Published: Tuesday, 23 August, 2016 4:56 PM
Abhivyakti 2016 organised by Rural Manager’s Association of XIMB-XUB
Rural managers shed light on social responsibilities at "Abhivyakti 2016"
Abhivyakti 2016-the Rural Management Conclave organized by RMAX, the Rural Manager’s Association of XIMB-XUB took place at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar on Sunday. The first session of the event was aimed at addressing the topic - how third parties can improve CSR processes. The speakers for the event were Mr. Sourav Banerjee, Country Director of India, Room to Read, Mr Arun Nagpal, Co-Founder and Director, Mrida Group, Mr Vivek Prakash, Associate Vice President, CSR, Jubiliant Life Sciences Limited, Mr Bibhuti Pradhan, Chief Manager (CSR & Sustainability Areas), Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Mr Suryamani Roul, Deputy Director, TechnoServe India.
The first speaker of the morning was Mr. Sourav Banerjee who spoke about the increasing trend of involvement of MBA graduates in nonprofit organizations due to CSR and its result in helping make NGOs cutting edging, helping them deliver and making them qualitatively better. “CSR”, he said, “is not only driven by social issues but also corporate branding”.
The second speaker of the event was Mr Arun Nagpal made a very powerful statement regarding a corporate’s ideal approach to CSR. “Think small. Think Different. Be a transformer.”, he said, highlighting the fact that these social initiatives do not resonate with the rural population because they cannot see the big picture.
The third speaker of the day was Mr Vivek Prakash addressed how CSR is a very natural process in the manufacturing sector. “If we are growing, we have to take care of the stake holders or communities around our areas of operation.”
The fourth speaker of the day was Mr Bibhuti Pradhan who brought to everyone’s attention the real motive behind introduction of CSR. “Criminalization of corporate acts” is the idea behind CSR. H said, “It is a 2% incentive to promote corporate brand. It isn’t a tax.”
The final speaker of the day was Mr Suryamani Roul who spoke about the introduction of technology in rural areas as part of CSR. He emphasized on the need to find ways to harness the community help for the process. He said, “Charity is not the answer. The answer is in working more and more with the rural community.”
The second session of the event was received with equal enthusiasm from the students and faculty and guest speakers present. The topic of dicussion was Rural Market: Tapping opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid. The speakers for the session were Ms Neelima Burra, Chief Marketing Officer / Business Head - Organised Retail /Country Head - Olive Oil, Cargill India, Mr. Pratyush Kumar Panda, CSR Head, ACC Limited, Mr Arun Nagpal, Co-Founder and Director, Mrida Group and Mr Charudatta Panigrahi, President and Chairman, FIDR.
Ms Neelima Burra explained that rural market is not about the distribution, concepts, market insights or even the product price. To tap the rural market, the issue of lack of basic infrastructure needs to be targeted. , Mr. Pratyush Kumar Panda introduced the concept of “beyond 2% kind of CSR” to the audience. Mr Arun Nagpal and Mr Charudatta Panigrahi also had interesting insights to offer on the potential of rural market in India.
The speeches were followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by the coordinator of RMAX. RMAX is a functional student committee of XIMB which provides a platform for practical learning and exposure to the rural management education.
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