Category: News

Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exhorted India Inc to expand CSR reach to poor states like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and North East region. Appreciating that companies have spent about Rs 13,000 crore in 2018 under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), she said, this is very

Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exhorted India Inc to expand CSR reach to poor states like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and North East region.

Appreciating that companies have spent about Rs 13,000 crore in 2018 under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), she said, this is very relevant for the development of the hinterland.

“We find a significant presence of CSR in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi… states like Chattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar also require such support from CSR. Not to forget all the eight states of North East region,” the finance minister said on the occasion of First National CSR Awards here.

The recognition has been given to wealth creators not just for wealth creation but to give back to the community in the name of CSR, she said, adding that giving back to community from the justified profit is the spirit of the CSR, which has gained a lot of traction.

Korean tech giant LG has decided to sponsor 800 cornea eye transplant surgeries across India under its initiative ‘Karein Roshni’ in association with two eye hospitals. The initiative assumes significance as India is home to a third of the world’s blind population. The country has about 12 million

Korean tech giant LG has decided to sponsor 800 cornea eye transplant surgeries across India under its initiative ‘Karein Roshni’ in association with two eye hospitals.

The initiative assumes significance as India is home to a third of the world’s blind population. The country has about 12 million individuals with visual impairment as against the global total of 39 million.

Under the Karein Roshni, the company will invite people to come forward and pledge to donate their eyes for the noble cause, the company said in a statement.

The awareness about the initiative will be created through radio and digital media. The company also plans to have on-ground activations at LG stores inviting Indian citizens to pledge for donating their eyes for this cause.

The programme will be implemented along with Sankara Eye Hospital, a not-for-profit charitable eye hospital and Dr Shroff charity eye hospital.

According to Dr Shroff Charity Eye Hospital CEO Arun Arora, India has approximately 120,000 needlessly blind people due to corneal disease with 20,000 annually adding to the list.

Corneal transplantation surgery is the best available therapeutic option that can rehabilitate these patients suffering from corneal blindness, he said.

“With our patient numbers and corneal transplant surgeries growing by the day, any kind of support from brands like LG Electronics always help. We are thankful to LG Electronics for its generous support and sponsorship. The corneal transplant surgeries coupled with Eye Donation Awareness Drive will set the momentum for a larger change for this cause in our country,” Arora added.

Sankara Eye Foundation Founder and Managing Trustee Dr R V Ramani said, “Non-availability, non-affordability and inaccessibility to quality eye care, especially in rural India, has been the challenging scenario for the economically weaker sections. We are thankful to multinationals like LG Electronics for their continuous support in making it possible for such people to follow their dreams.”

LG Electronics India Managing Director Ki Wan Kim said: “We received an overwhelming response for Karein Roshni campaign last time, and hope to receive the same this year.”

He said that the company uses both its innovation and a widespread network to create positive change in society.

“We are happy to announce Karein Roshni campaign that will help improve quality of life of people with no vision, allowing them to become more aware of the world around them and empower them with more choice, freedom and greater possibilities,” he added.

The current year is a milestone for LG Electronics as the company celebrates its 22nd anniversary in India.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a unique ‘Green Reward Points’ programme to onboard its YONO customers in the sustainability journey. Under this programme, SBI inspires customers to pledge earned ‘Green Reward Points’ to a pool created as ‘YONO SBI Green Fund’ which is managed by SBI Foundation

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a unique ‘Green Reward Points’ programme to onboard its YONO customers in the sustainability journey.

Under this programme, SBI inspires customers to pledge earned ‘Green Reward Points’ to a pool created as ‘YONO SBI Green Fund’ which is managed by SBI Foundation, the bank said in a statement.

The bank through ‘YONO SBI Green Fund’ will initiate environment conservation activities through various programs.

The Fund will be used for planting of trees, constructing of bio-toilets, initiating “Conserve Water Campaign” along with setting up RO Plants in cities facing drinking water crisis, creating awareness about avoidance of single-use plastic among customers and encourage usage of solar energy across the country, it added.

SBI customer will now earn ‘Green Reward points’ through transactions on YONO and they would be given an option to pledge these points to ‘YONO SBI Green Fund’.

Customers earning Rewardz points through non-YONO transaction channels like mobile NS internet banking will be given an option to convert it into ‘Green Reward points’ which on conversion can be pledged to the fund.

All the customers pledging their points to the fund will be awarded a ‘Green e-Certificate’ as a token of appreciation towards their support for this initiative.

SBI, on the other hand, has also committed to converting lapsed ‘Green Reward Points’ of customers by informing them for environment conservation through YONO SBI Green Fund. SBI customers can earn up to 200 Green Reward points on each eligible service provided by the bank.

Speaking about the initiative, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said: “With a pledge to conserve the environment, we invite all our customers to partner with us in promoting sustainability.”

To make this a wide-scale programme, SBI will proactively communicate with its customers through various channels of communication to come forward and pledge Green Reward points for the initiative, the bank added.

Tata Trusts has challenged the move of the income tax department of reopening of its assessment on the ground that it has already surrendered registration provisions under the I-T Act. It has pleaded that levy of additional income tax when a charitable trust converts into or merges with a non-charitable

Tata Trusts has challenged the move of the income tax department of reopening of its assessment on the ground that it has already surrendered registration provisions under the I-T Act. It has pleaded that levy of additional income tax when a charitable trust converts into or merges with a non-charitable trust or transfers its assets on dissolution to a non-charitable institution cannot be applied to them.

Earlier in July, the I-T department had served notices on a set of Tata Trusts seeking to reopen assessment and questioning their decision to ‘surrender’ registrations in 2015.

According to Section 115 (TD) of the Income Tax Act, a trust whose registration is cancelled is required to pay tax on its accumulated or ‘accreted’ income. The dispute dates back to 2013 when the Comptroller & Auditor General pointed out that Jamsetji Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust had invested Rs 3,139 crore in “prohibited modes of investment.”

The CAG noted that the I-T department had given “irregular tax exemptions” to these trusts, resulting in Rs 1,066 crore escaping the tax net. In March 2015, the Tata Trusts surrendered their registrations (under 12AA of the I-T Act) while admitting that some of their assets were not in compliance with the provisions of Section 13(1)(d) of the Act.

However, following the CAG’s observations and subsequent remarks by a sub-panel of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in 2018, the matter was transferred to the I-T department’s assessment wing that has now sought an explanation from the trusts.

The trusts, according to the PAC report, were investing in prohibited modes of investment despite the law strictly forbidding public charitable trusts from holding such assets after 1973. Tata Trusts currently seem to be in a state of flux with the exit of CEO R Venkatraman, who signed letters seeking cancellation of tax benefits on behalf of the trustees. His successor is yet to be appointed after his exit in February 2019.

“However there are certain queries for which the department will reach out to the assessee before passing the final order which is expected to be by December,” an IT official has said, referring to the deadline for the decision regarding the case. The income tax department is of the view that after invoking the provisions of 115 (TD) after considering the fair market value of the trusts’ total assets and net liabilities, the tax will amount to at least Rs 1,800 crore, going by conservative estimates.
Source: ET

Credit Suisse has inaugurated a sports facility at the Mumbai campus of NGO Jai Vakeel Foundation for intellectually challenged children as part of the company’s CSR initiatives in India. The new sports facility, inaugurated by the company’s CEO India Mickey Doshi on October 12, offers special

Credit Suisse has inaugurated a sports facility at the Mumbai campus of NGO Jai Vakeel Foundation for intellectually challenged children as part of the company’s CSR initiatives in India.

The new sports facility, inaugurated by the company’s CEO India Mickey Doshi on October 12, offers special needs children a safe environment to play and learn while encouraging social inclusion.

“We all know the benefits that come from sports and physical activities in improving quality of life and overall cognitive health. Jai Vakeel’s new sports facility offers special needs children a safe environment to play and learn while encouraging social inclusion,” Doshi said.

At Credit Suisse, the bank wants to create a more inclusive future where people can access and develop key skills and resources to thrive in society, he said. “I am proud of our staff who have come here today in the true spirit of volunteerism, to contribute their time and energy towards enhancing our local community,” he added.

The indoor portion of the sports facility features soft sports flooring and padded walls and boasts basketball hoops, badminton nets and football goalposts. The outdoor sports area has over 9,600 square feet of artificial turf that is home to a playground with swings, slides and seesaws.

An outdoor stage for performances has also been created. All spaces are barrier-free, safe and accessible for all abilities. Jai Vakeel Foundation CEO Archana Chandra said the state-of-the-art sports facility made possible by Credit Suisse’s generous support will enable us to continue to strive for the inclusion of intellectually disabled individuals by maximizing their potential.

The inauguration of the sports facility was part of an annual bank-wide ‘Community School Transformation Day’ with nearly 1,000 Credit Suisse staff volunteering their time to enhance the learning environment at five schools in underprivileged communities in Mumbai (Worli and Powai), Pune and Bengaluru.

The schools include those run by Jai Vakeel and Cochlea, another long-term non-profit partner of Credit Suisse. Around 4,000 students will benefit from the ‘Community School Transformation Day.’ In 2018, these CSR initiatives enabled more than 20,000 disadvantaged children to access quality education, provided more than 8,000 school children with nutritious mid-day meals, prevented malnourishment of over 7,500 ‘at risk’ infants and enabled close to 200 differently-abled children to access non-formal education.

The bank’s social sustainability efforts also include prevention of deforestation in around 600 acres of forestland in parts of the Western Ghats and the establishment of livelihoods for close to 400 forest-dependent families. CSR investments are complemented by a culture of volunteerism that is promoted at the highest levels of the bank.

Last year, over 2,400 Credit Suisse volunteers collectively devoted more than 16,177 hours across multiple CSR events in India, impacting 36,000 beneficiaries. Jai Vakeel Foundation serves the needs of 3,000 individuals annually, including the 700 students at its Mumbai campus and 40 students at each of its rural branches in Talegaon and Deolali. Through its Pediatric Neurology Medical Camps in rural Maharashtra, Jai Vakeel assists over 2,300 students each year.

As part of its CSR initiative, the Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (Kotak) has collaborated with the NGO – Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation (Foundation) run by Hyderabad based Indian badminton legend to develop a world-class badminton training facility with advanced infrastructure and amenities

As part of its CSR initiative, the Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (Kotak) has collaborated with the NGO – Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation (Foundation) run by Hyderabad based Indian badminton legend to develop a world-class badminton training facility with advanced infrastructure and amenities, and international-standard coaches.

Dipak Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We firmly believe that no child or youth should be deprived of access to quality education, healthcare, sports and livelihood facilities and opportunities irrespective of their economic background. Keeping these aspects in mind, Kotak’s core CSR focus is in the areas of education, healthcare, sports and livelihood.”

“Encouraged by Pullela Gopichand’s commitment and his long-term singular focus on badminton in producing world-class badminton players, we are announcing Kotak’s CSR Programme in Sports, which we will jointly implement with Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation. Kotak and Gopichand are committed to developing a state-of-the-art, high-performance training facility and coaching & producing world-class badminton coaches and players, in the process helping India win more medals and international trophies,” added Gupta.

Pullela Gopichand, the legendary Indian badminton player, coach & founder trustee of Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation said, “The objective of Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation is to train, nurture and guide young talent to develop international badminton champions. For India to consistently produce world-class athletes and be counted among the great sporting nations, access to quality infrastructure, training and coaching facilities is a must. Under Kotak’s CSR Programme in Sports, we will work together towards our shared vision of developing outstanding athletes and coaches.”

The programme entails construction of a high-performance training centre comprising six air-conditioned badminton courts in the existing premises and a Sports Science Centre in the existing and the upcoming new training centre. The Sports Science Centre will get top-quality resident nutritionists, physiotherapists, and strength and conditioning experts on board for the all-round development of players and to ensure that the badminton coaching imparted by the academy is at par with global standards.

Further, Kotak will support the Coach Certification and Fellowship Programmes for coaches and players. Under the Coach Certification Programme, the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy will impart training and award certification to yesteryear sportspersons to expand the reach of badminton training across ‘kona kona’ of India. The Fellowship Programmes for coaches and players will largely cater to economically backward coaches and players, within and outside the academy, who have the potential to make it big.

One of the greatest privileges I have as CEO of Microsoft is seeing firsthand the incredible impact our technologies have on people and organizations around the world. Our ecosystem touches the lives of billions of people every single day

One of the greatest privileges I have as CEO of Microsoft is seeing firsthand the incredible impact our technologies have on people and organizations around the world.

Our ecosystem touches the lives of billions of people every single day, creating a new opportunity for our customers and partners and positively impacting local communities.

In Kenya, our partner M-KOPA Solar has connected hundreds of thousands of homes across sub-Saharan Africa to solar power for the first time using the Microsoft Cloud, innovating with a pay-as-you-go model that helps households living on less than $2 a day establish a credit history.

In Arizona, we are applying Dynamics 365 to improve outcomes among one of the state’s most vulnerable populations — the more than 15,000 children in foster care. In Poland, MedApp is using HoloLens to help cardiologists visualize a patient’s heart as it beats — in real-time — reducing the amount of time they then need to perform open-heart surgery.

In Kona, Hawaii, Jack’s Diving Locker is using Microsoft 365 to connect its 50 employees across land and sea so that they can focus on what they do best — protect pristine coral reefs and take people diving.

In Washington state, Karrick Johnson, an 8-year-old with dyslexia, avoided reading in class until he started using our Learning Tools. And in Cambodia, underserved children in rural communities are learning to code with Minecraft, opening doors to futures that would have previously been unimaginable.

Across the globe, enterprise customers in every industry — from iconic brands like Coca-Cola Company and Chevron Corporation to ZF Group, a car parts manufacturer in Germany — are using our technology to build their digital capability so they can thrive in a world where every company is a software company.

Walmart —the world’s largest company by revenue, and its biggest private employer — chose Azure and Microsoft 365 to fuel its digital transformation, transforming the shopping experience for customers and empowering their more than 2 million associates to do their best work.

In sum, our platforms create broad surplus everywhere, from the farmer who can apply precision agriculture to conserve resources and increase yields, to the hospital that can lower the cost of healthcare and improve patient outcomes, to the largest companies of the world reaching new customers in new markets.

The breadth and depth of our mission and the trust customers are placing in us to power their digital transformation enables us to have this broad impact — and it is fueling our results.

In fiscal 2018, we delivered $110.4 billion in revenue and $35.1 billion in operating income and returned $21.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Our commercial cloud business delivered more than $23 billion in revenue, exceeding the ambitious goal we had set to achieve $20 billion in annualized commercial cloud revenue by the end of fiscal 2018, nine months ahead of schedule. Also, we expanded our commercial cloud gross margin to 57 per cent, up 7 points year-over-year.

These are strong results — and yet the opportunity ahead in a world powered by an intelligent cloud and edge is unprecedented.

Imagine a future where all of your apps and experiences revolve around you and transcend any single device; where data in any form is analyzed in real-time so that computers can anticipate and even act on your behalf and augment what you would otherwise be able to accomplish on your own.

And where computing is more distributed and embedded in the world, from intelligent digital assistants at work, on the go and in your home that you can communicate within a myriad of ways — voice, eyes or gestures — to oil rigs that adjust production in real-time as demand fluctuates in global markets.

Across each of our customer solution areas, we are broadening our offerings and accelerating our innovation to capture the opportunities this new era will create for our customers and better meet their unarticulated needs.

Companies spent Rs 13,464.3 crore in 2016-17 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), down from Rs 14,366.29 crore in the previous financial year. Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 along with Schedule VII and CSR Policy Rules, 2014 came into force

Companies spent Rs 13,464.3 crore in 2016-17 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), down from Rs 14,366.29 crore in the previous financial year.

Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 along with Schedule VII and CSR Policy Rules, 2014 came into force with effect from April 01, 2014.

Notices sent to thousands of Cos’ for failure to spend CSR funds
Meanwhile, notices have been sent to thousands of companies that have failed to spend funds under Corporate Social Responsibility.

Replying to a question regarding CSR compliance, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said based on scrutiny, call for information letters to 5,382 companies have been issued for the financial year 2015-16.

“Further, 313 prosecutions have been sanctioned for the financial year 2014-15 and 33 companies have filed an application for compounding for the same year,” the Minister said during February Parliament session.

The information was provided by Chaudhary in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on February 8, 2019.

Lawmaker Santosh Ahlawat had asked the Ministry of Corporate Affairs whether the Government has sent notices to thousands of companies which have failed to spend funds under CSR policy and asked for action being taken against the defaulters.

Source: Filings by companies up to June 30, 2018, in the MCA21 registry.

To promote sustainability and create awareness about air pollution Dell has partnered with the Chakr Innovation which converts diesel soot into ink (POINK) through their retro-fit emission control device for diesel generators

To promote sustainability and create awareness about air pollution Dell has partnered with the Chakr Innovation which converts diesel soot into ink (POINK) through their retro-fit emission control device for diesel generators.

The technology can capture over 90 per cent of the particulate matter emissions from the exhaust of diesel generators without causing any adverse impact on the diesel engine.

Speaking about the event, Rajeev Kapoor, India Vice President and CSR Champion, Dell said, “Environmental responsibility is much more than creating eco-friendly products. It’s about incorporating sustainability into every practice. Innovative thinking and eco-friendly designs are the first steps in minimizing the impact on the environment. We support inventions which solve larger problems and are glad to partner with Chakr innovation to address the issue of rising levels of air pollution in the city and initiate a positive dialogue around the issue.”

Adding to this, Kushagra Srivastava, CEO, Chakr Innovation said, “We aim to curb air pollution by recycling it. Our product, Chakr Shield helps reducing air pollution by converting diesel soot from generators into inks and paints which can be safely reused. We are proud to partner with Dell which not only promotes but also practices various sustainable methods across its functions. It’s encouraging to see that Dell has been using poink for packaging and printing products at its manufacturing facility in India. We hope to amplify the partnership to capture the air pollution at its source and create a beautiful and greener tomorrow for everyone around us.”

Two iconic brands, DIESEL and Coca-Cola have launched ‘The(Re)Collection’ — a beautifully crafted clothing collection partially made from recycled materials, including plastic bottles

Two iconic brands, DIESEL and Coca-Cola have launched ‘The(Re)Collection’ — a beautifully crafted clothing collection partially made from recycled materials, including plastic bottles.

In India, the (Re)Collection is exclusively available at 11 Diesel stores with a retail price starting from Rs 6,000 to Rs 25,000. Diesel India will also be showcasing the capsule collection as a pop-up in major cities.

The range includes recycled materials such as recycled PET derived from plastic bottles and recycled cotton, to create a fresh, modern interpretation of the Diesel casualwear aesthetic combined with Coca-Cola iconicity.

Creating beautiful fibres from plastic, this collaboration aims to raise awareness on the value of recycling with all pieces made with recycled PET fibres.

Commenting on the new partnership, Coca-Cola Company Vice President of Global Licensing & Retail Michelle Moorehead said: “Not only does The (Re)Collection generate awareness of the importance of recycling in a very approachable way – by showcasing beautiful fashions created from recycled materials – it’s also a collection that celebrates individuality.”