When new regulation came into effect in April 2014 making it mandatory for corporations in India to spend at least 2 per cent of their net profits for social causes, there were, predictably, both fans and sceptics across international press and Corporate India. Being the first country to formally require CSR spends from companies, much of the concerns had to do with whether the Section 135 stipulation in the new Companies Law would encourage tokenism and if it would all be monitored efficiently.

Maruti Suzuki’s spends and efforts in CSR in 2015-2016 exemplify some of the benefits of the government’s move in 2014.

The automotive brand claims to have doubled its CSR spends last year to support 21 villages in Gurgaon, Rohtak, Manesar and Hansalpur (Gujarat).

In addition, investments were made in boosting skill development across 126 ITIs in the country.

Aiding national goals

“We’re focusing on a few CSR programmes rather than spread resources thin over several projects. Last year, we strengthened our Village Development and Skill Development initiatives by aligning with the goals of the government’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” (Clean India Campaign) and Skill India,” shares Ranjit Singh, General Manager, CSR and Sustainability at Maruti Suzuki.

Separate teams with the appropriate expertise and experience implement social projects at Maruti Suzuki, but their activities are all coordinated at the corporate level. Professionals with qualifications in engineering, business management, social work and mass communications make up the CSR teams. Partnerships with government and not-for-profit organisations also help scale up its social initiatives.

Singh reveals that the performance against annual targets is reviewed every month in a structured manner.

Ongoing commitment

In the 21 villages the company has adopted, government schools receive support like upgrading of infrastructure, improving classrooms and provision of toilets. Some 13,500 children have reportedly benefitted in 2014 alone. As part of its community work, 3 villages in Manesar were made open-defecation-free in 2014-2015.

To continue that impact, toilets have been built over the years in individual houses while solid waste management are being established across the adopted villages to support Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

Village youth have been awarded 185 scholarships to help them pursue technical courses at ITIs between 2014 and 2015.

“Third party audits and impact assessments are conducted once the projects are completed to assess the impact… there’s scope for taking corrective measures,” Singh says.

Better focus

Between Maruti Suzuki’s Institutes of Driving and Traffic Research (6 IDTR in all) and its smaller format Maruti Driving Schools (364 MDS in total), more than 2.4 million people have been trained in safe driving since the inception of the initiative in 2000.

“We started manufacturing cars in 1983 in our Gurgaon factory. Community development in the neighbouring villages began very early on when there was no primary healthcare, no roads.

“But now, our CSR work is more formalised… projects are implemented like any other business activity, in a time-bound manner with clear objectives and robust monitoring,” Singh says.

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