Biz leaders, spiritual teachers advocate charity in business

People from different walks of life, including corporate head honchos, spiritual leaders and top bureaucrats, have stressed on the need to encourage social entrepreneurship in business and give back to the society by empowering others.
"In our society, there is a huge divide between haves and have-nots and we need to address this issue as taught to us by 'Bhagwad Gita'. People who are rich have to become the trustees of their wealth and use it for the benefit of the society," said Ajay Piramal, Chairman of the Piramal Group of Companies and one of the key note speakers, at a meet on 'Business with a Purpose'.

This is conscious capitalism i.E capitalism with a purpose which means earning with integrity and giving back to the society, Piramal said.
Many CEOs and CFOs of corporate companies attended the Conference which was organised here on Thursday by Artha Forum, a non-profit body engaged in promoting social entrepreneurship.
"Our greatest treasure here is our own culture. India has a historic opportunity in today's times to do great things for the benefit of the country and the World", said Radhanath Swami Maharaj, ISKCON Spiritual leader and one of the keynote speakers at Artha Forum.
Praveen Pardeshi, Principal Secretary to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis, said, "If business is driven by a purpose it becomes easier for the government to have this interface and then build bridges with the business."

He quoted the example of Sweden-based company Ikea, a profit-making company which is driven by charity as profits earned by its owners are channelised in the company's growth, research and social issues such as climatic changes and not to be used by owners at all.

"It is also important for us to understand how one can leverage private business for economic growth and how can government be both enabling and providing public goods and services which the private sector cannot do," said Pardeshi.
He also cited the instance of Tata Group of Companies which is run by a Trust whose fundamental purpose is overall welfare. "We do not have to look outside the country for this but within India itself."

On the occasion, a book titled 'Business with a purpose' was released by Artha Forum.
Rajeev Srivastava, Founder member of Artha Forum, said the essence of 'Bhagwad Gita' when applied to business make it much better for the business and the society at large.
Experts at the forum exchanged ideas and concurred to
create new knowledge about crime and its control in a globalized world.
The forum was inaugurated by a special address by Hon'ble Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Judge of Supreme Court of India, who underscored urbanisation as the leading challenge to governance and rule of law in his address, he said, "Looking at crime in the context of globalization is the need of the hour. Such an initiative enables us to look at crime from a global perspective and come up with well thought-out solutions for reforming the system."

Speaking at the conference, John A. Winterdyk of Mount Royal University, Canada said that human trafficking is the second-fastest growing crime in the world and the third-most profitable one. India, he pointed out, is the epicentre of human-trafficking. According to the UN, India is the most dangerous place for women. At the root of it is illiteracy and poverty. Almost 80% of the women who are trafficked are lured by promises of better economic opportunities. Others are lured by love promises.
Many of trafficked women are victims of domestic violence. The government, Mr. Winterdyk said, needs to address the issues of poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to education and employment opportunities, and age-old practices like child marriage. Only then can one hope to curb the menace of human trafficking human in India.

According to Prof. R. Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities. "You cannot have development without security; you cannot have security without development; and you can't have both without human rights," said Prof. Sudershan.