Doing good is good business

Aditya Birla group's CSR engagement is a way of living its values

In the recent past, more than ever before, we have seen a paradigm shift in the very concept of business. The time is long past when the only purpose of business was to make money, grow reve­nues, market shares and profits. And reap the profits back into the multifold stakeholders. This was okay in earlier times. Businesses now have to earn the respect and goodwill of society in which it operates. Businesses have to earn the license to operate.

To address this issue, the UN came forth with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), collectively evolved by its 193 member states, including India and endorsed by all progressive business organisations. The SDGs, are a bold universal agreement, to end poverty, every which way. Its laudable vision is also to craft an equal, fair and secure world for peo­ple, the planet, and prosperity by 2030.

So, today several business houses run businesses with a much larger purpose. There is mindfulness among corporates on the inequities in society. There is an accent on a shared vision of develop­ment. More and more corporates are engaged in meaningful welfare driven activities that make a difference to the lives of the marginalised.

Every government has focused on inclusive growth, pivoted on a national development agenda premised on the single point of poverty alleviation. The SDGs outline 17 clear goals, all of which are uni­versally relevant - such as Goal No. 3: Good health and well-being; Goal No. 4: Education; Goal No. 8: Decent work, and economic growth. These are chal­lenges that we in India face. We firmly believe, that these cannot be resolved by just the government or philanthropists. Businesses must help overcome them and make it their purpose.

India has made huge strides. Poverty in India is down to 21 per cent, according to the govern­ment estimates. In a highly laudatory article on India recently in The New York Times, mentioned that "A booming economy is lifting 40 million out of poverty and is expected to have the majority of its population in the middle-class already equal to the entire US population by 2025".

As a point in reference, let's take the year 1947, when we became an independent country. In 1947, life expectancy was 32 years. Today, it is nearly 69 years. Infant mortality is down from 161 (for every thousand births) to 40. Access to quality maternal health services has more than tripled as have institu­tional deliveries which now stand at over 80 per cent (WHO Report). The overall death rate, which was at 25.5 per thousand, has fallen to 7 per thousand. So, we see a substantial improvement.

Even as the struggle for equality, for dignity and for raising the quality of life of each and every per­son in the 1.2 billion cohort is still on, every effort is being made to mitigate this issue. The government has done enormous work, but we have to do more. Fortunately, social investment is gaining traction. There is the ecosystem of investors, entrepreneurs and enablers, all of whom are significantly engaged in social impact initiatives. India is in the midst of a historic transformation. There is the promise, of the end to poverty by 2022, as also a decent roof over every individual's head and a life of dignity through sustainable livelihood. Too much inequality is not just unfair but can also lead to social instability and ultimately hurt economic growth. And that is why business must make it their purpose to achieve this vision, in step with the government. It owes this to itself and to the nation.

Pursuing the SDGs is one of the ways to fast for­ward those engagements with the government and other corporates. This will have maximum impact and achieve scale with minimum re-invention of the wheel. The government's 2 per cent CSR mandate in 2013 has led to more than 20,000 companies con­tributing beyond business to enable the underpriv­ileged to live a life of purpose and dignity. Families such as ours - the Birlas, Tatas, Bajajs and Godrejs to name a few - have always, and continue to conduct business, with a purpose.

That said, I would like to address three issues, which beg for urgent attention from business. The first is on the need to realise, as I said earlier, that the corporation is an integral part of society. People are at its base. So, both within the fence and outside, there must be the essence of empathy for people, regardless of caste, creed or religion. The second is the retooling of education and the third is on lever­aging our demographic dividend.

Moving on to education

H.G. Wells, the renowned historian (early 20th Cen­tury) in his voluminous work The Outline of History, had written: "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe". We have always believed that education truly is the stairway to progress and growth every which way. When you look at the state of education in India, there is a sense of dismay. Let me quote figures from the Annual Status of Education Report 2018, brought out by the NGO Pratham. Across 596 districts sur­veyed 5,46,527 students from 3,54,944 homes, the survey revealed a huge amount of learning deficit. It pointed out that only 50 per cent of all students in Class V can read texts meant for Class II students. The learning deficit is across government and private schools at different levels.

There is a felt need to re-examine our educational system in a holistic manner. One that can stoke curiosity in a student, make learning enjoyable and a fun-filled exercise so that he or she attains their maximum creative potential. Today, we see tens of thousands of children slipping through the cracks because education does not enthuse them by and large. Add to it their life conditions. We need to retool the system. Both business and the govern­ment need to invest more in education, make teach­ing a fulfilling and paying profession. This calls for huge efforts in upping the quality of teachers.

Several advanced countries have opted for Dual Enrollment System, which entails a unique combine of high school curriculum coupled with a vocational training programme in the higher grades. In Germany, for instance, in the framing of curriculum at the higher levels business houses/ employers are in the loop and together they set the syllabus. The system is designed to arm the student with marketable skills along with a board level certificate.

In sum, the quality of teacher, guidance and coun­selling need a leg up - and this brings to the next point, and that is India's demographic dividend.

I strongly believe that our demographic divi­dend is highly dependent on the learning level of students. The quality of education is inextricably linked with our country's progress. On it rests our competitiveness as a country.

Undeniably, the biggest factor driving growth is our population. India's demographic dividend, I believe is our demographics. India is one of the youngest countries in the world, with a median age of 27.3 (which means half the population, or about 650 million) are below this age. Compared to 34.9 years for China and 37.0 years for the US, we are at an advantage. Other large countries that are similarly placed as India are Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia.

India's youth bulge is the sharpest in the key 15-24 age group, even as its youngest and oldest age groups are narrowing. India's working age popula­tion (age bracket 15-65 years) now represents 60 per cent of the total population.

By 2025, the middle income and upper middle income segment together is projected to number 600 million, compared to 250 million at present. That means that, by 2025, India's so-called 'mid­dle-class' will, in absolute numbers, total 70 per cent more than the entire US population of 350 million. By 2025, India's middle class would represent over 40 per cent of the country's population. And this is a great story to tell.

However, the demographic dividend is not a given. A lot needs to be done to make it happen or else it can slip out of reach and become a missed 19am so" opportunity. Growth, by itself, rings hollow if it is not accompanied by a better quality of life, entailing good education, healthcare, a roof over one's head and sustainable employment. In fact, creating mean­ingful employment that optimises the potential of our young people should be the overarching objec­tive. Without job creation on such unprecedented scale, India's quest to capture the demographic div­idend will remain a mirage. And the way to do that as I mentioned earlier is through education and vocational training.

Job growth must be accompanied with measures aimed at improving the reach and quality of health care and housing. India can figure much higher on the ranking of the Human Development Index.

Our vision

At the Aditya Birla group, our approach has been an integrated, holistic one, factoring the needs of the underprivileged. Our articulated CSR vision is: `to actively contribute to the social and economic development of the underserved communities, lifting the burden of poverty and helping bring in inclusive growth and, in doing so, build a bet­ter, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society and raise the country's Human Develop­ment Index'.

We work in 5,000 villages, reaching out to 7.5 million people pan India. We have a very holis­tic approach. Our focus areas are - education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure development and social reform.

With my son, Kumar Mangalam, we have embarked on the path of a transformative jour­ney, hinged on restoring the dignity, of the under­privileged. Kumar Mangalam has institutionalised the process by setting up the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives & Rural Development, which I am privileged to lead, assisted by Dr. Prag­nya Ram and a dedicated team of 200 professionals, along with a field force of over 1,200 people. It is a fully professional set-up.

Of the 5,000 villages in which we work, we have adopted 300 villages to be transformed into model villages. Here, in a five-year time frame, the vil­lages are rendered self-reliant in every aspect, mov­ing out of the 'below the poverty line' status. So far, more than 90 villages in India's hinterland have already reached the level of model villages. Here, every child is enlisted in the school, every house­hold is able to meet the necessities of life and have moved from backwardness to progress. There is a new found dignity among the villagers, who are now self-assured, confident with a reasonable level of happiness.

For us in the Aditya Birla Group, our CSR engage­ment is a way of living our values and playing a leadership role as a responsible corporate citizen. The philosophy of giving and caring is in the DNA of the family.