Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. (Fiinovation) is a global consulting company operating in multiple disciplines of social development sector with emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.

Fiinovation offers end to end CSR consulting services and simplified solutions that has helped various corporations channelize their resources for the upliftment of community on societal, economical and ecological aspects in accordance to their CSR charter. Since 2009, Fiinovation has grown phenomenally and has made a benchmark in the sector through its service quality. It has been able to bridge the gap between businesses and communities through value based CSR programmes in association with credible civil society organizations on Pan India basis in the field of health, environment, education and livelihood.

Fiinovation24/30, Ground Floor, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III, New Delhi - 110020Phone: 011-42332200 | Fax : 011-42332205

ABOUT FIINOVATION

www.fiinova�on.co.in

Issue: #26 | May 2017

CEO’s NOTE

Ÿ Companies like ITC, HDFC, Wipro and Tata Power, among some, have adopted more stringent disclosure standards, following the G4 GRI Guidelines and published a separate sustainability report

Ÿ Reporting increased by 27% in 2015, highlighting CSR spending in India grew faster than anywhere in the world

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

FIINOBSERVATION OF INTERNATIONAL DAYS

Within the first 2 years after Companies Act, 2013 was introduced, more than ₹ 18,000 crore

was contributed by approximately 12,000 companies. Accountability, effectiveness and transparency became the core aspects of the social initiatives funded by businesses. Crucial

amendments, notifications and clarifications from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs have helped the businesses to channelize their CSR funds in projects of their choice in alignment with the activities listed in the Schedule VII. Majority of the businesses are ready to meet the social and environmental challenges.

OVERVIEW

From backrooms to boardrooms, the transformation of corporate social responsibility in India has been significant with 12,431 companies investing Rs 18,625 crores between 2014-15 and 2015-16 in social initaitives. The new understanding or practice is about going beyond the usual mandate entailed by

Companies Act, 2013; instead of treating a business's social initiative as a separate entity, many are beginning to embed it into their business DNA. The objective is rather less about good business, but more about propagating responsible business.

The days of profit-first approach can no longer ensure a business's long-term survival as well as growth. In today's context, being responsible goes beyond sponsoring a social campaign. It is more about operating responsibly to ensure that a finished product or a service addresses the question, what has gone in to make it?

At present, conglomerates, such as Reliance, ITC and Tata, to highlight some, are the top CSR spenders. But the outstanding contribution of SME’s is an interesting development. Despite this, the fact that only a few sectors remain the 'most favoured' is a great concern. However, it is likely that we will witness more diversification of CSR spending in the years ahead.

With the calls for diversification and integration of sustainability growing ever more vocal, it is apparent that businesses are expected to do more than simply setting aside their CSR funds. It is hoped that the next three years will be more about long term impact creation and also about proactively aligning with sustainable development goals.

BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY

YEARS 3

TWEETS OF THE MONTH

A total of 7,334 firms spent ₹8,803 crore towards CSR in

2014-15. Of these, 226 were PSUs that spent ₹2,497 crore.

In 2015-16, 5,097 companies spent ₹9,822 crore toward

such activities. Of these, 172 were PSUs, which accounted for a total spend of ₹3,360 crore. Maharashtra accounted for

the highest CSR spend in these two years at ₹2,240 crore,

followed by Karnataka at ₹771 crore and Tamil Nadu at

₹708 crore. Although the number of projects declined, the

actual spending and CSR reporting increased, re-affirming the commitment by businesses towards societal and environmental welfare. Even though the emergence of the concept might be from the West, performance-wise Indian companies outshine the MNCs. Significant level of maturity can be observed among the Indian companies in the way they channelize CSR funds.

THE IMPACT THE WAY FORWARD

With the surge in a span of 3 years, CSR, with its set of requirements and learnings, has certainly proved to be an eye opener which has come a long way. It, however, needs to be worked upon so that its mandated objective achieves optimal scale. It is therefore essential that the systems are enabled and encouraged to maintain a mechanism that can keep a tab on the initiatives. This can guarantee a mechanism for neutral evaluation and assessment, while ensuring that a level of transparency is maintained, and the intended impact, through the interventions, is remarkably visible to the extent that every targeted stakeholder is benefited.

It is advisable that businesses look for meaningful partnerships with local, state and central government agencies. In this backdrop, civil societies can undoubtedly play a major role in mobilising the community resources; one cannot overlook their critical support during such interventions. Not only will it bring about professional conduct in the intended engagement, but also will ensure smooth management and execution of initiatives.

INDIA’s CSR LAWSECTION 135 & ITS IMPACT!

The problem of introspection is that it has no end…

TWEETS OF THE MONTH

International Day of Sport

for Development & Peace April 6th, 2017

World Health Day April 7th, 2017

International Mother Earth Day April 22nd, 2017

World Malaria Day April 25th, 2017

18th December,

2012

LokSabha Passes the Companies Bill through a

voice vote

8th

August,

2013

RajyaSabha approves the long awaited Companies

Act, 2013

29th August,

2013

President Mukherjee's assent to the Companies

Act, 2013

30th August,

2013

Notification in the Official Gazette

27th February,

2014

Notification of Section 135& Schedule VII by Ministry of

Corporate Affairs

1st April, 2014

Enforcement of the Companies Act, 2013

18thJune,2014

Clarifications with regard to provisions of CSR under

Section 135

6th August,

2014

Inclusion of Slum Area Development in Schedule VII

24th October,

2014

Inclusion of contribution to Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean

Ganga Fund in Schedule VII

19th January,

2015

Amendments to the CSR Policy Rules, 2015

TIME-LINE IN THE FIRST 2 YEARS

12,431HAVE SHELLED MORETHAN

Maharashtra

205 122Tamil Nadu

123West Bengal

152Karnataka

TOP SPENDERS IN THE FIRST 2 YEARS

Rs.1412.2crRs.916.6cr

SHOW-CAUSE NOTICES ISSUED

TO 1,018 COMPANIES FOR VIOLATING

CSR NORMS IN 2014-15

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

0

1000

2000

2014-2015 2015-2016

CSR SPENDING BY COMPANIES (IN RS CRORE)

Private Companies – 6306

PSUs – 2497

Private Companies – 6462 (Up by 2.5%)

PSUs – 3360 (Up by 35%)

AS PER LATEST DATA FROM THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, THE TOTAL CSR SPENDING HAS INCREASED BY ABOUT 11.6% IN 2015-16 COMPARED TO 2014-15.

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RETROSPECTION

INTERVENTION STUDIES AND IMPORTANCE: A CASE STUDY

The necessity of intervention study - monitoring, evaluation and impact studies- of any CSR project for effective and efficient implementation of an intervention not only helps to streamline project, but also provides an opportunity to engage with the local communities, thereby increasing outreach of the organization. The role of such studies, which can be started from the inception, should not be undermined.

For assistance in corporate social responsibility initiatives, Mytrah Energy (India) Pvt. Ltd., one of the largest and independent renewable energy producers, collaborated with Fiinovation, a global CSR consulting company, to carry out an in-depth research on the community needs at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. It is a testimony to their commitment and necessity towards building a sustainable nation with emphasis on building harmony between businesses and social, economic and environmental interests of the stakeholders, keeping the community needs on priority.

Accordingly, Fiinovation designed a comprehensive approach with the help of survey tools for assessing the need of the community in the target areas of Anantapur. The exercise provided a clear picture at the grassroots level and consequently helped them with an implementable solution to address the needs of the area. On basis of the assessment and recommendations, Mytrah Energy rightly displayed their sincere commitment towards the CSR project with the successful implementation of its initiative.

The assessment studies for initiatives certainly provides an impetus in achieving the common social goals through perfect amalgamation of resources and expertise.