NEW DELHI (India CSR): The third CSR Summit 2024 was organized by Jagran Pahal, the social arm of Dainik Jagran, on 13 April 2024 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Okhla. Supported by India CSR, the Jagran CSR Summit 2024 is a series of impactful leadership forums aimed at fostering dialogue, collaboration, and innovation within the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility.
These summits bring together key stakeholders, including corporations, NGOs, government agencies, and thought leaders, to address pressing social and environmental challenges and ideas for a larger scalable impact.
At the summit in New Delhi, a confluence of influential thinkers, corporate leaders, and social reformers gathered to discuss the evolving landscape of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India. Spearheaded by Rusen Kumar, Founder of India CSR, the event focused on the critical role of CSR in social welfare and introduced innovative proposals aimed at enhancing transparency and efficacy in CSR activities.
Quarterly CSR Data and Green Point Initiative
Rusen Kumar, Founder, India CSR, in his inaugural address, highlighted the objective and importance of CSR Summit 2024 and said that CSR has a welfare spirit. Rusen Kumar made two important proposals. He said that as a developing nation, we need CSR data on a quarterly basis so that the public can get the latest information about the emerging and developing scenario of CSR and the social sector.
Second – There should be a system where companies get green points based on CSR excellence so that companies can be encouraged to go beyond compliance and invest in effective CSR programs.
Dr. Ravi Raj Attrey, Chief Program Executive, IICA, in the inaugural address said that the basic philosophy behind CSR is to address social and economic inequalities and he called for joining the movement as a Corporate Social Revolution.
Dr. Ravi Raj Atrey delivered Inaugural Address. He emphasized that the core philosophy behind CSR lies in addressing social and economic inequalities and made an appeal to join the movement as a Corporate Social Revolution. He said that one of the distinguished skill of a CSR professional is to add value to the corporate through social initiatives.
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Keynote Address by Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee on 10 years of CSR in India
The keynote speaker of the conference, Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, former DG & CEO, IICA, CEO – Anil Agarwal Foundation, gave an impressive address on a decade of CSR in India. Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, known as the Father of CSR, said that the journey of CSR in India is very interesting. CSR is highly defined in India. What is a CSR project and what is not a CSR project is specifically defined. He said that the foundation of CSR in India is very strong and the future is very bright.
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2 CSR Books Released
In the conference, two books namely Role of Business Responsibility in Building Self-reliant India written by Sitaram Gupta and Rusen Kumar and Employment Opportunities in ESG and CSR and Corporate Responsibility written by Nirbhay Lumde were released.
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First Leadership Session
The first leadership session included Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi (Former Director – BIMTECH Greater Noida), Sita Ram Gupta (CSR veteran, social reformer, former ED – Lupine Foundation), Dr. Vikram Singh (Vice-Chancellor, Noida International University, former DGP – Uttar Pradesh), Prabhat Shukla, Ahmed Jagran Pahal Mystery) and moderator Dr. Saurabh Mittal, Chair Executive Education and Counselling, FORE School of Management, New Delhi) provided detailed information about the inception, growth journey and impacts of CSR in India. The forum was moderated by Dr. Saurabh Mittal.
Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi provided detailed information about the contribution being made by the corporate world in the field of education. Presenting a brief CSR case study of Tata Motors, he said that the spirit of CSR in India is very deep and it is contributing to the development of the society in a new way. Describing the role of Gram Panchayat institutions as effective in building a developed India, Sita Ram Gupta said that the initiative to make our developed India should be at the Gram Panchayat level. He provided information about the transformational programs that took place under his leadership in Bharatpur.
Dr. Vikram Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Noida International University and former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, highlighted the importance of CSR and discussed issues like attitude, conduct, character building etc. of the students. At the Jagran CSR Summit, Prabhat Shukla, head of Misti Program of Jagran Initiative, gave information about a plant called Salicornia and the green salt made from it.
He told that through the cultivation of Salicornia, barren coastal land can be made fertile, which will create new employment opportunities and will also benefit the environment. Shukla described the plant as a ‘superfood’ and said it could bring a revolution in the fields of agriculture, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
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2nd Leadership Session
In the second leadership session, Dr. Y. Suresh Reddy (Director SRF Foundation), Dr. Shruti Sharma (Professor of Strategy and Business Sustainability, TERI, School of Advanced Studies), Anil Taneja, Vice President, Venture Catalyst Group joined the Panel. Dr. Reddy told how his foundation is working systematically for social evils. He provided detailed information about the possibilities, challenges and solutions. Dr. Shruti Sharma provided detailed information on climate change and how environmental events impact companies.
Anil Taneja in his address included the latest topics like the Indian Startup Ecosystem, the Perspective of Fintech Companies and their Contribution to the Economy, ESG Perspective. Moderator Dr. Saurabh Mittal (Chair Executive Education, Four School of Management) highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and said that successful models of collaboration, effective partnerships between businesses, NGOs and government Creating and overcoming challenges is very important.
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3rd Leadership Session
Dr. Chandola, Founder Chairman, Institute of Heart Lung Disease Research Center (IHLD), sharing his 22 years of experience, said that organ donation can save countless lives. Emphasizing the need to increase awareness about organ donation, Dr. Chandola said that it not only gives life to the patients but also gives new hope to their families. He has actively taken initiatives to promote organ donation programs in India and abroad.
Anupam Nidhi, CSR Head, Hindustan Zinc Limited, highlighted the CSR projects being run by the company in Rajasthan. He informed that Hindustan Zinc is committed to the sustainable development of local communities and is running various programs in areas such as education, health, livelihood, women empowerment and sports. Hindustan Zinc’s CSR initiative is giving the youth living in remote areas of Rajasthan an opportunity to fulfill their dreams through football. This commitment of the company is playing an important role in the positive change of the society and empowerment of the youth.
Jaya Sharma Singh of VisionSpring Foundation highlighted the importance of innovation in providing a holistic vision health care experience for communities. Jaya explained that VisionSpring Foundation is focusing on designing and standardizing outreach activities so that communities can get better vision care services. Sharing his experiences, he said that effective solutions can be developed by combining innovation and knowledge reinforcement.
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Jagran Leadership at Jagran CSR Summit
Corporate companies, social organizations, social thinkers, CSR leaders, academicians, students, media representatives, and officials of Dainik Jagran participated in the conference. India CSR Founder Rusen Kumar, Chairman of Dainik Jagran Initiative, Sarvamitra Sharma was specially present at the function. On this occasion, on behalf of Dainik Jagran, Senior Vice President (Corporate) Shailendra Nath Jaitley, Senior Vice President (Marketing) – Vipon Khatwani, Associate Vice President – Saurabh Bhatnagar, Assistant Vice President – Ravi Pandey, Chief General Manager Punjab – Mohinder Kumar, Chief General Manager Nitendra Srivastava was present.
(India CSR)
