![Be[a]Cause](https://beacauseorg.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/cropped-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Tuesday, 11 Jul 2023
An important update regarding the donations received for tax benefit to the donor under 80G, now it is mandatory to fill Form 10BD and upload it on the Income tax Portal before 31st May every year. Read an article explaining this here.
Sunday, 14 Aug 2022
If you believe in Nelson Mandela’s words, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ and think that our Education System needs a profound review and update as far as its objective, outcome and impact is concerned, here is your chance to contribute to our National Curriculum Framework with your suggestions. Patriotism is about a responsibility of playing a rationally proactive citizen of a democratic nation and not being an emotionally reactive vote-bank responding to occasional urges!
Click on the link above or HERE to take part in the Survey. It is our collective responsibility to set the things in order around here and Education is the only way…
Way to go…! Jai Hind!
Sunday, 07 Feb 2021
Recent amendment [update] in CSR Rules on Friday, 22 Jan 2021 [Read the full Notification HERE] has TWO major updates as far as undertaking CSR Projects is concerned.
- All Companies / Organizations undertaking CSR projects and willing to report them in their respective books of accounts under CSR head, must register themselves on MCA portal by filling-up CSR -1 form [Download HERE] with effect from 1 Apr 2021.
- Any company having a CSR Budget of 10 Cr. or more will have to appoint an Independent agency for the Impact Assessment of their CSR undertakings and such agency would be required to assess and present the social impact of company’s CSR activities. Administrative expenses [overheads] of 5% [maximum up to 50 Lakh] could be allocated for such reporting from the CSR budget.
Just like the very concept of CSR that, in principal, was convincing in its intent, the CSR Act, 2014 and all those amendments till date are principally as good as to be considered as ideal and drafted for a Utopia, however, how the numbers convert to real social impact remains to be seen in absence of an critical, rationale, unbiased and grass-root-level assessment of all the ‘Reported’ CSR activities, undertaking and projects, so to say.
Way to go…
Sunday, 19 Apr 2020
Atma, an accelerator of NGOs in Education, offers strategic solutions to help NGOs perform better. In the wake of recent COVID-19 Outbreak, Atma has come up with a Covid-19 Resource Collaborative to bring together resources from across the social sector on how we are all responding to the Covid-19 crisis. This crisis will have lasting effects on the communities we serve and our organisations. By coming together, we can support each other to do our best and respond in agile and dynamic ways. If you want to be a part of this collaborative, check out all the resources compiled for Social Sector Response to COVID-19 HERE.
Tuesday, 14 Apr 2020
There seems to be lot of confusion about the provisions of CSR funds being utilized for fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic caused by novel Corona virus, particularly with reference to the PM CARES fund that is a charitable trust setup as a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation like the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide relief to the affected. Any Corporate contribution to PM CARES qualifies as CSR and individual can claim for 80G.
There are 3 Circulars published by MCA – the Governing body of CSR, on 23rd Mar, 29th Mar and 10th Apr 2020 with following declarations respectively –
- Spending of CSR Funds for COVID-19 is eligible CSR activity. Funds may be spent for various activities related to COVID-19 under item nos. (i) and (xii) of Schedule VII relating to promotion of healthcare, including preventive healthcare and sanitation and disaster management. Further, as per General Circular No. 21/2014 dated 18.06.2014, items in Schedule VII are broad based and may be interpreted liberally for this purpose.
- Item no. (viii) of the Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, which enumerates activities that may be undertaken by companies in discharge of their CSR obligations, inter alia provides that contribution to any fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development and relief qualifies as CSR expenditure. The PM-CARES Fund has been set up to provide relief to those affected by any kind of emergency or distress situation. Accordingly, it is clarified that any contribution made to the PM CARES Fund shall qualify as CSR expenditure under the Companies Act 2013.
- FAQ
To summarize it in a nutshell, spending CSR funds for COVID-19 related activities shall qualify as CSR expenditure. Contribution made to State Disaster Management Authority to combat COVID-19 shall qualify as CSR expenditure under item no (xii) of Schedule VII of the 2013. It is further clarified that funds may be spent for various activities related to COVID-19 under items nos. (i) and (xii) of Schedule VII relating to promotion of health care including preventive health care and sanitation, and disaster management.
(i) Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, 2[‘‘promoting health care including preventive health care’’] and sanitation 4[including contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh set-up by the Central Government for the promotion of sanitation] and making available safe drinking water.
[(xii) disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.]
Friday, 20 Mar 2020
“Our vision is to ensure quality education for all children. We’ve partnered with 68 education NGOs who impact the lives of over 2,100,000 children. APPLY TO BE A PARTNER”
Sunday, 02 Feb 2020
Samhita invites proposals for a CSR program for an investment company that primarily catalyzes funds in key infrastructure projects in India across the sectors of road transport, ports, aviation etc. The company wishes to undertake a CSR program in commercial driver training that would aim to empower women with technical and employability skills and job opportunities. The program would include training, counseling, placements, monitoring and tracking the participants. The program will follow a pay-for-performance model wherein disbursement of funds from the company will be dependent on the placement rates achieved by the NGO / social organization during the course of the program.
If you are an Organization / NGO working in Skill Development, in general and Women Empowerment, in particular, check this opportunity and click HERE to respond to the Request for Proposal by Samhita. All the best and way to go…
Wednesday, 06 Nov 2019
This editorial package showcases UN Women’s 2018 flagship report, “Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 Agenda.” It features data, stories, videos and publications that illustrate how and why gender equality matters across all the Sustainable Development Goals, and how the goals affect the real lives of women and girls everywhere… Read full report HERE.
Wednesday, 23 Oct 2019
Thank you all! We are overwhelmed with your spontaneous response to the Appeal of donating Books for Savalee, we are gratefully obliged! As the number of positive responses is growing from hour to hour, we thought it would be a good idea to share the List of Books here in the public domain instead of sending it individually to all our well-wishers. Please find the list of Books that are preferred for Savalee’s Library HERE.
बुधवार, २३ ऑक्टोबर २०१९
सर्वांचे मन:पूर्वक आभार! ‘सावली‘मध्ये वाचनालय सुरु करण्यासाठी मदतीच्या आमच्या आवाहनाला आपण जो भरभरून प्रतिसाद देत आहात त्याने आम्ही भारावून गेलो आहोत. आपला तासागणिक वाढता प्रतिसाद पाहता, ‘सावली‘ला प्राधान्याने आवश्यक पुस्तकांची यादी येथे देत आहोत. ज्यांना यातील काही पुस्तके ‘सावली‘ला पोहोचवणे (ऑन लाईन ऑर्डर, कुरियर किंवा आमच्या हाती) शक्य असेल त्यांनी तसे जरूर करावे. केवळ एक विनंती, आपण कुठली पुस्तके पाठवणार आहात ते त्वरित कळवावे म्हणजे एकाच पुस्तकाच्या अनेक कॉपीज जमा न होता वेगवेगळ्या पुस्तकांनी सावलीचे वाचनालय अधिक समृद्ध करणे सोयीचे होईल. पुस्तकांची यादी येथे पहा.
पुन्हा एकदा साऱ्यांचे मन:पूर्वक आभार!
Tuesday, 01 Oct 2019
The School Education Quality Index (SEQI) was developed to evaluate the performance of States and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education sector. The index aims to bring an outcomes focus to education policy by providing States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and undertake requisite course corrections or policy interventions. SEQI’s recently released report states that Maharashtra slips three positions down despite improving overall score. The state recorded a 60% performance on the quality of education, when it came to administrative process which are required to implement various schemes, its performance was low- 50%. Read full report HERE.
This clearly indicates the scope education sector in Maharashtra has for conceiving, designing and delivering programs that would facilitate the state to match-up with other progressing states in the index and claim its rightful position. Way to go…
Tuesday, 24 Sep 2019
With the goal of bringing objective analysis and policy engagement to the pressing global challenges, the World Resources Institute put itself on a mission of linking economic development, natural resources and the environment. Over the years, WRI has earned a reputation for practical solutions and global impact based on rigorous analysis and deep long-term engagement with governments, corporations, city leaders and communities. WRI’s board member and Chairperson of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, Wanjira Mathai says, “We know there is a path to prosperity for all and a healthy environment—but we’re not on it. Shifting course quickly and at scale is the challenge of our generation. It’s what WRI’s new strategy is all about.”
To get some useful insights that could be reflected in your proposed CSR projects, read WRI’s detailed report ‘DELIVERING IMPACT AT SCALE – Strategic Plan 2018–2022’ HERE.
Way to go…
Friday, 16 Aug 2019
Responsenet, placed to help implement the SDGs through its ongoing work for diverse CSR implementation across India, is a platform for innovations by partnerships to create a lasting impact for sustainable transformations. Believing that achieving SDGs requires partnerships of Governments, Private Sector and Citizens and the success of Global SDGs depends largely on the success of SDGs in India, Reponsenet has integrated SDGs into the local and national plans and programmes. This exclusively elaborated integration of SDGs and CSR is a great piece of reference for all those who need to understand the core, the crux and the gist of CSR before undertaking anything under its name. I strongly recommend it for all CSR aspirants as it explains CSR as it is intended and should be.
Way to go…
Friday, 02 Aug 2019
This is an advertisement published in yesterday’s newspapers inviting expression of interest for CSR Projects in the areas of Education, Water Conservation, Health/Hygiene, Skill Development, Community Development or any other covered under Schedule VII of CSR Act. If you are a legitimate NGO working in any of the focus area listed in Schedule VII, you should consider submitting your details in the Proposal Format here. Besides Signature of Authorized Signatory of the Organization on EACH PAGE of Proposal, there are many Organization-specific details required in the format. That makes it mandatory for YOU to Do It Yourself for all practical purposes and for any help, guidance and direction I am here, as always, but please don’t expect me do it for you entirely!
Looking forward to few productive partnerships emerging to take it ahead strategically towards SDGs at the dawn of little awakened CSR India, I wish all of you all the best!
Way to go…
Tuesday, 16 Jul 2019
My new article about CSR 2.0 published on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/widening-net-manish-puranik
Tuesday, 09 Jul 2019
“One million species are threatened with extinction, and IPBES notes that “we are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide”. Our report concurs: high-income countries obtain their worst ratings on SDG 14 (Life Below water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Young people around the world are taking to the street to protest the lack of environmental action by governments and businesses. At the same time inequalities are rising around the world, driving calls for deep changes in the policies of developed and developing countries…”
In its fourth edition of the annual review of countries’ performance on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Report 2019 combines data and analyses produced by international organizations, civil society organizations, and research centers that cover all 193 UN Member states and presents data on changes over time in SDG indicators, as well as calculations for trajectories until 2030. To get an insight of what lies ahead for us, read the full report HERE.
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Communication for exchanging ideas is a crucial element of Capacity Building. Sharing one’s experiences and others learning from them is as significant as hypothetical thinking and strategic planning. This is true in any walk of life and truer in the Social Development arena given to the expanse and depth of it. Corporate-NGO partnerships for empowered and strategic community development initiatives is the core of CSR and while it is not a work that can be done in silos, brainstorming and collaboration is the only way to take on the sustainability challenges together. Of many occasions that provide an opportunity to come together for our common (and better) future, recognizing an rewarding efforts of a Company can go a long way as it helps develop a culture of appreciation along with an opportunity to learn and get inspired.
Rotary Club Deccan Gymkhana, Pune and Economic Times have joined hands to offer such an opportunity to appreciate the effort to do good! If you are a SME or a Corporate in the fields of Manufacturing, Financial and other Services, check this out for taking your benevolent undertakings of CSR for recognition and appreciation.
Check it out here. All the best and way to go…
Wednesday, 03 Apr 2019
If it takes 5 years and an extravaganza to conclude that ‘Companies need to go beyond CSR compliance and integrate CSR in the business strategies’, there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of SDG and CSR; if not, ‘India’ needs a ‘Correction’ in its ‘Professional’ attitude for sure…! If you haven’t heard of it, CSR has been made Authorized (by publishing 6 books on CSR) and declared to be a business model with CSR Mart – Marketplace on CSR…??? In this context, I thought it would be prudent to find some insights from the people who put Purpose – before and – Beyond Profit… Read full version HERE.
Tuesday, 02 Apr 2019
With a profound realization that, as most of our Citizens are ignorant and illinformed and people’s representatives are becoming arrogant and illintended, a need of bringing a change in the mindsets of the people is the first step of the Complete Social Reform for betterment of society, there are many young minds at work; Parivartan leads it from front. With Loksabha Elections just round the corner, Parivartan has come up with a great tool in form of ‘MP’s Report Card’ that facilitates citizenry’s learning about their MP and his/her performance by selecting State and Constituency. Go ahead and check what YOUR Representative, YOUR MP has done for you in his/her tenure HERE. This ‘knowledge’ sure will facilitate your decision process in the upcoming elections when you would vote and… VOTE YOU MUST, it is the only chance you get to build the Nation of YOUR Dreams!
Way to go…
Thursday, 28 Mar 2019
If you are an Organization that is putting the Digital Technology to its best use here is another chance, literally at your fingertips, to get Awarded for your Digital Effort. But you will have to hurry as only 4 DAYS are remaining for accepting the application. Check out all about the eNGO Challenge HERE and fill out your Nomination HERE.
All the best and Way to go…
Friday, 22 Mar 2019
If you are a legitimate NGO or an eligible Implementing Agency, it’s time of the year to get ready with proper documentation and presentation of your endeavor as it is time for HCL Grant in the areas of Environment, Health and Education! HCL Grant awards the winning NGOs in each of the categories of Environment,Health and Education, a grant of ₹ 5 Crore (~US$0.71 Million) for a 5 years project. Find all the relevant details and process of application HERE. You have 52 Days to apply, start by Registering your organization on the HCL portal by filling the form HERE.
Saturday, 02 Feb 2019
If ‘Development’ has to be measured with rising GDP that moves upward with increased ‘Transactions’ as the result of ‘Consumerism’ and it seems hard to embrace ‘Enoughism’ for the insatiable wants of the evolved Homo Sapiens, here’s a solution – Sustainable Shopping! If you are looking for a Social Enterprises that is Sustainable and Profitable at the same time, take a hint! Way to go…
Thursday, 27 Dec 2018
Drone Cameras have already become a tool for the amazing and breathtaking Bird’s Eye View shots of lush green meadows, deep blue oceans and freezing glaciers. However photographer Johnny Miller wants to show us a different side of life from a whole new perspective, through an initiative he calls Unequal Scenes. A visual analysis of Social Inequality captured on Camera and shared by World Economic Forum is something that you must not miss. See if it can force you to take a different perspective of the status-quo.
Read the post ‘A bird’s eye view of urban poverty and social inequality’ HERE!
Thursday, 13 Dec 2018
There are many Web-portals out there on the web that store and offer information of registered NGOs of India with a specific search criteria. One more such resourceful and handy portal is ‘Search Donation‘. You can list your NGO here for free and there is no harm in having your work displayed at multiple web-directories as those are the places the funders and CSR companies would look for their potential CSR partner. As the saying goes, ‘Any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right!’, any chance of fund-raising for a not-for-profit is worth to be explored as long as the mission is right!
Explore your chances by registering your NGO in this web-directory HERE.
Wednesday, 28 Nov 2018
Just like bringing up a child right from the moment of conceiving it to facilitate it for all its efforts to find the purpose of its birth, Democracy also needs to be cultivated, nurtured and developed bit by bit as it evolves. Democracy is not merely voting in the elections but yes, it indeed starts with knowing, having and realizing your ‘Opinion’ to form a system called ‘Government’ that will take care of your citizenship. The first step in the journey of doing your bit to strengthen and help flourish the Democracy is to form your opinion with a well informed and conscientious mind free of any influential propaganda. Making your Elected Representatives ‘Accountable’ is the next step of the action plan which needs to be done periodically and not once in a blue moon, i.e. 5 years!
A tough job you might think but not really. Any heavy material can be lifted to any height if you have the right material handling equipment to complete the job. A tool always comes handy and the best part about any tool is its neutral as it has no inclination towards any object that needs to be ‘lifted’ or handled as long as it is not manhandled!
Here’s an App to ‘review’ Indian Politicians for their performance and share your feedback on the ‘Services’ you received just like a cab you hired, food you ordered or a place you visited, and all this from convenience of your Smartphone.
Check out the Neta App here that senses your location and educate you about the Elected People’s Representative for your area and your remark changes the ‘Rating’ of the Neta in real time! Now you can surely say with proud and responsibility, ‘My Opinion Counts!’
Friday, 23 Nov 2018
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures – TCFD established with a vision of – “Increasing transparency makes markets more efficient, and economies more stable and resilient” has come up with a Status Report with recommendations for the Businesses to be more proactive than reactive when it comes to Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Development that must go hand-in-hand with the Business Processes.
Read this insightful and path-setting Status Report HERE.
Thursday, 08 Nov 2018
The General Purpose Financial Report presents an overall picture of the financial performance of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) which are under the audit jurisdiction of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). This report is a compilation of the Financial Performance of such CPSEs including compliance with the provisions of Companies Act, 2013 in relation to the Corporate Social Responsibility. It is not only insightful but also facilitates better understanding of CSR Policies for their intent, content and extent when it comes to fund Projects that doesn’t amount to a ‘Social Responsibility’ but prove to be contrary to it in effect. Read about the detailed analysis of CSR undertakings of CPSEs by CAG in Chapter VI from Page No. 63 to 81.
Read the entire report HERE!
Monday, 05 Nov 2018
“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development…” If you believe in this philosophy by Kofi Annan and are active in the field of ‘Education’, you should not miss this opportunity to express your interest in the ‘Design, develop and implement projects to improve the access and quality of education in Barmer, Rajasthan’ – An initiative of Vedanta for Cairn India. Last date to submit your interest is 15 Nov 2018. So if you want to undertake this ambitious project of 3 Years, start HERE.
All the best and way to go…!
Wednesday, 31 Oct 2018
Bajaj Group is inviting Request for Proposals for CSR grants under its Grant Programme from the eligible Not-for-profit entities as Implementing Agencies of their CSR Projects. If you are working in the fields of Children, Education, Environment or Health, check out the detail eligibility criteria and link for Applying online for this Grant. Before starting the Application make sure that you have all Organization and Proposal details handy.
The last date for Application is 22 Nov 2018, so hurry and submit your interest NOW. You can reach the page having details of this Grant HERE.
Thursday, 4 Oct 2018
The ‘India CSR Outlook Report (ICOR), an annual research publication of NGOBOX, which presents in-depth analysis of CSR spend of big companies in previous financial year. The report visualizes a few important curves of CSR landscape in India, entirely based on the actual CSR spending data of these companies, as reported by them in mandatory disclosure. Read Full Report HERE.
Friday, 28 Sep 2018
In its fifth year of having a legislation in place for Corporate Social Responsibility through Sec 135 of Companies Act, India is making some progress on the CSR front and efforts of India Inc are supported by Government of India by supportive initiative to encourage such efforts. One of such Government initiative to recognize and sensitize CSR is CSR Awards. If you are a company eligible for CSR and have some noteworthy sustainability projects in your portfolio, here’s your chance to earn a reward and applaud. Check the details of the National CSR Awards HERE and check the Advertisement for same HERE. By the way, if you qualify for this recognition, drop everything at hand and converge your energies on this single task of nomination. You know why? Yes, you guessed it right, the deadline is approaching fast.
All the best and Way to go…
Thursday, 20 Sep 2018
If you are concerned with numerous problems India faces today, particularly the lower income sector of the country; if you believe that ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ is the win-win solution in long run for almost all major pressing problems of the nation; if you like to brainstorm, deliberate and think innovation for offering a new dimension to old issues; if being competitive and professional is your cup of tea… look no further.
Villgro has an opportunity for your ‘Social Start-up’ with iPITCH – funding of about 25 – 50 Lakhs for taking your Idea to the Impact level. But be professional and make it a point to act immediately as the Application Closes Tomorrow! Pull up your socks; put your best foot forward and give it your 100% HERE! All the best and way to go…
Tuesday, 18 Sep 2018
If The Robin Hood Army can do it, so can you! If Malnutrition, Hunger, Food Loss or anything related to ‘starving’ is your focus area or even if you are an individual with the proof of concept stage of an innovative solution to combat hunger, malnutrition or reduce food loss, here’s a great opportunity for you to participate and win in ‘Have you been served?’ Innovation Challenge 2018. If you are a college student, there’s a Poster Competition for you to put your creativity to work and design and develop your idea of ‘Zero Hunger’. Check all the details HERE or by clicking on the image below. Way to go…
Sunday, 16 Sep 2018
Natural habitats as areas composed of viable assemblages of flora and fauna species of native origin where human activity had not essentially modified an area’s primary ecological functions and species composition. If you are an organization and/or individual working in the field in India to conserve our natural habitats and indigenous species, here’s a good news for you. You are eligible to apply for ‘The Habitats Trust Grants’! To read on the details and Apply for this Grant of 10 to 25 Lakhs, visit HERE.
Friday, 24 Aug 2018
Indicators are “succinct measures that aim to describe as much about a system as possible in as few points as possible” and which “help us understand a system, compare it and improve it”. Social indicators are defined as statistical measures that describe social trends and conditions impacting on human well-being. One such Social Indicator is the ‘How’s Life? Measuring Well-being‘ report by OECD. Although India is one of the many non-member economies with which the OECD has working relationships, the OECD Council at Ministerial level adopted a resolution to strengthen the co-operation with India through a programme of enhanced engagement.
Nevertheless the report ‘How’s Life?’ is Universal for it assess how statistics shaping public policy reflects both people’s living conditions, and the quality of their lives. Every developed and developing country is bound to find some insights in it. Read it HERE.
Monday, 20 Aug 2018
MSME sector accounts for about 45% of manufacturing output and around 40% of total exports of our country. However, the sector faces operational problems due to its size and nature of business, and is, therefore, relatively more susceptible to various shocks to the economy. MSMEs largely operate in the informal sector and comprise a large number of micro enterprises and daily wage earners. A study by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) indicates that post-demonetisation and post-GST introduction, the relative credit exposure initially declined for most MSMEs but had recovered fully by March 2018. Overall, MSME credit and especially micro credit to MSMEs, including loans by banks and NBFCs, shows a healthy rate of growth in recent quarters. During the quarter April-June 2018, bank credit to MSMEs increased on average by 8.5% and growing at an even healthier rate. Read full report HERE.
Saturday, 11 Aug 2018
In a month, it would be 48 years – almost half a century – to the statement of this American Economist that made headlines. Although the subject of ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ was in a nascent stage, it had the ‘value’ enough to force the then media (which was not much different than today’s in terms of ‘business strategy’, it seems) to take notice of it, even then. It was no wonder, being an American Economist, Mr. Friedman advocated for business strategy but he never juxtaposed it with social responsibility as his take on the subject is perceived as for all these years. In fact he tried to put both the terms in a perspective that needs to be understood thoroughly.
Today let us give it to Mr. Milton Friedman’s Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility by reading his Article on the subject published in The New York Times Magazine of 1970.
Monday, 06 August 2018
The World Bank is one of the world’s largest producers of development data and research. It believes that when both the public and policy makers share an evidence-based view of the world, real advances in social and economic development, such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), become possible. In process of making the Development Data understandable to a general audience, it has come up with 2018 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals that has annotated data visualizations and over 180 maps and charts showing the progress societies are making towards the 17 SDGs. You can view it Online or Download the PDF HERE.
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
We have learnt about the Subsection (4) of Section 135 of Companies Act regarding the Corporate Social Responsibility that prescribes criteria for being eligible for CSR and areas of CSR spend as specified in Schedule VII. Little we know about the reporting of CSR spends and more we understand about it more it would facilitate our understanding of strategic CSR. The financial statements of a company must be filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs every year by filing form AOC-4 within 30 days of a company’s annual general meeting. This form AOC-4 has a section ‘Segment III: Reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)’ that needs to be filled with all details of CSR projects undertaken in the financial year of the report. Under ‘SEGMENT-VI Miscellaneous – List of Attachments’ it also requires copy of Company CSR policy to be attached, check it out.
Image Credit: https://www.tennaxia.com/en/solutions/strategy-csr-reporting/
Friday, 06 July 2018
Saturday, 22 June 2018
Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India is the regulating authority responsible for the CSR clause under Sec 135 of Companies Act 2013. National Corporate Social Responsibility Data Portal is an initiative by MCA to establish a platform to disseminate Corporate Social Responsibility related data and information filed by the companies registered with it. ‘The CSR ambit is getting bigger and for upcoming years it would turn as a unique knowledge base for analyzing and achieving sustainability goals as India is a country which has assured by mandating CSR through its legislative action’, claims MCA. Check the National CSR Portal HERE.
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Many times we need a Screenshot for variety of [valid] reasons and it seems to be a [herculean?] task to do so by grabbing the screen with Print Screen [prt sc] buttons and pasting the image in some image editing tool, refine and save it. No matter how painstakingly you perform this task, there is always resolution loss and the Screenshot never looks as good as the original screen, isn’t it? Now you have got a Clean, Easy and Neat solution to your screen grab needs – screenshot.guru – check it out HERE.
Tuesday, 29 May 2018
According to the World Economic Forum, “Designed as an alternative to GDP, the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) reflects more closely the criteria by which people evaluate their countries’ economic progress.” WEF said, “India reflects an ‘improving trend’. There has been a 2.29 per cent improvement in the overall five-year trend of the IDI for India. India performs best (44th) in terms of Inter-generational Equity and Sustainability, profiting from a low dependency ratio that is set to further decline as the economy reaps the dividends of an extremely young population (28 per cent of the Indian population was younger than 14 years in 2017).
However, out of 74 emerging economies on a metric focused on the living standards of people and future-proofing of economies by the WEF, despite an improved performance, India continues to be ranked (62) below its neighbors Pakistan (47), Sri Lanka (40) and Nepal (22) in the Inclusive Development Index; Uganda (59) and Mali (60) are also higher on the index than India. Read the full report HERE.
Saturday, 19 May 2018
Attention all certified and validated NGOs and Implementing Agencies for CSR! If you could take-up projects in the sectors of Integrated Rural Development with focus areas of Environment, Health and Education, you could apply for the HCL Grant with total committed fund of ₹16.5 Crores for the 4th edition this year. Find all the relevant details and process of application HERE. You have 16 Days left from today to apply, start by Registering your organization on the HCL portal by filling the form HERE.
All the best and way to go…
Monday, 14 May 2018
A common concern [and demand or request] we keep hearing is about developing Project Proposal. We have conducted many workshops on the topic of preparing a good project proposal for funding requests through CSR or any other agency. We even tried to organize a hands-on Two-day workshops to develop a CSR proposal on the go in real time but lack of proper homework from NGOs couldn’t get them a ‘workable’ proposal as the outcome of the activity. As the saying goes, you can take the horse to the water but can’t make it drink the water forcefully, NGOs need to pull up their socks for this effort.
Nevertheless, we have compiled a one-page simple and concise guideline for preparing the project proposal for any of the project for NGOs that could be presented for CSR or any other funding agency, you can find the document HERE. For any further doubts, clarification, elaboration, please feel free to get in touch with us through call, message, mail or any other communication tool of your convenience.
Hope this helps! All the best and Way to go…!
Saturday, 28 April 2018
Established in 1976 primarily as an independent think tank, CMIE – Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy is a leading business information company. The CMIE-BSE partnership continues to produce high quality, fast frequency employment / unemployment statistics. According to this survey which has a sample size that is larger than that deployed by NSSO, the unemployment rate in urban India in the four quarters of 2017-18 rose steadily – from 4.7 per cent in the first quarter to 5 per cent then 5.7 per cent and finally 6.6 per cent in the last quarter.
Where has the aspirational young Indian of 2014 vanished? They sure don’t like frying pakoras as Chetan wrote last Sunday in Times of India. Read full report HERE.
Tuesday, 13 March 2018
With March heat all around, its the time of the year to take audit of how things went for past 12 months and adjust the direction, dimension and diligence accordingly. All the businesses have geared up with their departments working hard and the Chartered Accountant is the busiest species of the earth at this hour. Its a matter of hardly over 2 weeks the current fiscal year will conclude and a new book of accounts would be opened. However, the basic principle of Accounts dwells upon ‘Carrying Forward’ as the closing balance of the previous term becomes the opening balance of the new term.
Let’s have a look at the CSR India Survey Report by KPMG for 2017 that provides some pointers for the CSR strategy in coming days. Read the full report HERE.
Friday, 16 February 2018
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the UK-based company the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that intends to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN member states. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorises countries as one of four regime types: Full Democracies, Flawed Democracies, Hybrid Regimes and Authoritarian Regimes. India slips 10 places to 42 on Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index and remains classified among “Flawed Democracies”. Read the full report HERE.
Monday, 22 January 2018
Gmail (or Google, to be precise!) has come up with a plugin Clearbit Connect that you can use either from within Gmail or Outlook and find Email Addresses (Contact details) of people from the information that you have like – their names, job title or role or company names – whichever is available to you. Check it out HERE.
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Like, Share and Comment Box has made it clear long ago that anything on internet that prompts action is likely to fetch more interaction to a post, article or an appeal. A Call-for-an-action, as it is generally referred to, is crucial to generate traffic and critical when you want people to empathize with your cause and ‘Donate’ generously! If having your own website that will speak about your initiative persistently is the First and keeping it updated on weekly (at least, if not daily!) basis is the Second Step towards spreading the word about your cause, inducing people’s empathy and prompting the visitors through a call-for-action would be Big Third Step as well as a Leap of Faith if articulated well. Today let us learn about one such platform that facilitates NGOs fund raising efforts through presenting their cause to it’s visitors. Explore the Give India platform and see how you can make your presence felt by presenting it HERE.
बुधवार, दि. १० जानेवारी २०१८
मराठी लेखक, नाटककार आणि विशेषत: मनोविकारतज्ज्ञ म्हणून महाराष्ट्राला परिचित असलेले डॉ. आनंद नाडकर्णी, मनोविकारांबद्दलच्या गैरसमजुतींविरुद्ध ‘चळवळ’ करणारी ‘आयपीएच’ अर्थात ‘इन्स्टिट्यूट फॉर सायकॉलॉजिकल हेल्थ’ ही संस्था ठाणे शहरात गेली २७ वर्षे समर्थपणे चालवीत आहेत. पुण्यातील ‘मुक्तांगण व्यसनमुक्ती केंद्राचे संस्थापक सदस्य असलेले डॉ. नाडकर्णी करीयर निवड या विषयी ‘वेध‘ नावाचा अत्यंत लोकप्रिय उपक्रम महाराष्ट्राच्या विविध शहरांमधून दरवर्षी राबवितात. डॉ. आनंद नाडकर्णी यांच्या अत्यंत वेधक, वेचक आणि वाचनीय अनुभवांनी समृद्ध झालेली त्यांची ‘मनोगती’ येथे अनुभवा आणि आयुष्यात थोडीशी उमेद मिळवा!
Saturday, 06 January 2018
The Central Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation of Government of India coordinates the statistical activities in the country, evolves statistical standards and releases various reports from time to time regarding the economic growth, financial implication of policies and projections as the result of those. Yesterday CSO released first advance estimates of national income for 2017-18 that is making headlines for it’s forecast that GDP growth in the current financial year ending March 31 will slow to a four-year low of 6.5% from the provisional 7.1% pace seen in 2016-17, dragged down by deceleration in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Detailed report is made available in a public domain, read it HERE.
Source: The Hindu
Wednesday, 27 December 2017
In the wake of Digital media and expansion of Info Highway, there is explosion of Information – all types of it – good, bad, ugly, useful and wasteful. Many times we are victims of Passive Info overdose than passive smoking – something we absolutely do not need and which certainly can do us bad rather than good. In such times it is not only important but outright significant to share good, trustworthy stories. One such site is The Better India and the link I am sharing today has information about NGOs who would help distribute the left-over food from a – family function, social gathering or a professional party – to hungry and needy ones in the vicinity.
Do visit the the link HERE, check all the contact details and store them at a safe and easily accessible place so that you can contact them from any of the listed city whenever you need to save the left over food from going to waste and feed the hungry underprivileged members of society with it, instead!
Saturday, 23 December 2017
Documentation is the key to Organizing things and making any endeavor successful, in general and for taking the Community development projects to their destination, in particular. However an invariable apathy at documentation, particularly by NGOs, is not only a matter of concern but seems alarming. Today let us understand the basics of documents with a table nicely articulated by BCA HERE.
Monday, 18 December 2017
In the age of pretentious ‘Googlectuals’ outnumbering real intellectuals, it has become a regular practice to make ‘Google’ the biggest facilitator of School Projects and other learning and even teaching tools. There is no harm in that as technological advancements are meant to be put to best practice otherwise it will defeat the purpose of all innovations. However, there’s always a threat of Children being exposed to any material available on the Internet that is neither meant for them nor suitable for their viewing in any manner;(one of) the limitation(s) of Applied Artificial Intelligence – lack of conscience!
Keeping this in mind Google’s creative (and conscience!) team came up with an option that is safe for child-viewing as it prevents any unsuitable material from appearing in the search while searching for any school project related material. This child-specific search support tool by Google is called ‘Kiddle’ and you can explore it HERE.
Saturday, 16 December 2017
In today’s digitally connected and fiber-optic networked world, it does not suffice if you work in some remote place for community development or any other grass-root level social work for that matter and seek some support to scale it up. You need to tell your story so that it could be heard and reciprocated. Social Media is good, but your own Website or Blog is much better as it is your own(ed) expression. I have always maintained it in all my workshops that don’t even think of a website if you are not going to keep it updated and manage it yourself at least for a while. Many people have expressed their concerns about knowledge, skills and resources required to publish and update a website. Not to worry! You can develop and host your test website almost for free and also get technical support to develop it in a step-by-step manner.
Check it out HERE.
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
For keeping your organization abreast the developments in technology, attending a Webinar ’10 Emerging Trends in Online Communications and Fundraising’ would be good idea. This webinar scheduled for Tuesday, Dec 19, 2017 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM IST, will focus on what’s new and next in online communications and fundraising like –
- What’s new in online and mobile fundraising
- What’s next in social media and mobile messaging apps
- The Internet of Things and its impact on the nonprofit communications and fundraising
- Demographic changes and their impact on the global nonprofit sector
You can Register for it HERE.
Friday, 08 December 2017
‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’ idiom is true for any structure or organization and truer for a democratic country, especially when it is world’s largest democracy. In democracy there are neither ‘Rulers’ nor ‘Subjects’ and People’s Participation in Good Governance is not a topic of discussion in the National Conferences and Conventions but should be a routine practice with converging forces collecting and analyzing ground-level data in real time and brainstorming and deliberating on most practical, feasible and sustainable solutions.
One of such efforts is e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (e-Panchayat MMP) with a view to introduce and strengthen e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country and build associated capacities of the PRIs for effective adoption of the e-Governance initiative. Under this project, Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) has been conceptualized which comprises 11 Core Common applications.
To learn more about it and mainly to Actively Participate as a Social Auditor click HERE.
Thursday, 07 December 2017
Many of the Social Work Activists and Enthusiasts seem to have a common concern when they resolve to take-up any social activity officially… ‘What type of NGO should we register?’ I have always maintained that this is like seeking therapy to a disease wherein if two people show same symptoms and even diagnosed with almost the same disorder, no Doctor in the world prescribes same course of treatment for both of them; reason being their anatomy, bio-data, inheritance and physiology are completely different from each other. A medicine effective for one could be harmful to other. Similarly there is no one word answer to ‘What type of NGO…? as ‘One Size Fits All’ approach doesn’t work here, why, it can even backfire!
So what I suggest and recommend is, learn about the place you are going to visit before you run into unknown territory on a unfamiliar path. And what could be better than learning the types of Not-for-profit constitutions in India and their respective implications? To find the very basic info about the NGO at India click HERE.
Tuesday, 05 December 2017
Today let us explore a Web-portal of Government of India that has very useful tools like Documents and Forms of Government Schemes and Open Data regarding Social Development initiatives as well as Important links to other relevant and specific websites like Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. You can visit this Portal HERE.
Monday, 04 December 2017
While reading, learning and writing on web, many a times user needs translation of a word or a phrase from one language – say English – to a vernacular language – say Marathi – and vice versa. How if we could do it online without referring to a book or dictionary? Extensive vocabulary of over 10 million words in 16 subjects and in 23 languages ‘khandbahale.com’ is the exact resource that makes your learning / editing easy, fast and expressive. Go check it out for translating your word HERE.
Saturday, 02 December 2017
Decisions are best when they are well-informed and have a right perspective for the anticipated change. Data is the raw material and analysis of data to generate information which in turn facilitates the creation of Knowledge that is the key to develop a Programme Strategy that hosts your Project Selection Criteria. Now the question is where to get such a humongous [Big]Data that could be analyzed and utilized. Thanks to the digital revolution and policy of Government of India to put it to the best use for General Purpose, we have many portals of Ministries of GoI that share the important data in a public domain.
One such important and extremely significant Ministry from the Social Development point of view is Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation that releases statistics based on administrative sources, surveys and censuses conducted by the center and State Governments and non-official sources and studies by its two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other Programme Implementation.
Click HERE to check some of recent comprehensive and visually rich reports including – Millennium Development Goals Final Country Report of India.
गुरुवार, दि. ३० नोव्हेंबर २०१७ (गीता जयंती)
आमच्या लहानपणी प्रकाशित होणाऱ्या ‘चांदोबा’ या मुलांच्या मासिकाची देखील १९४७ पासूनची डीजीटल आवृत्ती आता विविध भाषात उपलब्ध करून देण्यात आली आहे, ती आपण येथे पाहू शकता – http://chandamama.in
सोमवार, दिनांक २७ नोव्हेंबर २०१७
शब्दश: आमच्या जन्मापासून आमच्या सोबत असलेले, आमचे बाल्य समृद्ध करणारे आणि आमच्या किशोरावस्थेतील आठवणींचा अविभाज्य भाग असणारे ‘किशोर’ आता डिजिटल स्वरुपात साठवले गेले आहे. बालभारतीच्या या मासिकांचा सुमारे ६०,००० पानांचा खजिना सर्वांसाठी http://kishor.ebalbharati.in/Archive/ या संकेतस्थळावर उपलब्ध आहे आणि हे काम ‘बुकगंगा’ या पुस्तकांना समर्पित संकेतस्थळाच्या CSR अंतर्गत सिद्धीस गेले आहे. आम्हाला वाचक बनवून आमच्यातील विवेक जागृत ठेवणाऱ्या आणि आमला ‘अभ्यासोनी प्रकटावे’ हे बाळकडू देण्यात मोलाचा वाटा असणाऱ्या ‘किशोर’चे हे आधुनिक रूप पाहुन जेवढा आनंद होतोय तेवढाच अभिमान वाटतोय आणि कृतज्ञता देखील! आजच्या पिढीला वरील सर्व विवेचनाचे महत्व व त्यामागील भावनिक गुंतवणूक समजावी म्हणून एवढेच सांगता येईल की ‘किशोर’ आणि ‘चांदोबा’ हे आमचे WhatsApp आणि FaceBook होते…! तेंव्हा, एकदा अवश्य भेट दया!
Friday, 24 November 2017
Get a comprehensive database of Companies, Organizations, CSR Products, CSR Projects, CSR Resources and CSR News – all in one place – at CSRBOX HERE
Thursday, 23 November 2017
Whether you are a traditional parent expecting your child to go through the conventional process of education system from KG to PG or you are that out-of-the-box type who wish to take chances with the ‘learning’ of your child for its holistic development and not constraint its curiosity in the trap of ‘right’ answers; there is no harm in knowing about all the Schools, Colleges and other Educational Institutes around Pune. You can browse the list of all such places HERE
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Corporate houses eligible for CSR and having Women and Child Development in their CSR policy can contribute to Integrated Child Development, Women Protection and other Programs of Women and Child Development Department of Maharashtra State Government that is committed to survival, protection, development, welfare and participation of women and children in a holistic manner.
Read the CSR policy of this department HERE and for Online Application Form for Corporate, click on the image below.
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Today let us explore the portal NGO Darpan – a platform that provides space for interface between VOs/NGOs and key Government Ministries / Departments / Government Bodies, to start with. Later it is proposed to cover all Central Ministries / Departments / Government Bodies. The NGO DARPAN was earlier maintained by erstwhile Planning Commission, which has been replaced by the NITI Aayog w.e.f. 1st January, 2015. The Portal, therefore, is being maintained at present under the aegis of NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog invites all Voluntary Organizations (VOs)/ Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to Sign Up on the Portal. Here’s the link to the portal – NGO Darpan
Sunday, 19 Nov. 2017
Dear Readers,
You can find some helpful tips, hints and links on this page for better organizing your Society, Trust or any other Non-government, Not-for-profit entity established for a social / community development objective. Others can find some useful information of general purpose respective to their area of interest.
Today let’s understand the procedure to submit your NGO’s accounts on the DATA portal with the help of this video tutorial prepared and published by Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra.
Be[a]Cause 