In today's dynamic business landscape, corporations are increasingly recognizing the importance of going beyond profits to strengthen the communities they operate in. Embracing this ethos, CMS Info Systems has channelled its corporate social responsibility efforts through the CMS Foundation, aiming to drive substantial social impact across India's underserved regions.
In an exclusive interview with TheCSRUniverse, Sanjay Singh, Chief Human Resources Officer at CMS Info Systems, delves into the foundation’s core focus areas and strategic goals. He shares insights into how their initiatives in livelihood support, education, healthcare, and elder care are designed to create holistic value and align with both national priorities and the company's mission.
Sanjay highlights the foundation's collaborative approach with government bodies and specialized organizations to ensure inclusive growth and sustainable development. Additionally, he discusses the integration of CMS's business capabilities in digitization and financial inclusion to amplify their social impact, and reflects on the challenges and achievements in their journey of fostering community development. Join us as we explore CMS's dedicated efforts to drive meaningful change and empower marginalized communities across India.
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Q. The CMS Foundation was established to extend your CSR endeavours. What are the key focus areas and goals of this foundation, and how do they align with the overall vision and mission of the company?
A. The CMS Foundation was established with a single objective to drive meaningful social impact amongst underserved communities across the country. This is achieved by drawing on the strength of our extensive network present across 97% of India’s districts and the diverse talent of our 25,000+ employees and associates.The foundation’s goals are to align our programs with national social priorities while complementing our business operations, ensuring that our CSR efforts contribute to broader societal development. We also collaborate with government bodies and specialized organizations to promote inclusive growth, aiming to uplift the most vulnerable communities.
Our CSR programs ensure holistic value creation focusing on four core areas: Livelihood, Education, Healthcare and Elder Care. Through our livelihood programs, we strive to create sustainable income opportunities for marginalized communities, with over 10,642 individuals benefiting from our initiatives to improve their livelihoods in this year alone. While in healthcare, we focus on delivering medical assistance, preventive care, and health education to underserved regions with limited access to services, positively impacting over 17,671 individuals through our initiatives. Additionally, in education, we have worked with more than 4000 people to improve access to quality schooling and vocational training, empowering individuals with the skills needed to secure better opportunities and build brighter futures.
We ensure holistic value creation as a responsible corporate, focusing on several areas and driving an integrated approach through social interventions across diverse populations. We take pride in our efforts to geographically connect every corner with opportunities for sustainable development.
Q. We noticed diverse focus areas in your CSR initiatives, how do you prioritize and choose which projects to fund or implement? What criteria or frameworks guide your decision-making process while finalizing projects or partners?
A. Our intent is to create blueprint communities, especially in aspirational districts, where we prioritize allocating resources to areas where they can create the greatest impact, but also ensure that the level of funding aligns with the community's capacity to effectively absorb and execute the initiatives. We prefer an integrated approach tailored to specific geographies, that align with key government priorities and our core CSR focus areas of livelihood support, education, healthcare, and elderly care.
Our process begins with a rapid assessment by local organizations to understand community needs, followed by close collaboration with these partners to identify appropriate interventions.
We focus on niche areas where we can have the greatest impact, such as supporting government schools in digitizing education. Our decision-making framework ensures that the scale of our efforts aligns with local needs, and we prioritize integrated solutions that address multiple community development aspects in a single geography. Women empowerment is also a key focus, as we recognize that empowering women leads to the broader empowerment of families and communities.
Q. How does CMS integrate its business capabilities, especially in digitization and financial inclusion, to drive social impact? Can you share specific examples where your business operations have significantly contributed to social welfare?
A. As a leading business services organization delivering logistics and technology solutions, we leverage our expertise in digitization and financial inclusion to drive tangible social impact. We focus on empowering marginalized communities, by equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to access financial services and succeed in life. We provide women entrepreneurs with trade-specific training, along with mandatory sessions on financial inclusion, digital literacy, and business planning, while actively connecting them to relevant government schemes to support their entrepreneurial journey. Such initiatives have ensured that 10,642beneficiarieshave beenequipped to make informed financial decisions, improve their economic stability, and grow their businesses. Our programs are implemented across 12 states in India, with a focus on reaching underserved and remote communities.
Although our efforts are relatively new, we are strategically enhancing and expanding these programs with robust processes to ensure they have a lasting and meaningful impact. These initiatives align closely with CMS’s broader vision of leveraging digital technologies and financial inclusion to uplift marginalized communities, driving sustainable social change through our business operations.
Q. CMS has launched several initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment and youth skill development. What are the key outcomes you have observed, and how do you plan to scale them further?
A. As part of our CSR engagements, we have aimed at localizing economic activity that have effectively empowered women to manage their own resources and make important decisions, leading to improved well-being for their families and contributing to the economic growth of their communities.
We believe that when you empower a woman, you empower a community. To date, CMS Foundation has empowered over 20,000 women with 680 women in aspirational districts provided with skill training and 255 women supported with apiculture techniques and other skills.
In terms of youth skills development, we have trained 270 young people in formal trades, providing them with government-approved certifications. We focus on tech-based training programs, offering courses in emerging fields such as AI, web content writing, digital marketing, and machine learning. These courses are designed to equip young people with the digital and technical skills needed to thrive in today’s job market. Our projects are spread across India, ensuring that these opportunities reach underserved and remote communities.
We have had 70% placement success-rate for these youth securing jobs, with salaries ranging from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month. This not only improves their financial independence but also enhances their long-term career prospects.
Looking ahead, we plan to scale these initiatives by expanding our training programs to reach more women and youth across the country, particularly in underserved regions. By forging more partnerships with government and industry stakeholders, we aim to create even greater opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship, further driving economic empowerment and social change.
Q. Your environmental projects, such as tree plantations and water conservation, have shown impressive results. How do you ensure these initiatives are sustainable in the long-term and beneficial for the communities involved?
A. Our environmental initiatives, including water conservation and tree plantation, are designed for long-term sustainability with active community involvement and government collaboration.
In water conservation, we have successfully conserved over 6.4 billion litres of water through projects aligned with government schemes and local contributions. This ensures relevance and ownership within the community. To ensure sustainability, we conduct training and workshops on maintaining water conservation structures, involving local youth and panchayat members. Additionally, sensitization efforts and the formation of leadership groups within the community foster long-term responsibility for these initiatives.
We have organized several tree plantation drives, including fruit, timber, and medicinal trees in villages, as well as urban forests in Mumbai. These initiatives not only contribute to environmental sustainability but also provide a long-term source of income for local communities, with a total of 1,05,000 trees planted to date.In horticulture-based projects, farmers and landowners contribute both financially and physically to plant and maintain the trees. Some of our key initiatives include planting 1,00,000 Moringa trees in Shirur block, Pune, and 8,500 plants in Ramnadpuram, Tamil Nadu. These efforts go beyond environmental impact; they actively involve local communities in the planting and ongoing care, creating long-term employment opportunities. As these plantations mature, they will provide sustainable livelihoods for local families, contributing to both ecological and economic growth for years to come. We have also planted 3,500 saplings at the Food Corporation of India, 100 saplings at Sanjay Gandhi National Park along with a solar pump, and 6,500 plants across 12 hectares in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh.
We also leverage local resources, government schemes, and community leadership to maintain the ecological balance and ensure the success of these projects. Through these efforts, we are not only enhancing the environment but also promoting community engagement, ownership, and long-term environmental stewardship.
Q. What are the biggest challenges CMS faces in implementing its CSR programs, and how are you addressing them?
A. A critical component of our CSR strategy is strong organizational governance. We are highly selective in partnering with organizations that align with our governance standards, and we ensure that every project we undertake meets our rigorous criteria for success. Additionally, we prefer locating partners with strong local connections and solid governance practices.
To address these, we have a dedicated CSR team focused on thorough due diligence, including reference checks, site visits, and direct interaction with beneficiaries. We also rely on government references and third-party validation to ensure reliability.
Our CSR programs are goal-driven, and we work closely with NGOs to tailor plans that align with CMS's vision. Both our CSR and business teams are involved in the process to ensure effective execution. Projects are tracked through detailed work plans and monthly progress reviews, with field visits and stakeholder engagement ensuring continuous oversight. Periodic reports, fund utilization certificates, and document checks further ensure transparency and accountability throughout the implementation process.
Q. What do you consider some of your biggest achievements in your social journey and what factors make it stand out to you?
A. In our social impact journey, some key achievements would include the women empowerment programs in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, and Tamil Nadu, where we’ve helped more than 1,260 women gain financial independence through skills training and access to government schemes this year. Our collaboration with government schemes in Mumbai and Haryana has improved access to essential services for underserved communities. In Mumbai, we plan to expand our outreach from 2,000 people in 2023-24, to 15,000 people in 2024-25. Our technology-skill development center in Navi Mumbai has equipped 210 youth with digital skills, enhancing their employability.
We are proud of our integrated village cluster initiative in Chhattisgarh, which combines livelihood support, education, and water conservation for holistic community development. This initiative will benefit 850 households, including 150 families through goat support. Additionally, the “Fruit Forest” project in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, in partnership with Government of Madhya Pradesh, is a standout initiative promoting sustainable agriculture and benefiting local farmers. We planted 6,500 fruit saplings on 12 hectares of land across three villages, with 300 women taking ownership of nourishing the plants.
These varied projects underscore our commitment to creating lasting social impact across diverse regions and sectors.
Q. Looking ahead, what are the future plans for CMS in terms of expanding its CSR initiatives, and how do you envision the company’s role in driving social impact in India?
A. Looking ahead, CMS plans to expand its CSR initiatives with a focus on integrated village development in aspirational districts, using a cluster-based approach to address key needs such as financial inclusion, skills development, waste management, entrepreneurship, and large-scale plantation projects. Our goal is to create replicable model clusters that can be scaled and adapted to other regions, driving sustainable change across India.
We also plan to enhance the digital orientation of our programs, offering hands-on, syllabus-based training in digital skills to empower communities, particularly youth, for future employment opportunities. Our belief is that to reap the demographic dividend, we need to stay focussed on building integrated, sustainable and empowered communities, that can propel India into the 22nd century.
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