New Delhi: Thousands of industry leaders have witnessed a revolutionary evolution of ESG and CSR at the campus of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), IMT Maneasr. About 30 top companies exhibited their practices in the sphere of sustainability, Environment-Social-Governance (ESG), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Rao Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs was the Chief Guest in the event and participated virtually.
Rajesh Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs said that Ministry of Corporate Affairs has made remarkable contributions by introducing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandate under the Companies Act, and the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business and also an updated version of National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated Business Responsibility and Sustainability (BRSR) reporting on top 1000 listed companies by market capitalization. The foundation of BRSR is inspired by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ Report on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR) and National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct.
School of Business Environment (SoBE) in IICA has set the right directions for companies to be more responsible in their approach towards the society, economy and environment. IICA is a think tank under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs working towards strengthening the ESG-CSR ecosystem in the country among its other initiatives.
Mr.Verma, Secretary, Corporate Affairs released a book titled “Benchmarking ESG & CSR” a compilation of the case studies on identified practices on sustainable development projects by companies through their ESG and CSR initiatives. The book was edited by Dr. Garima Dadhich and Dr. Ravi Raj Atrey. An essay competition was also organized by IICA, three winners received awards for their best essays by the Secretary, Corporate Affairs.
He said that Ministry’s contribution in promoting Good Corporate Governance has further facilitated ease of doing business in the country. Government lays strong emphasis on the reinforcement of ‘minimal government & maximum governance’, public trust and ease of doing business. The Government has repealed over 25000 compliances and nearly 1500 union laws. The Amrit Kaal will focus on the next phase of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB 2.0) and Ease of Living and the government following the goal of ‘trust-based governance’ to improve the productive efficiency of capital and human resources. He emphasised that Sustainable Development is now recognized as Fundamental Right of the people. The Supreme Court of India has held that sustainable development is to be treated as an integral part of life under article 21 of the Constitution of India. Hence, complying with the principle of sustainable development is a constitutional mandate. He said that as an Individual everyone has a great responsibility on their Shoulders. Until individual mindset don’t change Massive revolution are difficult in achieving the SDG Goals.