Letters: Spending transparency | Business Standard

Letters: Spending transparency | Business Standard


Spending transparency*



Transparent CSR

This refers to the reports “Govt notifies rules for CSR activities”  and “Revised guidelines on party funds”(February 28). Any initiative to bring transparency in spending from CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) funds and to curb use of black money for fighting elections should be welcomed. Even the long list of ‘eligible’ activities that can be funded with CSR allocations has not satisfied the corporates which crave for more flexibility in this regard.
In the matter of social responsibility and avoidance of unethical practices in election expenditure, there are bound to be constraints for any regulatory approach to succeed. The final ‘judge’ will be the society and the Aam Aadmi who exercises his right to vote. The media and the educated population should play their role in creating awareness about the spirit of guidelines among the masses, who, in turn, should press for self-regulation by corporates and politicians.
Incidentally, it would be desirable to keep donations like the ones to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund outside CSR, so that such funds could be directly deployed for the benefit of geographical areas from which the corporates operate.
M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram

*Copied here is the unedited version of letter addressed to BS.

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