Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is used often. We get to see this being used in a number of places. From parties to meetings. A number of people feel that money can be tapped using the CSR mode. However most want to know what it means. Let us look at that before proceeding further. India Inc was under a lot of constraints post independence due to the creation of controls. Business suffered and entrepreneurs were not looked upon as creators of wealth or employment. Profit had become a bad word. It prompted the famous industrialist S.L.Kiroskar to state that our country will prosper only when we begin to think that profit is not a sin.
Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is used often. We get to see this being used in a number of places. From parties to meetings. A number of people feel that money can be tapped using the CSR mode. However most want to know what it means. Let us look at that before proceeding further. India Inc was under a lot of constraints post independence due to the creation of controls. Business suffered and entrepreneurs were not looked upon as creators of wealth or employment. Profit had become a bad word. It prompted the famous industrialist S.L.Kiroskar to state that our country will prosper only when we begin to think that profit is not a sin.
All the good had to be delivered by the State. This resulted in a slow pace of growth and the country underwent crisis after crisis - food shortage, unemployment, inflation etc., The liberalization undertaken post 1991 created a plethora of opportunities for the country. India Inc began to grow and it had to face competition from the well grown foreign companies. In spite of the fact that competition was new, the businesses grew due to the Indian spirit.
One day the Government felt that some of the monies earned by these companies could be used for charity directly. Therefore they brought in a rule wherein 2% percent of the Net Profit before taxation had to spent for societal well being. Of course the company had to either have a net worth above Rs.500 crores or a turnover of Rs.1000 crores or a profit of Rs.5 crores and above. The details had to be shared legally. This move has helped a number of NGOs to raise money through the CSR route. Coimbatore is a philanthropic city and it is known for charity even at the times when such a rule was absent.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an ocean and one has to really understand a lot. It is a compendium of ethics, morals, charity, statutes and guidelines. It is sure to take some more time to see a full bloom effect. However the new moon is moving towards Pournami (full moon). A number of people have been working on CSR these days. Volunteers with NGOs and executives working for Corporates are into it in a big manner. Some people like R.S.Krishnaswamy have decided to take the plunge in this regard.
R.S.Krishnaswamy is busy with CSR Spark these days. He is a retired businessman and is the Steering Committee Member of Siruthuli. His father K.Ramalingam was an old Congressman and had served as the Chairman of the Singanallur Municipality those days. Ramalingam was a patriotic citizen and had named his son as Sathyamurthy Krishnaswamy. The first part of the name is after the freedom fighter and the second after the name of the patriarch of the family. Krishnaswamy went to Stanes, PSG College of Technology and GCT (Government College of Technology) in order to pursue his education. He has done Engineering Design and has been busy with his Spark group of companies for many years.
Siruthuli and Rotary drew him into social work. Nowadays Krishnaswamy spends a lot of time in his farm. He plans, supervises, executes and also works with farm hands everyday. The meticulous entrepreneur is known for his pucca work. This engineer had worked for 32 years along with his engineering classmates before calling it a day. "Business was good and our products were well received. Service and relationship went hand in hand. I wanted to take up farming and also contribute towards societal well being. Therefore I decided to take a bow. Now I am happily retired," smiled Krishnaswamy.
Krishnaswamy has been treading a new life from June 2016. This Stanite did a nine month on line course through the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs which functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He wrote four on line exams and also spent three weeks in Corporate CSR study. "I was basically studying and researching for the green NGO Siruthuli. My volunteering and study led me to this. I did my three months with RDO Trust, Coonoor as part of the programme. Now I am a certified CSR professional," added an ebullient Krishnaswamy.
A certified CSR professional is geared to frame a CSR policy for a company, identify an implementation agency, monitor CSR projects and also report the expenses. From the NGO point of view, the professional helps in formulating project proposals including baseline study, need assessment and beneficiary connect. The Exam centre for the course is at Chennai. Basically the History of CSR, Laws & Scenario, rules, act and Schedule VII are studied. R.S.Krishnaswamy is the first certified CSR professional from Coimbatore. He has spent the last few years with Siruthuli as the very busy Convenor of the Water Bodies Restoration Committee. His team prepares the study, documentation etc., Project proposals are prepared and impact assessment is done after completion. About 10 kuttais and 5 tanks have been made well thus far. Now an extensive study is going on with the Irugur Kulam.
Krishnaswamy does a lot of reading and research. Now he is busy with the book ' Let There Be Water - Israel's Solution for a Water - Starved World ' by Seth.M.Siegel. "The book tells us how Israel kept up with the challenges connected with providing water to a rapidly growing population. Its an eye opener and is very interesting," stated Krishnaswamy.
CSR Spark is founded by R.S.Krishnaswamy and he is also the Chief Patron of the organization. He has created a portal and has formed the concept 'AAA' for taking it forward. The first ' A' is the advisory mode, the second ' A' deals with accreditation, the third 'A' is for awards. CSR Spark has conducted two conclaves thus far in connection with the first ' A' - Advisory mode. One was in Coimbatore and the other was in Chennai. Nikil Pant, the CSR expert who was also involved with the formulation of CSR laws conducted the day long programme in Coimbatore. K.Ravi, Senior Vice President of Roots handled the conclave in Chennai.
Krishnaswamy wants people to visit the portal http://www.csrspark.org and register themselves. The registration is absolutely free of cost. Companies and NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) are welcome to register themselves. This portal is basically a meeting place for corporates and implementing agencies. The NGOs can register their project proposals and the corporates can pick them up. The portal is a compendium of the rules, acts, Schedule VII, subsequent notifications, circulars and amendments.
"After COVID, the Prime Minister is talking more about self reliance. CSR Spark has envisioned that self reliance in FOOD as a primary need. Therefore we have made a representation for including agriculture in Schedule VII of the CSR Act. We have sent our representation to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the PMO (Prime Ministers Office). An acknowledgement has been received and we are waiting for further news. Atmanirbahaar Bharat is the concept and is the need of the hour. We are keen to work further with Corporates and the NGOs," mentioned Krishnaswamy. He has literally sparked a nice concept from Coimbatore, a city known for its conscious capitalism.
Krishnaswamy had figures on his finger tips. He stated that the top 20 companies contributed towards 33 % of CSR. About 24000 plus companies had spent 18000 plus crores on CSR last year and the figure in Tamilnadu had been Rupees 823 Crores. While it was about 41 Crores in Coimbatore.
Krishnaswamy went further, "There is no information given to the District Administration about CSR expenditure in a district. There is no mechanism to identify the details pertaining to the CSR spend in the districts. A District CSR Hub could be created in order top address this lacuna. A nodal office will help quite a bit. Based on public requirement, project proposals can be brought into the CSR hub with beneficiary details. The revenue records can also be posted in the CSR hub. An interested NGO can take up the study and enlist the details. It can make an offer with details which include implementation period etc., A corporate sponsor can come into the project after choosing. The decision can be fast and a single window clearance from the District Administration will help in working out things quickly. This will help the District Administration to keep a tab on all CSR activities. Besides all this, the geographical and subject wise distribution of CSR work should be also available for everyone. This can be replicated across all districts. CSR professionals can help in finding solutions. The Corporates who are involved with CSR are great resources. Their experience with systematic and professional methods will help a lot. You can get the knowledge and expertise of India Inc. This can be repeated and scaled up by the Government."
The Founder of CSR Spark spoke about geo tagging the projects and also how awards could be given to good performers in each category. R.S.Krishnaswamy has also done a Masters Course with the Institute of Directors and is eligible to be a Certified Independent Director.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a vast ocean. A lot of good can happen in this arena. We have to first understand that a good sapling has been raised and it will grow up into a nice big tree. This tree will yield nice and tasty fruits. However we have to work and wait. No overnight results, but the rewards will come in at a much faster pace. Organisations like CSR SPARK are here to facilitate good things. We have to register the proposed good deeds or committments with them. This registration will be a good beginning. There are a growing number of NGOs and Corporates who will be entering the fray over time. Organizations like CSR Spark founded by R.S.Krishnaswamy will help in ensuring that resources and needs meet each other.
All the good had to be delivered by the State. This resulted in a slow pace of growth and the country underwent crisis after crisis - food shortage, unemployment, inflation etc., The liberalization undertaken post 1991 created a plethora of opportunities for the country. India Inc began to grow and it had to face competition from the well grown foreign companies. In spite of the fact that competition was new, the businesses grew due to the Indian spirit.
One day the Government felt that some of the monies earned by these companies could be used for charity directly. Therefore they brought in a rule wherein 2% percent of the Net Profit before taxation had to spent for societal well being. Of course the company had to either have a net worth above Rs.500 crores or a turnover of Rs.1000 crores or a profit of Rs.5 crores and above. The details had to be shared legally. This move has helped a number of NGOs to raise money through the CSR route. Coimbatore is a philanthropic city and it is known for charity even at the times when such a rule was absent.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an ocean and one has to really understand a lot. It is a compendium of ethics, morals, charity, statutes and guidelines. It is sure to take some more time to see a full bloom effect. However the new moon is moving towards Pournami (full moon). A number of people have been working on CSR these days. Volunteers with NGOs and executives working for Corporates are into it in a big manner. Some people like R.S.Krishnaswamy have decided to take the plunge in this regard.
R.S.Krishnaswamy is busy with CSR Spark these days. He is a retired businessman and is the Steering Committee Member of Siruthuli. His father K.Ramalingam was an old Congressman and had served as the Chairman of the Singanallur Municipality those days. Ramalingam was a patriotic citizen and had named his son as Sathyamurthy Krishnaswamy. The first part of the name is after the freedom fighter and the second after the name of the patriarch of the family. Krishnaswamy went to Stanes, PSG College of Technology and GCT (Government College of Technology) in order to pursue his education. He has done Engineering Design and has been busy with his Spark group of companies for many years.
Siruthuli and Rotary drew him into social work. Nowadays Krishnaswamy spends a lot of time in his farm. He plans, supervises, executes and also works with farm hands everyday. The meticulous entrepreneur is known for his pucca work. This engineer had worked for 32 years along with his engineering classmates before calling it a day. "Business was good and our products were well received. Service and relationship went hand in hand. I wanted to take up farming and also contribute towards societal well being. Therefore I decided to take a bow. Now I am happily retired," smiled Krishnaswamy.
Krishnaswamy has been treading a new life from June 2016. This Stanite did a nine month on line course through the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs which functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He wrote four on line exams and also spent three weeks in Corporate CSR study. "I was basically studying and researching for the green NGO Siruthuli. My volunteering and study led me to this. I did my three months with RDO Trust, Coonoor as part of the programme. Now I am a certified CSR professional," added an ebullient Krishnaswamy.
A certified CSR professional is geared to frame a CSR policy for a company, identify an implementation agency, monitor CSR projects and also report the expenses. From the NGO point of view, the professional helps in formulating project proposals including baseline study, need assessment and beneficiary connect. The Exam centre for the course is at Chennai. Basically the History of CSR, Laws & Scenario, rules, act and Schedule VII are studied. R.S.Krishnaswamy is the first certified CSR professional from Coimbatore. He has spent the last few years with Siruthuli as the very busy Convenor of the Water Bodies Restoration Committee. His team prepares the study, documentation etc., Project proposals are prepared and impact assessment is done after completion. About 10 kuttais and 5 tanks have been made well thus far. Now an extensive study is going on with the Irugur Kulam.
Krishnaswamy does a lot of reading and research. Now he is busy with the book ' Let There Be Water - Israel's Solution for a Water - Starved World ' by Seth.M.Siegel. "The book tells us how Israel kept up with the challenges connected with providing water to a rapidly growing population. Its an eye opener and is very interesting," stated Krishnaswamy.
CSR Spark is founded by R.S.Krishnaswamy and he is also the Chief Patron of the organization. He has created a portal and has formed the concept 'AAA' for taking it forward. The first ' A' is the advisory mode, the second ' A' deals with accreditation, the third 'A' is for awards. CSR Spark has conducted two conclaves thus far in connection with the first ' A' - Advisory mode. One was in Coimbatore and the other was in Chennai. Nikil Pant, the CSR expert who was also involved with the formulation of CSR laws conducted the day long programme in Coimbatore. K.Ravi, Senior Vice President of Roots handled the conclave in Chennai.
Krishnaswamy wants people to visit the portal http://www.csrspark.org and register themselves. The registration is absolutely free of cost. Companies and NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) are welcome to register themselves. This portal is basically a meeting place for corporates and implementing agencies. The NGOs can register their project proposals and the corporates can pick them up. The portal is a compendium of the rules, acts, Schedule VII, subsequent notifications, circulars and amendments.
"After COVID, the Prime Minister is talking more about self reliance. CSR Spark has envisioned that self reliance in FOOD as a primary need. Therefore we have made a representation for including agriculture in Schedule VII of the CSR Act. We have sent our representation to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the PMO (Prime Ministers Office). An acknowledgement has been received and we are waiting for further news. Atmanirbahaar Bharat is the concept and is the need of the hour. We are keen to work further with Corporates and the NGOs," mentioned Krishnaswamy. He has literally sparked a nice concept from Coimbatore, a city known for its conscious capitalism.
Krishnaswamy had figures on his finger tips. He stated that the top 20 companies contributed towards 33 % of CSR. About 24000 plus companies had spent 18000 plus crores on CSR last year and the figure in Tamilnadu had been Rupees 823 Crores. While it was about 41 Crores in Coimbatore.
Krishnaswamy went further, "There is no information given to the District Administration about CSR expenditure in a district. There is no mechanism to identify the details pertaining to the CSR spend in the districts. A District CSR Hub could be created in order top address this lacuna. A nodal office will help quite a bit. Based on public requirement, project proposals can be brought into the CSR hub with beneficiary details. The revenue records can also be posted in the CSR hub. An interested NGO can take up the study and enlist the details. It can make an offer with details which include implementation period etc., A corporate sponsor can come into the project after choosing. The decision can be fast and a single window clearance from the District Administration will help in working out things quickly. This will help the District Administration to keep a tab on all CSR activities. Besides all this, the geographical and subject wise distribution of CSR work should be also available for everyone. This can be replicated across all districts. CSR professionals can help in finding solutions. The Corporates who are involved with CSR are great resources. Their experience with systematic and professional methods will help a lot. You can get the knowledge and expertise of India Inc. This can be repeated and scaled up by the Government."
The Founder of CSR Spark spoke about geo tagging the projects and also how awards could be given to good performers in each category. R.S.Krishnaswamy has also done a Masters Course with the Institute of Directors and is eligible to be a Certified Independent Director.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a vast ocean. A lot of good can happen in this arena. We have to first understand that a good sapling has been raised and it will grow up into a nice big tree. This tree will yield nice and tasty fruits. However we have to work and wait. No overnight results, but the rewards will come in at a much faster pace. Organisations like CSR SPARK are here to facilitate good things. We have to register the proposed good deeds or committments with them. This registration will be a good beginning. There are a growing number of NGOs and Corporates who will be entering the fray over time. Organizations like CSR Spark founded by R.S.Krishnaswamy will help in ensuring that resources and needs meet each other.