The remarkable increase in the number of joint stock entities in India during the past decade throws open too many opportunities for enhancing the life style of common men and women in India.All that is needed is the will to bring in an coordinated environment and ideas to link the corporates and common men.The corporate stage is definitely congested with too much talking about the "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY".However very few ideas are afloat which really connect the needs of common men and the resources of companies.
Nine out of ten times the rolling ball of CSR stops with some donations to NGOs or may move a bit further to sponsor one or two seminars on public health and hygiene.Few companies make an half hearted attempt to maintain a drinking water spring at the heart of the city or maintain green spaces with the name of the company highlighted in and around the area.
If the managers of CSR take some time to synergise the core business operations with that of power of common men,they will be in a position to achieve the much orchestrated social responsibility.
Here comes the need for creating and maintaining the data base of resourceful men and women of the surroundings where the office and plant of the company is located.
I wish to bring into record the extraordinary resourcefulness of the men and women from DHARAVI area of Mumbai. The people of DHARAVI,touted as Asia's largest slum is ,absolutely ready to give up the honours to any other region if they are shown a better way to vent their potential.The effort is definitely not to refer to the efforts taken by authorities to rebuild and restucture the geography.What is needed is the need to modify the demography and psychography of the people.
A trip inside Dharavi's industrious spots would put any multinational manufacturing unit to envy, if comparisons are made on productivity indices.The working conditions don't allow air conditioners nor the workers are given flexi time or stock options ,yet they are unheard of production stoppages or delayed delivery.Most of these units supply accessories ,parts or spares for many renowned companies in India.The most unfortunate aspect is the large companies are not aware of these suppliers.With little efforts these enterprises may be grouped and can be provided with a face .The workers may be given basic training in many areas including financial literacy and financial independence.
All that is required is to identify the real suppliers and trace the source of multiple items that find their way into corporate store rooms.As said earlier database of this kind would help in identifying resourceful individuals who may be further trained to do their jobs better.If we can take one step further companies can create a corpus by contributing a percentage of their income every year to identify and motivate at least one group of the kind identified.
One need not be restrictive to Dharavi population.There are enough resourceful groups through the length and breadth of our country.We need to identify them and encourage them.By making them feel that they are also part of the developmental process which our country is going through the corporate houses may be in a position to fulfill their corporate social responsibility.
