As a responsible corporate entity with thrust on Community Development, an organisation focuses on implementing various Community Development programmes in the affected / neighbouring villages. To accomplish this mission, it is imperative to carry out Need Assessment Survey (NAS) to identify social, economic and cultural needs of the villages, societies that can facilitate in formulating a comprehensive long-term development programmes. It’s a way of assessing of what the group or community members see as their most important needs for improving community life. The results of the survey then guide future actions. Generally, the needs that are rated most important are the one that get addressed on priority.

Needs could be of three kinds – (1) Felt Needs (2) Perceived Needs and (3) Forced(Put on) Needs:

1. (1) Felt Needs are those, which are of immediate requirements in terms of day-to-day life of people, un fulfilment of these needs is felt by people in their life and restrict their capacity to realize their full potential.
2. (2) Perceived Needs are those, which others (outsiders) perceive, which are often not real and critical in nature. Any programme based on them fails to mobilize people or generate support and ultimately does not achieve its objectives in terms of benefits and sustainability.
3. (3) Forced (Put on) Needs are those needs that are influenced by local leaders and creamy layer of any community. These needs are not for the greater common good but deliberately designed by this creamy layer for their own good.

Therefore, the NAS has to make clear-cut distinction between different kinds of needs and come out with set of felt needs and prioritize them on the basis of criticality.

1. To learn more about what group or community needs are, to get a more honest and objective description of needs than people might tell publicly, to become aware of possible needs that can never be seen or perceived as non-existent, to document needs as received in many applications, to make sure any activities undertaken are inline with the needs that are expressed by the community.

And also for two more reasons, which are less commonly understood: -

2. To get more group and community support for the actions that will be undertaken.
3. To get “Community Participation” and more people involved in the subsequent action itself. Further, the NAS critically analyses the gaps between needs and available resources in terms of government/local bodies, an organisation’s erstwhile/existing

interventions to avoid wastage of resources because of duplicity.

3.1 To prepare a comprehensive target profile. This will consist of the following:

3.1.1 Demographic profile:

total population, sex ratio, number of people in different groups, like infants, children, adults, old aged, prevalence of marginalized section SC/ST, economicstatus of the population, etc.

3.1.2 Infrastructure available –

1. Schools
2. Roads
3. Health care facilities
4. Water, sanitation facilities
5. Community buildings

3.1.3 Knowledge, Attitude and Practices analysis (KAP)

1. vi. Language and habits of communication
2. vii. Cultural characteristics: traditions, values and beliefs, etc.
3. viii. Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors with respect to the development problem to be dealt.

3.1.4 Gender Equality and Women Empowerment:

Ratio of girls, boys, men and women at various parameters.

3.1.5 Education Status:

Literacy, education, training and skills, and opportunities for all members of society cutting across gender, age, caste and religion.

3.1.6 Health issues in the community:

Life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality, quality of life, and the level of health care available in the situation of morbidity.

3.1.7 Major historical events in the area in terms of social movements and of social upheaval and its long-term impact (if any) in the area.

3.1.8 Social problems:

Crime, superstition, alcoholism, domestic violence, gender related discrimination, caste related, etc.

3.1.9 Economic Status:

Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Per capita income, etc.

3.1.10 Occupationandemployment(seasonwise):

identifytheparticularcontextofeachgroup;the season or the time of day when its members are available, the seasonal nature of their

3.1.11 Festival and customs

3.1.12 Natural resources

3.1.14 The existing development programmes and its impact

3.1.14 Others:

Any other Govt. Schemes being implemented in the target community (SC/STother)

3.1.15 To identify employment needs, scope of self-employment – level of employment and agriculture development for higher economic growth and stability with predefined economic indicators, for example per capita income, expenditure and savings etc. to assess the impact in future.

3.1.16 To identify gender wise critical educational, health, and recreation needs with specific social indicators like literacy, education, training and skills and opportunities for all members of the society cutting across gender, age, caste and religion to evaluate the impact in future.

3.1.17 ToidentifyareasofinterventionswhereCSRactivitiescanbringgenderequality.

3.1.18 To identify infrastructural needs of the target area and prioritize them based on social development indicators.

3.1.19 To build repo with the community agencys advised to implement PRA tools like social mapping in the beginning of the NAS/SIE.

3.1.20 To explore opportunities for networking/ partnerships with Govt. / local bodies’ plans and intervention for spearheading overall development of the target area. Specifically, it will include the following.

• To take stock of the development plans prepared by any government agency for the area.
• To review the plans and budgets available / likely to be provided under various central/state govt. schemes for development of the area.
• To identify gaps between the plans of the government/local bodies and the specified indicators/goals.

Besides the basic demographic profile, infrastructure and other details as mentioned above, the NAS will assess the present status of the area under survey on following indicators, at Block level, District level, State level and National and also compare it with national norms and targets.

4.1. Table of Key Indicators:

Thirteen (13) Social Development Indicators have been taken from United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), which are covered in Key Indicators as mentioned Below. Consultant has to develop a bar chart based on primary and secondary data for each village w. r.t district/state/national data and prepare a bar chart with help of weighted average data for each indicator as has been shown as following

I. Economic

1. Percentage of population below poverty line
2. Per capita Income

II. Education

1. Literacy rate
2. Promotion of School going Children (6-14 years)
3. Proportion of Children after Grade 5 drop out
4. Proportion of population having Higher Education i.e., Graduation, Technical etc.

III. Health

1. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
2. Maternal Mortality (MMR)

IV. Houses, Household Amenities and Assets

1. Proportion of population having house/ Shelter
2. Proportion of Household having Pucca House
3. Proportion of house having access to drinking water (within premises & near to premises)
4. Proportion of Household having Toilet facilities
5. Proportion of Household having Electricity

Both the primary and secondary data should be collected. The nature of data will be both qualitative and quantitative.

Emphasis should be on Participatory approach and participatory tools to be used for collection of Qualitative data,e.g., Livelihood Matrix, Daily Calendar, etc 7.3 Collection of Data:

7.3.1 Primary Data:

i. Quantitative Method: By this method a comprehensive target area profile will be prepared,

which will include earlier mentioned in objectives.

ii. Qualitative Method: This method will be used to identify causes of the problems faced by the target area population. It will also explore various possible solutions and ways of addressing those problems, along with underlying cultural and social factors in the community.

The qualitative and quantitative study will be conducted through-

1. Semi Structured / structured interview schedule
2. Focus group discussions (FGDs)
3. Participatory Rural Appraisal methods & Participatory Tools
4. Non participatory observations
5. Questionnaire and filling up the form (specially designed to capture the data)
6. Interaction with opinion makers / public representatives

(While preparing and administering interview schedule and also at the time of final analysis, care is being taken in not being affected by pre-determined views, opinions and biases. It is important for correct and accurate assessment of needs).

7.3.2 Secondary Data:

1. Prior conducted Socio-Economic Survey should also be considered for developing base data for SDI. In case any base data is not available in the SES report, consultant to arrange the same by suitable method.
2. Demographic data will be collected from latest census data and other Govt. Offices.
3. Any other concerned information available in the public domain.
4. The organisation’s data on CSR intervention will be collected from organisation corporate and site office.
5. Data from any other source.

Time Schedule:

Time and scheduling is based on the organisation and agreement as agreed

DELIVERABLES:

1. The draft report of NAS/SIE is to be submitted (including presentation) in a meeting with representatives from Organisation and stakeholder of the communities.
2. In case meeting is held with State Government officials, its record note to be attached.
3. The final report after incorporating suggestions, if any, will be submitted to the client in English and any other language as desired
4. Any filled-up questionnaire, etc. collected by the consultant will be owned by Organisation an SR Asia shall have to submit the filled-up formats in original.
5. The NAS & SIE report is to be provided
6. The suggestive activities to be given in terms of indicators.
7. Suggestive Five-Year Plan for CSR activities (Draft indicative format)

Social Impact Evaluation (SIE) would help to determine the extent to which the community has benefited from the CSR-SD activities implemented for them and whether CSR-CD activities have been able to bring desired changes in the educational/health/ sanitation, economic status of the communities, thereby providing an understanding of the effectiveness of the existing programs/activities.

The survey, therefore, should help to understand following aspects of the Community: -

1. a) Short term and long term social / cultural / economic impacts of the CSR-SD activities on the community.
2. b) Effectiveness of the existing programs/activities w.r.t. the needs of the Community and vis-à-vis previously captured status.
3. c) The contribution of CSR-SD activities in raising the living standard of people
4. d) Changing needs of the Community

Social Impact Evaluation (SIE) study is proposed to be undertaken after completion / on- going Community Development projects in the fields of Education, Health, Sanitation,Infrastructure,Roads,Water,etc.,in the neighbouring villages of Client organisation. Such an evaluation will inter-alia determine the extent to which the Standards of Living of PAPs have improved or declined. A Standard of Living Index (SOLI) shall also be developed by the SR Asia for this purpose. Broadly the objectives of SIE are as under: -

1. To prepare a comprehensive profile of all the activities done by the station (Details of all the individual activities, village-wise, in all the broad areas like Education, Health, Sanitation, Infrastructure, Drinking Water, Vocational Training, quality of life, etc. are to be included as per the requirement / demand of community).
2. To assess extent of the activities taken in Rehabilitation & Resettlement Plan (R&R Plan) / Rehabilitation Action Plan (RAP) and implemented as per Client records and project affected persons perspectives w.r t. Nos. of beneficiaries identified and avail the benefits as per R&R Plan / RAP.
3. To determine the impact of various CSR-SD projects on the social / cultural / education / health / economic conditions, etc. of the people in communities.
4. 2.4 To assess the changes in the quality of life among village communities through project interventions (Develop a Standard of Living Index Village-wise).
5. To get objective description of social impacts than what people might tell publicly.
6. To assess the level of community participation and consultation through CSR-SD activities.
7. Evaluate the nature of communication and consultation between the stakeholders for the various SD projects.
8. To document all the findings in a systematic manner as may be required later for collaborating with other project activities or for the purpose of funding more.

1. The evaluation for each village is required to be done separately and subsequently compiled to get an overall assessment with clear-cut comparison with National, State, District, GP level data and also with previously conducted NAS and SIE data for each Development Index
2. Approach: - The approach would be participatory in nature. Study can be divided into two phases i.e., Conceptualization & Collection of Data
3. Conceptualization: In this phase an in-depth study of all related literature including past surveys, reports, studies, etc., as part of interventions made by the client, is required to be done. An action plan including Interview schedules would be submitted to the client during this phase.
4. Data Collection: The Questionnaire design and sample framework for this purpose will be designed by the Consultant and get it approved with BRBCL prior to putting it to use.
5. The instruments used to collect data for these investigations will be developed by the Consultant in coordination with Client. The qualitative and quantitative data to be collected from primary as well as secondary sources is based on the indicators mentioned against each broad area. Data from primary source may be collected through semi- structured interview / questionnaires / focused group discussions with community people / representatives.
6. The feedback will be taken from the people for whom CSR-SD activities have been carried out in order to assess their awareness level and perception about the programs executed. Data and Feedback should be collected by using systematic scientific sampling method so that each respondent truly represent the community and would fill up the format
7. It is anticipated that a variety of methodologies will include a review of existing Documentation. An assessment will be made of the adequacy of baseline socio-economic survey / NAS and project census data. The study will also be based on the collection of primary data through structured survey and other means using rigorous statistical analysis wherever appropriate. The questionnaire design and sample framework will be designed to develop a comparable database of "before" and "after" development conditions. The survey will generally incorporate household questionnaire which obtains information on the key indicators of SD plan progress, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability.
8. Monitoring and Review: Periodic monitoring & review of evaluation process right from conceptualization up to submission of final report shall be carried out by BRBCL. Timely completion of the evaluation process shall be ensured by the agency. The agency shall submit a weekly progress report as well as a schedule in advance for the next week's activities.
9. Analysis & Interpretation: A suggestive format for the same is given at Annexure-V. Analysis and interpretation of the given qualitative and quantitative information shall be carried out. This would entail the summary of all findings.
10. Submission of draft & final report: Consolidated draft report with all the findings is to be submitted to the client for review and comments. On receipt of comments, if any, the same are to be incorporated, then the final report shall be prepared and submitted. However, after submission of draft report, but before finalization of final report, a detailed presentation is required to be organized by the agency in presence of client.
11. Collection of Data: The data collected should be qualitative & quantitative in nature and the data collected for each Development Indicator shall be in accordance with National Level / State Level parameters defined in Census / Gazette / Other relevant Govt. Reports / Surveys / NAS / SIE conducted earlier, etc.

List of CSR activities done / completed by the station during the specified time span (after previous SIE conducted, if any) shall be given for each village according to the following suggestive format.

Feedback:

In each category at least 20 respondents would be interviewed keeping in mind various considerations wherever possible. Interview schedule would be designed as per the category.

Following shall be the format for basic information: -

• Legal basis: Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 + Schedule VII + CSR Rules, 2014. Companies with net worth ≥ ₹500 cr, turnover ≥ ₹1,000 cr, or net profit ≥ ₹5 cr must spend at least 2% of the average net profits of the preceding 3 years on Schedule VII activities. Disclosures are filed in MCA-21 and shown on the National CSR Portal. Digital Sansad
• Governance & implementation: CSR is Board-driven (CSR Committee/Board approves policy, annual action plan, spend, monitoring). Implementing agencies must be registered (CSR-1) on the MCA portal (from 1 Apr 2021). Admin overheads capped at 5% of CSR spend. Excess spend can be set-off for 3 years. Unspent CSR has to be transferred as per Sec.135(5)/(6). Ministry of Coal
• Impact assessment (when required): If a company’s average CSR obligation is ₹10 cr+ (last 3 FYs), and a project outlay is ₹1 cr+, an independent impact assessment is required; up to 5% or ₹50 lakh (whichever lower) of CSR spend can be used for it. Ministry of Coal

India’s CSR spend — last 5 years, sector-wise (₹ crore)

Source: Government reply in Rajya Sabha (MCA Corporate Data Management Cell). (Data up to 31-03-2025 for FY 2019-20 to FY 2023-24.)

· Quick takeaways (FY 2023-24):

• · Education (₹12,134.6 cr) and Health (₹7,150.8 cr) dominate, together ~55% of total CSR. Environment and Rural development add ~14% combined.
• · “Other Central Govt. funds” fell from the COVID-era peak in 2020-21 to ₹1,000.8 cr in 2023-24, indicating re-pivot to on-ground projects.