Corporate Social Responsibility for Scaling up Skill Development in India: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Investment on education and skill development through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is perhaps an innovation at policy level. Education could incorporate the active skills which influence the proper direction for policies and practices. During the year 2016-17, the fund contribution through CSR activities for education was just seven percent of the entire MHRD expenditure and a insignificant 0.033 percent of country’s GDP. In 1966, Kothari Commission recommended six percent of GDP for education. But, India spends only 3.7 percent of its GDP on education, which is considerably less (MHRD, 2016). Even the amount allotted towards skill development through CSR is also inadequate. A policy on Skill Social Responsibility will take appropriate measures of raising the investment in skill education by private providers through philanthropy and corporate sector responsibility will be encouraged to supplement government efforts. Perhaps it would be a better alternative for the government to encourage all the Science & Technology Institutions to take part in social responsibility for provisioning of public goods like education through skill development to reduce the unemployment. Social responsibility has the potential to essentially convert the society by improving the lives of citizens, capable of enhancing the possibilities and fulfilling the aspirations of over a billion unemployed youth while helping the nation to realize its sustainable development goals.  As a result, entire nation is motivated, energised and challenged to change its course and to move in harmony and synergy in the direction of positive and purposive social transformation.