In February, Vikas Goswami joinedGodrej Industries Limited & Associated Companies as head of Good & Green, the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) division, moving from her prior assignment as group head - community relations, Vedanta Resources. About six months ago, Abhishek Patwardhan moved from the chemicals industry to Maruti Suzuki as deputy manager in its CSR projects.
Around the same time, Amit Kumar, a civil engineer, moved from the hardcore construction sector to work with Maruti in its CSR infrastructure projects. A little over two years after the Companies Bill made it mandatory for firms to spend 2% of their net profit on CSR, Corporate India looks set for an aggressive recruitment drive for qualified professionals to lead and manage CSR initiatives, leading to a 40-50% increase in salary at the leadership level.
The company will step up hiring. Also, with funds pouring into CSR, companies need to spruce up their teams. "There is demand for people who can identify and articulate proposals, deploy projects, attract funds, work out the budget," says Aditya Narayan Mishra, Aditya Narayan Mishra, president staffing, Randstad India.