Two-day Capacity Building Training on CSR Compliance & The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act was inaugurated at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima on April 30. The training programme is organised by Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and HCL Foundation.
In his opening remarks, Vineet Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary of the Finance Department and IDAN, stated that the training programme has been designed to strengthen and enhance the institutional capacity of government departments and civil society organizations to meet the current standards. He emphasized that such training is essential, as CSR and FCRA have become significant components within the state, making it important to understand all their associated nuances. He also expressed optimism that the programme would create new opportunities for all related institutions.
Speaking on behalf of HCL Foundation, Rahul Kumar, Manager, HCL Foundation, expressed his appreciation to IDAN and the Ministry of Home Affairs for recognizing the relevance of FCRA and its compliance, and organizing the workshop. He also shared that he has been associated with Nagaland since 2010 and has visited even the most remote areas of the state, giving him a strong understanding of grassroots realities.
He expressed hope that the workshop would help NGOs and related institutions to address compliance-related challenges and enable them to access funding to support development in the state.
Highlighting that there are more NGOs in the country (about 3.3 million as per 2015–2016 data) than schools, OP Singh, Deputy Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs, stated that this reflects how NGOs have become a crucial means of delivering services to remote areas.
He further informed that the government has a dedicated team under the Ministry of Home Affairs that organizes outreach programmes for NGOs, especially in regions where they play a key role in implementing development initiatives.
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In his address, special guest Abu Metha, Advisor to the Chief Minister and Chairman of IDAN, stated that the training programme was initiated following the Chief Minister’s advice to strengthen the capacity of government departments and NGOs in order to drive development and progress in the state.
He noted that CSR activities are now of vital importance to bring about development and progress, and expressed optimism that the workshop would help participants adopt best practices and maintain high standards in CSR compliance. He also suggested that departments such as Health, Education, and Social Welfare should establish dedicated cells to engage with corporates and private sector, to bring more developmental and social impact programs in the state.
On FCRA, he highlighted that there are significant opportunities to access foreign funding for social impact initiatives. He added that the government is working to improve monitoring, ensure compliance and increase efficiency so that NGOs and government departments can work together effectively to meet people’s aspirations and support the state’s overall development.
The programme was chaired by Dr. Nchumbeni Ovung while vote of thanks was proposed by I. Changsang, NCS, Under Secretary IDAN.
The inaugural programme was followed by a series of technical sessions on topics including Introduction to CSR in India, CSR Compliance & Legal requirements, CSR Implementation Models, Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact Assessment.
