Context
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, has unveiled the new corporate social responsibility (CSR) guidelines called ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayog’ by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways. Key-highlights- Aim: This system aims to ensure that ports of all sizes contribute to community welfare initiatives.
- The newly released regulations will enable ports to carry out CSR initiatives directly.
| Major ports are included in the Indian Constitution’s Union list and are governed by the Indian Ports Act of 1908 and the Major Port Trust Act of 1963. |
- Projects and programmes involving the activities listed in Section 70 of the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 would be impacted by the rules.
- Under the new guidelines, ports in India will allocate a specific percentage of their net annual profit towards CSR activities.
- Allocation Based on Annual Turnover: The CSR budget for ports will be based on their respective turnover for the year, the division will be as follows:
- Ports with an annual turnover of less than Rs 100 crores will spend 3-5 per cent on CSR
- Ports with a turnover between Rs 100 to 500 crores will spend 2-3 per cent
- Ports with a turnover exceeding Rs 500 crores will spend 0.5-2 per cent
- Two per cent of the total CSR expenses will be dedicated to project monitoring by the ports in order to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the respective CSR projects.
- Type of CSR Project: The CSR projects and programmes will focus on activities specified in Section 70 of the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.
- The ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayyog’ initiative aligns with the government’s vision of inclusive growth and sustainable development, emphasizing the importance of CSR as a means to achieve these goals.