The Desire To Do CSR Has To Come From Within: Gagan Rai, MD & CEO, NSDL e-Governance
“The desire to fulfill CSR has to come from within. There are companies giving out a cheque bearing the mandatory sum to an NGO and saying that their obligation is over. That is not real CSR,” Gagan Rai told The CSR Journal in an exclusive interview. Rai is the Managing Director and CEO of NSDL e-Governance (NSDL e-Gov) wherein he is responsible for strategic planning as also for driving the growth and expansion of NSDL e-Gov. Under Gagan’s leadership, the company has spawned several successful offerings in the Capital Market and e-governance space. Several Government Departments, Ministries and State Governments in the country have joined hands with NSDL e-Gov.
The vision of e-governance is to make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at affordable costs. e-Governance in India has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. For instance, NSDL e-Gov’s CSR initiative Vidyasaarathi aims to bridge the gap in education finance in the country through an online platform. Students can search and apply for various education finance schemes they are qualified for. Fund providers, industries, and corporates can promote skill development by designing education finance schemes in Vidyasaarathi and manage these schemes as part of their CSR activity.
Rai gave his views on corporate social responsibility to The CSR Journal.
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The CSR Journal Team
