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May 4, 2025
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Jindal Stainless Foundation signs MoU with NABARD to raise farmer’s incomes

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The CSR Journal
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Marching forward in its commitment to augment farmer’s incomes, Jindal Stainless Foundation (JSF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in New Delhi. The MoU will intensify ‘Project Krishi Unnati’, an ongoing CSR initiative of Jindal Stainless Foundation aimed at doubling farmers’ incomes. The MoU is expected to positively impact 4 lakh farmers in two phases, spread over 5 years. As part of the MoU, JSF will partially fund and support the operations of NABARD and other implementing partners towards this end. The Foundation will also build the necessary market and financial linkages for farmers in target states.

Presiding over the MoU signing ceremony, Ms Deepika Jindal, Chairperson, Jindal Stainless Foundation, said, “The collaboration with NABARD is an extension of our MoU signed with the Odisha government last year. So far, in Odisha, we have already reached out to over 20,000 farmers through this intervention. We are essentially providing farmers with end-to-end solutions from soil testing and crop management to market linkages and promoting climate resilient technologies through partnerships.” Brig Rajiv Williams, Corporate Head CSR, Jindal Stainless and Shri Avinash C Srivastava, Chief General Manager of Farm Sector Development Department, NABARD, signed the MOU in the presence Ms Deepika Jindal, Chairperson, Jindal Stainless Foundation, Shri Naresh Gupta, Managing Director, NABCONS, Shri Aneesh Jain Director and Founder Gram Unnati, and Ms Meera, from UN International Fund for Agriculture Development. The MoU will impact farmers in Haryana, Odisha, and other states of mutual interest.

Spearheading this initiative, JSF will strengthen farmer institutions such as Farmer Producer Organizations, Farmers’ Clubs and Self-Help-Groups promoted by NABARD to develop a better market, input, and financial linkages. In turn, NABARD, through its various schemes, will extend complementary support to initiatives run by the JSF. NABARD will also designate relevant individuals/ teams at regional levels to assist in the implementation of the terms of MoU.

This association will, therefore, help create large-scale systems that will enable farmers to access high-quality inputs such as better seeds and other agriculture-related technologies at reasonable and subsidized rates. The intervention shall assist farmers in crop selection, adoption of best practices and technical know-how, input linkages, accessing government schemes, and finally, market linkages.

Over the past few years, JSF has been at the forefront of change in Hisar and Jajpur with community-centric projects on education, women empowerment and gender equality, employment generation and skill training, and disease detection and prevention drives to promote community healthcare.

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IndianOil to start Pottery development project under CSR in Tiruvallur district

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The CSR Journal
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IndianOil and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Pottery development under a CSR project in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.

IndianOil has engaged IIT Madras which is a synergizing platform for Science and Technology (S&T) interventions. The Southern Region Pipelines (SRPL) would undertake the CSR project in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu by collaborating with IITM to improve the livelihood of the potter communities in the area. T

he skill and capacity will be upgraded through capability building programmes and exposure to enhanced infrastructural facilities and technological advancements.

The traditional artisans from poorer sections will be provided with need-based modern equipment, additional skill, product training and soft skill training for individual and group use so that they would rise their skill levels and better equipped to meet the market requirements.

The latest technology interventions shall be introduced to the potter community of Tiruvallur for training of the potters for developing variety of products.

The CSR intervention aims at generating employment opportunities and creating sustainable livelihood for Tiruvallur cluster pottery artisans thereby improving the income and the socio-economic condition of the artisan families.

The MoU was signed by D S Nanaware, ED (SRPL) and Dr. Ravindra Gettu, Dean Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research of IITM at Chennai. Senior officials from IndianOil and IITM present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Nanaware said, that IndianOil is keen on bringing the rural innovations carried out at institutions to the field through CSR so that rural population would get benefitted.

CSR for animal welfare is geared towards human welfare

By
Kasmin Fernandes
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After decades of struggling for recognition, the animal protection cause is now considered one of the paramount social justice issues of modern times. Any company that takes the step towards supporting this movement through CSR for animal welfare is sure to increase its goodwill.
Animal NGOs are very vociferous in India. Why not get them on your side? Appeals to companies to be included in CSR are always turned away with the stock response that humans need it more. But CSR for animal welfare is geared only towards human welfare, as Menaka Gandhi famously said.

CSR for animal welfare could include:

1. Planting fruit trees in and near jungles: this will help humans by keeping the monkeys away from the cities.
2. Building or running small rural hospitals for farmer’s animals. Government has no infrastructure at all. The cost of a cow is now INR 50,000. If it dies the farmer is bankrupt. Most of UP’s villagers still travel in ox or horse drawn carts. Horses that go lame are thrown into ditches to die.
3. Holding workshops to teach farmers organic farming.
4. Supporting the dog sterilization programme in smaller towns. This will end rabies once and for all and lessen the population dramatically, and reduce bites.
5. Redesigning carts to make them puller friendly. At the moment 33% of oxen die in 3 years of neck cancer, placing a huge financial burden on the farmer/villager.
6. Building veterinary colleges. At the moment 2,600 vets are produced every year in the worst colleges in the world. No wildlife vets, no zoo vets, no bird vets, very few small animal vets. The emphasis is only on producing animals for meat and milk. But veterinary colleges could teach actual medicine.
7. Teaching veterinary compounders who will then get jobs in their own village.
8. Giving money to make bureaus to catch wildlife poachers / traders who are denuding the forests.
9. Making rescue centres for elephants / injured birds like peacocks / leopards, and running them. Run campaigns for bringing back endangered species like sparrows.
10. Pay for turtle nesting sites: this will keep the rivers and oceans clean.
11. Pay for animal rescue during floods and cyclones. The man who has lost his house AND animal will never stand on his feet again.
12. Making one shelter / hospital in each city to manage the animals there.
Each one of these activities included in CSR for animal welfare will have a profound effect on the economy.

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CSR: Rise of Wildlife Crimes in India

By
Hency Thacker
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India is only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area but contributes about 8 per cent of known global wildlife, including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals.

Despite having a huge population of over 1.3 billion, the country boasts 662 protected areas, five of them designated as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Despite the strong legal and policy framework to regulate and restrict wildlife trade in India, the rise of crimes against wildlife are driving them into the brink of extinction.

The illegal trade in wildlife is expanding rapidly in India. It is driven by demand for rare species—headed for the pet market—as well as for species believed to have medicinal properties. The main consumer markets are China and South East Asia, but wildlife—alive or as body parts—is also smuggled to the Gulf, Europe and Northern America. Beyond India, the main transit countries are Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

Indian wildlife species and products commonly smuggled out of the country are tiger and leopard skins, their bones and other body parts, rhino horns, ivory, turtles and tortoises, sea horses, snake venom, mongoose hair, snake skins, tokay gecko, sea cucumber, chiru fleece, musk pods, bear bile, medicinal plants, red sanders timber and caged birds such as parakeets, mynas, munias. The most trafficked species are pangolins, seahorses and tortoises.

While it is not easy to track these crimes, it is important to spread awareness against them in order to reduce the demand of these animals and products and garner support from the public. In order to take an action against these crimes, on 21 May 2019, India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, in collaboration with UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India Dia Mirza, the Wild for Life Campaign and branding experts Ogilvy, officially launched a roving airport exhibition which highlights the environmental damage done by wildlife trafficking.

Thank you for reading. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Why practise responsible voting?

By
Balbir Singh Aulakh
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The importance of voting in the modern democratic process, and especially in the context of Nation Building, is central to the role of citizenship in a foundational sense. India, the world’s largest democracy, hosts its largest festival, the General Elections of 2019.
While, the Indian electorate is approximately 900 million strong, the sex ratio among registered voters in the country is only 908 women for every 1,000 men (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2018). This means that voting, as an exercise of a legal right, in India, is not merely confined to the scope of elections, but moves beyond into the realm of social responsibility, as a duty.
The duty to vote facilitates – for an individual citizen of this country, the beginning of a long march into ensuring the values and ethos of social, economic and political importance and significance. In order to become part of governance, uphold the relationship between rights and responsibilities, citizens need to exercise – through voting – a sense of realizing about their ownership and representation in society.
Components of Elections in India
In India, at the General Elections of 2014, approximately 39.6 core female voters voted.
Reducing gap between male and female voter turnout
Citizens are the foremost members in the sustainable development and progress of any nation. Therefore, as individuals, citizens are not just measures of a country’s acknowledgement about its potential, but perhaps the spirit and strengths – as enshrined in the Constitution of India –  to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all. In this regard, the vibrancy of India’s democracy, cannot reach its absolute potential if citizens, especially the youth and women, do not exercise their sense of duty.
This duty should be practised in letter and spirit – to hold the people in positions of power accountable; act with responsibility and fairness in our assessments; choose to participate and not be ignorant.

Thank you for reading. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Dell Seizes Circular Economy Opportunities Such As ‘Pollution Ink’

By
The CSR Journal
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The circular economy is maturing, and companies no longer have to reinvent the wheel to take on every new supply chain challenge. They can close the loop by tapping into a rich pool of experienced partners in the business and nonprofit communities.

That strategy has paid off for Dell Technologies. Last month, the company announced that it is ahead of schedule on two key commitments for recycling electronics and using recycled materials. Dell has also introduced several innovative new loop-closing measures with the help of expert partners.

The importance of raised expectations

David Lear, vice president of corporate sustainability at Dell Technologies, draws a close connection between a company’s bottom-line interests and the competitive forces that drive the circular economy. As much as Dell presses its supply chain for improvements, many of the company’s clients and prospective clients are also setting a high bar.

“We are seeing financial benefits from our closed-loop plastics—saving us $2.1 million since the launch in 2014—with more than 70% of our customer RFPs asking about Dell Technologies’ responsible business practices,” Lear explains.

Supply chain issues are becoming more important than ever. Leading companies like Dell are moving beyond conventional reporting indexes designed for business. They are also seeking global impact by assimilating the 2015 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were created as guideposts for national policymakers.

Partnering for visibility

In the circular economy, recycling is more than just a feel-good message. It is a bottom-line matter of supply chain reliability and resilience. Companies that seek to stand out in the circular economy face a critical obstacle: how to cut through the clutter and get the recycling message out.

To stand out, Dell has gone beyond website content and social media to engage with partners who stand out, too. For example, in 2018, Dell partnered with actress, entrepreneur and activist Nikki Reed to launch the Circular Collection by Bayou with Love, a jewellery collection sourced with gold recovered gold from Dell’s recycling programs.

Dell also sponsored the 2019 Circular Economy People’s Choice Award for the World Economic Forum, featuring “impact drivers” including sustainable tableware, clothing recycling, waste reduction and rainwater harvesting.

The company Triciclos, headquartered in Brazil and Chile, ultimately won top honours for scalable waste management and recovery model. In addition, this year Dell was also the official technology sponsor and sustainability partner for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Partnering for innovation

Dell also stands out from by crowd by integrating a partner-based strategy into its supply chain. “Much of our inspiration stems from partnership across organizations,” Lear says. “No one organization can deliver such ambitious goals, and we owe our achievement to multiple stakeholders.”

Lear cites one standout example, a partnership with Chakr Innovation for “pollution ink” used on Dell packaging in India. The ink is made from soot captured from diesel generators. The soot capture system also doubles as an air purifier. According to Chakra, it cleans the equivalent of air breathed by 110,000 people.

Other examples include a new partnership with Seagate and Teleplan for recovering rare earth magnets from the Dell Latitude 5000 series and participation in the NextWave consortium organised by Lonely Whale for ocean plastic and “ghost” fishing gear. (Lonely Whale is also involved with Bacardi for ocean plastic and the sports and entertainment company AEG.)

Dell’s “EcoLoop” initiative has also given rise to innovations like a coating made from used auto glass, and an energy efficient dying process that generates up to 90% less wastewater, while also reducing CO2 emissions.

Nudging government policy in the circular direction

NextWave is also supported by U.N. Environment, and that underscores another aspect of Dell’s strategy: engagement with global initiatives of the United Nations and its affiliated organizations.

Not too long ago, that kind of relationship could create a public relations nightmare for high-profile companies.  For example, in the U.S., right-wing pundits and Republican leadership worked to gin up public opposition to the U.N.’s Agenda 21 sustainability initiative as part of an effort to undermine the Barack Obama administration.

Today, the Green New Deal proposal is undergoing similar pushback. However, if the past is any indication, leading businesses may soon assimilate the proposal—or at least, key parts of it. In fact, they already are. The Green New Deal proposal is essentially a restatement of the SDGs and of fundamental principles of corporate social responsibility.

While comparisons to the original New Deal of the 1930s are obvious, political observers also point out that the more recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also integrated environmental elements with job creation and economic stimulation.

Leading U.S. businesses have already staked out a vanguard position in today’s renewable energy revolution, and they are advocating for decarbonization on an economic development basis. As the circular economy grows, look for the business community to push for policies that favour closing the rest of the loop, too.

Source: Triple Pundit

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SBI General distributes water to beat the heat

By
The CSR Journal
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SBI General is offering free Bisleri bottles to Mumbaikars to beat the heat in a mobile van travelling to all areas of the city. The company is especially thankful to unsung heroes… traffic police, constables, security guards, etc. who work in the heat every day by offering them free water.

Meanwhile in cyclone-hit Odisha, SBI General is doing its part to extend a helping hand to its customers in the affected region by implementing a smooth, error free process. “In order to expedite the claims process further, we have set up a special helpdesk to service the policyholders and appointed officers to oversee the claim settlement process,” said Rikhil Shah, CFO, SBI General Insurance.

CSR: Alabama Anti-Abortion Law – A Move to Counter Women Empowerment

By
Hency Thacker
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A new anti-abortion law passed on 15th May, 2019, in Alabama of the United States of America is a major blow on women empowerment, equality and human rights front. The bill signed into law by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey after it was supported by 20 male senators in a state, where according to the US Census projections for 2019 women make up 51.5 per cent of the population.

The legislation –  Alabama Human Life Protection Act – bans all abortions except in the case where the pregnancy is a risk to the mothers’ health is not relaxed even for women who become pregnant due to rape or incest. Ironically, the Bill was proposed by Republican Terri Collins, a woman, who believes that this is about protecting “the lives of the unborn because an unborn baby is a person who deserves love and protection”.

Unfortunately, Alabama is not the only state in the US that is supporting the abortion ban. In fact, it is the sixth state to pass such a law and nine more states have introduced similar bills. A few days ago, Georgia signed the “Foetal Heartbeat” Bill that prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is detected in an embryo. This happens after five to six weeks of pregnancy when the woman is not even likely to be aware that she is pregnant. At the centre of all this is a decision by the Supreme Court of 1973 which put down that women have a right to abortion without interference by the states.

This move has shaken up all the women in the world. In the year 2019, where humans are progressing at the speed of light, such restrictive laws are unimaginable by most let alone actually enforcing them. Celebrities including Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Emma Watson have raised their voices against the move.

 

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???? Last week, a bill was signed into law in Georgia that is a near-total ban on abortion. This marks the fourth “heartbeat” law to be passed in the United States in the last year – a name that is designed to be emotive. It refers to the first signs of the development of a heart in a fetus at 6 weeks of pregnancy, long before most people know they are pregnant. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ?? Georgia’s bill stands out for going one step further in including personhood language, criminalising not just abortion providers, but also pregnant people for having abortions or even miscarrying. Today, Alabama passed its own law banning abortion except when the health of the mother is at risk. We remember that Savita Halappanavar died in Ireland with the same law on the books. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ??? Currently, women & pregnant people living in Northern Ireland are forced to travel to mainland Britain for abortion care that is illegal in their home country. There will always be people who cannot travel because of domestic violence, immigration status, and disability. People living in Northern Ireland and the USA deserve the dignity of accessing safe, legal & local reproductive healthcare at home. #nowforni These laws won’t stop women and pregnant people from having abortions, or from making the best decision for their bodies and families, it will just mean they are forced to do so unsafely and with stigma. #reproductiverightsforall ✊ Please join me in supporting @plannedparenthood @womenhelporg @all4choice #abortionsupportnetwork

A post shared by Emma Watson (@emmawatson) on

 Abortion is legal in India until 20 weeks of pregnancy. However, for long India too has been held hostage by funding agencies to restrict abortions.

Globally, it has been observed and proved that restrictive abortion laws lead to unsafe abortions which put women’s health at risk. Such laws also lead to higher levels of maternal mortality and increase inequality as safe abortions become available only to the rich who can travel out of the state or the country. Poor women, who are more likely to have unwanted pregnancies are literally left holding the baby.

Thank you for reading. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Be a responsible traveller by planting a sapling with tripXOXO

By
The CSR Journal
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tripXOXO is actively participating in promoting sustainable and responsible tourism. tripXOXO is a discovery and booking platform for things to do activities and experiences. It is the largest aggregator in India for tours and activities, currently curating over 100,000+ products.

The concept of sustainable tourism is receiving popularity in recent times and tourists are driven by the idea of making a positive impact on the environment. Pollution is growing at a very high rate and can be reduced by increasing flora. Plants help us to reduce pollution by decreasing carbon dioxide and increasing oxygen in the air, they help eliminate toxins.

For the upcoming World Environment Day, tripXOXO is taking the initiative a step further by executing a campaign of planting trees on behalf of every customer. This special campaign was started on Earth Day (22nd April 2019) and will continue till World Tourism Day (27th September 2019). On bookings of Rs.3000 or more by a customer, a tree will be planted on behalf of the customer. The certificate and the location of the tree will be shared with the customer as well. Through this initiative, the idea is to spread awareness among the travellers that sustainable tourism will eventually help in the conservation of the beautiful and diverse nature.

Ms Heena Akhtar, Co-founder of tripXOXO, stated, “With a rise in sustainable tourism, there has been a growing demand for environment-friendly trips. Travellers have evolved over the years and have started taking responsibility for the places they are visiting. This initiative taken by tripXOXO will encourage more and more travellers to walk in the same path of restoring a balance in the environment. This will in turn help to create a trend in the whole of the tourism sector for taking interest in the environment conservation.”

Mr Bikrant Tiwary, CEO of Grow-Trees, stated, “People today have started to take the initiative of safeguarding the environment. Due to this growing demand, sustainable tourism has come into the picture and we are glad to have organizations like tripXOXO inculcating such practices. This association of Grow-Trees with tripXOXO is sure to bring about a new trend in the travel market which will definitely have a positive impact in the future.”

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Why it’s important to inspire, motivate and encourage women entrepreneurs

By
The CSR Journal
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By Mohana Nair, President, Ladies’ Wing of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Entrepreneurship needs a different mindset. It is much easier to work for a boss rather than to be the boss yourself. Women have a much more difficult task leading an enterprise than men do.
Men are easily accepted as leaders, while women heading an organization, especially their own are looked at with skeptism and suspicion. It takes courage and strong conviction for a woman to take up the role of an entrepreneur.
Women’s entrepreneurship has been recognized during the last decade as an important untapped source of economic growth. I personally believe that it is very important for us to inspire, motivate and encourage women to participate more in entrepreneurial opportunities.
If a woman is successful in her entrepreneurial venture, she will not only create wealth for herself and her organization but raise the  nation’s standard of living and the Indian mindset which sees a woman as a follower rather than a doer.
The Government too has realized that women should be supported in their urge to work and become financially independent, as they form 50% of the population and their earnings could lead to a big leap in the GDP.
Not only have women lower participation rates in entrepreneurship than men but they also generally choose to start and manage firms in different and less ROI based model industries than men tend to do.
Better qualitative information and quantitative data and statistics are required to profile women entrepreneurs (demographic information, barriers to start-up and growth). This would also assist in promoting awareness of the role of women entrepreneurs in the economy.
Socially too, a working woman is now accepted and respected in urban India. Rural India always had women working in the fields. In the workplace also many employers are appreciating women for their intrinsic worth without discrimination.
Women are to be found everywhere, even in professions like the police, armed forces and as pilots, all professions which were seen as male domains. There are now equal or more women than men in the legal profession, many more lady judges than in the past; yet there is a long way to go before we achieve equality in all ways.
Yet women’s entrepreneurship is still way behind entrepreneurship shown by men. Women are faced with specific obstacles (such as family responsibilities, lack of faith by both men and other women in their capabilities) that have to be overcome in order to give them access to the same opportunities as men.
It is heartening however to see how India has changed, more and more women are entering the work force and are fighting for their legitimate position in society as an equal. The feminist movements, the laws stemming from our Constitution which confer equal rights on women, the necessity felt for a dual income, higher educational levels, have all contributed to women storming the male bastion.
Women entrepreneur networks are major sources of knowledge about women’s entrepreneurship and they are increasingly recognized as a valuable tool for the development and promotion of women entrepreneurs. Policy makers must foster the networking of associations and encourage co-operation and partnerships among national and international networks and thus facilitate entrepreneurial endeavours by women.
Peer to peer platforms help women entrepreneurs realize the potential they harbour within themselves. Based on discussions, feedback and observations from women entrepreneurs, they draw confidence of the capability and ability that they possess.
It is important that women’s organisations help women to recognize their potential and to take up entrepreneurship in a big way, in all kinds of businesses and not just jewellery, textiles, baking, etc which are seen as a woman’s forte.
Men too should be taught to accept that women are equally intelligent and capable. In this manner hopefully the gaps will narrow and our daughters will grow up into a brave new world, where there is no gender discrimination whatsoever.

This column was first published in the April 2019 issue of our print magazine. To grab a copy, click here

Mohana NairThe author Mohana Nair is a corporate lawyer specialising in Banking, Insurance, Company, Intellectual Property and IT laws. She sits on the Boards of Ugam Solutions, Stratbiz Consulting, among others. She additionally advises non-profit organisations like Awaaz Foundation, Gyan Prakash Foundation and Isha Foundation.

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

Thank you for reading the column. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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