Jindal varsity opens centre for corporate responsibility, sustainability

New Delhi, Nov 21 O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) on Wednesday said it has opened a research centre dedicated to corporate responsibility and sustainability.

The centre housed in JGU in Sonipat, Haryana, aims to deliver knowledge services to higher education institutes, industry and other players in India's development sectors. 

The JGU-Centre for Excellence in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (JGU-CECRAS) was announced during a three-day-long "Northern Conclave for Building CSR Partnerships" organised earlier this month in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) here.

Speaking at the conclave JGU Vice Chancellor C. Raj Kumar pointed out that the growth and evolution of the CSR model in India has not been largely due to corporate commitment to contribute to the development of the community; rather it has more to do with building a positive persona and image, including brand building.

"We need to reimagine the CSR framework for higher education. The impetus should be to translate corporate mission to societal mission. Corporations need to invest in long term social transformation," Kumar said. 

He emphasised the critical role of research in improving the quality of higher education in India and that CSR money could play an important role in augmenting research and innovation to creating the universities of the future.

Inaugurating the conference, Gyaneshwar Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said the ministry was considering an enforcement regime to make corporations in the country more responsible towards the society and environment in which they operate.

The conference brought corporations, non-profit organisations, government entities and higher education institutions on one platform.