Encouraging private sector players to adopt the modernized version of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s largest private sector conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), emphasized the need to gauge a business’s social returns alongside its financial returns for a true measure of success.
Speaking at the fifth annual Col Ajay Mushran’s memorial lecture in New Delhi on Sunday, Mukesh Ambani baited for corporate social responsibility that not only aids welfare of underprivileged section of people but rather focuses on enrichment of their lives. This lowers the dependency quotient and encourages empowered actions from the underclass majority, which laterally courses towards fructification of lower economic strata. The chairman of the most valued company in India emphasized the need to adopt traditional models of serving people and community and not follow the narrow-mined western CSR patterns that sees CSR as an ‘exercise of charity’.
CSR is an integral part of RIL’s DNA. From prolific social welfare programs in RIL engaged areas and other communities to operating a business that produces ‘value’ in terms of product, money and purpose, RIL’s actions have been one that route towards enrichment and development of social structure that comprises of people, product and process. For instance, while at one hand RIL’s philanthropic arm RIL Foundation is at the forefront of community welfare program that supports ‘education for all’ as guided by its torch bearer Nita Ambani, on the other end there is the RIL held KG-D6 gas basin in eastern coast that is perhaps one of the largest contributor to India’s economic account and has been acclaimed worldwide for its cost effectiveness, timeliness, watertight execution and smooth commissioning, despite being one the most challenging deep water exploration project. RIL has structured its business model to inculcate elements of CSR with each function. “In today’s context, it is important to get business of business right," said Mukesh Ambani. Asserting success to be a cumulative measure of material and social progress, RIL chairman called for assessing results that go beyond just absolute numbers.
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