Connect Us
Jan 04, 2024
I must say that I have fought my battles in courtroom. My work has nothing to do with any of the boardrooms, where perhaps you people, captains of the industry, excel in your activities. Your area of activity is completely different from mine. Naturally, I must confess that I was not even aware of an institution, such as the Institution of Directors. I had thought of the institution of engineers, institute of chartered accountants, but never thought of there could be an institution which could be an institution of directors. It has been just about a year since my association with this institution has begun. I must say it has been a complete eye-opener for me. I will also make a confession that during the course of my career as a lawyer and partly as a judge, I had come across various statutory mandates and compulsions which required many of the industries to make certain contributions, take for instance, construction workers - certain cess is levied on every construction activity to make contribution for the benefit and betterment of the workers who work in the construction sector. During the course of one of the matters which was before us, we got to know that, huge amounts of money were deposited by the entities in question, but the money is not even expended or spent for the purposes for the benefit of those construction workers. Similarly, as amicus curiae in forest matters, whenever there would be deforestation, that is to say, forest land would be required for economic activities; under the regime which had been placed by the Supreme Court, certain contributions would be required for afforestation at some other places. Thousands of crores were deposited but no expenditure in the right earnest and in right direction. So when I was in invited to be part of the jury, having burnt my fingers on a few occasions, I feel that perhaps the CSR idea appears to be good on papers, whether actual implementation runs hand in hand or not, is a matter to be seen. I was has many responsibilities, apart from the economic activities. Today, it is shouldering a lot of burden on the social front as well. So mere economic activity, mere profit-making is no longer an ideal for any corporate setup. Apart from these ideals, we also discharge what is our social responsibility. We live in a society, there are certain societal ideas, aspirations, that everybody including the corporate set ups seek to sort of work in that direction. As a member of the jury, I must say I felt proud - that yes, many of these companies are doing everything and right earnest and in clear direction - which is something - a great achievement.
I was really pleasantly surprised the kind of activities as a member of jury which I came across, is so commendable that one feels proud of the fact that the industrial activity and the economic activity in my country is not taking CSR as a mere duty or responsibility, but is trying to excel in that and is trying to step forward with some additional ideas for the betterment of the society.
At the end of it, I must say that my association with this Institute of Directors has been just a year back, but I am proud of being part of the jury which has now selected the awards for CSR.
Thank you so much.
*Excerpts from the ‘Chief Guest Address' delivered by Hon'ble Justice U. U. Lalit, former Chief Justice of India th at the 'Golden Peacock Awards Nite' of the 18th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, held on December 21, 2023 in Hotel Taj Lands End.
Owned by: Institute of Directors, India
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the articles/ stories are the personal opinions of the author. IOD/ Editor is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in those articles. The information, facts or opinions expressed in the articles/ speeches do not reflect the views of IOD/ Editor and IOD/ Editor does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
About Publisher
Bringing a Silent Revolution through the Boardroom
Institute of Directors (IOD) is an apex national association of Corporate Directors under the India's 'Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860'. Currently it is associated with over 30,000 senior executives from Govt, PSU and Private organizations of India and abroad.
View All BlogsMasterclass for Directors
Categories
