“Tata steel’s Vision strikes a balance between economic value as well as ecological and societal value”. Comment.

Yes, Tata Steel's Vision strikes a balance between economic value as well as ecological and societal value. Its visions statements is 'We aspire to be the global steel industry benchmark for Value Creation and Corporate Citizenship. In the initial years, Tata Steel's CSR interventions were more as a 'provider' to society where the community was given support for its overall needs, both for sustenance and development. Gradually, the shift in approach led to Tata Steel being an 'enabler' focusing on building community capacity through training programmes; focusing on providing technical support rather than giving aid. At present, CSR interventions of Tata Steel focus on 'sustainable development' to enhance the quality of life of people. It guides the Company in its race to excel in all areas of sustainability. J RD Tata the Chairman of the Tata Group believed that, "to create good working conditions, to pay the best wages to its employees and provide decent housing to its employees are not enough for the industry, the aim of an industry should be to discharge its overall social responsibilities to the community and the society at large, where industry is located." Guided by this mandate, Tata Steel has for decades uses its skills and resources, to the extent it can reasonably afford, to give back to the community a fair share of the product of its efforts. It was the first to establish labour welfare practices, even before these were made statutory laws across the world. The Company also instituted an eight-hour workday in 1912, free medical aid in 1915, a Welfare Department in 1917, leave with pay, Workers Provident Fund and Workmen's Compensation in 1920 and Maternity Benefit for ladies in 1928. The Company supports and propagates the principles of the United Nations Global Compact as a Founder Member, is a signatory to the Worldsteel Sustainability Charter and supports the Affirmative Action programme of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Tata Steel's approach to business has evolved from the concept that the wealth created must be continuously returned to society. The responsibility of combining the three elements of society - social, environmental, and economic - is of utmost importance to the way of life at Tata Steel. Today, Tata Steel's CSR activities in India encompass the Company's Steel Works, Iron ore mines and collieries, reaching out to the city of Jamshedpur, its peri-urban areas and over 800 villages in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Community involvement is a characteristic of all Tata Steel Group companies around the world. It can take the form of financial support, provision of materials and the involvement of time, skills and enthusiasm of employees. The Group contributes to a very wide range of social, cultural, educational, sporting, charitable and emergency assistance programmes.