Government to honor corporates for social initiatives, applications accepted until June 18

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), thus, comes into play. In simple terms, CSR is all about operating a business in a way that it meets and exceeds the expectations of the society.The Companies Act rolled out by the Corporate Affairs Ministry talks on similar lines. As per the Act, it is essential for profitable business organizations to spend a minimum of 2% of their average net profits of three consecutive financial years on CSR activities.

The government recently announced its decision of bestowing awards to corporates who second the thought. The objective behind these felicitations is to encourage corporate houses to invest in social welfare and make it a part of their core business models.

The Act encompasses limited as well as private limited companies. As per the government policy, CSR engagements are mandatory if:

• the company net worth is Rs 5 crore or more
• the company turnover is Rs1,000 crore or more

Also, the norm states that any business that falls under the above-mentioned financial strength criteria, must constitute a CSR committee with all company directors as its active members. This panel would be responsible for planning, proposing, formulating, and overseeing the CSR activities taken up by the organization. The key areas on which companies can base their CSR strategies are Human Development, Economic Development, Social Welfare, and Environment &Sustainable Development.

Hence, the announcement of the firstNational Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is anticipated to make a positive impact on the society. The initiative will also seek to motivate companies to come up with innovative and sustainable CSR programs. Moreover, a token of appreciation to the businesses for their efforts will strengthen the belief of conducting business in a socially responsible way.

Companies meeting the applicant category benchmarks are invited to nominate their names Awards latest by June 18, 2017.