OPINIONS

Most business leaders you speak to would agree that corporate social responsibility is important. Some would rattle off a long list of things they believe their company does -- from saving energy with green buildings to empowering employees with donation matching, fundraisers and volunteer work that helps charities. But is this really enough anymore? In...

In recent decades, the Kingdom of Morocco has embarked on a path that fully commits the nation to a development and civil course that is at once progressive and strongly connected to its national identity. The Moroccan model for success - with its core ideals of decentralisation, human development, multiculturalism, south-south connectivity, and participatory...

The subject of Corporate Governance (CG) started to gain headway in India in the mid 1990s especially after certain unprecedented capital market events in the early 1990s. In general parlance, CG can mean some set of principals by which a company should ideally be directed and controlled. CG has come a long way since, until...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expired in 2015, had little impact in accelerating global development efforts. The slow progress of the MDGs, was in large part due to low awareness amongst the general public on what the goals meant and what action needed to be taken. Effective communication, hence, will be a critical...

After his experiences facilitating healthcare in the villages of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Dr Anantpal Singh writes about Maharashtra in his series. Maharashtra is India’s second-most populous state and third-largest state by area. It is one of the few states which gave a very hard time to the Mughal invaders. It was always an important...

For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. When you read these six words, what feelings do they evoke? Don’t these six words immediately make us empathize with an unknown, grief-stricken woman? We can almost visualize the situation and our hearts go out to her. Ernest Hemingway wrote this story, calling it a six-word novel. It shows the...

Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life fairer for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie ― Gloria Steinem Gender inequality is not only a pressing moral and social issue but...

Four years after the CSR mandate, here's a look at the geographies and sectors funds were directed towards; what has changed in the way companies give; and how we can address the gaps that still exist. Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013, or the CSR clause, came into effect on April 1, 2014....

The land of Barsana, two hours’ drive south of New Delhi, is sacred to those who practise bhakti yoga. It is home to people who have been brought up to make spirituality their life’s focus, to imbibe the qualities of selflessness and loving service. However, these very people do not have the best healthcare systems....

In 2014, India became the first country in the world to mandate companies to spend a fraction of their revenue on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). However, long before the Companies Act 2013, cultural beliefs in daan and good karma, have always been a deep-rooted part of India’s corporate culture. Business houses such as the Tata’s...

“You don’t have to make headlines to be a hero. The ladies from Jaridih, Jharkhand, are addressing issues of domestic violence, family feuds and unemployment through strong rural collectives, or Self-Help Groups (SHGs). IndigoReach (a CSR-initiative of Indigo Airlines) has partnered with PRADAN to empower these SHGs. Village organisations and gender leadership camps (were)...

"Money is the seed of money, and the first guinea is sometimes more difficult to acquire than the second million." Jean-Jacques Rousseau Inequality and exclusion are two of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. In recent years, policy planners have realized that development will be uneven and not wholesome if we do not address...