CSR is a true manifestation of Bapu’s Trusteeship Philosophy: President of India

President of India Confers First National Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards for outstanding contributions in the area of CSR

Companies indulged in CSR activities are wealth creators, says Finance Minister

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented first National Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards to selected companies here yesterday. The President conferred national awards to winning companies in two categories namely, “Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR” and “Contribution of CSR in Challenging Circumstances”.

In his address, President Shri Ram Nath Kovind observed that through National CSR Awards companies are being recognised for their contribution to society. Such contribution through CSR is a true manifestation of the trusteeship philosophy of Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. He also noted that the award assume greater significance since these are being presented in the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He stated that CSR has now become an integral part of business philosophy such that companies also carry activities which directly benefit the poor and needy including women, people with special abilities, rural areas, slums, etc. The President congratulated the companies for building healthy and inclusive societies, sustainable markets, combating corruption and safeguarding the environment. The President also announced that going forward National CSR Awards will be given away on 2 October every year. He called upon the industry to strive to achieve the target of providing good quality personal care to all orphan children.

The ceremony was graced by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, industry leaders, Shri Injeti Srinivas, and DG&CEO, IICA, Dr Sameer Sharma. A large number of senior government functionaries, CSR professionals, were present during the National CSR Awards Ceremony held here yesterday.

The National CSR Awards have been instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recognize corporate initiatives in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to achieve inclusive growth and inclusive and sustainable development. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), think-tank of the Ministry, has rendered technical and logistics support in the conduct of the rigorous award process.

Winning companies in the third category of Awards, i.e. “Contribution of CSR in National Priority Areas” were felicitated by Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman. In her address, the Finance Minister said that CSR is not merely contribution of funds, it is the corporate contribution towards inclusive societies which matters. Smt. Sitharaman emphasised that companies should strive for development of North Eastern region of the country. She assured the industry that while administering the law, the core spirit of CSR shall be protected. She further added that the MCA would encourage, and not force, companies to come forward and embrace CSR. She released a coffee table book on CSR activities by companies in India. The first copy of the coffee table book was presented by Smt. Sitharaman to the President of India. The book contains the noteworthy focus and impact of CSR activities on ground.

Across the three award categories, companies adjudged as Honourable Mentions were felicitated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur. In his address, he highlighted the contributions of companies through their CSR programmes in various sector such as sports, Clean Ganga, Education, health, divyang and skill & livelihood etc. He further added that CSR programmes of companies have delivered good results for divyang people in relevant sports, creation of sports infrastructure, training of sports personnel in those sports which otherwise attract lesser attention.

In order to review the CSR framework and make recommendations to develop a more robust and coherent CSR regulatory and policy framework, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri Injeti Srinivas mentioned CSR is no longer an act of philanthropy. Rather it now flows out of business responsibility towards society and environment. He further articulated the recent key policy initiatives taken by Government.  He complimented the Jury for the rigorous three-stage selection process involving shortlisting, detailed submissions and field verification by independent experts from institutions of national repute. He further added that the government does not view CSR as a resource gap funding, instead it is expected to provide technology and innovation to address long pending challenges in the country.

DG & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Dr Sameer Sharma delivered ‘vote of thanks’ wherein he acknowledged the contribution of various stakeholders including central and state governments, industry chambers, professional institutions, academic institutions, for their help in carrying out the award process. He expressed his gratitude to the President, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs and Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs for gracing the occasion.

National CSR Awards have been instituted to recognise the Corporates whose initiatives in the area of CSR were aimed at achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development. The companies were awarded based on their strategic approach in CSR and its efforts in challenging circumstances, towards aspirational districts, difficult terrains/disturbed areas and national priority areas. Based on the submissions by the companies and reports of the independent assessment by CSR experts and the jury, 19 award winners and 19 honourable mentions across the three award categories were announced as per the list.

Winners in different categories:

S. No.	Award Category	Sub-category	Name of Company
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend above INR 100 Crores	Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend between INR 10 Crores 100 Crores	Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend between INR 1 Crores 10 Crores	Edelweiss Financial Services Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend below INR 1 Crore	Paranjape Autocast Pvt. Ltd.
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	North India	SRF Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	North-East India	CRISIL Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	East India	Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	West India	Technip India Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	South India	The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Education	Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Skill Development and Livelihoods	Hindalco Industries Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Agriculture & Rural Development	Mahindra and Mahindra Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Health, Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation	Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Environment, Sustainable Development & Solar Energy	Power Finance Corporation Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Women & Child Development	Indian Oil Corporation Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Women & Child Development	JSW Energy Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Promotion of Sports	Central Coalfields Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Slum Area Development	Equitas Holdings Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Support to Differently abled	Minda Corporation Limited

Honourable Mentions in different award categories:

S. No.	Award Category	Sub-category	Name of Company
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend above INR 100 Crores	ITC Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend above INR 100 Crores	Tata Steel Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend between INR 10 Crores 100 Crores	National Aluminum Co. Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend between INR 10 Crores 100 Crores	Maruti Suzuki India Limited
	Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR	CSR spend between INR 1 Crores 10 Crores	Tata Technologies Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	East India	Hindustan Copper Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	East India	Mecon Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	West India	Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited
	CSR in Challenging Circumstances	South India	Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Education	Mahindra and Mahindra Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Skill Development and Livelihoods	JSW Steel Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Agriculture & Rural Development	HDFC Bank Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Health, Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation	Tata Sponge Iron Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Health, Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation	ITC Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Environment, Sustainable Development & Solar Energy	Schneider Electric IT
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Women & Child Development	Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Promotion of Sports	IndusInd Bank Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Promotion of Sports	India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited
	Contribution to the National Priority Areas	Support to Differently abled	Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

Click here to get full text of the President’s speech

Corporate Social Responsibility framed as trusteeship philosophy, encouraging strategic CSR for inclusive growth and sustainable impact. National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, recognise corporate initiatives aimed at achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development across three categories: excellence in CSR, CSR in challenging circumstances, and contribution to national priority areas. The awards assess strategic CSR approaches addressing disadvantaged groups, difficult terrains and national priority sectors, using a three-stage selection process-shortlisting, detailed submissions and field verification-supported technically and logistically by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.