Karnataka to leverage CSR initiatives to ramp up health infrastructure

Committee headed by Geetanjali Kirloskar to oversee the plan

Health boost: Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa with Geetanjali Kirloskar, the head of the newly constituted CSR committee

To upgrade the State’s health and medical education infrastructure and services in the State, especially in the wake of the pandemic, Karnataka is set to rope in corporates in a big way. The Health Department has set up a CSR committee headed by Geetanjali Kirloskar, who is part of Kirloskar Group, to oversee this.

Consortium

Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said Ms. Kirloskar would set up a consortium of like-minded corporate companies interested in pitching in with their CSR funds for the comprehensive development of health and medical education sectors in the State.

He was speaking on Wednesday at an event organised to onboard Ms. Kirloskar as head of the CSR committee under the Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education departments.

“We are involving corporates in the health sector during the pandemic. This will help in enhancing public healthcare and overall upgrading of health services. A lot of companies are already involved in this initiative and about ₹5,000 crore CSR funds were spent during 2014–15. The CSR Act mandates companies to spend at least 2% of their three-year annual net profit towards CSR activities in a financial year and 25% of the total CSR in the health sector,” he said.

Focus on PHCs

Primary health centres (PHCs) play a vital role in the rural health system, the Minister said, and added that was a need to strengthen them. “Corporates should come forward to develop PHCs. We have requested companies to upgrade the existing PHCs,” he said.

“We have 2,500 PHCs in the State and huge funds have to be mobilised for upgrading them. Over 40% of the companies in Karnataka are information technology companies. The CSR committee will discuss with these companies for mobilising CSR funds,” he said.

Ms. Kirloskar said people were now ready to spend more time and money on preventive and curative medicine. “Some day, we will reach the stage of predictive medicine too. I am glad to partner with the State government in this vital and critical initiative. I appeal to like-minded companies to pitch in with their CSR funds for upgrading the healthcare sector in Karnataka,” she said.