The CSR initiatives has been introduced by corporations with an objective to build responsible businesses that help in achieving the stakeholder’s satisfaction. In its true sense, most of the companies try to integrate people, purpose and profits on the strategic planning and sanctioning of CSR activities. CSR projects and activities in many ways enhances the reputation, gain reciprocation from customers and policy makers or government agencies and it evolves to be an improved innovation capacity mechanism.

• To deliberate on the interrelationships between strategic CSR Investments and Innovation for building a sustainable future
• To examine ways on how companies can contribute to social performance by fostering CSR activities
• To gain perspectives on how CSR-Innovation in companies are driven through the focus of competitiveness and societal developmental frameworks

From the perspectives of Industrial opportunities coming up from various Industry reports it can be observed that there is a persisting skill gap. This demands for a focus on reimaging education with a focus on Skills and competencies development as per the NEP 2020 vision is only possible by working in collaboration with the Industry. This will help the country to exploit the fruits of its demographic divided. This session will sets its focus on how can academic institutions’ and corporates can collaborate in skill development initiatives of the corporates CSR initiatives.

• To investigate the role of Corporate CSR in achieving National Skill Development
• To strategize how CSR funding on skill training of the local community can influence social development
• To investigate the various possibilities of partnerships between Academic Institutions’ and Industry related to skill development and implementation of CSR as per Industry 4.0 and beyond

Education is the highway to development of any society and teaching-learning Institutes are at the front lines in the battle against social and economic marginalization. It is important to align CSR into teaching-learning and research as it guides the students behaviour to become socially aware, be a responsible citizen, practice ethics and learn to give back to the society. A socially responsible individual joining the workspace will care for the stakeholders to the business and engage to ensure that the economic deliverables create a social impact for growth of the nation.

• To explore and examine the various ways to teach your students about corporate social responsibility and make them aware
• To help and equip students in Fulfilling their Social Responsibilities through community development or social impact projects as a Student
• To explore frameworks that can promote awareness on students to take up research projects to resolve societal issues or problems
• To gain insights on how CSR can successfully align funds for research in incubators and create opportunities for the youngsters

Adopting a Regenerative Approach to Business will be to enhance understanding of the Circular Business Model (CBM) which is gaining momentum in industry, policy making and academia as an alternative model that minimises resource depletion, waste, and emissions by: employing fewer materials and resources for producing products, extending the life of current products through refurbishment, recycling and designing supply chain to facilitate reverse logistics. Environmental sustainability promotes corporate economic growth, environmental management and community development.

• To examine and analyse the relevance of CSR frameworks in Circular Business Model for minimizing resource depletion, waste, and emissions.
• To help and equip students in Fulfilling their Social Responsibilities through community development or social impact projects as a Student
• To discuss environmental disclosure as a form of corporate social responsibility to boost financial and environmental performance as well as to add value to a firm.

The session's goal is to examine recent corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the field of entrepreneurship, with a focus on companies that provide funding or services to entrepreneurs through CSR-driven projects. It will include information on how these companies operate, what funds they provide for entrepreneurs, and whether they are legally permitted to provide funding in this manner. A growing number of businesses have also stepped up with CSR programmes that allow them to give grants or invest in Social Entrepreneurship and community projects that support entrepreneurial endeavours.

• To foster enterprises and social innovations through various sources of CSR funding
• To reinforce equally valuable models of partnership between start-ups and corporates CSR policy initiatives
• To create and promote ecosystem to nurture Entrepreneurship through CSR activities.
• To analyse the tangible social impact generated by sponsored corporations.

In a paradigm characterized by unprecedented levels of transparency and visibility, public stakeholders and disclosure standards have gained considerable power in their ability to drive trends toward more sustainable business practices. Amidst the advent of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global sustainability discourse has progressed to a point where it is inseparable from the role of the firm. Corporate Social Responsibility relates to the social and environmental initiatives that an organisation incorporates into its ‘business operations and interactions with its stakeholders’ to build a sustainable future. Many businesses action CSR on a basic level by donating money to charities or by choosing a ‘charity of the year‘ to support. While this has short-term benefits, we must acknowledge the distinction between charitable giving and strategic CSR, which has a long-term impact on social and environmental prosperity. Now more than ever, competition is fierce and innovation is fast.

Organisations need to evaluate the bigger picture, not just their bottom line. This is where CSR plays its part, and it’s encouraging profit-driven businesses to transform into purpose- led organisations. What must be considered a keystone element of progressive competitive strategies, creating shared value for the common good has become integral to CSR in a way that changes the narrative on ‘what’ constitutes CSR and ‘how’ companies approach it in practice Conceptualized under ethical motives for societal well-being, the proliferation of business case(s) for CSR now materializes as a fiduciary duty and the sustainability case of business. As the concept of CSR evolves, it is critical to understand how the SDGs and sustainability more broadly are influencing corporate strategy, CSR agendas, reporting practices, disclosure mechanisms, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory requirements.

Overview: In recent years corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important for the businesses to contribute to sustainable development. CSR has potential to become a strategic activity adding value on different dimensions—business, society, and ecosystems. CSR for creation of shared value needs to become integrated with strategy of the firm and with the core business operations. CSR ‘Built-in’ as an integral part of business strategy and operations will include efforts to integrate economic, ecological, and social values into business processes, make production processes more sustainable and to improve the ecological and social properties of the products, services or goods, either by improving existing products or by creating new products. CSR The strategic CSR must measure and monitor these new or additional value. The reason for this is twofold, On the one hand, given the public interest in CSR, CSR is closely related to transparency, accountability and legitimacy and requires some form of validation. On the other hand, if CSR is to become a strategic activity for creation of shared value, the firm itself will have a need to monitor the impact of its activities. Strategic CSR urges firms to assess their value added (or destroyed) across ecological, social, and economic dimensions and to incorporate those impacts into management decisions.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a very responsible task for any corporate. Increasingly, investors, customers, and governments are asking companies how their activities uplift lives and improve the world. Social investment through charity partnerships is one way that businesses are answering those questions while also improving their bottom line.
Well-managed social investments demonstrate to stakeholders that a company has purpose, is trustworthy, and manages its intangibles such as brand, reputation, innovation, and talent well.
Reports from various Corporates also found that strong social investment indicates to shareholders that the C-suite is strategic, forward-looking, and capable of handling a wide range of situations. Lastly, it suggests that the company has a positive outlook for its future financial performance.
According to a report by a leading company the company holds its position on the basis of social investments, including partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs),who can deliver up to a 6% increase in share price, a 20% increase in sales, a 13% jump in productivity, a 50% decrease in employee turnover, and a boost to reputation worth up to 11% of a company's market cap

Businesses have always partnered with NGOs when looking to tackle social and environmental issues that matter to them. Well-known examples include GSK's partnership with Save the Children to help reduce child mortality, the Aviva-British Red Cross collaboration to help communities with disaster preparedness and response, and Lifebuoy's partnership with NGOs to promote hand hygiene. A further example is DANONE's partnership with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the International Union for Conservation of Nature to restore natural ecosystems that support disadvantaged rural communities. Corporate and not-for-profit partnerships are also on the rise. The 2018 Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer from C&E Advisory, a UK-based consultancy, has found that 86% of corporate respondents and 88% of NGO respondents see the role of corporate-NGO partnerships growing in importance over the next three years.
Most corporates focus their social responsibility efforts on a specific set of causes. This shortlist typically emerges from one or more of the following: the needs and ground realities where the business operates; reference to larger frameworks such as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals; alignment with the business's core competencies, brand, and corporate values; and long- term benefits for the company.

NGO partners, with their rich grassroots experience, help businesses bring about transformative social change much more quickly than they can achieve on their own. Businesses benefit on multiple levels from charity partnerships. Volunteer opportunities and internal communication on the journeys and successes of these projects make employees more sensitive to the communities they work in and create goodwill and loyalty towards the employer.
CSR activities also help businesses earn the license to operate in hard-to-reach markets. Strategic partnerships with NGOs have also helped large businesses emerge with credibility when exposed to unethical practices along their supply chains. Examples he cited include UK retailer John Lewis, one of whose suppliers was involved in modern slavery, and consumer goods multinationals Kellogg's, Nestlé, P&G, and Unilever, which were found to be sourcing palm oil from a supplier with unsustainable practices. In both of these instances it was the equity these businesses had built through their long-standing charity partnerships that greatly mitigated the reputational risk to which they were exposed, Seevaratnam said.

Among the activities covered under the Schedule VII of Companies Act 2013, which may be included under the companies CSR policies, rural development projects are enlisted as one major area of CSR programs. Effective rural governance with active citizen participation is a vital tool in making the empowerment happen in a more sustainable manner.
CSR is an entry point for understanding sustainable development issues and responding to them in a firm's business strategy. A sound CSR approach can help build share value, lower the cost of capital, and ensure better responsiveness to markets.

Corporate Social Responsibility has been recognized by policymakers and development specialists as a feasible driver for rural development. The involvement of private firms is a key element to foster rural development strategies. Companies participating in integrated value chains are expected to act as a strategic partner providing market opportunities for rural producers, as well as sharing technology, skills, and knowledge necessary with them. The benefits for firms include continuous supply of their products; strengthening of their supply chain; positive market recognition; access to specific market niches, and improvement of their position to manage the risks involved in the process

Building responsible business is based on the principle of business being accountable to all its stakeholders. CSR have become important and mandatory for mid to big-sized corporates as the Companies Act, 2013. Rule 8 of the CSR Rules provides that the companies, upon which the CSR Rules are applicable on or after 1st April, 2014 shall be required to incorporate in its Board's report an annual report on CSR. Reporting on the CSR initiatives and it’s spending are defined by the regulatory boundaries governing CSR activities to bring in more transparency and accountability. Corporates need to compulsorily form a CSR Committee, structure their CSR policy, and share it on publicly accessible domains. This session aims Adhering to the CSR reporting standards and disclosures to various stakeholders help organizations to build sustainable organizations with an impact to Nation’s economic growth and development.

• The key questions explored in this session shall be around the following session objectives
• To explore how corporates strategize, build capacities, implement and monitor their social investments from a closer lens.
• To gain perspectives on how businesses engage more meaningfully with their stakeholders, and go beyond regulatory financial compliance and report on their social impacts
• To examine global CSR reporting frameworks and initiatives

Overview: The CSR activities is closely linked to SDGs supported by a complex framework to engage the right stakeholders with right procedures to align CSR activities for attaining SDGs. The success of SDGs relies heavily on engaging the right stakeholders through collaborative network between the government, private sector, and civil society. SDGs will present an opportunity for business led solutions, thereby showcasing the role of businesses in advancing with sustainable development by minimizing negative impacts and maximizing positive impacts on people and planet. The need of the hour is to have interventions focusing local sustainable development, and manifesting opportunities of cohesive development thereby attaining the country commitments on SDGs.

• To identify the roles that the private sector, public sector and civil society can play in a collaborative manner to align CSR activities with the overall SDG realization.
• To explore the motivations of the partners for creating shared value.
• What will enable and imped the realization of this value in attaining SDGs

Good Governance plays a pivotal role in the Economic growth and development of the Nation and to the progress of building responsible businesses. To achieve such holistic and inclusive development the first step is to incorporate governance in various CSR activities undertaken. It is very important to for aligning the CSR activities based on ethical values , this shall interest various stakeholders to participate in the CSR initiatives. Some of these activities have been statutorily mandated under the Companies Act, 2013 such as vigil mechanism/ whistleblowing mechanisms, and so on. Research studies also show that corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are driven by ethical practices. The Indian government is stressing upon the need to adopt ethics, transparency, and accountability among businesses to promote responsible business practices. This effort is directed at increasing the outreach of corporate developmental activities.

• To explore the concept of ethics and its importance for the business, corporate governance and governance through sustainability
• To examine the impact of ethical practices on both corporate governance and corporate social responsibility
• To discuss, deliberate and learn on corporate governance and ethical frameworks/approaches of the organizations.

Growing evidence suggests that employees’ perceptions of their employer’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) relates positively to employee work engagement. In this dynamic work environment, the reasons for disengagement also tend to change. The researchers begin with an awareness that the millennial generation prioritizes societal concerns. This is an important connection given the impact of work engagement on both employee health and organizational productivity, as well as the importance of CSR for society. But, CSR perceptions-work engagement relationship cannot be assumed to be universal, and both individual and contextual factors will place meaningful boundary conditions on this effect.

This Theme aims to discusses wheather involving CSR activities as part of training can lead to excellent work culture and ensure higher employee engagement.

This session is aimed to understand the academic institutions have been assumed to act as platform to grow knowledge of students and learning. Industry on the other hand applies the knowledge practically for creating a sustainable society. The collaboration between the two is however important to truly leverage innovation amongst youth for growth and to emerge as global leaders.

The organizations must promote its Corporate Social Responsibility funds to ignite the spark of innovation in young minds. The enabler by working in partnership with the industry and academia and community engagement programs not only develops the skill sets but also contributes in the generation, acquisition and adoption of knowledge within the organisation, promotes the spirit of entrepreneurship (start-ups and spin-offs) and contributes towards creation of an innovation ecosystem for the growth of nation.

• To understand how promoting CSR in young minds can provide skilled talent and contribute to the development of the society through community engagement and partnering with the industry.
• To explore the interdependent relationship of academia-industry collaboration to create an effective innovation ecosystem, especially through the strategic use of CSR funds.
• To empower young innovators to become promoters of sustainable innovation ecosystems in the country.
• To drive the culture of raising young innovators in HEI’s and serve as exemplary role models for other institutions.