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May 7, 2025
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Legal readiness for climate finance

Only about 10% of banks and finance institutions in the world view climate change as an issue that can have either a positive or negative impact on their balance sheets.
In January 2019, the Bank of England, with the assistance of the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority, set up a joint climate risk forum to coordinate climate change action and share best practices.
They each laid out new expectations of how the firms they supervise will be managing climate risk, serving as an example of how to incorporate sustainability as a core banking activity, rather than a corporate social responsibility. UN Environment took part in the forum and offered legal best practices on climate change mitigation.
Policymakers in charge of environmental policy and climate action are insufficiently aware of the various fiscal tools available to catalyse climate finance such as green bonds and transfer pricing. The latter is a mechanism for pricing transactions within and between enterprises under common ownership or control and which  greatly boost implementation of climate laws when Article 6 of the Paris Agreement becomes operational.
Article 6 is a key part of the Paris Agreement which allows Parties to voluntarily cooperate to meet their nationally determined contributions, providing for international transfers of mitigation outcomes, a new mechanism for mitigation and sustainable development, and non-market approaches.
Article 6 establishes the foundation for a post-2020 carbon market, but there are still many complex issues to be discussed and decided among Parties to finalize the Paris Agreement work programme.

HARMAN partners with Christel House India for holistic education of underserved

HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. will invest in the learning and well-being of the students across age groups who come from underserved backgrounds. HARMAN will also aid these students in gaining soft skills.
For the last 20 years, Christel House International, a non-profit, has been transforming the lives of impoverished children around the world — breaking the cycle of poverty and building self-sufficient, contributing members of society. The school has changed the lives of 4600 students thought its robust K-12 education model in countries like Mexico, South Africa, United Stated and India.
HARMAN will work with the non-profit organization to serve students in India who come from families that are severely lacking in resources. Along with education, the support includes regular healthcare, nutritious meals, guidance counseling, career planning, family assistance, college and careers support.
“Children are truly the future of a nation. We are proud to partner with Christel House India in its efforts to educate children from underserved backgrounds,” said Pradeep Chaudhary, Country manager, HARMAN India.
Jaison C Mathew, CEO, Christel House India, said, “A Christel House Learning Center is a place for children to learn the values of respect, responsibility, independence and integrity, develop a love of learning and maximize their human potential. It is all given free of cost to these kids and we need corporates like HARMAN to support us in this important journey.”

2019 elections: Happiness and voting behaviour

By George Ward,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

For a long time, the main measure of government success has been GDP. Despite movements in the direction of going beyond such macroeconomic indicators, this is undoubtedly still the case for most if not all countries. One perfectly good reason for this focus is the extensive evidence that governments are much more likely to be
re-elected when the economy is doing well.
Economic voting is evident both at the individual level, where individuals with healthy household financial situations are more likely to profess a preference for governing parties. And also at the national level, where incumbent parties generally receive higher vote shares the more buoyant is the election-year economy.
The theoretical literature in political economy sharpens the (perhaps intuitive) point that by linking re-election chances to an outcome like the state of the economy, incumbent politicians are given powerful incentives to act on that set of issues. Elections can be seen as a device for voters to “control” politicians. Knowing they will
only be re-elected if the economy is doing well, they will make sure to work hard to ensure that this is the case, rather than spending their time, among other things, enriching themselves through corruption or pursuing pet projects that may be of little use to voters and what they care about.
But what sort of incentives do politicians face exactly? If their re-election is dependent upon the economy above all else, it is not unreasonable for governments to concentrate their efforts there. But if their chances of re-election are tied to a broader set of outcomes, which might reasonably be measured using a more comprehensive measure of success like subjective well-being, then it follows that they will have strong incentives to focus their policymaking on individuals’ broader well-being.
In a paper examining a set of elections in 15 EU countries since 1973 it was found that, in the first place, the electoral fate of governing parties is significantly tied to the performance of the national economy. Using a standard model of economic voting, the data show that government vote share in these elections is associated positively with the election-year economic growth rate, and negatively with the unemployment rate.

Are unhappier people more likely to vote for populists?

Populism is far from new. But the past decade has seen a significant rise in the prominence of populist political movements. There is no single definition of populism, making its measurement and empirical study problematic. Perhaps the key aspect of populist ideology, which spans various different definitions, is an anti-establishment worldview. Populist politicians typically distinguish between the virtue of “ordinary” people on the one hand, and
the corrupt “elite” on the other. Related themes in the study of the recent rise in populism have also included a growth in the success of parties promoting nativist or nationalist sentiment, as well as an opposition to or rejection of cosmopolitanism and globalisation.
An obvious question arises from this recent political trend: is this all a manifestation of rising levels of unhappiness? If pressed to describe one thing that brings these different political movements and parties together, one feature that stands out is that they all share a certain discontent, or unhappiness, with the status quo in their respective countries.
A related hypothesis is that while unhappy people may have long been favourable to populist ideas, other cultural and societal factors have changed over the past few decades that have allowed for this unhappiness (pent-up demand) to be now “activated” in the political sphere. For example, some candidate variables in this regard might include: the secular decline across the Western world in general deference, the rise of social media as a source of information, or the loss of credibility that elites suffered following the financial crisis in 2008 (or other public policy mismanagements).
A final possibility could be that it is not the average level of well-being that is driving changes in support for populist political movements, but it rather has to do with the variance of SWB (i.e. well-being inequality). Work in the future in this regard might explore the explanatory power of measures like the standard deviation of happiness rather than the mean in predicting populist electoral success.

In conclusion…

Happier people are not only more likely to engage in politics and vote, but are also more likely to vote for incumbent parties. This has significant implications for the electoral incentives that politicians face while in office.
There appears to be a significant electoral dividend to improving happiness, beyond ensuring a buoyant economic situation. Governments around the globe that are moving in the direction of focusing their policymaking efforts on the population’s broad well-being are not only doing so to improve people’s happiness for its own sake, but they also appear to have electoral reasons to do so out of (enlightened) self-interest.
The empirical evidence that exists is currently largely focused on correlations between happiness and voting behaviour — with influences likely to be running in both directions, or due to movements in some third factor. This has obvious drawbacks, and a significant area of further research will likely be focused on establishing the likely causal influences for the various relationships studied in this chapter.
Not only this, a number of further open questions (both theoretical and empirical) are of great interest both academically as well as in the policy sphere. For example, which domains or sources of people’s subjective well-being are most prominently driving the empirical association between happiness, the decision of whether to vote, and whom to vote for?
If there are political incentives to focus policy on happiness, to what extent do politicians respond to them?
Do people vote more on the basis of their own happiness or society’s happiness as a whole?
Are people more likely to make vote choices based on SWB in countries where official happiness statistics are more prominently published?
Does the relationship between well-being and voting differ when considering local and national elections?
Do people reward (punish) left- and right-wing governments differently for the (un)happiness of the country?
Are right- and left-wing voters equally likely to base their political decision-making on their level of happiness?
To what extent, and how, have successful populist political movements managed to tap into people’s unhappiness?
If it is true that unhappier people vote for populists, will populist incumbents be able to retain their support?
And what makes some unhappy people turn to right-wing populism and some to left-wing populism?
Research into the links between happiness and political behaviour is still very modest in scale, but it is growing significantly. Given the increasing use of subjective well-being data in public policy, there is increasing interest in knowing if and why happiness affects voting behaviour.

Extract from World Happiness Report 2019, a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.

Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.

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Tata Trusts and Microsoft partner to empower handloom weaving community

Employing over seven million families in India, the craft sector is the country’s largest source of employment after agriculture. In addition to having a high potential of employment, the sector also has great economic importance in terms of foreign exchange earnings.
Despite this, the sector is grappling with problems like the inability to produce high quality market driven artefacts and low access to domestic and export markets. Handloom weavers, particularly the young ones, are drifting away from the sector at an alarming pace, thus painting a not-so-happy picture.
Tata Trusts and Microsoft India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly rejuvenate the handloom clusters in the Eastern and North-Eastern parts of the country. Through this collaboration, both the initiatives will leverage each other’s strengths to provide business & communication skills, design education and digital literacy to handloom weavers so that they may build a sustainable future.
Microsoft’s ReWeave initiative, helps preserve traditional weaving forms by upskilling, design, marketing, and entrepreneurship, besides creating sustainable livelihood options. Project ReWeave successfully implemented new e-commerce platform, digital empowerment centers and the new design curriculum to Telangana weaving clusters of Rajouli, Chottuppal, Pochampally, Naryanpet & Gadwal and shortly in Warangal & Siddipet clusters. Microsoft will enable digital training through Project Sangam, a Microsoft Azure based Learning Management System.
Tata Trusts’ initiative, ‘Antaran’, aims at rejuvenating ailing handloom clusters through an end-to-end programme which would nurture artisans as designers and entrepreneurs. Through the ‘Antaran’ Initiative, the Trusts have initiated intensive work in Odisha, Assam and Nagaland.
Pavithra Kumar, Chief Program Director, Tata Trusts said, “Often, these communities are marginalized and do not receive much exposure to modern technical amenities or training to develop business skills. Through this initiative, we want to empower artisans and bring them up to par making them competitive in the industry.”
As a part of our philanthropies’ programs in India, we are focused on reviving some of the forgotten and fading handloom forms in India’s textile heritage. Our partnership with Tata Trust will help reach down to the grass-root level of the weaver clusters and train them, hence building a digitally inclusive society,” said Anil Bhansali, CVP Cloud & Enterprise and Managing Director, Microsoft India.

Volkswagen India commits INR 1.34 crores for watershed management in Latur

Volkswagen India signed an MoU with International Association for Human Values (IAHV) for a watershed management project in Latur district.
Volkswagen India has committed INR 1.34 crore for this project that seeks to restore and sustain natural resources in selected village cluster of – Lasona, Indral, Wadmurambi and Ambanagar. The aim behind this initiative is to create an Integrated and sustainable Natural Resource Management model which includes unique blend of social, technical and financial strategies.
The project will empower and enable the community at large to implement and sustain natural resources like water and soil. The aim is to increase groundwater levels in the selected area and ensure secured water supply to the community for irrigation and domestic purposes. The project will also ensure sustainable use of available groundwater resources, drinking water security and increase green cover in the watershed through social forestry and agroforestry.
The project will follow a structured approach through Community Mobilisation and Capacity Building, Artificial Ground Water Recharge, Soil and Water conservation, Farmer Field Schools, Afforestation and Leveraging Government Schemes.
All these activities will be achieved through Community Sensitization Programs, Youth Leadership Training Programs, Training Program for Gram Panchayat members, Framer Trainings, Exposure Visit for Farmers, Creation of Demonstration Farms, Agroforestry, Social Forestry and Farmer Recharge Wells.
Pankaj Gupta, Vice President, External Affairs and CSR said, “Working with the families and communities in the district around Pune is an important wing of our CSR outreach programme. We are very happy to partner this time with International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to create awareness and learning among the families in these four villages to help secure, maintain and sustain the available groundwater resources. We have already conducted Community Sensitization Programme and collaborated with Krishi Vikas Kendra’s to gather steam for the programme.”

IAHV has started working on the different aspects of the project. Geological survey, that will be the basis of many of the interventions, is complete and de-silting of 47,660 cubic metres is underway.

CSR: Government Initiatives to Bring Sustainability in India’s Agriculture

India is predominantly an agrarian country. Agriculture employs almost half of the country’s workforce. It is also responsible for providing livelihood to the majority of the country’s population. However, with the growing demand for food, the agriculture sector of the country is caught between providing food at affordable prices and generating the necessary income to meet the basic standard of living for the majority of the population.

About 70% of the arable land in India is drought prone, 12% is flood prone and 8% is cyclone prone. The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC has predicted that there will be a significant drop in agriculture yield in the country owing to climate change.

Agricultural production contributes to climate change significantly. In fact, it is responsible for more than a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions in a year in India. Agriculture also dominates the country’s freshwater use, accounting to about 70% of total consumption. Along with this, increasing use of chemical fertilisers because of government subsidies has increased dependence on groundwater for irrigation. This has caused depletion of groundwater in several states such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi.

In order to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient, the government of India have conceptualized some initiatives. The National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology was initiated to restructure and strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to the farmers. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana was launched to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand the cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched to provide financial support to farmers suffering from crop loss or damage due to unforeseen events. It is also aimed at stabilizing farmers’ incomes to ensure their continuity in farming. The government has also initiated a pan-India electronic trading portal called as National Agriculture Market which networks the existing agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis to create a unified national market.

Sustainability in Agriculture is an important issue that needs immediate attention. The public sector needs to partner with the private sector through CSR to bring sustainability in Indian Agricultural Sector.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Amit Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation with Urmila Matondkar on “Dil Se Dil Ki Baat”

The CSR Journal – News World India, Editor, Amit Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation with Congress candidate for North Mumbai constituency Urmila Matondkar on our show “Dil Se Dil Ki Baat”. Watch the Rangeela girl as she speaks about her entry in politics, thoughts on Rahul Gandhi being the next PM of India and much more.

Innovative solutions in slums to beat the summer heat

Within the growing urban vulnerability, it is the poor and those who live in informal settlements that will be the hardest hit. There are close to 14 million slum households across India (Census 2011). Measures to lower impact on these families will be essential, particularly from the growing heat stress.
A first look at what makes slum houses vulnerable reveals the typical tin house for what it is—a hot metal box clad in combustible materials where temperatures could easily reach 51⁰C. The story of heatwave vulnerability, however, is not about the tin house but about the people who live in them.
The residents of Masudpur slum of Vasant Kunj in Delhi, for example, said that summer was the most difficult time of the year. Yet, mainstream market options to improve thermal comfort were either too expensive or too alien to ever be adopted in settlements like this one. It needed simple do-it-yourself options.
Was it possible to use the community’s own strengths as the basis for effective retrofits to improve thermal comfort? Over a few months at the end of 2018, SEEDS helped prototype and test such retrofits, analysing their performance both in real time and through EnergyPlus simulations. Multiple community feedback events ensured they were acceptable to the slum community; and a manual was published with step-by-step instructions on creating and installing them.
The final prototypes were five-fold. A double roof made from billboard flex awnings reduce the heat gain from the roof (the major source). A skylight and vent was made with a simple hole, steel wire mesh and plastic bucket, helping cool and light the house. The army of drums used to store water were stacked vertically in a stand made with bamboo ladders. This also supported a desert cooler and potted plants, redirecting and filtering rainwater from the double roof for collection.
A retractable flexible ceiling made of billboard flex and bamboo helped the house cool down and heat up as required. Finally, cycle tyre tubes (usually used as lining on the door to prevent scrapes) were used to line the top of the tin walls, breaking the thermal bridge with the tin roof.
These five small micro-innovations could truly help beat the heat. For together, they cost just INR 2,500 to make and could reduce internal temperature by over 10⁰C (as validated by Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur).

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Corporates need to play greater role in achieving SDGs: Niti Aayog

Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar has underlined the need to mobilise funds from all sources especially corporates to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Kumar further said the focus should be on ‘conscious capitalism’ wherein corporates go beyond chasing bottomline and focus on ensuring maximum social return. “If corporates can make SDGs as part of their business model, I think that what will really help,” he said at an event organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call by the UN for action to end poverty, protect the planet, improve health, education and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
“We want to mobilise all types of financing for funding our development … we can mobilise resources for priority areas like dealing with problems relating to undernourishment of children, environment and water,” Kumar said.
The Sustainable Development Goals Finance Facility (SFF) was launched Wednesday by Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and administrator of the UNDP. At the launch event, Steiner had said that India is pivotal to UNDP’s shared ambition to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Innovative finance through structures such as guarantees, social insurance, social impact bonds and impact investments, holds the key to unlocking private investment capital for the SDGs, particularly in a middle-income country like India, he had added.
The SDG Finance Facility leverages a strategic multi-stakeholder partnership with leading institutions in the ecosystem to tap into resources and agility of the private sector to solve some of today’s most pressing challenges.
The SFF is a platform that will incubate innovative financial instruments aligned to the SDGs that will catalyse funding for improved social and developmental outcomes in India. The Facility is an initiative of UNDP in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), financial services firm KPMG and Social Finance India, a TATA Trusts backed not-for-profit.

Source: PTI

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Recent Developments and Next Steps

By Gabriel M. Piccillo

The international community is concerned about stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects, and the knock-on effects on regional stability, and international tranquility. 25 years of diplomatic initiatives have failed to bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians. In 1991, at the Madrid Peace Conference, the two sides met and negotiated in person for the first time. It was internationally agreed upon that with time and diplomatic efforts, Israel could peacefully coexist alongside a new Palestinian state comprised of Gaza and the West Bank.
Such hopes have gone unrealized. Recently, many have called for reconsidering alternatives to the two-state solution such as the creation of a binational, federated state — inhabited by Israelis and Palestinians with equal rights. Though the political future of Israel and Palestine remains uncertain, it is critical that constructive dialogue aimed at bringing consensus and progress must continue.
Since its start, there have been innumerable diplomatic initiatives aimed at resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. There was the Camp David Summit in 1978, the Oslo Accords from 1993 – 1995, the Clinton Parameters in 2000, the Taba Summit in 2002, the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, the Mitchel talks from 2010 – 2011, and the Kerry talks from 2013 – 2014.
Though all have contributed to advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, the collective progress is nonetheless negligible. Despite limited outcomes, efforts must continue. New efforts should focus on areas where previous talks fell short, and shift the focus from all-encompassing peace to smaller victories on an accumulation of social, economic, and political issues.
A joint report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Baker Institute about a two or a one-state solution asks the perennial question: Do we need new ideas, or new determination and political will behind previous ones?

Recent Developments

The past year has seen novel tumult, starting with US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision in December 2017  to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. When demonstrations erupted, Israeli Security forces killed 86 demonstrators, injuring 3,700 more between March 30th and May 15th. The time of year happened to mark the 70th anniversary of Israeli statehood and Nakbat, the mass exodus of Palestinians.
With the May 14th opening ceremony of the US Embassy, protests continued. Many in the international community criticized America’s decision, claiming it made dialogue even more elusive. Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights responded to the violence stating, “We condemn the appalling, deadly violence in Gaza yesterday, ” while United States UN representative Nikki Haley defended Israel claiming, “No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.”
As of September 2018,  little progress has been made regarding dialogue and implementing plans to bring about peace. The potential for a third intifada exists.
Fighting between the aforementioned Gazan power-broker, Hamas, and the Israeli military broke out in May. Hamas militants fired 100 rockets at Israel. Responding to the national security threat, Israel executed missile strikes throughout Gaza. Gazan militants responded with another 150 rockets fired at Israel between the 8th and 9th of August. Subsequent Israeli airstrikes killed three Gazans.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov called for restraint, while Egypt continues to work on a peace agreement for Israel and Hamas. However, an imminent agreement is unlikely. Divisions between the governing authorities in Gaza and the one of the West Bank respectively complicate Palestinian dialogue.
The continued passage of time is eroding principles that defined the two-state solution
On August 24th the US State Department redirected $200 million slated for West Bank and Gaza aid to more pressing issues; the US would no longer fund Palestinian refugees. The United States has since closed the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s office in Washington D.C.
In response, a member of the Palestinian delegation to the US asserted this as evidence that the US had abandoned the prospect of a two-state solution. The international community must reestablish principled, fair negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Risks

According to former US Ambassador to Syria and Israel Edward P. Djerjianm, “Facts on the ground, demographics, domestic politics, and geopolitical trends all suggest the continued passage of time is eroding some of the bedrock principles that have defined the contours of the two-state solution for decades … Failure to address the conflict may … force more unstable and challenging realities on all parties.” This was a suggestion that the potential for a third intifada exists. Fortunately, Israel and the international community see that risk and are committed to mitigating it.
Israel has expressed a willingness to diplomatically address triggering issues. But compared to Israel, the Palestinians’ political and military weakness, as well as the PLO, Hamas, and the PA’s internal divisions reduce the likelihood of all-out war. Violent episodes like those in May are likely. To be sure, unchecked Israeli/Palestinian violence could be disastrous. There’s no guarantee the conflict wouldn’t spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah waits launch Israeli attacks.

Mitigating Options

Steps the international community could take to renew international commitment to peace include the pursuit of an effective two-state solution implemented through previously developed international frameworks.
Negotiations are more likely to succeed if executed under UN resolutions 242 and 338’s terms. These stipulate that the conflict’s resolution requires, “…the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.” And, that all states in the area must respect the sovereignty of other states and, “…their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.”
Final Israeli and Palestinian borders should the June 4th, 1967 borders. Appropriate legal channels will resolve additional conflicts. Dialogue must address refugees. The rehabilitation and reintegration of refugees require significant international fiscal and logistical support. Jerusalem may hold the capitals of both states, with Palestinian neighbourhoods under Palestinian control and Jewish neighborhoods under Israeli control. People of any religion should be able to go to any religious site in the city.
Beyond territory and refugees, the Palestinian state should be non-militarized. This, to reduce the risk of hostilities. Israel and Palestine need special security arrangements. A multinational force if developed and used throughout the Jordan Valley would be a confidence-builder for both sides. Equitable sharing of resources is also a priority.
The transportation of goods throughout the territories should be unhindered. According to Djerijian, relations between Israel and Palestine should be, “…based on principles of equal sovereignty of states, and creating supportive conditions for good neighborly relations. Progress in the peace process will be an integral part of the promotion of the wider peace between Israel and Arab/Islamic nations.
Per the Arab peace initiative: ”Beyond the big issue of territorial boundaries, success will likely be measured with many small-scale programs. And their ability to create conditions favorable to long-term peace between Israel, Palestine, and the wider region.”
The above challenges are significant and old. That doesn’t mean they are insurmountable. The participants have resolved problems in the past and shall do so again. It will require international commitment and political will. The international community must reestablish principled, fair negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. A sustainable resolution can only be a result of sustained dialogue, a spirit of compromise, and well-mediated negotiations.

Gabriel M. Piccillo is Vice President for Conflict, Stabilization, and Reconstruction at the International Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development (IIPDD). He is based between the Middle East and Washington, DC.

Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.

Thank you for reading. We appreciate the time you have given us. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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