Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Conference 2023, which is being organized by Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) under the aegis of Coal India Limited (CIL), commenced at CCL HQ, Ranchi on Wednesday. The two-day CIL Conference is being organized on the theme of “Re -Engineering” CSR.

Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Amrit Lal Meena and Chairman CIL, Pramod Agrawal virtually addressed the gathering. CMD CCL, PM Prasad along with Joint. Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Nirupama Kotru, Director (Personnel), CIL, Vinay Ranjan also attended the event. The programme was attended by Director (technical/operations) CCL, RB Prasad along with Director (Personnel), HN Mishra, Director (Finance), P K Mishra, Independent Directors and other directors of CIL subsidiaries also attended the program.

The two-day conference will witness a slew of eminent speakers from across the Country will grace the event, talking and deliberating on the subject. About 300 participants from different subsidiaries of CIL and other companies are attending the conference.

Addressing the gathering Meena congratulated CCL for hosting the conference. He further added that the conference will serve as a great knowledge-sharing platform for all the attendees. Pramod Agrawal said that Coal India and the subsidiary companies are committed to the holistic development of the stakeholders and undertake a plethora of CSR activities for the same.

PM Prasad welcomed the participants and other dignitaries. He also briefed about the various diversified CSR activities of the company. Director (P and IR), CIL, Vinay Ranjan welcomed the eminent speakers and expressed confidence that the conference would be a great learning experience for the delegates.

Later in the day, Prasad along with Vinay Ranjan, Nirupama Kotru and other dignitaries inaugurated an exhibition where the CSR works undertaken by CIL and subsidiary companies are being showcased.

The programme witnessed a slew of eminent speakers dwelling on the topic.  Retired IAS, Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee who is widely acknowledged as the primary force for bringing a new paradigm to the realm of CSR, discussed the evolution of CSR in the Country and the latest amendments and changes in the CSR guidelines and policy. Retired IAS and Emeritus professor IIT Bombay, Satish Agnihotri  spoke on the importance of scaling up the best practices in CSR and about the importance of CSR in supporting inclusive development through inclusive development.

Director (ESG), LTI Mindtree, Pratyush Panda  stated that by integrating CSR into their business practices, companies can augment their brand image. He further spoke about the journey from CSR compliance to CSR excellence.

Eminent innovator and founding Director, Sonam Wangchuk spoke about the importance of innovation. He stated that development activities should focus on the intrinsic and inherent features of Indian society. He further said that in addition to corporate social responsibility, every citizen should follow personal social responsibility and strive to contribute to the development of the nation.

Chairperson CSR IIFM, Bhopal, Dr Parul Rishi spoke about the SDG goals and how mining companies can contribute to achieving them.

Managing trustee and President of BAIF Development Research Foundation, Bharat Kakade spoke about approaches to foster carbon-positive development, community livelihoods and climate change mitigation.

Two panel discussions were also held on the occasion. The first panel discussion was held on the topic “Building positive image of company: Role of CSR”. The panel consisted of Dr Chatterjee, Professor Agnihotri,  Nirupma Kotru, Vinay Ranjan, Pratyush Panda and Keshav Rao. The discussion was on how CSR can help improve the brand image of the company amongst the stakeholders.
The second panel discussion was on “Collaboration for impact: How companies collaborate with other organizations, including NGOs and governments, to maximize the impact of CSR initiatives”. The panel dwelled on how collaboration between different organizations of CSR can bring a positive impact on the society.  Mishra stated about the CSR policy of the company and how it is helping the stakeholders in the operational areas of the company.