Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has called on Indian companies to move beyond conventional corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and invest in scalable, job-creating rural entrepreneurship models that can deliver meaningful social impact.
Speaking at an event organised by Suzuki Motor Corporation in Bengaluru on Friday, Kant said India must prioritise technology-driven, job-rich entrepreneurship in rural areas to achieve its ambition of growing from a $4 trillion economy to a $30 trillion economy by 2047.
“To be able to do this, you need growth, but with growth we need jobs. You need to create large-scale entrepreneurship, and you need to create entrepreneurship in rural areas of India and create jobs in the Bharat of India, not only in the urban areas,” he said.
Kant expressed concern that despite significant corporate spending on CSR, much of it has failed to generate substantial employment or create large-scale social impact in rural India.
“A lot of money is being deployed as part of CSR, but it is not having an impact in terms of social impact. It is not having an impact in terms of jobs. It is not having an impact in terms of creating a huge impact in rural areas,” he said.
