What is essentially different about the Tatas way of doing CSR ?
Tatas have taken up social responsibility right from the beginning – in the sense that environmental and social sensitivities have been ingrained in a very natural manner. Nowadays it is becoming jargonized and more systems driven – nothing wrong with it. It is our new way of doing things. In this new style we are trying to reinvent ourselves. All our companies are GRI compliant and have signed the Global Compact. We have our own Tata Index that we have evolved for the purpose of seeing if a business activity is ultimately improving the quality of life and how to measure it in very specific terms. So there is a lot happening at the company’s level. Pricing is a huge ethical issue in business. At one point in time, the TATA truck used to cost a premium which was equal to its price. I was myself in charge of dispatch then. The dealers would put pressure on Mr Mulgaonkar to increase the price. Every sensible person in those times – so called sensible – felt that the price should be increa
