Minister of corporate affairs and minority affairs Salman Khurshid is now planning to synergise the working of his two ministries. This comes on the heels of his new drive to get minorities employed in the corporate sector by giving them the required training.
?We are going to have a public-private partnership with the corporates, in which we will spend money on the training programmes of minorities, upgrade their skills and then get them employed in the corporate sector. This way, we can find a common solution to the problem of unemployment and also address the lack of skilled workforce in India?, Khurshid said. He also added that corporate social responsibility should be encouraged through specific incentives for the corporate sector like fiscal relief or capital market incentives.
Khurshid had earlier said that the PM?s15-point programme for minorities provides special consideration to them for appointment in services like the police, railways, nationalised banks and public sector enterprises. Khurshid had said the three scholarship schemes and a coaching system for the students from minority communities have also been introduced, and this would encourage them to pursue education in technical and professional courses.
An official from the ministry of corporate affairs said, ?The ministry will be working on the concept of ?credit points? which suggests that corporates should come together and work along with the government in promoting inclusive growth in the country, and in turn get ?credit points? as an incentive.?
The concept of credit points will benefit almost all major companies in India that have a CSR programme in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, empowerment of women and the disabled. These include the Tata group, Infosys, Satyam Computer Services Limited, Bharti Enterprises, Coca Cola India Pvt Ltd, Pepsico, ITC Welcome group, Johnson & Johnson Ltd, NASSCOMM foundation, Thermax Limited and Hero Honda.
The ministry of corporate affairs and industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry had come out with a study on CSR last year, in which the role of the private sector in fos-tering inclusive growth and globalisation had been recognised.