MANGALORE: Corporate India can breathe easy. A proposal in the Companies Bill 2011 which made it mandatory for companies to set aside two percent of their outlay for corporate social responsibility activities has been ‘amended’ suitably taking the views of corporate honchos in to consideration. The bill which is likely to be tabled in the winter session of the parliament will now make disclosure of CSR spending mandatory and not the actual spending., Times of India reports says.
Minister for corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily who described this as a new innovative concept as far as corporate India is concerned, told reporters at a meet the press programme organised by D K Working Journalists Association here on Sunday that such a concept is not prevalent in corporate sector in the world. “Earmarking up to two percent for CSR would have immensely helped the local populace who benefit from CSR activities,” he said.
Batting for greater employee retention in workplaces in the private sector, Moily said he was against the hire and fire culture practiced in the corporate world. “This can be achieved by a judicious admixture of pro-labour legislations and corporate best practices,” Moily said, adding that another idea to introduce reservation in private sector too has been shelved. “We did toy with this idea of reservation in the interests of greater social inclusion,” he said.
On the Companies Bill, first introduced in 2008 and which has undergone many changes ever since, Moily said the parliamentary standing committee has vetted the bill and the presented its report. “This bill will come up for discussion at the Union Cabinet meeting scheduled for November 24 and it is listed in the agenda,” Moily said, adding that once approved its chances of being tabled in the winter session getting underway in December was bright.
(Times News Network)
