Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Thursday said there is a need to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an actionable agenda, while underscoring its importance in the the present era.
India has about 8 lakh registered companies, of which nearly 15,000 come under CSR clause of the Companies Act 2013. Under this, a company has to earmark 2 per cent of the profit for CSR activities.
The Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs said the government earlier this year introduced the much needed changes in laws governing CSR with an aim to make the implementation process more elaborate.
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‘We need to make CSR an actionable agenda. CSR is dynamic, scalable and sustainable and we should also look at the impact of CSR. There should be a report on what impact we have actually created,’ he said while addressing a virtual event organised by Institute of Directors.
He also advocated that CSR projects must have measurable targets and impact disclosures.
CSR strategy must drive social purpose and transformation with empirical justification, and a quantified social impact, he said.
Observing that being profit oriented, and being socially responsible are not in conflict, he said, CSR today is a way of life, not a PR exercise for corporates.
He also appreciated that many companies have contributed a part of their CSR funds to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) during this pandemic.
(PTI)
