KOLKATA: When the 1983 Cricket World Cup started, workers at the newly founded Titagarh Group asked their founder, Jagdish Prasad Chowdhary, for TVs to watch the matches. Chowdhary got each of the workers a TV at wholesale rate, offering a 12-month payment plan. Ever since, a tradition was established: Every year, Chowdhary would ask his employees what they wanted and he would fulfil their demand.
Rashmi Chowdhary, who married into the family in 1994, continued the tradition of helping out the employees in whatever ways possible and also giving back to society, helping the underprivileged. Titagarh Group engaged itself in social services long before India's Companies Act made CSR mandatory in 2014.
For the group, the employees have always been like a part of a big family. So much so, even at the height of labour unrest in Bengal, Titagarh Group never faced any trouble. "We always encourage workers to come forward with any complaint they have. They often give us amazing suggestions, which we end up incorporating. It is a misconception that employees and the management are on two opposite ends of the spectrum. For us it is different," said Chowdhary.
When CSR was made mandatory, it just became an extension of the service Titagarh Group had already been rendering to society. Chowdhary always believes that "CSR gives you a return much more than what you invest in it, if you create that sense of goodwill among workers". All members on the board of directors also believe in this philosophy. Titagarh Group lent their support to the paediatric wing of Tata Medical Centre for three years. It also worked with Manovikas Kendra, helping out children with disabilities. Rashmi said: "The whole ethos of CSR can be summed up in the philosophy that it is an attempt at giving back to society."
The group runs a free preparatory school in Titagarh, where along with basic education, nutritional food is provided to the students. The company is all set to start computer education and a midday meal system under the CSR initiative. There is a plan to start a school in Uttarpara. The group already helps out an orphanage, provides treatment to abandoned children and facilitates vocational training for children from red-light areas.
When the Covid pandemic struck, the Uttarpara unit of Titagarh Group was converted into a 360-bed facility with provisions for medicines, oxygen and isolation space. Trucks went out in Uttarpara to distribute ration, sanitisers and masks to all those who needed them.
These initiatives are mostly handled by Rashmi, who believes "somewhere along the way, you will find the ray of sunshine; that streak of happiness coming through, along with the impact you are making". Titagarh Group's passion about community service is a legacy passed down from Chowdhary, who said, "Don't treat CSR as an added expenditure, but as an investment in your relationship with humanity that will ultimately generate tremendous love and goodwill towards your company."
