Gujarat CSR Authority announces the first-of-its- kind National CSR Conclave in India

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat CSR Authority (GCSRA), which is an initiative by the Government of Gujarat, is organising its first ever “National CSR Conclave: Decoding the CSR Ecosystem in India” in Ahmedabad, on March 9 and 10, 2017. The National CSR conclave aims to create an enabling environment for corporates, government agencies, NGOs & civil society, academics and other stakeholders to share their expectations, aspirations and responsibilities to address the social challenges faced by the State. The conclave would also focus on understanding the changing paradigm of CSR in India, providing a platform to discuss the current issues and developments and share best practices for programme implementation and impact creation, through dissemination of state and national level experiences.

With the introduction of Companies Act, 2013, the mandate for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been formally established through Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, (also referred to as the CSR Rules), which has come into effect from 1st April 2014. In the light of the progress being facilitated by the CSR rules, the conclave would address several topics such as perspective shifts and policy changes, benchmarking performance through Results Based Management (RBM) for CSR, measuring & documenting progress – innovations for Knowledge Management among others.

Elaborating on the objective of organizing the conclave, Mr. Maheshwar Sahu, IAS (retd), Chairman GCSRA, congratulated the GCSRA team for organising the event, and said, “This is a humble beginning to bring all stakeholders on one platform to ensure healthy implementation of various CSR initiatives.” He extolled the role of GCSRA in promoting CSR in the state of Gujarat, and encouraged the private sector to actively participate in the process of implementing innovative projects through CSR initiative.

The two-day conclave would witness a number of panel discussions on several themes, undergirded by the need to find solutions aided by the CSR mandate. Skilling for livelihood; healthcare & diagnostic healthcare (including malnutrition); innovation & entrepreneurship; construction of community toilets, Public Private Partnerships and collaborations for effective development programming would be some topics for structured deliberations. The conclave would reach out to academics, prominent business leaders, CSR practitioners, civil society leaders as well as to young and senior researchers in the state and the country, as well.

Furthermore, the conclave will feature a CSR awards night recognising large and small industry efforts towards strategic, results-based CSR, where the work done by the winners would also be showcased through short video clips.

Emphasizing the need to upscale and replicate the success through knowledge sharing mechanism, Mr. Roopwant Singh, IAS, Managing Director, Gujarat Informatics Limited and Commissioner of Geology and Mining, Govt. of Gujarat, said, “The Gujarat CSR Authority has in a very short time established itself as an agency which recognises and promotes innovation and convergence of CSR expenditures by the corporations.” He also expressed his joy over the fact that GCSRA CSR Awards have become the first-ever initiative by any state to recognise the efforts being made by various companies to address local issues, that not only provide the social lever but also bring to fore the rich experience and impact achieved by certain corporates over a period of time.

The Gujarat CSR Authority has been established under the administrative control of the Industries and Mines Department (IMD) Government of Gujarat for the purpose of managing the CSR fund and also for coordinating, monitoring and implementing the various CSR activities.

The National CSR Conclave 2017 is expected to draw the participation of more than 300 delegates, across different stakeholder segments from across the country. This would also provide an opportunity to showcase offerings, initiatives, and solutions to effective target audiences at one platform.

About Gujarat CSR Authority (GCSRA)

With the inception of Companies Act, 2013, the various welfare activities and projects the various Companies in the State of Gujarat were undertaking under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has now assumed a significant importance. The Government of Gujarat attaches due importance to the welfare activities that will be conducted for the well-being of people of the State of Gujarat. In this regard, a need has been felt for optional utilization of the CSR (Fund, through facilitating both the Public and Private Sector Companies in relation to carrying out their CSR activities.

In view of this, Gujarat CSR Authority has been established under the administrative control of the Industries and Mines Department (IMD) Government of Gujarat for the purpose of managing the CSR fund and also for coordinating, monitoring and implementing the various CSR activities.

DeshGujarat