Good biz has bad crunch

Mumbai: While most corporates are going gung-ho about the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and doing their best for the society, they might have to face a few hiccups in the coming months.

There is an estimated shortage of over one lakh persons in management skills in areas of environment, livelihood, forest and conservation management etc., in the country and this could impede a meaningful implementation of the corporate social responsibility (C-SR) obligation for corporates mandated by the government. Under the amendment in the new Companies Act it is mandatory for corporates to spend two per cent of their profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

There is not only a huge shortage of skilled professionals in these disciplines but there is also a shortage of professors and lecturers in these subjects even in the only government-run Indian Institute of Forest Management.

The Institute based in Bhopal has been sanctioned 60 faculty members but has only 29 presently, because of the shortage of funds from the ministry of environment.

It has been allotted only '16 crore which does not meet even 60 per cent of its requirements. 

The Institute runs a two-year course and produces 90 graduates every year according to Dr Giridhar Kinhal, director of the Institute. 

Talking to this newspaper from Bhopal he said the Forest Management course (which includes water, environment etc) has gained greater acceptance in recent years in view of new career op-tions emerging in fields of  corporate environment responsibility, carbon trading, eco-tourism etc. 

The Institute holds the record of 100 per cent campus placement since its inception in 1988, he said.

It is the only institute that provides two-year full-fledged courses for just Rs 4 lakh. The IIMs reportedly have started to include a couple of subjects with the MBA course but their fees are around Rs 14 lakhs.

They are yet to provide graduates who are skilled in subjects like environmental assessment, social impact assessment calibers and resource accounting and ecological service valuation.

Dr Kinhal said while institutions involved in such education have been trying to accommodate and become more and more contemporary to remain relevant, they have not been able to keep pace with the requirements, particularly now, of industry. He said corporates have raised their demands for students with skills in environmental issues, sustainability, carbon sequestration and climate change effects etc., and these demands will increase multifold in the near future.