STRATEGISING CSR FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF DCM SHRIRAM LTD.

Abstract

Legislating the corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending in India has generated a great deal of buzz in the corporate labyrinth. While the corporate houses are strategising their CSR budget to match the statutory requirement, a few companies in India have been pursuing agricultural extension services to empower the farmers and effectuate rural development. This paper examines the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy of DCM Shriram Ltd., an Indian conglomerate, for rural development through its Meetha Sona project to enhance the productivity of sugarcane farmers by promoting good agricultural practices, including soil and water management. Leveraging the supply-chain network of DCM Shriram, Meetha Sona, which is a collaborative project in association with International Finance Corporation and others, intends to bring about behavioural change in the farmers to adopt sustainable agronomy practices. The project has been quite successful in enhancing farm yields and contributing significantly to the development of the rural economy. The CSR strategy of DCMShriram presents a fine modelfor replication to integrate socialandenvironmental issues with the business processes to achieve sustainable development.