CSR is a huge opportunity for Korean companies to earn goodwill and win the hearts of people in India

The large presence of Korean companies in India is set to become bigger in view of the sea change in the economic and business environment following the installation of the new government in this country. I see a renewed interest amongst Korean companies in coming as the economic vision unveiled by Prime Minister Modi is acting as a big catalyst, said Mr. Joon-Gyu Lee, Korean Ambassador to India at the 4th Korea-India CSR Forum hosted by the Korean Embassy and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Lee said the Korean companies were committed to undertaking CSR activities in earnest and emphasized that CSR presents a huge opportunity for them to earn corporate goodwill and win the hearts and minds of the Indian people.

The Korean Ambassador said CSR rested on three pillars - the 3Ps, representing People, Planet and Profit. People, he said, were the ultimate stakeholders of any enterprise and therefore industry must pursue socially responsible business strategies for the benefit of all. The corporate sector must factor in the impact of the business activities and invest in environment-friendly technologies for the sake of Planet earth and remember that CSR was not antithetical to generation of Profit. Corporates, he added, must go beyond tax planning and profit-making by adhering to the 3Ps for reaping long term dividends.

Doing good to society is doing good to industry, he said and added that the Korean Embassy is holding regular meetings with Korean companies in India to review the individual CSR practices being followed by them.

Ms. Sibani Swain, Economic Adviser, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India, in her address, stated that contributions to the 'Swachh Bharat Kosh' has been added by the government to the list of CSR activities.

She explained that the CSR Policy as outlined by the government includes a list of CSR projects or programs which a company plans to undertake falling within the purview of the Schedule VII of the Act, specifying modalities of execution of such project or programs and implementation schedules; monitoring process of such projects or programmes. CSR activities do not include the activities undertaken in pursuance of normal course of business of a company and the Board of Directors would have to ensure that activities included by a company in its CSR Policy are related to the activities included in Schedule VII of the Act.

Ms. Swain said CSR should be seen as a change-agent, as an idea of giving back to society.

Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, pointed out that CSR must be recognized as creative value-addition for the community, not just as shared value which is meant to benefit industry. He said Bill Gates' call for 'creative capitalism' was an approach where governments, business and not for profit organisations work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world of inequities. This was a very relevant in an era of increasingly integrated world. Social development agenda must be conceived with shared responsibilities and many of which requires collective action.

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