GUWAHATI, Oct 5 - Dr Madhukar Gupta, Additional Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Govt of India, on Tuesday said that corporate social responsibility (CSR) on which PSUs earmark huge funds could be an effective tool for regional development.
Dr Gupta also emphasised promoting skill development in traditional areas of the North East for boosting its economy. He said this while inaugurating the North-east Regional CSR Conclave organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in the city.
Noting the presence of a large number of Central public sector enterprises that have their operations in the region, Dr Gupta said the financial outlay of 131 PSUs for CSR activities for the year 2016-17 is around Rs 3,700 crore, and a lot of developmental activity could be done through optimum utilisation of this fund in the region.
Stressing the need to focus CSR activities in niche areas for greater impact, Dr Gupta urged the PSUs to be innovative in their thinking to bring about tangible and measurable results.
�Skill development programmes, particularly in traditional unique skills of the North East, conducted through CSR can be a game changer for the region,� he added.
Explaining the intricacies of the Companies Act that mandates CSR for PSUs and corporate, Dr Gupta termed it a unique legislation of India which is very flexible in its interpretation of what activities could be performed under the aegis of CSR.
�Social development, infrastructure building, research and development, promotion of sports and culture are some of the many activities that can be undertaken as CSR for regional development,� Dr Gupta said and urged the NGOs and other implementing agencies to come forward to ensure smart investment of the allocated CSR funds and assist in nation building.
Earlier, ICC director general Dr Rajeev Singh, in his welcome remarks, spoke of the importance of identifying the unique characteristic of each north-eastern state and focusing efforts towards its improvement which could lead to sustainable growth of the region.
The North East is today at the cusp of economic development through improved connectivity with South East Asia and all efforts must be made to ensure that the youth of the region are adequately skilled and infrastructure developed to utilise this opportunity. �The large number of PSUs operating in the region have the capacity to ensure that the North East becomes a net outflow region through optimum utilisation of their CSR funds,� he said.
The departments of planning and development from Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh made their presentations at the conclave, mentioning the focus areas of their respective states and sought participation of the PSUs in fulfilling the development goals through their CSR activities.
The conclave was also addressed by Seema Rath, Deputy Director, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt of India, and was attended by representatives from a large number of PSUs including ONGC, IOCL, CONCOR, EPIL, OIL India ltd., NEEPCO, NALCO, IIFCL, etc.
