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IOD Special Talk - The CSR Imperative Advancing India's Vision for a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047
Former Chief Justice of India, respected Uday Lalit ji, President of IOD, respected Lt. Gen. Surinder Nath ji, distinguished industry leaders, esteemed participants, ladies and gentlemen, 'Namaste', a very good evening to all of you.
Thanks for the invitation and a huge congratulations to all of you for putting together such a meaningful discussion on Corporate Social Responsibility. Let me first congratulate all the winners who have done extremely good work, and I could well imagine, if it is coming from a jury which is headed by none other than Justice Uday Lalit ji, it clearly shows the kind of work you have done.
I still remember way back in May 2008, when my father Prem Kumar Dhumal was the Chief Minister and he received the Golden Peacock Award, that was in May 2008, and today, here I am, invited to give away the awards. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.
So, let me come back to the subject - Corporate Social Responsibility. It is not an act of charity; it is a 'dharma'. And it is a sacred duty towards society. This re flects a commitment giving back a portion of what you earn, in whatever way, in whatever form, whatever extent possible back to the society. Some may argue that the CSR is a modern concept, while others may claim that it was first introduced by Howard
Bowen, an American economist, sometime in 1953. CSR is not a Western concept, it has been a part of the Indian civilization and culture. CSR is deeply embedded in Indian culture and 'Sanatana Dharma'. Our Gods, our Rishis, philosophers, and scriptures have spoken about the social responsibility. From the 'Rig Veda' to 'Srimad Bhagavad Gita', social responsibility has been de fined very categorically. 'Sanatan Dharma' and 'Sanskar' are the fundamental basis of our trade in Bharat, and it is through our trade that opportunities for service emerge.
Our great nation India is making historic strides under the able leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister, Modi. The Vision is clear, and so is the Mission: To make India a true global powerhouse, not just economically, but also socially and spiritually, and that is what we call 'Viksit Bharat'. Our dream is to make India Viksit by 2047. It should be free from all forms of inequality. 'Viksit Bharat' is a shared dream, and it will take all of us working together to achieve it. The coming two decades of 'Amrit Kal' are the most opportune time for a nation.
A couple of days ago, I was interacting with Gen Z in one of the Delhi colleges. They were very curious to know about the 'Amrit Kaal'. I explained to them what 'Amrit Kaal' means. It is a time when you wish, you act and you achieve. For the next two decades or for the next 25 years, we have to work hard and work collectively to make India 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. Today, from economy, to governance, to policy, everything is properly aligned under the able leadership of Prime Minister Modi. We are no more amongst the fragile five, but have become the first five economies of the world. And very soon in the next three years, India will be the third largest economy because of the hard work of the corporates sitting here and the citizens in the country.
We have tremendously expanded our social and business infrastructure to compete with the rest of the world. Today, India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. And we have recognized 1.5 lakh startups in the country today. When the world was fighting the Covid crisis; in India, the youth has shown the power - from 50, we have gone up to 117 Unicorns today, and it is growing with each passing day. At one time, the Prime Minister used to say that the youth of the country should be 'job giver' rather than the 'job seeker', and today, we can say our youths are becoming employers from employees and job givers from job seekers. And I am sure the number is going to go up. As of today, it is close to 2 million people who are employed by the Unicorns or by the Startups.
I have a request for industrial houses and PSUs today. You have done an outstanding job during the COVID crisis and over the years in terms of CSR spending. When I was in the Finance Ministry and even afterward I closely analyzed the numbers. Whether in the education sector, healthcare, or rural infrastructure, your contributions have been commendable. However, as Prime Minister Modi emphasized last year, we must expand internship opportunities within the corporate sector. This should not be limited to just the top 500 companies but should involve a broader participation of businesses. I am con fident that you can allocate a greater portion of your CSR funding towards skill development and internship programs, especially in alignment with the implementation of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.
India has made remarkable progress in mobile manufacturing, becoming the second-largest producer of mobile phones. Our exports have surged from C1,500 crore to C1,20,000 crore annually and continue to grow. We are also the second-largest steel manufacturer and the third-largest automobile manufacturer. Across multiple industries, India ranks among the top three globally. Additionally, India now leads the world in digital transactions. From one sector to another, we can see that India is making signi ficant strides, driven by initiatives like the PLI scheme and the bonded manufacturing scheme, which are accelerating the growth of the manufacturing sector. However, to sustain this momentum, we need a highly skilled workforce. If we aspire to make India the "skilled capital of the world" and develop the largest skilled manpower pool globally, I urge the corporate sector to step forward invest more in skill development and provide greater opportunities for internships to empower our youth.
Now, should CSR be known as the 'Corporate Social Responsibility' or should it be known as 'Citizen Social Responsibility?' With one call from the Prime Minister Modi, more than 1 crore Indians have given up their subsidy on the LPG gas cylinders, which has helped the Government of India to provide free gas connection to more than 10 crore Indians. So, this is 'Citizen Social Responsibility', and not a 'Corporate Social Responsibility'.
I come from a very small state-Himachal Pradesh in India. And, as far as the CSR spending is concerned, we get very less amount in our state. So, I request the corporate world here to come and spend some money on Himachali youth also so that they can work in the corporate world.
My father was a professor before entering politics. With this background, we launched a program called 'Ek Se Sreshtha', where postgraduate Himachali men and women mentor young students, providing evening coaching and tuition classes. Through an NGO working in our region, we initiated this program where one teacher educates about 15 students. In just one and a half years, the program has expanded from three centers to over 700, bene fiting 12,000 students with free tuition classes. We also started with just three or four mobile medical units, but today, we have reached over 6,000 panchayats across Himachal Pradesh's challenging terrain, conducting more than 10 million OPDs free of cost, along with free medicines and diagnostic tests saving the people of Himachal over C30 crore. Many such programs are running in our region, but to expand these initiatives further, we need greater support. This can only happen if Indian corporates grow more pro fitable and contribute towards nation building.
We have seen the Indian economy going up, we have seen the balance sheets getting better each passing day. Our nation is moving in the right direction, and the economy is moving, and as per the various international organizations, India is one of the fastest growing large economies of the world today.
In the end, let me again congratulate all the industry leaders who will be recognized today for their good work, and to IOD for organizing such a wonderful event to acknowledge all those who have done good work, to boost their morale. The fact that the corporate world has gathered under one roof shows the credibility of IOD, which is why everyone is gathered here today.
Once again, many congratulations and best wishes to all of you.
Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!
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Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur
Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)
former Cabinet Minister for Information &
Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports,
Govt. of India
Owned by: Institute of Directors, India
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