Reproduction of institutions through people’s practices: Evidences from a Gram Panchayat in Kerala

This paper analyses the dynamics of participatory institutions in Kudayathur Gram Panchayat in Kerala. It also explores how the different fields of society in panchayat internalised and reproduced these institutions through their actual practices. The study has adopted a relational methodology, linking the subjective stand point of individuals or groups, affiliated to institutions, with their objective position in the society. It has applied methods like in-depth dialogues with informants along with group discussions and document analysis. The study reached the conclusion that institutions in GP largely failed in achieving their objectives. Apathetic approach of the political parties, aversion of the middle and upper middle class groups towards public institutions, and inability of the marginalised groups in involving such institutions were the major hurdles in achieving their ideal objectives.participatory institutions; marginalised groups

Participatory Institutions and People’s Practices in India: An analysis of Decentralisation experiences in Kerala State

Institutions orient people towards a common goal. Institutions have a pertinent role in collective action. Participatory institutions have the potential to vitalize democracy by providing a pro active role to the citizens in decision making, planning and implementation of activities. In fact the performance of the institutions depends upon the practices of the people affiliated to them. The practices of the people are influenced by the field in which they are situated, and their habitus. Ultimately field (It is an objective historical relation between the positions in each realm of the society) and habitus(It is the way in which field enters in to an individual) are the decisive factors in people’s practices. Kerala’s decentralization experiments since the inception of the People’s Planning Campaign in 1996 have given more emphasis to participatory institutions. PPC viewed participatory institutions as forums for mobilizing different groups of people towards grassroots level democracy. This paper analyses the dynamics of institutions created by PPC in Kerala in light of their twelve years of functioning. The Paper also considers various factors that might have affected the functioning of institutions through a detailed analysis of Kerala’s political, economic,cultural and religious fieldsParticipatory institutions; habitus; people’s practices.

INDO-CHINA TRADE: TRENDS, COMPOSITION AND FUTURE

India and China are among the oldest civilizations of the world with long history of interaction and relationship. They are the fastest growing economies among the major economies of the world. Both have made rapid progress after liberlisation. One of the major events in international trade and economics is the recent fast growth in the bilateral trade. India has emerged as one of the top ten trading partners of China whereas China has emerged one of the top three trading partners of India. Due to large sige of economies and composition of economies and exports as well as high growth rates and political will from both sides, the bilateral trade will grow further and would have significant impact on global trade and economy.India, China, Indo-China trade, trade composition, emerging economies

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF INDIAN FOREIGN TRADE

Indian economy and foreign trade are on a growth trajectory. Indian exports have come a long way in value terms from the time of gaining independence in 1947. The total value of India�s merchandise exports increased from US $1.3 billion in 1950-51 to US$ 63.8 billion in 2003-04 � a compound rate of 7.6 per cent. Trade growth has picked up post liberalization of 1991. The composition of trade is now dominated by manufactured goods and services. India services exports share in global exports is more than double of that of Indian manufacturing exports. East Asian countries, particularly China have become a major trading block. There is huge untapped potential for Indian foreign trade in years to come.India, Foreign Trade, Liberalization, Trade Composition, Trade Direction.

STATE � OF � ART OF INDIAN COMPETITIVENESS

Competitiveness makes or mars performance of firms, industries, nations in the current hyper competitive global market. India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent years. One after another study, is projecting that India would be a leading economy in 21st century. This research work is an attempt to study the competitiveness of India. It looks at both macro and micro aspects. To have a macro perspective, it studies the performance of Indian economy in two prominent indices of competitiveness. India has improved its rankings in the competitiveness indices. To have a micro perspective, it undertakes a literature review on the subject in Indian context. The findings are mixed and the firms, industry and the country need to put in efforts for improving its competitiveness. The findings are mixed on the impact of liberalisation on competitiveness. It identifies government level issues and firm level issues for competitiveness.India, competitiveness, liberalization, globalization, global competitiveness

Wave Propagation in 1-D Spiral geometry

In this article, we investigate the wave equation in spiral geometry and study the modes of vibrations of a one-dimensional (1-D) string in spiral shape. Here we show that the problem of wave propagation along a spiral can be reduced to Bessel differential equation and hence, very closely related to the problem of radial waves of two-dimensional (2-D) vibrating membrane in circular geometry