The Government of Jharkhand has announced a comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy that outlines the roles of various key stakeholders and provides a blueprint for the institutional setup within the state government.
The objectives of CSR are to create a conducive environment for attracting CSR investments and best management practices to address various developmental challenges within the State of Jharkhand. It aims to establish a partnership between the state government corporations and civil society organisations and streamline their priorities and activities.
The policy is focused on creating transparency and avoiding duplication of efforts arising from similar central and state-sponsored schemes, thereby rationalising resource utilisation for positive impact. It will also create a framework for efficiently implementing CSR activities and effectively utilising CSR funds. It will also prioritise meaningful CSR projects to develop a sustainable, long-term impact on communities and the environment.
The applicability of the policy can be extended to both or the first of the following types of projects based on the nature of government involvement. Any government entity involved in either one or more of the following activities: funding, implementation, review and monitoring, and operations.
The project can either be an existing scheme of the government or a new project designed by the corporate, in parity with priority sectors defined by the Government of Jharkhand or any stakeholder as applicable.
The corporate applies CSR funds on its own, wherein any government entity is not involved in either funding, implementation, review monitoring, or operations of the project.
The CSR funds can be sourced through private & public corporations: Under Section 135 of the Corporates Act, 2013, corporations with an annual net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, an annual turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, or a net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more during the immediately preceding financial year have to mandatorily spend 2 percent of their average net profit during the three immediately preceding financial years on CSR activities. The policy will enable large corporations and corporations that fall within the SME bracket to comply with this provision.
The PSUs operating in the state, which are mandated to spend on CSR as per the Corporates Act, can be directed to allocate a specified portion of their CSR funds under the provisions of this policy. Any individual or entity other than corporations can contribute to the development of the state and society through this policy. Also, the state can take the initiative to get individuals’ funds through crowdsourcing.
The portal will have a separate mechanism for registering such individuals. Corporates can engage in CSR activities in partnership with the government, either directly or through their non-profit foundation or any other non-profit organization, or in collaboration with different corporations.
