Hyderabad City establishes its first FSTP with the support of CSR, promoting Citywide Inclusive Sanitation
The Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Government of Telangana, K. T. Rama Rao, inaugurated Hyderabad’s first Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP), set up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB).
This public-private initiative is supported by HDFC Limited through its philanthropic arm, the H T PAREKH FOUNDATION and facilitated by Samhita & Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI).
The Minister also flagged off 87 septic tank trucks and said that two more FSTPs located in Nagaram and Injapur would be operational in the coming days.
Bringing humanity to the boardroom
In 2014, India became the
Collaborating against COVID-19: Rallying global support to vaccinate India
Through strategic partnerships, Global India Fund, Samhita, and Collective Good Foundation fight to ensure equity in the world
Haqdarshak Brings Together Industry Think Tanks In Anniversary Series Webinar
The discussion highlighted the need for the government and private sector to collaborate to expedite scheme linkages at the last-mile
Decoding CSR Amendments 2021
Initiating discussions to decode the CSR Amendments 2021, Samhita Social Ventures and Noshir Dadrawala, Programme Director at the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy cohosted a webinar and engaged with over 150 representatives of companies, philanthropic trusts and foundations on 3 February 2021.
FAQs On The CSR Law Amendments 2021
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on 22nd January 2021, updated the Companies Corporate Social Responsibility Rules. These CSR law amendments bring several significant changes to the national CSR policy including an increased focus on impact assessment, decriminalisation of non-compliance, greater inclusion of international organizations, and provisions altering the guidelines for management of excess funds and surplus expenditures.
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the CSR Amendment Rules 2021:
What activities qualify as CSR activities?
According to the latest amendment, the following expenditure will now be included in the list of CSR activities:
- Research & development of new vaccines, medication, and medical devices related to COVID-19 in the firm
Impact Assessments are top priority
On January 22, 2021, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended the earlier CSR Rules of 2014 and notified the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Amendment Rules 2021, to make impact assessment mandatory for companies undertaking CSR activities and CSR expenditure above a specified threshold. The move aims to create accurate parameters in assessing the impact of CSR activities by shifting the focus from expenditure alone to impact assessment, and improve the quality of CSR projects while enhancing accountability and transparency.
This FAQ is a result of collaboration between Samhita & Centre For Advancement of Philanthropy. It has been written with the guidance of Noshir Dadrawala
Following are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about impact assessment:
Q1. What is the need for impact assessment?
Impact assessments help funders, grant-makers and companies to understand and evaluate the impact of their social investments in programmes and projects on their target beneficiaries or society. The findings of an assessment also help funders and companies to make evidence-based decisions in implementation and identify hurdles, allowing for programme continuity, scale, sustainability, efficiency, etc.
Q2. Do all companies need to conduct impact assessments?
According to the January 2021 amendment, impact assessment is mandatory for companies with a CSR budget of INR 10 crore or more in any fiscal year and all projects with outlays of INR 1 crore or more. These impact assessments must be undertaken by an independent agency.
However, it is suggested as best practise that impact assessment be undertaken for all projects as standard procedure,. Especially long term projects.
Q3. According to the new amendment, when must companies undertake impact assessments?
At least one year after programme implementation is complete.
Q4. If a company has a multi-year project, should the impact assessment be carried out after completion of the project?
Yes. As per Rule No. 8, if companies have multi-year programmes (say 3 years), impact assessment needs to be conducted after completion of three years of the programme. Additionally, a follow up assessment needs to be conducted one year after the completion of the programme to better understand the programme
How can CSR and philanthropy respond to the second COVID-19 wave?
The COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted all aspects of the economy and our lives. For the first time ever, the focus shifted to the state of public health infrastructure, resources and quality of delivery. It also clearly brought home the direct impact of health of a community on the nation
Vaccinating India: How can CSR make a difference?
India has been reporting over 3,00,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 daily since April 2021, the highest since the pandemic broke out, a clear sign that we need to ramp up immunisation to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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