Slum redevelopment a CSR activity

Lubna Kably

Mumbai: TNN





Road Safety Awareness, Consumer Protection Services Also Eligible: Govt

Slum-redevelopment, road safety awareness and consumer protection services will be treated as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, according to clarifications issued by the ministry of corporate affairs in response to queries from stakeholders.BJP's election manifesto had promised to usher in a low-cost housing policy that would ensure every family in India a home by 2022. The ministry , in a circular, has clarified that slum-redevelopment or housing for economically weaker sections could be covered under the eligible CSR category of `measures taken for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups'.
Activities relating to road safety promotion, which is a dire need in India, are also likely to get a major fillip as the ministry has clarified these would also be treated as eligible CSR activities. Promoting road safety awareness through print, audio and visual media would qualify as a CSR activity under the broad head of `promoting education'; providing trainers to drivers would fall under `promoting vocational skills'; and social projects like giving medical and legal aid, treatment to road accident victims would fall under the eligible category of `promoting health care', explains the circular.
Any project meant for development of rural India will be treated as a `rural development' project and will be an eligible CSR activity . Likewise, supplementing government schemes like mid-day meals would also qualify as CSR for alleviation of poverty and malnutrition. Renewable energy projects would be eligible for promoting `environmental sustainability'.
Responding to a query from the Consumer Education and Research Centre, the ministry has clarified that consumer education and awareness related activities would also be eligible as CSR towards `promoting education'. Likewise, donations to IIM (A) for renovation of classrooms would be an eligible CSR activity to promote education. While the ministry has provided various illustrative clarifications, it has also stressed that the 10 categories of eligible activities outlined in Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2014 `must be interpreted liberally'. Activities outlined in this schedule are wide ranging and include those relating to promoting education, promoting preventive healthcare, rural development and even protection of national heritage, art and culture.
Salaries paid by companies to regular CSR staff and volunteers can also be factored into the project cost as part of the CSR expenditure. However, one-off events undertaken by India Inc, such as sponsoring marathons, awards, sponsorship of TV programmes, will not qualify as eligible CSR activities. Expenses incurred by India Inc for fulfilment of any regulations such as Labour Laws and Land Acquisition Act also would not count as CSR expenditure, adds the circular.
Even sustainable urban development and urban public transport system are not eligible CSR activities.
Experts point out that India Inc should proceed with caution. “The final rules to the Companies Act are clear that CSR activities do not include normal business activities. Thus, even if slum redevelopment qualifies as a CSR activity , a grey area would crop up, if a slum area is taken up for construction of villas and these slum dwellers are rehabilitated by the builder.“
The CSR provisions contained in The Companies Act, 2014, requiring large companies meeting certain financial criteria to either comply with the CSR spend or report non-compliance kicked in from April 1. These companies are required to spend 2% of their average net profit of the last three years on CSR activities.

Source::::: The Times of India, 26.06.2014, p.17,   http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Slum-redevelopment-a-CSR-activity-26062014015009

10 Indian varsities in Times Asia rankings

Dramatic improvement compared to three last year

Ten Indian institutions have made it to this year’s Asia University Rankings by Times Higher Education, while Japan topped the list with 20 institutes on the top-100 list. Last year only three institutions from India had figured on the list. IIT-Bombay   is not on this year’s list (see chart). Last year it was ranked 33.

Panjab University, 32nd on list this year, was the topmost from India. This institution was also the topmost institution of higher education in the country, according to theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings released in October 2013. The rankings revealed that China is posing a stiff challenge to Japan, which used to enjoy supremacy in the region. Although the latter retained its premier position, with the University of Tokyo scoring the No. 1 position and other 19 of its universities in the top 100, it lost two candidates from the list. On the other hand, China has improved its position with 18 of its universities figuring on list against 15 in 2013.

It showed that India made maximum progress in this year’s rankings. India now has 10 universities on the list. Panjab University (32nd rank) is followed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur (45th), IIT-Kanpur (55th) and six more IITs. Jadavpur University (76th), Aligarh Muslim University (80th) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (90th) have also found place on the list.

In third place is South Korea with 14 institutions, followed by Taiwan with 13 (down from 17 last year). While Japan is the top-most country, the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (81st  in 2013) and Yokohama National University (joint 96th) have exited the table this year and three more institutions are close to the precipice: Okayama University (down nine places to 94th), Kanazawa University (96th) and Chiba University (which has fallen a massive 23 places to 98th). 

India’s Secretary for Higher Education Ashok Thakur writes the question of whether the country should go “full hog” for the global university rankings “has mercifully been laid to rest by none other than the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, who has made it clear that as a matter of policy, all institutions in the country have to participate wholeheartedly in the rankings process”.

Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings, said these prestigious rankings were wonderful news for India. “A drive to introduce systematic quality assurance and accreditation for the country’s huge range of higher education institutions, plus plans to boost university research, should push it even further. And the election of a majority government raises the prospect of further decisive action in the higher education sphere, cutting through the red tape that has untrammeled previous initiatives,” he said.

The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2014 is one of the world’s largest academic reputation surveys with 10,000 academics in 2013 and almost 60,000 since 2010. It has thirteen indicators across five areas taken into account, and examines all the core missions of the modern global university — research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international activity.

Source | Business Standard | 19 June 2014

URL's barti.maharashtra.gov.in Source:::: Times of India, 18.06.2014, p.27,        http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=18_06_2014_027_008&type=A&eid=31804

Amended law may not stand legal challenge





WE'LL FIGHT: DANCE BAR BODY

The dance bar ban in Maharashtra will continue with the state cabinet amending its 2005 law to prohibit performances in bigger, starred hotels and removing the bias the Supreme Court had pointed out in the legislation to shoot it down.The draft will be tabled during the ongoing assembly session, said parliamentary affairs minister Harshavardhan Patil on Thursday , clarifying that once passed, the law will effect a total ban on dance bars and dance performances at five-stars. However, it does not extend to family parties in pubs and discotheques, and orchestras.
In 2005, the Maharashtra government had amended the Bombay Police Act, prohibiting dance performances in permit rooms, beer bars and eating houses across the state in a bid to ban dance bars.
The new move has left the hotel industry flabbergasted.
There is no clarity at the moment on whether special dance events, like on New Year's Eve, would be allowed in hotels. It is to be seen what the new amendment says.
To my knowledge, bars and dances will not coexist at all,“ a source close to the development said, indicating that there might not be any relaxation.
The final draft of the amended law will be made public when it is placed in the legislature.
The source added that according to the draft, within 30 days of the law being approved, existing dance bar licences will be cancelled and the deposits returned. A punishment of three year's imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh in fine has been proposed for those who breach the law.
The government has plugged one loophole, but still the amended law might not stand if challenged legally, the source said. The discrimination among patrons was one of the grounds the Supreme Court had raised while striking down the ban.
The more crucial points the courts had raised was the right of artistes to perform and women's right to earn a livelihood.
Last year, a bench of then Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S S Nijjar said the state's decision to amend the Bombay Police Act and im pose a ban on dancing in bars by girls in the name of ensuring safety of women and curbing obscenity was an overreaction. “It reflected lack of thinking to search for viable alternatives and resulted in largescale joblessness among women,“ the bench had said.
In 2005, while banning dance bars, the government had branded the bars as dens of iniquity and fronts for prostitution. It claimed they corrupted the young and were meeting places for criminals. Bar owners, activists and NGOs contested the ban, saying the establishments only staged dance shows. The dancers' labour union feared many of its members would be forced into prostitution.
In 2006, the Bombay high court ruled that the ban violated the constitutional right to earn a living and was against public interest.
There were around 400 dance bars in Mumbai before the ban. They employed over 65,000 women and 40,000 men, with the dancers earning up to Rs 25,000 per month.
Post-ban, the loss to government and industry was pegged at over Rs 3,000 crore.
On July 16, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld Bombay HC decision to junk the ban on dance bars in the state. TIMES VIEW: Banning dancing in bars must be one of the stupidest measures ever employed for controlling crime (which has been the government's avowed motive) anywhere in the world.
Controlling crime syndicates and the laundering of dirty money (which, according to the government, goes into funding bars) requires political and administrative will; it does not require a clamping down on forms of entertainment.
The move is anachronistic and defies all logic.





Source::: Times of India, 13.06.2014, p.7,    http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Amended-law-may-not-stand-legal-challenge-13062014005017