Dr Asangba Tzudir
There is always the catch better late than never, and the same can be said for the recent visit of Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs to the capital city of Nagaland. However, considering the fact that Nagaland is going to NLA polls by early next year makes the visit of the Union Minister quite conspicuous. Nonetheless, the currency of the conclave which the minister had come to attend is undeniably an area of concern considering the state of dependency syndrome and the mass unemployment problems.
During the Nagaland Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & Investment Conclave, the Union Minister hoped that various companies would put effort in building the brand for Nagaland while urging companies and corporate to naturally choose Nagaland.
However, as the very name CSR suggests the emphasis is on the social responsibility aspect to keep the social activity rolling, so that funding is there which will lead to investments. While it is not denying that Nagaland with all its array of diversities and rich resources clearly knows its potential areas and untapped resources, there is need for exploration of such avenues and thereby startups.
The conclave, giving due emphasis on the need for startups has through the Finance Minister launched various initiatives and MOU’s across the districts in Nagaland. And looking at the nature of the various initiatives launched, it is going to bring in a paradigm shift in the modernization process of Nagaland. From health sector to various innovations in the field of technology it is going to give a major facelift to Nagaland.
However, to make the projects, MOU’s and initiatives into reality, there is need to broaden the horizons of responsibility and which requires a collective responsibility that seeks to address the happiness index for all the districts and the people of Nagaland.
Now, the idea of the responsibility within CSR is a management concept and whereby it integrates social and environmental concerns in the business operations. Having said so, an important aspect of CSR is the interactions and dialogue with the stakeholders so that operations are done in an ethical and sustainable manner. In context, this is an integral consideration because at the heart of CSR related initiatives are issues of human rights, the community, environment, and society in which it operates. Unless such issues are addressed from the very beginning, conflicts are bound to happen.
Coming back to the various initiatives, MOU’s announced, the news presents much hope. However, there is always the issue of implementation and startups. One major concern is how as part of the social responsibility, the stakeholders are involved as partners in the process of confidence and resource building. This is one way to augment resources management and human resources development.
On the whole, considering the so many initiatives and MOU’s announced one would hope that it becomes a reality and not just initiatives and MOU’s announced. As such, it is also the responsibility of the State Government that such initiatives are transformed into reality, and which also requires active support and participation of the mass. Besides, a lot of unlearning and relearning is required to create the launch pad for CSR.
(Dr Asangba Tzudir contributes a weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
