Exploring the Emergence of a New Political and Economic Order in 18th century Rajasthan

The collapse of the Mughal Empire in Rajasthan during the first half of the 18th century initiated important reconfigurations in its polity, society and economy. Emergence of regional political order and a new notion of commercialisation widened the sphere of engagements of merchants and traders and this had enduring consequences for the economy of Rajasthan. This paper traces the trajectory of the structural changes that ensued from the political disintegration of the Mughal order and emergence of local princely governance. Specifically it looks at i) the emergence of the non-peasant sector in agriculture, ii) the rise of a cross-caste mercantile class in the state and iii) change in commercial relationships under the new governance between the principalities, traders, artisans and the merchants. The research is based on insights from rich archival primary sources from the Rajasthan State Archives in Bikaner, focusing primarily on careful and extensive examination of the Bahis, to ascertain the changes in the village structure that took place as the regional gentry tried to combat the political and financial crisis that it faced in the early 18th century. This study finds ample evidence of thriving trade and growing commercialisation and monetisation in the regional economy, resulting in economic prosperity in most parts of Rajasthan. The study thus establishes the fact that the so called 'dark age' era during the 18th century, characterised by the process of economic and social decay, was not universal

Exploring the Emergence of a New Political and Economic Order in 18th century Rajasthan

The collapse of the Mughal Empire in Rajasthan during the first half of the 18th century initiated important reconfigurations in its polity, society and economy. Emergence of regional political order and a new notion of commercialisation widened the sphere of engagements of merchants and traders and this had enduring consequences for the economy of Rajasthan. This paper traces the trajectory of the structural changes that ensued from the political disintegration of the Mughal order and emergence of local princely governance. Specifically it looks at i) the emergence of the non-peasant sector in agriculture, ii) the rise of a cross-caste mercantile class in the state and iii) change in commercial relationships under the new governance between the principalities, traders, artisans and the merchants. The research is based on insights from rich archival primary sources from the Rajasthan State Archives in Bikaner, focusing primarily on careful and extensive examination of the Bahis, to ascertain the changes in the village structure that took place as the regional gentry tried to combat the political and financial crisis that it faced in the early 18th century. This study finds ample evidence of thriving trade and growing commercialisation and monetisation in the regional economy, resulting in economic prosperity in most parts of Rajasthan. The study thus establishes the fact that the so called 'dark age' era during the 18th century, characterised by the process of economic and social decay, was not universal

Economic Growth and Human Development in Indian States after two decades of Economic Reforms

This paper examines the relative performance of 28 major Indian states over the two decades (1990-2010) on economic growth and human development indicators by empirically confirming the two-way nexus between economic growth (EG) and human development (HD) and identifying other important links in the relationship from cross-sectional growth regressions. The paper finds a strong and consistent convergence in indicators of human development across states even as incomes have diverged over the two decades. Further, the classification of the states into vicious, virtuous, HD-lopsided and EG-lopsided categories and the shifts across categories of different states over the two decades reveal the importance of the requirement of simultaneous thrust on EG and HD in order to escape the vicious cycle

Role of Cold Chain in fostering Agribusiness in India: Prospects and Policy Insights

The prospects of agribusiness in the context of an emerging economy such as India are primarily subject to the degree of integration between farm activities on the one hand and secondary processing of farm produce in food processing units on the other. The diversification of farm activities and market for processed food items are greatly influenced by several economic and institutional factors. In this context, this study attempts to bring in to focus the critical role of cold chain (CC) which, as an infrastructural pre-requisite, has the potential of enhancing the degree of integration between the agricultural sector and the food processing industry (FPI). The performance of the FPI and cold storage (CS) sector in the Indian context is thus assessed using Annual Survey of Industries data at the four- and five-digit level respectively. Based on the empirical assessment of the performance of FPI over the period 1998-99 to 2014-15 and that of CS sector from 2003-04 to 2013-14, the study argues that one of the crucial factors behind the worsening structural and technical coefficients for the FPI is the existing capacity gaps in the infrastructural components constituting integrated CC and their lopsided development. The study thus highlights the limitations of the prevailing policy perspective that uses scheme-based incentives for securing private sector participation in the CC sector. Further, it underscores the need for a holistic policy framework and a national blueprint for the long-term development of CC sector given its far-reaching implications for the dynamics of a primarily agrarian rural economy in general, and in promising reasonable returns to the small and marginal farmers in particular

Economic Growth and Human Development in Indian States after two decades of Economic Reforms

This paper examines the relative performance of 28 major Indian states over the two decades (1990-2010) on economic growth and human development indicators by empirically confirming the two-way nexus between economic growth (EG) and human development (HD) and identifying other important links in the relationship from cross-sectional growth regressions. The paper finds a strong and consistent convergence in indicators of human development across states even as incomes have diverged over the two decades. Further, the classification of the states into vicious, virtuous, HD-lopsided and EG-lopsided categories and the shifts across categories of different states over the two decades reveal the importance of the requirement of simultaneous thrust on EG and HD in order to escape the vicious cycle

Transition pattern of Indian states across different categories of growth and development: Post economic liberalisation experience

This paper analyses the emerging trends in twenty eight major states in India in respect of few key parameters which have an intrinsic bearing on social and economic development and establishes the economic growth (EG) - human development (HD) nexus in the post economic reforms era (1990s to 2010s). Data for the period 1990 to 2011/12 is used to analyse the relative performance of Indian states on human development and growth indicators and determine if inter-state disparity has increased or decreased over time. The two way relationship between EG and HD is empirically estimated using cross section pooled data. Further, states are classified into four different categories of growth and development: (i) vicious cycle (low EG - low HD), (ii) virtuous cycle (high EG - high HD), (iii) lopsided-EG (high EG - low HD) and (iv) lopsided-HD (low EG - high HD), for the years 1993, 1999-2000 and 2011-12. The pattern of transition of states across different categories over the two decades is traced. Such categorization and the shifts therein have obvious policy implications. The paper highlights the need for more focused regional planning and a simultaneous policy thrust on EG and HD to enable states escape the vicious cycle of low growth and development

The Molecular Taxonomy of Primary Prostate Cancer

There is substantial heterogeneity among primary prostate cancers, evident in the spectrum of molecular abnormalities and its variable clinical course. As part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we present a comprehensive molecular analysis of 333 primary prostate carcinomas. Our results revealed a molecular taxonomy in which 74% of these tumors fell into one of seven subtypes defined by specific gene fusions (ERG, ETV1/4, and FLI1) or mutations (SPOP, FOXA1, and IDH1). Epigenetic profiles showed substantial heterogeneity, including an IDH1 mutant subset with a methylator phenotype. Androgen receptor (AR) activity varied widely and in a subtype-specific manner, with SPOP and FOXA1 mutant tumors having the highest levels of AR-induced transcripts. 25% of the prostate cancers had a presumed actionable lesion in the PI3K or MAPK signaling pathways, and DNA repair genes were inactivated in 19%. Our analysis reveals molecular heterogeneity among primary prostate cancers, as well as potentially actionable molecular defectsclose