Govt exempts biz firms from SSR ambit

Sharing Knowledge With Society

- Every knowledge worker to contribute ten person-days in a year

- Knowledge workers in pvt educational and research institutions liable for individual SSR activity as their counterparts in public sector

SSR will also impart thrust to the new initiatives of the government such as transformation of aspirational districts, Make in India, Swachh Bharat and Digital India towards achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development, said Union Ministry of Science & Technology

New Delhi: The recently released scientific social responsibility (SSR) guidelines have exempted the scientists in companies and other commercial entities, whether public sector or private sector. Private educational and research institutions, however, will have to adhere to the SSR provision.

SSR seems to have been conceived on the pattern of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

According to the guidelines released by the Ministry of Science & Technology, "Every knowledge worker is expected to contribute at least ten person-days in a year towards SSR over and above their routine/regular work except those in administration or are involved directly in the management of SSR implementation. While the knowledge worker would be given choice in choosing the SSR activity, it should necessarily pertain to making S&T ecosystem vibrant and responsive towards societal needs."

The guidelines have defined a 'knowledge worker' as "Anyone who participates in the knowledge economy in the areas of the human, social, natural, physical, biological, medical, mathematical and computer/data sciences and their associated technological domains."

Knowledge economy is an "economy in which growth primarily depends on the quantity, quality, and accessibility of useful information and the technologies based on it, instead of the traditional means of production (land, capital, labour and resources)."

While "students, research scholars, and those who are involved directly in the management of SSR implementation" have not been burdened with SSR, "knowledge workers in private educational and research institutions would be liable for individual SSR activity, exactly as their counterparts in the public sector."

The website of the Department of Science & Technology provides the rationale for CCS: "An important justification for SSR is the moral obligation of the scientific community of 'giving back' the benefits that they derive from science to less endowed stakeholders of science, technology and innovation as well as society. The relationship between science and society is a two-way engagement; SSR is not only about scientific impact upon society, but also about social impact upon science."

SSR would therefore strengthen the knowledge ecosystem and bring efficiency in harnessing the benefit of science for the society, the website says. "It would also bring about an attitudinal change in the mindset and the work style of the scientific community, thereby enhancing the social outreach of our scientific community. Thus, SSR has the potential to fundamentally transform society by improving the lives of our citizens towards building a self-reliant nation."

The government is bullish about SSR guidelines. These would strengthen the existing efforts of institutions in an organized and sustainable manner. "SSR will also impart thrust to the new initiatives of the government such as transformation of aspirational districts, Make in India, Swachh Bharat and Digital India towards achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development."

The intended beneficiaries are: any community, group, entity or individual benefitting out of the SSR activity, including students; school/college teachers; local bodies; communities; women's groups; farmers; self-help groups; self-employed; informal sector enterprises; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); start-ups; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); anganwadi workers; biodiversity management committees (BMCs).