Indian government minister backs CSR

CSR activities in India must amount to more than writing cheques, donating to charity and having a good public relations image, Prem Chand Gupta, Indian company affairs minister, told a recent meeting in Delhi. Gupta said CSR was about 'improving the general living standards of the community, raising educational standards and creating a positive impact on society'.

The minister delivered the message to Indian companies when he released a publication, Corporate Social Responsibility: Concepts and Cases - the Indian Experience. Corporates have a big role in a country such as India, he said, but most companies still have a 'limited or myopic approach' to CSR.

Jayant Buyan, deputy director-general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, urged companies to change their mindset so as to encourage young managers.

His theme was taken up by Pritam Singh, director of India's Management Development Institute: 'In order to sensitize the youth of our country on their corporate responsibility we need to inculcate it in their curriculum. CSR is not something which can be forced upon someone, but needs to be voluntarily taken up,' he said. 'Upcoming managers should be taught to internalize CSR in their business strategies.'

However, he reminded businesspeople that socially responsible business practice was not new to India. 'The Gandhian philosophy of trusteeship is similar to the CSR of the modern business world,' he said.