“Think CSR” Thinks More for A Better India

10th Edition of “THINK CSR” brought together Corporate, CSR foundations, Government Agencies, NGOs, Social Businesses and Advisory firms to network, collaborate and expand the CSR initiatives for the development of the Nation.

Tefla’s presented 10th Edition of “THINK CSR” recently at Mumbai. THINK FOUNDATION was the principal host for this event. The forum brought forward the experiences of CSR practitioners, CEOs and sustainability experts to give business rationale for an integrated CSR approach.

Chief Guests Hon. Dr. DY Patil; Shri Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Minister of State, Tourism, Odia Language, Literature & Culture, Odisha; Mr. Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, Commissioner-cum-secretary to Government graced presence during the Awards evening.

The forum witnessed participations from Corporate, CSR foundations, Government Agencies, NGOs, Social Businesses and Advisory firms and provided specific case study of strategic initiatives which have enhanced business competitiveness and cultivated brand loyalty for the built-up communities.

To name a few eminent personalities present at the event are as follows: Dr. Nilay Ranjan (Phd JNU), Head CSR, Aditya Birla Group; Sanjay Kumar, India Country Director, The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute; Vijay Sardana, International Agri Business Value Chain Expert, Public Interest Director – MSE; Representatives from NALCO, OMC; Paresh Parasnis, CEO, Piramal Foundation; Shweta Pandey, Director India, Embodhi Foundation; Dr. Y. Suresh Reddy, Lead CSR & Director, SRF Foundation; Dr. Radha Bajaj, Deeds India; Rajiv Williams, Corporate Head of CSR, Jindal Stainless Limited Group of companies; Dr. Inke Van Der Sluijs, Head of European Operations, RSPO; Yusuf Kabir, UNICEF Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, DRR & Emergency Focal Point, UNICEF Maharashtra; Mr. Sahil Arora, Associate Vice President, Indeed, Dentsu Agis Network was present amongst others.

Hon. Dr. D. Y. Patil said “Doing something for the society is a must in life and also the basis of human society so we must take care of the ones that are less privileged than us.”

Shri. Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Minister of State Odisha was of the view “This is a good initiative taken by Tefla’s for CSR. I have seen that in Odisha there are lots of companies doing incredible amount of CSR work and this is the only way to sustain the growth of the society. It keeps the employees motivated and their performance also goes up. CSR should be done from the heart and all companies across India should voluntarily do it this will create better markets and more profitability.”

Mr. Sudhakar Desai, CEO, Emami Agrotech said “Our Group companies has been doing serious CSR work and touched over one Lakh people in Education, Women empowerment, Skill Development, Jal Kalyan, Sanitation, Ayurvedic health, etc. And we spend much more than 2% of our profits for this cause.”

Mr. Sahil Arora, Associate Vice President, Indeed, Dentsu Aegis Network said “This is a prodigious event bringing together all stakeholders from the space and providing them a platform to disentangle and decipher existing issues and challenges of the sector. Such platforms can be the bridge between implementation partners and donors to deliberate on demand and supply gaps, while NGO’s need to bring in more transparency and authenticity, donors/companies ought to provide some hand holding support to grassroot level NGO ‘s.”

Dr. Y. Suresh Reddy, Lead CSR & Director, SRF Foundation said “Since 10 years we have been doing CSR activities in the field of school education in 9 states, 21 locations across India for our company as well as other companies. We feel that If we want to make a difference to the society we all have to come together for inclusive growth. I am happy that Tefla’s has organised this conference which is an interface between the Government, NGOs, Corporates and the communities.”

Vijay Sardana, International Agri Business Value Chain Expert & Member CDAC, SEBI, Public Interest Director – MSE said “This a very good Platform with a lot of presentations, panel discussions and awards, this is actually very much needed to expose and publicise the work done by companies in CSR to encourage them and motivate them to do better and act as a role model for other companies and help the society to become better. This is a very good initiative by Tefla’s and it should become bigger and better every year.”

Kailash Singh, Director, Tefla’s and Event Organiser said, “Our initiative started 10 years back in Odisha, when we educated many Industry houses and explained the people in the neighboring areas that development cannot be possible at the cost of environment and they responded positively. Today we have come a long way with activities in Health, Education and upliftment of society.”

“‘Think CSR’ is to facilitate the development of viable CSR models, including assisting members in formulating or implementing their own CSR strategy and programme. The event not only highlights the Best Practices in CSR in the context of business sustainability but also discuss the existing practices and future prospects of Corporate Social Responsibility in a globalized economy. ‘Think CSR’ has the potential to act as an information and campaign centre for good corporate governance.” He added.

India’s Prestigious Recognition Awards programme for Corporate Social Responsibility ‘Think CSR Awards’ was the other important part of the event. The forum celebrate and salute the resilience of companies that have not only weathered the financial storm but remained resolute in trying times, to continuously uphold the highest standard in CSR while developing innovative and sustainable solutions and products for greater profitability and improving the welfare of communities. Think CSR Awards focused on honoring and celebrating the significant contributions of Organizations & individuals for their excellence in CSR practices.

The event concluded with glittering performances by India’s 1st RAW star, Singer Rituraj Mohapatra, Singer Biswas Mahapatra during which Actor Pitobash Tripathy and many others Bollywood personalities was also present.

For more information, http://www.thinkcsr.net/ | https://www.teflas.com/

Media Contact:

Prashant Agarwal (+91 99201 50234 / 90228 00584), Email: prashant@firstcommunicate.in