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This study examines whether investing in R&D reduces the impact of exogenous shocks like the COVID‐19 on stock market performance and accounting performance of manufacturing firms in India. For the sample of listed manufacturing firms, the paper finds that the firms engaged in R&D activities had lower negative cumulative abnormal return than those firms that did not invest in R&D in the pre‐pandemic period using multiple event windows. The result suggests that R&D investments can lower value erosion for the shareholders during a severe crisis period. Further, using a difference‐in‐difference fixed effects model, the study finds that manufacturing firms engaged in R&D activities in the pre‐pandemic period exhibited higher return on sales and growth of total income during the pandemic quarter vis‐à‐vis the non‐R&D firms. The favorable accounting performance indicates the possibility of firm‐level R&D being associated with the firm's ability to adjust its functioning during a crisis, thereby reducing the effect of the crisis. Finally, the study documents that government intervention to reduce the spread of the virus had a differential impact on firms based on their industry of operation. The findings have implications for investors, corporate managers, and policymakers in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study provides empirical evidence on how Indian Accounting Standards (Ind‐AS hereinafter) adoption has affected earnings management (EM hereinafter) in India. The study uses the Beneish Model and Modified Jones model to detect EM. The sample of the study comprises 240 companies listed in the S&P BSE MidSmallCap index for the period 2013–2019. The results of the Modified Jones model reveal that Ind‐AS have no significant effect on EM. However, the Beneish model shows that all ratios except leverage index have a significant relationship with EM after Ind‐AS adoption. Nine industries out of 28 sample industries are suspectable to indulge in manipulating financial statements. The ratio of manipulators to nonmanipulators has grown after Ind‐AS adoption. The paper adds to the literature by examining the impact of new accounting standards on EM in an emerging economy. The findings of the study would be relevant to the public accounting bodies, regulators, accounting professionals, and the public at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government around the globe are striving to improve their public finance to meet their public expenditures and for sustainable development of their economies. However, the capability of the governments to generate adequate revenue is limited and refrained by numerous factors. The non‐compliance behavior of GST taxpayers is one of the major factors attributed to this phenomenon. Therefore, this paper endeavors to frame and validate a comprehensive instrumental scale with the application of the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for analyzing the determinants of compliance behavior of GST taxpayers in India. The current study has adopted the quantitative design through exploratory and confirmatory studies by incorporating qualitative semi‐structured interviews with 100 GST consultants to validate the instrumental scale. The study has collected a random sample of 339 GST taxpayers using snowball random sampling. Meanwhile, the study has employed the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for analyzing the collected data. The result affirms six major factors in determining the compliance behavior of GST taxpayers explaining 65.166% of the total variance. The findings have instituted perceived complexity, trust and moral obligation in addition to three major constructs of TPB theory namely attitude behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control of the GST taxpayers. The results explicate that the compliance behavior of GST taxpayers is a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon and it is critical for GST authorities to comprehend the compliance behavior of GST taxpayers. The result explicates that there is a need to simplify and rationalize the GST system in India to increase voluntary compliance of taxpayers. The results also endorse for building trust between GST taxpayers, GST authorities and the state. This study may act as a baseline for formulating policies and strategies on GST in India. There is hardly any national and international study that has applied the extended theory of planned behavior for studying the antecedents of compliance behavior of GST taxpayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thrust on insurance‐financed health systems may reduce Out‐of‐pocket health spending. But health insurance penetration among Indian elderly is abysmally low. In this context, the paper intends to examine the factors affecting demand for various types of insurances among Indian elderly. Data were drawn from 71st round (2014–15) "Key Consumption: Health" household survey data collected by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), Government of India. A total number of 27,245 older adults were selected for this study. In addition to basic descriptive statistics, we employ logistic regression models to conduct the econometric analysis. Socioeconomic, health‐related and contextual predictors are considered in this study. The results show that the probability of health insurance coverage among elderly significantly depends on income, education, disease types, caste, family size, and most importantly, social relationships. The underprivileged groups have higher likelihood to be covered by government‐funded insurance, while the older people with higher income and education, having spouses and less number of children, and residing in urban areas have a higher likelihood of purchasing private health insurance. The study identified the factors responsible for low demand for health insurance among elderly. The study suggests the expansion of private insurance network, especially, in the underserved rural areas, along with generating financial awareness among the elderly. The study also suggests an inclusive model of health insurance demand, which may be adopted by future empirical studies to find out the significant factors affecting health insurance demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the sustainability of the current account deficit (CAD) and validity of the intertemporal budget constraint of India for the period of 1980 to 2019. The cointegration results show that exports and imports are not cointegrated and the current account (CA) series is not mean reverting during the study period. Therefore, the results refute the sustainability of CAD and the validity of the intertemporal budget constraint in the Indian context. Furthermore, the study also emphasised the testing of the disaggregated CA and found that while the goods account is not sustainable, the services account found to be sustainable in the long run. Our findings thus indicate the potential for aggregation bias to have an impact on the overall CA sustainability results. Therefore, policies that help in achieving self‐sufficiency on the one hand and export promotion in goods on the other may eventually contribute to CA sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to assess employee emotional responses of organizations undergoing Mergers and Acquisitions and middle‐level manager role in managing these emotional responses in the post‐acquisition phase. The study is empirical in which a total of 215 responses from middle managers, involved in six Mergers and Acquisitions, were considered. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing standard scales of employee emotions during change, and middle manager role tested in other change contexts. The psychometric properties of the measures are established before testing the hypotheses. The results indicated that middle managers involvement in the strategy could enhance their commitment, which can reduce resistance to change and smoother integration. The results highlighted the importance of leveraging the middle manager role, given the post‐merger phase's criticality to achieve the desired synergies. One of the fundamental strengths of the paper is the rigors undertaken in selecting the companies representing an apt radical change context to test the theory of emotional balancing. The application of the concept of emotional balancing in the radical change context of Mergers and Acquisitions and its empirical validation is an original contribution to the field of knowledge in change management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dynamic chain of financial activities and services can be served from debtors to creditors in the international economy through an efficient and effective financial sector. The motivation behind this study is to investigate the linkages between financial inclusion and financial development in India during the period (1980–2017). For this, the study employ principal component analysis (PCA) to construct both financial inclusion index and financial development index which measures financial access and financial depth position respectively. Using a set of determinants related to financial inclusion and financial development, the present study estimates there is a unidirectional relationship between financial inclusion and financial development in India. So, it reveals that financial inclusion is an essential element for financial sector development especially in a developing country like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of testing and social distancing measures on the severity of COVID19 across Indian states during the 68th day nationwide lockdown period. We also explore whether pre‐existing socio‐economic factors such as quality of health care and the ability to practice social distancing influences the effect of these policy measures across states. Using daily level data between April 1 and May 31 for 18 of the major states, we find that both testing and social distancing have a negative effect on COVID‐19 fatalities in India. Further, testing is more helpful in reducing CFR for states with lower per capita health expenditure and weaker medical infrastructure. This highlights how ramping up testing can aid states that have a weak health care system through the detection of infection, contact tracing and isolation. In contrast, social distancing measures are more effective in states that are less populous and have lesser people dwelling in single‐room houses. Our results confirm the role of pre‐existing institutional factors in shaping the effect of policy actions on health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the dynamics of the impact of the evolving policy response during the COVID‐19 pandemic on the equity market sentiment in India. We operationalise our study by examining the India VIX, the fear gauge of the Indian equity market as an indicator for the market sentiment, and the country level Government Response Index of the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University as an indicator for the policy response. The relation is examined through the Markov‐switching model using high‐frequency daily data from January 30, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The evidence suggests that the policy response has a positive impact on the market sentiment when the market is fearful. Further, the evidence suggests that both the high‐fear state and the low‐fear state of the market sentiment given by the model are short‐lived indicating heightened volatility and possible speculation during the ongoing pandemic in the Indian equity market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a democratic country like India, citizens expect quality public services, from the government. The information technology‐enabled versions of public services cannot be an exception. In order to develop strategies leading to increasing levels of satisfaction of the citizens, the quality of the services should be analyzed. For efficient and effective public service delivery, many countries all over the world attempt to develop the transparent and accountable online system to bring the citizen's faith in governance. The present study attempts to check that does the e‐service quality of the online grievance redress portal satisfy the student users. Dimensions and construct of the proposed model were extracted from literature, a survey was conducted by employing a questionnaire, soliciting inputs from 677 respondents. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) modeling was used to drive the results. Results indicates that security and privacy, is the utmost significant dimensions for student satisfaction as it helps to develop trust in the online e‐governance system to bring satisfaction that increases the usage of the grievance portal It is followed by reliability and delivery of quality of information. The demographic variable, gender observed to be not having a significant relationship with the students' satisfaction concerning e‐government services. The limitations and future research scope of the study are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate the technical efficiency of Indian pension funds using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and to assess the reasons of inefficiency if any. This article analyzes the efficiency performance of all the pension funds available to Indian subscribers from the year 2015–2019 using radial measurers (BCC) of DEA based on secondary data collected from the annual reports of New Pension System Trust. Findings indicate that the average efficiency of Indian pension funds was 75.38% and this sector experienced overall stability in the average efficiency levels during the study period. Almost 40% of the pension funds operated efficiently in one or more years during the study period. The minimum slack was found in the input "expense ratio." This confirms that risk associated with investments is the cause of inefficiency and not the expense ratio in the Indian pension sector. Tobit regression is applied to explore the main drivers of efficiency in the India pension funds. The study finds that fund size has positive association with the efficiency of the pension funds. Public sector funds were more efficient than the private sector funds. This study is first of its kind that has assessed the efficiency of Indian pension funds. The study brings into light the operating characteristics and efficiencies of the Indian pension funds for the period 2015–2019 and therefore holds important insights for policy makers, practitioners, and decision‐makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investments in Indian Medical Tourism (MT) have been growing at a greater rate than the global standards. However, unfortunately, Indian legislations have not managed to keep pace with this phenomenal growth, and have thereby been lacking in forming specific amendments, coupled with both preventive and compensative decrees. Moreover, safety and security have emerged as an aggregated inter‐web of complex multi‐dimensional components, encompassing aspects such as "public and personal data safety," "legal protection of tourists," "consumers" "protection," and so on. The internet has affected "data integration," "storage," "exchange" exposing thereby the possibilities of security breaches. All of these, in amalgamation, call for elevating the overall hygiene of India's growing medical tourism industry. Based upon this backdrop, this study looks into the theories of security, privacy, and consumerism, and the need for preventive cybercrime laws in India's medical tourism sector, especially considering several technical vulnerabilities that do exist. In this endeavor, I reviewed and analyzed journals and government policies, and have looked to identify some of the fallacies and gaps. Additionally, I also attempted to identify some of the needs that exist in MT's cybersecurity space, both within the Indian and international contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporations have come to the realization that numerous benefits can be derived by being socially responsible in the societies they operate. Presently, the argument is not just about being a good corporate citizen but the ability of a business to communicate its social contributions to the stakeholders. Therefore, the present study examines the extent of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) practices by NIFTY 100 companies in the voluntary period of CSRD and the period after the implementation of Section‐135 of the Companies Act, 2013. The annual reports of companies are content analyzed using a CSRD measurement index to calculate disclosure score under six themes of corporate social responsibility, namely community development, human resource, environmental activities, development of rural areas, product and customer relation, and fair business. The percentage of companies making CSRD has been increasing over the period of study. In both periods, environmental activities is the most disclosed CSRD theme followed by human resource. Moreover, the results have shown a significant difference in the CSRD practices of sectors. Overall, companies operating in more sensitive sectors and high visibility sectors engage more in CSRD practices. Lastly, the results also indicate that companies have focused on different CSR themes depending on their sector type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of social exclusion refers to the processes through which some groups are wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the society in which they live. In light of this concept of social exclusion, the manuscript attempts to analyze the position of women in the north‐eastern Indian states especially in the state of Assam and Manipur. Women in the north‐eastern region of India are relatively better than their counterparts elsewhere in the country in terms of mobility, life choices, space in their lives, and so on. Various indices also give us the idea of a comparatively better position of women in the north‐eastern states of India. However, albeit the north‐eastern women incline to relish a higher status in cognation to their peers in the rest of India yet the cultural and customary traditions, discriminate against women in inordinate respect, and women in this region also face discrimination on many fronts, more so in the patriarchal societies of Assam and Manipur which has been highlighted in this manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) revolution has radically improved connectivity across the globe and pervaded into most aspects of modern human life. The benefits of ICT can only be appropriated by those with access to the technology and capabilities to use the same. India's ICT adoption has been rapid since the year 2000, but with sizable disparities across the country. This study surveys the correlates of ICT adoption and its use capabilities in India. It has been observed that income, education and household demographics are strong determinants of household ICT adoption, while education, age and gender are strong classifiers for variations in an individual's ICT use capabilities. The findings will be useful for having informed discussions on taking strategic decisions to bridge India's digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus Disease (COVID‐19) a pandemic due to the huge upsurge in the number of reported cases worldwide. The COVID‐19 pandemic in India has become a public health threat, and if we go by the number of confirmed cases then the situation seems to be a matter of grave concern. According to real‐time data, the numbers of confirmed cases are growing exponentially. No doubt, substantial public health interventions both at the national and state levels are implemented immediately by the Government of India; there is a need for improved preparedness plans and mitigation strategies along with accurate forecasting. The present study aims to forecast the COVID‐19 outbreak infected cases in India. The data have been obtained from https://www.covid19india.org, https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus, and ICMR reported publicly available information about COVID‐19 confirmation cases. We have used the double exponential smoothing method for forecasting the trends in terms of confirmed, active, recovered and death cases from COVID‐19 for emergency preparedness and future predictions. Findings reveal that the estimated value of point forecast is just 8.22% of the total number of confirmed cases reported on a daily basis across the country. It was observed that the deaths were lower for the states and union territories with a higher detection rate. It is suggested that by keeping in view the limited healthcare resources in the country, accurate forecasting, early detection, and avoidance of acute care for the majority of infected cases is indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To contain the spread of the Covid‐19 pandemic, the mandated social distancing and restricted market activities have adversely affected the employment and earnings of the poor who are considered the targeted beneficiaries of the Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). The MFI operation and more specifically fresh lending are under serious threat as the mode of operations primarily involve physical interaction while distributing credits at the clients' doorsteps, conducting periodic group meetings and carrying out regular collections. This short article attempts to analyze the various challenges that MFIs may encounter in their current and future operations due to the ongoing pandemic. It discusses how the government initiated coping mechanisms may help MFIs overcome or minimize the pandemic challenges. At the same time, MFIs' efforts towards continued services are expected to create a win‐win situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]