Labour use and its adjustment in Indian manufacturing industries

This study provides an empirical investigation of the adjustment process of labour in Indian manufacturing industries, which evolved through structural transformation in the era of globalization. The analysis is based on a dynamic model applied to a panel of 22 two-digit manufacturing industries for a time period of 22 years covering 1980/81 to 2001/02. We assume that as competition increases industries adjust their employment to a desired level which is both industry and time specific. The results indicate that manufacturing sector has shown considerable dynamism in adjusting its workforce. The long run labour demand responds greatest to the output, followed by capital and least by wages. It is observed that Indian manufacturing is not inefficient in labour use as modest speed of adjustment has led employment size at near the optimal level.Labor and Human Capital,

Diet of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

We studied the diet of the Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by identifying 109 prey items from 85 tiger scats. Tigers in this region fed upon eight different mammal species. Chital (Axis axis) was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers’ diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (Cervus unicolor, 23%), wild pig (Sus scrofa, 15%), hog deer (Axis porcinus, 9%), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak, 4%), and gaur (Bos gaurus, 2%). Tigers also hunted livestock, but this prey comprised a small component of the relative biomass (buffalo 5% and cow 2%). Our study suggests that the tiger depends mostly upon wild prey for its subsistence in the Chitwan National Park, but will also sporadically hunt livestock

Factors Affecting the Productivity of Coffee in Gulmi and Arghakhanchi Districts of Nepal

Coffee is one of the major potential cash crops with lucrative export value grown in mid-hills of Nepal. Nepalese coffee production has suffered long by low productivity. Research was conducted from February to May, 2019 to analyze the factors affecting the productivity of coffee in Arghakhanchi and Gulmi districts of Nepal. These two districts were, purposively selected for this study taking account of comparative advantage and past studies recommendations for coffee sector. Altogether, 100 coffee growing households 50 from each, Arghakhanchi and Gulmi, were sampled by using multistage sampling technique. A pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the primary information while secondary information was collected reviewing the relevant publications. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model was used to determine the factors affecting the productivity of coffee. The study revealed that the number of active family members involved in coffee production (0.000), adoption of income diversification through intercropping (0.005), training (0.072) and technical assistance (0.021) had positive and significant effect on coffee productivity. Encouraging the household to have coffee production as their primary occupation, providing technical assistance on rational land utilization and intercropping and strengthening the skill and knowledge of farmers through trainings could significantly support in increasing the productivity of coffee

Access to banking services and poverty reduction: a state-wise assessment in India

Financial inclusion is the broad based delivery of banking and other financial services at affordable cost to the poorest sections of society. In India, financial inclusion emphasizes to include maximum number of people under formal financial systems. The most important part of financial services in a region is typically measured by number of people who have access to bank accounts. The present study investigates the drive to financial inclusion in the form of the growth in bank accounts of scheduled commercial banks and the changes in below poverty line population. The result suggests that the growth in bank accounts is not significantly associated with the reduction in below poverty line population across states. Providing banking services to maximum number of people is unsuccessful as a poverty reduction strategy. As a poverty reduction strategy, developing inclusive financial systems should give priority, which is financially and socially sustainable

Union membership effect on wage premiums: evidence from organized manufacturing industries in India

Trade unionism is a legislative system of organizing workers and raising voices for economic and social goods. As the process of global integration deepens the labour market become more flexible and fragmented, rendering collective organization more and more difficult. In this backdrop, the paper attempted to analyse the impact of union membership on wages in the organised manufacturing industries in India. The study uses a recent survey data on labour market in the organised manufacturing industries. The estimated wage premiums for union membership for permanent and contract workers are 56.7 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively. Decomposing this wage gap indicates that union membership contributes majority of the wage differentials, indicating that unions able to reserve higher premium for their members. In general, it refutes the problem of free riding the benefits in the organized manufacturing industries in India

A Novel Low Cost Drum Diaphragm Wall for Landslide Control in the Himalaya

Construction of masonry and reinforced cement concrete .retaining walls are common as a measure of landslide control in the Himalayan region. They are usually very expensive and call for import of cement, steel, stones, sand and water from long distances. The paper spotlights a novel technology of constructing anchored drum diaphragm retaining walls which make use of slope waste material itself for wall construction, saving to the tune of 40 per cent in cost. Utilization of slope debris in turn minimizes hazards due to debris flow, rockfalls, etc. and other mass movements

Institutional Architecture For Sustainable Development (SD): A Case Study from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Proper institutional architecture (IA), one of the two main themes of the Earth Summit, is important for sustainable development (SD). The IA not only has global importance for governance, but also has importance for national and regional governances. Proper governance is needed in developing, monitoring and implementing policies that are needed to meet the three pillars – social, environmental and economic of SD. After the establishment of a global level institution – the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1972 as a result of the Stockholm Conference, and the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in 1992 following the Rio Earth Summit – many countries have expressed their commitments to develop strong IA within their administrative network to attain the goals of SD. Arguments are that strong IA framework is needed to halt or reverse global environmental degradation. Critics, however, say that there are overlapping and competing claims than collaborating mandates between the UNEP and CSD to meet the goals of SD. Nonetheless, none has undermined the importance of IA to achieve the goals of SD. The importance of IA has increased further after the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 to attain the goals of SD for the 21st century. However, despite the action oriented approaches of WSSD for global and regional partnerships, many countries have failed to deliver needful changes within their IA. Research scholars question if IA is not well established, how would countries meet the standard of Rio+20 for delivering SD objectives. Reviewing the status of IA from four South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan – from published literature and government portals and analyzing secondary data, this paper evaluates the strengths and weakness of IA of these countries. These four South Asian countries have expressed their repeated commitments to institutionalize services needed to achieve the goals of SD, however, our analyses of the IA’s performance indicators do not justify their claims. An analysis of four major indicators – Environmental Performance Index (EPI), the Global Competitiveness Index (GPI), Human Development Index (HDI) and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) – within the framework of SD suggests that all four countries have different levels of social, economic and environmental foundations. However, all countries are competing to attain international conferences, signing and ratifying major multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and claiming to achieve the goals of SD. Though these countries claim to have designed policies, laws, and administrative organizations to meet the requirements of MEAs, weak performance indicators suggest need for further investigation of IA performances. This investigation will reveal whether repeated commitments in papers, mere participations in various conferences, signing treaties, and creating IA to draw international aids are enough or there are other factors that inhibit countries from achieving the goals of SD

Dynamic Consolidation of Liquefiable Sands

The Subsoils underneath a tank were improved by dynamic consolidation to density levels required to resist earthquake induced liquefaction. The paper presents seismic analysis of the refinery region, simple liquefaction potential analysis using modified depth reduction factors and performance of the tank resting on the densified ground. The degree of uniformity of compaction achieved by the dynamic consolidation has been discussed