CSR Initiatives of a MNC in India

Microsoft Corporation

ContentsAbout Microsoft..........................................................................................................................................2

Microsoft India............................................................................................................................................2

Corporate Mission Statement....................................................................................................................3

CSR initiatives of Microsoft in India............................................................................................................3

Introduction and Background.................................................................................................................3

CSR Vision...............................................................................................................................................4

Objectives of the CSR policy...................................................................................................................4

CSR Committee.......................................................................................................................................4

CSR Projects............................................................................................................................................4

Thematic Areas...................................................................................................................................5

CSR Policy Guiding Principles..............................................................................................................5

EMPOWER: Transforming Education and Expanding Digital Inclusion..................................................5

IMAGINE: Unleashing Future Innovators...............................................................................................6

REALISE: Increasing Employability and Entrepreneurship.....................................................................7

NGO Partners..........................................................................................................................................7

Flagship Projects.....................................................................................................................................8

YouthSpark- Project Jyoti....................................................................................................................8

Impact.................................................................................................................................................9

MP Kanha Project: M-Mantra.................................................................................................................9

Impact...............................................................................................................................................10

Analysis.................................................................................................................................................10

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About MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation (commonly referred to as Microsoft) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, and Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. It is the world's largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world's most valuable companies.

Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.

As of 2015, Microsoft is market dominant in both the IBM PC-compatible operating and office software suite markets. The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including Internet search (Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the operating systems of Nokia's former phones and Windows Phone OS).

Microsoft IndiaMicrosoft India Private Limited is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Hyderabad, India. Bhaskar Pramanik is the chairman of Microsoft India. The company first entered the Indian market in 1990 and has since worked closely with the Indian government, the IT industry, academia and the local developer community to usher in some of the early successes in the IT market. Microsoft currently has offices in the 13 cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune. Increasingly, the company has become a key IT partner of the Indian government and industry, supporting and fueling the growth of the local IT industry through its partner enablement programs. Since its entry into India, Microsoft has focused on three key objectives:

To become a key IT partner of the Indian government and the local IT industry To support and fuel growth of the local IT industry through its partner enablement

programs

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To use the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program to enhance education, jobs and opportunities and foster innovation through relevant, affordable access to computing.

Microsoft in India employs about 6,500 people and has six business units representing the complete Microsoft product portfolio. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman of Microsoft India, announced that Microsoft intends to provide free internet connectivity across India.

Corporate Mission StatementEmpower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

CSR initiatives of Microsoft in IndiaIntroduction and Background"Our customers and society expect us to maximize the value of technology while also preserving the values that are timeless. Microsoft’s commitments to corporate citizenship help us meet these expectations."

—Satya Nadella, CEO

Microsoft started operations in India and made a commitment to help every Indian realize their full potential. They are a productivity and platform company in a mobile -first, cloud-first world. They are focused on helping people do more and achieve more with their technology, their innovations and their creativity. Microsoft recently brought its restheirces and perspective from around the world to help Indian youth succeed in the new digital economy under a program called YouthSpark. YouthSpark brings together technology, training, investments and experiences to help the youth change the world. In India, They closely partner with NGOs, Governments and academic institutions to skill the youth of India, bridge the opportunity and digital divide and, catalyse the entrepreneurship climate in the country. In the last 10 years, Microsoft’s not-for -profit programs have touched over 5 crore people and with an investment of over INR 650 crore from Microsoft.

Microsoft Group in India is committed to contributing significantly towards India’s inclusive and sustainable growth. In this regard, a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee was set up by Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited on December 14, 2011. Based on the recommendations of the CSR Committee, the Board of Directors of the Company, approved this CSR policy in its meeting of December 19, 2014.

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CSR VisionThe Company’s CSR vision is to use their technology and investments to help individuals, communities and businesses across sectors, geographies and age groups to realize their full potential.

Objectives of the CSR policy To promote a strategic and sustainable approach to CSR across the Company in line with

our corporate vision to help individuals and businesses realize their full potential.

To ensure that our CSR investments are relevant to the national agenda and contribute in a significant way to India’s inclusive development.

To strengthen and deepen commitment across the organisation through a sustained program for employee participation and engagement in the Company’s CSR and nation building agenda.

CSR CommitteeThe Company has as per the requirements of Section 135 of the Act formed a committee to manage the CSR projects of the Company. The members of the CSR Committee are:

Karanjit Singh Bajwa; Benjamin Owen Orndorff; Ashwini Sachdev

CSR ProjectsThey believe technology offers renewed possibilities that can empower educators, students, youth and entrepreneurs in the country.

Thematic Areas

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Environmental Sustainability

Accessibility

Disaster Response

Women and Girl Empowerment

Skilling, Employability & Entrepreneurshi

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Education

CSR Policy Guiding PrinciplesTheir citizenship efforts in India are guided by the three principles of empower, imagine and realize

EMPOWER: Transforming Education and Expanding Digital InclusionEmpower is about transforming education and expanding digital inclusion. It means helping youth acquire the skills that are necessary to survive and thrive in the 21st century workplace. YouthSpark programs do that. A few examples are:

• Partners in Learning – Project Shiksha, Started in 2003, the program aims to accelerate IT literacy and enhance the classroom environment among government schools across the country.

• YouthSpark – Project Jyoti, in partnership with NGOs the program equips youth from marginalized background on basic IT skills, spoken English, personality development and then helps place them in appropriate jobs or start their own enterprise.

• Project Saksham, gives impetus to the National Mission of Education through ICT (NMeICT). The common goal is to build connectivity and a knowledge network among Page | 3 and within institutions of higher learning in the country.

• Accessibility, Microsoft has focused on technology inclusion for all, making computing easier for people with disabilities, by working with governments, industry, academia and NGOs to help develop innovative accessibility solutions.

• Digital Saksharta or the Digital Literacy Curriculum is a free online program to enable people with digital literacy to help them employ the edge of computing in everyday life.

• Employee Giving and Volunteering Program complements the efforts of the Indian government for Education, through direct contributions and participation by Microsoft employees. The amount contributed is matched by Microsoft

• Software Donations - Microsoft India has donated over 300 crore rupees in software products to eligible NGOs. As part of this initiative, Microsoft recently made its latest Cloud product Office365 available as a donation to eligible non-profits.

• Connect IT Program - launched in 2009, the program builds the capacities of the NGOs to integrate and use technology to achieve their development projects.

• Disaster and Humanitarian Response - Microsoft Group in India has been at the forefront of generating assistance for natural disasters like the Uttarakhand flash-floods, J&K and Assam more recently.

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IMAGINE: Unleashing Future InnovatorsImagine is about inspiration and possibilities. It is about unleashing future innovators. Young people need to imagine a different kind of world that is filled with new possibilities and believe that they can build it. At Microsoft, They want to help them imagine what a better tomorrow looks like and, help them get there.

• Imagine Cup, a global technology competition that provides high school and university students a chance to apply their knowledge and passion to develop technology solutions for some of the world’s toughest problems.

• DreamSpark, a software giveaway for students, providing them with access to the latest Microsoft developer and designer tools at no charge.

• YouthSpark LIVE events bring young people together to identify the skills they need to succeed in life, figure out how technology will accelerate them forward, and get connected to programs that will help them get there.

• DigiGirlz India, launched in 2013, the program provides opportunity to high school girls to participate in workshops and connect with Microsoft’s employees. Hence, encouraging more girls to take up careers in technology.

• Low cost devices: highly subsidized Windows tablets and PCs running free software are helping Governments across Sates provide students a window to a new world. Windows software is free for OEMs manufacturing devices that are under 9 inches in size. Many local OEMs are launching low cost tablets for educational institutions with free Windows operating system

• College Accelerators & hackathons: Several Tier I engineering colleges are part of their college Accelerator program, learning the newest technology and participating in hackathons to build new apps every year.

REALISE: Increasing Employability and EntrepreneurshipRealize is about helping young people apply their skills and ideas to secure employment, pursue grater education, or start a new business or social venture. Some examples of programs that help increase employability and entrepreneurship.

• BizSpark, gives software start-ups access to Microsoft software development tools and connections with key industry players, including investors.

• Microsoft Academia Accelerator, in collaboration with the faculty at select leading Indian engineering colleges, aims to enhance the Computer Science curriculum in selective areas.

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• Microsoft Student Partners (MSPs), aimed at empowering student’s community across colleges and universities by giving them access to free Microsoft technology, trainings on Microsoft platform & products, and through certifications and skill development.

• Microsoft Innovation Centres (MICs), launched with a vision of driving innovation and providing incubation and expert hands-on support on Microsoft technology innovation, research, and software solutions, aimed at creating a pool of student technology experts across India.

NGO PartnersMicrosoft follows the following eligibility criteria for selecting NGOs for project implementation:

The NGO is a registered Society/Public Charitable Trust/Section 25 Not for Profit organization/Company established under the section 8 of the Act

The NGO has a valid Tax Exemption Certificate The NGO has a current Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Certificate

Additionally, each of the implementing agency/NGO is evaluated on a set of criteria identified by the Company and dependent on the project scope as a part of the pre-approval due diligence process.

The company has partnered with the following NGOs

World Links – Udayan Care Development Alternatives M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust NASSCOM Foundation HelpAge India Mahila SEWA Trust Drishtee Foundation Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) Grameen Sanchar Society (GRASSO) CAP Foundation (including sub–partnerships with Prayas and many other NGOs) Aga Khan Foundation, India Saath Charitable Trust Smile Foundation Aide et Action, India

and many others.

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Flagship Projects

YouthSpark- Project JyotiMicrosoft, in association with several NGOs, launched a programme, YouthSpark- Project Jyoti, aimed at enabling the local communities to use information technology as a tool to their development.

Under the project, called the Unlimited Potential Programme or Project Jyoti, Community Technology Learning Centres (CTLC) were set up in both rural and urban areas where women, youth and even children are trained in basic computer operations like how to use the MS office software.

YouthSpark - Project Jyoti is centered on the concept of the Community Technology Learning Center, a venue where people of all ages and abilities can learn about computers, use the internet, explore careers, participate in community activities, and develop technology skills, free of charge. A certificate of qualification is awarded at the completion of the programme.

The pivot of the program is the CTLCs set up in places like community centre, school, housing facility, where people of all ages and abilities can come to learn about computers. Using the Internet, they can pursue new careers, further education, participate in community activities or develop technology skills.

There are over 1425 CLTCs across India where training is provided. This is done in partnership with 14 NGOs like SEWA, MS Swaminathan foundation (MSSRF), NASSCOM Foundation, Smile Foundation etc.

Microsoft has invested Rs. 45 Crores till date to implement agencies, which was basically used for supply of computers to the centres and imparting training to the instructors.

ImpactThe program has trained over 500,000 young adults, 70% of who are in gainful employment or self-employed. YouthSpark - Project Jyoti adapts an enterprise approach to training and actively encourages the youth to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. In fact, over 700 youth enterprises have been established as a direct result of the program, just since December 2012. Microsoft also helps young entrepreneurs fund their ventures through Give for Youth, a micro-giving portal.

From the Chikanari weavers in Uttar Pradesh who use CAD software to make better designs to the fishermen of Tamil Nadu who use satellite connectivity to gather timely weather information, the efforts of YouthSpark - Project Jyoti have created some amazing stories. The company has also helped the incredible youth to find IT-related jobs across sectors including BPO, Customer Management & Retail, Hospitality, and Fashion Design.

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MP Kanha Project: M-MantraMicrosoft India partnered with the IT division of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to help them in overcoming both natural and technological challenges faced. Due to the vast terrain in the forest the department was unable to track movements of the wildlife in the land, map land holdings in the areas around the jungles and respond to forest fires on time. This was further compounded by the fact that the remote areas had low connectivity. They have introduced systems like M-Mantra for Forest and Wild Life Management to enable the organization to plan and implement related policies and effectively monitor the forests and wildlife. As part of the M-Mantra for Forest and Wild Life Management programme, several applications for personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been developed including the Fire Alert Messaging System (FAMS), Forest Dwellers Survey System and Wildlife Management System.

This project, because of its easy applications, has helped various departments at the Forest department- Office staffs, patrolling officers, wildlife researchers, Managers & functional foremen deliver a reliable solution to the problems of wildlife tracking, mapping land holdings and managing forest fires.

Some of the key aspects that make the project unique include:

Integration of various technologies: The following technologies have been integrated into a single frame to serve data in a visualization mode to make monitoring an effective tool even for a lay man. a. Space Technology b. GIS c. GPS d. Image Processing e. Mobile Computing f. Communication Technology

Real Time Governance: Introduction of the Strategic Planning Implementation Monitoring & Command Room has facilitated surveillance of activities of the frontline staff engaged in important assignments. In the command room all the land based activities can now be consistently monitored. This facility has created a new dimension in governance and has improved management in remote areas

Web-based Workflows for management/monitoring- Most of the practices are based on web based workflows which has brought about accountability, transparency and efficiency of individuals for management and monitoring.

Online availability of Centralized repository of data – MPFD now boasts of state level centralized common databases that are not only available online but is live as well with on-the-spot data entry of newly generated data

Efficient mapping of land holdings: The Forest Dwellers Survey System has enabled every land holding to be plotted and verified with simple mobile application that runs on the handy GPS-enabled PDA of the forest officers.

Secured forests and wildlife: The Fire Alert Messaging System and Wildlife Management System have led to all incidences of fire and poaching being captured and transferred to the field enabling necessary actions immediately. Effective monitoring

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has resulted in correct reporting of fire and poaching incidents resulting in quick response.

ImpactKeeping in mind the success of the project, the future looks promising in terms of increasing the area of implementation. Over 10,000 fires have already been contained, 181,355 hectares of land have been mapped and 28,751 animals have been sighted under this program till date across the Kanha Forest Reserve.

The long-term vision for the program is to reach out to all the forest departments across India to aide them in effective planning and monitoring of the forests.

Analysis

Activity under Schedule VII Check Programs under Microsoft

Eradicating hunger and poverty and malnutrition, promoting preventive healthcare and sanitation and making available safe drinking water.

No Project providing support to Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Promoting education; including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills especially among children, woman, elderly and the differently abled and livelihood enhancement projects.

Yes

YouthSpark – Project Jyoti, Project Saksham, Digital Saksharta or the Digital Literacy Curriculum, Project Shiksha

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

NoProject providing support to HelpAge India, Project providing support to SEWA.

Ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining of quality of soil, air and water.

Yes

MP Kanha Project – M Mantra, Support sanitation drive, Environment sustainability in its operations.

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Activity under Schedule VII Check Programs under Microsoft

Contribution to the 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 Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women.

No Only a mention in its CSR policy guidelines.

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

No

Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents.

Yes Project Kshamta

Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, and Paralympics sports and Olympic sports.

No

Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions which are approved by the Central Government.

No Only a mention in its CSR policy guidelines.

Rural development projects. Yes

Partnered with M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to provide a network of Village Knowledge Centers (VKC)

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