Impact of Financial Liberalisation and Deregulation on Banking Sector in Pakistan

The study analyses market perception about the performance of Pakistani commercial banks due to financial liberalisation and deregulation measures taken by the central bank over the last two decades. For this purpose, it uses Survey approach. To augment the results of Survey Based Approach, it employs Distribution Free Approach to measure relative cost inefficiencies of commercial banks. Out of 35 commercial banks, 15 banks have been chosen for analysis purpose. Key banking reforms remain helpful in correcting flaws in the banking sector of Pakistan. In particular, privatisation of banks, the deregulation and institutional strengthening measures and switching towards market-based monetary and credit management remain helpful in correcting the prevailing flaws. The cost inefficiency scores of banks also indicate that the efficiency of Pakistani banks have improved during 1990 to 2006. As regards group-wise efficiency estimates, foreign banks are found to be more efficient, followed by private banks, nationalised commercial banks, and privatised banks. The relative high cost inefficiency of privatised banks is most probably due to having remained under state owned structure during most of the period of the study. The financial liberalisation and the resultant competitive environment might be the key factors behind improvements in efficacy of banks.Banking, Efficiency, Regulations, Financial Reforms

Impact of Financial Liberalisation and Deregulation on Banking Sector in Pakistan

The study analyses market perception about the performance of Pakistani commercial banks due to financial liberalisation and deregulation measures taken by the central bank over the last two decades. For this purpose, it uses Survey approach. To augment the results of Survey Based Approach, it employs Distribution Free Approach to measure relative cost inefficiencies of commercial banks. Out of 35 commercial banks, 15 banks have been chosen for analysis purpose. Key banking reforms remain helpful in correcting flaws in the banking sector of Pakistan. In particular, privatisation of banks, the deregulation and institutional strengthening measures and switching towards market-based monetary and credit management remain helpful in correcting the prevailing flaws. The cost inefficiency scores of banks also indicate that the efficiency of Pakistani banks have improved during 1990 to 2006. As regards group-wise efficiency estimates, foreign banks are found to be more efficient, followed by private banks, nationalised commercial banks, and privatised banks. The relative high cost inefficiency of privatised banks is most probably due to having remained under state owned structure during most of the period of the study. The financial liberalisation and the resultant competitive environment might be the key factors behind improvements in efficacy of banks.Banking, Efficiency, Regulations, Financial Reforms

Studies on the Composition, Distribution and Detection of Dark Matter in the Universe

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Floods and flood management and its socio-economic impact on Pakistan: A review of the empirical literature

Flood is one of the most damaging natural disasters as the recent floods have shown their serious impact on Pakistan. Flood control and regulation policies are essential to reduce the risks of economic downturn, a threat to human existence, and to sustain the ecology. The severity of flood catastrophe activities represents a constant and severe issue in the world. Floods are rising year by year in severity and duration, causing negative impacts on the social and economic conditions of the nation concerned. While the frequency of floods cannot be avoided, their adverse impacts can be considerably reduced by adopting careful planning and efficient training. This paper reviews the socioeconomic impact of floods, and the existing condition of flood control policies outlines the flood protection problems and discusses opportunities for successful and efficient flood control in Pakistan. The paper also intends to propose several suggestions for efficient and sustainable flood control in Pakistan

Thermal, electrochemical and mechanical properties of shape memory alloy developed by a conventional processing route

A Cu based shape memory alloy (Cu-Al-Ni) having a composition 83% Cu, 14% Al, 3% Ni, was developed and studied to determine the shape memory effect. Powder of Cu, Al and Ni was melted in a pit furnace at about 15500C, and casted alloy was heat treated at 8500C for a period of 50 minutes followed by water quenching. Microstructure characterization of alloy (Cu-Al-Ni) was carried out to determine the pre-quenched (cast structure) and quenched martensitic structure. The microstructure analysis of developed samples showed needle like structure of quenched martensite after heat treatment. It has a very good resemblance with structure of casted shape memory alloy obtained from the vacuum induction process. The Vickers hardness test was also performed. Quenched microstructure with improved hardness than pre-quenched structure was observed.Keywords: Shape Memory Alloy, Microstructure, Mechanical Propertie

Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Yield and Yield Components of Sesame (Sesamumindicum L.)

Nitrogen is a structural component of chlorophyll and protein therefore adequate supply of nitrogen is beneficial for both carbohydrates and protein metabolism as it promotes cell division and cell enlargement, resulting in more leaf area and thus ensuring good seed and dry matter yield. Theexperiment entitled effect of nitrogen and phosphorus on yield and yield components of sesame were conducted at New Developmental Farm of the University of Agriculture Peshawar during kharif 2013. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) having four replications were used. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels (0, 30, 60, 90 kg ha-1) each were applied in the form of P2O5 from DAP and urea respectively. The whole of phosphorus was applied during seed bed preparation and nitrogen in two splits, half at sowing and half after 80% emergence. The seed rate 4 kg ha-1 of sesame (Local black) was planted on 28th June 2013. Total of 3 irrigations were applied, and other cultural practices were kept uniform for all the treatments. Highest number of pods plant-1 (67), number of seeds pods-1 (54), grain yield (520 kg)

A New Dynamic Substitution Box for Data Security Using an Innovative Chaotic Map

As the motivations and capabilities of threat actors continue to evolve, providing data security has become more important than ever. For this purpose, different ciphers using various techniques are being developed. Currently, chaotic maps are designed and applied in the development of these ciphers. Modern ciphers utilize a substitution box (S-Box) as a core module to provide data security. In this article, an innovative chaotic map is suggested for the design of new and dynamic S-Box. Criteria like Bijectiveness, Nonlinearity (NL), Strict Avalanche Criterion (SAC), Bit Independence Criterion (BIC), Linear Approximation Probability (LP), and Differential Approximation Probability (DP) are used to critically analyze and evaluate the proposed S-Box performance against various attacks. The cryptanalytic strength of the proposed S-Box is equated with freshly designed S-Boxes for its customization in real-life security applications. The comparative analysis gratifies the true potential of the proposed S-Box for its solicitation in data security domain

Serum MicroRNAs as Predictors for HCV Progression and Response to Treatment in Pakistani Patients

Hepatitis is one of the common liver diseases, imposing a heavy health burden worldwide. Acute hepatitis may develop into chronic hepatitis, progressing to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In the present study, the expression of miRNAs was quantified by real-time PCR, such as miRNA-182, 122, 21, 150, 199, and 222. Along with the control group, HCV was divided into chronic, cirrhosis, and HCC groups. The treated group was also included after the successful treatment of HCV. Biochemical parameters, such as ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, viral load, and AFP (HCC), were also evaluated in all of the study groups. We compared the control and diseased groups; these parameters showed significant results (p = 0.000). The viral load was high in HCV but was not detected after treatment. miRNA-182 and miRNA-21 were overexpressed with disease progression, while the expression of miRNA-122 and miRNA-199 was increased compared with the control, but decreased in the cirrhosis stage compared with chronic and HCC. The expression of miRNA-150 was increased in all of the diseased groups compared with the control, but decreased compared with the chronic group. We compared the chronic and treated groups and then all of these miRNAs were down-regulated after treatment. These microRNAs could be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosing different stages of HCV

Serum MicroRNAs as Predictors for HCV Progression and Response to Treatment in Pakistani Patients

Hepatitis is one of the common liver diseases, imposing a heavy health burden worldwide. Acute hepatitis may develop into chronic hepatitis, progressing to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In the present study, the expression of miRNAs was quantified by real-time PCR, such as miRNA-182, 122, 21, 150, 199, and 222. Along with the control group, HCV was divided into chronic, cirrhosis, and HCC groups. The treated group was also included after the successful treatment of HCV. Biochemical parameters, such as ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, viral load, and AFP (HCC), were also evaluated in all of the study groups. We compared the control and diseased groups; these parameters showed significant results (p = 0.000). The viral load was high in HCV but was not detected after treatment. miRNA-182 and miRNA-21 were overexpressed with disease progression, while the expression of miRNA-122 and miRNA-199 was increased compared with the control, but decreased in the cirrhosis stage compared with chronic and HCC. The expression of miRNA-150 was increased in all of the diseased groups compared with the control, but decreased compared with the chronic group. We compared the chronic and treated groups and then all of these miRNAs were down-regulated after treatment. These microRNAs could be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosing different stages of HCV