Northcap University organises Seminar on Our Obligations towards the Society

Gurgaon witnessed top CSR heads from Corporate Sector and NGOs coming together for a Seminar “Our Obligations towards the Society” which was organized by THE NORTHCAP UNIVERSITY. The aim of the seminar was to enlighten the students on what is corporate social responsibility and how different organisations work for it. The seminar was inaugurated by Prof. Prem Vrat, Pro-Chancellor, NCU and Brig. SK Sharma (Retd), Pro Vice-Chancellor, NCU. The eminent speakers present were Ms Sonia Shrivastava, CSR Head, South Asia, Intel; Ms Harshi from NGO Goonj; Mr Pravin Mallick, Environment Director, Tetra Pak India Pvt Ltd, South Asia Markets and Ms Mamta Saikia, Vice President, Bharti Foundation. More than 200 students and faculties attended the seminar.

Speaking at the occasion, Prof. Prem Vrat (Pro Chancellor, NCU) said, “CSR is an important business proposition. The organizations should realize the importance of Triple bottom line and 3Ps (people, planet and profit).” The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility was summarized to the students. This was an important seminar as every student in the current day will join a corporate tomorrow. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to get a better understanding of what initiatives corporates undertake to cater the social cause.

Ms Sonia Shrivastava in her interaction with the students said, “We should be able to tackle global challenges, with options for both society and corporates to flourish. The management of the organizations should consider the business value as well as the societal values.”

Ms Harshi elaborated the ethos and ideologies of GOONJ, and its functionalities. A video featuring Mr Anshu Gupta, Founder Goonjwho has been awarded the prestigious Raman Magsaysay award in 2015 was very well received by the students. A stall was also set-up by Goonj volunteers that had products made from waste material like torn jeans, audio tapes, used papers etc. Many students bought various products like bags, notepads, and key chains etc. that were there for sale. Mr Pravin Mallick shared the CSR initiatives and activities of Tetra Pack and Ms Mamta Saikia threw light on the corporate actions of Bharti Foundation and how it helps in the direction of social causes.

A question-answer session was also held in which the participants interacted with the speakers regarding the queries they had about CSR. It was a very informative session and the students learnt about CSR and its importance. They expressed their desire to come forward to serve their obligations towards the society.

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CSR Show 2015: Gurgaon to become the CSR Hub of India

Hundreds of corporate firms, PSUs, social organizations and NGOs congregated at the CSR Show 2015, the biggest event of its kind being organized in Epicenter, Gurgaon. The two-day event aimed to showcase 'the best of sustainable and social practices adopted' by the industry and the welfare organizations alike, with Reliance Foundation, Max Foundation, Jindal Steel & Power limited, DLF Foundation, ONGC, MMTC, Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, Samsung, FICCI, GMR, Tata, JSW Foundation and Indian Oil among the participants.Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, The Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development was the chief guest present on the occasion. Mrs. Shallu Jindal, Director, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, Mr. Jitendra Kalra, COO, Reliance Foundation,Lt. General Rajender Singh, CEO, DLF Foundation , Mr. Deepak Arora, CEO, Essar Foundation, Ms Neelima Khetan, Director, CSR & Sustainability, Coca-Cola, Mr. Sumantra Sen, JSW Foundation and Mrs. Mohini Daljeet Singh, CEO, Max Foundation  were amongst the other dignitaries present at the show.

The exhibition-cum-seminar opened on Tuesday, and was thematically built around the idea of 'building sustainable business through CSR. The event was organized by the Live Week in association with DLF Foundation as their event partner. The show hosted a number of speakers from the corporate world. The seminar started with an exhibition on some of the prominent and effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives conducted by those participating, along with a series of panel discussions on the side about CSR, sustainability and Swachh Bharat.

The first round of plenary discussion was on “PSU, Corporations, Governments and Development Sector’s role in Inclusive Growth with focus on Swachh Bharat.” Speaking on the occasion Lt General Rajender Singh, CEO, DLF Foundation said “We need to introspect that are we going the right way which will benefit our country, our society and humanity at large.

The latest company act and mandatory 2% expenditure on CSR has been a landmark as far as the social initiatives are concerned. Unemployment is the biggest problem that our country is facing today, our country is the youngest in the world with an average age of 28. Government has rightly laid down the priorities and our first priority as of now is to skill our youth and get them jobs, second is health, then education and after that comes our community development initiatives and Swachh Bharat. I believe that our responsibility as a Corporates is to act as a catalyst and boost the efforts of Government. Corporates have a great role in creating employment, lets create a kind of environment where people are skilled have jobs, let us educate them and make them the future leaders of the country. DLF Foundation has been extensively working on Skill Development, we aim to create a network of large no of skill developmental centres and train under-privileged youth and help them get jobs. Our target is to skill a million youths in the next decade. ”

The second day of the show witnessed discussion on the Swachh Bharat Mission and sanitation practices. The Corporates and NGO’s shared views and lessons on companies and PSU’s ambitious National Sanitation Mission, state of affairs in CSR post the companies Act, and Integrating Human Rights into Business Practice.

Ms Mugdha, one of the organizers, Live Week said “CSR show is an assembly of the strongest and most socially responsible organizations and NGOs. We aim to bring the best CSR practices together in a common platform for the welfare of the society. 

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Tata Power ramps up CSR Programs

Tata Power, India's largest integrated power company, has always undertaken various initiatives with an aim to improve the quality of life, and ensure holistic development of its surrounding communities. The strategic approach ensured focus on sustainable long term programs across all locations while also looking into location specific needs as well. The company brought in further robustness to systems and processes to align to the intended outcomes, thus benefitting more than 250 villages across 7 states in FY15 through community development initiatives. The Tata Power Community Development Trust acts as development vehicle for driving these initiatives.

At present, the CSR outreach covers half a million people through various initiatives in education, health, livelihood, social capital, and nurturing sustainability. The total CSR spend of the Company in FY15 stood at Rs. 31.1 crore as against the required 2 per cent (Rs. 29.8 crore) as per the Companies Act. In addition to the above, the CSR spend of subsidiaries and joint ventures of the Company was Rs. 18.2 crore, as against the required Rs. 17.2 crore as per the Act.

Responding to the need of the hour, Tata Power distributed more than 3500 relief kits as part of the flood relief efforts in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and 2000 solar lamps and helped restore power network to those impacted by Cyclone Hud-Hud in Vishakhapatnam district. Various educational initiatives undertaken by the company had a positive impact on more than 1 lakh students across 350 schools. The company also extended Vocational Training and Employability programme to 1000 youth from over 96 villages.

Speaking on these initiatives, Mr. Anil Sardana, MD & CEO, Tata Power, said, “We at Tata Power have always believed that companies must give back to the society on a sustainable basis. Led by its motto of inclusive growth, these initiatives have augmented the potential of the target communities, thereby strengthening our belief of being a Neighbour of Choice. As a part of collective responsibility towards nation building, Tata Power will continue to engage with key stakeholders including community to sustain the desired outcomes in the long run.”

In FY 15, Tata Power launched its flagship initiative, the Model Village program which aims at transforming 53 villages on development with a sustainable approach to work closely with stakeholders at large. These villages would be taken up in phased manner spreading over a decade through a participatory approach based on key priorities of community.

As a part of the ‘Invisible Goodness’ initiative for the centenary year, Tata Power has launched various new initiatives including empowering individuals to become sustainable through the ‘Be Green’ initiative. In line with nation’s vision of Skill Development, Tata Power has set up Tata Power Skill Development Institute (TPSDI) wherein the company plans to train 2 lakh skilled workers over the next decade. Under the ‘Be Green’ initiative, the company aims to motivate consumers to opt for e-bills to donate the collected savings for a noble cause.

The company has also launched ‘Act for Mahseer’ – the largest and the most comprehensive campaign on Mahseer conservation, reaffirming the company’s commitment to the cause of saving the endangered species. Multiple similar initiatives are being worked upon and positive impact is anticipated from all.

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