The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) organized the Second edition of the CSR ConclaveSocial Leadership Awards on December 7th, 2023, at Williamson Magor Hall, The Bengal Chamber premises. 

This year the initiative has gone pan India with an aim to commemorate the most admired and outstanding development initiatives in the country and acknowledge the notable contributions that were raising benchmarks by bringing transformative change in society through innovation and excellence. Over 100 corporates and NGOs participated in the Awards, to showcase their exemplary developmental projects. 

The programme commenced with Welcome Address by Mr. Gautam Ray, President of BCC&I. He highlighted the synergy between corporates and NGOs that formed the essence of the event.

Mr Jitendra Kumar, Chairperson of the CSR Committee of BCC&I, followed up with the theme address. He explained that the objective of the initiative was to collaborate with and handhold stakeholders, including corporates and NGOs, besides recognizing the excellent work being done in the field of CSR. 

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Former Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force, and Former Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, honorary member and Ambassadeur Extraordinaire of BCC&I highlighted how a lot more can be done to improve social indices to ensure improvement in the quality of life and standard of living for the downtrodden in India. 

Mr Subir Chakraborty, CEO and Managing Director of Exide Industries Limited and Immediate Former President of BCC&I, spoke about making CSR projects more effective and meaningful by reflecting a spirit of true partnership between corporate houses as well as NGOs all the while ensuring long-term commitment towards wholesome upliftment.

Mr Jaidip Mukerjea, Former Indian Tennis Player, recipient of the Arjuna Award and Director of the Jaidip Mukerjea Tennis Academy commented on how sports isn’t an organised industry in India yet, but in a country that is teeming with talent, help from CSR projects can tap into the sporting potential of Indians. 

Mr Ravindra Chamaria, Mentor, CSR Committee of BCC&I, urged all to give not with a sense of obligation but privilege, and to receive not with a sense of entitlement but gratitude.

Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, Former Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs mentioned how the CSR ecosystem in India is unique, with neighbours like Nepal taking inspiration from us.

Dr Neepa Saha Sharmaa, Co-chairperson of the CSR committee of BCC&I stressed on how corporates and NGOs have to complement each other and build on each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

This was followed by three panel discussions, namely ‘CSR as a Business Strategy: Linking Purpose and Profit’, which was moderated by Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Former Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. The panelists of the session were: Mr. Anurag Pratap, Vice President and CSR Leader, Capgemini India Private Limited; Ms. Medha Oka, Executive Director, India Sponsorship Committee; Ms. Meera Shenoy, Founder-CEO, Youth 4 Jobs; Mr. Amit Vatsyayan, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP; and Ms. Madhupee Bhaumik, Youth representative from Indus Valley World School.

The second session was on ‘Impact Funding with focus on Social Stock Exchange’ the eminent panelists were: Dr. CS Adv Mamta Binani, National Past President, Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI); Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta, Senior Partner, Intueri Consulting LLP; CS Rupanjana De, Central Council Member, ICSI. This was moderated by Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Former Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

The third and final session was on Social Impact : ‘Collaboration and partnership for effective CSR’. The sessions were moderated by Ms Sujata Sen, CEO, Future Hope India. The panelists of this session were - Ms. Puja Marwaha, Chief Executive Officer, Child Rights and You (CRY); Ms. Anagha Mahajani, Chief Impact Officer- Ambuja Cement Foundation; Mr. Suparno Moitra, Public Speaker, Life Coach, Communications & Cause Advocacy Specialist and Ms. Souptika Bhattacharya, Youth representative from B. D. M. International School.

A case study was presented by Mr Sudipta Mukherjee, Chief Advisor, Generation, CESC Limited, on a CSR project of Haldia Energy Limited that invested in the empowerment of the underprivileged in rural Bengal, including provisions relating to sanitation, education and employment.

The main attraction of the show was the award ceremony which was judged by an esteemed panel of jury, namely, Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Former Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs; CS Manish Gupta, President, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India; Mr. P S Bhattacharyya, Former Chairman, Coal India Limited; Ms Sujata Sen, Chief Executive Officer, Future Hope and Mr Sumit Dasgupta, Founder and Director, Allcap Communications Pvt Ltd. The entire initiative was partnered by Yuva Unstoppable as Knowledge Partner.

The awards were announced one by one at the end of the programme. The winners of the Awards were — Roots Foundation and Hope Kolkata Foundation in the Small Project (NGO) category, Calcutta Rescue in the Medium Project (NGO) category, Youth 4 Jobs Foundation in the Large Project (NGO) category, Minda Corporation Limited in the Empowerment (Small Corporate) category, ITC Limited in the Empowerment (Large Corporate) category, Tata Metaliks Limited in the Education (Small Corporate) category, Capgemini Technology Services India Limited in the Education (Large Corporate) category, and Capgemini Technology Services India Limited and Schneider Electric India Private Limited in the Environment (Large Corporate) category.

The first runners-up were — Parivaar Education Society in the Large Project (NGO) category, Aditya Aluminium Limited for the Empowerment (Large Corporate) Category, The Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Limited in the Education (Small Corporate) category, and Tech Mahindra Foundation in the Education (Large Corporate) category. Moreover, a second runners-up award was presented to Vihaan in the Large Project (NGO) category. 

Special Jury Awards were given to The Rangeen Khidki Foundation in the Small Project (NGO) category, Sanjog India in the Medium Project (NGO) category, JSW Foundation in the Large Project (NGO) category, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in the Empowerment (Small Corporate) category, Infinity Infotech Parks Limited in the Education (Small Corporate) category, and Exide Industries Limited in the Education (Large Corporate) category.

The initiative was supported by Exide Industries Limited, and Infinity Group. It was very well covered by the leading media with huge social media impact. Around 200 audiences attended this day long programme.