CSR leaders from some of India’s leading organisations came together in Pune for a focused, high-impact workshop hosted by SoulAce on CSR Compliance and Fund-utilization Review.

The session helped demystify statutory CSR obligations with blended legal guidance, monitoring frameworks and peer discussion to bolster governance and maximise the effectiveness of CSR expenditure.

Led by Suresh Kejriwal, CSR Compliance Lead at SoulAce and supported by Rahul Katyari, Associate Director at SoulAce and Anirudhya Gupta, Vice President - Partnerships at SoulAce, the session explored a wide spectrum of topics, including:

• The expanding role of the Board and the CSR Committee.

• Inclusions, restrictions and exclusions with respect to CSR expenditure.

• The three modes of implementation, the types of implementation agencies, and CSR implementation in association with another company, and

• The difference between the terms “utilization” and “spending”; and what constitutes utilization review.

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"The workshop reinforced our commitment to advancing compliance and transparency in CSR. By equipping CSR leaders with the right tools and insights, we aspire to help the community address challenges more effectively and expand the scale and sustainability of their impact,” says Adarsh Kataruka, Managing Director, SoulAce.

The workshop witnessed participation of CSR leaders from organizations such as Bajaj Auto, TATA AutoComp, Lupin, Skoda/Volkswagen, Bharat Forge, Atlas Copco, Fiat, Cognizant, Syngenta, Praj Industries, Sandvik Coromant, Alfa Laval, Bosch Global Software Technologies, Bridgestone, Schaeffler, Huntsman, Finolex, MNGL, and Foseco.

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“The session with SoulAce was helpful. From the number of questions that the participants had it was evident that this refresher was needed. Moreover, with CSR being dynamic as companies explore different ways for impactful projects there will be questions for which companies would seek clarifications.” - Bhuvaneswari Jayaraman, Chief Manager, CSR , Skoda.

“Thank you for the insightful CSR compliance training session. It was highly informative and covered a broad spectrum of topics. The emphasis on enhanced compliance alignment, due diligence practices, and monitoring strategies was particularly valuable. - Roshni Acaharya- CSR lead Sandvik.

The practical tips shared for underutilisation review were much needed and will certainly support our day-to-day responsibilities.” -  Roshni.

 

“I had the privilege of attending the “CSR Compliance and Fund Utilization Review” workshop organized by Soulace, and I found it to be extremely valuable for practitioners like me who work closely with CSR frameworks. The session provided deep clarity on what qualifies as CSR under the Companies Act and what does not—an area where many organizations often face interpretational challenges.” - Aakanksha Tiwari - CSR Lead, Bosch Global.

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“The workshop was well-organised offering valuable insights aligned with the practical aspects of our CSR work.The content was relevant and thoughtfully designed, and the interactive format encouraged meaningful dialogue/discussions among all participants.

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Also, the flow of the workshop, compliance frameworks and fund utilisation guidelines/frameworks were very useful as they are directly applicable to our daily operations.” - Saiful Haque - Lead CSR, Grants and Program, Bridgestone.