RAIPUR: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Chhattisgarh organized a Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility on 11th January 2012, in the presence of Mr. Umesh Agrawal, Chairman, CII Chhattisgarh State Council; Mr. B. L. Agrawal, Past Chairman, CII Chhattisgarh; Mr. Sharad Goel, Convener- CSR Panel, CII Chhattisgarh; Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, Founder-ICCSR (Indian Centre for CSR) and other officials.
Speaking on this occasion Mr. Umesh Agrawal welcomed and requested the members and delegates to make use of opportunity to network and interact with all the eminent speakers. He further emphasized on the importance of CSR in the society and the industry. He also focused on the benefits of CSR for companies. He suggested on making CSR a national movement.
Mr. B. L. Agrawal, during his theme address highlighted CII’s initiatives stating that Inclusiveness and Sustainability has been the key focus areas of CII. He further said that CSR is a tool that helps industries develops a relationship with the society or a community. He gave live examples of industries in Chhattisgarh participating in CSR activities. He further focused on the scenario in India about CSR, stating that CSR is still voluntary and every organization needs to focus on this area by setting up separate departments for CSR.
Mr. Rajesh Tiwari said that Chhattisgarh is the newest industrial hub wherein companies must engage with society in evolving CSR correctly. He further said that companies must set measurable target to measure the effectiveness of CSR initiatives.
Companies need to work from inside out and from the top down. Involvement of top management is essential for laying out proper CSR plan.
Delegates interacted with the speakers and presented their views and raised questions pertaining to CSR.
Eminent speakers of international repute, Mr. Satish Jha President & CEO-OLPC; Ms. Aglaia Ntili, Global Training and Partnerships Manager, Centre for Sustainability & Excellence, and Mr. Jitendra Bhargava, Former Executive Director, Air India, addressed the seminar and imparted knowledge which further enhanced the competencies of delegates.
Mr. Sharad Goel, Convener-CSR Panel, CII Chhattisgarh presented the vote of thanks. Large numbers of delegates were present at the conference, thereby making the event a successful one.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as ethical behavior of a company towards the society in the form of a global programme. Corporate sustainability practices as a concept is evolving in business. The journey has been a long one from a focus on corporate philanthropy to CSR.
CSR has become increasingly prominent in Indian business scenario because corporates have realized that besides growing their business it is also vital to maintain a sustainable relationship with the community at last. This is one of the key drivers of CSR. It is not new to India. Companies like TATA, Birla, Indian Oil are practicing this long before CSR has become a popular force. Inspite of having such lifelike successful example CSR in India is still at its initial state.
