Understanding CSR in India,  CSR Mandate, CSR Activities in Music and more

What is CSR and why is it important ?

CSR or 'Corporate Social Responsibility' is a concept that first came into being in 1960. The meaning behind this concept is that Corporations are responsible for the betterment of society and environment. It is in a way the expected duty of a corporation to serve in the interest of the society and environment. The idea behind it being that corporations cannot thrive only on profits. It is their duty to give back to the society as business cannot succeed in isolation when the society is failing. The long term goal of implementing CSR is to develop the nation as a whole by social upbringing and preserving the ecosystem.  

CSR in India

Philanthropy has always existed in our country and over time has evolved into a corporate level. After the economic liberalization in India in 1991, many international corporations entered India. National corporations had the chance to witness the international standard of CSR and they started implementing better practices in their CSR activities. India is the first nation to mandate CSR. According to a survey more than half of the eligible corporations (74%) implemented NGO's while spending on CSR activities or hired an outside agency to carry out with their CSR activities. There has been a steady growth when it comes to spending on CSR related work with a compound annual growth rate of 14%. The main area of focus being education and healthcare. The main concern regarding CSR in India is that almost 2/3rd companies have under invested when it comes to the personnel handling CSR and have less than 5 people handling their CSR work.

CSR mandate criteria and The Companies Act 2013

According to The Companies Act 2013, it is mandatory for any corporation - domestic or subsidiary of a foreign company with a net worth Rs 5 billion or more or a turnover of Rs 10 billion or more or net profit of Rs 50 million or more during any of the previous three financial years to follow the 2% CSR mandate. The Companies Act 2013 states that large corporations above a certain level are mandated to spend 2% of their average net profit on CSR activities. The average net profit has to be from the past three years. However only 30% companies listed with the BSE are eligible for the CSR mandate active since April 2014.

CSR activities related to Music in India

1. The Dharavi Project

 The After School of Hip Hop

Dharavi is home to a growing hip-hop culture and also dominated by violence and illiteracy. The After School of Hip Hop was set up by the Qyuki team in order to create a platform to educate the kids about various aspects of Hip Hop complete with Rapping, Beatboxing and Graffitiing. The idea behind it is that any kid showing potential should have free access to an alternate education medium. They have 6 teachers in total and 15 students in each class. There is no selection criteria for the students and everyone is welcome. There is Bboy Aku - founder of Hip Hop in Mumbai (Dharavi) who runs advance level Bboying class along with his brother Bboy Vicky who teaches power moves and Bboy Vikram who has grown up in ranks from a student to a teacher and is handling beginners. Then there is Mc Heam who teaches rapping and Beatboxer Nagesh  who teaches beatboxing. The school also has a graffiti artist Sid Sapp who teaches graffiti art form. The Dharavi Project Team wants to shift from support and funding to evangelize marketing and scale groups. The plan is to make it self sustainable for the future. The school will groom the kids and help them make a living through their passion. The project has achieved a lot since its inception and has inculcated invaluable knowledge in students. Many students have gone on to perform at various platforms and venues. The students are given exposure through gigs and performances to gain experience and pay. TDP regularly features their talent on social media so that they reach out to a wider audience. Their motto is to gain recognition for their students instead of sympathizing with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc4rzmRbA9A

Its been 2 years now that we have been running the After School of Hip hop and I have personally seen growth and development among the kids who are coming to the school. They are more disciplined, focused and more over they have stories to tell. We started with a total of 15 kids and now the number has reached to 75+ and this is not going to stop here. - Dolly Rateshwar (Manager TDP -Qyuki Digital Media)

 2. Music Basti Organization

The Music Basti Organization started as an NGO back in 2008. It offers Music programs for children growing up in unstable environments. The Music Basti organization partners up with schools to run a music program for children who to develop their skills and provide them with resources which will nurture them to face life challenges and enhance their creativity, team work and leadership qualities. The organization was started by Faith Gonsalves from Enabling Leadership Organization and has a dedicated team who have helped this organization to grow over the years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnhtv2nXuu8 The organization trains their selected teachers to run an intensive 8 month ReSound program for children to teach them how to write, compose and perform music together. In the end they organize a ReSound Concert where the children get to perform their newly learned skills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hkfjodIg5I Music Basti has tie up with other organizations like Enabling Leadership, Navrasa Duende, Songdew and many more. Their classroom programs are conducted at organizations like Peepul, Teach for India and Akshar School. Music Basti has also partnered with other social campaigns like the 'Music for a Cause' campaign by News18. Acclaimed musician Vishal Dadlani performed with children at the the ReSound program as part of the Music for a Cause campaign. Music Basti is currently 10 years and have witnessed phenomenal growth over this period. Each year 200-300 students receive Music Education and get to showcase their skills on bigger platforms. The organization has released albums by their students, hosted concerts for their students and have nurtured students to develop better life skills and empower them to gain leadership qualities.

3. MARD Campaign

Farhan Akhtar started the Men Against Rape and Discrimination campaign in 2013. The campaign has partnered up with Online Retailer Myntra as part of their CSR initiative. Farhan Akhtar has performed at various cities to spread awareness for this cause through the power of Music. The MARD concert tour included 72 college shows, 20 corporate shows, 51 Public shows, 3 Government shows and 5 private shows as part of the campaign.