Novel biological approaches for the removal of chlorophenolics [AOX] from bleach plant effluent

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Impact of imported intermediate and capital goods on economic growth: A Cross country analysis

Knowledge accumulation in the richer countries provides them with comparative advantages in higher productivity products. The countries that import the higher productivity intermediate products and capital equipments produced in the richer countries, however, derive benefits from knowledge spillovers. The empirical analysis in this paper shows that what type of intermediate goods and capital equipments a country imports and from where it imports indeed matters for its long-run growth. Using highly disaggregated trade data for a large number of countries, we construct an index (denoted as IMPY) that measures the productivity level associated with a country's imports. Using instrumental variable method (to address the endogeneity problems), we find that a higher initial value of the IMPY index (for the year 1995) leads to a faster growth rate of income per capita in the subsequent years (during 1995-2005) and vice versa. The results imply that a 10 increase in IMPY increases growth by about 1.3 to 1.9 percentage points, which is quite large.Imports, Intermediate and Capital Goods, Economic Growth, Productivity

Impact of ASEAN-India FTA on India’s Plantation Commodities : A Simulation Analysis

The present study attempts a quantitative assessment of the impact of recently signed ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA) for selected plantation commodities (coffee, tea and pepper) in India. We use partial equilibrium modeling approach (SMART model and gravity model) to simulate the likely import increase of the plantation commodities under the proposed tariff reduction schedule of the AIFTA. Overall, the results suggest that the AIFTA will cause significant increase in Indias import of plantation commodities. The increase in imports is mostly driven by trade creation rather than trade diversion. From the economic efficiency point of view, trade creation improves welfare as the new imports replace the high-cost domestic production. The analysis shows that the proposed tariff reduction may lead to significant tariff revenue loss to the government. However, the gain in consumer surplus (due to the fall in domestic price and the consequent reduction in dead-weight loss) outweighs the loss in tariff revenue leading to net welfare gain. By and large, the simulations based on the SMART and gravity models provide similar results on the magnitude of total increase in imports. The surge of new imports may have adverse impact for the livelihood of the Indian farmers engaged in the production of these commodities. Farmers will have to realign the structure of production according to the changing price signals and hence it is critical to provide adjustment assistance to the affected farmers.SMART Model, Gravity Model, Simulation Analysis

Analysing trade flows and industrial structure of India : the question of data harmonisation

An important requirement for the analysis of trade flows in relation to domestic industrial structure is the availability of a database covering information on trade flows, industry and firm characteristics. Such a database, as yet, does not exist in India. Thus, one is left to opt for the second best solution of compiling data from different sources to produce a harmonised database. This paper is an attempt to provide guidance in that direction. It raises certain relevant research issues on international trade in relation to domestic industrial structure, attempts a critical assessment of various available data sources for empirical analysis and highlights the advantages of choosing certain specific sources: (i) publications of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) which provide data on India’s foreign trade, (ii) Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), which provides data on industry characteristics, and (iii) the electronic data base ‘Prowess’, which provides data on firm characteristics. Following this, the data on trade flows, industry and firm characteristics are sought to be harmonised. First, the DGCI&S data are matched with 3-digit level National Industrial Classification (NIC) in the ASI, using the concordance table prepared by Debroy and Santhanam (1993). Second, we have constructed a concordance table for selected manufacturing sectors wherein the 3-digit items of NIC are matched with the industry categories in Prowess. Its appropriateness is evaluated by comparing data on value of output and total emoluments to employees as reported in ASI with that in Prowess. By and large, it appears that our concordance table is consistent and effective. JEL Classification : C 81, F 14 Key Words : liberalisation, international trade, industrial structure

Effect of yogic practices and aerobic training on percent body fat among college women

This study was designed to find out the effect of selected Yogic practice and Aerobic training on body composition (percent body fat) among College Women students. To achieve the purpose of the study, seventy five students were randomly selected from various departments of Annamalai University as subjects. All subjects were with normal and healthy bodies and their age ranged from eighteen to twenty two years (18-22). The selected subjects were divided into two experimental groups and one Control Group no step was taken to equate the group in any manner. Group I Control Group, Group II underwent Yogic Practices; Group III underwent Aerobic Training for three alternate days in a week for a period of Six weeks. The dependent variable selected for this study was percent body fat and it was measured by using skin fold caliber. All the subjects were tested prior and immediately after the experimental period on percent body fat. The obtained data from the experimental groups before and after the experimental period were statistically analyzed with dependent‘t’-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The result showed that percent body fat tends to decrease in both experimental groups yogic practice group and aerobic training group (p < 0.05). It is concluded that both are effective enough in reducing percent body fat in obese female subjects

Impact Of Covid 19 On Tamil Film Industry

Lakhs of workers are dependent on the film industry for their living either directly or indirectly. Since no shooting is taking place for three months now, they are struggling a lot. The commendable gesture of star actors and the workers’ unions has helped to some extent. Even as these workers are being provided basic rations from the contributions, their requirements are far from being met. All the workers may not get their work back after the restrictions are lifted. Producers will definitely try to reduce the production cost, leading to the loss of jobs. The post COVID-19 film industry would be totally different, with minimum stars and minimum workers. With production houses slowly shifting to digital platforms to release completed films, the industry is set to transform. This could again lead to massive job losses for lakhs of workers toiling behind the screen.