, vice-president corporate communications, ITC, talks to Business Standard after the company won a prize for CSR from FICCI. ITC has been receiving awards for CSR and the latest being from FICCI. Does it see itself as a role model?
Our CSR has been quoted as examples by the Economic Survey, by the Human Development Report. We take pride in that. The company's basic abiding decision is to see how we can enhance shareholder value and societal value.
The scale of our CSR is very large and this is because a lot is embedded in our business strategies. If you look at the 77,000 hectare of watershed development that is equivalent to two metros. We are proud if these are seen as exemplary.
Do you adopt villages where you work?
It is partnership with communities and with local NGOs.
Do these partnerships lead to better access to government schemes like NREGP and ICDS?
Not so far.
Do you work with panchayats or run parallel structures?
We work with them. Our e-choupals work through sanchalaks who in turn work with panchayats.
When you say that notebooks help school kids, why don't you specify the schools?
Every rupee from a notebook goes not to a specific school but to our rural education project which does not run schools but supplements school education to prevent children from dropping out.
In Andhra Pradesh, we found girls leaving school because there was no bathroom. So we helped in setting up some. About 1,00,000 kids have been brought back to school by our projects.
Do you have PPPs with state authorities or district authorities for CSR?
There are no formal MoUs. But in all the places we work, there are partnerships. People don't enter into any written contract with us. Nothing is binding on them if they use e-choupals.
How do you run the water user groups?
We have 2,000 permanent water harvesting structures and each is run by a group. Our Sunehra Kal project works with NGOs to create these and monitor them through water user groups.
What are the funds you set aside for development initiatives and CSR?
Our projects are more than CSR. They are also our business strategies, our way of doing business. We believe that unless we make it sustainable, we can't make the business run its full course. Each unit does CSR in catchment areas.
So paper units do farm forestry, our hotel group has its own initiatives for the disabled, for domestic helps. But these are not just CSR. And hence, these won't be restricted by budgets. Look at our 360 degree approach and not just our CSR.
What are your initiatives in organic farming?
We started with developing organic fertilisers called 'Well grow' as part of our extension services for the e-choupals. Now we are packing organic spices.
