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act: case study
Birla is Chairperson of The
Aditya Birla Centre for
Community Initiatives and
Rural Development. the spinning of the wheel
SMART SUMMARY CSR is not a Western construct. It is not a textbook idea. In spite of this issue of The Smart Manager, it is not even a matter of intense, multi-party debate. When the dust settles, CSR is all about getting yourself-and your people-to act, and act purposively. A case study on what this three-letter gospel really means.
n the last two decades, India as a nation
has been successful in p u l l i n g up a
significant number of people f rom below
the poverty line. Unfortunately, we still
have quite a large number of our people l iv ing below
the poverty l ine—that is less than US$1.25 a day. T h i s is
a problem. T h e Government of India has an ambitious
vision for inclusive growth. There is the overwhelming
challenge to improve the lives of the poor. H o w e v e r
m u c h it hurts, we have to reckon w i t h the fact that we
have the largest concentration of the poor in the w o r l d .
Today more than ever it is necessary to look into societal
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rajashree birla
May-Jun 2011
the spinning of the wheel
Apart from charities, GD Birla set up schools and temples—education is a great leveler, and temples a great unifier.
issues, and it behoves corporates to proactively
partner w i t h the government to see that inclusive
growth happens.
At our G r o u p , caring for the underserved is a legacy
and an unwrit ten edict that has been fol lowed by
generation after generation.
in the shadow of the Mahatma O u r s is a 120 years-old organization, rooted in history.
O u r roots go back to the early 1900s and the nation's
struggle for freedom. It was d u r i n g this formative
period i n history that the legendary M r G D Bir la ,
my grandfather-in-law, worked shoulder to shoulder
w i t h Mahatma G a n d h i . W h i l e Mahatma G a n d h i was
passionately engaged in the political freedom of our
nation, GD Bir la worked w i t h equal obsession for the
economic liberation of India. T h e y were thus two sides
of the same coin. For more than 25 years, he supported
Gandhi j i 's nationalism w i t h his financial strength.
There developed a special bond between the two—a
bond that united them in the pursuit of a c o m m o n
cause, India's freedom. Gandhi j i looked upon my
grandfather-in-law as his mentor and confidant. He
always used to come and stay at our house in N e w
D e l h i . It was at the Bir la H o u s e that on the 30th of
January 1948, Mahatma G a n d h i was assassinated
by N a t h u r a m Godse. Even though the v o i d left by
Gandhi j i could not be f i l led, the legacy of his trusteeship
concept lived on . T h i s meant that a part of your profits
should be ploughed back for the larger good of society.
Apart f r o m charities such as giving Rs 70,000 for the
Al igarh M u s l i m Univers i ty to Gandhi j i or Rs 200,000
for the Harijans, or Rs 26 lac to Sardar Patel to set up
Bir la Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya ( B V M , Baroda),
in 1946, GD Bir la set up schools and temples. H i s
The Smart Manager
reasoning was that education is a great leveler, and
temples a great unifier.
the philosophy continues My husband Adityaj i fostered this philosophy, taking i t
a step further and m o v i n g his lens to include sustainable
l ivel ihood. My son Kumar Mangalam has a zealous,
evangelical approach. He has made the philosophy of
caring, giving, developing and empowering underserved
people as part of our Group 's D N A . He feels we have a
tremendous responsibility to give back to society, and to
make a difference. T h i s has raised the Adi tya B i r la name
to a unique brand that is trusted, respected and admired
by its mult iple stakeholders.
institutionalizing the process: our structure O v e r 14 years ago, we institutionalized the process of
C S R , envisioned the road ahead and the way we wanted
to string our activities cohesively as a group. A n d so
spawned T h e Aditya Bir la Centre for C o m m u n i t y
Initiatives and Rura l Development , w h i c h I am
privileged to lead. Mr Askaran Agarwala, Dr Pragnya
R a m and I f o r m the apex team. T h e Centre is anchored
by Dr Pragnya R a m , w h o is the G r o u p Executive
President, Corporate C o m m u n i c a t i o n s & C S R . T h e
C S R Heads of our major companies report to her.
B e l o w them is a team of 250 professionals spanning
all our G r o u p companies. T h e y are further supported
by a 2,500-strong field force operating at the village
level. L ike our businesses, the concept of performance
management is ingrained in our C S R projects and
measurement metrics w o v e n in the goals of all the C S R
heads, alongside the auditing of our work .
We have a clearly defined C S R policy. O u r Board of
Directors, our management, and all of our employees
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subscribe to the philosophy of compassionate care and
to the upliftment of our rural societies. We believe that
a structured approach w i t h wel l -def ined objectives,
timelines, milestones and assessment is fundamental,
given that it contributes to a razor-sharp focus and
gauging the distance traversed.
our CSR vision O u r articulated vis ion is: "To actively contribute to the
social and economic development of the communit ies
in w h i c h we operate. In so do ing bui ld a better,
sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society
and raise the human development index of our country."
O u r focus areas in the 3,000 villages that we are
engaged in are education; healthcare and family welfare;
sustainable l ivel ihood encompassing agricultural and
watershed development and w o m e n empowerment
processes; infrastructure support and espousing social
causes. O u r social vis ion is integrated into our business
vis ion. W h i l e we do not turn business into a cause,
we do 'social cause marketing' . We turn it into a lever,
where the R o l or return on investment lies in the
transformation of a people's lives as they are no longer
mired in poverty.
In education, our endeavor is to spark the desire for
learning and knowledge at every stage through formal
schools, balwadis (nurseries) for elementary education,
quality primary education, Aditya Bal V i d y a Mandirs ,
girl ch i ld education and adult education programs.
In healthcare, our goal is to render quality
healthcare facilities to people l iv ing in the villages and
elsewhere through our hospitals; primary health care
centers; mother and chi ld care projects; i m m u n i z a t i o n
programs w i t h a thrust on polio eradication; healthcare
for the visually impaired and physically challenged;
preventive health through awareness programs.
U n d e r sustainable l ivel ihood, our programs aim
at providing l ivel ihood in a locally appropriate and
environmentally sustainable manner through formation
of self-help groups for w o m e n empowerment;
vocational training through Aditya Bir la Rural
Technology Parks; agriculture development and better
farmer focus; watershed development; partnership w i t h
Industrial Training Institutes.
In infrastructure development, we endeavor to set up
essential services that f o r m the foundation of sustainable
development through basic infrastructure facilities;
housing facilities; safe d r i n k i n g water; sanitation and
hygiene; and renewable sources of energy.
To br ing about social change, we advocate and
support dowry less marriage; w i d o w remarriage;
awareness programs on anti-social issues; de-addiction
campaigns and programs; and espousing basic
moral values.
setting measurable targets with timeframes and performance management Prior to the commencement of projects, we carry out a
baseline study of the villages. T h e study encompasses
various parameters such as health indicators; literacy
levels; sustainable l ivel ihood processes; population
data—both below and above the poverty l ine; the
state of infrastructure, among others. F r o m the data
generated, a 1-year plan and a 5-year ro l l ing plan are
developed for the holistic and integrated development
of the marginalized. These plans are presented at the
annual planning and budgeting meet. A l l projects are
assessed under the agreed strategy and are monitored
every quarter, measured against targets and budgets.
Wherever necessary, midcourse corrections
are affected.
Let me give y o u a sense of our work . Let me first
focus on education. We run 42 Schools, where 45,000
chi ldren are provided quality education. Of these,
18,000 chi ldren receive free education. We have enrolled
20,000 chi ldren at our balwadis. We reach out to more
than 29,000 people through our adult literacy and
bridge education programs. O v e r 8,000 students in the
villages are awarded merit scholarships. Near ly 20,000
students are enrolled at our vocational training centers.
O u r Centres of Technology Excellence include Bir la
Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) , P i lani ;
We believe that a structured approach with well-defined objectives, timelines, milestones and assessment is fundamental.
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Water has been a perennial problem in India's villages, which are often plagued by droughts.
B I T S , D u b a i ; B I T S , G o a ; and B I T S , Hyderabad. F r o m
B I T S , w h i c h is a premier, globally recognized institute,
we get some of the best recruits for our companies.
O v e r 10 years ago, to put Indian business success stories
as case studies for global leaders in the making, we set
up the Adi tya Bir la India Centre at L o n d o n Business
School . It is contributing not only to India's image but
ours as w e l l .
To provide healthcare to the people, every year we
conduct more than 3,500 medical camps, treating over
5 m i l l i o n patients for various ailments, such as A I D S ,
T B , cancer diagnosis, cataract and cleft-lips, among
others. We have helped i m m u n i z e 6 m i l l i o n chi ldren
against polio in the last one year, sponsoring and
managing 23,000 booths. We have also organized polio
corrective surgery.
vishnu's story Let me tell y o u the story of V i s h n u w h o lives in Nagda
in M a d h y a Pradesh. V i s h n u , n o w a lanky, 22-year-old
gir l , is a great farmhand. F r o m sunrise to near sunset,
like a lark she sings in the field whi le helping her parents
on their two-acre farm. Y o u can see shoots of wheat,
almost golden in color, swaying in the w i n d . V i s h n u
appears to be enjoying herself She says, " O n c e upon
a time, I was only three feet tall because I had to bend
over and grip my legs whi le dragging my feet w h i c h
were crippled. My parents were always praying that I
should walk again. A n d then a miracle happened as I
underwent polio-corrective surgery, persuaded by your
teams. After months of physiotherapy, m u c h anguish
and physical pain, n o w I can almost walk straight again."
Sure she does walk w e l l . T h e little l imp that she has is
barely visible. We should not let any chi ld get to this
stage in the first place.
The Smart Manager
In Vishnu's case, fortunately, we were able to turn
the clock back as we saw a lot of hope when the surgeons
reviewed her case. Reconstructive surgery in acute
cases is not even attempted. T h e n we try to rehabilitate
polio victims w i t h the Jaipur foot (artificial l imb) w h i c h
accords them mobil i ty to a large extent and reduces
their dependence on the family. In a way, it restores their
dignity and sense of self-esteem. For almost a decade,
polio eradication has been, and continues to be, a priority.
For the year 2010, we helped administer 6 m i l l i o n polio
drops, w o r k i n g closely wi th the government.
Besides this, we have mother-and-chi ld care projects
reaching out to w o m e n and chi ldren. O u r 18 hospitals
all over the country cater to more than 5,00,000 poor
people almost free of cost. At the world-class Adi tya
Bir la M e m o r i a l Hospital in Pune, 15% of the beds are
earmarked for the poor. T h r o u g h telemedicine facilities,
we connect the rural poor to our hospitals as w e l l .
water - the life force Water, w h i c h is the life force of people regardless of
geography, has been a perennial problem in India's
villages, w h i c h are often plagued by droughts. We have
been providing water on a continual basis to the villagers
that are in proximity to our plants. But this is for their
basic needs.
N o w we have evolved a mult i -pronged strategy
based on an integrated development plan. Engaging
the influential people in the c o m m u n i t y at every stage,
we worked w i t h water as the pivotal factor: replacing
traditional wells w i t h bore wells dug 400 feet d o w n the
belly of the earth to tap the natural underground
water aquifers.
We have recharged underground water sources,
such as tube wells and open wells, through rainwater
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harvesting. We have helped construct check dams in
as many villages as possible: at G i n d w a n i a in Nagda
( M P ) , rainwater collected f rom the roof of the village
school is diverted to a water pipe. We have also installed
handpumps at intervals of 10-15 houses and provided
training for their maintenance and repair. For water
conservation at the c o m m u n i t y level, we have helped
harvest the excess runof f for catering to micro needs, for
instance kitchen gardens and soak-pits.
shakuntala's story Let me share w i t h y o u another touching and
inspirational story, the story of Shakuntala. Shakuntala
lives in the D u d h i B lock of Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh.
A mother of five chi ldren, she along w i t h other village
w o m e n w o u l d trudge 5 k m to fetch four pots of water
for the family, and even that w o u l d barely suffice.
Voic ing her opin ion in t i m i d tones, she w o u l d say
that w o m e n in the villages are chi ldren of a lesser
god, given the hardships faced by them. O u r team
took this up as a challenge. Backed by our Group 's
resources and U N I C E F , they installed hand pumps at
an interval of every 10 houses in 110 villages, giving
water to over a 100,000 people. No longer d i d w o m e n
have to spend hours on end collecting water. T h e
U N I C E F collaboration entailed that the handpumps be
maintained by w o m e n . Shakuntala was the first w o m a n
volunteer. Today, she is a qualified handpump mechanic
earning US$650 , in the summer months, w he n the
pumps need to be repaired.
Shakuntala has, in turn, trained another 80 w o m e n
as handpump mechanics. These w o m e n , w h o cannot
read or write, earn a good deal of money by
rural standards.
Today, Shakuntala very proudly says that f rom being
a seeker of charity, she is n o w a teacher. She says that the
G r o u p has been a life changer not only for her but for
all the 110 villages w h o n o w have easy access to w a t e r —
their life force. Another 45,000 w o m e n across India feel
empowered, w o r k i n g in 4,500 self-help groups set up by
our teams. T h e y are making a l iv ing. L ike Shakuntala,
they believe that they are n o w in charge of their
o w n destiny.
sustainable livelihood To address the issue of poverty alleviation effectively,
we have evolved a mult ipronged strategy. Its planks
are education and vocational training for self-help
groups among rural w o m e n . At our vocational training
institutes all over, we conduct certified, skil l -oriented
programs for both the rural and the urban youth.
A l l of our projects are carried out in partnership w i t h
the Government , and wherever necessary, w i t h reputed
N G O s . Just to give y o u two examples, at UltraTech's
V i k r a m Cement , we are w o r k i n g in the public private
partnership (PPP) Watershed Project w h i c h w i l l go on
stream in the N e e m u c h District of M a d h y a Pradesh.
O u r collaborators are the Rajiv G a n d h i Watershed
M i s s i o n and the Water and Irrigation Department of
the Government of M a d h y a Pradesh. In a phase-wise
implementation, our collective efforts w i l l br ing 5,000
hectares of land under irrigation, directly benefiting
20,000 farmers and their families.
Likewise, we are w o r k i n g in partnership w i t h the
CII/The European Union/Br i t i sh Counc i l/Ci ty and
Guides ( U K ) , the technical support partner, in a project
on vocational training for vulnerable and marginalized
groups in Sirsa (Haryana) and Sitapur ( U P ) ; in several
projects w i t h N A B A R D for the rural populace; w i t h
Habitat for Humani ty , for homes for the homeless; and
w i t h C A R E India, for maternal and newborn healthcare,
a t Jagdishpur in Lucknow. T h e P P P model , where in
the government bodies play a vital role along w i t h other
key associates, is arguably the best model , since pool ing
of our collective resources lends enormous depth and
breadth to projects.
broadening the base In a far wider move in India, we have aligned w i t h
F I C C I (Federation o f Indian Chambers o f C o m m e r c e
& Industry) and set up the F I C C I - Aditya Bir la C S R
Centre for Excellence. T h e vis ion of our Centre, the
The PPP model, wherein the government bodies play a vital role along with other key associates, is arguably the best model.
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Today's youth want to ensure that the benefits of capitalism percolate down. Like us, our talent believes that wealth creation is a noble pursuit.
first of its k i n d in the w o r l d , is "To incubate, nurture
and accelerate a paradigm of sustainable and inclusive
C S R in India, thereby raising the H u m a n Development
Index through poverty alleviation."
We have sponsored C o l u m b i a Globa l Centre's
Earth Institute in M u m b a i , India. We believe that the
Earth Institute w i l l go a long way in making sustainable
development in India a ground reality and help us in
poverty alleviation.
W i t h a v iew to creating both employabil i ty and
entrepreneurship, we are w o r k i n g on a major project
named N a t i o n B u i l d i n g in South India. T h e project
encompasses a diverse range of disciplines that
w i l l foster inclusive, sustainable growth, and create
employability for the nation's youth.
At the heart of all these interventions, our primary
goal is poverty alleviation and long-term sustainability.
the global focus Besides India, we w o r k in many other countries. In
Egypt, we have adopted 2 schools. T h e El K h a l i d i n
School w h i c h is close to our plant, and the Kafr El
Sheikh School for vocational training, where university
the students are taught by university professors. We
have set up a tailoring center for w o m e n , largely
divorcees and widows . We are reaching out to
chi ldren in two orphanages. We have also set up the
intensive care unit at a cancer hospital for chi ldren in
collaboration w i t h the Government .
In Thai land, we have established the Aditya Bir la
Knowledge Centre, a vocational training center for
the weaker sections of society. In Phi l ippines , we have
helped hundreds of physically challenged people w h o
were crippled to get back on their feet through the
Jaipur foot.
The Smart Manager
At our Canadian C o m p a n y Nove l i s , headquartered
in Atlanta, we have mounted a massive recycling
education program involv ing our people and the local
communit ies . N o v e l i s is the world 's largest recycler of
used beverage cans, to the tune of 35 m i l l i o n cans in
a year.
the Rol Let me n o w move on to h o w our engagement w i t h
underserved communit ies has profited us. Profit not
in the normal sense of the term quantified monetarily,
but going far beyond the bottom-l ine mentality. We
k n o w what we are do ing is benefiting society. So our
motivation is very different. O u r C S R deployment has
translated into four distinct advantages.
• Firstly, our activities provide us w i t h a great
reputational lever that translates into a distinct values-
led-company image. T h i s enables us to attract, retain
and energize talent. Professionals feel a sense of comfort
w h e n they see h o w our G r o u p transcends business and
is genuinely committed to social upliftment. Today's
youth want to ensure that the benefits of capitalism
percolate d o w n . Like us, our talent believes that wealth
creation is a noble pursuit. T h e y feel that wealth can
be best enhanced by distributing it. A new ethos of
generosity is surfacing. T h i s is clearly seen in the
willingness to bu i ld a society that works for everyone.
T h e y prefer to w o r k for companies w h o are strong
in C S R .
O u r employees and potential employees think of
us as a G r o u p that is cast in that m o l d , a G r o u p that
mirrors their personal values. O u r reward lies in the fact
that we have been named 'The Best Employer in India
and among the top 20 in Asia ' , by the H e w i t t - E c o n o m i c
Times and Wal l Street Journal Study in 2007. In 2009,
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we were ranked 6th across the Asia Pacific Region in
the 'Great Place for Leaders to W o r k ' study by H e w i t t
and Fortune.
• Secondly, our w o r k has created, and continues to
create tremendous goodwil l among consumers, far
in excess of the price tag. Consumers look upon our
G r o u p and its companies as having a social conscience,
so there is a marked preference for our products and
services. In all the sectors that we operate in—cement,
a l u m i n u m , copper, viscose staple fibre, carbon b l a c k —
we are among the topmost in industry. A n d these
undoubtedly are profitable businesses.
• Thirdly , mi l l ions of our shareholders and investors
are proud of our G r o u p . T h e y feel that this is a G r o u p
that they w o u l d definitely like to support. In all our
G r o u p companies' annual reports, we provide quantified
evidence of our social and environment performance.
I have seen at the annual general meetings, the special
pride that shareholders take in their involvement w i t h
our companies on this score. Investors also flock to
our G r o u p .
• Fourthly, social projects are also a means of
sharing w i t h the c o m m u n i t y the values that we as an
organization stand for. It is a way of tel l ing them that we
care about y o u , that your concerns are ours as w e l l , and
that we are a principled people led by a moral compass.
Mainstreaming C S R into our businesses and
delivering societal value has given us tremendous
profits, albeit of a different k ind—the turnaround of
human lives, l i f t ing tens of thousands of people out of
stark poverty. There is a newfound dignity among them.
What more can one ask for? •
Mainstreaming CSR into our businesses and delivering societal value has given us tremendous profits, albeit of a different kind.
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