There are 100 million elderly Indians, most of whom have no social security of any kind. Only about 25 million of them get pensions, and this includes the disabled and widows.

My passion is to see the disadvantaged – both individuals and communities – transformed and restored. I love to see people and groups of people becoming empowered and gaining back their self-respect, whether they are marginalised because of poverty, faith, political persecution or some other reason.

One should be able to say with affirmed consideration that we are a country where the government seems to be at odds with its own people. With conflicts mounting in different shapes and sizes in every corner of India, it is difficult to fathom why the unrest is mostly not being noticed. Or if it is, why is it being kept at bay from envisioning policies. It is also perhaps comprehendible that laws are subject to interpretations and political decisions arrived at through negotiated compromise. But the intra-governmental conversations around ‘natural resources’ in the country appear to be ridden with conflictual debates. 

On 18 December, the Lok Sabha finally passed the Companies Bill 2012 to replace the Companies Act of 1956. It has 29 Chapters, 470 Clauses and Seven Schedules. The Bill aims at improving corporate governance. It contains provisions to strengthen regulations for companies and auditing firms. In addition it has provisions on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spend and its reporting – a welcome and long awaited step forward.

Western visitors to India often remark on how impressive India’s business scene is. They recognise how innovative and hard working the business people are, creating operations from a single room or a street-side booth. They note that many of the world’s major brands have tall buildings in the cities, and have chosen to locate their finance, technology and customer service operations there.

Accreditation is the act of granting credit or recognition. It is to be preceded with a process where facts, figures and professional ethics are scrutinized so that the desired certification of competency, authority or credibility is presented. Only the best suited with the requisite track record are to find themselves in the approved list.