Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) and

Sustainability
Policy
of
Indian Railway Catering
and Tourism Corporation
Limited
(IRCTC)

IRCTC CSR & Sustainability Policy Page 1

 INDEX

S. No. Particulars Page No.

1. Preface 3

2. Introduction 3-4

2. Preamble 4

3. CSR Policy Statement 4-5

4. Objectives & Scope 5

5. Planning of CSR & Sustainability activities/ 5-7

Selection of Projects
6. Key areas for CSR & Sustainability activities of 7
IRCTC
7. Activities not covered under CSR 8

8. Organizational Structure 8

9. Tier-I: Board level CSR and Sustainability 8-9

Committee (BLC)
10. Tier-II: Below Board Level Committee 9-10

11. Budget and Finance 10-11

12. Implementation, Monitoring Evaluation and 11-12

Impact Assessment
13. Documentation and Reporting 12

14. Amendment 12

15. Annexure-I: CSR activities as per Schedule VII of 13

the Companies Act, 2013
16. Annexure-II: Format for the Annual Report on 14-15
CSR Activities to be included in the Board's
Report

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1.0 Preface

1.1 The Companies Act, 2013 provides specific provisions for CSR under Section
135 and the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014
issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide notification dated 27.02.2014.

1.2 Section 135 of the Companies act 2013 and the rules made there under have
been made applicable from 1st April, 2014 necessitated changes in CSR &
Sustainability Policy of IRCTC. Accordingly, CSR & Sustainability Policy of
IRCTC has been amended and approved by the Board of Directors in its 71st
meeting held on 17.02.2015.

1.3 Department of Public Enterprises also vide its OM No. 15 (13)/2013-DPE(GM)

dated 21st October, 2014 has released fresh guidelines on CSR in
supersession of earlier guidelines and has also provided that the guidelines
made by CPSES in this regard will be in conformity with Companies Act 2013
and rules made thereunder.

1.4 Accordingly, the CSR and Sustainability Policy of the Company has been
modified as approved by the Board of Directors in its 65th meeting held on
20th December, 2013. The Policy is issued in supersession of the earlier Policy
and all other related documents.

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred
as “IRCTC”) is a Miniratna Category –I Central Public Sector Enterprise
falling under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways, Govt. of
India. The Company is committed to implement Corporate Social
Responsibility & Sustainability activities in a planned and time bound
manner.

2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred as CSR) & Sustainability

are essential components of Corporate Governance. The emerging concept of
CSR & Sustainability goes beyond charity and requires the company to act
beyond its legal obligations and to integrate social, environmental and ethical
concerns into company’s business process

2.3 This policy encompasses IRCTC’s philosophy for delineating its

responsibility as a corporate citizen and lays down the guidelines and
mechanism for undertaking socially useful programmes for welfare &
sustainable development of the community at large, is titled as the ‘ IRCTC’s
CSR Policy’.

2.4 IRCTC’s commitment towards stakeholders is confirmed through its

Corporate Mission, Vision and the policies being adopted by the organization

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2.4 This policy shall apply to all CSR initiatives and activities taken up at the
various zones and locations of IRCTC, for the benefit of different segments of
the society, specifically the deprived, under‐privileged and differently abled
persons.

2.5 Since CSR includes Sustainability activities also in accordance with Schedule
VII of the Companies Act, this CSR Policy shall be taken at par as CSR cum
Sustainable Development Policy. This Policy also fulfills the requirement of
DPE Guideline on CSR and Sustainability and is to be treated as CSR and
Sustainability Policy in compliance with DPE Guidelines.

3.0 Preamble

3.1 The CSR Policy of the Company has been drafted in light of the following:

(a) Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013

(b) Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility ) Rules 2014;
(c) The circulars and notifications issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
from time to time;
(d) Guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises from time to
time.

3.2 Whenever any amendments are made in DPE’s guidelines and provisions of
Companies Act, 2013 and rules made there-under on the subject, the same
shall be duly incorporated in the policy document. Any modification/
amendment in the policy document would be carried out by Board Level
Committee on CSR & SD subject to approval of BoD.

4.0 CSR Policy Statement:

In alignment of Company’s Vision and Mission as mentioned below:

Vision

“To be the leading provider of high quality travel, tourism and hospitality
related services, for a range of customer segments, with consistently
high level of customer satisfaction.”

Mission

“IRCTC will establish itself as a leader in the area(s) of hospitality

services , Travel and Tourism, packaged drinking water, and Internet
Ticketing by providing value added products and services for
passengers, tourists and other customers, targeting IR and Non-IR
related services alike, building a resilient business portfolio that is
scalable and based on core competence.”
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 IRCTC through its CSR & Sustainability initiatives will endeavor to achieve the
below- mentioned key Value behind CSR & Sustainability Policy:

“To remain a responsible corporate entity mindful of its social

responsibilities to all stakeholders including railway passengers,
customers, consumers, shareholders, employees, local community and
society at large”.

4.0 Objectives and Scope:

CSR & Sustainability activities are being implemented to meet the broad
objectives underlined in the Policy:

a. Focus on periphery of project areas of IRCTC/local areas of the zones/

units of the Company as the case may be. For the purpose of the
policy, Local Area would constitute of the area(s) falling in the vicinity of
the Zones/Plants and locations, where IRCTC carries out its business.

b. To ensure an increased commitment at all levels in the organisation, to

operate its business in an economically, socially & environmentally
sustainable manner, while recognising the interests of all its
stakeholders.

c. To directly or indirectly take up programmes that benefit the local

communities in & around its area of operations and results, over a
period of time, in enhancing the quality of life & economic well‐being of
the local populace.

d. To generate, through its CSR initiatives, a community goodwill for

IRCTC and help reinforce a positive & socially responsible image of
IRCTC as a corporate entity

e. Inclusive growth of society with emphasis on development of weaker

sections of society and in the backward districts of the country ;

5.0 Planning of CSR & Sustainability activities/ Selection of Projects.

The following parameters will be taken care of while planning of CSR and
Sustainability activities and selection of projects thereof:

5.1 In accordance with Rule 4 of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility)

Rules, 2014, the CSR activities will be undertaken by the Company as per the
Policy and the projects or programmes or activities (either new or ongoing),
excluding activities undertaken in pursuance of its normal course of business.
Further, in accordance to sub rule 2 of Rule 4 of Companies Rules, the Board

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 of a company may decide to undertake its CSR activities approved by the
CSR Committee, through a registered trust or a registered society or a
company established by the company or its holding or subsidiary or associate
company under section 8 of the Act or otherwise.

5.2 While selecting CSR activities / projects from the activities listed in Schedule
VII of the Act, IRCTC would give priority to the issues which are of foremost
concern in the national development agenda, like safe drinking water for all,
provision of toilets especially for girls, health and sanitation, education, etc.
The main focus of CSR and Sustainability policy of IRCTC would be on
sustainable development and inclusive growth, and to address the basic
needs of the deprived,under privileged, neglected and weaker sections of the
society which comprise of SC, ST, OBCs, minorities, BPL families, old and
aged, women / girl child, physically challenged, etc.

5.3 In selection of activities, the focus would be on the projects having high
social, economic and environmental impact.

5.4 As far as possible, IRCTC would take up the CSR activities in project, which
entails planning the stages of execution in advance by fixing targets at
different milestones, with pre-estimation of quantum of resources required
within the allocated budget, and having a definite time span for achieving
desired outcomes.

5.5 Ongoing CSR and Sustainability projects or programmes or activities will

qualify as valid CSR activities and will be completed as approved.

5.6 CSR & Sustainability projects/activities should be undertaken in the periphery

where IRCTC carries out its commercial activities as far as possible. Where
this is not possible or applicable, IRCTC may choose to locate CSR &
Sustainability projects anywhere in the country by providing justification in
writing after the same is duly recommended by the CSR Committee and is
approved by the Board of Directors.

5.7 Selection or choice of CSR & Sustainability projects will not be adhoc,
onetime, philanthropic activities which do not contribute in any way to social
value creation, environment protection or sustainable development.

5.8 IRCTC initiatives should be focused on capacity building, skilled development

and infrastructure development for benefits of the marginalized and under
privileged section of local communities and also in backward regions.

5.9 As per the sub-rule (3) of Rule 4 of Companies (Corporate Social

Responsibility) Rules, 2014, for optimal use of resources, the Company may

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 collaborate with other companies for undertaking projects or programmes
which will have greater visibility, more number of beneficiaries and long term
visible impact shall be preferred. It will act as an agency to ensure delivery of
services satisfying strongly felt social, environmental and community needs
rather than merely financing and funding of programmes.

5.10 CSR & Sustainability Plans would also be required to clearly specify the
implementation guidelines and the involvement of the implementing agency.
The procedures and methodologies prescribed for monitoring would be
required to be highlighted as well as the modalities of the concurrent and final
evaluation. Finally, there should be a clear specification regarding mandatory
documentation of the experience.

5.11 Each of above mentioned plans would clearly specify requirements relating to
baseline survey, activities to be undertaken, budgets allocated, time-lines
prescribed, responsibilities and authorities defined and major results
expected.

5.12 The approach of IRCTC towards CSR & Sustainability would be oriented to
identify and formulate projects in response to felt societal & environmental
needs in diverse areas and to implement them with full involvement and
commitment in a time bound manner.

6.0 Key Areas for CSR and Sustainability activities of IRCTC

6.1 As a responsible corporate entity, IRCTC will consistently strive for

opportunities to meet the expectation of its stake holders by pursuing the
concept of CSR and Sustainable Development, including but not limited to,
with focus on the following.

6.2 CSR & Sustainability Policy includes but is not limited to projects or programs
relating to activities specified in Schedule VII to the Act; or Projects or
programs relating to activities undertaken by the BoD of a company in
pursuance of recommendations of the CSR Committee of the Board as per
declared CSR & Sustainability Policy of the company subject to the condition
that such policy will cover subjects enumerated in Schedule VII of the Act as
enclosed at Annexure-I.

6.3 If the CPSEs feel the necessity of taking up new CSR activities / projects
during the course of a year, which are in addition to the CSR activities already
incorporated in the CSR policy of the company, the Board’s approval of such
additional CSR activities would be treated as amendment to the policy.

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 6.1 Activities not covered under CSR

i) The CSR & Sustainability activities do not include the activities

undertaken in pursuance of normal course of business of IRCTC.
ii) Activities and expenditure related to staff benefits will not count as CSR
& Sustainability activities except salaries paid by the companies to
regular CSR staff as well as to volunteers of the companies (in
proportion to company’s time/hours spent specifically on CSR) can be
factored into CSR project cost as part of the CSR expenditure.
iii) Also grants to organizations/ institutions that are not specifically
Implementing CSR & Sustainability projects specified by IRCTC would
not count as CSR.
iv) One-off events such as marathons/ awards/ charitable contribution/
advertisement/ sponsorships of TV programmes etc. would not be
qualified as part of CSR expenditure.
v) Expenses incurred by companies for the fulfillment of any Act/ Statute
of regulations (such as Labour Laws, Land Acquisition Act etc.) would
not count as CSR expenditure under the Companies Act.
vi) Expenses incurred by companies for undertaking activities which are
established functions of the Government.

7.0 Organizational Structure

7.1 The Company has two Tier organization structure to steer CSR and
Sustainability agenda and to ensure implementation of activities and
utilization of funds in a time bound manner as mentioned below.

(i) Tier-I: Board Level Committee headed by the Chairman and Managing
Director / Independent Director and;

(ii) Tier-II: Below Board level Committee headed by the Nodal Officer

7.2 Tier-I: Board Level CSR and Sustainability Committee (BLC)

 Composition:

a. Sh. M.P. MallChairman & Managing Director : Chairperson

b. 6mt. Smita Rawat Government Director  : Member
c. Dr. R. N. Bohidar, Independent Director  : Member
**d. Dr. Dheeraj Sharma, Independent Director  : Member
* *
 : Member
e. Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi


The Company Secretary will be the Secretary of the Committee.

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* Board in its 76th meeting reconstituted the CSR & SD Committee by inducting Sh. Ranjan Prakash Thakur, ED (T&C), Railway Board and Part-time (official) Director.

**Board in its 79th meeting reconstituted the CSR & SD Committee by inducting Sh. V. Sriram, Director (Catering Services) vice Sh. R.N. Kalita, Ex-Director (Catering
Services).
*** Board in its 81st meeting took note the reconstitution of CSR & SD Committee by induction of Smt. Sunira Bassi, Adviser (T&C), Railway Board and Part-time
(official) Director which was passed by majority of Directors on 29.06.2016 through resolution by circulation.
 The quorum shall be either two members or one-third of the total
members, whichever is greater, but there should be a minimum of one
Independent Director present.

 Role of the BLC

(i) To formulate and recommend to the BoD, a Corporate Social

Responsibility Policy which shall indicate the activities to be undertaken
by the company as specified in Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013.
(ii) The Committee will be overall in charge for identification, selection,
formulation, recommendation, approval, execution, planning,
supervision, coordination and monitoring of various programmes and
activities under CSR & Sustainability;
(iii) To recommend the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the
activities referred in Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013;
(iv) To monitor the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the company
from time to time;
(v) To consider recommend and approve various Schemes/Projects
received from various quarters for financial assistance as put up before
it by the Below Board level Committee/ Nodal officer for CSR after
scrutiny;
(vi) To organize training workshops and seminars for better implementation
in consultation with CMD;
(vii) To ensure receipt of Utilization Certificates along with statement of
expenditure duly certified by an Authorized Auditor, from the
organizations/institutions to whom CSR Fund is allocated;
.
7.2 Tier-II: Below Board Level Committee
The Committee will be headed by an officer of one rank lower to the Board
level to function as the Nodal Officer. The designated nodal officer will have
a team of officials to assist him / her in co-ordination work, which will in no
way detract from the importance of CSR and Sustainability work in which all
the supervisory staff in all departments would be continuously engaged in.

 Composition:

The composition of Tier-II -- Below Board level Committee may comprise of

three members (including the Nodal officer as Chairperson), second member
to be inducted from representative(s) of departments depending upon the
nature of project being undertaken and will include a member from Finance
being third member.

CMD/IRCTC will be the competent authority to nominate/change/ replace the

members of the above-mentioned Committee

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  Role of Tier-II Below Board level Committee :

To provide necessary assistance to the Board Level Committee on CSR &

SD in identification, finalization, implementation and monitoring of various
activities/ schemes /projects / programmes under CSR and Sustainability.
Role of such committee may be increased, from time to time, subject to need
and the approval of BLC.

8.0 Budget and Expenditure :

 The CSR – SD Budget would be fixed for each financial year through a
Board resolution for the activities to be carried out during the year, in
accordance with section 135 of Companies Act 2013 and the Companies
(Corporate Social Responsibility Policy Rules, 2014 and the guidelines
issued by DPE, as amended from time to time .
 The expenditure on CSR and SD activities shall be at least 2% of the
average net profits of the company made during the three immediately
preceding financial years.
 “Net Profit” means the net profit of a company as per its financial statements
prepared in accordance with section 198 of the Act or any other applicable
provision, but shall not include the following namely:- (i) any profit arising
from any overseas branch or branches of the company, whether operated
as a separate company or otherwise; and (ii) any dividend received from
other companies in India, which are covered under and complying with the
provisions of section 135 of the Act:
 The efforts would be made that budget allocated for CSR and Sustainability
activities / projects planned for each financial year is spent within that year
itself.
 If due to some exceptional circumstances, the budget of a year remains
unutilized/unspent, the reasons for not being able to spend the entire budget
on CSR and Sustainability activities as planned for that year shall be part of
Director’s Report. Further, the amount would not lapse. It would instead be
carried forward to the next year for utilisation for the purpose for which it was
allocated
 Upto 5% of the annual budget for CSR and Sustainability activities has to be
earmarked for Emergency needs, which would include relief work
undertaken during natural calamities / disasters, and contributions towards
Prime Minister’s / Chief Minister’s Relief Funds and/or to the National
Disaster Management Authority etc.
 The expenditure incurred on brochure, Surveying, Sustainability reporting,
capacity building programme such as training, workshops, seminar etc. and
on communication strategies for engagement of all stakeholders will be
accounted for CSR-SD.

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  Further, expenditure incurred by IRCTC in availing the services of the NCSR
Hub for implementation of their CSR and Sustainability activities would be
treated as a part of expenditure under Budgetary Head.
 CSR expenditure shall include contribution to corpus of a Trust/ society/
Section 8 companies created exclusively for undertaking CSR projects or
programs approved by BoD
 CSR expenditure shall include all expenditure including contribution to
corpus for projects or programs relating to CSR activities approved by the
BoD on the recommendation of its BLC, but do not include any expenditure
on an item not in conformity or not in line with activities which fall within the
purview of Schedule VII of the Act.

9.0 Implementation, Monitoring Evaluation and Impact Assessment

Implementation

(i) CSR and Sustainability activities will be implemented within the

organization through the active involvement of the employees after
following the due procedure and transparency norms.
(ii) In cases , where IRCTC does not have the in-house expertise, the services
of the following specialized external agencies may be obtained, including
but not limited to :
a. Voluntary Agencies (NGOs)
b. Institutes / Academic Organizations
c. Government, Semi-Government, autonomous Organizations
or subsidiaries.
d. Professional Consultancy Organizations, etc.
e. Stranding Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE)
f. Not for Profit Organizations (NGOs)

Monitoring

(i) As monitoring of activities is of paramount importance, the Board Level

Committee on CSR & SD will keep a watchful eye on the implementation of
the CSR projects or activities being undertaken..
(ii) The quarterly reports will be submitted by BLC to the Board of Directors
regarding the implementation progress on CSR & Sustainability activities.

Evaluation and Impact Assessment:

(i) As impact assessment study requires specialized skills and tools for
advocacy research, it may be carried out by specialized agency
(ii) Monitoring and implementation of various CSR & Sustainability activities
may be done by the Company. However, evaluation and impact
assessment of the activities will be got done through a suitable
independent External Agency.
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 (iii) While assessing CSR & Sustainability projects through specialized
agencies, every possible effort would be made to verify the reliability and
clean track record of such agencies and their selection would be done
following the procurement guidelines as per Company Policy, unless and
until a special policy is evolved with BoD approval for CSR & Sustainability
activities.

10.0 Documentation and Reporting

(i) The Company will include a separate report in its Annual Report
reflecting the implementation of CSR & Sustainability activities in
accordance with the Rule 8 of Companies (Corporate Social
Responsibility) Rules 2014. The format of the report is placed as
Annexure-II.
(ii) The Board's report under sub-section (3) of section 134 shall disclose
the composition of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.
(iii) the CSR Committee will issue a Responsibility Statement signed by
Chairman and Managing Director, Chairman of the CSR Committee
(i) Meticulous documentation relating to CSR & Sustainability
approaches, policies, programmes, major milestones etc would be
prepared and included in the Internal Reports, brochures, newsletters
of the Company.
(ii) The policy on CSR & Sustainability and the activities carried out
under it, also be uploaded on the website of the Company
(www.irctc.com). Efforts will be made to make the whole process
transparent as far as possible.

11.0 General/Amendment
i) The policy will be subject to changes as per Government Guidelines and
Regulations and provisions of Companies Act, 2013 and rules made there
under.
ii) The modification/amendment in the CSR policy will be approved by the Board
of Directors as and when recommended by the Board level CSR and SD
Committee.
iii) The Policy would serve as the Referral document for planning and selection
of CSR activities. However, in case of any doubt/issue, cross reference to the
Companies Act 2013 and corresponding rules is advised to avoid any
inconsistency with the latter.

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 Annexure-I
The following key areas are identified for implementation of CSR activities as
per Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013:-
(i) eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting health care including
preventive health care and sanitation including contribution to the Swach Bharat
Kosh set up by the Central Government for the promotion of sanitation and
making available safe drinking water;

(ii) promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing

vocation skills especially among children, women elderly, and the differently
abled and livelihood enhancement projects;

(iii) promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels
for women and orphans; setting up old age homes, day care centres and such
other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced
by socially and economically backward groups;

(iv) ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance,, protection of flora

and fauna, animal welfare, agro forestry, conservation of natural resources and
maintaining quality of soil, air and water including contribution to the Clean
Ganga Fund set-up by the Central Government for rejuvenation of river Ganga;

(v) protection of national heritage, art and culture, including restoration of buildings
and sites of historical importance and works of art, setting up public libraries,
promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts;

(vi) measures for the benefit of armed forced veterans, war widows and their
dependents;

(vii) training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, Paralympics

sports and Olympic sports;

(viii) contribution to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by
the central government for socio-economic development and relief and welfare
of the schedule castes, the schedule tribes, other backward classes, minorities
and women; contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located
within academic institutions which are approved by the central government;

(ix) rural development projects.

(x) Slum area projects

(xi) Any other project/activity as may be prescribed by Ministry of Corporate Affairs,

Department of Public Enterprises or any statutory body from time to time

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 Annexure-II

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