Protection and industrial structure in India

Effective protection rates in India are so high and vary so greatly that anything short of low uniform tariffs and the complete elimination of quantitative restrictions would not make the industrial incentive scheme transparent, as it needs to be. The authors produce evidence to show that there is ample scope for reducing tariffs and quantitative restrictions and that most industries could coexist with much less protection than they now have. By eliminating all surcharges on inputs (tariffs on imported inputs, price differentials on local inputs, nondeductible excise taxes) - even without correcting for the effects of high investment costs - most projects (including import substitution projects) would earn from current international prices a positive profit margin on their marginal as well as full production costs. The proportion of projects with a positive profit margin would triple, from 20 to 63 percent. Among import-substituting projects that are not candidates for export under the present trade regime, under the proposed new regime half would be candidates for export if they would procure their inputs at international prices. Lower tariffs would fulfill their primary purpose more effectively: providing protection and incentive signals. The function of generating public revenues, another critical issue in India, should be fulfilled not through tariffs but through more efficient and protection-neutral instruments - in particular direct taxation (income tax) and nontariff indirect taxation (neutral excise taxes, MODVAT, and preferably the value-added tax on consumption).Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,Consumption

Business Process Management Integration Solution in Financial Sector

It is vital for financial services companies to ensure the rapid implementation of new processes to meet speed-to-market, service quality and compliance requirements. This has to be done against a background of increased complexity. An integrated approach to business processes allows products, processes, systems, data and the applications that underpin them to evolve quickly. Whether it’s providing a loan, setting up an insurance policy, or executing an investment instruction, optimizing the sale-to-fulfillment process will always win new business, cement customer loyalty, and reduce costs. Lack of integration across lending, payments and trading, on the other hand, simply presents competitors who are more efficient with a huge profit opportunity.Web Service, business process, integration, financial services, integration, modeling

Manufacturing Value Modelling, Flexibility, and Sustainability: from theoretical definition to empirical validation

The aim of this PhD thesis is to investigate the relevance of flexibility and sustainability within the smart manufacturing environment and understand if they could be adopted as emerging competitive dimensions and help firms to take decisions and delivering value

Trade and Investment Liberalization Effects on SME Development: A Literature Review and a Case Study of Indonesia

As this research seeks to bring to the fore benefits that have been or may be derived for SMEs from international trade and investment liberalization in Indonesia, it has three main questions: (1). how international trade and investment policy reforms affect local SMEs; (2) has growth of exports of SMEs accelerated since the reforms; and (3) does investment liberalization generate more subcontracting between local SMEs and FDI.?Trade and Investment, SME, Indonesia

Shop floor data in Industry 4.0: study and design of a Manufacturing Execution System

Industry 4.0 brings with it numerous challenges. However, it is being seen by companies as essential in their ability to adapt to the market and to the demands of consumers. Thus, intending to achieve more flexible and more decentralized production, the acquisition of technologies emerging from this fourth industrial revolution is crucial. This is where information systems will make a difference, as they will enable the cohesion of processes within the company, such as a more streamlined flow of information. This article has as main objective to study and design an Information System with characteristics of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), following an approach capable to respond to a whole set of key processes on the shop floor, such as addressing the problem of so-called information islands stored in fragmented information sources. This study was conducted in a company belonging to the chemical industry located in the center of Portugal

Tax Expenditure in Sub Saharan Africa: The Nigerian Experience

The Nigerian government established the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies(NEEDS) in 2003 to achieve its trade policy of which the reform of Nigeria Custom Services is one of the major functions. Over the years, custom and excise duties have been major sources of revenue apart from crude oil.However, the problems of corruption, fraud and malpractices together with inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in operations have hindered the desire to contribute maximally to the economic development of the nation. The central objective of trade policy was to provide protection for domestic industries and reduce the perceived dependence on imports; reduce level of unemployment and generate more revenues from the non-oil sector,hence tariffs on raw materials and intermediate capital goods were scaled down. Duty exemptions and concessions remain some of the quantitative policy instruments for attracting investment and boost domestic production. This paper will review; discuss Tax Expenditure and the Nigerian experience, especially on loss of revenue from custom

The manufacturing industry transition from traditional manufacturing to a smart factory: Role of 3rd party service providers.

This thesis explores the role of 3rd party service providers in the transition from traditional manufacturing to smart factory. The research investigates the challenges and opportunities associated with a digital transformation by reviewing the concept of a smart factory and collecting data through literature reviews and interviews with companies from the manufacturing industry. The analysis reveals that successful digital transformation in the manufacturing industry involves not only the adoption of digital technologies but also organizational changes. Today's manufacturing industry faces challenges related to development, integration with existing infrastructure, resource allocation, strategic planning, and organization-wide commitment. It becomes evident that 3rd party service providers, such as Capgemini, can play a crucial role in supporting companies throughout their digital transformation journey and filling the resource gap, by providing valuable technology and organizational insights, and expertise. However, the research has identified that Capgemini's current service levels are between limited and moderate in terms of coverage at some key areas towards an end-to-end service towards a digital transformation. The thesis proposes a digital transformation best practices framework, developed based on the conducted research and analysis, which guides 3rd party service providers to identify areas that lead to a successful digital transformation from traditional manufacturing to a smart factory

Using an MBSE approach for automation control system selection in long steel products hot rolling plants

Abstract: Automation systems in long steel products hot rolling plants are prone to performance failures with the potential of serious negative impact on the business. The selection process of these automation systems therefore requires careful consideration of various selection factors to maximize plant performance. The need was therefore identified to investigate the use of a suitable management approach to guide engineering automation teams in the long steel products hot rolling plants in the selection of automation systems. At the core is the need for an in-depth understanding of the issues surrounding distributed and hierarchical automation systems in long steel products plants. This includes identifying the challenges during the selection process, using sound engineering management principles. Current automation selection techniques were investigated through a survey, interviews and a case study. It was then decided to use a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach, which utilises systems engineering principles together with digital technology to create models to simplify the understanding of complex problems and relationships. This was then used to develop a management framework for automation systems selection in support of the business case of long steel products hot rolling plants

Merger Control and Enterprise Competitiveness - Empirical Analysis and Policy Recommendations

This report studies the importance of efficiency gains from horizontal mergers. A general theme throughout this report is that efficiency gains, and their pass-on to consumers, may vary substantially from merger to merger. For this reason it seems appropriate to reconsider current practice in European merger control, which does not allow the merging parties to appeal to an efficiency defence. Our report provides a detailed examination of two main parts of an efficiency analysis. The first chapter considers the presence of efficiencies from mergers, with a focus on economies of scale. The second chapter consider the pass-on of efficiencies to consumers in the form of lower prices.Mergers & Acquisitions; Merger Control; Competition Policy; Antitrust