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This was a few years back. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda were on a visit to India, accompanied by the usual media blitz. With the PR machinery going full throttle, newspapers and TV channels were full of charitable activities performed under the aegis of the Microsoft Foundation. Some were categorized as Microsoft CSR activities, while a few came under the individual capacities of the Gates couple.

One of the activities reported with much fanfare was the way Gates had donated so much medicine to few Indian states aimed at curbing or fighting against the AIDS menace. Even the government machinery (it was probably the NDA regime) joined in the media in extolling the event; noble thoughts, only the PR was getting too obvious. A few days after the Gates entourage had left the Indian shores, a small investigative report tucked somewhere (most likely Indian Express) highlighted that Gates was on the board of two or three pharma majors who were pushing to have their AIDS medicines into the Indian market. The medicines donated quite obviously belonged to those pharmas too.

Apochrypal story? Maybe, but the point I am trying to make here is that the quantum of funding on CSR by large companies is not always motivated by altruistic thoughts. Often there can be an indirect business interest lurking somewhere behind. However, that should not mean that there is no philanthropic value to such CSR activities. Surely, the medicines Gates donated somehow helped the national healthcare mission in their fight against AIDS. And, lest someone thinks that we are individually insinuating Microsoft, let me clarify that Dataquest has highlighted the CSR activities of Microsoft both globally and in India in these pages.

The issue we are trying to bring up is not also against CSR funding. It might be a branding exercise or for extended marketing, but inflow of money definitely helps, especially in developmental activities in a Third World nation like ours. Like Mother Teresa once remarked when criticized for accepting donations from the infamous Haiti dictator Papa Bouba Docaccused of various human rights violations, The money does not come tainted whether it comes from a saint or a dictator. All money helps the underprivileged children or other distressed souls in making their lives better. And not that our tech companies are even anywhere close to the league of Doc and their ilks.

A look at how IT companies in India spent their CSR fund shows a visible skew towards education. A noble gesture surely, considering the apparent failure of the government till date to really make education a reality for all citizens of the country. The amount pledged or the initiatives undertaken might not look significant enough if viewed from the broader perspective. After all, where even the government has failed till date to impart proper education for all, the requirements would be large enough, no doubt.

For most companies, the CSR budget on education ranges from 50-70%, with the number escalating to even 90% in few instances. However, with the overall CSR budgets itself normally being in the range of a few crores, these amount might just be like drops in the ocean, when seen against what budget outlay the government has made to tackle the countrys education problem. But again, these are IT companies who are out thre to do business; whatever philanthropy they are indulging in is out of their intention to help the greater society they live and work in. No way, they are mandated or even morally or ethically bound to start addressing Indias educational lacunae in full force.

Though more than twenty-five companies participated in an informal Dataquest survey on their CSR activities, many including the likes of IBM, Intel, Oracle, EMC or Cisco were comfortable sharing the quantum of money spent. Though they were extremely forthcoming in sharing details of their philanthropic initiatives, understandably for many budgets/funds remained a sensitive matter, especially since involved taxation related issues. This is particularly true, considering that most IT companies are spending close to 0.05-1% of their PAT on CSR budgets, and that translates into a significant sum even in these recessionary times.

While education remains a hit with most companies, healthcare and girl welfare too are gradually becoming areas where companies are pumping in significant funds. Till now, this monetary infusion is being mostly handled through NGOs or in some cases like Oracle mostly through employee driven activities. Perhaps a more institutionalized approach could be to link up with the government. For example, a tie-up with the NREGA scheme could be an ideal casethe funds come from the private organization, while the government provides the logistics. The winner would surely be the common citizen. Also, these funds could be routed through the Ministries of Health & Family Welfare, or Women & Social Empowerment. True, fears of corruption remain, but these companies could themselves formulate some sort of ombudsman mechanism to take care.

Another CSR area that has started attracting funds from IT companies relates to environment. The entire hype and hoopla over green has ensured that most companies today are looking at maintaining the environment as part of their social consciousness and social duty. Though the green CSR bandwagon in India is yet to gain the momentum enjoyed globally, companies like HP are spending money in India too.

One pitfall of large funds allocated for CSR relates to what really constitutes these sort of philanthropic activities. The recent controversy created when Mamata Banerjee returned the election-congratulatory fund sent by Tata Sons is a case in point. Though it really begets the question why should an industrial house (that too a reputed one like Tatas) donate money to political parties for winning elections. Surely, Tatas are too big or clean to assume of any underhand dealings. Therefore, more the need to draw a firm line on what constitutes CSR activities for India Inc. especially where monetary allocation is concerned.

Rajneesh De
rajneeshd@cybermedia.co.in

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