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Paving the path spend weekends at home with her
water scientist husband Rakesh Sharma
Around 2010, the government woke up
to the potential of CSR in bringing about and solar engineer son Danish, who
a social transformation. Dr. Goswami also works in the renewable energy
was among the 17 select experts space. “During the week, the colleagues
appointed by the Ministry of Corporate here in Mumbai are my family. We have
Affairs to write the guidelines for a CSR a great team that gets things off the
framework. “The second draft was ground, allowing me to plan five years
accepted for the National Voluntary ahead,” says Dr. Goswami, adding that
Guidelines, which subsequently formed Godrej has a robust set of publicly-
the outline for SEBI’s Business declared CSR goals. From the
Responsibility Report for companies,” commitment to train one million
says Dr. Goswami, who is considered unemployed and under-employed
one of the country’s leading experts in youth in skills that will enhance their
the field of CSR. Just last year, the earning potential, to making
central government approached the environmental sustainability a key part
experts to update and rework the of the manufacturing process and value
guidelines. “We matched the chain across the businesses, the
framework with all the prevailing laws Greener India Goal 2020 is clearly
in the country, taking into account all defined. “On the training front, we have
the factors like economics, governance, already trained almost 270,000 people
etc.,” she shares, adding that one of the through multiple programmes, with
key recommendations is to bring in 200+ centres across the country,” says
transparency in policy making. “As a Dr. Goswami.
corporate house or a stakeholder, if you
are lobbying for a policy or change, it Sustained development
should be done in the open. There’s no
place for saying one thing behind closed Sustainability and meaningful impact
doors and another in the public are at the core of Dr. Goswami’s – and
domain,” says Dr. Goswami. the group’s - approach to CSR. Be it a
programme to combat malaria in nine
The CSR champion feels that the new districts of Madhya Pradesh in
Companies Act 2013, which partnership with NGO partner Family
recommends two per cent of average Health International and the state
net profit being spent on CSR, is a step government, or an initiative to drought-
in the right direction. “The good part is proof semi-arid regions in the country,
that the discussion has been taken to the focus in always on mitigation and
the Board level. It’s now a matter of not just surface-level activity. “For
time before it moves on from being just instance, our programme for drought-
about compliance and CSR gets the prone regions has a 5-7 year
attention that it deserves for its true framework that aims to create multiple
potential to be tapped,” she says. sources of income for rural families. If a
farmer’s crop fails, he can earn from
Growing with Godrej poultry, piggery or rearing goats, which
are considered as cash on hooves,” says
The Delhi-based professional divides Dr. Goswami.
her time between the capital and her
office in Mumbai. Meetings in the Similarly, the skilling programmes for
capital are scheduled in the beginning women to be trained as beauticians has
or end of the week so that she can expanded into making them
