http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/India-Inc-leaves-ivory-tower-and-extends-a-helping-hand/articleshow/7249890.cms
India Inc leaves ivory tower and extends a helping hand
Mathang Seshagiri & Hemali Chhapia, TNN, Jan 10, 2011, 07.33am IST
MUMBAI: Indian billionaires are usually saddled with stereotypes: Men
snuggled in incredible wealth and removed from the grim reality.
However, not all conform to the popular notion even as they do their
bit for Bharat; their efforts received a boost after Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh spoke of introducing a quota in corporate India.
Apart from providing scholarships, funding neighbourhood NGOs and
providing midday meals to schools, each industry chamber has chalked
out its own plans to drive out poverty from certain parts of the
country and start skill promotion programmes in backward places.
For instance, 696 companies, that make up nearly 10% of the members of
the Confederation of Indian Industry, have signed the voluntary code
of conduct, under which thousands from the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribes were trained at entrepreneurship development
institutes and 100 youths started their own ventures. The Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India too conducted a similar
exercise in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand and Kanpur for SC/ST members.
For such work, executives, middle-level management and those from the
lower rungs were handpicked for intensive training. In stark contrast,
a depressed economy, which saw poor hiring and massive layoffs, also
saw companies supporting retrenched workers.
Re-engineering their hardwired image defined by the impressive
year-end profit numbers they produce, almost every industry body has
involved itself in educating the backward; while some have adopted
schools and industrial training centres, others have tied up with
coaching classes and English and computer trainers, trying to rewire
the infrastructure that supports the poor youth.
According to the information provided to the ministry of industries,
"An initiative has been taken by multiple stakeholders for providing
education to ST children in remote tribal belts. About 10 lakh ST kids
are now beneficiaries of various schemes."
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and Industry
also plans to adopt coaching-cum-guidance centres for which industry
members are being identified to provide training to SC/ST candidates
keen to appear fpr various competitive examinations.For a large nation
like India, broken into two hemispheres, grand challenges probably
require a much wider breadth of affirmative action. But what is
interesting to note is the uber-rich man sitting on top is no just
sending off charity cheques and offering polite condolences __ it is
generosity reworked.
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