1. Context and Vision
At Zahyan Technologies, our mission statement reads “We engineer meaningful technology solutions to help businesses and societies flourish”. We engage with society beyond business as we believe a good business needs to create higher impact in building a better future for communities around the globe. This policy defines our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives and programs undertaken by Zahyan Technologies to fulfill its obligations as a responsible corporate citizen to achieve its mission.
2. Objectives and Approach
2.1. Zahyan Technologies will focus on CSR initiatives that promote the areas identified in this policy. Programs which further these objectives will be undertaken globally wherever Zahyan Technologies is present, with special attention on areas surrounding Zahyan Technologie’s facilities. Mindtree will implement the chosen programs via three channels:
- a) Directly by Zahyan Technologies
- b) Through Zahyan Technologies Foundation
- c) Through “Individual Social Responsibility” programs undertaken by Zahyan Technologies Tech and supported by Zahyan Technologies as appropriate
2.2. While selecting agencies (including NGOs or other forms of organizations) with whom we will partner for such programs, the following criteria will be applied:
- a) The agency or key leadership team members (trustees, founders etc.) of the agency should not display overt political or religious affiliations/ support political or religious causes;
- b) The beneficiaries of the chosen programs should not be selected on the basis of any political, religious, or other similar criteria, but solely based on their needs or more objective selection criteria. However, we will participate in programs benefitting women; and
- c) The agency should maintain proper books of accounts and follow suitable governance and regulatory requirements such as independent audit, statutory filings, tax payments etc., as applicable.
2.3. While undertaking such programs, Zahyan Technologies’s primary focus will be to serve a valuable social cause and not seek profile raising publicity. Zahyan Technologies will encourage the media or other forms of coverage only if such publicity helps generate greater public interest in the cause or motivates other individuals / organizations to contribute toward the cause.
2.4. The identified programs shall make an irreversible or actual long-term impact to the beneficiaries.
2.5. Programs where Zahyan Technologies / Zahyan Technologies Minds can have a deeper engagement with the beneficiaries are preferred over programs where Zahyan Technologies makes only a financial contribution, unless approved by the CSR Steering Committee.
2.6. The CSR Steering Committee (defined subsequently in this policy) shall put in place a knowledge harvesting mechanism to gather the learnings from each program and use such learnings to further strengthen future programs as appropriate. The monitoring process for all CSR initiatives will undergo a knowledge harvesting mechanism, a qualitative and quantitative impact analysis, outcomes and/or program retrospective (what we did well, what went wrong, how can we improve – reflect and act) periodically.
2.7. The statutory requirements for spending on CSR initiatives shall be one of the factors while determining the CSR programs to be undertaken during any Financial Year. The CSR Committee of the Board and the CSR Steering Committee will allocate funding based on the number of initiatives that are undertaken during the year which meet the requirements of this policy. If the spend in a particular Financial Year falls short of the statutory requirements, then appropriate disclosures will be made in the Director’s Report (forming part of the Annual Report) of that year.
3. Focus Areas
Zahyan Technologies’s CSR will primarily focus on programs that:
- – Benefit the differently-abled;
- – Promote education; and
- – Create sustainable livelihood opportunities.
However, the CSR Steering Committee (defined below) may take up initiatives outside this scope based on specific circumstances (such programs should not exceed 10% of the value of all programs taken up in that financial year unless approved by the CSR Committee of the Board).
4. Governance of the CSR initiatives
Zahyan Technologies will have a two-tier governance structure to oversee the CSR initiatives.
4.1. A CSR Committee of the Board of Directors will play the role of the apex review body. The charter for the CSR committee will be defined by the Board of Directors, keeping in mind the applicable regulatory requirements as well as the organization’s philosophy. Members of the Board of Directors of Zahyan Technologies Limited are eligible to be nominated to this Committee, and serve on this Committee for such duration as determined by the Board of Directors of Zahyan Technologies. The current members of the CSR Committee are given in Annexure 1 of this policy.
4.2. A CSR Steering Committee comprising of senior executives appointed by the CSR Committee for such duration as determined by the CSR Committee will oversee programs, partner identification, funding, monitoring and implementation of the chosen programs. The current members of the CSR Steering Committee are given in Annexure 1 of this policy. The CSR Steering Committee shall publish detailed quarterly reports with a status of all approved initiatives, including the impact created by each initiative to its intended beneficiaries.
5. Funding, Selection and Monitoring Process
The CSR Committee will receive requests for funding of programs and initiatives on a continuous basis. Members of the CSR Committee or CSR Steering Committee will evaluate, approve and monitor the initiatives based on a detailed quantitative and qualitative impact analysis similar to business cases.
6. Effective Data
This policy is effective from 19 June 2013.
7. Contact
For questions and clarifications, please contact:
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