Emphasising the role of the companies in pushing up the economy, Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi today said that private sector accounts for 80 per cent investment in the Indian economy.
“Resources of corporate world are huge. As India launches its 11th Five-Year Plan, you will surprised that of the total investment in the economy, only 20 per cent is public investment and 80 per cent is private investment,” he said at the fourth national convention of Global Compact Society here.
Chaturvedi said that private players could do a massive job by taking new initiatives for the society in some key areas like health, literacy and climate change.
Tata Sons director J J Irani said that benefits provided to the society by corporates should not be taken as cost, but should be considered as an investment to sustain in long term.
“It is not a cost, it is an investment...There has to be growth with everyone else,” Irani said.
The immediate impact will be that the capital cost will rise but we should not forget the long-term goal, he added.
The community service should be part of every corporate’s programme rather than a matter of choice, Irani said, pointing out that wealth generation is essential but the difference between a good and not-so-good corporate houses is what they do with the wealth after it is generated.
Irani said last year Tata Steel completed 100 years of its incorporation. On the other hand, less than 3 per cent of the companies that were listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1907 could survive till 2007, he said.
He gave credit to the social responsibility programme of the Tatas for this monumental feat.
