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Environmental pollution caused by carbon emissions is an emerging issue to study among researchers. The nexus between environmental pollution and carbon emissions has motivated researchers to evaluate the impact of cleaner energy on carbon emissions. This study further contributes to the research by examining the above relationship by studying the asymmetric influence of nuclear energy (NE), industrial productivity (IP), and economic growth rate (GDP) on carbon emissions (CO 2 ) in India from 1975 to 2018 using the asymmetric autoregressive distribution lag approach. The results of the bound test and the Wald test show that in the long run, there is an asymmetric relationship between CO 2 , NE, GDP, and IP, and in the short run, there is a symmetric relationship between CO 2 , GDP, and IP. The result implies that increased usage of nuclear energy over fossil fuels and improvement in industrial productivity, in the long run, reduces CO 2 emission in India. Furthermore, the study concludes that the government should consider the asymmetric relationship between the variables and devise appropriate policies to increased nuclear energy and industrial productivity in India for environmental sustainability., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

South Asian economies has witnessed very slow growth over the years and the gap has widened manifold between other nations of Asia particularly East Asian nations and South Asian nations. This paper examines co-integration between the economic growth and reach of higher education in South Asian nations explaining this disparity. The research employed an econometric panel co-integration investigation to analyse the long run relationship of higher education and economic growth among these nations. The research confirmed positive long run causality between the economic growth of the South Asian nations and gross enrolment ratio of higher education. So, if the South Asian nations continue with their existing pattern of paying less attention to higher education by allocating low share of investment on it, poor human capital formation would result in growing further economic disparity between developed and South Asian nations where rich nations would remain richer and poor nations would remain poor with the gap remaining unabridged. This research will serve as an aid to policy makers, educators and financers of South Asian nations to bridge the gap between high- and low-income nations. The focus on the quantum of spending on higher education by the government will help improve the reach of tertiary education and build economic prosperity in these nations.

The concept of Southern Theory is a response to Northern sociological theory, which is considered to be incomplete because it does not consider global dynamics, which would include the life-experiences of people of the South and the impact of socio-cultural changes brought about by colonialism and globalization. Raewyn Connell introduced the term Southern Theory to emphasize the intellectual power and political relevance of social thought emanating from formerly colonized countries. The term Southern Theory can be confusing, overarching theories that incorporate new ideas that would represent the experiences of unequal development are imperative in a globalized world. The ideas of non-violence and moral togetherness that Gandhi represented are discussed in this paper along with his education experiments and theories. Being radical, his educational ideas were not accepted in India after independence because the country needed to "catch-up" with the development of industrialized countries after centuries of colonial subjugation. But his profoundly different ideas of achieving social/political change through non-violence, and his ideas on education for working towards a social order free from exploitation and violence, represented local needs and a new way of looking at society and education.

This study examines links between Morgan and Stanley capital Investment (MSCI), foreign direct investment (FDI), renewable energy, urbanization, and trade openness on environmental degradation in (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) BRICS countries. In this study, generalized method of moment (GMM) estimation is applied on a data set ranging from 1993 to 2018. Results illustrate that stock market index price (MSCI) has negative relationship on CO 2 emissions in India, China, Russia, and South Africa and has positive relationship in Brazil. One possible reason for this is strong environmental regulations and their enforcement by Brazilian government. The study also finds that trade openness, FDI, and urbanization have a significant positive relationship on environmental degradation. The impact of stock market development on environmental degradation varies among BRICS countries. Our outcomes have significant policy implications. For example, the policy makers have to initiate effective strategies to promote the renewable energy sources to meet the increasing demand for energy by replacing the use of conventional energy such as coal, gas, and oil. This will help to reduce the CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel and ensure sustainable stock market development in the BRICS nations. BRICS countries who have taken the initiative and formulated policies for businesses to conserve the environment play a positive role compared to those who do not.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the extent to which human resources development quantifies the economic growth of BRICS countries under the globalization era by controlling country differences. Design/methodology/approach: The study used the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and Scheffe pairwise comparison tests to quantify the impact of the variables and the level of difference among the BRICS countries onto human Resources development. Findings: The study observes that the impact of human resources development on economic growth of BRICS counties is significant but limited to few countries. The study reveals that countries such as India and South Africa are unable to utilize their human resources efficiently to promote economic growth, as compared with Russia, China and Brazil. The study further argues that there is urgent need of amalgam of various economic development theories keeping in mind the regional needs to extract the positive impact from human resource on economic development. Research limitations/implications: The single limitation of this research is that it was not possible to compare the results with other developing countries to unleash the capabilities of human resources development with regard to economic growth at the universal level. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first of its kind to analyze human resources development at a much deeper level. The paper has chosen variables which are important from the policy perspective of government rather than the working perspective, which is a great contribution. Further, for human index the variables chose covering major aspects of human development from spending perspective.

Climate change resulting from the higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a threat to the sustainability of life on earth. To ensure sustainable development, the study analyzed the impact of financial development, globalization, and energy use on the environmental quality of South Asian economies over the period 1990-2014. To account for cross-sectional dependence, Breusch-Pagan-Lagrange multiplier, Pesaran-scaled Lagrange multiplier, bias-corrected-scaled Lagrange multiplier, and Pesaran cross-sectional dependence tests are used. The second-generation tests are used to determine the stationarity level of the variables. Furthermore, the Westerlund panel cointegration test confirms cointegration among the variables. For long-run association, fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and pooled mean group estimators are used. The results suggest that financial development contributes to carbon emissions, whereas globalization has the potential to control emissions. The study also used Dumitrescu and Hurlin's (2012) panel causality test to explore the causal relationship among the variables. Unidirectional causality is observed from economic growth, globalization, and financial development to environmental degradation and from emissions to energy use, respectively. As financial development deteriorates environmental quality, therefore, the government should monitor the disbursement of loans for research and development, green financing, and efficient production that reduce resource consumption and improves environmental quality. Financial development should not compromise environmental quality and endanger sustainability. Furthermore, South Asian countries should promote globalization to support the inflow of green technologies to enhance environmental quality.

The growth stimulating effect of energy has been long established in economic literature. Consequently, researchers and policy makers are trying to identify socio-economic determinants of energy consumption in both developed and developing countries to conserve energy. In the present study, we attempt to examine the non-linear and asymmetric effect of human capital and income disparity on energy demand in India over the period 1970-2014. The findings propose long-run co-integrating relationship between human capital, income inequality, and energy demand in the presence of asymmetric framework. It is found that increased level of human capital results in energy conservation as it decreases the energy demand, and higher income gap also results in lower energy demand as poor section may have restricted access to energy sources. Finally, the asymmetric causality test results reveal that only positive shock in income inequality tends to cause energy demand. From policy stand point, it can be recommended that government policies should be designed and implemented towards improvements in human capital to achieve sustainable economic growth in India since human capital found to be a significant component in energy conservation.

Field of education is associated with herculean task and innate responsibility of escorting societies forward. Across space and time, it has been an unambiguous synthesis that education should precede any progress or change. It helps humans to understand themselves and better their interaction with rest of the society. Hence the field of education and dissemination of knowledge is very much a pivotal entity in the evolution of human civilisation. No country in the globe over centuries could afford to flourish on the paths of growth and development while ignoring the crucial role of education. Country like India where in there has been a perpetual struggle over the decades to overcome perils of colonisation and social stigmatisation reflective in terms of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. In order to overcome these bottlenecks 'knowledge dissemination' must spearhead the change. Apart from other funding inadequacies, infrastructural lacunae, education sector in India has also been grappling with certain innate contradicting and counterproductive structures. Hence in this paper we have made an effort to address and assess the nature and impact of these dichotomies over the field of Education in India.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of service marketing mix (SMM) as service input and service output in terms of students' performance, satisfaction and referral act in context to higher and technical education (HTE) through the application of structural equation modeling. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research, conducted through a self-administered survey composed by a closed-ended structured questionnaire, was incorporated for the students who were enrolled in the technical educational institutions situated in the Khandesh region of India. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that traditional SMM is statistically linked with the performance of students in terms of skill and knowledge enhancement, satisfaction and referral act of students, which are perceptible new emerging SMM; performance, pleasure and pointing out in terms of service output. Practical implications: Integrating SMM as service input and service output are productive for HTE in enhancing growth (quantitatively) by the inclusivity of diversified students and development (qualitatively) by enhancing their performance for global standing, making them satisfied and motivating them for recommending their institution to others. This integration can be utilized as a yardstick by the institutions for staying ahead in students' market with a distinctive competitive advantage. Social implications: Growth and development of HTE will raise a society's quality of life and thereby increase a country's socio-economic status. Originality/value: The study has exhibited SMM as input and output of a service system that is useful for the growth and development of HTE. The measurement tool presented is effective in (re)framing policies on SMM as service input based on desired service output.

The primary purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate the causes of educational poverty in less developed countries. The basic intent in carrying out such a study is to define and derive the role of governing agencies in deliberately creating educational poverty in the country, so that the private interest of the rich and powerful ruling class can be fully safeguarded. This study is of crucial interest to the common man because majority of the people living in less developed countries are poor in spite of the fact, that almost all these countries own ample human and material resources. However, the common man in these countries is continuously suffering, generation after generation, and has been denied access to basic amenities of life. The rich and powerful ruling class, in majority of the less developed countries, has intentionally denied basic education facilities to its people for keeping them ignorant and unaware of their fundamental rights to share national resources and to gain competence for comfortable living in the society. The paper advocates a complete reversal in economic growth policies of the less developed countries so that top priority is given to those projects and programs that directly benefit the common man in the society. In this respect, the author calls for awareness among the people to exercise their economic and social rights so that people of all the strata can share equally the fruits of growth and prosperity.

Which government does not want to generate hi-tech employment, high pay international jobs, spur industrial growth, and make education globally competitive? Then it must install research parks, incubators, Patent & IPR to facilitate commercial exploitation of sunrise technologies. Industries world over are seen flocking round the advanced knowledge centers to obtain brand new ideas for global competitiveness. Role of higher education has emerged central to industrial and economic development. Association with industry, venture capital firms, international agencies who succeeded in this cause is essential. The paper prescribes "dream big" for universities and colleges. They should aim at technology generation, technology diffusion, which is achieving high significance in enabling a nation to win. The paper emphasizes adoption of new organizational inventions like Research Park, which when implemented will contribute to India's international competitiveness. The institutions should have now to look beyond the traditional lines of teaching and learning and adapt to corporate development, and help industry to win. They should have to restructure themselves to become fountain heads of new knowledge and new technology. They should deserve the status of "Light House" for industry. People demand world class education. How can this be done? Synergy between industry and academics in this cause is vital. Parks have enhanced the scholarship of universities. They jointly can give economic and political stability to India. Will industry-institute interaction become a national priority? The paper recommends reforms in the light of experience elsewhere in the world.

How much is hegemony and how much is self-determination in the higher education systems in Southeast Asia? This paper argues that while the question of centre and periphery is still relevant to the analysis of international university systems, the analytical frameworks from which it has arisen may lose viability in the long term. Southeast Asian states are making use of higher education to act in ways that will contribute to the altering of their peripheral position in the global economic and political system. While changes in Southeast Asian higher education are closely tied to global markets and follow what sometimes appears to be a dependent pattern of adaptations driven by Western developed economies, the paper argues that there is also a significant amount of resistance. As Southeast Asian countries adapt in ways that help embed economic globalisation within their national landscape, the manner in which the adaptation occurs is more selective, open, and democratic than before. Moreover, while global communication with core (centre) university systems has been more open and transparent, the system is closed to direct intervention from the outside, making hegemony a less plausible explanation for the manner in which the system is reacting within the new global environment of financial interdependency.

The paper critically dissects the contemporary policy landscape and its ability to counter precarious work for construction workers in the Indian context. By focusing on the governance challenges faced by welfare institutions and the pre-existing fault lines exposed by the pandemic, the paper argues that social policies are languishing and inefficient to respond to the challenges of growing precarity. The paper uses Breman's conception of 'Footloose labour' to understand informality related to construction workers and Gilbert and Terrell's social policy analytical framework to understand the institutional response. The two major arguments that make the social policy languish are the inability of the policy to alter neoliberal employment relationships and the operational challenges that institutions face in implementing welfare schemes for many footloose labourers. Moreover, the situation is further exacerbated by inherent contradictions of the state which is entangled between promoting economic growth through neoliberal policies while consecutively ensuring labour welfare. If the Institutional challenges persist along with the persuasion of neoliberal reforms, footloose labour is only going to be further marginalized and pushed to limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion has done its best across the world to bring unbanked people to the mainstream of financial and banking services. However, the metamorphosis is slow and needs some shots in the arm. This paper attempts to explore ways to expedite the process of economic development of the poor through financial inclusion. A newer technology, Open API for banking (OAB), can support financial inclusion for economic development and the growth of the poor. There are two main reasons for the success of OAB. Many mobile-based applications use OAB. Therefore, OAB can easily piggyback on the success of mobile penetration. The meager cost and simple technology of OAB is another reason for its success, primarily when OAB is aimed at unbanked people of the world. Structured Equation Modelling is applied to successfully and empirically test the mediation role of OAB between financial inclusion and economic development of the poor. OAB is found to have complete mediation. This work is the only study that links OAB with financial inclusion and the economic development of the poor. OAB stands out among all the other digitalisation tools of financial services due to its exclusive features. OAB has considerable implications to expedite the execution of financial inclusion for the economic development of the poor. But, to extend its full impact on the economic development of the poor, OAB should be clubbed with financial inclusion as a policy. Otherwise, a good opportunity will remain confined mostly as an effective solution for digitalising payment services. The digital divide is supposed to be bridged by OAB. However, this paper has not addressed this issue empirically. Besides this, the synergetic effect of FI and OAB, which is strongly recommended in the study, needs empirical testing. Both the limitation of the study is the future scope of the topic. No other study was observed on the topic, where OAB is suggested to bridge the gap between financial inclusion and economic development of the poor. The study has immense potential to change the course of action of the policy on Financial Inclusion. Using the findings of the study, the policymakers can embark upon using the new innovative technology in a more concerted way for the social upheaval of the poor in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of university education on the economy of various countries. Design/methodology/approach: To determine the necessity and expedience of making provision for the effectiveness of university education on the market economy, this work uses the method of regression and correlation analysis. Evaluation of effectiveness of the system of university education is performed separately for students, state, and employers by taking as example countries with specially developed formulas. Findings: The authors substantiate the necessity for provision of effectiveness of university education on the market economy, view the effective system of university education as a basis for the development of a knowledge economy, determine approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of university education on the market economy, perform evaluation of effectiveness of the system of university education by the example of various countries, determine its connection with indicators of economic growth and development, and provide recommendations for provision of effectiveness of the system of university education on modern market economies. Practical implications: The practical value of results of the conducted research consists in the possibility to use the developed formulas for determining the level of effectiveness of the system of university education on various countries of the world. Originality/value: Theoretical value of this paper consists in the possibility for the application of authors' conclusions and recommendations in the process of development of the policy of management of effectiveness of university education system.

This paper is an attempt to examine the relationship between higher education and economic growth by taking a country case of the Republic of Korea and comparing this with the Republic of India to show how political educational decisions impact economic growth. Even though both countries began as relatively underdeveloped economies at the time of independence in the 1940s, this literature study shows that these two countries took different trajectories in organizing their higher education systems. Korea's strategic and sustained investment in education (along with the private sector) has eventually helped the economy to soar. India's economy, on the other hand, is still held back from strategizing and channeling its resources for the development of higher education in general. India appears to have been fallen prey to a competency trap of the general presumption among many policy makers that secondary and higher education may not be as necessary for economic growth. As a result, the economy will continue to suffer until the political commitment shifts toward investing in higher education and working with the private sector of vast potentials.

In this paper, we identify factors which improve the quality of technical education using the data from World Bank's Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) in India. We evaluate the success of TEQIP in improving the quality of technical education in the country. Our findings show significant impact of this intervention on the quality of the technical education. The design, strategy, and implementation of TEQIP have crucial lessons for developing countries who want to build their technical education sector for rapid economic growth.

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the role of human capital (HC), human resource development (HRD) and vocational educational and training (VET) in the emerging Indian economy. How may we define the HC, HRD and VET in India? To what extent and how as HRD investments in India contributed to India's recent economic development? What were the investments and what were the returns? Who invested and who obtained the returns? Is India really different from other countries? Design/methodology/approach: To achieve that goal, the authors use a model of the HC, HRD and VET national market. Specifically, they divide the analysis in four broad stages: stocks, investments and outcomes; supply, demand, price and quantity; needs; and private and public forces. Findings: The authors conclude that the India's HC, HRD and VET have been growing and will have to grow even more, for India to become developed. Currently, the urgency is even greater in the HRD and VET side than in the education side. The government goals for 2022 are immense, and the raise in the HRD and VET in India that is aimed will effectively change India's economy and society. Research limitations/implications: The authors only use secondary data. They believe that a deeper and very detailed study on all the States of India could be made, following this paper. Also, the analysis could be replicated for the other BRICS. Practical implications: India HRD and VET market is described as being one of the major India's problems of today and promises of tomorrow. Social implications: Today, only around ten million of India's citizens receive HRD and VET annually. This number is to be multiplied between 20 and 50 times. This change will change India's economy and society. Originality/value: Also, the authors believe that the paper is original because it analyzes India's HC, HRD and VET with a new conceptual model.

Growth is a concept of particular interest for economic discourse. This paper sets out to explore a small corpus of economic growth, which consists of articles from "The Economist". The corpus software used in this study is a web-based tool Wmatrix, an automatic tagging software able to assign semantic field (domain) tags, and to permit the extraction of key words and key semantic domains by applying the keyness calculation to tag frequency lists. The results show that at 99% confidence (or p < 0.01), the cut-off of 6.63 (log likelihood value) indicates that there are 1051 positive keywords (including multiword expressions) and 80 key semantic domains generated from the corpus. It is evident that BRICs or the emerging economies/markets, in particular China and India, are a big concern regarding economic growth over the past years. A number of examples of possible ways forward in teaching methodology are presented.

Skills acquisition is vital for any economic growth, particularly in an era of economic and technological changes. The need for skill development is a vital challenge, foremost for a developing nation, such as India. Therefore, vocational education and training (VET) is a direct means of providing workers with skills more relevant to their livelihood needs and generating a harmonized condition that should be linked directly to industry's needs and requirements. Skilling half a billion of India's population by 2022 is the biggest challenge and most ambitious goal ever set by the country in the field of education and training. On the one hand, there are millions of people in India who have a considerable level of skill in a particular area but they do not have any formal certification to verify their existing skills, and on the other hand they are unable to further improve upon this already acquired skill to be commensurate with industry's needs. Hence, there is a need for a way to credit these already acquired skills through a qualifications framework, against which individuals' skills could be mapped. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a relatively new concept for India. Presently no system has been developed in the skill training sector for assessment, accreditation and certification of prior learning. During 2013, the Government of India entrusted the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) with the responsibility for developing a robust system for assessment, accreditation and certification of prior learning by educational institutions, both in the formal and nonformal education sectors. A concerted effort has been made by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an examining body at the school level, devoted to disadvantaged groups using open distance learning (ODL) mode, under the auspices of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, for assessment, accreditation and certification of skills in the informal sector workforce with industry partners. An attempt has been made through this paper to portray the framework developed by NIOS, and to discuss the issues and challenges related to implementing RPL in a socio-economic environment as diverse as India's.

Merit Goods have always received handsome attention and allocation from countries which have witnessed a congruence between high significant economic growth and Human Development Index (HDI). The Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) have become significant manufacturing hubs by universalizing education and improving their Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR). Allocational priority to sectors like education, health and sanitation and their easy accessibility and affordability to people Below Poverty Line (BPL) hold the key to inclusive growth. The paper brings out how our poor development records in terms of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), and Gini Coefficient can be substantially mitigated by better allocational commitment, high Research & Development, allocation, improvement in factor productivity and global collaboration.

The world has achieved massive economic progress in the past few decades, along with population explosion and rapid urbanization/industrialization, the effects of which are being realized across the world in the form of global climate change with huge environmental impact. Though climate change is a natural phenomenon, the release of several greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere through human activities has made a greater contribution to global warming. The present paper is a review of Indian climate features/trends and their consequences across the country. Recent countrywide trends in some selected climatic parameters like rainfall and temperature have been depicted. India is an agrarian country and is exposed to various hydro-ecological vulnerabilities, particularly successively occurring, extreme, climatic hazards like drought, flood and cyclone. Based on some indices, possible vulnerable areas due to the effect of climate change have also been depicted. Although the analyses are based on national level secondary data on selected parameters, some region-specific micro-level studies may better reveal the significance of these vulnerabilities. The present paper an attempt to map the climate variability across the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criticality is the ability to question current theories and practices in any sector to make them more receptive to social realities. Empathy is the ability to identify with what someone else is thinking or feeling. Empathy forms the foundation for welfare state and its liberal social welfare programmes. The state-led development strategies during the post-war period stemmed from a belief in the idea of welfare state and in the redistribution of resources and opportunities in favour of the deprived groups. The market-led globalisation process has put brakes on the scope of welfare provisions even in democratic societies. The public-funded stimulus packages during the recent economic crisis helped save economies from market failure and reinforced the need for state intervention even for an efficient functioning of markets. Based on an analysis of global trends and Indian context, this paper argues for the need of the educational processes to develop criticality in thinking and empathy in action to help develop a support base for public policies benefiting the poor and the disadvantaged.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and draw attention to the potential benefits of solar power generation for access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) aimed at sustainable development in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: Electricity plays a crucial role in the development and use of ICT and in the process of striving to achieve sustainable development in emerging economies. It has been shown that electrical energy is intrinsically linked to economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development. An extensive analysis of the major contribution of solar electricity in various sectors such as economic, social and environmental benefits is provided. The paper concludes with a discussion on current status of solar electricity in major emerging economies, their planning policies and strategies for promoting solar power generation for increased access to ICT by people and sustainable development of society. Findings: The demand for electricity in residential, commercial and industrial sectors in developing countries (emerging economies) is likely to increase, both as a result of increase in population and expanding industrialization. It remains amongst others, a growing challenge for these nations to obtain and put in place reliable and secured electricity supplies, for accessing ICT and to work towards achieving sustainability. The important issues that must be considered and addressed for the successful implementation of solar electricity programs for sustainability and wellbeing in developing nations are pointed out. Practical implications: The paper shows that the problems of lack of qualified solar technicians and established Photovoltaic (PV) markets and business modes, renewable (solar) energy education have to be addressed. Other issues include appreciation of solar electricity as one of the major energy component, lowering initial cost of the PV technology, availability of finance mechanisms for customers, import tax exemption and regarding electricity as one of the basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Overhaul of existing systems needs to take place in order to provide the means to deal with some of these issues. Originality/value: Availability of power remains crucial for development in emerging markets. Solar electricity is of major interest for the energy sector in developing or emerging economies because it offers the possibility of generating renewable electricity using sunlight: a resource that is widely and freely available in most, if not all, developing countries. This paper raises awareness about this in a unique way and identifies problems faced by the sectors. To address some of these challenges without compromising the goal of sustainability and development, it is important that low carbon emitting electrical energy sources such as solar electricity are given high priorities by policy makers, industries and research and development institutions in emerging countries. Some innovative suggestions are provided for achieving this. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

This paper discusses the grassroots level understanding of poverty and wellbeing. There is rich debate and ever expanding literature on the meaning of wellbeing and poverty and their relationship in developing countries. In recent times wellbeing and poverty have been scrutinised within the discourse on multidimensionality of poverty. Most research outputs though are grounded in quantitative data. Investigations that focus on the perceptions and understandings of poor people about their situations remain sparse in the literature. The current study is an attempt to address this gap. The paper explores the common grounds and the points of departure between the researchers' views of poverty and wellbeing and the perception at the grassroots. The paper presents findings of primary research conducted by the author in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh and Madhubani district of Bihar in India. Semi-structured survey instruments were deployed to interview a selection of poor, marginal and non-poor households. In addition to identifying the commonalities in grassroots and researchers' understandings of poverty, the paper draws attention to factors that may be outside the radar of the researchers. It is envisaged that mapping a more holistic understanding of poverty and wellbeing will have important long-term policy implications for poverty reduction.

In this introductory paper of the Special Issue, we explore how India's political economy is moving in a new direction by focusing on three key political economy issues: development, welfare, and governance. India has undergone a substantial political transformation in recent years, especially since Bharatiya Janata Party led by Narendra Modi formed the first majoritarian government in three decades in 2014. In this paper, we first demonstrate that this political transformation has a significant impact on the Indian political economy, given that the country is witnessing the rise of a new developmentalism, a new welfarism, and the new modes of governance. After that, we summarize the collections of articles of the Special Issue and situate them in relation to our central theme, new directions in the Indian political economy. This paper, and this Special Issue more broadly, seeks to contribute to the existing literature by introducing new analytical frameworks to understand recent changes in the Indian political economy and providing new empirical evidence on this topic drawing on content analysis and field research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to provide a critique of the institutional framework of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), India's "bad bank." Design/methodology/approach: The approach followed is the development of an economic model of the gains to trade of an Asset Reconstruction Company. Findings: Using an economic model, the paper shows that the rules of the game create an uneven playing field and are likely to lead to a systematic overpricing of nonperforming loans (NPLs). While this might increase the upfront cash received by the bank, it will come at the cost of higher liabilities for the government on account of the sovereign guarantee that is part of the proposed structure. The overpricing is also likely to act as an obstacle to efforts aimed at the revival of the distressed company. The NARCL could become a warehouse for NPLs subverting the objective of reconstruction. Practical implications: Solutions to create a vibrant market for NPLs are proposed. Originality/value: The Indian case is unique in the sense that a bad bank backed by the government has been introduced after almost two decades of the existence of similar entities in the private sector. To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper is the first that addresses the design of such a market using economic modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Food Safety Knowledge Network (FSKN) is a collaboration between Michigan State University, the Global Food Safety Initiative of the Consumer Goods Forum, and other food industry and public sector partners. FSKN's goal is to help strengthen the food industry's response to the complex food safety knowledge and training challenges that affect emerging markets by providing free access to high-quality, standardized learning resources. The resources were designed to be available on demand and as a structured learning experience which can support face-to-face training and fully online training. The pilots thus far have shown that participants in FSKN training demonstrate a significant increase in knowledge. The paper will share the processes used to set up an efficient open educational resources initiative including understanding licensing, using open software, establishing competencies and working with corporate and other international partners. (Contains 2 figures.)

The paper explores the complex interplay between economic development and environmental sustainability in the context of India's pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It examines the inherent contradictions and trade-offs involved, particularly in agriculture, industrialisation, and infrastructure sectors. The paper highlights how economic growth, essential for improving living standards, often conflicts with environmental objectives. The paper underscores the importance of integrating economic, environmental, and social objectives to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly introduces Early Intervention (EI) issues in five countries including Zimbabwe, Poland, People's Republic of China (PRC), India, and the United States of America (USA). In the overview section the national background, including religious, socio-economic development, and political systems, its policies, laws and acts, are delineated, since all of these factors combine together to impact the EI development in each specific country. Next, different approaches used in these five countries are introduced and compared. Lastly, a matrix is used to contrast EI development in five countries. In conclusion the author, taking into account cultural norms and other issues, points out strengths and weaknesses in each country and suggests ways in which countries might benefit from others practices and experiences. (Contains 1 figure.)

Suggests that the rise of democracy was the most important development of the 20th century, examining the question of democracy as a universal value by focusing on: India's experience with democracy; democracy and economic development; the functions of democracy; universality of values; and cultural differences in values. Concludes with a discussion of where the debate belongs. (SM)

Existing studies have examined only the unidirectional impact of cultural diversity on the economic performance of countries, regions, and cities, not the other ways. They have assumed the diversity as given, while it may also grow, due to in-migration of workers and entrepreneurs, with economic growth and may be dependent on it. This paper models diversity and economic growth in a bi-directional causal frame and demonstrates that economic growth has a substantial impact on religious, language, and overall cultural diversities in the major states of India. However, the Granger causality between economic growth to language diversity and overall cultural diversity is found to be stronger and more widespread across the states than the causality from economic growth to religious diversity. The findings of this paper may have significant theoretical and empirical implications, as mainly the unidirectional way the impact of cultural diversity on economic growth has been advocated and the empirical studies have been modelled to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]