NASSCOM Foundation Hosts the ‘CSR Leadership Conference’ to Focus on Catalysing Change through CSR Programs

Over 200 leaders from IT, government, and NGOs attended NASSCOM Foundation’s CSR Leadership Conference 2015 to discuss ways to create social impact through CSR programs.

With ‘Catalysing Change through Corporate Social Responsibility’ as the overall theme , the conference was designed to advance the cause of corporate social responsibility towards sustainable and inclusive growth by bringing together leading industry figures to discuss insights, best practices and leadership experiences. The conference also showcased the efforts of companies leading socially responsible initiatives and provided a platform for industry and other stakeholders to discuss and find effective solutions to meaningfully engage with CSR.

Held in the backdrop of Government of India’s mandate on 2% of profit to be spent on CSR activities, the event enabled a dialogue between relevant stakeholders on making collaborative use of technology for national good by plugging gaps in India’s social development.

The Conference also saw the release by R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM of “Ideas That Impact,” a compendium of real world stories that showcase the use of technology and innovation for creating scalable social impact.

The conference was attended by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Deity N S Parthasarathy, Co-Founder and COO, Mindtree;  Debjani Ghosh, Intel; Kiran Karnik, Member, MCA Monitoring Committee, P. Balaji, Director, Vodafone, Prof Jeremy Williams, Director, APCSE, Griffith University, Australia, Mohan Reddy, Founder & Executive Chairman, Cyient and Vice Chairman, NASSCOM, Vijay Chadda, Head, Bharti Foundation, Susmita Malik, Global CSR Leader, Genpact among a plethora of other CSR leaders, Policy makers from the Government and the Heads from NGOs.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “Most of the Indian companies have been undertaking social initiatives proactively, driven by a desire to give back to the society. With a concerted approach, it is possible to channelize these energies towards sustainable and inclusive growth and this conference aims to propel the same.”

Dr Ajay Kumar, Secretary, DeitY, Government of India emphasized the need for collaborative approach under the Public Private Partnership model for creating collective and sustainable Digital India. The National Digital Literacy Mission, aimed to create digital literacy in one member of each family, is one of the great examples of collaborative approach for effective collective impact, he said.

According to Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, “NASSCOM Foundation enjoys a position which only a few other Non-Profits can boast of, it’s active relationship with the government, its approachability towards the IT-BPM Companies and a partner network of over 6000 known and certified NGOs. This conference is a step forward towards leveraging this unique position and drive a constructive dialogue among the three pillars to maximize the impact of CSR.”

Primarily aimed at addressing key national imperatives of health, education, skill and sanitation through CSR initiatives, the conference also focused on helping corporates scale their CSR efforts through effective strategies and partnerships.

The conference also discussed scope of working for persons with disabilities, creating skilling models for underserved communities, thus creating a truly Inclusive India.