Corporate Social Responsibility

SUSTAINABLE AND SCALABLE BUSINESS MODEL BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

Introduction
Poverty is deepest among members of scheduled castes and tribes in the country's rural areas. On
the map of poverty in India, the poorest areas are in parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
Major cause of poverty among Indias rural people, both individuals and communities, is lack of
access to productive assets and financial resources.
Background
The number of poor people in India, according to the countrys Eleventh National Development
Plan, amounts to more than 300 million. Poverty remains a chronic condition for almost 30 per
cent of Indias rural population. Poverty is deepest among members of scheduled castes and
tribes in the country's rural areas. On the map of poverty in India, the poorest areas are in parts
of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West
Bengal.
Large numbers of India's poorest people live in the country's semi-arid tropical region. In this area
shortages of water and recurrent droughts impede the transformation of agriculture that the
Green Revolution has achieved elsewhere. A major cause of poverty among Indias rural people,
both individuals and communities, is lack of access to productive assets and financial resources.
High levels of illiteracy, inadequate health care, safe drinking water, hygienic sanitation and
extremely limited access to social services are common among poor rural people.
Problem Statement/Challenges Faced
Develop a unique sustainable and scalable business model leveraging technology for a financially
sustainable social enterprise that tackles any one of these three issues.
Critical Case Questions
1.
How can we leverage technology for improving the health care in rural areas?
Problem Statement: In Tata Steel CSR healthcare, we provide access to basic clinical
services to remote rural populations in the hinterlands of Jharkhand and Odisha apart from
certain specific urban pockets. We are also engaged in a number of projects targeting
specific segments of the population e.g. pregnant mothers and infant children, adolescents,
people from vulnerable tribal groups etc. All of these initiatives require dealing with a lot of
people across vast geographies and also a large amount of data that is generated both
about the target population as well as the initiative that is being undertaken for them. To be
able to work effectively, we require a technological (may be digital or any other form)
platform which can help collate multiple strands of information across wide expanses of
area and populations and then analyze the data thus gathered to throw up patterns that
can guide decision making for new initiatives for them and to measure effectiveness of old
initiatives. Operations are primarily in geographies that do not have intensive penetration
of technology due to lack of appropriate infrastructure. Large sections of the population
therefore also do not have access to new age technologies and hence are not conversant
with how they can be harnessed to bring positive change. These become further hindrances
to the use of technology. However, intelligent progress in our objectives is not possible
without support of technological tools to enable clarity and visibility.
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Corporate Social Responsibility

2.

How can technology be an enabler in the educational process, specially learning - how can the
right balance be struck between the teacher and technology, rather than the latter taking over
and undermining the former?
Problem Statement: Education for the rural and the urban poor kids is a challenge. A
majority are the first generation entering schools. They lack home support. Their schools
are under resourced, ill-governed and lacking in accountability. Children do not have the
opportunity to learn even the basics, let alone be enriched in various ways. Where and
how can technology play a role to meet these gaps? To reiterate, solutions should factor in
the following - technology can never replace the human interface / the role of the teacher.
At a young age, and coming from their kind of backgrounds these children need rich
human interaction.

3.

How can technology improve in access to information; organized process of farm

mechanization; access to market information which will help in agriculture productivity and
hence better farmers economy.
Problem Statement: Agriculture has a big share in making our rural population
economically active. Nationally, over 58 per cent of rural households depend on it as their
principal means of livelihood. In Jharkhand, this dependency grows further. The State has
76 per cent of its population living in rural areas which directly or indirectly derives its
livelihood from agriculture and allied activities. However, there are no of issues faced by
farming community. As a result gradually no of people are opting alternating livelihood
opportunities. Current problems are:

Fragmented land holding (Nearly 80% of the 140 million farming families hold less than
2 acres of land)
Lack of irrigation and hence dependence on rainfed farming
Timely availability of quality seeds (With spurious seeds hitting the market, the
farmers woes have exceeded all limits)
Technological interventions: (Indian agricultural productivity is very less compared to
world standards due to use of obsolete farming technology, lack of water management
systems, low crop yield; heavy use of fertilizers, lack of crop rotations etc. Over
dependence on traditional crops like rice and wheat
Lack of Farm mechanization: Low land holding and current economic conditions are
deterrent for getting into farm mechanization. As a result agriculture becomes more of
labour intensive and expensive.
Supply channel bottlenecks and lack of access and understanding of market which has
a direct link with the productivity
Lack of farmers institution

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