Grace Cancer Foundation to Seek Social Stock Exchange Listing, Plans AI-Driven Expansion
Hyderabad, July 29 (TNT): Grace Cancer Foundation on Wednesday announced plans to seek listing on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as part of its strategy to strengthen governance, transparency and impact reporting, while unveiling plans to expand AI-enabled cancer screening and preventive healthcare services across the country.
The announcement was made at a knowledge session on “CSR Meets the Social Stock Exchange: A Journey Ahead”, organised by Equippp Social Impact Technologies Ltd in Hyderabad.
Addressing the gathering, former IAS officer Bhaskar Chatterjee, who played a key role in framing India’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions, said the country’s CSR ecosystem has expanded significantly since the Companies Act, 2013 came into force.
He said the number of companies covered under mandatory CSR has increased from about 8,000 to more than 30,000, with annual CSR spending rising from around ₹9,000 crore to over ₹40,000 crore.
He projected the annual CSR outlay to touch ₹75,000 crore in the next three years and eventually exceed ₹1 lakh crore.
Chatterjee said companies are now permitted to invest up to 10 per cent of their annual CSR expenditure in Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments listed on the Social Stock Exchange, creating a transparent funding avenue for eligible non-profit organisations.
Grace Cancer Foundation founder Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli said the proposed SSE listing is aimed at building a stronger institution with improved governance and accountability rather than merely mobilising funds.
He said the foundation plans to establish a Centre of Excellence for Preventive Oncology, deploy AI-enabled mobile cancer screening units, strengthen rural digital health platforms and expand cancer and non-communicable disease (NCD) screening programmes across India.
The programme was attended by corporate executives, NGOs, philanthropists, impact investors and development sector representatives, among others.
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