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CSR initiatives in mining, metals and infrastructure sectors will fail to drive long-term transformation unless aligned with national priorities and communities take ownership of welfare programmes, experts warned, underscoring the need for deeper local engagement amid rising scrutiny on sustainable development. This comes as India accelerates critical minerals exploration and infrastructure under Atmanirbhar Bharat to secure supply chains for EVs, renewables, and defence, with CSR spending surpassing Rs 15,000 crore yearly in these sectors. "The mandated 2 per cent CSR spending must be matched with 100 per cent accountability if welfare initiatives are to create sustainable and measurable outcomes. Ultimately, CSR is a collective and cumulative social responsibility (CSR). The challenge today is not resources or policy, it is ownership at scale," said Pavan Kaushik, sustainability and CSR advisor for sectors like mining, metals and infrastructure. CSR in the mining sector must alig
Three persons, including two girls, were killed and two others seriously injured when a clay mine collapsed while they were extracting clay in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred in Parsohar village under the Kundwar outpost within the jurisdiction of the Jiawan police station, about 70 kilometres from the district headquarters, they said. Sub-Divisional Police Officer Gayatri Tiwari said that five persons, including two girls, had gone to extract "chuit mitti" from a clay mine when it collapsed, burying them. He said that Preeti Singh (10), Basanti (16) and Phulmati Yadav (50) died on the spot, while Kaushalya Singh (50) and Sakmuni Singh (45) were seriously injured. Both injured women have been admitted to the Devsar Community Hall for treatment, added the official. People in rural areas paint their houses with chui mitti, which is usually white.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has urged the Centre to reject proposed mining projects in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve corridor in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, saying these projects will "inflict unchecked ecological damage". In a letter to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, Thackeray said these projects are detrimental to both the forests they are located in as well as the wildlife that inhabits these forests. "In the first week of January, Maharashtra's State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) approved mining projects in Lohardongari near the Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary and Marki-Mangli in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve corridor," Thackeray said. It has also come to notice that certain members of the SBWL voiced their concerns and opposed these projects but were unfortunately overruled by the chair. The expected output from these projects is relatively low compared to the unchecked ecological damage they will inflict. ...