The Guwahati Round Table | Dialogue for Development ASSAM’S PURSUIT FOR UN SDG GOALS| IMPROVING STATE’S SCORING IN SDG INDIA INDEX AND STRENGTHENING THE WAYS AND MEANS | FLOOD, NATURAL CALAMITY, DISASTER MITIGATION & REHABILITATION | ASSAM IN A POST NRC SCENARIO| FRAMING ASSAM’S NEW SKILL POLICY ABOUT The Guwahati Round Table (TGR) 2019 as a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum seeks to discuss and deliberate key issues and areas that have emerged as critical to sustain Assam’s overall development and growth in present times. While the State has been one of the first in the country to frame and determine a well thought out plan and approach to achieve the SDGs in a phased manner, yet the 2018 SDG Index Score is not an inspiring scenario with the State scoring low in key critical UN SDG Goals including Goal 3 (Good Health & Well Being scoring 30 / 100), Goal 5 (Gender Equality scoring 36), Goal 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation scoring 42), Goal 7 (Affordable & Clean Energy scoring 18), Goal 9(Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure scoring 35), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities scoring 32). Overall the State secured Score of 49, and only above UP and Bihar in composite score bottom up, and below all other North Eastern States. This despite, the State adopting fully the 2030 agenda with detailed strategies and actions prepared, goal wise mapping of departments and schemes prepared on SDGs grouped into 9 thematic clusters. The Assam Agenda 2030 established core monitorable indicators, set baseline as well as final and intermediate targets. A total of 59 core indicators covering 17 Goals identified for monitoring the progress of the SDGs in the State. This despite numerous training, capacity building programmes of officials at District, Autonomous councils, SDG based Gram Panchayat Development Plan being prepared and Monitoring mechanisms being in place.     What next? What has gone wrong and what needs to be done? How the central schemes have fared in the State based on which the SDG indicators are largelymapped? Whether and how the State Government Schemes and data sources that being mapped with key SDGs have fared? How the State can move bottom up beyond the aspirant category of (0-49) bracket? These are some of the key questions and issues that are and must be appearing challenging for the development stakeholders in the State and the wider community, citizens and others. And how to overcome this? Can this be also linked to the volatile issue of flood in Assam that has been an annual perennial challenge, yet it has been playing a subversive role in enormously affecting the growth and development agenda, and yet a mid and long term sustainable solution has been eluding for a long time. And one of the main issues has been rescue, rehabilitation and livelihood for the displaced communities. While the State has been confronting the volatile foreigners influx challenge for more than 3 decades, yet a consensual solution at political, social and cultural level has been missing. The greater challenge has emerged has how the State is prepared to deal with a Post National Registrar of Citizen (NRC) update scenario and how this is going to affect and deal with the Assam’s development and growth narrative subsequently. The skilling ecosystem has undergone a tremendous change in recent times with the Central and State government giving a big push to skilling the existing and next generation and make them skill ready for job, employment, entrepreneurship and enterprise development. The questions that emerges is how sustainable and ground and home based is the approach. What are the critical considerations and factors that shall determine an inclusive and holistic skill based approach for Assam at a time when the State is getting ready to have a Skill Policy and its implementation.   OBJECTIVE Discuss and deliberate on key areas of sustainable development, good governance, service access and delivery challenges in Assam with focus on key UN SDG 2030 Goals and priorities; Express and share thoughts, inputs, ideas, suggestions and experiences pertaining to the challenges; Emerge with key problem solving ideas, innovations, practices and recommendations to address these challenges in a multi-stakeholder framework; Learning and sharing of good practices from other high scoring States from mainland India Read More

Bridging the CSR in North East India | Policy Brief A Decade of Corporate Social Responsibility and Beyond [2011-2020] August, 2021 Introduction The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) defines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a business management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. Corporations achieve a balance of economic, social, and environmental imperatives through CSR while also fulfilling the expectations of the stakeholders and shareholders. The traditional role of a corporation was only profit maximization and paying its shareholders. But, the increasing ethical debates, discussions around climate change and the role of large multi-nationals in this, and the social costs associated with certain consumer goods have given rise to the concern about what corporations can do for the society. The concept of CSR, however, is not limited to the mere provision of public goods; it also plays a role in growth and development of the region. While most critiques against CSR argue that it is a cost to the company and leads to a reduction in profit, recent research has found evidence of companies implementing CSR activities to be more profitable in the longer run (Hategan, Sirghi, Curea-Pitorac, Hategan, 2018). Over the years, corporations have come under pressure from development organisations including CSOs and NGOs to take on specific CSR obligations. There are strong arguments in favour and against CSR. CSR is mostly opposed by the advocates of the ‘free market’ on the ground that corporations are not obliged to do altruistic activities and that it would not be profitable for them. This view can be traced back to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman who was critical of CSR practices. The altruism argument is the most prominent one which claims that corporations are a part of the society, just like individual citizens, and they should engage in “good” practices and build their image as “good corporations”. At another end of spectrum, arguments point out that CSR is a defensive strategy against activists and NGOs in response to their online or offline agitation; also the fact that CSR is a good marketing strategy that corporations can use to generate further revenues.   In a post-Covid world or a world wrecked by the pandemic which has reinforced inequalities and have made the vulnerable more vulnerable, the pressure on corporations is definitely high. Social and economic upheavals, climate change and increasing inequality have put the onus on the corporations to be more inclusive. CSR has been made mandatory in India by law. We will look more closely at the law and what mandatory CSR expenditure is meant for the NER of the country. The NE is separated from the rest of the country by a 22 kilometres long piece of land, also termed as the ‘chicken’s neck’. The land beyond the chicken’s neck is rich in culture as well as biodiversity. It is, however, also the region which has witnessed one of the least growths and is underdeveloped in most sectors. The absence of a vibrant manufacturing sector in the region, a large population dependent on agriculture, hilly and difficult terrain, years of insurgency, and natural disasters like floods and landslides make the region vulnerable to economic difficulties. With the recent focus of policies on the NE region, predominantly the Act East policy, and the gaining importance of SDGs, the role of CSR has become increasingly needed in the region. While the law to make CSR is a recent one which came in being in 2014, CSR activities in the country are age old. There is, however, an absence of historical recording of CSR expenditure and inadequate measurement of their impact. This policy brief is thus an attempt to understand CSR expenditure in the region, the gaps in literature and measurement of its impact, and to bring a new light to the discussion regarding CSR presence and investment in the NER. The region deserves this equally if not more than others, also due to the strategic location of the eight NER states. The policy brief seeks to bring attention towards the importance of increasing CSR presence and investments in bridging the regional, social and development gaps of the region vis-a-vis rest of the country. The brief also seeks to focus on the various nuances of CSR expenditure, activities and impact within the region and the sectors on which the spending is done. CSR Investment and Development – A General Overview When China’s Great Sichuan Earthquake happened in 2008, which killed more than 69,000 people and left more than 15 million people homeless, it caused a total destruction of an estimated $150 billion. CSR became a norm in China when corporations offered $1.5 billion in support. When another earthquake struck the region in 2013, major multinationals like Samsung and Apple offered quick support to rebuild the city . The example of China is important here because the growth trajectory of India and China reveal that both are developing countries with very high levels of growth rates. For a major part in the last two decades, China has been the fastest growing country, followed by India. The above paragraph also reveals that the scope of CSR is indeed huge, but not only in times of natural disasters. CSR can contribute to growth and development of a region. It is also worth pointing out that as the Covid-19 pandemic broke out; the CSR community in India was quick to respond with most committees and boards working overtime to speed up the internal process.The idea that the role of industry should not be limited to profit maximization but should  also contribute to the welfare of the society is not a new one. According to Trusteeship Theory of Business and Stakeholder Theory, businesses should benefit the trustees and the stakeholders of the society, instead of only the shareholders (Kapoor, 2017). With growing interest in this domain, recent research has found evidence of a positive relationship between CSR and firm performance, negating the idea that CSR is

A Decade of Corporate Social Responsibility and Beyond [2011-2020] | Policy Brief July, 2021 Introduction The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) defines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a business management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. Corporations achieve a balance of economic, social, and environmental imperatives through CSR while also fulfilling the expectations of the stakeholders and shareholders. The traditional role of a corporation was only profit maximization and paying its shareholders. But, the increasing ethical debates, discussions around climate change and the role of large multi- nationals in this, and the social costs associated with certain consumer goods have given rise to the concern about what corporations can do for the society. The concept of CSR, however, is not limited to the mere provision of public goods; it also plays a role in growth and development of the region. While most critiques against CSR argue that it is a cost to the company and leads to a reduction in profit, recent research has found evidence of companies implementing CSR activities to be more profitable in the longer run (Hategan, Sirghi, Curea-Pitorac, Hategan, 2018). Over the years, corporations have come under pressure from activists and non-government organizations to take on specific corporate social responsibility obligations. There are strong arguments in favour and against of CSR. CSR is mostly opposed by the advocates of the ‘free market’ on the ground that corporations are not obliged to do altruistic activities and that it would not be profitable for them. This view can be traced back to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman who was critical of CSR practices. The altruism argument is the most prominent one which claims that corporations are a part of the society, just like individual citizens, and should engage in “good” practices and build their image as “good corporations”. At another end of spectrum, arguments point out that CSR issued as a defensive strategy against activists and NGOs in response to their online or offline agitation; also the fact that CSR is a good marketing strategy that corporations can use to generate further revenues. In a post-Covid world or a world wrecked by the pandemic which has reinforced inequalities and have made the vulnerable more vulnerable, the pressure on corporations is definitely high. Social and economic upheavals, climate change and increasing inequality have put the onus on the corporations to be more inclusive. CSR has been made mandatory in India by law. We will look more closely at the law and what mandatory CSR expenditure has meant for the North- Eastern Region (NER) of the country. The North East is separated from the rest of the country by a 22 kilometres long piece of land, also termed as the ‘chicken’s neck’. The land beyond the chicken’s neck is rich in culture as well as biodiversity. It is, however, also the region which has witnessed one of the least growths and is underdeveloped in most sectors. The absence of a vibrant manufacturing sector in the region, a large population dependent on agriculture, hilly and difficult terrain, years of insurgency, and natural disasters like floods and landslides make the region vulnerable to economic difficulties. With the recent focus of policies on the NE region, predominantly the Act East policy, and the gaining importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of CSR has become increasingly needed in the region. While the law to make CSR is a recent one which came in being in 2014, CSR activities in the country is age old. There is, however, an absence of historical recording of CSR expenditure and inadequate measurement of their impact. This policy brief is thus an attempt to understand CSR expenditure in the region, the gaps in literature and measurement of its impact, and bring a new light to the discussion regarding CSR presence and investment in the NER, the region deserving equally if not more than others, also due to the strategic location of the eight NER States. The policy brief seeks to bring attention towards the importance of increasing CSR presence and investments in bridging the regional social and development gaps of the region vis-a-vis rest of the country. The brief also seeks to focus on the various nuances of CSR expenditure, activities and impact within the region and the sectors the spending is done on. CSR Investment and Development – A General Overview When China’s Great Sichuan Earthquake happened in 2008, which killed more than 69,000 people and left more than 15 million people homeless, it caused a total destruction of an estimated $150 billion. CSR became a norm in China when corporations offered $1.5 billion in support. When another earthquake struck the region in 2013, major multinationals like Samsung and Apple offered quick support to rebuild the city . The example of China is important here because the growth trajectory of India and China reveal that both are developing countries with very high levels of growth rates. For a major part in the last two decades, China has been the fastest growing country, followed by India. The above paragraph also reveals that the scope of CSR is indeed huge, but not only in times of natural disasters. CSR can contribute to growth and development of a region. It is also worth pointing out that as the Covid-19 pandemic broke out; the CSR community in India was quick to respond with most committees and boards working overtime to speed up the internal process.The idea that the role of industry should not be limited to profit maximization but should  also contribute to the welfare of the society is not a new one. According to Trusteeship Theory of Business and Stakeholder Theory, businesses should benefit the trustees and the stakeholders of the society, instead of only the shareholders (Kapoor, 2017). With growing interest in this domain, recent research has found evidence of a positive relationship between CSR and firm performance, negating the idea that CSR is nothing but