India plays a very significant role in the global IT supply chain. The share of the IT sector in the GDP of the country has been consistently increasing for the last many years. IT services companies of India are recognised across the world for their innovative solutions and efficient operations. This provides a lot of recognition and opportunities to the Indian origin IT professionals working across the globe. In this way, the IT services companies are not only benefitting the country and its citizens, but also the diaspora which enhances the image of our countrymen. Additionally, the IT services companies are also contributing to the social development of the country through various CSR initiatives. Let us look at five IT services companies in India that take CSR seriously.
TCS
Tata Group Company – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in technology and consultancy, has released its latest annual report, where it has demonstrated its commitment to the social welfare of the country. According to the report, the company has invested Rs. 663 crores on various sustainable development programmes, in the financial year 2020-21.
The company’s CSR programs have achieved the following impact:
– 23,800 rural youth employed through Youth Employment Program
– 325,000 villagers supported with digital services by 466 BridgeIT entrepreneurs
– 1.07 million individuals, including over 70,000 prison inmates, made literate through the Adult Literacy Program
TCS’ vision is to empower communities by connecting people to opportunities in the digital economy and its mission is to build inclusive, equitable and sustainable pathways for all including youth, women and marginalized communities.
By prioritizing TCS’ focus on education, skilling, entrepreneurship and employment it seeks to help people and communities bridge the opportunity gap. The Company also supports the health, wellness, water, sanitation and hygiene needs of communities, especially those that are marginalized. TCS also supports conservation and relief efforts to communities at the time of natural and man-made disasters. Its focus on preserving art and heritage as well as supporting action against climate change remains consistent.
By applying its resources towards communities that need it the most, TCS ensures equitable access. The Company’s CSR strategy incorporates an inclusive approach into the design of every program. In India, this is aligned to its support of the Government of India’s Affirmative Action Policy and the Tata Group’s Affirmative Action Program.
To achieve transformational impact, TCS leverages the best of the Company’s capabilities – its intellectual, technology, human and financial capital. The company aims to create innovative solutions to societal challenges applying its contextual knowledge while harnessing the expertise of a diverse network of leaders; execute and scale programs using its technology capabilities; engage its large employee base to volunteer their time, skills and expertise as last-mile connectors and make impact investments in large scale, sustainable, multi-year programs that empower communities.
Infosys
The name Infosys resonates with Corporate Ethics in the Indian Corporate Arena. Infosys is the flagship company of India’s mighty ITES ( Information Technology Enabled Services) sector. Along with sustained financial performance, the company was an early adopter of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Infosys carries out its CSR activities in India through the Infosys Foundation. The company’s CSR initiatives strive for development that positively impacts society and brings about a lasting change in the life of the community. The CSR projects take responsibility for the Company’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on hunger, poverty, malnutrition, environment, communities, stakeholders and society.
Underprivileged cancer patients often have to look for temporary shelters along with family members who accompany them at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jhajjar, Haryana. To support such patients and their families, the Infosys Foundation collaborated with the hospital to build an 800-bed Dharamshala inside the campus.
In 2014, Infosys Foundation partnered with Avanti Fellows, a non-profit which works on a unique “peer learning” pedagogy, which has been developed after 20 years of research at Harvard University. It focuses on students taking ownership of their learning through debate, collaborative problem-solving, and testing, supported by structured digital and printed study materials.
The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) was set up in 2009 by Infosys and some of its founders and management to encourage the pursuit and practice of science and research. The Infosys Prize, governed by the ISF, recognizes stellar research connected to India.
The winners of the 2019 prize were awarded with a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse of US$ 100,000 at a grand ceremony on January 7, 2020. Renowned economist and philosopher, Prof. Amartya Sen, said while felicitating the winners, “Aside from being a beautiful thing in itself, knowledge generates many different types of rewards, from productive use of inventions to the creation of new bonds among people who interact with each other”. The ISF is encouraged by his words and continues to seek and recognize the contributions of these amazing knowledge creators, the scientists and researchers in our midst.
In 2011, Infosys made a commitment to become carbon neutral. Since then, we have been relentlessly working towards this goal. This year, the United Nations recognized their achievements under the carbon-neutral program. Infosys received the 2019 UN Global Climate Action Award under the ‘Climate Neutral Now’ category at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP25, in Madrid, Spain. Infosys became the first Indian company to achieve this distinction. They were recognized not only for their innovative solutions to address climate change, but also for their approach of integrating sustainable development goals such as poverty alleviation, gender equality, and economic opportunity in their climate action initiatives.
Wipro
Wipro has spent more than the prescribed CSR budget in the last three financial years. The implementation of the company’s CSR programmes happens through multiple channels – Wipro Foundation, a separate trust set up in April 2017, Wipro Cares, the trust for employee contribution and in some cases, directly through functions and groups within Wipro Ltd. The implementation approach of Wipro is to primarily work through partners with established track records in the respective domains. The majority of projects are long-term multi-year programmes.
Wipro’s work in primary health care from 6 projects across four states touches the lives of more than 70,000 people. Apart from providing regular health services, the emphasis is also to build the capacity of the communities in terms of higher awareness and developing a higher degree of self-reliance to handle their own primary health care needs. In terms of disaster management, Wipro has helped rebuild the lives of people affected by Karnataka Floods, Bihar Floods, Odisha Floods, the Japan Tsunami, Hurricane Sandy and Philippines Cyclone.
HCL Technologies
Shiv Nadar, the second-most generous Indian because of his exceptional philanthropy, was at the helm of HCL Technologies until this year. His beautiful daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra, who has taken over the reins as Chairperson this year, resonates with her father’s penchant for doing good. She heads the CSR Committee as well.
HCL Technologies had a CSR spend of Rs. 176.29 crore in FY 2020, according to the annual report. HCL Foundation is the CSR arm of the company. HCL Grant is a popular CSR intervention that sponsors NGOs from all Indian states working in Environment, Health and Education.
HCL Samuday is a rural development initiative, launched 2015 as a veritable source code for economic and social rural development. HCL Samuday is active in 164 Gram Panchayats, covering a population of 600,000 people in Uttar Pradesh.
HCL Uday is a project driven by the belief that the urban poor should have a life of dignity. HCL Foundation has designed an integrated urban development programme that tries to break the vicious cycle of urban poverty by creating clean, green and healthy communities.
Tech Mahindra
Part of the Mahindra Group, Tech Mahindra is an IT company that is leveraging technology for the greater good. Tech Mahindra stands by the concept of social and relationship capital, which is created by CSR efforts undertaken in partnership with communities, government primary schools and NGOs. Students and the youth get as much importance as the other external stakeholders. The basis of this association stems from a common vision of greater good. Through its CSR interventions and activities, people at Tech Mahindra Foundation (the CSR division of the company) ensure social value.
Flagship CSR programme SMART (Skills for Market Training) is making the youth self-reliant by training them with in-demand skills. The Foundation believes that there is Ability in Disability. With the focus on creating an inclusive world and providing a life of dignity and confidence, we are continuously working in the area of education and skill development for children and youth with disabilities, respectively. The company spent Rs 105 Crores on CSR in FY 2020-21.
