The CSR has been made mandatory under section 135 of the Companies Act 2013.
Maharashtra’s tribal development department (TDD) is for the first time planning to tie up with the corporate entities to work for improving the standard of living of the tribal communities. With the help of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds of Corporate companies, the TDD is going to provide quality education to the underprivileged students, upgrading health facilities in tribal areas, imparting skills to the tribal youth, and branding of tribal products in the open market.
The TDD has organised a CSR conference on February 25 at a five star hotel of south Mumbai to collaborate with giants of corporate industries to work for the upliftment of the tribal community. To this end, the department has so far invited around 70 corporate companies for the conference.
The CSR has been made mandatory under section 135 of the Companies Act 2013. As per the section 135, the corporate industries have to spend two percent of their net profit for the CSR activities, described under the schedule VII of the Companies Act, that qualify as CSR projects, including initiatives to promote education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and rural development. Maharashtra has the second largest scheduled tribe population with 10 percent in the country. The tribal areas and tribal community still needed to be given support to bring them into the mainstream of the society.
A senior official from Mantralaya said, “We want the CSR fund of the corporate companies to be spent with the collaboration of the TDD, which knows the actual needs of the community and areas, where the funds can be utilised in the best and appropriate manner. This collaboration will be going to bring changes in the community.”
The official further said that the purpose behind organising the conference is to explore avenues for CSR partners to leverage their technical expertise and expansive networks, while bringing innovative solutions for enhancing the tribal ecosystem of the state. “In addition to this, the conference will give a platform for CSR consultations directed at accelerating SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) for the development of scheduled tribes in Maharashtra,” the official said.
The senior official said that they are seeking intervention in educational innovations, digital literacy programs, scholarships, and mentorship to enhance access to quality education for the tribal children. “We want to have partnership to extend to implement specialised skill development programmes, equipping youth with future ready skills in emerging sectors such as electric vehicle, robotics, AI, data analytics and 3D printing,” he said.
The government is also looking for corporate sponsorships and training programmes for identifying and nurturing talent of tribal children in sports.
Article Credit: deccanchronicle