The Conference will bring forth valuable information and knowledge on wider applications of fly ash for the fly-ash generating industries and those sectors who are the users for better fly-ash management in Chhattisgarh”, he added. The speakers, who are the industry’s best, acquainted with sound understanding, study and rich experience is being invited to share and enlighten the eminent gathering. Listening to these speakers would not only be a sheer delight but would facilitate realization of facts with knowledge sharing and better insight on the issue that has emerged as one of utmost importance. The encouraging support from all the corners of the organizations to organize this event has been quite inspiring. It gives pleasure to inform that some of the well known personalities from corporate, academics & research

institutes have kindly consented to be part of this occasion to discuss their observations, achievements, case studies and researches. Sustainable management and disposal of fly ash is becoming challenging job for Power plant producers across India. Fly ash can become a wealth generator by making use of it for producing ‘green building’ materials, roads, agriculture etc. It is estimated that full utilization of the generating stock will provide employment potential for three hundred thousand people and result in a business volume of over Rs 4,000 crore. About the theme Fly Ash being considered a waste few years back, has converted itself into wealth, as a usable, valuable resource by establishing viable avenues for Fly Ash management. Previously Fly Ash was looked upon as a industrial waste and a pollutant. The perception has undergone considerable change over the past few years. Now Fly Ash -a ‘waste material’ considered a ‘resource material’. Fly Ash is now also being used as an admixture for structural mortar and concrete, for making bricks, blocks, filling of mines, making of embankments etc. Alternative building materials for construction industry for manufacture of items like doors, flooring tiles, false ceilings, etc have been developed using Fly Ash. Last year event: Mega Confrence Frb 17, 2013 Last Year Participating Organizations: Last year in Feb we organized very successful mega conference in Raipur. Here are detail of participant organizations. National Institute of Technology- Raipur, NTPC Limited, Indira Gandhi Agriculture University- Raipur, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Metallurgical Laboratory-Jamshedpur, Rio Tinto India, Advanced Materials & Pro-

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Sponsorship, Speakership and Partner-ship opportunities are available. Expression of interest can be addressed to Rusen Kumar, 9981099555 conference@indiaflyash.com

cesses Research Institute- CSIRI-Bhopal, Central Road Research Institute, Indian Cement Review, Shree Cement Ltd, Eco Ventures Pvt Ltd, Biltech Building Elements Ltd, Sand Plast India Ltd, Eco Bricks Pvt Ltd, Monnet Power Company Ltd, Reliance Coal Mines, Jayaswal NECO Industries Ltd, Wardha Power Company Ltd, Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd, Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd, Lafarge India, Moser Baer Projects, Bharat Aluminum Company Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd, Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, Korba West Power Company Ltd, Nalwa Steel & Power Ltd, GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Limited (GCEL). Last year distinguished experts/ scientists/speakers Dr. S. Murali (M.Tech., Ph.D.), Sr. Scientist, Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR)-Bhopal; Dr. Sanjay Kumar (Ph.D-Ceramic Engineering), Principal Scientist- Resource, Energy & Environment, National Metallurgical Laboratory-Council of Scientific & Industrial ResearchJamshedpur; Sudhir Mathur, Head-Geotechnical Engineering Division, Central Road Research Institute-New Delhi; Dr. Hishmi Jamil Husain, Environment Superintendent, Rio Tinto India; Navneet Jagatramka, Editor Ispat Times Group; IM Loya & Dr. A.M. Rawani, Technology Transfer and Adoption of Innovations, National Institute of Technology Raipur; Rajdeep Chowdhury, Biltech Building Elements Ltd, New Delhi; Dr KK Sahu, Sr-Scientist, Indira Gandhi Agriculture University Raipur; Mahmood Pracha, Supreme Court Advocate-New Delhi; Arun Manglik, CEO-Eco Bricks Pvt LtdNew Delhi; Rusen Kumar, Director, CSR INDIA

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