Meet the Council: Q&A with Nitin Chugh

In our “Meet the Council” series, hear directly from the our Stewards and Allies why they are committed to making business fairer, more inclusive, and more sustainable.

Nitin Chugh is the Former Chief Executive Officer of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a mass-market bank, committed to providing a full range of financial services to underserved populations in India.

What inspired you to join the council and make commitment to inclusive capitalism?

We are a purpose driven organization, and we take pride in offering comprehensive banking services to the unserved and underserved. For us, it is very important to positively influence the community at large, so the very concept of the Council inspired us to join this movement. The decision to make commitments to the Council came from its aim to create a sustainable future that would impact lives globally.

What advice do you have for other organizations who might be interested in exploring what inclusive capitalism means but who think they are “too small” to matter?

Irrespective of the size of any organization, its efforts towards a sustainable future and creating an inclusive economy is what matters to bring a change. We have witnessed that smaller organizations have equal and strong determination to bring change and impact a society.

How have the ESG and inclusive capitalism movements grown and changed in India during your career? What continued change do you expect over the short and medium term?

ESG is an essential function that companies now focus on. Be it venture capitals investing in companies or a large MNC expansion that is under process, investors – institutional as well as retail are considering ESG and efforts are made by organizations to promote inclusive capitalism as an important aspect before investing. Organizations across the world are aiming at creating a sustainable future that takes everyone in consideration and Indian companies equally play a role in this movement.

What do you hope the Council will achieve in 2021? Over the next five years?

This is an apt time for companies to collaborate and contribute towards initiatives that could transform lives. The global pandemic has given us a common podium to voice our concerns that needs to be immediately addressed and as responsible entities it is on our shoulders to achieve our goal this year.

Over the next five years our resolution as Council members should be to sustain our commitments and expand our network so that we can manifest progressive ideas to bring optimistic change in this planet.

Article updated March 7, 2022 to reflect Mr. Chugh’s change of title.