Strengthening SMEs to make export competitive

The importance of SMEs in any economy cannot be overlooked as they form a major chunk in the economic activity of nations. India has nearly three million SMEs, which account for almost 50 per cent of industrial output. However, SMEs which form the backbone of industrial development in India are not export competitive and contribute only about 34 percent of exports. It is this feature of the SMEs that make it an ideal target to realize its potential export competitive. Drawing from the experiences of countries that have successfully promoted the export competitiveness of SMEs, this paper has identified ways in which SMEs in India can have an access to external markets through exports, which include simplification of procedures, incentives for higher production, preferential treatments to SMEs in the market development fund, linking up SMEs with Transnational Companies or large domestic exporting firms; and formation of clusters and networks in order to reinforce their external competitiveness.Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), SWOT Analysis, Export, India

A Constant Factor Approximation for Capacitated Min-Max Tree Cover

Given a graph G = (V,E) with non-negative real edge lengths and an integer parameter k, the (uncapacitated) Min-Max Tree Cover problem seeks to find a set of at most k trees which together span V and each tree is a subgraph of G. The objective is to minimize the maximum length among all the trees. In this paper, we consider a capacitated generalization of the above and give the first constant factor approximation algorithm. In the capacitated version, there is a hard uniform capacity (?) on the number of vertices a tree can cover. Our result extends to the rooted version of the problem, where we are given a set of k root vertices, R and each of the covering trees is required to include a distinct vertex in R as the root. Prior to our work, the only result known was a (2k-1)-approximation algorithm for the special case when the total number of vertices in the graph is k? [Guttmann-Beck and Hassin, J. of Algorithms, 1997]. Our technique circumvents the difficulty of using the minimum spanning tree of the graph as a lower bound, which is standard for the uncapacitated version of the problem [Even et al.,OR Letters 2004] [Khani et al.,Algorithmica 2010]. Instead, we use Steiner trees that cover ? vertices along with an iterative refinement procedure that ensures that the output trees have low cost and the vertices are well distributed among the trees

In-depth evaluation of laser-welded similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar electrical interconnects for electric vehicle battery pack

A recent increase in the use of electric vehicles demands an efficient and faster joining process for making electrical interconnects within the battery pack. The choice of tab and busbar materials to produce those electrical interconnects is mainly based on weldability, weight, electrical/ thermal conductivity and cost. To meet the high joining demand and low cycle time, laser welding is emerging as the main joining technology due to its ability to weld a variety of materials at a high speed. This paper investigates laser overlap welding for producing similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar interconnects for Li-ion battery assembly. In this research, 0.3 mm Al, Cu, Cu[Ni] and Ni tabs were welded with 1.5 mm Al and Cu busbars using a 150 W pulsed fibre laser system integrated with a wobble head. The weldability and joint suitability analyses were conducted by evaluating joint strength, joint intermetallic compound (IMC) formation, joint resistance and temperature rise with the aim of developing a better and safer battery system. It was observed that a maximum joint strength of 930 N was obtained from the Ni tab to Al busbar joints which was approximately 109%, 44% and 66% more than the strength obtained for Al, Cu[Ni] and Cu tab to Al busbar joints respectively. In the case of Cu busbar based tab connections, the maximum joint strength (1320N) was obtained from the Ni tab, which is 152%, 71% and 76% more than Al, Cu[Ni], and Cu tab to Cu busbar joint strength respectively. The strength obtained for the Cu tab to Al busbar (about 560 N) was slightly more than the Al tab to Cu busbar (about 520 N) due to the formation of CuAl2 IMCs at the weld interface of Al tab to Cu busbar joints. Weld microstructure studies provided insightful information on under-weld, good-weld and over-weld characterisation with respect to IMC formation and correlated with the joint strength. In addition, electrical resistance and temperature rise at the joint are equally important for electric vehicle battery applications. The change in contact resistance and joint temperature rise was measured simultaneously for 180 s at different amplitudes of current (i.e., 100 A, 150 A and 200 A) passed through the joints

Environmental accounting and reporting With special reference to India

In recent years, environmental pollution becomes so acute and the stakeholders’ awareness to the issue becomes so serious that environmental accounting has become a strong branch of accounting. Still, attention towards the style and recognition of environmental accounting is not a generalized one. Legal authorities, standard setting bodies and other regulators cannot come to a consensus regarding the conceptual framework of environmental accounting and its disclosure. Thus, such disclosure is not mandatory rather voluntary that has no specific style or format. With the passage of time, more guidelines are coming in customized format that may lead us to reach a common format for recognizing environment related data and disclosure thereof through financial statements. Still, such disclosure is guided by the social responsibility and commitment on the part of the entities that work as strong agents for polluting the environment. In this paper, the theoretical foundation of environmental accounting and reporting is discussed with special reference to India. More emphasis is given on environmental accounting and awareness for that as this is supposed to be the need of today

Substituting resistance spot welding with flexible laser spot welding to join ultra-thin foil of Inconel 718 to thick 410 steel

This paper investigated various aspects of replacing existing micro-resistance spot welding (micro-RSW) with micro-laser spot welding for joining Inconel 718 thin foils to thick 410 steel stack-up to allow faster, non-contact joining together with flexibility in spot positioning and removal of tip dressing required for RSW electrodes. The joint quality was evaluated based on the mechanical strength, microstructural characteristics and joint strength at elevated temperature as these joints are often used for high-temperature applications. Experimental investigations were performed using micro-RSW and micro-laser spot welding to obtain the 90° peel and lap shear specimens, each comprising four spots. The obtained strength from laser joints was significantly higher than that of micro-RSW joints due to larger weld nugget formation and interface width. The process map for obtaining good quality welds was also identified, and about a 17% reduction in joint strength was obtained when welded specimens were subjected to elevated temperature (i.e., 500 °C) in comparison with room temperature. This reduction was compensated for using the flexibility of laser welding to add two extra spots. The overall performance of the micro-laser spot welds was found to be better than the micro-RSW considering joint strength, flexibility in placing the spots and time to produce the welds

Laser wobble welding of fluid-based cooling channel joining for battery thermal management

Aluminium alloys are increasingly used to fabricate cooling channels for the thermal management of Li-ion batteries. Cooling channel fabrication involves a number of manufacturing operations including material extrusion, forming and joining/welding. In general, welding of aluminium alloys is challenging as they are both highly reflective and thermally conductive. To address the joining challenges, this paper is focused on developing an optimised joining process to connect a thin, flanged cooling channel to the thick module manifold of the battery thermal management system to create a watertight joint with high mechanical strength. As continuous seam welding was required, laser welding was the preferred as it is a non-contact process combining high speed and precision. For this application, 0.4 mm Al cooling channel was welded with 1.5 mm Al endplate/module manifold using a wobble head integrated with 1 kW CW fibre laser system. The effect of process parameters including line energy, incident angle, laser power, welding speed and beam offset were investigated to optimise both the weld geometry and strength. Microstructure, micro-hardness and grain formation analyses were carried out to understand the metallurgical behaviour of the weld. Beam offset had the most significant effect on the responses such as weld strength, throat thickness and modified throat thickness, and laser power had a significant influence on two key geometric features of the fusion zone, i.e. penetration depth and weld width. Weld strength was optimised using a developed surrogate model and a maximum load of 646.89 N was achieved using 0.2 mm beam offset, 331.82 W laser power and 659.10 mm/min welding speed. Using this optimum combination, a leak-proof cooling channel and module manifold joint were produced for battery thermal management

Strengthening SMEs to make export competitive

The importance of SMEs in any economy cannot be overlooked as they form a major chunk in the economic activity of nations. India has nearly three million SMEs, which account for almost 50 per cent of industrial output. However, SMEs which form the backbone of industrial development in India are not export competitive and contribute only about 34 percent of exports. It is this feature of the SMEs that make it an ideal target to realize its potential export competitive. Drawing from the experiences of countries that have successfully promoted the export competitiveness of SMEs, this paper has identified ways in which SMEs in India can have an access to external markets through exports, which include simplification of procedures, incentives for higher production, preferential treatments to SMEs in the market development fund, linking up SMEs with Transnational Companies or large domestic exporting firms; and formation of clusters and networks in order to reinforce their external competitiveness

Strengthening SMEs to make export competitive

The importance of SMEs in any economy cannot be overlooked as they form a major chunk in the economic activity of nations. India has nearly three million SMEs, which account for almost 50 per cent of industrial output. However, SMEs which form the backbone of industrial development in India are not export competitive and contribute only about 34 percent of exports. It is this feature of the SMEs that make it an ideal target to realize its potential export competitive. Drawing from the experiences of countries that have successfully promoted the export competitiveness of SMEs, this paper has identified ways in which SMEs in India can have an access to external markets through exports, which include simplification of procedures, incentives for higher production, preferential treatments to SMEs in the market development fund, linking up SMEs with Transnational Companies or large domestic exporting firms; and formation of clusters and networks in order to reinforce their external competitiveness

Environmental accounting and reporting With special reference to India

In recent years, environmental pollution becomes so acute and the stakeholders’ awareness to the issue becomes so serious that environmental accounting has become a strong branch of accounting. Still, attention towards the style and recognition of environmental accounting is not a generalized one. Legal authorities, standard setting bodies and other regulators cannot come to a consensus regarding the conceptual framework of environmental accounting and its disclosure. Thus, such disclosure is not mandatory rather voluntary that has no specific style or format. With the passage of time, more guidelines are coming in customized format that may lead us to reach a common format for recognizing environment related data and disclosure thereof through financial statements. Still, such disclosure is guided by the social responsibility and commitment on the part of the entities that work as strong agents for polluting the environment. In this paper, the theoretical foundation of environmental accounting and reporting is discussed with special reference to India. More emphasis is given on environmental accounting and awareness for that as this is supposed to be the need of today