CSR: Four and a half ways companies (mis)use funds
As is wont with Indian laws, with good intentions come expected transgressions. The 2013 CSR ruling is generally considered to be a right step towards a more equal society (with the occasional grumblings of some senior corporate officials and self-styled pundits) but
Interlinking of rivers, or the fallacy of development agendas
Governments in India may be known for their deep-seated corruption, megalomaniac leaders, and a tendency to divide and rule, but there’s no shortage of big, pompous projects. The Delhi” Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), part of the current government’s flagship programme Make in India,
Delhi”Mumbai Industrial Corridor: Development dilemmas
Forget about chasing unicorns (of the other kind). The real action in India is in the manufacturing and construction sector. The former is slated to receive a huge fillip in terms of investment with the government throwing its significant weight behind it
The disunited state of CSR in India
Ratified by that organisation which lends credibility to any pronouncement, the United Nations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) done the right way should lead to a triple windfall: increased profits, environment protection, and an equitable society. Leaving aside the compatibility issues of an inherently
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the idea of sanitation
Okay, the government has promised a Clean India by 2019. And it has asked corporate groups to pitch in. It’s not a random mandate, by the way. Contributing to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan qualifies as legitimate corporate social responsibility (CSR) spend as per the
A tale of two tea gardens
With so many thrilling incidents, premeditated or otherwise”depending on whom you ask”happening every other day, it is little wonder the recent news on the BBC exposé on Assam’s famed tea gardens and the Munnar agitation has passed by most Indians. Social media was
Volkswagen – how to not get away with cheating
Volkswagen (VW) is the second largest carmaker in the world”first, if one measures by the number of cars sold”and is the shining beacon of German excellence. Or rather was, as it recently suffered the kind of ignominy that is the nightmare of every
Nokia partners Save the Children for its CSR. Here are a few answered, and some unanswered, questions
Much like in the last year, the term ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) continues to be underlined in media communications from corporate groups. An interesting development this year is that corporate leaders who generally talk about growth numbers and product features are now attempting
CSR leaders and non-profits form Silver Circle
First meet focuses on collaborations for inclusive growth Going beyond seminars and forums, in a not-quite-formal environment, sitting across a common table, Silver Circle patrons discussed at length a couple of subjects that otherwise do not get much attention and generally do not
Green Signals from Jairam Ramesh – ‘go’, ‘no go’, and making sense of the in-betweens
On a pleasant March day (the last of the year’s pleasant March days in Delhi) at his Lutyens’ bungalow, former environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh discussed with Padma and Ranjan the thought processes that shaped Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in