On 27th June 2023, The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal launched ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayyog’ the new guidelines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways in New Delhi, Delhi.The new guidelines empower ports to undertake CSR activities directly by addressing local community issues.
- The rules would impact Projects and programmes involved in the activities listed in Section 70 of the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.
CSR Committee:
i.A CSR Committee will be formed in each major port headed by the Deputy Chairperson of the Major Port and shall have two other Members.
ii.To integrate CSR in Business Plan each major port shall prepare a CSR Plan for every financial year with the social and environmental concerns related to the business of the entity.
CSR funding guidelines:
Sagar Samajik Sahayyog guidelines will enable the ports in India to allocate a specific percentage of their net annual profit based on their turnover for implementation and monitoring of CSR activities.
i.Ports with an annual turnover of less than Rs 100 crores will spend 3-5% of their net annual profit.
ii.Ports with a turnover between Rs 100 to 500 crores will spend 2-3% of their net annual profit.
iii.Ports with a turnover exceeding Rs 500 crores will spend 0.5-2% of their net annual profit.
The split up of the CSR money:
i.20% of CSR expenses must be designated to Sainik Kalyan Board at district level, National Maritime Heritage Complex and National Youth Development Fund.
ii.78% of funds should be released for the social & environmental welfare of the community.
iii.2% of the total CSR expenses will be dedicated to project monitoring by the ports for implementation and monitoring of CSR activities.
About Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways:
Union Minister- Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam
Minister of State- Shantanu Thakur(Constituency-Bangaon, West Bengal)
