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This paper attempts to estimate and identify the regional disparity of India’s agricultural labour productivity growth by decomposing it into technical changes, efficiency changes and input accumulation per worker during the 2000–2016, the period marked with the launch of employment guarantee programme in rural India in 2006 and 2007. The study observes a significant growth in agricultural labour productivity despite variation in their sources, across the states in India during the sample period. While growth of India’s agricultural labour productivity mainly depended on the accumulation of inputs and technical progress, efficiency changes contributed more towards regional disparities in agricultural productivity growth. Improving efficiency to promote TFP growth is important for agricultural labour productivity growth for the low-performing states.

In direct seeded rice, weeds are the major problems limiting the crop productivity. Sesbania with direct seeded rice (DSR) as well as seeding rates of rice affects the weed density by smothering effect and therefore, it can be a better weed management practice. Two year on farm trials were conducted at the Kusma, Boarijore Block and Bhaluka, Sundarpahadi block of Godda from 2020 and 2021 to assess the effect of weed management on yields and economics in DSR. The results revealed that significantly the lowest density of grasses, broad leaved weeds (BLWs), sedges, total weed density, total weed dry weight and the highest weed control efficiency were recorded with the treatment of DSR + Sesbania over DSR (pre-sowing irrigation followed by tillage and rice seeding) followed by first post-sowing irrigation at 15 DAS and the farmer’s practice. Weed management practice, DSR + Sesbania was found significantly higher grain yield, gross returns, net returns, B: C ratio, production efficiency and economic efficiency over to followed by first post sowing irrigation at 15 DAS and farmer’s practice. While the farmer’s practice was recorded higher weed index and lowest weed control efficiency. Thus, on the basis present study it is concluded that weed management practice i.e. DSR + Sesbania could be a better option to reduced the weed infestation as well as improves the productivity of DSR in rainfed agro-ecosystem of Jharkhand.

Yellow stem borer (YSB) is one of the most serious and monophagous pest of paddy in India. Field experiments were carried out to assess the different management modules against the yellow stem borer in paddy during the Kharif season of 2019 and 2020. The results on efficacy of modules revealed that during both the years the minimum ‘Dead Heart’ (DH) (10.1 and 11.4% during the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) was recorded in M3 (clipping of terminal shoots at the time of transplanting and application of cartap hydrochloride 50 SP) followed by M2 (11.9 and 14.5% during the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) in which 1st application was done with fipronil 0.3G and 2nd with NSKE 5% and M1 (19.6 and 20.9% during the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) i.e. farmers’ practice where only carbofuran 3G was applied. ‘White Ear Head’ (WEH) was also recorded minimum in M3 (11.6 and 12.1% in the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) followed by M2 (13.3 and 16.4% in the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) and M1 (20.8 and 22.4% in the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) in paddy. Maximum yield (33.8 and 43.1 q/ha during the year 2019 and 2020, respectively) was also recorded in Module 3 practiced clipping of terminal shoots and spraying with cartap hydrochloride 50 SP with the highest BC(Benefit: Cost) ratio 1.52:1 and 1.94:1 in the year 2019 and 2020, respectively. The overall results of the present study indicating the overall superiority of M3 (clipping of terminal shoots at the time of transplanting and two applications of cartap hydrochloride 50 SP at 40 and 60 DAT) in all the aspects i.e. DH, WEH, yield and BC ratio.

Data privacy and data security are basic agenda prior to outsource data to cloud environment. It is observed that cloud technology is centralized so any attacker can easily tamper with data store in it. On the other hand, blockchain technology is decentralized. Cloud provides on demand computing, storage of data, etc. Blockchain technology provides a very strong security mechanism. In this manuscript, blockchain technology has been used to provide data security at cloud environments. Here, a novel framework of cloud computing has been proposed along with algorithms based on quantum mechanics. The quantum superimposition principle has been used to detect data tampering. Experimental results have been proposed to lay bare the effectiveness of proposed approach.

The paper examines the benefits of financial accounting comparability for an emerging market. We document the benefits in the form of foreign equity investments. Our empirical results find that foreign investors prefer to invest in firms showing more accounting comparability. Our results also reveal that the benefits of accounting comparability are more prominent when firms have less visibility, operate in a less competitive industry, and have stock prices that reflect a lower level of firm-specific information. We further find that the effect of accounting comparability is lower for domestic mutual fund ownership. Overall, our study suggests that accounting comparability can complement a poor information environment concerning emerging market firms.

This study examines the rounding up/down behavior of selected key accounting figures in BRICS countries. It also examines the role of global financial crisis (GFC) on this rounding up or down of su...

This paper studies the impact of the nonfinancial disclosure on firm value for a large sample of Indian firms, arguably emerging market with poor investor protections and legal enforcement. We proxy the nonfinancial disclosure by the Bloomberg score on the extent of a firm's Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosures, and find positive valuation effects associated with the nonfinancial disclosure. We find the nonfinancial disclosure is more valuable to standalone firms compared to business group firms. This paper shows that the positive valuation effects associated with the nonfinancial disclosure are attributable to lower cost of funds and higher operating cash flows.

We examined the dependence structure of stocks, gold and crude oil with financial stress using the nonparametric causality-in-quantile technique for the period from December 1993 to March 2017. The study finds the evidence of bilateral causality in mean and variance for gold and crude oil with respect to financial stress, and stocks to be influential to financial stress both in mean and variance.

It very essential that significant information is put away in a protected manner and it is measure safely. Touchy data should be sealed as more opportunities to get changed deliberately. Such, instructive information can be introduced in any configuration like picture, sound or video. For scientific confirmations, there is an incredible danger that the vindictive individuals will transform it. The criminological report created from pathology lab cross through the lab to specialist, specialist to police dept. and from that point to court by and large. To make this stream extremely straightforward and to keep up the unchanging nature of measurable report, Block chain innovation is taken into consideration. Block chain gives the medium to complete the exchange and it completely made sure about the straightforward climate. This paper proposes a protected criminological proof framework by utilizing the block chain stages. Ethereal stage is utilized to execute the framework. The utilization of block chain information structure to store the legal proof accomplishes the properties. For example, genuineness, straightforwardness and security. The proposed framework accomplishes unchanging nature and detectability in legal proof framework. The prevailing origination of measurable science as an interwoven of controls fundamentally helping the criminal equity framework (for example legal sciences) is in emergency or if nothing else shows a progression of oddities and genuine constraints. Albeit required, yet saw as the answer for these disadvantages, the nearly summed up reception of stricter plans of action in criminological science casework compounded with ever-expanding regulating and consistence measures not just spot extra weights on a control that as of now shows up in trouble, yet additionally instigate more discontinuity of the distinctive scientific science assignments, a fundamental ordinarily reviled by similar NAS report and other comparative audits.

This paper tries to explore the intensity of energy usage in agriculture sector in various states of India. Further panel data approach has been put to use to understand the energy use in post-WTO period. The picture sketched by this investigation demonstrates that spatial and temporal distribution of agricultural productivities varies markedly among states. Further, the results indicate that the high productive states saw a negative response of animal labour and chemical fertilizer use in the food grain production.

The latest technology, namely, cloud computing has a lot of advantages. But this technology is still in its infancy. Attacks on cloud storage servers are frequently observed, out of which Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) are main types. It is observed that, these attacks, either can make the cloud storage servers extremely slow to response or simply crash them. In this endeavor, intelligent defender for cloud storage servers has been proposed to identify and resolve such attack. In this manuscript, the proposed algorithm can identify attacks and protect cloud storage servers. Experimental Results have been proposed to exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

The cutting edge technology cloud provides services for end users based on pay-as-use model. Cloud computing can provide immense services like unlimited storage capacity, huge computing power, availability of Web services for organizations. Organizations can avail these services as and when required and pay for these services as per their utilization. In this endeavour, the security aspect of cloud services has been discussed. For this, the existing Honeynet system is modified using deep learning approach. In this manuscript, it is made intelligent enough to identify the potential threat and makes the cloud system robust from the DDoS attack. Experimental result has been shown to lay bare with the effectiveness of the proposed system.

This paper introduces a new dimension to the relationship between Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and Stock Prices (SP) by extending the contributions of Ko and Lee (2015) by using multiple and partial wavelet coherence techniques. The vulnerability of SP due to combined and isolated impact of international (US EPU) and Domestic Policy Uncertainty (DEPU) is investigated. The main findings are; (a) the combined effect of DEPU and US EPU is more significant for developed market’s SP, (b) the emerging market’s SP are more sensitive to DEPU and (c) Amongst developed markets, Japan and European countries are more sensitive to US EPU than DEPU.

Food and agro-processing industries generate a huge quantity of solid waste which is rich in bio-macromolecules like lignin. The extraction of lignin biomolecules can help in the efficient management of such waste along with the generation of wealth from the waste. The groundnut shells are one of the lignin-rich wastes which could be utilized for the extraction of lignin biomolecules. The present work investigates an innovative approach involving the application of extracted lignin biomolecules for the value-addition to wool fabrics. Metallic mordants were utilized to get a wash-fast attachment of lignin with wool. The change in the appearance of wool fabrics was analyzed using reflectance spectroscopy. The finished fabrics were further evaluated for the functional properties like antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity and UV protection. The functionalized wool fabrics displayed a variety of shades with different combinations of groundnut shell lignin (GSL) and mordant. Thermal stability of treated wool fabrics was analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis. The functionalized wool fabrics showed significant antioxidant activity (69.5–84.5%), antibacterial activity (79.7–86.3%) and UV protection (UPF ratings of 50+).

This chapter applies the non-parametric data envelopment approach (DEA) to estimate Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth rate for agricultural output during the period 2000–2012 across districts of Bihar. This approach finds that the shift in the frontier as well as improved efficiency play an important role as a source of productivity growth, suggesting that technological adoption and catching up may be a vitally important source for overall productivity growth. The approach identifies the frontier districts in terms of agricultural production. Using the geographically linked resources at district level, namely, bio-physical, social, economic and health resources, this chapter also develops a Livelihoods Resilience Index (LRI) at district level to explain the association with agricultural TFP growth. The positive association identified warrants further investigation of a smaller unit, say, household level, to explain the rural development dynamics in the predominantly agricultural and rural state.

Mushroom cultivation has been identified as an important livelihood strategy that fits in very well with sustainable farming. This has several advantages, for example, it uses agricultural waste products, it works like a quick cash crop with no use of land, a high production per surface area can be obtained, and after picking, the spent substrate is still a good soil conditioner. The study also delineates the production economics of mushroom cultivation among the poorest of the poor.

This study examines the dynamic relationship between precious metals and stock markets of major developed (G7) and emerging (BRICS) nations. We use a hybrid wavelet-based Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) approach, which allows us to investigate the dynamic relationship between precious metals and stock markets in time and frequency domain. Our results suggest that DCC between the return series of precious metals and stock market varies with timescales in terms of dynamicity, persistence and strength of relationship. G7 and BRICS nations exhibit different dynamicity with precious metals over the study period (2000 to 2017). The dynamics between precious metals and G7 stock markets show similar patterns, which depicts a clustering behaviour, however, same is not true for BRICS nations. In contrast to existing literature, this study found that silver offers better hedging capability than other precious metals for both short and long-run. To construct a two-asset optimal portfolio of precious metal and stock index, palladium emerges as the most favourable option for both short and long-run.

We investigate the effect of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)-related disclosure on foreign investments for Indian firms where financial reporting does not provide adequate and reliable information. We show a preference of foreign investors for firms disclosing ESG-related information. Our results suggest that ESG-related disclosure is particularly useful for firms facing information problems. Finally, we report that the effect of ESG-related disclosure is lesser on domestic investors.

One unintended outcome of the Green Revolution that became discernible as early as in the 1980s is the environmental consequences of the HYV seeds and agro-chemical-based production package. The environmental challenges have in fact assumed alarming proportions, especially in the locations where the Green Revolution was first introduced. This chapter analyzes the nature and magnitude of the environmental consequences of the Green Revolution in terms of soil degradation, depletion in the groundwater table and impacts of pesticides use on human health. The analysis in the chapter calls for a serious policy revamp which should aim at minimizing the excessive use of natural resources, improving input-use efficiency and reconstructing market forces to encourage diversification of agriculture from rice to alternative crops. An attempt should be made not only to increase production but also to sustain increased production without further degradation of natural resources. Possible reclamation measures should be taken up for restoration of the physical health of soils and productivity.

The Indian economy post structural economic reform in mid-1990s is getting integrated with rest of the world. Allowing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in Indian stock markets is an example of this integration. Volatility in Indian stock markets is increasing and it is now being hypothesized that it is getting increasingly affected by volatility from global stock markets. This article attempts to find out the volatility spillover of developed and developing economies on Indian stock exchanges, primarily the returns and volatility levels at India’s oldest stock exchange BSE (The Stock Exchange, Mumbai). This article analyzes daily index return data from a set of nine countries (including India) from 4 January 2000 to 17 July 2009 and examines levels of cointegration and unidirectional volatility spillovers using Johanssen’s Cointegration test and GARCH (1,1) model with BHHH algorithm. The results show evidence of cointegration along with increasing impact of several international indices on returns and volatility levels of the BSE Sensex of India.

Understanding of the cell development and differentiation processes in plant seeds in general is poor. One gene, among others, that predominantly regulates the aleurone cell formation, differentiation and specification in seeds is called defective kernel (DeK1) and several cell biology and genetic experiments have unequivocally established this fact. However, the mechanism behind such processes is still unclear and understanding the protein functionality of DeK1 is vital to elucidating its role in endosperm cell development. Only preliminary investigations have been performed for just one domain of the protein in vitro and its functional implications have been highlighted lately. An initial attempt at in silico modeling of the protein has shown promise and necessitated thorough investigation of the protein to help understand structure-function relationship in details thus corroborating experimental findings and laying foundation for further studies. DeK1 sequences in public databases were used as raw material for elaborate computational analysis of the protein. DeK1 is a multi-pass membrane protein with interesting structural features and the present analysis provides an alternative model for DeK1 structure that can help pan both in vitro and in vivo studies. The transmembrane helices were shown to have a number of conserved charged and polar residues that can form salt bridges and help in ligand binding or transmitting an external signal in addition to maintaining structural integrity. The protein possesses a big loop of about 280-300 amino acid residues on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. It has a number of putative phosphorylation sites, multiple cysteine residues and a high density of charged residues, all of which could be important for protein-protein interaction and signaling pathways. The loop has a nuclear localization propensity as well. The long C-terminal tail of DeK1 with homology to calpain domain may be activated by the big loop, or conversely the big loop could be a substrate for the calpain protease in addition to its demonstrated autocatalytic property. Any or all of these features could be important in signaling events and several hypotheses have been forwarded for the structure-function relationship of the novel protein. The results provide a platform for deciphering the biochemical characteristics of DeK1.

This paper has applied the parametric and non-parametric approaches to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth for major wheat and paddy crop producing states in India for the period 1981–2010. Both the approaches have revealed that the shift due to technological adoption is a vital source for overall productivity growth. Both the approaches used have produced almost similar results at spatial and temporal directions, showing robustness in TFP estimation. Further, the high-yield states, particularly Punjab, have depicted a decline in the TFP growth for wheat and paddy crops in recent times, which raises an alarm on the long-term sustainability of paddy-wheat production system in this Green Revolution star state. An obvious extension to this study would be the application of this approach to incorporate more crops and states or at the district level. Another interesting work could be incorporating higher order policy variables such as subsidies, government investment, variables representing resource endowment, infrastructure, groundwater extraction, etc. in the efficiency equation of SFA.

This study applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to estimate Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) of the wheat production in India from 1981-1982 to 1999-2000. Five major wheat producing States were classified into agriculturally developed and backward ones: Punjab and Haryana as developed and UP, MP and Rajasthan as backward ones. The Malmquist productivity measures were decomposed into two components: technical change index and efficiency change index. The result shows that total factor productivity has risen in both categories of the states. Technical progress has been most significant factor to wheat productivity growth and will remain crucial to productivity growth in the backward states. Low efficiency in these states indicates a great potential to increase productivity through improving technical efficiency.