From donating used computers to providing financial assistance to pursue higher education, there are many ways industry can help to help underprivileged students, T. Vijay Kumar, Special Secretary, Telangana Scheduled Castes Development Department, said on 6 December. Is.
The senior official, who was addressing the CII Social Leadership Conclave in Hyderabad, sought to highlight the opportunities available for firms to channelize their CSR activities for students, saying such measures would go a long way in building social capital. Will decide The theme of the conclave was ‘Building Social Capital through Participation’.
Social capital may appear to be an intangible asset, but it actually makes sense financially for the industry as well as society, due to the virtuous cycle it is likely to set in motion. Citing some cases for CSR programmes, he said companies donating used desktops and laptops to students of several social residential schools can help bridge the digital divide. “we can load [necessary software on] machines… they will [then] Be good enough for the kids,” he said.
Pitching in with finance to support underprivileged students going abroad for higher education is another area companies can look into. The official said, “We are doing a little, but the need is more.” Noting that he is associated as a mentor with an initiative to create a verified digital profile of students based on blockchain technology, Mr. Kumar said that companies may consider accessing the database for their recruitment needs .
In response, CII Telangana President Vagish Dixit said that as an initial step “we can commit 100 computers by December 31. [for the students], including through friends. He said that industry can do a lot in terms of building social capital.
Siddharth Sharma, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Sons, underlined the importance of looking at the wider ecosystem, while talking about the key aspect of social action behind the salt to software group’s work. What is also needed is that the industry should avoid working in silos and create partnerships for social capital. Rajesh Khosla, President and CEO of AGI Greenpack, was among the speakers at the inaugural session.