Kolkata, March 21 (IANS): With the objective to sensitise the corporate sector in eastern India about their social commitments, Unicef on Friday signed a preliminary agreement with industry body CII to set up a hub here.

"The hub will cover Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. It will be a knowledge centre of CSR (corporate social responsibility) related information, serve as a think-tank and play an advocacy and advisory role for CSR activities in the region. This partnership would hopefully pave the way for others to follow suit," Confederation of Indian Industries said in a statement.

The industry association said the initiative from Unicef will compile, document and create a database on CSR activities of private corporate sector companies in the region to help streamline, inform and influence existing CSR activities and environment in the eastern region states.

"(The hub will) work in close cooperation with the government and local counterparts on guiding appropriate projects and developing strategies which complement jointly developed CSR goals," it said.

Besides, the hub will provide technical assistance and guidance for assessing current needs of communities based on official surveys in and around the areas of a company's operations and suggest suitable CSR programmes.