Biocon has spent a little short of Rs 8 crore on different projects under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the year 2019-20.
In its recent annual report, India’s leading biopharmaceutical company headed by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw declared a total profit of Rs 3,95.3 crore in the financial year 2019-20. The company completely met its CSR obligation by spending a total of Rs 7.9 crore against the same amount prescribed for the company in the financial year 2019-20 as per the CSR laws.
The provisions pertaining to corporate social responsibility as prescribed under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 makes it mandatory for the companies to spend 2 % of the average net profits of a Company made during the three immediately preceding financial years.
CSR implementation by Biocon Foundation, Biocon Academy
The CSR projects of the company was implemented by Biocon Foundation and Biocon Academy, the extended arms of Biocon.
Biocon Foundation, a non-profit charitable Trust and the own Foundation of Biocon Limited is the prime implementing agencyfor social responsibility activities. The Foundation has been involved in helping thecommunity by providing healthcare and education facilities.
Biocon Academy spearheads Biocon Group’s CSR initiatives in technical and professional education. The Academy was establishedas a Centre of Excellence for Advanced Learning in Biosciences in 2014.
"THE FOUNDATIONHAS BUILT A STRONG REPUTATION FOR THE QUALITY OF ITS PROGRAMSAND THEIR IMPACTIN ADDRESSING SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FACEDBY THE COMMUNITIES IT SERVES. THE FOUNDATION LEVERAGES TECHNOLOGICALINNOVATION AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM IMPACT."
Pratima Rao, Mission Director, Biocon Foundation.
Multiple CSR projects in 2019-20
The company spent its CSR budget on various projects in different sectors ranging from healthcare to educational to rural development etc. Some of the projects undertaken by the company in the financial year 2019-20 are listed below:
eLAJ smart clinics
Biocon Foundation continued to deliver diagnosis-based primary healthcare services tocommunities challenged with poor access to qualityhealthcare through its fully functional eLAJ SmartClinics operating in 15 government-run primary healthcenters (PHCs) in five districts of Karnataka.
During the year under, the Foundationupgraded the laboratories of five government-run PHCs,providing them with trained laboratory technicians anddevices capable of performing a range of haematologyand biochemistry investigations.In addition to the government-run PHCs, theFoundation continued to provide primary andsecondary preventive health services to thecommunities in Austin Town, Hennagara andHuskur through its own eLAJ smart clinics.
During 2019-20, about 80,000 patients availed of the healthservices provided by eLAJ clinics.
Integrated management of NCDs
The Foundation implemented an integratedapproach to address the prevention and control ofnon-communicable diseases (NCDs) and theunderlying social determinants in Dimapur, Nagaland.The prevalence of tobacco use in Nagaland is higherthan the national average.
Under the program population-based screening fordiabetes, hypertension and some common forms ofcancer were conducted. The Foundation partnered with the Christian Instituteof Health Sciences and Research to conductdoor-to-door screenings in Dimapur and establishedan NCD Clinic at the Community Health Centre inMedziphema to manage positive and high-risk cases.
Oral cancer screening
During the year, the Biocon Foundation forged apartnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc),Bengaluru to develop artificial intelligence (AI) toolscapable of detecting precancerous oral lesions;enabling point-of-care diagnosis for oral cancer. The
Foundation also partnered with the Dr B BorooahCancer Institute in Guwahati to run a pilot project fororal cancer screening and provided training to ASHAworkers in the use of technology for population-basedscreening in Assam.
The Foundation has collaborated with the Shri GuruRam Das University of Health Sciences, and the TataMemorial Centre, to organize screenings in Punjaband Uttar Pradesh and conduct research studiesto establish the efficacy of its mobile phone-based(mHealth) screening process against conventionalscreening methods in resource-limited settings.
The Foundation also launched a dental clinic at thePHC at Sonnenahalli in Bengaluru in partnership withthe KLES Institute of Dental Sciences and BBMP. Theclinic provides free-of-cost dental services, tobaccocessation counselling and oral cancer screening.Screening for 546 individuals was done for oral cancer inGuwahati, Assam and oral potentially malignant disorderswere detected in 5.5% of the cases. More than 28,000people benefited from the routine dental health check-ups.
For its oral cancer screening program, the Foundationwas the recipient of a JuryCommendation Certificatefrom FICCI under the category of ‘ExemplaryInnovation.’
Specialist clinics
The specialist clinics run by the Foundation recorded over 3,000 patient visits for ophthalmology, geriatrics,NCDs, women’s health and paediatrics organized atthe three Biocon Foundation-run clinics in and aroundBengaluru.
Education
During the year, the Foundation partnered with theDepartment of State Education Research and Training(DSERT) to create modules for life skills and first aidfor government schools in Karnataka. The Foundationalso supported the DSERT in the designing of modules
for ‘No Bag Day’ aimed at making the learningexperience of schoolchildren practical and fun, withoutthe use of textbooks.
It also rolled out a state-levelMaster Resource Person training program for thesemodules and trained over 130 Master ResourcePersons, who will, in turn build capacity of 5,000District Resource Persons. Additionally, the Foundationprovided direct training to 120 school teachers in ruraland urban Bengaluru.
Under the VEngage initiative, employees of Bioconvolunteered to provide vocational guidance and careercounselling in government schools, conduct classes infirst aid training and teach mathematics to students ofclasses 5 and 6. The Biocon Adventure and Sports Clubengaged students in sports and games.
Rural Development
In FY20, the new building of a lower primarygovernment school in Bengaluru was completedand inaugurated. The building comprises of threeclassrooms, storage, a kitchen and separate toilets forboys and girls, complete with handwashing facilities.
The CSR Committee of Biocon has Ms. Mary Harney as the Chairperson and two members - Dr. Vijay Kumar Kuchroo and Prof. Ravi Mazumdar.
