Towards innovative CSR and elderly care

A workshop on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ageing’, was held at NMDC in Masab Tank on Thursday.

It was jointly hosted by Heritage Foundation; National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) Hyderabad Chapter; All India Senior Citizens Confederation (AISCCON) and Institute of Public Enterprises (IPE).

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr Jibitesh Rath, GM (HRD), NMDC; BVN Raju, Chairman, NIPM; Hyderabad Chapter; RN Mital, AISCCON (All India Senior Citizens Confederation) and Dr KR Gangadharan, Director, Heritage Foundation, were present on the occasion.

The workshop worked towards identifying the opportunities for innovative action with the other stakeholders such as Government, policy makers, NGO’s, senior citizens organizations, academicians and individuals working with the elderly.

The workshop reflected on the shifts in CSR philosophy and practice in India over the years, emphasised the main aspects concerning elderly that fall under the 10 items stipulated under the Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 -ensuring work participation and social integration of the elderly in their family and the society, creating living arrangements that adapt to the changing contexts and provision of subsidised health care services.

Participants deliberated on using overlapping approaches- under their CSR Mandate and encouraged thinking on how to evolve a structure in the CSR unit of a company, which may include senior citizens and stakeholders who work with the elderly.

“Most recent and a welcome change in India has been the specification by the Government through an amendment in the Companies Act- 2013, of the amount that a corporate company has to ‘spend mandatorily’ for the ‘specified activities’ they may undertake to fulfill their CSR obligation for social development,” said Dr Gangadharan.

“The importance being accorded to CSR is now greater than ever with its span across the globe, and the Indian economy is no exception. In its latest form, the concept of CSR propagated by the companies’ is to take on the extensive responsibility of the multiple stakeholders who keep the business a going concern; sustainability is their main goal.

CSR is based on the idea that successful, profitable corporations have to take responsibility for social issues and manage their business process in a way that it is a win-win situation for the profit maximisation, stakeholder wealth and also contribute for the resolution of social problems,” said Rath.