India’s Corporate Social Responsibility Bill 2012

- by Sara Khan

Corporate Social Responsibility & Your Brand

University of Cape Town Professor, Ralph Hamann argues that complex social and environmental problems can be addressed if businesses start taking into consideration the impact and sociological context of their various decisions and strategies (African Business Review). Sometimes, a deed performed in the name of Corporate Sustainable Responsibility can directly be related to the nature and brand of the company. There are a lot of environmental and social threats to businesses, today. These threats will continue to grow if steps in the right direction are not taken. At the end of the day, practicing Corporate Social Responsibility will benefit the company itself, if aligned to its goals and mission. Moreover, consumers today understand and value the importance of sustainability and the merits of good governance. 

A study carried out by CSRHub (an organization that provides corporate social responsibility and sustainability ratings for companies), shows that correlation more than doubled in strength between CSR and Brand Strength from 2011. 1000 companies were analyzed for 2012, and the correlation data suggests that 28% percent of Brand Strength is related to CSR Performance (Triplepundit). This is because consumers many times value a company based on the activities it carries out, outside its business’ realm. 

According to the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study shows that 67% consumers in India are “very likely” to switch brands in favour of those that support a cause. Also, 94% Indian consumers say they would tell their friends and family about a company’s CSR efforts, thus increasing their presence and recognition as a brand. Citizens in emerging markets, such as India embrace CSR enthusiastically and are associating themselves with companies that address social and environmental issues (Holmes Report).

How Student Became Teacher

- by Janie Lee

Pankaj Verma is a 25 year old from a village in northern India, near Nepal. He comes from a family of six – in addition to his parents, he has two older sisters and an older brother. His father is a mechanic, his mother is a housewife, his older brother owns a small jewelry shop, and his sisters are also housewives.  

Since growing up, Pankaj loved teaching. He volunteered to help little children locally, but decided to pause his passion for teaching in order to better sustain himself. He did not have enough income to maintain a good standard of living. As a result, he enrolled in the food and beverages course at the PACE Center in Aurangabad, which is about three days of travel from home.

(Pankaj Verma exhibiting plates and cutlery he uses to teach students in his food and beverages course)

A three month transformation

- by Janie Lee

Bhashkar Bogar is 21 years old and grew up in a small village called Munjalgondi. He comes from a family of five. His father is a farmer, his mother is a housewife, and his two younger siblings are not old enough to work. Bhashkar helped contribute to his family’s support by taking on jobs that barely paid enough to buy clothing for his younger siblings.

After a local forest officer told Bhashkar about the opportunities at the PACE Hospitality Training Centre in Aurangabad, he decided to make the 1200 kilometer journey in March of 2012 and enroll in the housekeeping course. His parents gave him permission to go, hoping that he would have the opportunity to break out of the family tradition of being farmers. Upon arrival to the campus, Bhashkar was intimidated and uncertain about fitting in. Many people were speaking in Hindi or English, and he was not well versed in either language. He spoke Gondi at home and Marathi otherwise. For ten days, Bhashkar did not speak to anybody at the center and was extremely lonely. He decided to return home after the first ten days, but a fellow classmate told him to complete the course, as it was three months long. Listening to the advice of his classmate, Bhashkar completed the housekeeping course. Despite having difficulty in the beginning, he adjusted quickly and excelled in his course. 

Tata Motors & Pratham Institute launch Driving Centre in Singrauli

- by Sara Khan

In a public-private partnership initiative, Tata Motors in partnership with Pratham Institute and Urjanchal Driving School launched a commercial vehicle driving centre in Singrauli. The centre was inaugurated by Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, along with senior officials from Tata Motors.

This training centre is well equipped with classrooms and a testing track. This centre embraces innovation by conducting classes through the audio-video methodology and extensive practical sessions.

Pratham Institute has been roped in as an implementation partner, while Tata Motors has designed the course content, and provided technical assistance and knowledge. Pratham Institute runs Automotive courses in three other centers- Bina, Kolhapur & Sagar. This Program was launched in 2010 and so far c.340 students have been trained. Students can choose between Motor Mechanic and Commercial Vehicle Driving courses. On completion of the respective courses, students are provided with joint certification from Pratham, Tata Motors (our Knowledge Partner) & NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation).

India has shortage of trained drivers. This is also why India ranks highest in the world with about 1.43 lakh road fatalities annually (According to a report published by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways - June 2012). In 2010, NSDC estimated that there will be  demand of over 50 lakh drivers, over a period of the next 12 years. Such courses in vocational skilling and training are essential to meet the demand for skilled workers while addressing the lack of sustainable livelihood and employment opportunities. 

Source: Article published in Business Line on 28th May, 2013