NEW DELHI: President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Monday asked corporate leaders and industrial houses to ensure that the fruits of development and modernisation reach those living in rural hinterland. He exhorted corporate India to understand their responsibility towards children living in rural and semi-urban India and contributes towards their growth and well-being.

Addressing the Businessworld-FICCI-SEDF Corporate Social Responsibility awards function, Mr. Kalam said corporate and industrial houses could make an important contribution by adopting the schools, particularly in rural areas in their region, and providing infrastructure for the schools in the form of clean drinking water, toilet and transportation facilities, building sport complexes and providing computing facilities.

"This type of support to government and private schools will improve the quality of education to the children in the rural and semi-urban areas, leading to development of enlightened citizens. The support for developing quality human resource with embedded value system is an important social responsibility mission since it creates the human asset for the nation."

For success of such crucial missions, India needed creative leaders who were concerned about their corporate social responsibility and would like to give more to the society than what they have drawn, he said.

"For a prosperous and developed India, the important thrust will be on the growth in the number of such creative leaders who can create wealth to their institutions and also contribute to the upliftment of environment and people in their neighbourhood," he added.

Mr. Kalam asked industrial houses to take urgent action for conservation of energy and promote use of renewable energy to the maximum extent in their plants and facilities. At the function, the President gave away the Businessworld-FICCI-SEDF Corporate Social Responsibility awards to four public sector and three private sector companies. The top corporate citizen award was bagged by the Steel Authority of India, followed by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and Tata Chemicals.

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