DEGREE OF TAX BUOYANCY IN INDIA : AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

An attempt is made in the present to provide an empirical content to differential coefficient of tax [revenue] buoyancy during post tax reform period in India by fitting a double-log regression model with an interaction variable to the stationary time series data based on Augmented - Dicky Fuller [ ADF ] and Phillips-Parron [PP] Tests . The period after 1992 is considered as post tax reform period to look at the prognostications of tax reforms that had been initiated by the government of India. The regression results illustrate that the estimate of constant gross tax buoyancy is positively significant and more than unity during pre tax reform period illuminating that gross tax is moderately elastic. From this upshot it can be comprehended that a one percent increase in income leads to increase the gross tax revenue by more than one percent, all else equal. Further it can be understood that the average propensity to tax [ratio of Gross Tax Revenue to Gross Domestic Product ] was increasing with the increase in Gross Domestic Product during pre tax reform period. The regression coefficient of interaction variable is significantly negative and stumpy showing a downward shift in the degree of tax buoyancy during post tax reform period. The estimate of the tax buoyancy, which was just above the unity during pre tax reform period, is less than unity during post tax reform period evincing the fact that the gross Tax is relatively inelastic. From this it can also be understood that the average propensity to tax is declining with the increase in Gross Domestic Product during post tax reform period. Thus the estimates of gross tax buoyancy during pre and post tax reform periods are not stable.

ELASTICITY OF SUBSTITUTION BETWEEN LABOUR AND CAPITAL ACROSS TWENTY SIX MAJOR INDUSTRIES IN INDIA DURING 2004-05

The magnitude of the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital across twenty six major Industries [Factory Sector] in India has been estimated in the present paper by fitting a Constant Elasticity of Substitution Production Function for the year 2004-05.The empirical results emerged out of the cross section data demonstrate that the estimate of the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital across the major Indian Industries is significantly more than unity implying that substitution possibilities are rather more in favour of labour in the Indian major IndustriesIndustry, Production Function, India, Elasticity of Substitution, Economic Development

Differential Elasticity of Substitution in the Indian Industries

The paper specifically focuses on the impact of reforms to see whether there has been any shift in the differential elasticity of substitution between labour and capital in Indian industry. The main conclusion of the paper is that there are differential elasticities of substitution between labour and capital, both pre and post economic reform period in India, hence substitution possibilities are relatively skewed in favour of labour during post economic reform in the Indian industry., CES Production Function, Differential Elasticity, Economic Reforms

Savings Behaviour in the Indian Economy

An attempt has been made in the present exercise to examine the savings behaviour in the Indian Economy in terms of shift in the growth rates of domestic savings, and in magnitude of income elasticity of the domestic savings at the aggregate and disaggregate levels during post economic reform period. The results show that there is no shift in the growth rate of the domestic savings both at aggregate and disaggregate levels during post economic reform period. However there has been acceleration in the growth rates of domestic savings of household and private sectors and deceleration in public sector during 1950--2002. The estimate of constant income elasticity of household savings is found to be more than unity implying that the marginal propensity to save is higher than the average propensity to save, all else equal. Further the constant income elasticity of household savings is moderately higher than that of the income elasticities of domestic savings estimated for private and public sectors during pre economic reform period. The results point out that there is no shift in the magnitude of income elasticity of savings of household, private and public sectors during post economic reform period showing the homogeneity in the size of the income elasticity of domestic savings. Thus the economic reforms that have been initiated in 1992 could not bump up the growth rate of savings and magnitude of the income elasticity of domestic savings both at aggregate and disaggregate levels in the Indian Economy during post economic reform period.

Perturbative Bottom-up Approach for Neutrino Mass Matrix in Light of Large \theta_{13} and Role of Lightest Neutrino Mass

We discuss the role of lightest neutrino mass (m_0) in the neutrino mass matrix, defined in a flavor basis, through a bottom-up approach using the current neutrino oscillation data. We find that if m_0 < 10^{-3} eV, then the deviation \delta M_\nu in the neutrino mass matrix from a tree-level, say tribimaximal neutrino mass matrix, does not depend on m_0. As a result \delta M_\nu's are exactly predicted in terms of the experimentally determined quantities such as solar and atmospheric mass squared differences and the mixing angles. On the other hand for m_0 \gsim 10^{-3} eV, \delta M_\nu strongly depends on m_0 and hence can not be determined within the knowledge of oscillation parameters alone. In this limit, we provide an exponential parameterization for \delta M_\nu for all values of m_0 such that it can factorize the m_0 dependency of \delta M_\nu from rest of the oscillation parameters. This helps us in finding \delta M_\nu as a function of the solar and atmospheric mass squared differences and the mixing angles for all values of m_0. We use this information to build up a model of neutrino masses and mixings in a top-down scenario which can predict large \theta_{13} perturbatively.Comment: 26 pages, 42 eps figures, revtex (references are added, more discussions are added in section-III

Influence of tetrahydrobiopterin supplementation on rate pressure product

Augmentation of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) could potentially improve eNOS uncoupling by increasing Nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability to improve endothelial health in cardiovascular diseases. With age, the bioactivity of eNOS decreases resulting in a decrease in concentration and bioavailability of NO. Elevated levels of eNOS cofactor BH4 helps in synthesizing NO, whereas limited concentrations of BH4 production potentiallyleads to uncoupling of eNOS and the production of superoxides. A study conducted by Pierce et al., 2012 on young and old men showed that limited BH4 bioavailability contributed to impaired arterial compliance, elasticity and other hemodynamics of vascular tissue. Experiments on sedentary and aerobically trained men by Eskurza et al., (2005) indicated that flow mediated dilation (FMD) increased by approximately 45% in old sedentary men but did not affect FMD in young sedentary or old aerobically trained individuals. Thus BH4 supplementation is a potential therapeutic target in regulation of eNOS and NO generation in vascular diseases. We hypothesize that acute oral tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) supplementation can influence the heart work through rate pressure product that would negatively affect with age among male and female participants. Methods: A double-blinded study conducted on young men and women (21-45yrs), old men and women (60-75yrs), who were asked to consume an acute dose of BH4 supplements (10mg/kg) or equal dose of placebo supplementation (cellulose) on two separate visits. Single leg knee kick exercise with increase in resistance (0watt, 7watt, 15watt and 20 watt) was performed and measurements of heart rate (ECG) , beat-to-beat blood pressure (CNAP finger plethysmography), leg blood flow (Doppler ultrasound) were recorded. Work of heart was calculated as the Rate Pressure Product (RPP), which is a product of Heart rate (HR) and Systolic blood pressure (SBP). Results: RPP is generally higher in sedentary old men and women, with treatment RPP decreased in older participants (P\u3c 0.05) when compared to young men and women. Conclusion: Low RPP may be due to an increase in compliance of arteries and a decrease in the vascular tone of the resistance vessels and workload conducted by heart. Thus lowering heart rate and systolic blood pressure with BH4 therapy would be beneficial to patients with systemic hypertension and cardiovascular disease

The Effects of Metabolic Syndrome on the Increased Prevalence of Cognitive Decline in Minority Groups.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the leading causes of dementia, affecting over five million people in the United States. It is clinically diagnosed by the presence of amyloid plaques and hyperphosphoryated tau. Alzheimer’s disease patients present with memory and cognitive decline. The cumulative effects of an increasing elderly population and the elevation in the number of persons with diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, which are risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease elevated the interest in understanding the interrelatedness between factors of metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. The disparity between the incidences of Alzheimer’s disease among racial groups in the United States also correlates with the differences in the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) among these groups. We hypothesized that persons who are classified as MetSyn will also show deficits in cognition, carotid blood flow and above normal levels of IL-6 and C-reactive protein. We believe that the amalgamation of risk factors associated with MetSyn might offer an explanation for the differential occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease in ethnic minority populations in the United States. The study has enrolled 15 participants from the community. Of the 15 participants there are 5 males and 10 females between the ages of 19 and 62, 5 of the participants have two or three risk factors for MetSyn and 7 are members of a minority population. The study is divided into 2 visits; during the first visit, anthropometric measurements and a blood draw for the plasma analysis of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein are taken. The second visit consisted of the imaging of the carotid artery and the administration of the Penn CNP neurocognitive battery. The battery included measures of working memory, attention, executive function and verbal learning and memory. The data did not show any significant difference between persons that are metabolically compromised and normal controls in the areas of cognitive ability and inflammatory marker concentration. There were gender and racial difference in response times in the cognitive area of working memory with males having lower response times than females and Caucasian having lower response times than minorities, however the differences are not currently significant. The study continues to enroll participants, we believe that with a greater sample size the trends seen in gender and racial population differences will become significant; particularly if we are able to increase the number of persons with metabolic syndrome

A 3-D Computational Study of a Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap (VCCTEF) Spanwise Segment

Results of a computational study carried out to explore the effects of various elastomer configurations joining spanwise contiguous Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap (VCCTEF) segments are reported here. This research is carried out as a proof-of-concept study that will seek to push the flight envelope in cruise with drag optimization as the objective. The cruise conditions can be well off design such as caused by environmental conditions, maneuvering, etc. To handle these off-design conditions, flap deflection is used so when the flap is deflected in a given direction, the aircraft angle of attack changes accordingly to maintain a given lift. The angle of attack is also a design parameter along with the flap deflection. In a previous 2D study,1 the effect of camber was investigated and the results revealed some insight into the relative merit of various camber settings of the VCCTEF. The present state of the art has not advanced sufficiently to do a full 3-D viscous analysis of the whole NASA Generic Transport Model (GTM) wing with VCCTEF deployed with elastomers. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the local effects of three contiguous flap segments on lift and drag of a model devised here to determine possible trades among various flap deflections to achieve desired lift and drag results. Although this approach is an approximation, it provides new insights into the "local" effects of the relative deflections of the contiguous spanwise flap systems and various elastomer segment configurations. The present study is a natural extension of the 2-D study to assess these local 3-D effects. Design cruise condition at 36,000 feet at free stream Mach number of 0.797 and a mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) based Reynolds number of 30.734x10(exp 6) is simulated for an angle of attack (AoA) range of 0 to 6 deg. In the previous 2-D study, the calculations revealed that the parabolic arc camber (1x2x3) and circular arc camber (VCCTEF222) offered the best L/D characteristics and minimum drag in cruise. In the present 3-D study, calculations show that for the same C(sub t), the 3-D circular arc camber wing segment produces the largest drag for a given lift, larger than either of the two 2-D configurations, as was also conjectured in the previous study. This study indicates a wing stall around 4.5 deg angle of attack

A new concept to improve the lithium plating detection sensitivity in lithium-ion batteries

Lithium plating significantly reduces the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries and may even pose a safety risk in the form of an internal short circuit, leading to catastrophic cell failure. Low temperatures, high charge currents and battery age are known to be contributing factors to increased lithium plating. To reduce or avoid battery ageing induced by lithium plating, a method for lithium plating detection is essential to help understand the favourable conditions under which battery charging is optimised. In this study, we present a concept to design an experiment-based approach to improve lithium plating detection sensitivity using the non-destructive voltage relaxation analysis method. Commercial NCA/graphite cells are employed for this study. Here, the reversible part of the plated lithium providing a unique cell voltage relaxation profile is used as a pseudo-measure to detect the onset of plating. This profile is observed while the cell is at rest as well as under a low C-rate discharge regime immediately after charging. It is found that the CV (Constant Voltage) phase cut-off current value significantly influences plating detection. To address this issue, a procedure to determine the optimal cut-off current in the CV phase of charging is introduced to improve the detection sensitivity. With the proposed method, plating detection chances are improved which will help in understanding the favourable conditions and developing plating control strategies. Furthermore, a correlation between lithium plating and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements are utilized to demonstrate the influence of previous ageing conditions on lithium plating