The greatest men who have walked this earth have always emphasized on giving back to the society. And Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), thinks no different. On the appendage, he has been advocating a change CSR model (corporate social responsibility) into a “continuous social business through enterprise and entrepreneurship”.
RIL has had a long tradition of supporting larger societal institutions in the field of education, healthcare, youth empowerment and much more. At Ficci AGM held on Tuesday, Mukesh Ambani suggested many a fine reform models quoting that, “The purpose of any business cannot be only profit. Profit for the shareholders is important. But unless entrepreneurs have a larger purpose and businesses that change lives of millions of people, a sustainable business cannot be created.
And who better to suggest reform in CSR than the man who knows the significance of co-operative augmentation for the larger good the best. Just last week, Mukesh Ambani struck a $9-billion deal with British energy major BP that would bring India its biggest FDI so far. And RIL’s gas and oil finds off the Andhra coast is estimated to save India some $9 billion in import bill; a rather huge sum of money that can be diverted towards the making provisions for healthcare, education and skills for those who are deprived access to these basic necessities.
Ambani also suggested that outlays on healthcare need to grow manifold in terms of its repute, quoting that, “Our demographic dividend, the youth and the young, are largely unprotected and uncared for. We will need to radically transform healthcare delivery to all our people.”
He emphasized the surging need to invest in economic growth and development from inside out in this spate of inflation. He suggested that the focus of development should be agricultural and rural development and empowerment, as it is this section of people who form the larger section of end users who are most directly affected by fluctuation in the economy.
He spoke of the under-leveraged consumer class from the tier II and tier III regions, which are still at the pith due to their backwardness in economic know-how and functions of modern day world. It is this class of people who are in dire need of transformation in terms of awareness, education and basic societal skills, and only then can the economy prosper in tune with the larger vision the government hones dear to its plans.
A visionary like Mukesh Ambani, a philanthropist of the modern world, is one of the many leaders who today realize and understand the need for personal empowerment and co-operative growth rather than isolated vertical advancement. His vision for transforming CSR towards improving the overall societal utility value is definitely a noble endeavor with immense reflection.