The Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs and Education – Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, noted that the organizations through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives can play an enormous role in unleashing the economic potential of northeastern regions.

He urged the corporate sector to participate in the overall growth of the region.

Addressing the FICCI CSR Summit and Exhibition, Singh asserted that “Northeast is witnessing a dawn of new hopes and opportunities. Industry must be part of the growth story by exploring means to join hands with the state governments. Corporate India through their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) can play as a facilitator in the matter.”

The minister said that corporate social expenditure has increased substantially during the last few years.

“Corporate India has been generous and around 28 per cent of India’s total expenditure on philanthropy comes from the corporate sector which roughly translated to Rs 17,000 crores in 2020. The CSR spending of business community, if married well with the national development priorities will positively impact our society, and people play a supplementary role in all government’s efforts,” stated Singh.

The minister further noted that CSR can make a remarkable contribution into all the sectors of the economy.