NASSCOM FOUNDATION launches CATALYSING CHANGE – “Towards Inclusive growth” 2008-09

A Report on CSR activities of member companies of NASSCOM

New Delhi, July 28th, 2009: NASSCOM Foundation, the CSR arm of NASSCOM, India’s leading IT industry body, today launched at the HR Summit “Catalysing Change – Towards Inclusive Growth” – the fourth annual report on CSR in the IT Industry. Dr. Poongodhoi Aladi Aruna, Hon. Minister for IT, State of Tamil Nadu was present at the venue. Mr. Som Mittal, Chairman, NASSCOM, Mr. Jaitirth (Jerry) Rao, Chairman – NASSCOM Foundation, and Ms. Rufina Fernandes, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation were also present during the launch.

On the occasion of the release, Mr. Jerry Rao, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “The IT industry has been at the forefront of development in India, and has irrevocably put India on the global map as a leader in IT innovation. It is therefore a strong responsibility of the IT companies to give back to the society in which it flourishes. CSR can no longer be solely on a project basis, but has to become a part of the core business strategy. This year’s ‘Catalysing Change’, highlights this integration of CSR into the core business practices of IT companies, and the high level of focus built on areas such as education, health care and others.”

Ms. Rufina Fernandes, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation said, “The Catalysing Change report, over the years, has progressively showcased the strides made by NASSCOM member companies in their CSR efforts. At NF, we have strived to enable the underserved across India by providing them with support from NASSCOM members. We have reached rural populations – be it in terms of education, knowledge empowerment or employability. The Catalysing Change acts as a roadmap for the way forward to sustainable development in India.”

This year’s Catalysing Change – Towards Inclusive growth 2008–09, has focused on a variety of parameters for assessing maturity level of the CSR activities being undertaken. The primary parameters were the organisation’s approach to CSR, documentation of CSR policy, use of domain expertise and employee volunteering, resource allocation, geographical reach of projects as well as CSR best practices like standard reporting, monitoring and evaluation, B2B and stakeholder engagement.

The overall maturity level, which was reached after the above mentioned criteria stood at 59%, signifying that CSR practices at Indian IT companies reflect that their growth stage is still ‘approaching maturity’. Companies still view CSR as philanthropy instead of carefully planned development activities that are measured and evaluated to access the impact and self-sustainability.

On the other hand an encouraging score that emerged was in the sphere of environmental responsibility which include several Green IT and environment friendly practices, where IT companies have scored 100%. Employee engagement, have also shown a healthy 98% score in the CSR process of companies.

The full report for Catalysing Change will be released shortly and will contain the details of CSR activities of the IT industry in India, thereby highlighting the progress made in this regard as well as the way forward for sustainable social development in India.

About NASSCOM Foundation

NASSCOM Foundation is a leading Indian development organization specialising in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for development. NF is the social development and CSR arm of NASSCOM, India’s leading IT industry body. NF builds capacities of poor and deprived communities, works with non-profits to help build their ICT competencies, and IT companies to help them grow their corporate social responsibility programmes.

NF is a charity registered under the Indian Trust Act 1882. NF’s vision is to leverage information and communication technologies (ICT) to empower and transform the lives of the under-served. NASSCOM and its members are committed to social development through the application of ICT. NF today has the unique opportunity of leading the IT Industry towards changing the social development landscape of India. www.nasscomfoundation.org

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