Fiscal Marksmanship of Education Expenditure in India: Analyzing Forecast Errors through a Gender lens

According to rational expectation hypothesis, information is scarce and the economic agents generally do not waste information and that expectations depend specifically on the structure of entire system. Fiscal marksmanship, the accuracy of budgetary forecasting, can be one important piece of such information the rational agents must consider in forming expectations. Using Theil’s inequality coefficient (U) based on the mean square prediction error, the paper estimates the magnitude of errors in the budgetary forecasts of gender-related expenditure in India, in particular the education sector. The results showed that degree of errors in forecasting gender-related expenditure in education sector is relatively less compared to other sectors. However there is no specific trend in the forecasting errors, which reveals that budgetary estimates of gender-related expenditure are made not based on adaptive expectations. The applicability of rational expectations hypothesis in fiscal estimates of gender-related expenditure, in particular education sector, also has limited scope in India. Fiscal marksmanship deals more with the ‘budget measures’ rather than ‘fiscal incidence’ measures, but the paper has taken into account the fiscal incidence measure through a gender disaggregated public expenditure benefit incidence analysis of education sector

Fiscal Marksmanship of Education Expenditure in India: Analyzing Forecast Errors through a Gender lens

According to rational expectation hypothesis, information is scarce and the economic agents generally do not waste information and that expectations depend specifically on the structure of entire system. Fiscal marksmanship, the accuracy of budgetary forecasting, can be one important piece of such information the rational agents must consider in forming expectations. Using Theil’s inequality coefficient (U) based on the mean square prediction error, the paper estimates the magnitude of errors in the budgetary forecasts of gender-related expenditure in India, in particular the education sector. The results showed that degree of errors in forecasting gender-related expenditure in education sector is relatively less compared to other sectors. However there is no specific trend in the forecasting errors, which reveals that budgetary estimates of gender-related expenditure are made not based on adaptive expectations. The applicability of rational expectations hypothesis in fiscal estimates of gender-related expenditure, in particular education sector, also has limited scope in India. Fiscal marksmanship deals more with the ‘budget measures’ rather than ‘fiscal incidence’ measures, but the paper has taken into account the fiscal incidence measure through a gender disaggregated public expenditure benefit incidence analysis of education sector

Engulfment pathways promote programmed cell death by enhancing the unequal segregation of apoptotic potential

Components of the conserved engulfment pathways promote programmed cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) through an unknown mechanism. Here we report that the phagocytic receptor CED-1 mEGF10 is required for the formation of a dorsal-ventral gradient of CED-3 caspase activity within the mother of a cell programmed to die and an increase in the level of CED-3 protein within its dying daughter. Furthermore, CED-1 becomes enriched on plasma membrane regions of neighbouring cells that appose the dorsal side of the mother, which later forms the dying daughter. Therefore, we propose that components of the engulfment pathways promote programmed cell death by enhancing the polar localization of apoptotic factors in mothers of cells programmed to die and the unequal segregation of apoptotic potential into dying and surviving daughters. Our findings reveal a novel function of the engulfment pathways and provide a better understanding of how apoptosis is initiated during C. elegans development

Fiscal Policy Stance and Gender Equality in Asia Pacific: An Empirical Analysis

Econometric analysis of impact of fiscal policy stance on gender equality is a new area of research. Using fixed effects model of pooled least squares, the paper examined the impact of public expenditure on gender aware human development processes in Asia Pacific region. The results revealed that fiscal policy stance has a positive impact on HDI and GDI. The widely explored link between economic growth captured in terms of per capita income and the human development has been refuted by the results may be due to the increasing inequality in command over resources. The same results hold for sector-specific models as well. The result broadly conforms to the proposition that fiscal stance on human capital formation gets transformed to the end results of better human development indicators, despite the constraints of intra-household disparities in resource allocation

Fiscal Policy Stance and Gender Equality in Asia Pacific: An Empirical Analysis

Econometric analysis of impact of fiscal policy stance on gender equality is a new area of research. Using fixed effects model of pooled least squares, the paper examined the impact of public expenditure on gender aware human development processes in Asia Pacific region. The results revealed that fiscal policy stance has a positive impact on HDI and GDI. The widely explored link between economic growth captured in terms of per capita income and the human development has been refuted by the results may be due to the increasing inequality in command over resources. The same results hold for sector-specific models as well. The result broadly conforms to the proposition that fiscal stance on human capital formation gets transformed to the end results of better human development indicators, despite the constraints of intra-household disparities in resource allocation

A Brief Review on the Regulatory Roles of MicroRNAs in Cystic Diseases and Their Use as Potential Biomarkers

miRNAs are small endogenous conserved non-coding RNA molecules that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression through mRNA degradation or translational inhibition, modulating nearly 60% of human genes. Cystic diseases are characterized by the presence of abnormal fluid-filled sacs in the body, and though most cysts are benign, they can grow inside tumors and turn malignant. Recent evidence has revealed that the aberrant expression of a number of miRNAs present in extracellular fluids, including plasma or serum, urine, saliva, follicular fluid, and semen, contribute to different cystic pathologies. This review aims to describe the role of different miRNAs in three worldwide relevant cystic diseases: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and pancreatic cyst tumors (PCTs), as well as their potential use as novel biomarkers.publishedVersio

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Estimation of dilution in laser cladding based on energy balance approach using regression analysis

Laser cladding is a complex manufacturing process involving more than 19 variables related to laser source, workpiece movement, powder-substrate material combinations, clad geometry, powder flow dynamics, shrouding gas flow and so on. Significant research efforts have been directed to analytical-numerical-empirical modelling of laser cladding and also in-process monitoring and control of the process. Still, due to complicated physics there is a dearth of simple analytical model for estimation of dilution in laser cladding. Its experimental measurement requires suitable micrographs of the clad cross section perpendicular to the clad path. This is a time-consuming and destructive way of measurement. Numerical models are time consuming to evaluate and hence not suitable for fast decision making or real-time control implementation. The analytical models available, despite having many approximations, are a little complicated, require fair amount computer programming and often need suitable prior guessing of range of output parameters for adjustment of constant values in the models. This poses some challenges for use and having an intuitive guidance, for a beginner/unskilled operator. Besides, their complexity may erect barrier in the way of their implementation for real time monitoring and control. This work proposes a simple linear regression model, formed based on energy balance approach, to estimate dilution in laser cladding. After fitting to a set of data, within a suitable process parameter-window, for a particular clad-substrate material combination, this model can estimate dilution as a function of input/easily measureable parameters, viz. laser power, scan speed, clad width and clad height. The model fitted well to the experimental data taken from literature

Development of closed form design formulae for aperture coupled microstrip antenna

482-486Closed form equations are presented for designing aperture coupled microstrip antennas to ensure impedance matching with the feed network with a low return loss over a wide frequency band. The features like compactness, integrability with printed circuits and shielding of the radiating patch from the radiation emanating from the feed structure etc. make these antennas attractive for present day scientific and industrial applications in fields like mobile computing and communication