Corporate Social Responsibility and Education in India

Prof Mrs Bhavana Vaidya

Ghanshyamdas Saraf college

Malad West Mumbai

Corporate social Responsibility- Meaning

continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large"

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CSR and building sustainable businesses

Sustainable businesses need:-

Healthy economies

Healthy Markets

Healthy Communities

Key drivers of CSR are :-

Enlightened self interest

Social Investment

Transparency and Trust

Increased public expectations of business

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CSR and Globalisation

• Globalization could lead higher standards of living, but could result in some countries being left behind, with the gap between developed and developing countries broadening to the detriment

• need to share a common vision of corporate social responsibility among large corporations

• bridging the divide (digital, economic, social or environmental) in order to eliminate poverty should be the essence of the social agenda.

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CSR and Indian context

• Impact on the economic, social and environmental landscape directly affects their relationships with stakeholders, in particular investors, employees, customers, business partners, governments and communities.

• Indian context - long-standing traditions of respect for family and social networks, Diverse religions and cultures

• India is one of the fastest growing economies, socio-economic problems like poverty, illiteracy, lack of healthcare still ubiquitous

• Government has limited resources to tackle these challenges.

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CSR and Indian context-notable examples

• HUL/BPL/Maruti Suzuki have adopted villages and provide medical and sanitation facilities, build houses and schools and teach vocational and business skills to villagers

• Glaxo smithkline focus on healthcare in tribal villages

• SAP and Hope foundation worked for Tsunami victims and they run a centre for street children in Bangalore

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CSR and philanthropy

• Traditionally in India CSR initiatives are largely restricted to employee welfare schemes

• Need for contributing to an outside community or its development.

• Considering the demography and diverse social problems in India, companies find it difficult to reach the right people

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CSR and Education

• Companies get involved in education for a number of strategic reasons, including building a positive reputation and goodwill among stakeholders; Building a more educated workforce

• Educational institutions can benefit from the experience and expertise of corporations

• education is an important part of corporate plans, since the need exists in all areas, and for all kinds of people. The bottom line is that educational outreach efforts have the potential to make a real and lasting difference for all players involved.

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Project Shiksha by Microsoft

• Project Shiksha (Rs.100 crore or US 20million dollar), launched by Microsoft to improve computer education in India,

• Training 80,000 school teachers who would be educating 3.5 lakhs students across the country

• localization efforts to harness the benefits of the globalisation process by launching Windows XP and Office in Hindi and providing Windows XP local language support to Bengali and Malayalam.

• Plan to invest Rs 1900 Cr for IT Education•  

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Problem areas in CSR implementation in India

• Governmental barriers like excessive regulation

• Financial barriers• Technological barriers• Social barriers and disparities• Cultural barriers due to educational

disparities 

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CSR and challenges ahead

• Need for an educational policy which would encourage greater collaboration between Industry and University in curricula, course design and industry research

• Deregulated research environment and tax incentives needed

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Conclusion

• Corporate Social Responsibility has many facets. Companies have been finding various innovative alternatives to discharge their social responsibility. Education is the sector which is the most eligible and socially rewarding effort for any corporate to be looked upon to discharge its social responsibility. Supporting education at any level will mean, re-energized education sector which can transform our country into a true knowledge power and realize a future of prosperity and growth.

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THANK YOU

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