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This paper explores the evolution of the postmodern novel in Indian writings in English, with a specific focus on The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. Through a close analysis of the novel's themes, structures, and techniques, the paper argues that The Great Indian Novel represents a significant shift in the trajectory of Indian literature, moving beyond the constraints of colonial and nationalist narratives. Drawing on the theories of postmodernism and postcolonialism, the authors examine how Tharoor's novel challenges traditional notions of history, identity and power, and instead offers a complex and nuanced vision of India's past and present. The study also considers the reception of The Great Indian Novel, both within India and abroad, and discusses its impact on the broader field of Indian literature. Overall, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the postmodern novel in India and its role in shaping contemporary literary discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of technology and its advancements have brought various fundamental and structural changes to various sectors of the economy, including the banking sector. In India, the move towards e-banking was initiated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by relying upon several recommendations provided by high-level committees formed for promoting the growth of information technology in the field of banking. In the current scenario, digital payment methods have replaced conventional paper-based methods due to their costefficiency and expediency. However, it is accompanied by certain challenges, such as poor security measures followed by institutions, which in turn create reputational, operational, or legal risks as they might lead to the disclosure and misuse of sensitive personal information of customers. In order to combat such risks and meet the challenges, the legal framework needs to be strengthened and made more stringent, while specific laws governing electronic payments need to be complied with. The paper examines the relevance of the growing electronic fund transfer systems in India, issues associated with them, existing statutory provisions, and directions issued by the RBI to combat such challenges, and offers suggestions to strengthen the legal framework in order to protect customers as well as participating institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the extent of corporate disclosure in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) reports of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. A sample of 55 companies is taken, and based on the disclosure checklist containing 52 information items, the extent of disclosure is measured both at the aggregate level and with respect to different reporting areas of the MD&A report. It is found that average level of aggregate disclosure is 64.8%, which is moderately high. The maximum disclosure score is 90% and minimum 25%. The variation in the extent of disclosure among the sample companies is measured by range and standard deviation, which are 65% and 11.2%, respectively. As far as disclosure in specific areas of the MD&A report is concerned, a few companies have made 100% disclosure in respect of industry structure and development, risk and concern, and segment reporting, while some have made no disclosure about outlook information. The overall results suggest that there exists scope for improving the quality of disclosure in MD&A reports of Indian companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) policy of free and fair trade has led to persistent decline in the average world trade tariff rates. It also ensured prior ratification of non-tariff measures implemented by countries. At the same time, countries across the world have introduced trade facilitation measures to ensure smooth flow of goods across borders. Despite these, countries still face substantial trade barriers. Against this backdrop, using data from India, the present paper aims at analyzing the impact of trade barriers on its exports by calculating a bilateral trade restrictiveness index based on tariff, non-tariff and border administrative and regulatory measures. The results show that trade restrictions faced by a country depend on its export basket composition, specific export products and its export destinations and hence are unique to each country. They confirm the existence of substantial trade barriers for a country, as against the general perception that trade restrictions have declined over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the root of the second wake of export pessimism is the argument that exportled growth (ELG) models suffer from a fallacy of composition. Under constrained global demand, all exporting nations cannot simultaneously pursue ELGs, and the ensuing battle for markets would eventually cause more competitive exporters to drive out or displace less competitive ones. Considering how the Indian economy has witnessed a deceleration in her export of services since the mid-2000s, this paper enquires whether similar export-displacements could have lent to this status quo. Using bilateral service trade data for the years 2005-2015, the paper tests the displacement or crowding out of India’s export of services to advanced OECD nations by exports from other developing and emerging market economies. Our results show the remarkable presence of complementarity between service exports from India and that from other exporting powerhouses like China, Singapore and Vietnam, though the country appears to have been losing markets for her prime services to certain emerging exporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient sugarcane production is crucial in today’s competitive agricultural landscape. Traditional planting methods are cost-intensive and time-consuming and often fail to achieve adequate compression of buds due to the stalk planting nature of sugarcane. To address these challenges, a novel approach using machine vision to identify and plant sugarcane nodes is proposed. Sugarcane holds significant economic importance in India and various other countries, making its cultivation a cornerstone of many economies. The development of a sugarcane node cutting machine aims to revolutionize the process of preparing sugarcane seedlings. This machine streamlines the time-consuming task of cutting nodes, thereby reducing waste and effort associated with traditional methods. The paper focuses on designing and testing a machine for efficiently cutting sugarcane buds, intending to mechanize the preparation stage of sugarcane seedlings. By cutting undamaged bud-containing sugarcane stalks, this machine eliminates the need for laborious manual cutting, providing a timesaving and cost-effective solution for farmers. Furthermore, by measuring cutting force and power requirements, the research aimed to optimize the efficiency of sugarcane cutting processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns had a deleterious impact on violence against women. Infact, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres even called a halt to the "global surge in domestic violence" and pressed for a domestic violence "ceasefire." The UN termed violence against women a "shadow pandemic." The National Commission for Women in India reported that there was a surge in complaints related to domestic violence during the lockdown. Officially reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg, as underreporting of these crimes is a major problem. In light of this background, the paper seeks to find a correlation between domestic violence and other crimes against women. It highlights that domestic violence and other crimes against women may have common underlying causal factors. Knowledge of the interlinkage between the two can help in devising strategies to counter all crimes against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has heightened tourists' environmental awareness resulting in a desire for green hotels. Existing literature has extensively examined tourists' attitudes and behaviors towards green hotels, but there is a scarcity of research on employees' perceptions of these accommodations. The study investigates the determinants of green behavior among 220 green hotel employees from India using an established behavioral theory called Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R). Structural equation modeling and related statistical techniques are employed to analyze the data gathered from a structured survey. The primary findings indicate that green purchases largely impact normative objectives, implying inadequate significance. Green product and process innovations have a significant impact on employees' green workplace behavior by influencing their hedonic, gain, and normative goals. The study examines human resource management sustainability in Indian hospitality and tourism sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary international relations, the term 'Indo-Pacific' has started acquiring tremendous significance. The very conceptualization of Indo-Pacific is perceived from multiple vantage points, however, the geo-strategical dimension appears to be dominating. Almost all the major powers have started reorienting their policies towards the region. India has also welcomed the Indo-Pacific construct, as it opens up an array of opportunities by expanding India's sphere of interest to the Pacific. This renewed orientation of the new spatial construct inevitably compels India to relocate its priorities in terms of responding to the changing regional balance of power equations as well as addressing the plethora of traditional and non-traditional security concerns in the extended neighborhood. India, therefore, needs to opt for a more pragmatic approach to effectively engage in the region without jeopardizing its national interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists a lacuna in nonaudit services (NAS) literature regarding its determinants. This study is an attempt to provide preliminary evidence on various drivers of NAS in the context of an emerging nation like India. It is based on secondary data of the top 50 nonfinancial firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, spanning the period 2017-2021. NAS is measured by natural log of NAS (LnNAS) and NAS fee ratio (FEERATIO), calculated as NAF divided by the sum of audit fee and nonaudit fee (NAF). The study uses Random Effects Model to identify the determinants of NAS. To check the robustness of the results, the study further employs generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. The findings bring to light growth, liquidity, audit committee effectiveness, brand name of auditor, audit tenure and audit fees as intrinsic factors influencing the NAS purchase decisions of a firm. Interestingly, the study does not find any significant influence of firm size and board size on both the employed measures of NAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is embracing ‘smart tourism’ by leveraging technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, mobile apps and augmented reality (AR) to provide personalized experiences for visitors. This technology revolution is transforming India’s tourism industry, but challenges such as cyber security and cultural authenticity remain. An empirical study reveals significant connections between positive perceptions of AI, AR and technology’s role in ecofriendly initiatives and sustainability within smart tourism. This study looks at future where technology seamlessly blends with India’s unique tourism offerings, creating unforgettable experiences, while ensuring responsible and sustainable development. The analysis reveals significant correlations between respondents’ opinions regarding various aspects of smart tourism such as AI integration, AR usage, technology in ecofriendly initiatives and sustainability. These technologies improve crowd management, resource optimization and visitor experience, transforming tourism perception and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how household inflation expectations relate to realized inflation, and uses biased expectations hypothesis (BEH) to understand the association between inflation expectations and realized inflation in the food sector. Household survey data, wholesale price index (WPI), and consumer price index (CPI)-based data on inflation are used in the study and the data was sourced from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Government of India. The obtained results were cross-validated using auto-SARIMAX algorithm in a machine learning (ML) framework. The study finds that expected and realized inflation have significant causal relationships; this further supports BEH and reveals how household inflation expectations impact actual market inflation, and vice versa. Hence, these are broadly complementary. However, changes may occur in these aspects, and households and markets must prepare for these changes and plan their future accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in shaping the export trajectory of the Indian automobile sector. The study uses VECM technique to determine the existence of cointegration between FDI inflows and exports of automobile industry, and to check the long-run and short-run dynamism among the variables. It uses annual time series data on exports and FDI inflows in the industry by considering Indian rupee real effective exchange rate (REER) and world GDP as control variables. The study finds that FDI inflows positively and significantly affect the exports of automobile industry in India in the long run. The findings also validate the J-curve theory of effect of depreciation on the exports of automobile industry that depreciation of Indian rupee has a favorable effect on the exports or trade balance of this industry. The study finds a significant relationship between FDI inflows and exports in only one direction, i.e., running from FDI inflows to exports of the industry. Furthermore, the results show that there is bidirectional causality between India’s rupee REER and FDI inflows in automobile industry. The results suggest that providing a conducive environment to foreign players would positively impact the exports of the automobile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]