As the COVID pandemic restricted NGOs to undertake on-ground activities, many corporates and non-profit had no option but to halt their CSR programmes. The crisis, however, could not deter the work spirit at The Akshaya Patra Foundation. The organisation did not only continue its operations, it became more active as it widened its work area to support lakhs of migrant workers and daily wagers while continuing with its flagship Mid-Day Meal programme.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Shridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation talks about organisation’s COVID relief initiatives, its tweaked strategy amid strict COVID protocols, the quick change adopted in the work mode and the new initiatives taken over last 6-7 months. He also speaks on key elements of FCRA Bill and shares his insight on how NGOs can win trust of corporate partners to bring true meaning to the CSR projects. Scroll down to read this interview:
Interview highlights:
- With socio-economic issues compounding due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NGOs need to be even more steadfast and strong in their commitment to helping vulnerable sections of society.
- Corporate look for CSR partners/NGOs who demonstrate good governance, transparency and accountability
- NGOs should strengthen their connect with the local communities and strive to innovate to design and implement need-based approaches. They ought to communicate their work and plans effectively and efficiently.
- Going beyond fundraising, NGOs should also look into the feasibility of collaborations for knowledge and technology sharing or volunteering programmes for the employees of their corporate partners to maximize the impact of their work.
- Millennialsno more want to restrict themselves to doing good in their spare time. Giving back to the community has become a key component of job satisfaction for them.
- 20 % cap in FCRA Bill has been proposed to promote better utilisation of funds towards the objectives of the grant at the end of the day.
Interview with Shridhar Venkat, CEO, Akshaya Patra Foundation
Q: Akshaya Patra has done commendable work towards helping and feeding migrant labours and daily wagers as the COVID struck at the beginning of this year. Can you elaborate on your COVID relief initiatives?
A: Thank you for your appreciation of our efforts.
Time and again, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has come forward to provide humanitarian food assistance for populations affected by natural disasters. We did this during the floods in Assam and Kerala and also in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, and the subsequent containment measures affected millions across the country, we leveraged our successful public-private partnership model and used our well-established network of kitchens to actively support the administration’s relief efforts.
In a Pan-India initiative, we began providing humanitarian food aid in the form of cooked meals and grocery kits, which contained pulses, grains, cooking oil, and long shelf-life vegetables to prepare 24 to 48 meals, to vulnerable populations, including displaced migrant workers, daily-wage earners, industrial and construction workers, rough sleepers, and other people who found it difficult to arrange for their two square meals a day.
Owing to our synergetic relationship with the Government, civic body administrations, and our strong volunteer base, we were able to serve over 93 million cumulative meals across 18 States and two Union Territories by mid-October.
Q: How did this pandemic affect your flagship Mid-Day Meal Programme?
A:With the schools closed, we have been undertaking food assistance for the affected people, using our kitchen infrastructure and resources to provide food relief aid to families.Apart from this, we are distributing Happiness Bags to our MDM beneficiaries in various locations.Each of these bags contains food products like glucose biscuits and Ragi flour and hygiene products like dental kits as well as stationery and workbooks that will keep students engaged in the learning process. Over 1.17 lakh such boxes, amounting to 23 lakh meal servings, have been distributed so far.
We are closely monitoring the implementation of food relief efforts so that respite may be provided to children who belong to families from vulnerable communities. We are also in touch with concerned authorities about the status of reopening of schools and are doing everything we can to revitalise the MDM Programme to ensure that the future generation of the nation is not affected by hunger and malnutrition.
Q: What are the new measures you are taking to continue your activities while adhering to the COVID protocols?
A: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we view a lot of things. Our view of the entire system has been rehashed over the past couple of months.Since March 2020, we have been undertaking food relief efforts to help the vulnerable communities, with our kitchen staff and volunteers working tirelessly to serve the affected people.
We have always strived to maintain the highest standards of safety and hygiene in all our processes. During the pandemic, mindful of the urgency and criticality of the situation, we adopted additional measures to ensure the safety of our food as well as our staff and volunteers. Orientation on personal hygiene, hand sanitisation and social distancing was conducted for the staff and volunteers. Everyone was asked to use proper respiratory masks during the commute. Security guards were assigned to man the entrance of the premises and screen everyone with a handheld infrared thermometer.Everyone was directed to wear hairnets, face masks and gloves at all times inside the premises, and sanitize their hands with hand sanitizer during entry and every one hour.
Q: Which new corporate partners have joined your Mid-day meal programme during the last 6-7 months?
A:As implementing partners of the Government of India’s Mid-Day Meal programme, grains and cash subsidies are provided by the Government to implement the programme. Corporate and individual donors within the country and abroad contribute to enhance the programme. We use these funds to provide children a nutritious, multi-item menu cooked in our state-of-the-art kitchens where proper hygiene is given utmost importance.Usually, new corporate donors sign up to contribute to our efforts during the second half of the year. Some corporates, like Franklin Templeton, are new donors to our Midday Meal programme this year.
Q: The CSR has fundamentally changed after the CSR was made mandatory by the Companies Act 2013. What are your thoughts on CSR laws in India?
A: Since the passage of the act in 2013,more companies have opened up to the idea of corporate social responsibility.This is evident from recent reports released by firms such as KPMG and nseinfobase.com, a joint initiative between NSE and Prime Database.It is assuring to see that more corporate houses are stepping forward to do their part to address socio-economic issues, whether they are partnering with non-profits or establishing their own CSR wings.
Q: Recently the Parliament passed the FCRA amendment bill? What are your thoughts on that?
A: The amendment will hopefully enhance transparency and accountability in the use of foreign contributions by NGOs, thereby aiding in good governance practices and helping make impactful interventions while rooting out organisations that indulge in dubious practices. Streamlining registrations and ensuring that funds are employed for the purpose that they were accepted will eventually culminate in clearing the shadow that is often cast on NGOs.
Q: What would be the key challenges that NGOs would face once FCRA Bill is enacted? What are your thoughts on the 20% cap on administrative expenses?
A: With a cap on administrative expenses at 20 percent, NGOs will have to adopt a more conservative approach to keep their programme management costs within the prescribed limit. While this will definitely add to the difficulty of administrative decisions like attracting the best talent from the industry to the development sector, we need to consider that this cap has been proposed to promote better utilisation of funds towards the objectives of the grant at the end of the day.
Q: As Corporates are contributing to PM CARES also, what are your expectations from Corporates on their CSR fund allocation to different thematic areas in today’s changing scenario?
A: These are unprecedented times, no doubt.Based on the need of the hour, several corporates are contributing to PM Cares Fund and other COVID-19 relief activities. In fact, we have had the proactive support of our donors in our food relief endeavor since March 2020. They have provided financial as well as logistical support, and even helped us meet the manpower requirements by urging their employees to volunteer with us.In general,people and companies have always had a positive outlook on social good. There will be an increased need for this positive outlook in the post-COVID world and corporates will live up to the expectations. It is my firm belief that they will continue the culture of giving back to society by embedding CSR in their organisational values because they have the power to build empires for those in need. That was one of the prime reasons that drove me to leave my corporate job and join Akshaya Patra.
Q: What are your suggestions and message to your peers (implementation agencies) towards effective implementation of CSR programmes atthe ground level?
A: With socioeconomic issues compounding due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NGOs need to be even more steadfast and strong in their commitment to helping vulnerable sections of society.The CSR mandate can help in this aspect.It has the capacity to provide the social sector with the necessary push.While some corporates are setting up their own CSR wings to enable change, some are looking for NGOs who demonstrate good governance, transparency and accountability to partner with.
NGOs can use this as an opportunity to provide corporates the option of a streamlined and customised solution to tackling social grievances through their expertise and connect with the grassroots. They should strengthen their connect with the local communities and strive to innovate to design and implement need-based approaches. They ought to communicate their work and plans effectively and efficiently.
Going beyond fundraising, NGOs should also look into the feasibility of collaborations for knowledge and technology sharing or volunteering programmes for the employees of their corporate partners to maximize the impact of their work. Find ways to harness the energy of millennials.This generation no more wants to restrict themselves to doing good in their spare time. Giving back to the community has become a key component of job satisfaction for them.
