IIT Madras grows corporate connections to encourage technology-driven CSR initiatives

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras hosted a round-table conference in Mumbai to study the emerging trends in technology to drive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The institute has raised about Rs 200 crore from over 140 leading corporate firms in the past couple of years for CSR projects.

Titled Explore and Grow — CSR Partnerships, the conference held on December 16 saw active participation of corporate leaders, decision-makers and CSR heads from various industries, a press communique from the institute stated.

Speaking at the conference, Mahesh Panchagnula, dean, corporate and alumni affairs, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras is excited to partner with corporate India on this exciting journey of creating Indian-origin solutions to the world’s problems. We are very proud of our students and our alumni who are vested in developing technologies that will transform tomorrow’s India.”

All donations made to IIT Madras are 100% tax deductible under provisions of the Indian Income Tax Act. According to Section VII of Companies Act, 2013, contributions made to IIT Madras are considered as CSR Expenditure, a statement from the institute read.

“India is committed to reaching certain Sustainable Development Goals. CSR is best positioned for solving tomorrow’s problems and meeting tomorrow’s needs. Do come and partner with us and help transform our ideas and solutions into reality,” added Panchagnula.

During the conference, panel discussions were held by faculty from IIT Madras on socially-relevant projects that have come from the institute’s research. The panels explored pressing issues such as affordable healthcare, sustainable urban infrastructure development, algorithms to solve real-world problems and solutions to these problems that technology uniquely solves.

Rema Mohan, chief executive officer, NSE Foundation, said, “CSR plays a catalytic role in ensuring that socially-relevant low-cost solutions are created and scaled. The NSE Foundation has addressed pressing problems such as air pollution and septic tank cleaning through mechanised solutions and worked closely with IIT Madras to create scalable solutions.”

The office of Institutional Advancement (OIA) at IIT Madras actively manages the IIT Madras alumni donations, transforming them into endowments, support for new state-of-the-art infrastructure and scholarship support for needy and deserving students. The OIA has been engaged in working with alumni and corporates on various CSR projects and other philanthropic initiatives with a focus on creating transformative social impact.

“Our focus is to leverage this technology to connect people from remote parts of India in a better way,” said Nachiket Deshpande, chief operating officer, Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI).