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This paper provides Indian evidence on sub-national PPPs that point to considerable spatial price heterogeneity within the country, based on Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) data. The prices of various commodities have been generated from the household specific unit values obtained from the information on expenditures and quantities from the NSS unit records. This paper shows that the CPD model, proposed in the cross country context, can be adapted to the household context to estimate spatial prices in the intra country context. The proposed CPD based model is shown to be formally equivalent to certain well known fixed weight price indices under certain parametric configurations. The empirical contribution includes a systematic comparison between the spatial price indices from alternative models, namely the CPD and utility based models, and the result that the utility based methods point to a much greater extent of spatial price heterogeneity than is suggested by the CPD type models. The results also record the sensitivity of the spatial price indices to the choice of commodities in the utility based approach. The pairwise comparison of estimates suggests that commodity selection may be more important than model selection in its impact on the spatial price estimates, though the latter is important as well. The study provides estimates of rural-urban differentials in spatial price indices that suggest some interesting differences between the constituent states. The results make a strong case for further research on the topic of sub-national PPPs in the context of large heterogeneous countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value steam mapping (VSM) is a lean manufacturing technique and it has emerged as the preferred way to support and implement the lean approach Grewal (Int J Manuf Technol Manag 15:3-4, ); Singh and Sharma (J Measuring Business Excellence 13:58-68, ). VSM is different than conventional recording techniques, as it captures the information at individual stations about station cycle time, up time or utilization of resources, set-up time or change over time, work in process inventory, man power requirement and the information flow from raw material to finish goods. It covers both value adding as well as non-value-adding activities. This paper covers the review and classification of literature on VSM, as there is hardly any paper on literature review of VSM, so it will be very beneficiary for both academician and industry people. Applications of VSM are also presented by a case study of a small manufacturing Indian industry and reduction in lead time, processing time, work in process inventory and manpower requirement at individual stations are noticed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concentrates on the people whom a few earlier researches have termed as "Low-Literate" consumers. Work on these set of people have been very limited in the world till date and practically no evidence of any work with these people let alone on their consumption of durables in this country has been revealed in the course of the study. We have tried to find out their usage pattern of durables within a selected variety of eight consumer durables ear-marked for the purpose of the study. With the help of Multi-Response set we have tried to determine their usage pattern and frequency of the select durables considered for the study. Thereafter, we have tried to determine if demographic attributes like education, age, income and occupation does play a role in the consumption process of these selected consumer durables and if there is an association between these various demographic attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on the growing literature on the political resource curse by highlighting the potential impacts of risitarianing global commodity prices on good governance and peace-building in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It confirms the existence of the connection between natural resource dependence, armed conflict and weak governance, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. By focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo, the paper contributes to the ongoing resource curse literature by highlighting the role of various mineral resources, the geographical distribution of such resources as well as the role of international state and non-state actors. The paper argues that the recent shift in the global terms of trade in favour of hard commodities due to the growing demand of China and India will present significant challenges for governance and peace-building as state and non-state actors attempt to gain control over lucrative natural resource rents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether experiential offerings from two types of retailers play a significant role in consumer responses toward Indian malls. Specifically, this study examined the relationships between consumer perceptions of experience economy 4E constructs (i.e. educational, entertainment, escapist, and esthetic experiences) and experiential value associated with merchandise retailers and service retailers in Indian shopping malls, and between perceived experiential value and mall patronage intention.Design/methodology/approach A mall intercept survey conducted in two shopping malls in India resulted in 552 useable responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.Findings Experience economy constructs (i.e. entertainment, escapist, and esthetic experiences) contributed to the experiential value associated with merchandise retailers and/or service retailers in the mall. Experiential value associated with both merchandise retailers and service retailers in the mall positively influenced mall patronage intention.Practical implications The results have practical implications for mall retailers, mall managers, and mall developers; particular experiential strategies for both merchandise retailers and service retailers may improve patronage intentions toward the mall, which includes a measure of purchase intentions.Originality/value Although academic articles support the idea that retailers can obtain benefits by offering experiences to consumers, this is the first study to empirically validate the role of specific consumer experiences, the 4Es, resulting from both merchandise retailers and service retailers, in a non-Western mall context on value creation for shoppers and the consequent influence on patronage intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key focus of this paper is to examine the nature of long and short run relationships between spot and future prices of individual commodity indices using Engle and Granger, Johannsen's Cointegration techniques and ECM. The causality in commodities markets can be used to either hedge or speculate price movements. The cointegration results obtained in this paper may be useful to market participants to build up their strategies in the long term or short term in the commodity futures market to wield the future risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of information about health risks may limit the adoption of improved nutrition and other new healthy behaviors. This paper studies the effect of a nutrition-information intervention on household dietary behavior, hemoglobin levels, and cognitive outcomes of children in rural India. Using experimental data and a regression discontinuity design that exploits the exogenous cutoff of hemoglobin level for anemia, we find statistically insignificant treatment effects on dietary improvements, child health, and cognitive outcomes of children. Our findings suggest that light-touch nutrition information alone, even when parents are informed about the health risk of their children, may not induce adoption of healthy behaviors. Our findings also imply that factors other than information might constrain households in making nutritional investments for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black pepper is known as a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae. While Vietnam is the largest producer and exporter of pepper in the world, producing almost one-third of the world's pepper crop, India produces 19% of the world's demand for pepper. In India, Kerala and Karnataka account for more than 95% of the pepper production. Indian pepper is of superior quality and is traded at a premium rate in international markets. In the present paper, spot returns of pepper volatility is modeled as a GARCH(1, 1) process using data from 2004 to 2013. GARCH(1, 1) model is used to study the relationship between spot volatility and unexpected futures trading activity, while Granger causality test is used for examining the causality flows from Unexpected Traded Volume (UTV) to spot volatility and unexpected open interest to spot price return. Therefore, whenever there is high unexpected fluctuation in the level of futures trading volume, the volatility of spot prices increases, indicating the destabilizing impact of futures trading. The augmented GARCH model reports positive relationship between UTV and spot returns volatility. The study obsoletes presence of excessive speculation manipulated trading which is a concern for regulators, genuine hedgers and government. Regulators need to take steps for checking speculation in pepper future market. Fluctuation in spot price is due to unexpected trading of hedgers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper attempts to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the causal linkages between India's merchandise trade flows and economic growth by considering Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as an intermediary channel. It primarily seeks to understand whether the on-going export-oriented policies improve India's economic growth and/or is there a necessity to focus more on the import channel. Considering quarterly data in the post-WTO era (1996Q3 to 2019Q3), we empirically examine the long-run and short-run validity of the four alternative hypotheses, namely, export-led growth, growth-led export, import-led growth and growth-led import. Our analysis finds evidence only for the import-led growth through the GFCF in the short-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost one-fourth of India's oilseed production is contributed by Brassicas. The Indian mustard [ Brassica juncea ] crop is affected by several biotic stresses in India, including aphid, white rust, Alternaria blight and Sclerotinia rot, which affect crop yields. Field trials were conducted at three locations during three crop seasons (2013–16) to evaluate treatments appropriate for mitigation of crop stresses and to obtain accurate assessments for seed yields and economic benefits as a part of a prioritized component-wise Integrated Pest Management strategy for the oilseed Brassica crop. The records from diverse sites and seasons concerning infestations by biotic stresses were assembled and scrutinized. The highest reduction in the severity of white rust disease was observed due to seed treatment by metalaxyl M 31.8 ES @ 6 ml/kg seed in one experiment and by a foliar spray of a combination of mancozeb 68% + metalaxyl 4% @ 1.7 g a.i./l in another trial, the latter being economically inferior to other fungitoxicants. The highest incremental benefit cost ratio (IBCR) was noted with the treatment of seed by an aqueous extract of garlic bulb (2% w/v) in one trial and by application of Trichoderma harzianum @ 1 g/l in another trial over sprays on crop foliage over two years and over three levels of nitrogen. Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 1 g a.i./10 l ranked better than all other spray treatments in decreasing population of aphid in the top 10 cm main shoot at two sites. Pre-sowing application of T. harzianum @ 2.5 kg/ha soil provided better mustard seed yield in combination with spray with thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 1 g a.i./10 l on crop foliage and treatment of seed with T. harzianum @ 10 g/kg seed. Though the seed yield of mustard crop was the best with the integration of applications of T. harzianum on seed, to the soil along with spray of thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 1 g a.i./10 l on crop foliage at 50 days after sowing, it did not give the highest IBCR (16.6) among treatments. Contrastingly, treatment of seed with T. harzianum alone gave the highest IBCR (112.6), where the seed yield was relatively much lower (1469 kg/ha) whilst treatment of seed with fresh aqueous extract of garlic bulb @ 2% w/v also provided a high (80.4) IBCR. This paper highlights the impact of input costs, which allows growers to decide inputs based on the prevalence of biotic stress(es), the decision on intervention based on the importance of the same with an idea about the resultant quantifiable and monetary impact. • Impact of input costs. • Helps decide inputs based on prevalence of biotic stress(es) with quantifiable impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the end of 2008 the effects of global recession started getting reflected in international trade. The fall in global demand and the slowing-down in economic growth translated into a substantial reduction in international trade. It affected the cross-border trade of virtually all countries and economic sectors. Indian exports trade could not remain unaffected in a situation where external demand was dwindling globally. The present paper reviews India's export performance during and following the global financial crisis. Indian exports started to decline in July 2008. It declined from US$ 17,095 million in July 2008 to US$ 11,516 million in March 2009, which accounts for almost 33 per cent decline. This growth contraction has come after a robust 25 per cent-plus average export growth since 2003. But, as a result of government policy measures and recovery in global economy, India's exports growth turned positive and exports grew by a whopping 54.1 per cent in March 2010 and recorded the highest growth rate among the world's top 70 economies in merchandise exports. India's merchandise exports during April 2010 at US$ 16.9 billion recorded a growth of 36.3 per cent as compared with a decline of 32.8 per cent registered in April 2009. Exports witnessed huge annualized growth of 56.9 per cent to $25.9 billion in May 2011 in a bright spot for the Indian economy, which is battling high inflation amid signs of a slowdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal relationship between the commodities market and the stock market has a lot of implications for not only the participants of the markets but also for the policy makers and the producers of the commodities and, in the case of developing nations, for the economy as a whole. This relationship may be studied using various methods and by identifying lead - lag relationship between the values of representative indices of the markets. In this paper, the dynamics of such information transfer among the commodities spot, the commodities derivatives, the stock and the stock derivatives markets in India are studied using the information theoretic concept of entropy, which captures non-linear dynamic relationship also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With higher shares in world merchandise trade and improvements in product quality, China is better positioned than India in the near term for influencing global trade. From the Malaysian perspective, China represents a non-negligible share in Malaysia's trade. The trends in bilateral trade with both Giants however suggest that competition has intensified. Relative to India, China appears to promulgate a more influential role on Malaysia via higher commodity overlap in external markets, greater matched trade that is of vertical differentiation, distinct quality shifts and negative adjustment pressures. Within this broad rubric of trade-induced changes, there is no evidence of skill upgrading for Malaysia in trade expansion with both Giants. This mirrors the lack of product quality improvements and the low levels of export values of high quality varieties in matched trade. Hence trade induced changes from the Giants that have been cited to be favourable from the Malaysian perspective in previous studies, may have been grossly overstated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural play an important role in Indian economy. It offers more employment, i.e., 70 percent. India has achieved the highest productivity of 20 tones per hectare in the production of grapes. Grape is a component in wine, juice, squash, syrup, jam, jelly, vinegar, pickles, chocolates, tartaric acid, oil, cattle feed, tannin, etc. However, the processed products, viz., wine, raisins and grape juice are the most popular products from grapes all over the world. The commercial production of grape commenced only after the import of varieties like Thomson seedless, Kishmish, Chorni, Beauty seedless, etc. These seedless varieties overtook the seeded varieties production tremendously. Currently grape cultivation in India has reached to the extent of 50000 ha, with an annual production of 10-12 lac metric tons. Out of the total production, 87% of the produce is consumed as table grape while 10% is dried and produced for raisin, two percent for juice and one percent for wine. Dindigul is one of the most important grape producing districts in Tamil Nadu. The district's soil and climatic conditions are highly suitable for grape cultivation. Hence, grape cultivation has increased spontaneously with an area of 1195 hectares in 1996-97 to 1709 hectares in 2003-04 and 2684 hectares in 2009-2010. Therefore, this paper attempts to analyse determinants of grape production, factors affecting the grape cultivation and also suggests how to improve the productivity of grape in the study areas. The study found that in the case of farmers cultivating High Yielding Varieties, r value indicated 78.41 percent of variation in yield caused by five explanatory variables. Labour cost, fertilizer, pesticides and capital flows were found to be statistically significant at 5 per cent level. The capital flows had a greater influence on the determination of yield, by the variables such as labour cost, fertilizer and pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade the Indian state has strived to establish an adequate foundation for advancing nanotechnology resulting in the expansion of R&D and commercialization of nanoproducts. A greater focus on technology development has meant that India's engagement with the overdue but not less significant risk debate appears to be far behind global discourses. The main focus of the paper is to examine whether India possesses sufficient resilience to avoid or address the environment and health risks that the development of nanotechnologies poses, given its existing capacities. It does so by analyzing the motivations and initiatives by the state to address nanotechnology risks as well as identifying key actors and efforts in the direction of risk appraisal and management. Furthermore it also examines this issue by locating nanotechnology's development in a larger context- that of the existing milieu in India for attending to environment and health issues in general. Based on this analysis it argues that the nation is vulnerable to the potentially adverse impacts of nanotechnology for a variety of reasons given the rapid unfolding of R&D in India and the substantial evidence of risks from specific nanomaterials. The lagging attention to risk regulation, ambiguity in roles and responsibilities, gaps in risk appraisal and governance especially in the capacities to formulate effective legal frameworks in addition to prevailing deficiencies in enforcement of regulations create an environment where India could be especially susceptible to nanotechnology's risks. In conclusion the study suggests that a comprehensive and flexible strategy to address the multidimensional risks is imperative and highlights what could be key elements of such a framework. Mechanisms for inter-agency coordination and inclusive dialogue on risks are highlighted as key measures besides the need to broaden the scope of risk appraisal and management initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Virtual water trade has been promoted as a tool to address national and regional water scarcity. In the context of international (food) trade, this concept has been applied with a view to optimize the flow of commodities considering the water endowments of nations. The concept states that water rich countries should produce and export water intensive commodities (which indirectly carry embedded water needed for producing them) to water scarce countries, thereby enabling the water scarce countries to divert their precious water resources to alternative, higher value uses. While progress has been made on quantifying virtual water flows between countries, there exists little information on virtual water trade within large countries like India. This paper presents the results of two MSc theses which quantify and critically analyze inter-state virtual water flows in India in the context of a large inter-basin transfer plan of the Government of India. Our analysis shows that the existing pattern of inter-state virtual water trade is exacerbating scarcities in already water scarce states and that rather than being dictated by water endowments, virtual water flows are influenced by other factors such as “per capita gross cropped area” and “access to secure markets”. We therefore argue that in order to have a comprehensive understanding of virtual water trade, non-water factors of production need to be taken into consideration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The adoption of new drying technologies is greatly favored by measures taken to adapt the technology to meet local needs. Drying technologies can offer opportunities for new product development, value-added features for enhanced nutrition and shelf stability for food supply management. Existing drying technologies must be modified/adapted to meet the many different properties of traditional Indian commodities and offer potential benefits for entrepreneurial developments. Much of the production and postharvest handling of products in India are done by low-income farmers in rural settings; hence, technological improvements must be based on low-cost available materials and renewable sources of energy. This article presents some of the drying developments accomplished in southern India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has become the world's call-centre capital and is seen as a major consumer market for multinational companies. But can it also become a global manufacturing powerhouse to rival China? This paper examines the issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting encompasses a range of sensory experiences such as sight, smell and taste (game as food). On the tea frontier of British Assam, such a sensory world of hunting was closely connected to the ideas and practices of empire, as well as to the production of the global commodity of tea. In this regard, A.R. Ramsden's memoir, Assam Planter: Tea Planting and Hunting in Assam (1945), provides a rich illustration of sensory experiences in the making of such a tea frontier and a global commodity. Furthermore, the memoir is constituted through the complex interplay of senses that is mapped onto the plantation social order. In the process, the sensory experiences of the 'sahib' and the 'native' are organised in an imperial narrative of tea and frontier-making. Yet, given its historical moment, the context of imperial crisis is also reflected in the memoir through the contradictions of sensory experiences and, thereby, the problems faced in producing the imperial narrative of tea and frontier-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparative advantage (CA) measures for India's merchandise trade with high, middle income, and least developed countries, based on annual trade data for 16 product groups from 2003 to 2018, indicate that India has always had CA over all three groups in animal, food products, and textiles and clothing, and comparative disadvantage (CDA) in wood. Further, its CA over least developed countries and its CDA over middle income countries are more persistent than over other groups. The probabilities of switching from CDA to CA are higher than those for shifting from CA to CDA for all three groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses agriculture decision making in one part of India, in Bihar, which was socio-economically backward yet deeply involved in commercial production during the nineteenth century. The combination of allegedly discordant characteristics is usually attributed to 'forced commercialization', the presumption being that the norm is free entry into the market. The term does not disturb the sway of most economic theories, which assume that capitalism was exported, and closed systems were opened out, as international trade expanded--a model which fits poorly with an agricultural system, previously but still incompletely market-involved, as in much of India. So-called commercialization differs case by case, therefore, because modes of production evolve within specific cultural and technical parameters. The findings of this paper modify some of the more sweeping interpretations of capitalism and of development. First, they contradict the idea that poorer, less commercial areas took little part in commerce and experienced little occupational diversity, and the opposite idea that commercialization necessarily implies economic advance. Scholars are understandably uncertain about classes in rural Bihar. Clearly, by the early 1800s or even earlier, some local producers already experienced competition from imported commodities, others suffered from a paucity of local demand when so many goods and services were exchanged through credit transactions, reflecting social prestige or in accordance with village custom.

The export opportunity allows the agricultural sector to expand productive capacity to the full extent. An attempt is made in the present study to specify and estimate the factors affecting agricultural exports of India at the commodity level. The major exportable crops used in the study are rice, wheat, tea, coffee, sugar, cotton lint and tobacco. The literature surveyed clearly shows that Indian exports are influenced by a number of factors. A double log-linear regression analysis has been carried out to understand the role of different factors in affecting agricultural exports across commodities from 1980-2010. Examining determinants of agricultural exports at commodity level is critical for proper allocation and effective utilisation of resources. The findings of the study validate the hypothesis that the impact of various factors on agricultural exports may not be the same for all commodities. The export determination models suggest that agricultural exports of India are affected by a number of demand and supply side factors. In a nutshell, the empirical findings reveal the predominance of factors like lagged export, production and world income in determining agricultural exports of India. For rice and wheat rather than production, stock with the government influences export to a large extent. Because of semi government interventions in cereal market, actively for mandatory PDS, exports are not allowed on regular basis for many tradable commodities like wheat, therefore, much depends on demand and supply. The findings of the study are relevant to design public policies in the external sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the canonical relationship between different commodities stock price index of the emerging Indian economy have been investigated using the monthly nominal commodities of Canara Gold Futures, HDFC Gold Futures, Axis Gold Futures and monthly values of Gold Futures and Crude Oil Futures price for the period of April, 2012 to August, 2018. The first canonical correlation is found to be highly significant. The proportion of the variance of Y set and X set variables accounted for the first canonical variate is 95.76%. Redundancy coefficient for Y set given X set is 65.38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commodities play a vital role in the development of emerging economies, like India. From this perspective, the study presents dynamic correlation in the prices of gold, crude oil, exchange rate and Indian stock market from April 01, 2014 to March 28, 2018. VARMA-BEKK-GARCH model is estimated for return and volatility spillovers across markets. Bidirectional returns spillover was found between Nifty and WTI and WTI and Gold pair. Whereas the bidirectional volatility spillover between Nifty and Gold pair. From the DCC-GARCH correlational analysis, Gold was found to be effective hedging commodity for Indian stock investors than Crude Oil. The asymmetric impact of shocks in covariance is observed between Nifty 50 and all other variables. The study focuses to aid investors and portfolio diversifiers while taking investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow of information and volatility coming from stock markets of other countries have significant impact on the stock market of a country. Volatility is even higher in the case the countries enjoy good economic conditions among themselves. The present manuscript aims to probe into the spread of impacts over a large range of returns and volatility in four major equity markets of Asia viz. India, China, Hongkong and Japan for a period of 18 years ranging from 2000 to 2017. The study uses VAR based GARCH model to determine the volatility spillover among the chosen countries for the period under assessment. The empirical outcomes of the study present that all selected markets have responded to their own lag of conditional volatility along with news shocks. The impact of conditional variance is higher in comparison to shocks which is an indication that markets fundamentals are stronger than corrections or shocks. The results of cross country spillover show that volatility of Shanghai Stock Exchange of China and shocks from Japan and Hongkong markets assert a significant effect over volatility of Indian equity market. Volatility of stock markets of Japan and China is not affected by the cross market volatility and shocks spillover from India. In contrast, volatility of Hongkong market is affected by shocks and volatility of Indian equity markets. Findings of the research have meaningful insights for the Governments and regulators, academicians, researchers, investors and fund managers in framing investment strategies in the chosen markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was carried out during 2013-2014 at Experimental Research Farm, College of Agriculture, Indore, Rajmata Vijayaraje Sindhia Agriculture University, Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). The experimental material for the present investigation was comprised of eight varieties of potato which was shown in Randomized complete block design with three replications. The result indicated that, potato variety Kufri Arun was observed best for growth i.e. days to 50% germination (18.85%), no. of branches plant-1 (4.0,5.73,8.53 at 30,45,60 DAP), plant height (23.22,44.30,59.35 cm), no. of leaves plant-1 (11.07,17.40,19.83), leaf length (5.20, 5.66, 5.82 cm), leaf width (3.83, 4.46, 4.49 cm), diameter of stem (3.01, 3.25, 3.85 cm) and dry weight plant-1 (22.26, 23.17, 60.34 g), leaf area plant-1 (208.30, 396.36, 4.84.13 cm2), leaf area index (0.173,0.330,0.404), net assimilation rate (0.049, 0.0746 mg cm2 day-1 at 45-30 and 60-45 DAP ) and crop growth rate (0.1347,1.2390 g cm2 day-1) respectively, yield characters i.e. early days to haulm cutting (75), days to early maturity (90), number of rottubers plant-1 (1.00), weight of rottubers plant-1 (40.66 g), total tubers yield plot-1 (32.55 kg), marketable total tubers yield plot-1 (32.02 kg), total tubers yield (361.63 q ha-1), total marketable tubers yield (355.82 q ha-1) was recorded maximum with KufriArun, it was also observed best in qualitative traits. Maximum marketable tuber yield of 355.82 (q ha-1) was obtained in KufriArun by net return of ' 277036 (ha-1) and cost benefit ratio 1:4.52. Hence, adoptability of KufriArun for commercial production in malwa condition would be best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the characteristics and evolution over the last ten years of the commodities trade specialization of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (CIBS). Unlike earlier studies, this work offers an evolutionary and comprehensive assessment of the trade challenges posed by CIBS to the global trading system. To this end, we adopt the notion of “trade specialization cluster,” i.e., a group of countries sharing a common trade specialization at a level higher than experienced in countries outside the group. Clusters are drawn by using the crisp cluster technique. Our findings contribute to partial mitigation of the pessimistic view which looks at CIBS as a source of threat to the developed world—with the relevant exception of China—while highlighting a competitiveness threat for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This introduction reviews the experience of the water and sanitation sector since the 1990 New Delhi Statement - Some for All Rather than More for Some. It explores the policy pathways and contested politics that took place as a result of three key years in the early 1990s, from the issuing of the New Delhi Statement in 1990, through the Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development in 1992, to the output of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. These key events have shaped policy and practice over a period of two decades, including generating major contestation over the idea of water as an economic good. Past lessons suggest that the wider global water and sanitation community needs to rethink approaches and emphases, shifting from targets and global pronouncement to issues concerning sustainability, global/local mismatches, contested knowledges, equity, politics and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past, geographical indications (GIs) have emerged as a significant intellectual property rights issue in the Indian context. Since 15 September 2003, when the Indian GI Act came into force, more than a hundred Indian products have been registered as GIs. However, there are several practical challenges confronting the stakeholders in India when it comes to the realization of the potential benefits ingrained in GIs. Apart from effective enforcement of the rights in the relevant markets (domestic and export), the success of a GI is contingent, in a large measure, upon appropriate marketing and promotion of the product—tasks that are not only resource-intensive but also challenging to execute for many stakeholders from a developing country like India. It is all the more tricky to ensure that a fair share of the benefits accruing from the GI status of a product reaches the actual producers/artisans downstream in the supply chain, unless an appropriate institutional mechanism is set in place towards that end. Against this backdrop, the article attempts to explore the prospects for India in exploiting the potential benefits embedded in GIs and the key challenges confronting the country in its endeavour to realize such benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores what anthropology has to say about contemporary business strategies for market expansion among poor consumers in Africa and Asia. Focusing on the activities of global consumer goods company Unilever in India, we show how anthropology can provide valuable insights into the hidden work and power relations involved in transforming an everyday commodity like soap into a composite object, what we call a ‘social good’, that is capable of simultaneously combating disease, tackling poverty and realizing value for shareholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the retail reports of retail market in India. It mentions that Indian retailers check the quality of every new products in the industry. In addition, it presents factors to consider to provide excellent products and services. According to the author, technological innovations is a big help to retailing and gives high quality on products. Moreover, the author states that for a retail report to be successful, there should be objectives, strategic planning and proper management.

The purpose of the study was to explore how individual/personal and group-level factors influence Indian consumers' adoption of new food products. The results reflect the interdependence of consumers' individual views and beliefs with those of the group. Indian consumers' perceived characteristics of new foods and their innovativeness are key personal-level factors in impacting their new food purchase decisions. Reflecting collectivist tendencies, interpersonal communication sources and subjective norms at the group level are important mediators of Indian consumers' new food purchases. Marketing implications for food businesses are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the participation of coastal Andhra in the Bay of Bengal trade network, primarily in the context of an inscription from Ghantasala in Andhra Pradesh, India. A Prakrit inscription found in Ghantasala showed a donation of an ayaka pillar by the wife of a master mariner. The numismatic evidence supported the fact that the eastern seaboard and the Andhra coast were an important part of the maritime network of Bay of Bengal.

In a period when the global market is generally supposed to be erasing local meaning and applying uniform significance to objects and consumers, cultural commodity politics are in fact proliferating. Drawing on the case of the Indian meat economy, I argue here that the further that commodities travel in economic life, the more they affect and are affected by non-economic systems of signification. Specifically, the expanding livestock commodity chain in India has increased the political and social visibility of a long-standing carnivorous tradition, and meat is increasingly leveraged for social and political power in surprising ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines rural poverty and the rising prices of basic commodities in India. Relation between consumer prices and rural poverty; Impact of sudden consumer price increases on low income households; Effect of adverse agricultural conditions on a state.

The article demonstrates that accounting for differences in qualities of a commodity can have implications for tariff policy. In particular, optimum tariffs depend on price as well as cross price elasticities of demand between the different qualities. In addition, the modeling of quality differentiated products can be used to derive restrictions on demand equations which aid in the empirical estimation of demand for such goods. Based on these estimates, it appears as if India has considerable scope to influence market prices of tea in each quality. Both types of Indian tea sell at a considerable price premium compared to Sri Lankan tea, suggesting that there are few good substitutes, especially for north Indian teas. Optimum tariffs are 14% higher for the high quality tea than the low quality tea, but are very high for both qualities of tea. In the past, India has used tariffs, which did indeed vary with the quality of tea by establishing a system of progressive tariffs with respect to prices. Since 1966, however, the progressivity has been reduced and ceilings on export tariffs have been established which actually favor exports of "quality" teas.

The article discusses teaching materials offered by readers of "Radical Teacher" publication that they found useful in the classroom. A teacher at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland asked his students to research and represent a global commodity chain to be uploaded at wiki website he created. The Trinity teacher states that students benefit in the method is by being able to reflect on the complexities of global connections through practical hands-on research. Another teacher in India uses the poem "First, They Said," by Alice Walker to teach students regarding culture and society.