Tata Steel heeds to XISS's suggestions

RANCHI: Tata steel has not just accepted the research findings of JRD Tata chair, constituted at Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) in April 2010 but has also incorporated some of its suggestions in the new modules of corporate social responsibility activities.
Chief corporate sustainability service (CSS), Tata steel, Biren Buta said that the steel major has been devising various techniques to understand the efficacy of its own CSR approach."Out of several ways to find effectiveness of our model, constitution of the chair and responsibility to XISS to conduct a neutral study on CSR approaches was one of the initiatives," he said.
The chair at XISS headed by Professor Anirudh Prasad, head department of research and publication nailed the steel major for a series of 'historical mistakes' in its approach as a result of which several models of CSR failed on the parameters of sustainability. The research findings have been published in form of a book titled Beyond Business- Mapping CSR and Sustainable development initiatives of Tata steel, authored by Prasad and his colleague Sudeep Kumar.
Buta said that the recommendations in the state study are voluminous and there has been a paradigm shift in the CSR approach since the time this particular study was conducted.
"There are certain pockets where Tata introduced various models of livelihood generation, Idalbera (Test check village) being one of them where drip irrigation and paddy seed distribution was carried out in the decade that ended in 2010 and may not have continued for long," he said clarifying that the focus of Tata steel is now more on skill development of locals and efforts to avoid migration.
"Most of the time, skill development initiatives lead to migration in the wake of the fact that those trained in textile or footware industry or in hospitality hardly get job opportunities within the state," he said pointing to the fact that now Tata under its CSR approach, is trying to inculcate training to the tribal and rural youth on skills that help them improve life standards while living in the same village.
Welcoming the findings of JRD chair, Buta said that apart from that the steel major has Tata affirmative action programme (TAAP) exclusively for SC and ST community and a 12-member CSR advisory council comprising one independent board member is there to look after the efficacy of schemes and approaches that are adopted from time to time.