Gopal Naik

Fostering inclusive growth through e-Governance Embedded Rural Telecenters (EGERT) in India

Abstract In the recent years, two significant changes have taken place in an effort to address rural poor: Businesses have started recognizing potential of rural markets and governments have started using telecenters for providing G2C services to rural citizens. In India, the national and sub-national governments have supported businesses to establish telecenters in rural areas to provide information technology enabled services. However, the focus so far has been mostly on B2C services and viability of telecenters is being questioned. We argue that sustainability of these centers can be enhanced considerably if government services are embedded. Also, designing these telecenters with embedded G2C services would significantly improve effectiveness of their delivery and strengthen government information network, to foster inclusive growth.

A Note on Qualitative Forecast Evaluation

Traditionally, the 2 × 2 contingency table method has been used for qualitative evaluation of forecasts. However, the conclusions drawn based on this method could be misleading because it does not account for the direction of the turning or no turning points. A 4 × 4 contingency table which overcomes this weakness and which gives more information on the qualitative performance of the forecast is suggested.

A methodology for assessing impact of irrigation management transfer from farmers’ perspective

Abstract Many countries, including India, have made efforts in irrigation management transfer. As experiences of such transfers are becoming available there is a need for a rigorous method to assess their impact. In this study we argued for stakeholders’ approach and have presented a method by which impact can be assessed from farmers’ perspective. This method involves the use of trade-off model often used in marketing research. The methodology is illustrated with the help of two cases of transfer located in western part of India.

A NOTE ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING CORN BASIS RELATIONSHIPS

Empirical tests were made of components of the corn basis in the U.S. utilizing a general theory of intertemporal price relationships for storable commodities. These tests showed that the basis consists of a risk premium, a speculative component, and a maturity basis apart from other factors such as storage costs for storable commodities. The results provide insights into factors affecting basis patterns for corn.

Making E-Governance Centers Financially Sustainable in Rural India: A Conceptual Design for Action Research

Large-scale failure of telecenters in rural areas has subdued initial high expectations with regard to ICT bringing about developmental changes and given rise to skepticism about the long-term financial sustainability of such telecenters. The experience in many Indian states, including Karnataka, indicates that taking telecenters closer to people in rural areas is fraught with difficulty in terms of making them financially sustainable. Our analysis of the problem identifies the limited range of services provided by these telecenters as the primary cause for their failure. As a remedy, we suggest a three-pronged approach: first, use of these centers for public service delivery as well as public data collection by the government; second, providing a cluster of complete and integrated services to cater to a wider customer base, thus substantially improving value for the rural customers; and third, providing information and other services to businesses with significantly large operations in rural areas. This approach has the dual advantage of making telecenters viable and therefore meeting the requirements of the rural poor as well as helping the government deliver its services more efficiently and effectively in rural areas.

Public Value Creation through Private Partnership: Lessons from Public Service Delivery in Karnataka, India

The process of globalization coupled with continuous innovatrions in information and communication technology (ICT) has led to governments across the world experiencing increasing challenges to maintain a competitive economy, achieve technology convergence and effectively deliver public services (Burd and Currie, 2004). Having realized the benefits of the use of ICT through private sector offerings, citizens are demanding similar improvement in services provided by the government as well. There is recognition that improvements in efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery could release limited public resources that could achieve Pareto efficient allocation and maximize social welfare (Burd and Currie, 2004).These pressures coupled with rising fiscal constraints are forcing governments to seek cooperation from private players to partner in delivering public services. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) is one form of cooperation between the private sector and governments created to design and deliver public services operating under constraints such as weakness in enabling policy and regulatory framework or lack of capacity in public institutions (CII, 2007).Private sector investments, knowledge and experience in the use of technology and customer interface capabilities are key attributes in countries like India. Thus PPPs have the potential of creating public value that neither of the two parties would be able to achieve alone (Kelly and Muers, 2003).

Policy Simulation of the Indian Silk Industry through an Econometric Model

Abstract This study aimed at understanding and quantifying the relationship between the important variables of the various subsectors of the Indian silk industry through an econometric simulation model, and using the model for forecasting as well as policy simulations. Forecasts of the endogenous variables of the system (demand, supply, and prices of mulberry cocoons, raw silk, and silk fabric) for the period 1991–92 to 2000–01 indicates that the growth in the industry will slow down in the future. Policy simulations were undertaken to assess the changes in the import price of raw silk, export price of fabrics, and regulation of the quantity of imports of raw silk on the silk industry. While imports and exports were closely linked, their impact on the silk industry was not very high. It was also revealed that the income of the consumers and mulberry acreage have significant influence on the industry.

Financial Sustainability of E-Governance Embedded Rural Telecentres (EGERT) in India

In the recent years, two significant changes have taken place in an effort to address the rural poor:Businesses have started recognizing the potential of rural markets and governments have started using telecentres for providing government-to-citizen G2C services to rural citizens. In India, the national and sub-national governments have supported businesses to establish telecentres in rural areas to provide information technology-enabled services. However, the focus so far has been mostly on B2C services and financial viability of the common service centres (CSCs) is being questioned. We argue conceptually and show through preliminary evidence that designing these telecentres with embedded G2C services would not only enhance sustainability of these centres but also improve the effectiveness of the delivery of the government services and strengthen their information system. Considering that the poor can benefit substantially from government programmes and services, improvements in the effectiveness of their delivery would invariably foster inclusive growth and help bridge digital divide.

Market creation and poverty alleviation through telecenters

In the recent past, two significant changes have taken place in efforts to address rural poor: Businesses have started recognizing potential of rural markets and governments have started providing G2C services to rural citizens through telecenters. Telecenters have emerged as the most popular mode of e-governance projects in many of the developing countries. In this paper we argue that these rural telecenters can facilitate market creation and improve governance in rural areas where the government machinery for service delivery is the weakest thereby addressing needs of people and the government in such areas.

Markets, Institutions, and the Quality of Agricultural Products: Cotton Quality in India

The modern global textile industry requires cotton with strong and consistent fibers in order to produce high quality goods at the high speeds necessary to recover capital costs. The introduction of high volume instrument (HVI) measurement of cotton fiber quality has strengthened the link between cotton prices and attributes on world markets. The spread of genetically modified (GMO) cotton in India has driven India to the second ranked producer and exporter of cotton in the world. However, contamination and other quality problems are endemic to Indian cotton. Using a unique data set of Indian cotton prices and quality attributes from 5 Indian states, this study uses hedonic price modeling to demonstrate that the linkages between cotton quality and price are weaker in India than they are in the United States.