12th International Conference on corporate social responsibility held in Bengaluru

Bengaluru (Karnataka) : After organising the largely-attended Indo-Global Business Meet at the House of Lords, UK and the IOD Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability at London in October, 2017, and Global Convention on Risk Management and Business Meet at Singapore in December, 2017, the Institute Of Directors organised it's 12th International Conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR) on February 9 and 10 at Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru (India).

CSR in India is at a nascent stage. There is unanimity about desirability, but few organizations have developed any overall strategy to actualise it. The best approaches to CSR are still fragmented and disconnected from overall business.

"Put simply, any organisation that wishes to deliver long-term growth and commercial success, must have a sustainable footing. The Institute Of Directors India is a longstanding partner of DMCC, and we are strong supporters of what the IOD is doing to place Corporate Social Responsibility at the very centre of the corporate governance agenda across India and beyond," said Gautam Sashittal, CEO, DMCC.

"Narayana Health is India's leading healthcare provider with a strong presence across 18 locations pan India, and overseas at Cayman Islands, USA. The NH group caters to over 2.6 million patients every year and provides an advanced level of care in over 30 specialties. It is one of the most awarded healthcare providers with over 50+ awards and accolades to its merit," said Dr. Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Group CEO, Narayana Health, who is also the principle partner for the event.

The CSR mandate promulgated through the Companies Act, 2013 requires over 16,000 companies to spend 2 percent of their net profit on specified CSR activities. The Act has asked these companies to have CSR policies, CSR committees and work on their Board's direction. It has moved from backroom to boardroom. CSR has become the new game changer, needing an actionable business agenda. That is the theme of the forthcoming International Conference, where India is the first country in the world to mandate CSR under law.

The event was inaugurated by T. M. Vijay Bhaskar, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, while Gaurav Kapoor, Head - Industry Partnership, CSR, Media, ?National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) delivered the special address, Gautam Sashittal, CEO, DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), UAE delivered the Keynote Address, and Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman, Sampark Foundation and Former Chief Executive Officer, HCL Technologies delivered the Theme Address.

D. V. Prasad, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia, IAS, former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Dr. B. Basavaraaju, IAS, Principal Secretary, Transport, Government of Karnataka, Uma Mahadevan, IAS,Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development, Government of Karnataka, Dr. Kalpana Gopalan, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Administrative Reforms, Government of Karnataka, Bhaskar Anand Rao, Chief Financial Officer, Bangalore International Airport, P. Balaji, Director - Regulatory, External Affairs & CSR, Vodafone India, S. V. Ranganath, IAS (retd.), former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Sandeep Dave, IAS, also addressed the gathering, along with a large number of other dignitaries.

Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah also receives standing ovation for an inspiring address from star-studded audience of over 400. He also presented Golden Peacock Awards with five sitting judges of Karnataka High court during this year's Golden Peacock Awards night in Bengaluru. TATA Steel, Accenture, Infosys, Canara Bank, Reliance Industries were among Indian Recipients of the award

In a packed full house, this year's the Prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2017 were presented. The leadership award for philanthropy and social change was presented to Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman, Sampark Foundation and Former Chief Executive Officer, HCL Technologies during a ceremony at Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.

Distinguished Awards (2018) of IOD were presented to Justice Jayant M. Patel, former Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat and former Judge, High Court of Karnataka, and Gautam Sashittal, CEO, DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), UAE, for their outstanding contribution to business and society.

The 1st Distinguished Fellowship was conferred upon Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, way back in 1994. Several other Indian and International companies were also felicitated during the 12th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility for their work towards the society and HR Excellence.

This year, the Secretariat received over 293 responses, for the above annual Golden Peacock Awards. Out of which, after careful scrutiny, 129 applications were shortlisted for final selection through a 3-tier assessment process. The quality of shortlisted entries evidenced competitors' commitment and high level of quality to achieve world-class status. An assessment group comprising of CSR and HR experts was set up to assess the applications. Each of the applications was reviewed by assessors independently, and was late.

Other awardees include ACC Limited, Mumbai (Cement); GHCL Limited, Noida (Chemical & Fertilizer); YES BANK Limited, Mumbai (Financial Sector (Banking) - Private); Canara Bank, Bangalore (Financial Sector (Banking) - PSU); National Stock Exchange of India Limited, Mumbai (Financial Services); Dell International Services India P. Ltd, Bangalore (IT); The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporate Limited, Vijayawada (Mining & Metallurgy); Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mumbai (Oil Refining); Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai (Petrochemical), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Gurgaon (Power); Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited, Bangalore (Textile & Apparel); GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (Transportation - Aviation); Anand CY Myutee Automotive P. Ltd, Gurgaon (Automobile Ancillary); WNS Global Services P. Limited (BPO); Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Bangalore (Consultancy); National Engineering Industries Limited, Jaipur (Engineering); Union Bank of India, Mumbai (Financial Sector - Banking); Engine Factory Avadi, Chennai (Government - Defence); Kirloskar Brothers Limited, Pune (Industrial Manufacturing); Infosys Limited, Bengaluru (IT); Allcargo Logistics Limited, Mumbai (Logistics).

International organisations awarded were Doha Bank, Qatar (Financial Sector - Banking); Dubai Customs - Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), UAE (Government); Al Jazeera International Catering LLC, UAE (Hospitality); IRPC Public Company Limited, Thailand (Petrochemical)

Special Commendation was also given to Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (Gurgaon) and Technip India Limited (Mumbai).