Dikhyaa Mohanty 
School of Rural Management, XIM University (New Campus), Odisha, and Rural Management Alumni Committee have successfully hosted “XpectRM” on the 14th of October, 2022. The theme for the 5th annual leadership summit, XpectRM, was “Post-Pandemic Pathways: CSR, Development and Rural Marketing.”
The event started with a welcome prayer and objective setting address by Prof. Niraj Kumar, Dean of the School of Rural Management, XIM University, Odisha. The summit was divided into two sessions, namely, CSR & Development and Rural Marketing.
Session 1 – CSR & Development
The event saw discussions around the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers in India. Opportunities, innovations, and changes being made in CSR were also explored. The speakers spoke about the post-pandemic pathways, which included rebuilding, reinventing, and restructuring.
The discussion began with the history of CSR in India and how various companies contribute to rural development. The speakers conferred about the seventeen sustainability goals and core CSR plans, such as climate work, plantation work, health, education, sustainable livelihood, women empowerment, sports, and other activities.
Session 2 – Rural Marketing
In this session, the speakers deliberated on various opportunities and challenges faced in the domain of CSR. Some innovations, such as identifying the importance of human aspects of corporate, making a questionnaire for relief in times of COVID, were discussed. They highlighted the scope of CSR development and the role of IT in CSR. They also emphasized that Artificial Intelligence can be beneficial for tracking down data for CSR developmental activities. The event concluded with a discussion on the importance of microfinance in the field of rural livelihoods.
The event witnessed the participation of various industry leaders and moderators:
Speakers:
- Debjit Banerjee, Lead Manager of CSR, reporting to the Head of CSR at Aditya Birla Capital
- Varun Kappal, Regional manager at Tata Trusts
- Itishree Kanungo, State Co-ordinator at Climate Parliament
- Amit Kumar, founder of Akshanova
- Lokesh Sabharwal, CEO and Head of Marketing at Mota Chashma
- Kiran Jyoti Mahasuar, PhD. Candidate at IIM Kozhikode after working in ITC, Perfetti
Moderators:
- Gautam Prateek, Professor, School of Rural Management, XIM University
- Niraj Kumar, Dean of the School of Rural Management, XIM University
The fifth version of XpectRM aimed to aid students in understanding sustainable and creative approaches to business that develop long-term value by understanding how a specific company performs in its ecological, social, and economic settings. The students were advised to use livelihood strategies and capacity-building methods to raise awareness and improve their perception of development policies.
The conclave concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Niraj Kumar, Dean, School of Rural Management, XIM University. We thank all the speakers, administration, media partners, audience, and everyone who contributed to the event’s smooth functioning and execution.
