The synergy of NGOs, Government, and corporates
Source: The Hindu
Context:
This article examines how market and government cooperation can lead to national development.
Aspects of Corporate Development
Non-State Actors and Corporates:
Corporates that exceed a particular level of revenues and turnover must contribute at least 2% of their net income before tax to the development space, according to the Companies Act.
This law provides businesses with the push they need to work with non-state entities like NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs).
Non-state players provide patient capital to business boardrooms while also assisting the government with social programmes.
This is a typical example of state-driven governance procedures encouraging non-state players to collaborate.
Role of NGOs:
NGOs and volunteer organizations have played an important role in empowering individuals to hold governments accountable.
With the government declaring that any activity by a non-governmental organisation that is critical of the government is “anti-national,” the room for foreign funding has been limited.
CSR Responsibility:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding has become more important in providing much-needed support to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) as vital participants in non-state governance.
Corporate companies and governments, especially in the years leading up to elections, are ambitious in their target-setting when it comes to CSR initiatives and flagship projects.
Problem with Bureaucracy:
Because their political superiors’ goalposts are continually shifting, the Indian bureaucratic elite lacks risk-taking and creativity.
There’s also the fear of failure, which has the unintended result of non-risk-takers rising to the top of the food chain.
What is the Significance of Non-State Actors?
The non-state actor is the one who invents and develops new community involvement models. They also serve as a conduit for people’s demands to reach official institutions.
Even in the face of disasters, NGOs and CSOs take on the heavy lifting to guarantee that programmes reach the last individual.
Non-state actors relieve the state of a significant burden, allowing it to focus more on governance.
On the field, NGOs and CSOs are most adapted for last-mile delivery of government programmes or execution of a corporate house’s CSR activities, thereby nudging one another toward a developmental state, thanks to their penetration.
The CSR law has not only forced corporations to clean up their own mess, but it has also established a legal framework for corporations to collaborate with NGOs and CSOs.
Way Forward:
Indian NGOs and CSOs play an important role in mobilizing public action to correct many injustices, despite the explicit opposition of the government. They have the potential to contribute to better politics and government. Most importantly, they have the authority to act not only as actors who have to embark on the sunset after their obligations have been fulfilled but also as the main gear of effective government wheels.
