Corporate Social Responsibility in India & Europe : Cross Cultural Perspective
November 21, 2001, New Delhi

Presentation by G.N. Bajpai, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation of India

The Corporate Social Responsibility

• As an important social entity, social responsibility encompasses the health, education, employment, income and quality of life
  
• Influences the fundamental rights opportunities, choice equities.
  

Significance of CSR for India

• The ideal corporate citizenship has ethical and philosophical dimension, particularly in
• India, where still exists a wide gap between sections of people in terms of income and living standard as well as social status
  
• Corporate social responsibility can play a much broader and more concrete role in socioeconomic life of the people in India.
  

Perception and Practices of CSR in India

• CSR has been a precept in many organisations for a long time
  
• Corporate social environment in India has been changing in view of globalisation, transformation of market environment and deepening of competition.
  
• Market economy paved the way for enterprise led development and a new cultural perspective is taking place in Indian business environment having strong bearing on social responsibilities
  

Changing perception of Indian business

Survey by the Centre for Social Market (July 2001)

Corporate Policy                                   % of companies with Policy
Corporate Governance                                        59
Environment                                                        53
Occupational Health Safety                                 53
Education                                                            47
Social Welfare                                                     41
Anti-discrimination                                              35
Community Development                                    29
Workers Rights Child Labour                              29
Human Rights                                                     12

Changes in attitudes towards CSR

• There is a growing awareness among the corporates about their social responsibilities.
  
• The major influencing factors of CSR in the India are :
  
• Increasing awareness
  
• Reputation
  
• Rising domestic standard
  
• Rising international standard
  
• Domestic regulation
  
• Commercial pressure etc.
  

CSR as business success

• Corporate social responsibilities are considered to be an important aspect of business success by 80% of the respondents - through efficient resource management, environment protection, employment, eco friendly atmosphere etc.
  

Corporate social responsibility- LIC's perspective

• Indirect participation
  
• Security of Insurance to underprivileged
  
  • Social Security Schemes
    
    • Insurance to rural & urban poor below poverty line and marginally above poverty line - "Janashree Bima Yojana"
      
    • Family pension scheme to agricultural laborers as an extension of the above scheme- "Krishi Shramik Samajik Suraksha Yojana"
      
• Indirection Participation
  
• Mobilisation of Saving & Development for National Economic Development
  Government Sec                     Rs.1.05 Trillion
  Socio-Purposive                      Rs. 243 Billion
  Corporate                               Rs. 400 Billion
• Direct Participation
  
  • Sponsored Mobile Health Vans/ Ambulance
    
  • Digging of wells and installation of Hand Pumps
  • Sponsorship of Primary Health Centres
    
  • Financial Assistance to Medical/Cancer Research Centres for purchase of Hi-Tech equipment and Research
    
  • Sponsoring National Games, Sports Meet, Championship Matches and National Sports Day celebrations
    
• Public awareness campaigns through advertisements
  
  • LIC has released a number of advertisements about health, social values and nationhood.
    
  • Social responsibility in LIC is not only a commitment but also a mantra.
    
• Internalisation
  
  • LIC has built up substantially the awareness about corporate social responsibility in its organizational culture and has also taken various steps to enhance it.
    

Cultural context of CSR

• The process has been formalised by a structured mechanism :
  
  • Revisiting vision
    
  • Adopting a mission statement
    
  • Identifying the core value of organization
• LIC's Vision -
  "A trans-nationally competitive financial conglomerate of significance to societies and Pride of India,
• LIC's Mission
  Ensure and enhance the quality of life of people through financial security by providing products and services of aspired attributes with competitive returns, and by rendering resources for economic development.
• LIC's Values
  
  • Caring and courtesy
    
  • Initiative and innovation
    
  • Integrity and transparency
    
  • Quality and returns
    
  • Participation and relationship
    
  • Trustworthiness and reliability
    

Reporting Corporate Social Responsibilities

A mechanism of Self Review

• Corporate social responsibilities should not be merely a statement of intent.
  
• There should be review mechanism for corporate social responsibilities adopted by corporates under the declared social action policy.
  

  The following may be mandatory :

• Each company should incorporate a section on social actions in its annual report.
  
• Each company should appoint an independent Social Accounting Committee and their report in its a annual report.
  
• Annual report should contain the findings of social impact of business operation of the corporate.
  

Thank you