Importance of corporate social responsibility in Business

New Delhi, Oct 31 A two-day meeting of the Indo-UK Task force on Corporate Governance which concluded here today emphasized the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Governance in business value creation and sustainability.

UK was represented at this 3rd meeting of the Task force by an eight- member British delegation, led by Geoffrey Stanley Dart, Director, Corporate Law and Governance, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform(BERR), Government of UK, while the Indian side was led by Anurag Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

The Task force was constituted in 2006 to promote bilateral collaboration between India and UK in areas of mutual interest in corporate matters, including corporate regulation and governance.

The discussions held by the Group covered various areas including the Limited Liability Partnership Bill, Private versus Public Enforcement of Good Governance in context of Shareholder Activism and Practical aspects of IFRS implementation.

The Task force also discussed sharing of experience on economic crises and the role of various regulatory and professional institutions in meeting emerging challenges. Specific areas of discussions also on increasing Institution-to-Institution and business-to-business contacts between entities in UK and India. UK agreed to share its experiences on functioning of insolvency practitioners, their licensing, and forming joint intelligence committees. Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA), UK will help the Society of Insolvency Practitioners in India by hand holding, training of trainers, joint projects and sensitization of creditors.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and CASS Business School also agreed to work together on research, training and networking on CSR and corporate governance areas.

ICSI would organize an international conference in UK in April 2009. Company Secretaries from India would participate and study UK systems and capacity building particularly in context of small and medium practitioners.

ANI