Media Release
BSE, CII and IICA launch “Sammaan”, a CSR Initiative
29th April 2015, Delhi : Asia’s oldest Exchange – BSE, has come together with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to launch an initiative called ‘Sammaan’, which will be a platform for Corporate Social Responsibility. The new platform will be formally launched in 45 days from this point forward in order to enable corporates to access IAs whose credentials have been verified and IAs to generate funds and enhance their transparency and visibility. Under the new Companies Act, certain classes of profitable companies are required to devote at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profits towards CSR activity.
BSE, CII and IICA have collaborated to form the CSR Platform to enable companies to undertake effective CSR. As per recent analysis done by BSE, there are 1294 companies listed on the BSE that are required to spend on CSR by the law. There are an estimated 20 lakh IAs registered in India. Corporates, especially the small and medium ones, will need assistance to identify an NGO that they can partner with for their CSR compliance.
Sammaan aims to provide this assistance in the role of trusted intermediary between corporate and IAs. It will provide access to credible IAs from across India, working in all the sectors mentioned in Schedule VII, Section 135 of Companies Act 2013.IAs. IAs listed on Sammaan will provide clear and defined programs, objectives, expected outcomes and budgets. Sammaan will provide corporates with Program dashboard to monitor funding and progress of the CSR programs initiated by them.
IAs will have the opportunity of listing their organization on Sammaan and gain visibility on one of the largest listing of corporate donors. A Letter of Fulfillment provided by BSE to the corporate donors will increase the credibility of the IAs and their programs. Programme reports may be submitted on the Sammaan platformin a standardised format for ease of management of multiple programs and donors. The Sammaan dashboard will also be available to Implementation Agencies for tracking of funding received for programmes and updating corporates on the progress of their CSR programs.
Speaking on this occasion Shri S.Ramadorai, Chairman of BSE said, “Sammaan is a much needed initiative to ensure smooth compliance with the new CSR requirements of the Companies Act. It has brought together the right partners in BSE, CII and IICA for the launch of this important platform. I am thankful to Shri. Praveen Chakravarty, BSE’s Strategic Advisor and Director of BSE Institute for championing this initiative with help from Samhita Social Ventures.”
Speaking on this occasion Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE said, In many ways Sammaan, the CSR Initiative is a unique platform, I am grateful to CII and IICA for the opportunity to partner with each other. The new CSR norm is a revolutionary idea and I am hopeful that this platform will provide a great proposition for Corporates and IAs”.
Speaking at the launch of Samman, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said, “ CII is committed to catalysing industry engagement towards inclusive development. The Samman platform will be an enabler for the corporate sector for effective execution of CSR Programmes. The partnership between BSE, IICA and CII will give further impetus to bring scale and sustainability to such initiatives”
Speaking on this occasion, Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, DG & CEO, IICA said “Partnering with Sammaan is in accordance with the larger mandate of IICA to facilitate effective corporate function and enable collaborative action between stakeholders. CSR offers corporate India the unique opportunity of participating in the national development agenda and Sammaan, with seamless access to the verified database of Implementing Agencies on the IICA IA Hub, will go a long way in ensuring effective partnerships for impactful results of CSR initiatives.”
About BSE:
Set up in 1875 as the Native Share & Stock Brokers Association, Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (“BSE”) is the first stock exchange in Asia and one of the oldest working public institutions in India. BSE is the fastest exchange in India with less than 200 microsecond’s response time. BSE has been a pioneer in promoting an investing culture among Indians and boasts of several achievements that dot its 140-year old history. BSE has been serving India for 140 years in the role of a catalyst, a trusted facilitator, an observer and a constant in the development of the capital market of India, pre-independence and post-independence. It has helped in asset formation across sectors, serving as a basis for wealth generation on a sustained basis.
Over last 140 years, BSE has helped India create wealth of close to Rs. 100 Lakh Crore making it amongst the top 10 exchanges in the world by market capitalization. BSE also currently ranks 1st in the world with more than 5500 stock listings. In 2014, BSE ranked as the 2nd largest exchange in the World in terms of number of index options contracts traded, 2nd largest in the World in terms of number of currency options contracts traded and 4th largest in the world in terms of number of currency futures contracts traded. BSE is also the 8th largest exchange in the World in terms of the number of trades executed. The S&P BSE Sensex, the first Indian Index, is considered as the Barometer of the Economy.
About CII:
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, India's premier business association has over 7400 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 250 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and networking on key issues. Extending its agenda beyond business, CII assists industry to identify and execute corporate citizenship programmes. Partnerships with civil society organizations carry forward corporate initiatives for integrated and inclusive development across diverse domains including affirmative action, healthcare, education, livelihood, diversity management, skill development, empowerment of women, and water, to name a few.
About IICA:
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), an autonomous institute, works under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to deliver opportunities for research, education, and advocacy. It is also a think tank that curates a repository of data and knowledge for policy makers, regulators as well as other stakeholders working in the domain of corporate affairs. IICA is a think-tank, capacity building and service delivery institute. Its work enables corporate growth, reforms and regulation through synergised knowledge management and propels knowledge and training through its network of schools and centres.
IICA also supports Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) initiatives on all matters relating to Corporate Affairs. Anticipation of corporate needs for effective functioning, reviewing corporate laws for effective amendments to cater to evolving business environments, exploring new paradigms such as investor education, and periodic reviews and updation of definitions, components and activities related to corporate governance are other prominent initiatives of the institute. The National Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility (NFCSR) housed within the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), is the premier center for enabling CSR in the country.
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Yatin Padia
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