Development of Rural Women Through CSR: A Study in Vedanta Operational Area of Jharsuguda District of Odisha

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the role of the companies that can play in fulfilling the agenda of sustainable development and entails a balanced approach to economic growth, social progress as well as environmental stewardship. The women folk are the pivot of social and economic aspiration of any nation. The position of women in society is one of the indices of national development. Therefore, the development of women is of paramount importance. The study was undertaken in the operational area of Vedanta in Jharsuguda district to assess the development of women through its CSR activities. The study sample included 120 beneficiary and 120 other women in the operational area of Vedanta. The variables such as social, cultural, economic, technological, environmental, household activities, vocational activities and marketing were selected to assess the extent of development of the women under study. The study revealed that there was significant differential gap in the extent of development of beneficiary and other category of the respondents on all the developmental aspects except infrastructure development. This indicates a significant impact of CSR activities of Vedanta on the extent of development of women in its operational area. The Socio-Economic variables like social participation, cosmopoliteness, extension contact and possession of household articles had exhibited positive and significant influence in accelerating various aspects of development of the beneficiary respondents. The socio-economic variables like social participation, cosmopoliteness, extension contact and possession of household articles had exhibited positive and significant influence in accelerating various aspects of development of the beneficiary respondents. The statistical tools used were percentage, mean score, score gap, critical ratio test (C.R.) and correlation analysis.