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society prospers, if consumer prospers only then a bank or and reputation. If an organisation develops an ethical
business organisation can prosper. culture wherein any action of every employee is expected
to be ethically correct it will strengthen the brand and
Preserving environment has also emerged as an important image of the organisation as a socially relevant organisation.
area in corporate governance. It has become a pressing This will make their employees motivated, increase the
requirement of the hour that any action of a corporation public trust in the organisation and make the business
should not endanger the quality of environment and hence sustainable for long. Corporate social responsibility
environment concerns have to be integrated into corporate emanates from the philosophy that corporate should return
governance.Employees of the organisation are to be back to the society in which they function and maximisation
sensitised that they should not act in a manner which is of profit cannot be the ultimate aim of an organisation.
against natural environment & resources. Conservation of
environment is important for sustainable development. The Today organisations are working virtually in a global market
needs of future generations has to be always given due and therefore the conduct and behaviour of organisations
importance. Profitable and prosperous organisation and should be conforming to the best trade practices which are
environmental protection are not contradictory to each built around equity, humanity, transparency and
other; rather they have to be complementary to each other. sustainability. Even minor stakeholders concern needs to be
taken care of. Ethics should not be considered as a
Sometimes pressure of competition and goal of maximising constraint on business and its governance rather it should
profits may lead to unethical practices in the organisation. be considered as a critical factor in corporate decisions.
But this may prove detrimental to the reputation of the Honesty and loyalty to all stake holders should be key to
organisation. In fact the quality of response of a corporate corporate governance and this will ensure the survival and
to business pressures and public concerns builds its image sustainability of any business. R

Multimodal connectivity soon: DPIIT secy

The government will soon come out with a national masterplan for providing multimodal connectivity across various
industrial hubs to cut down logistics cost and improve competitiveness of local manufacturing, a government official
said. This would set the timeframe for building infrastructure facilities of world standards, said Guruprasad Mohapatra,
Secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT).
"We all are aware that India needs to do a lot to improve logistics costs and time. One major initiative that is expected
to be announced soon by the government is the national masterplan for providing multimodal connectivity all across
the country wherever any economic activity is happening whether industrial clusters, parks or estates," Mohapatra
said at a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
All infrastructure ministries such as those handling shipping, railways and civil aviation will be given a timeline under
this masterplan to ensure multimodal connectivity of global quality to various production centres in the country by
2024, Mohapatra said. Multimodal transportation involves several modes of transportation--railways, roads, waterways,
for delivery of goods. This masterplan will soon be placed before the cabinet and once approved, definite timelines
will given to different ministries, he said.
Reducing logistics cost is a priority for the Narendra Modi administration. Recently, a department of logistics has
been created within the ministry of commerce and industry, headed by a secretary rank official. This department will
come out with a policy to reduce logistics cost and time, he said. Logistics cost in India has been a pain point for the
industry for a long time although removal of state border controls after GST was introduced in 2017 has helped save
time.
Mohapatra also said officials have identified activities of the government that adds to compliance burden, which will
be addressed soon. He also said that the vehicle scrappage policy is under discussions. At present, the question of
whether customers should be incentivised is under being examined and once that is resolved, the policy will be cleared,
said Mohapatra. He said the government will continue to improve the business climate in the country.

44 PR COMMUNICATION AGE July - December 2020