Federalism and economic development in India: An assessment

This paper examines India’s federal system in the context of prospects for India’s future economic growth and development. After a brief review of India’s recent policy reforms and economic development outcomes, and of the country’s federal institutions, the analysis focuses on the major issues with respect to India’s federal system in terms of their developmental consequences. We examine the impacts of tax assignments, expenditure authority and the intergovernmental transfer system on the following aspects of India’s economy and economic performance: the quality of governance and government expenditure, the efficiency of the tax system, the fiscal health of different tiers of government, and the impacts on growth and on regional inequality. In each case, we discuss recent and possible policy reforms. We make comparisons with China’s federal system where this is instructive for analyzing the Indian case. Finally, we provide a discussion of potential reforms of aspects of India’s federal institutions.India, China, federalism, economic development,fiscal federalism, intergovernmental transfers, decentralization

Indian Federalism, Economic Reform and Globalization

In this paper we examine several dimensions of economic reform in India, in the context of the country’s federal system and of globalization, i.e., we explicitly recognize that the national government has subnational governments below it, and that all these layers of government simultaneously interact with foreign governments and corporations in a global economy. We examine two groups of reforms, the first involving redrawing of state-market boundaries, and the second concerned with reconfiguring federal institutions themselves. The first group includes financial sector reforms, assignment of regulatory powers, infrastructure reform and development, and privatization. We note the progress made in financial sector reform but also the problems caused for the financial sector as a whole by state and central fiscal deficits. We discuss the extreme problems of the power sector, and the important federal dimensions that make reform more difficult there. We also highlight the regional concentration of FDI in India’s more liberalized economy. The second group of reforms includes tax reforms, reform of center-state fiscal transfer mechanisms, and local government reforms. To some degree, these reforms in federal governance hold the key to opening the door to further reform elsewhere, by reducing the fiscal burden placed on the private sector by government deficits. We acknowledge the political economy aspects of reform of governance, and discuss possibilities for politically acceptable packages of fiscal reforms, such as combinations of changes in tax assignment that would be acceptable to the center as well as the state governments. We also discuss the possibility that growing regional inequalities might require the intergovernmental transfer system to be more efficient and effective in its objectives.

Foreign Capital, Inflation, Sterilization, Crowding-Out and

This paper discusses some puzzles in the contemporary macroeconomic scene in India, from the perspective of public finance and economic development. These include a fiscal deficit higher than it was during the 1991 crisis, but without a large current account deficit or rise in inflation or interest rates, a rising inflow of external capital, accompanied by the RBI’s sterilizing these inflows and accumulating large reserves, even in the face of low inflation. We offer a critique of some previous analyses, and some models that are suggestive of how real and monetary factors might be integrated in providing a firmer grounding for the policy debates current in India.foreign capital, sterilization, absorption, crowding out, inflation, growth

Geological dimension of the cultural heritage: A case example of the Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra, India)

[Abstract]International development for the both geoconservation and geotourism requires attention to all kinds of (potential) geological heritage. The Ajanta Caves (western Maharashtra, India) is a famous cultural object consisting of 30 caves carved in the Deccan Traps and inscribed to the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites. Its examination permits to indicate four geological features, which are the artificial caves themselves (these mark geological activity of the man in the historical past), the end-Cretaceous flood basalts (these demonstrate the emplacement of Large Igneous Province and the relevant palaeoenvironmental catastrophe), the gorge of the Waghora River (this is peculiar landform resulted from the river erosion of hard rocks), and the rockfall hazard (this is an interesting engineering geological phenomenon linked to the caves construction/maintenance). Geological heritage value of these features is argued. Unfortunately, there is not any geotourism activity at the Ajanta Caves presently. The content analysis of the principal on-line resources (web pages) devoted to this cultural site reveals the absence of sufficient geological information that would 68 Gontareva, E.F et al. CAD. LAB. XEOL. LAXE 38 (2015) facilitate geotourism. Generally, judgements about the Ajanta Caves and the other similar sites in the geological dimension permit to consider the wide spectrum of the geological heritage. They also highlight some extra opportunities for geotourism, which can benefit by its development at cultural sites with thousands of visitors

Federalism and economic development in India:An assessment

This paper examines India’s federal system in the context of prospects for India’s future economic growth and development. After a brief review of India’s recent policy reforms and economic development outcomes, and of the country’s federal institutions, the analysis focuses on the major issues with respect to India’s federal system in terms of their developmental consequences. We examine the impacts of tax assignments, expenditure authority and the intergovernmental transfer system on the following aspects of India’s economy and economic performance: the quality of governance and government expenditure, the efficiency of the tax system, the fiscal health of different tiers of government, and the impacts on growth and on regional inequality. In each case, we discuss recent and possible policy reforms. We make comparisons with China’s federal system where this is instructive for analyzing the Indian case. Finally, we provide a discussion of potential reforms of aspects of India’s federal institutions

Supermolecular-Chromophore-Sensitized Near-Infrared-to-Visible Photon Upconversion

Selective near-IR (NIR) excitation (780 nm) of the conjugated supermolecule ruthenium(II) [15-(4?-ethynyl-(2,2?;6?,2??-terpyridinyl))-bis[(5,5?,-10,20-di(2?,6?-bis(3,3-dimethylbutoxy)phenyl)porphinato)zinc(II)]ethyne][4?-pyrrolidin-1-yl-2,2?;6?,2??-terpyridine] bis(hexafluorophosphate) (Pyr1RuPZn2) in solutions containing N,N-bis(ethylpropyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylicdiimide (PDI) or tetracene gives rise to a substantial anti-Stokes energy gain (PDI, 0.70 eV; tetracene, 0.86 eV). Experimental data clearly demonstrate that this upconverted fluorescence signal is produced via Pyr1RuPZn2-sensitized triplet?triplet annihilation (TTA) photochemistry. The TTA process was confirmed by the quadratic dependence of the integrated 1PDI* emission centered at 541 nm derived from 780 nm laser excitation. The T1?Tn excited state absorption decay of Pyr1RuPZn2, monitored at 900 nm as a function of PDI concentration, revealed Stern?Volmer and bimolecular quenching constants of 10?048 M?1 and 5.9 ? 108 M?1 s?1, respectively, for the PDI triplet sensitization process. The T1?Tn PDI extinction coefficient at 560 nm (εT = 6.6 ? 104 M?1 cm?1) was determined through the triplet energy transfer method utilizing anthracene as the donor chromophore. 3PDI* transient triplet absorption dynamics observed as a function of 485 nm incident nanosecond pump laser fluence demonstrate a bimolecular 3PDI*?3PDI* TTA rate constant (kTT = 1.0 ± 0.2 ? 109 M?1 s?1). The maximum quantum yield of the supermolecule-sensitized PDI upconverted emission (ΦUC = 0.0075 ± 0.0002) was determined relative to [Os(phen)3][PF6]2 at an incident laser power of 22 mW at 780 nm. This study successfully demonstrates NIR-to-visible photon upconversion and achieves a new record anti-Stokes shift of 0.86 eV for sensitized TTA, using the supermolecular Pyr1RuPZn2sensitizer. The stability of the Pyr1RuPZn2/PDI chromophore combination is readily apparent as continuous irradiation at 780 nm produces 541 nm centered fluorescence with no significant decrease in intensity measured over time domains exceeding several hours. The molecular components of these NIR-to-vis upconverting compositions illustrate that substantial anti-Stokes energy gains via a TTA process can be effortlessly realized