• India CSR Awards 2025
  • Guest Posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
  • Login
India CSR
  • Home
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Art & Culture
    • CSR Leaders
    • Child Rights
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Around the World
    • Skill Development
    • Safety
    • Covid-19
    • Safe Food For All
  • Sustainability
    • Sustainability Dialogues
    • Sustainability Knowledge Series
    • Plastics
    • Sustainable Development Goals
    • ESG
    • Circular Economy
    • BRSR
  • Corporate Governance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Interviews
  • SDGs
    • No Poverty
    • Zero Hunger
    • Good Health & Well-Being
    • Quality Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Clean Water & Sanitation – SDG 6
    • Affordable & Clean Energy
    • Decent Work & Economic Growth
    • Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
    • Reduced Inequalities
    • Sustainable Cities & Communities
    • Responsible Consumption & Production
    • Climate Action
    • Life Below Water
    • Life on Land
    • Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
    • Partnerships for the Goals
  • Articles
  • Events
  • हिंदी
  • More
    • Business
    • Finance
    • Environment
    • Economy
    • Health
    • Around the World
    • Social Sector Leaders
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Trending News
      • Important Days
        • Festivals
      • Great People
      • Product Review
      • International
      • Sports
      • Entertainment
    • Case Studies
    • Philanthropy
    • Biography
    • Technology
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Gaming
    • Knowledge
    • Home Improvement
    • Words Power
    • Chief Ministers
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Art & Culture
    • CSR Leaders
    • Child Rights
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Around the World
    • Skill Development
    • Safety
    • Covid-19
    • Safe Food For All
  • Sustainability
    • Sustainability Dialogues
    • Sustainability Knowledge Series
    • Plastics
    • Sustainable Development Goals
    • ESG
    • Circular Economy
    • BRSR
  • Corporate Governance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Interviews
  • SDGs
    • No Poverty
    • Zero Hunger
    • Good Health & Well-Being
    • Quality Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Clean Water & Sanitation – SDG 6
    • Affordable & Clean Energy
    • Decent Work & Economic Growth
    • Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
    • Reduced Inequalities
    • Sustainable Cities & Communities
    • Responsible Consumption & Production
    • Climate Action
    • Life Below Water
    • Life on Land
    • Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
    • Partnerships for the Goals
  • Articles
  • Events
  • हिंदी
  • More
    • Business
    • Finance
    • Environment
    • Economy
    • Health
    • Around the World
    • Social Sector Leaders
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Trending News
      • Important Days
        • Festivals
      • Great People
      • Product Review
      • International
      • Sports
      • Entertainment
    • Case Studies
    • Philanthropy
    • Biography
    • Technology
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Gaming
    • Knowledge
    • Home Improvement
    • Words Power
    • Chief Ministers
No Result
View All Result
India CSR
No Result
View All Result
Home Articles

Swachh Bharat, the CSR way

India CSR by India CSR
January 5, 2015
in Articles
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Worlds Largest CSR_Media_IndiaCSR
Share Share Share Share

The campaign for a cleaner India can do with the right nudges, both at the individual and corporate levels

The government has sought to use legislation to involve India Inc. in its Clean India project. The latest amendment to Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 brings corporate contributions to the Central Government’s Swachh Bharat Kosh within the purview of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. The clarion call for sanitation has been accompanied by well-known personalities supporting the cause.

Such moves may indeed have some short-term impact. In the long run, however, the government may do better to ‘nudge’ corporates, as also people, to behave as ‘good’ citizens; this is in order to achieve its ultimate goal of a cleaner, more equitable India. Such nudges are the subject matter of Behavioural Economics.

The economist, Milton Friedman enunciated the behavioural underpinnings of CSR. According to him, only people— and not businesses that were artificial corporations — could have responsibilities. Thus, rather than wait for an ambiguous entity such as business to undertake social responsibility, CSR can be reframed as the social responsibility of individuals (corporate executives) in their role as agents of businesses.

How can such corporate executives be nudged into thinking responsibly?

Also Read: A Life of Purity and Service, Lived Every Step of the Way: Rajashree Birla

Slumming it out

B-schools could apply the mantra of ‘catch them young’ through well-planned and well-executed experiential programmes. Community-centred experiential learning can help future leaders perceive social responsibility differently.

They would be able to understand urban and rural poverty better, both in terms of their own endowments, as also the contrast provided by such communities to their own lives.

B-school participants mentor bright young slum kids – called ‘Sitaras’– for an entire year in the surroundings of the child. A component of ethnographic studies helps participants understand urban poverty and its dimensions, as also the business opportunities and challenges arising therein.

Further, the mapping of a “Sitara” to her B-school mentor becomes an example of an “Endowment” bestowed upon the latter, a prized possession that they tend to value highly.

Legislations such as the Companies Act 2013 tend to evoke merely risk-averse behaviour on the part of corporates. This results in a ‘Tick-in-the Box’ approach to fulfilling their CSR obligations.

Also Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Inaugurate Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on 25 Oct

Loss aversion

Now, to individuals. Loss-aversion, the tendency of individuals to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains, is an important principle guiding individual decision making.

Similar principles of loss aversion may be used to counter the effects of littering and open defecation. The reason why people, especially the poor, prefer open defecation is precisely because of the loss utility of using unclean toilets and the gain utility of using open fields. In urban areas, the lack of clean toilets, especially in public spaces makes women in particular expose themselves to the risk of unsanitised washrooms.

Constructing toilets, and more importantly, ensuring clean toilets at all times can provide a solution to the sanitation problem.

Nudges similar to the green footprints leading to the city’s garbage and recycling bins in Copenhagen can be tested to reduce littering.

The government may do well to understand the power of such nudges to encourage long-term changes. Else its attempts at a ‘Clean India’ may just be a thorough ‘wash-out’.

About the author

The writer is with the SP Jain Institute of Management Research, Mumbai. The views are personal

IndiaCSR Whatsapp Channel
Tags: SanitationSwachh Bharat Abhiyan

India CSR offers strategic corporate outreach opportunities to amplify your brand’s CSR, Sustainability, and ESG success stories.

📩 Contact us at: biz@indiacsr.in

Let’s collaborate to amplify your brand’s impact in the CSR and ESG ecosystem.

India CSR

India CSR

India CSR is the largest media on CSR and sustainability offering diverse content across multisectoral issues on business responsibility. It covers Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability, and related issues in India. Founded in 2009, the organisation aspires to become a globally admired media that offers valuable information to its readers through responsible reporting.

Related Posts

human
Articles

Why You Shouldn’t Share Images of the Deceased

11 hours ago
Green Buildings
Articles

When Cities Grow Green by Design: Can Manicured Nature Replace the Wild?

3 weeks ago
Sustainability
Articles

Sustainability Is No Longer the Pitch, It’s the Project

2 months ago
Corporate Social Responsibility
Articles

Practices That Power CSR Talent and Governance in India

2 months ago
water harvesting in rural India
Articles

From Scarcity to Sustainability: How Water Harvesting is Transforming Rural Communities

2 months ago
Top Drivers for Sustainability and Responsibility in 2023
Articles

Three Responsibilities Foreign Investors Must Embrace in India: A New Era of Accountability

3 months ago
Pavan Kaushik
Articles

A Strong Mind and Unwavering Decisions by Women Changed the Dynamics of Child Mortality and Maternal Mortality Ratio in India

3 months ago
Prioritize the Social Sector and Look at More Inclusive Development
Articles

2025 Should Prioritize the Social Sector and Look at More Inclusive Development

4 months ago
Digital Transformation
Articles

Harnessing Digital Transformation for Strengthening Internal Marketing and Organizational Synergy 

4 months ago
Load More
India CSR Awards India CSR Awards India CSR Awards
ADVERTISEMENT

LATEST NEWS

Brands Don’t Fail in the Market – They Fail Inside First, says communication veteran Pavan Kaushik

CSR: Hinduja Foundation Empowers 8 Lakh Youth Across 15 States on World Youth Skills Day

कार्टूनिस्ट को हथकड़ी: अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता पर पहरा ?

CSR: Infosys Springboard Aims to Generate 500,000 Jobs in India by 2030

Why You Shouldn’t Share Images of the Deceased

CSR: Mithibai Kshitij’25 Swachh Bharat Drive with Santacruz Police Station

HZL HZL HZL
ADVERTISEMENT

TOP NEWS

ITC Mangaldeep Enhances ‘Sixth Sense Panel’ to Empower the Visually Impaired

CSR Spend on Skilling Key to Unlocking India’s Global Labour Potential

IndiGo’s Potential Order of 40 Airbus A350 Planes: A Strategic Leap in Global Aviation

Gaunik Jeet Singh Appointed Head of Marketing at Knauf India

India MSME Conclave 2025: KIADB’s Support Fuels Karnataka’s Industrial Growth

उप-राज्यपाल मनोज सिन्हा ने पहलगाम आतंकी हमले में सुरक्षा चूक की नैतिक जिम्मेदारी स्वीकार की

Load More

Advertisement

Image Slider
content writing services Guest Post Top 5 Reasons to have Sponsored Posts at India CSR – India’s Largest CSR Media stem learning R2V2 Technologies Private Limited

Interviews

Himanshu Nivsarkar, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of CSR & ESG at Kotak Mahindra Bank
Interviews

Driving Sustainable Impact: An Interview with Himanshu Nivsarkar, Kotak Mahindra Bank

by India CSR
May 22, 2025

By Rusen Kumar NEW DELHI (India CSR): Himanshu Nivsarkar, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of CSR & ESG at Kotak...

Read moreDetails
Balamurugan Thevar, CSR Head at Shriram Finance

Empowering Women Drivers: An Interview with Balamurugan Thevar, CSR Head at Shriram Finance

May 20, 2025
N E Sridhar, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Titan Company Ltd.

Empowering Rural Craft Entrepreneurs: An Interview with N E Sridhar, Titan Company

May 15, 2025
Geetaj Channana, the Head of Corporate Strategy at Vivo India

Empowering Young Innovators Across India: An Interview with Geetaj Channana, the Head of Corporate Strategy at Vivo India

April 25, 2025
Load More
Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn Instagram
India CSR Logo

India CSR is the largest tech-led platform for information on CSR and sustainability in India offering diverse content across multisectoral issues. It covers Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability, and related issues in India. Founded in 2009, the organisation aspires to become a globally admired media that offers valuable information to its readers through responsible reporting. To enjoy the premium services, we invite you to partner with us.

Follow us on social media:


Dear Valued Reader

India CSR is a free media platform that provides up-to-date information on CSR, Sustainability, ESG, and SDGs. They need reader support to continue delivering honest news. Donations of any amount are appreciated.

Help save India CSR.

Donate Now

donate at indiacsr

  • About India CSR
  • Team
  • India CSR Awards 2025
  • Partnership
  • Guest Posts
  • Services
  • Content Writing Services
  • Business Information
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donate

Copyright © 2025 - India CSR | All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Art & Culture
    • CSR Leaders
    • Child Rights
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Around the World
    • Skill Development
    • Safety
    • Covid-19
    • Safe Food For All
  • Sustainability
    • Sustainability Dialogues
    • Sustainability Knowledge Series
    • Plastics
    • Sustainable Development Goals
    • ESG
    • Circular Economy
    • BRSR
  • Corporate Governance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Interviews
  • SDGs
    • No Poverty
    • Zero Hunger
    • Good Health & Well-Being
    • Quality Education
    • Gender Equality
    • Clean Water & Sanitation – SDG 6
    • Affordable & Clean Energy
    • Decent Work & Economic Growth
    • Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
    • Reduced Inequalities
    • Sustainable Cities & Communities
    • Responsible Consumption & Production
    • Climate Action
    • Life Below Water
    • Life on Land
    • Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
    • Partnerships for the Goals
  • Articles
  • Events
  • हिंदी
  • More
    • Business
    • Finance
    • Environment
    • Economy
    • Health
    • Around the World
    • Social Sector Leaders
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Trending News
      • Important Days
      • Great People
      • Product Review
      • International
      • Sports
      • Entertainment
    • Case Studies
    • Philanthropy
    • Biography
    • Technology
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Gaming
    • Knowledge
    • Home Improvement
    • Words Power
    • Chief Ministers

Copyright © 2025 - India CSR | All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.