CII-BSE-IICA create an online platform to pick NGOs for CSR activities

KOLKATA: The Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII), Bombay Stock Exchange ( BSE) and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs ( IICA) have come together to create an online platform called Sammaan (www.bsesammaan.com) to help corporates comply with the rules and regulations laid down in the recently amended CSR Law.

This platform has been created to identify and pick the right NGOs capable enough to work with corporates listed under the CSR category. The move is an attempt to bring greater efficiency and transparency to CSR practices.

“Since India is home to about more than 2 million NGOs, it is imperative that we devised a system of accreditation to build a sense of assurance and trust among the corporates. Sammaan will bring together BSE’s exchange capabilities along with the strong industry connect of CII and the knowledge expertise of IICA,” Nikhil Pant, chief programme executive – CSR, disclosed at the CSR Convergence Meet organized by CII Eastern Region in Kolkata on Friday. Incidentally, IICA is a central government organization and has played a crucial role in formulating the CSR rules and guidelines.

The new law mandates that all companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore, turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and net profit of at least Rs 5 crore, spend at least two percent of their profit on CSR.

Elaborating further, CII Eastern Region Task Force on Innovation chairman Aloke Mookerjea said: "As per BSE’s analysis, there are 1294 companies listed on the BSE that are required to spend nearly Rs 7800 crore on CSR activities in FY 2016. Of these, nearly 1167 companies have a CSR budget of less than Rs 10 crore each. There are an estimated 20 lakh NGOs registered in India.”

“Corporates, especially the small and medium ones will need a trusted marketplace or intermediary to be able to identify and partner with a NGO for their CSR compliance. Sammaan aims to be this trusted intermediary between corporate and NGOs. Corporates can use this platform seamlessly to choose, fund and monitor their CSR grants,” Mookerjea added.

Sammaan, which also serve as an information warehouse on NGOs and their CSR activities with support from corporates, will render its services for free.