The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Friday held a National Summit on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Ranchi and invited stakeholders from different walks of life – politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats—to throw light on the need of the hour for better utilisation of CSR funds and innovative ideas for enhancing the impact of CSR on the life of commoners.
Addressing the gathering, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya, one of the special guests at the event, said that the JMM-led Government in State will try and utilize CSR funds for rehabilitation and resettlement of individuals who are displaced in the process of setting up new business ventures.
“There is no data on how much of CSR fund has been used for rehabilitation of displaced individuals. I think we have to regulate the use of CSR in the R&R (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) policy,” Bhattacharya said.
Former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi also attended the summit and suggested ideas on proper utilization of CSR funds.
The programme was also attended by several entrepreneurs and proprietors of start-up companies who wish to extend the reach of their company to Jharkhand.
The businessmen and representatives of various companies met Marandi and Bhattacharya and spoke about the possibilities of business expansion in Jharkhand.
A technical session on ‘CSR: The Way Forward’ was addressed by academicians, senior officials of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), environmentalists and young entrepreneurs.
Professor RK Jha of Amity University Jharkhand addressed the gathering on the subject, ‘Most Important CSR activity is education’. CGM of GAIL, MP Mahato gave a presentation on GAIL’s CSR activities, while Malavika Sharma from The Butterfly Project India gave a presentation on the importance of creating growth oriented environment for making start-up ecosystem healthy. Ratin Bhandhra of Team Bhungru gave a presentation on environment protection and ground water augmentation.
The programme was also attended by Industry Secretary Kripa Nand Jha, who spoke about the role of the Government and bureaucracy in ensuring proper utilization of CSR.
Regional Director of ASSOCHAM, Bharat Jaiswal told the gathering about the importance of CSR and how it was changing lives across the country.
He also highlighted the efforts that companies need to take in order to serve the society more effectively.
ASSOCHAM is a trade association of India. The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives. The goal of the organisation is to promote domestic as well as international trade, and reduce trade barriers while creating conducive environment for the growth of trade and industry in India.