The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced the 90th year celebrations of the Merchants Chamber of Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur today (June 4, 2022).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that since its inception, as a representative body of industry, trade and commerce, the Merchants Chamber of Uttar Pradesh, has been promoting industrialization, trade and entrepreneurship in the state. This organization has been providing a platform for mutual coordination between the business and industry and policy makers.
The President said that the objective of any business organization should not only be to work for the benefit of its members but it should also become a participant in the all-round development of the society and country. He was happy to note that the Merchants Chamber of Uttar Pradesh is working towards women empowerment and promotion of start-ups.
The President said that although the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a product of modern civilization, we have an old tradition of doing public welfare work by business communities. There are many such descriptions where merchants used to set aside some part of their earned money for public welfare. He expressed confidence that members of the Merchants Chamber of Uttar Pradesh are also following this tradition. He said that it is our responsibility to do something for the people who have been left behind us in the developmental journey. He urged them to go to the villages and contribute to the social and economic development of villagers. He said that they can adopt villages individually or in a group and contribute to the all-round development of adopted villages.
Speaking about the issue of climate change, the President said that today, it is a formidable problem in front of us. Keeping these challenges in mind, the Government of India has announced in the CoP-26 Summit that by the year 2030, India will reduce its carbon emissions by one billion tonnes and try to become a net zero emission economy by the year 2070. But the cooperation of the industries is very important in achieving this goal. Many companies around the world are contributing to the zero carbon economy. Therefore, it would be expected from the representatives of the industry and business that they would not only work towards reducing pollution in the existing industries but would also contribute in establishing new environment friendly industries.