Trade Competitiveness, Subsidies and Barriers to Trade:Implication for Indian Agriculture

Agriculture in India is the most important segment of the economy. Growth of Agricultural sector is crucial for Indian economy as it employs two-third of its population and contributes nearly one-third of national income. However its importance in the economic, social and political fabric of India goes well beyond what is indicated by its contribution to the economy. The large number of poor agricultural households and their income vulnerability are major concern among policy makers. These concerns have driven both agricultural policies and public expenditures in agriculture in India as well as in other part of the globe. India made significant advances towards achieving its goal of rapid agricultural growth, improving food security, and reducing rural poverty during the last four decades. Sustainable food production growth enabled India to achieve foodgrain self sufficiency, eliminating the threat of famines and acute starvation in the country. More rapid agricultural productivity growth, as past experiences shows, can have major impacts on poverty reduction trough direct effects on producers income, indirect effects on consumer welfare trough changes in food prices, employment and wage effects, and growth induced effects throughout the economy. Agriculture is also one of the major sources of export earnings of our country and is crucial for improving the balance of payments. In recent years, the export of agricultural and allied products accounted for about one-fifth of total export earnings of India. India's share of agricultural export has remained very low in many commodities despite inherent strength of Indian agriculture with the exception of few commodities. The performance of agricultural export depends not only on adequate surplus, international prices, quality of product, market competition and comparative advantage of producing the exportable commodities but also on domestic and international trade policy. Hence the subsidies and supports to agricultural commodities of country play a major role to stand in international market. Present paper is an effort to evaluate competitiveness of Indian wheat and rice in international market. Keeping in view the overall foodgrain production, marketable surplus and number of farmers, among the major foodgrain producing states, Uttar Pradesh has been taken for comparison of trade competitiveness. Since agricultural trade is highly distorted due to huge subsidies and support to agriculture in developed countries; paper also evaluate competitiveness of these commodities in alternative case if both countries withdraw their subsidies to these commodities in form of Producer Support Estimate (PSE). The Paper is divided in four parts; Part one is about the methodology to calculate competitiveness. Trade competitiveness of wheat and rice at normal prices and at PSE adjusted prices has been calculated in part two. Part three evaluate the implications of agricultural subsidy and part four is the concluding part with suggesting some corrective measures for fair agricultural trade and due space of developing countries in international agricultural trade.Trade competitiveness, Subsidies, WTO, Indian Agriculture

The role of contract farming in agricultural development in globalise world: an institutional economics analysis.

In the wake up ubiquitous agrarian crisis reflected in decelerating growth and increasing farmer suicides this paper examines the institutional constraints faced by agricultural sector. This paper interprets institutions in the very general sense of rules of structure in agricultural production and market interaction. Considering contract farming as a new institutional arrangement evolved in Indian agriculture to minimize risk and maximize profit, the paper assesses its strength in addressing the above problems. The basic question examined is how can contract farming help farmers especially smaller ones in the presence of imperfection of agrarian market (input, output, credit, etc)? Insights from theoretical literature and evidence from empirical studies show that contract farming would be able to address (at least partially) the market imperfections and have significant positive impact on farm households’ income and employment. Nonetheless the impact of contract farming is specific to regions, crops and farmer.Agrarian Crisis; Institutional Constraints; and Contract Farming

Acoustoelectric Transport in Graphene

The acoustoelectric effect in graphene is studied in a graphene/lithium niobate hybrid system, which was prepared by transferring large area single-layer graphene grown on copper onto lithium niobate SAW devices. The transfer of momentum from the surface acoustic waves (SAWs), generated on the surface of the lithium niobate, to the carriers in graphene results in an attenuation and velocity shift of the wave, and gives rise to an acoustoelectric current. The acoustoelectric current, and the amplitude and velocity of the SAW are measured using a sourcemeter and oscilloscope, respectively. Macroscopic acoustoelectric current flowing over several hundred micrometers is demonstrated in graphene, which is measured to be directly proportional to the SAW intensity and frequency at room temperature. A relatively simple classical relaxation model, which describes the piezoelectric interaction between SAWs and the carriers in a two-dimensional electron system, is used to explain the experimental observations. The investigation of the acoustoelectric current as a function of temperature demonstrates the ability of SAWs of different wavelengths to probe graphene at different length scales. By tuning the conductivity of the graphene through the use of a top gate, voltage-controlled phase (velocity) shifters are demonstrated. The acoustoelectric current measured as a function of gate voltage demonstrates that an equal density of electrons and holes are transported at the charge neutrality point, reflecting the unique properties of graphene.University of Exete

Controlling the properties of surface acoustic waves using graphene

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is published with open access at Springerlink.com via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0947-zThe author(s) Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are elastic waves that propagate on the surface of a solid, much like waves on the ocean, with SAW devices used widely in communication and sensing. The ability to dynamically control the properties of SAWs would allow the creation of devices with improved performance or new functionality. However, so far it has proved extremely difficult to develop a practical way of achieving this control. In this paper we demonstrate voltage control of SAWs in a hybrid graphene-lithium niobate device. The velocity shift of the SAWs was measured as the conductivity of the graphene was modulated using an ion-gel gate, with a 0.1% velocity shift achieved for a bias of approximately 1 V. This velocity shift is comparable to that previously achieved in much more complicated hybrid semiconductor devices, and optimization of this approach could therefore lead to a practical, cost-effective voltage-controlled velocity shifter. In addition, the piezoelectric fields associated with the SAW can also be used to trap and transport the charge carriers within the graphene. Uniquely to graphene, we show that the acoustoelectric current in the same device can be reversed, and switched off, using the gate voltage. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Royal Society (No. RG100570). G. R. N. also acknowledges the support of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council through a Fellowship in Frontier Manufacturing (No. EP/J018651/1). Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material (experimental data obtained for other devices) is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0947-z

Measurement of Single and Double Spin Asymmetries in Semi-Inclusive Deep-Inelastic Scattering on Proton and Deuteron

The EG1-DVCS experiment with CLAS at Jefferson Lab collected semi-inclusive pion electro-production data on longitudinally polarized solid state NH3 and ND3 targets with longitudinally polarized electrons of approximately 6 GeV energy. Data on all three pion channels, π +, π– and π0, were collected simultaneously. The charged pions were identified by their time-of-flight information whereas the neutral pions were reconstructed from the invariant mass of two photons. The experiment covered a wide kinematic range: 1 GeV 2 ≤ Q2 ≤ 3.2 GeV2, 0.12 ≤ xB ≤ 0.48, 0.0 GeV ≤ Ph⊥ ≤ 1.0 GeV and 0.3 ≤ z ≤ 0.7. The beam single (ALU), target single (AUL) and beam-target double ( ALL) spin azimuthal asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) off the proton and the deuteron extracted from the data are presented. The results of the azimuthal asymmetries for the proton are presented as a function of two variables: (xB, Ph⊥), (z, P h⊥) and (xB, z). Due to limited statistics, the azimuthal asymmetries for the deuteron are presented as a function of a single variable for the variables xB, z and Ph ⊥. Some theoretical and phenomenological predictions as well as earlier published results are compared with the results from this analysis. All the results are plotted and suitably tabulated for further analysis. The SIDIS azimuthal asymmetries are convolutions of fragmentation functions and transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs). The TMDs describe transverse momenta and spins of quarks and gluons inside nucleons. They open a window on the contribution of the orbital angular momentum of the quarks and gluons to the total spin of the nucleons. The results presented in this work are sensitive to these leading twist TMDs: f 1, g1, h⊥ 1L, and h⊥ 1. The significant precision of the results from this analysis will highly constrain the extractions of the associated TMDs which will substantially contribute towards further investigation into the partonic structure of nucleon intrinsic angular momentum

Integration and Pricing Efficiency of Rice Market

This study Investigated performance of rice market in Nepal by analysing interdependence of prices (market integration) and efficiency of arbitrage (pricing efficiency) among the regional wholesale markets An Integrated approach to the analysis of performance of the market system was adopted The cointegration-based Johansen's Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was used for analysis of nature of interdependence of prices in the regional markets to infer on integration Switching Regimes Model (SRM) was used to evaluate efficiency of arbitrage between market regions related in direct trade to infer on pricing efficiency of the market system The analysis results for market Integration and pricing efficiency were interpreted In relation to the structural and behavioral characteristics of the market system being Investigated through the rapid appraisal market survey The evaluation of results from estimation of the VECM lend support to the hypothesis that regional markets for rice in Nepal are integrated to form a single market area With Kathmandu as the central market Price shocks m the central market gets quickly transmitted to the regional markets However, the results from estimation of the SRM for the five market pairs provided statistical evidence of violation of efficient arbitrage conditions This supports the hypothesis that the integrated rice market in the country is not efficient m arbitrage sense Consideration of behavioral characteristics of the market indicated inefficient integration of the market regions could be due to lack of adequate institutional infrastructure in the market that provided the large millers and traders to enjoy some degree of market power The study indicates that physical facilities in the market are necessary for integration of the market, but these alone are not sufficient for a market system to be efficient with expansion of the market through economic integration, need for provision of appropriate institutional Infrastructure In the form of public and private order institutions arises The government needs to play a crucial role in providing institutional infrastructures to make the market more competitive, efficient and equitable

Temperature dependence of the acoustoelectric current in graphene

PublishedThe acoustoelectric current in graphene has been investigated as a function of temperature, surface acoustic wave (SAW) intensity, and frequency. At high SAW frequencies, the measured acoustoelectric current decreases with decreasing temperature, but remains positive, which corresponds to the transport of holes, over the whole temperature range studied. The current also exhibits a linear dependence on the SAW intensity, consistent with the interaction between the carriers and SAWs being described by a relatively simple classical relaxation model. At low temperatures and SAW frequencies, the measured acoustoelectric current no longer exhibits a simple linear dependence on the SAW intensity, and the direction of the acoustoelectric current is also observed to reverse under certain experimental conditions.Royal Societ

Navigation and Control of Automated Guided Vehicle using Fuzzy Inference System and Neural Network Technique

Automatic motion planning and navigation is the primary task of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) or mobile robot. All such navigation systems consist of a data collection system, a decision making system and a hardware control system. Artificial Intelligence based decision making systems have become increasingly more successful as they are capable of handling large complex calculations and have a good performance under unpredictable and imprecise environments. This research focuses on developing Fuzzy Logic and Neural Network based implementations for the navigation of an AGV by using heading angle and obstacle distances as inputs to generate the velocity and steering angle as output. The Gaussian, Triangular and Trapezoidal membership functions for the Fuzzy Inference System and the Feed forward back propagation were developed, modelled and simulated on MATLAB. The reserach presents an evaluation of the four different decision making systems and a study has been conducted to compare their performances. The hardware control for an AGV should be robust and precise. For practical implementation a prototype, that functions via DC servo motors and a gear systems, was constructed and installed on a commercial vehicle

Introduksi Weekend Service di Kantor Badan Pertanahan Nasional Kota Tangerang, Provinsi Banten

Penelitian ini mendeskripsikan pengelolaan perubahan yang dilakukan oleh Kantor Badan Pertanahan Nasional Kota Tangerang dengan ditambahkannya waktu kerja pada hari Sabtu dan Minggu. Dengan metode kualitatif ditemukan bahwa: (1) Pegawai pada prinsipnya tidak keberatan dengan penambahan waktu kerja, namun seringkali mereka absen atau terlambat masuk kerja; tapi sebaliknya (2) Penambahan jam kerja pada waktu weekend ini ternyata tidak maksimal dimanfaatkan oleh masyarakat pengguna layanan; (3) Motivasi pegawai untuk mejalankan tugas weekend service adalah motivasi intrinsik (pegawai memanfaatkan fasilitas kantor untuk menyelesaikan tugas lain) dan motivasi ekstrinsik (upaya pimpinan meyakinkan pegawai dengan cara: penerapan kelompok kerja, insentif, fleksibilitas waktu kerja dan penggunaan teknologi). Disarankan agar dilakukan evaluasi berkala guna menilai manfaat program ini, baik bagi pegawai maupun masyarakat

A REVIEW ON USAGE OF NANO-PARTICLES IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Nuclear power plants are big in construction and possess complex facilities. These plants usually operate at very large temperatures and the materials used in their construction experience considerably higher levels of radiation. It is therefore very important to understand the effects of radiation on these materials. Radiation is responsible for defects which affects the strength and performance of the materials. In this review paper, we have suggested one idea for constructing an efficient nuclear power plant by using nano-particles. This paper also details about nano-particles in an elaborated way and a few of them can be used for constructing nuclear power plants (NPP)