Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Launched ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayog’ To Empower Ports

NEW DELHI: The new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) guidelines by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, known as "Sagar Samajik Sahayyog," were introduced by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday.

The newly released regulations will enable ports to carry out CSR initiatives directly. Projects and programmes involving the activities listed in Section 70 of the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 would be impacted by the rules.

Ports in India will devote a set portion of their net annual profit to CSR initiatives under the new regulations. According to each port's individual annual turnover, the CSR budget will be divided as follows:

1. Ports with a revenue between Rs 100 and 500 crores will spend 2-3% on CSR

2. Whereas ports with a turnover of less than Rs 100 crores will pay 3-5%.

3. Ports will invest 0.5-2 percent if their annual revenue exceeds Rs 500 crores.

To plan and carry out CSR efforts, each significant port will set up a corporate social responsibility committee led by a deputy chairperson. Two more people will make up the committee. Major ports must incorporate CSR initiatives that address social and environmental issues related to their operations into their business objectives. According to the ministry, each financial year will also require the creation of a corporate social responsibility plan.

The Major Port Authorities Act of 2021's Section 70 activities will be the main focus of the CSR projects and programmes.

The CSR money is split up into many categories by the standards. The National Maritime Heritage Complex, the National Youth Development Fund, and the district-level Sainik Kalyan Board will each receive 20% of the cash.

Taking on twitter, Minister Sonowal informed that, “Glad to launch Sagar Samajik Sahayog, CSR-Guidelines for @shipmin_india in presence of MoS Shri @shripadynaik ji (virtually) in New Delhi.

These amended guidelines will replace the earlier guidelines of March 2020 and empower Major Ports to approve CSR projects.”

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