IT heads against the idea of making CSR mandatory

Friday, 25 March 2011, 13:55 IST   |    2 Comments
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IT heads against the idea of making CSR mandatory
Bangalore : Software major Infosys'' CEO S Gopalakrishnan said philanthropy should not be made mandatory for Indian corporates, and instead called for great examples to encourage people to follow this path. "I don''t think it should be made mandatory. I think we should encourage people to do it (philanthropy)," added Gopalakrishnan, who was one of the guests at the lunch of legendary investor Warren Buffett. The India IT bellwether CEO also attended an interactive session with Buffett, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. "We should talk about examples, we should talk about stories (about philanthropic activities)", he said, adding, Buffett and Bill Gates are "great examples" in this context. "There are great examples in India also. So, I think we need to talk about these examples and people will follow (with philanthropic activities). I don''t think it should be made mandatory (for companies)" Gopalakrishnan said. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji also came out strongly against the idea of formulating laws on mandatory spending by industry on corporate social responsibility . "I don't think you generate CSR by putting statutory requirements. I think there is enough social consciousness among the larger companies to drive it on the basis of what they consider their responsibility," he said. Buffett has pledged 99 percent of his wealth in conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, of which he is the Chairman and CEO, to philanthropy.
Source: PTI