2% CSR spend must for firms

It is wake up call for Dalit Intellectuals to demand for adoption of dalits villages by Govt and Private Corporate companies to give basic amenities from the profits earned by  these companies.
India Inc should brace to set aside a specified portion of its profit on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The ministry of company affairs (MCA), which is finalising the new Companies Bill, has accepted a Parliamentary Standing Committee’s recommendation on the issue. The standing committee on finance headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha has proposed that companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more earmark 2% of their net profit for the preceding three years on CSR.


Though corporates and industry chambers had lobbied hard against the move, the government has decided to go ahead with the proposal. It is, however, unclear what really constitutes spending on CSR. The standing committee had said that companies would decide the policy and the spending.

While mandating CSR spend, the government had decided against policing and will leave it to companies to implement what is being prescribed in the law. In case a company fails to meet the prescribed spend, it will have to spell out the reasons for the shortfall to its shareholders.

The CSR spending proposed to be mandated in the new Companies Act would be in addition to what is being prescribed for companies in the mining or the coal sector. For instance, in case of Posco, the environment ministry has asked the Korean company to spend 2% of its annual profit on CSR.

The coal ministry is also toying with the idea of mandating a CSR levy on miners who dig for the mineral in the so-called No-Go areas that are environmentally sensitive.

The proposal for mandating a CSR spend was first discussed by the corporate affairs ministry around two years ago but it had to be turned into a voluntary exercise in the wake of protests from companies. But armed with a recommendation from parliamentarians, the ministry is now set to implement its plan.

The revised Companies Bill will be placed in Parliament during the Budget session that starts later this month. The bill has been sent to law ministry for vetting, corporate affairs minister Murli Deora said. Corporate India has, however, got one last chance to present its case when the ministry meets industry representatives next week.
Source: The Times of India dt 10.02.11

What is CSR?.  The CSR of IOC Policy will throw light on how this funds are managed by the companies. 

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

Policy for Activities under Corporate Social Responsibility a) Expenditure not exceeding 2% of the Retained Profit of the previous year can be incurred towards corporate social responsibility every year. (This is against the ceiling of 0.75% of Net Profit, which was in force hitherto). The above amount is inclusive of the annual contribution of Rs.10.00 crores towards IndianOil Foundation. b) The donations/contributions and CD activities should be focused in specific target areas to establish a corporate culture on the subject. As such, after paying/allocating the annual contribution towards IndianOil Foundation, the remaining amount would be utilized as per the following break-up: • A minimum of 35% towards national causes/natural calamities. • Amount not exceeding 5% towards donations/contributions. • 30% towards Community Development activities including Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub Plan. • 20% towards IOC’s scholarship, of which 50% amount would be utilized towards providing scholarships to the students belonging to weaker sections of society and 50% amount for others. • 10% towards “other” activities. c) While utilizing the Community Development Funds, more emphasis should be laid on the projects of providing Clean Drinking Water, Health & Medical Care and Education as under to the extent possible: • 40% towards Clean Drinking Water • 40% towards Health & Medical Care • 20% towards Education for further information please click the following link http://www.iocl.com/Aboutus/IndianOil_CSR_Policy.pdf

Alagiri, Dayanidhi in DMK poll panel

சமுக நீதி பேசும் கட்சியில் தொகுதி பங்கிட்டு  குழுவில்   தலித்துக்கு இடமில்லை .  சமூகநீதி இவர்கள் அதிகாரம் பெருவதுற்கு மட்டும்தான் தலித்துகளுக்கு அதிகாரம் கொடுபதிற்க்கு இல்லை .சாதிய பத்திரிக்கைகள் எந்த ஒரு குழு அமைத்தாலும் அதில்  தொடர்ந்து தலித்துகளை மட்டும் பிரித்து காட்டி வருவதே வழக்கமாகி விட்டது.

In a belated move, the DMK has decided to include in its election committee Union ministers MK Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran. The other members of the committee, announced last week, include deputy chief minister MK Stalin and state ministers Arcot Veerasamy, Duraimurugan and K Ponmudi and Lok Sabha MP TR Baalu. It will hold talks with allies to finalise seat-sharing and clear bottlenecks to arrive at acceptable numbers for alliance partners. The DMK is likely to announce the new additions to the committee soon.
There was a demand from Alagiri’s supporters that he be included in the committee given his clout in the southern districts, said DMK sources. Maran too is likely to be included to help liaise with Congress leaders in Delhi, they added. Given the power dynamics within the DMK, the leadership has thought it prudent to include the Madurai strongman in the committee, said a DMK leader.
With Alagiri’s turf extending beyond Madurai, his followers feel that he should be included in the committee so that he would be able to argue better their case for tickets for the coming assembly elections. They have also been seeking a representative for southern districts in the election panel. With the induction of Maran as well, the various power centres in the DMK are likely to be represented in the committee.
The DMK is likely to find negotiating with the Congress and the VCK tough. The Congress, which is demanding at least 80 seats, could prove unrelenting. Then there is a potential ally, the PMK, waiting for the DMK to clinch a deal with the Congress. While the PMK is demanding 35 seats, the DMK has offered it 20, pointing out that the party had only won 18 seats in the 2006 assembly elections.
On Monday night, the Congress announced members for its election committee which includes influential factional leaders like Union home minister P Chidambaram, shipping minister G K Vasan and TNCC president K V Thangkabalu, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan and party MLA and dalit leader Namakkal Jayaraman.
The Congress committee members have also been carefully handpicked keeping in mind the various groups they represent.
A notable absentee in the committee is former Union minister E V K S Elangovan. Considering his track record of being stridently critical of the DMK, the Congress would have thought it better to keep him out of the committee. The two committees are likely to meet soon and clear the hurdles in the number game.
Source: The Times of India dated 09.01.2011

Caught on camera: Security officer cleans Maya’s sandal

பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரி குமாரி மாயாவதி காலனியை துடைத்ததற்காக கூச்சலிடும் சாதிய பத்திரிக்கைகளும், தொலைகாட்சிகளும் , முன்னால் குடியரசு தலைவர்களான கே. வெங்கட்ராமனும் ,சங்கர் தையால் சர்மாவும் ,சங்கராச்சாரியார் மற்றும் சாய்பாபா காலில் விழுந்த போது வாய்மூடி கொண்டு இருந்தது ஏன் ?
feudal attitude  பற்றி யார் பேசுவது  பாருங்கள் ?!  equality and uplift  பற்றி   பேசுவது யார் காங்கிரஸ் முதலளித்துவ கட்சி 63 ஆண்டுகளாய் தீண்டாமை ஒழிக்க துப்பு இல்லாத ஒரு ஓதவக்கரை தேசிய கட்சி . 

 Deputy superintendent of police Padam Singh became an unwilling fodder for TV channels when his act of wiping chief minister Mayawati’s sandals came in the glare of prying cameras. It all happened during the chief minister’s visit to Auraiya district in southern Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The incident has evoked a sharp criticism from the Opposition. 

    On Sunday, Mayawati was in Auriaya as part of her routine inspection. As soon as she got off her helicopter in Naunipur village and started talking to local officials, Padam Singh, who is personal security officer (PSO) to the CM, bent down and started cleaning her sandals with his handkerchief. This act of a few seconds was captured by local channels and became a talking point when national channels started airing it since Tuesday morning. 
    Singh has been in Maya’s security team for over two decades. He retired from services last year but has been given an extension. His foray into the BSP frame started when he was deputed as the part of the Z category security paraphernalia assigned to Kanshi Ram shortly after Mayawati took over as chief minister for the first time on June 3, 1995. Since then, he has never been out of Maya’s security. He has been her PSO even when she was out of power. 
    It was perhaps this association of Padam Singh with the BSP that his act on Sunday did not come as much of a surprise for the senior police officers in UP. “He is the CM’s security incharge and must have realised the threat perception that she faces from dust,” says a retired IPS officer in a lighter vein adding: “After all he was doing his job.” 
    The opposition, however, grabbed the opportunity to train their guns on Maya. “It is a shame, but not surprising. It only reflects her feudal attitude,” says Samajwadi Party (SP) state president Akhilesh Singh Yadav. 
    UP Congress spokesperson Akhikesh Kumar says that it reflects the truth behind the BSP claims of equality and uplift of the downtrodden.

Source: The Times of India dated  dt 9.2.2011

Special Recruitment Drive for filing up backlog reserved vacancies for SCsSTs and OBCs

No. 360381112008-Estt-Estt (Res) Government of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel and Training ,
North Block, New Delhi
spt-4~7 Dated 30Ih December 20 10
Subject Special Recruitment Drive for filling up backlog reserved vacancies for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department's OM of even number dated 19.1 1.2008 whereby a Special Recruitment Drive was launched to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies of SCs, STs andOBCs. It was expected that after completing the process of selection of candidates for these vacancies, the selected candidates would be issued offers of appointment by 30.6.2009 It is, however, observed that a large number of backlog vacancies have not been filled up so far.

2. The position about the success of Drive was reviewed by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Keeping in view the fact that large number of vacancies identified for the Drive are still to be filled, the Hon'ble Minister has desired that each MinistryIDepartment should make concerted efforts to ensure that all the backlog reserved vacancies in the MinistryDepartment and its Attached OfficesISubordinate Offices/Public Sector Undertakin slAutonomous Bodies etc., which

%

have not been filled up so far, are filled up by the 30 June, 2011. The progress of the Drive during this period may be monitored scrupulously and reported to the Minister-in- Charge of the Ministry every month

3 The present position of the Drive is to be put before the Cabinet, It is, therefore, requested that latest status of filling up of the vacancies through the Drive may be reported to this department at th prescribed vide OM dated 19.11 19.1 1.2008 is enclosed for ready reference

Encl. OM dated 19.11 2008 Tel.No.23092158

TRIBAL ART USED TO DEPICT THE LIFE OF BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR

Gond artists find a new canvas in graphic novels

Gond artist Subhash Vyam says his wife has now made friends with young people across the country. “Everywhere we go, people have so many questions for her and want to take her shopping,” he says, teasing Durga Bai.


The two artists from Bhopal have been travelling across the country promoting their graphic novel ‘Bhimayana’ on the life of BR Ambedkar published by Navayana.

In Chennai to meet students on Thursday, the couple talked about adapting their traditional art form to the modern graphic novel. “When the publisher first gave us this idea and showed us graphic novels,

we were horrified. The drawings were all in boxes,” says Durga. “We told him we cannot draw in boxes as art should be free,” she says.

Traditionally, the Gonds, a tribe from central India, paint on the mud walls and floors of their homes with o r g a n i c colours, but over the

past 40 years they’ve adopted canvas, paper and acrylic paint to sell their art commercially. They illustrate ideas, concepts and stories from their village rather than narrate tales sequentially.

“I told them stories of Ambedkar hundreds of times as Durga cannot not read and Subhash has only studied to class V,” says S Anand, publisher, Navayana. “I was determined to have them do the book because they have fantastic imagination and could tell the story in a new way.”

And the couple did come up with a completely novel method — they replaced boxes with the ‘digna’ or decorative borders and patterns that the Gonds adorn their homes with. “The ‘digna’ just divides the space on the page without restricting the art,” explains Subhash. “Working on this book was a challenge and made us think beyond our traditional ways of illustration,” he says. The artists will also talk about their art at Spaces on Elliots’ Beach Road in Besant Nagar on Friday at 6pm.

“Until we worked on this, we didn’t realise there were so many ways of telling a story,” says Durga, whose illustrations for children’s books have won international awards. Subhash agrees, saying, “I always thought the words told the story in a book and pictures just added to them. It took us three years to do this graphic novel but I’m happy with it.”

In India, graphic novels have been published only in the last five or six years, though internationally, some like ‘Palestine’ by Joe Sacco and ‘Maus’ (on the Holocaust) by Art Spiegelman enjoy cult status. The form is still evolving here but themes are varied, ranging from conflict in Kashmir and corruption to life in a metro and the history of Hyderabad, as writers and artists use pictures to tell stories.

“The graphic telling of stories is not new, yet it is fresh,” Jasraman Grewal, co-author of the Hyderabad Graphic Novel Project, a comic-book look at the Deccani city’s history that is still on the drawing board. “Words can be limiting while writing certain things. A graphic novel is brilliant because it gives factual history without the need of arguments and flowery descriptions,” he says. “To show a history of a city or person through a graphic novel may one day change how textbooks are written or taught. Who knows?”

Anand too is hoping that ‘Bhimayana’ will one day be picked up by the government and used as a textbook. “The idea is to take the story to the world. I want Ambedkar’s struggle to be known everywhere just as people know of Mandela, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks,” he says. Source: The Times of India dated 05.02.2011

A STORY TOLD: Gond artists Subhash Vyam and Durga Bai during an interaction with students in Chennai on Friday

Free multimedia course for SC/ST youth

The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) will conduct free training courses for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) youth in Tamil Nadu from February 21. The month-long training programme will include digital non-linear editing (AVID or FCP) and multimedia.


The income limit for youth joining the course has been set at Rs. 2 lakh per annum. The age limit is 18 to 35 years. SC candidates who have converted to Christianity are not eligible to join the course.

The interview will be conducted at the offices of the NFDC functioning from the Co-optex warehouse buildings, No. 350, Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai, on February 14 and 15. Candidates should have cleared Plus Two and be unemployed. They should bring original mark sheets, community certificates, transfer certificates, ration cards and income certificates. Attested photo copies of the certificates and three passport size photos should also be produced at the time of interview.
The course, which is thoroughly job-oriented, is intended to meet the growing demands of satellite TV channels, video and film studios, said D. Ramakrishna, deputy general manager, NFDC. The course is sponsored by Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation Limited.
Source: The Hindu Dated 07.02.2011

Youths chop off Dalit girl's nose and ear

A 16-year-old Dalit girl was seriously injured when three youths chopped off her nose, ear and a part of her hand after she resisted a rape attempt at Bindaki on Saturday evening.

Three youths identified as Shivom, Hari Shanker and Pawan dragged the girl who was working in the field and tried to rape her, Superintendent of Police Ram Bharose said. He said the girl raised an alarm following which the trio chopped off her nose, ear and a part of hand. The girl was later rushed to the district hospital from where she was referred to Kanpur in a serious condition.
Source: The Hindu dated 07.02.2011

Dalit girl’s nose and ears chopped off while resisting rape attempt

Kanpur: A 16-year-old dalit girl’s nose, ears and limbs were chopped off at Urdauli village under Bindki police station of Fatehpur district late on Saturday evening.


The girl’s fault was that she had resisted a rape attempt by three village youths. The incident came to light when victim’s friend Chaya, who was accompanying her, rushed back to the village and informed villagers, including her parents, about the incident. Profusely bleeding, the girl was rushed to the district hospital from where she was referred to Lala Lajpat Rai hospital.


The accused were identified as Shiv Om, Harishanker and latter’s brother-in-law. The police claimed to have arrested Harishanker, while the remaining two are at large.


Narrating the sequence of events at the ICU of LLR hospital, the victim’s kin said that at around 6 pm, the girl, a student of class XIth at a local intermediate college, along with her friend Chaya had gone to nearby fields, when they were followed by the three accused.


They pounced upon the girl and tried to rape her but when the girl offered a strong resistance, they tied a black ‘dupatta’ on her eyes and chopped off her nose, ears and limbs with an axe. They also tried to gag her but she survived. The accused then fled from the spot. “The accused had also threatened her with dire consequences if she told anybody about the incident,” the victim’s friend added.


Tension prevailed in Urdauli village where police and PAC personnel were deployed. To escape the villagers’ wrath, relatives of the accused fled the village. A named FIR against the accused was lodged with the Bindki Kotwali police station.


Superintendent of police, Fatehpur, Ram Bharose, said, “A case against the trio has been registered under various sections, including 354 and 307 of the IPC. One of the accused had been arrested and police teams have been fanned out to arrest the two accused”.


The victim’s father Ram Babu Paswan, a farmer and mother Shiv Rani along with her relatives were sitting outside the intensive care unit of LLR hospital praying for their daughter’s recovery. “She is our only daughter besides two sons,” said victim’s father.


Her parents said they were made to wait at the police station for hours, though their daughter was severely injured and bleeding. “Doctors kept on referring my child from one hospital to another,” said the mother. Doctors attending the patient at the LLR, said, “There are deep gashes on her nose and hands, while one of her ears was nearly chopped off. The girl has also suffered multiple fractures.”


Meanwhile, coal minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal and state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who were in the industrial city, met the parents of the girl at the hospital and took stock of the situation. They termed the incident as an inhuman. “I think everyone, not just in UP, but across the nation and the world is shocked, outraged and horrified by the barbaric act committed by criminals,” Jaiswal said.

Source: The Times of India dt 7.2.11