Poverty Among Social and Economic Groups In India in the Nineteen Nineties.

This paper examines the levels and changes in poverty indicators of the rural and urban population in India disaggregated by social and economic groups. The analysis is based on the comparable estimates of poverty on the mixed reference period computed from the unit record data for the 50 th (1993-94) and the 55 th (1999-2000) rounds of the Consumer Expenditure Surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation. The issue is how far different social and economic groups shared the overall decline in poverty in the 1990s. Four poverty indicators are considered, namely, headcount ratio,the depth and severity measures (PGI and FGT*) as also the absolute size of the poor population. The social groups most vulnerable to poverty have been identified to be the scheduled caste households and the scheduled tribe households with both these groups having above average levels of poverty indicators in the rural and the urban population.Among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the agricultural labour households (rural) and the casual labour households (urban) each having the highestlevels of the poverty indicators in their respective population segments. In terms of changes in poverty in the 1990s, it is found that while the scheduled caste and the agricultural labour (rural) and the casual labour (urban) households experienced declines in poverty on par with the total population, the scheduled tribe households fared badly in both the segments. A further disaggregated analysis brings out the consequences for poverty of combined social and economic vulnerabilities. The paper also presents poverty indicators adjusted for between-(economic and social) group disparity and discusses the implications of the empirical results for the design of a strategy for poverty reduction.India, Poverty, Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes, Labour Households

Determinants of Firm-level Export Performance: A Case Study of Indian Textile Garments and Apparel Industry

Drawing on international trade and industrial organisation theories, this paper identifies variable affecting (a) export decision function i.e. to export or sell in domestic market, and (b) export performance function i.e. share of exports in output. These functions are estimated for Garment and Apparel producing units in Delhi. Form of business organisation reflecting access to capital turns out to be a key determinant in both functions. Estimated marginal impact of identified variables (scale and share of sales expenses) on the probability of exporting in estimated Probit model declines sharply in making from single proprietorship to partnership and further to limited companies. On the other hand, every single determinant (scale, share of wages, share of sales expenses and technical efficiency) has found to have increasing marginal impact on export performance in estimated Tobit model in moving across the three forms of business organisation. Empirical results suggest two policy changes to boost export performance. One, given the importance of scale for exports, the existing policy of reserving garments and apparel for exclusive production in small scale units needs to be scrapped. Simultaneously, it is also necessary to amend current labour legislation applicable to large scale factory units as it introduces labour market inflexibility and hence serves as an impediment to expansion of existing units and entry of new units.Tobit Model, Business Organization, Economies of Scale

The Poor in the Indian Labour Force in the 1990s

Comparable all-India estimates of the number of workers and unemployed in 'below-poverty-line' households - together defining the poor in the Indian labour force - are presented for 1993-94 and 1999-2000. Also presented is the gender, activity-status and the rural-urban composition of this group for the two time points. From a level of 115 million (43 million females and 21 million urban) the number of working poor declined by a little over 12 million - almost entirely in rural India - over the six-year period. Over 51 (36) percent of the rural (urban) working poor were engaged in unskilled mannual labour with a further 46 percent (44 percent in urban India) being absorbed by low-productivity self-employment.India, Working Poor, Poor in Labour Force.

In vitro characterization of porous knitted titanium scaffold for the replacement of intervertebral disc nucleus pulposus

This thesis demonstrates the cytocompatibility of knitted titanium scaffold as a replacement for the nucleus pulposus thereby promoting it as a potential intervention to combat chronic back pain

Near IR Astrometry of Magnetars

We report on the progress of our five-year program for astrometric monitoring of magnetars using high-resolution NIR observations using the laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS-AO) supported NIRC2 camera on the 10-meter Keck telescope. We have measured the proper motion of two of the youngest magnetars, SGR 1806–20 and SGR 1900+14, which have counterparts with K ~21 mag, and have placed a preliminary upper limit on the motion of the young AXP 1E 1841–045. The precision of the proper motion measurement is at the milliarcsecond per year level. Our proper motion measurements now provide evidence to link SGR 1806–20 and SGR 1900+14 with neighboring young star clusters. At the distances of these magnetars, their proper motion corresponds to transverse space velocities of 350 ± 100 km s^(−1) and 130 ± 30 km s^(−1) respectively. The upper limit on the proper motion of AXP 1E 1841–045 is 160 km s^(−1). With the sample of proper motions available, we conclude that the kinematics of the magnetar family are not distinct from that of pulsars

Cypermethrin-Induced Toxic Effect on Glycogen Metabolism in Estuarine Clam, Marcia Opima (Gmelin, 1791) of Ratnagiri Coast, Maharashtra

Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid class of insecticide. Toxic effects of cypermethrin were studied by selecting Marcia opima as an animal model. Cypermethrins effect on the total glycogen content of mantle, gill, foot, hepatopancreas, male gonad and a female gonad of an estuarine clam, Marcia opima was examined. The clams were exposed to 1.58 ppm cypermethrin for acute and 1/10th of that concentration for chronic treatment. It was found that there was a decrease in glycogen content in various tissues as compared to control. In LC0 and LC50 groups, glycogen was decreased in all tissues except in hepatopancreas compared to control. This decrease is greater in mantle, gill, and foot in LC50 group than the decrease in those tissues of LC0 group. In chronic exposure it was found that glycogen was decreased in mantle, foot, male gonad, and female gonad when compared to the control group except in gill and hepatopancreas. Decrease in glycogen content indicates greater utilization of glycogen for metabolic purposes and too combat with cypermethrin stress. The significant increase in glycogen content in gill and hepatopancreas may be a reaction to the increase in energy demand