S. Santhosh Kumar

Cumbersome Institutional Credit for SMEs: The Indian Experience

Industrial finance institutions, often called the development financial institutions (DFIs) were set up at the national level and at the State level with a view of quickening the pace of industrialisation in India. These lending institutions were operating in a regulated and protective regime upto the introduction of economic reforms in the country. With the deregulation of the financial system since 1991, they have been finding their traditional business fast disappearing. They were deprived of the protective climate in which they operated for long, and their access to concessional sources of funds was stopped. They came to be forced to compete with commercial banks whose cost of funds was lower than that of DFIs. This, in turn, adversely affected their fresh business, as the demand for loans has come down sharply. The Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) are the two State-owned financial institutions set up primarily for providing loans to the industrial sector in Kerala. Being ISO-certified institutions, these Corporations demand that their loan operations have easy access and hassle-free procedures, excellent and friendly service. Notwithstanding these claims of the Corporations, the procedural delays, unnecessary formalities and non-viable terms and conditions involved in lending operations have been receiving criticisms from the assisted units, researchers and other interested parties. The paper, a part of the research study about the institutions, attempts to evaluate the procedures and terms and conditions of lending by the financial institutions to the industrial sector in India specifying the State of Kerala as a case.

Problems faced in the implementation of Total Quality Management in higher secondary schools in Kerala, India

Whenever quality improvement measures in education are initiated by the government, teachers have the responsibility of their successful implementation at the school level. Problems and constraints, however, emerge if the vision and mission of the authorities are not permeated down to the teacher level. The Kerala government’s measures aimed at the quality improvement of education included changes in the curriculum, evaluation of students and teacher education and training, application of technology in the admission and examination systems management. There are, however, apprehensions among teachers on the viability and success of such quality initiatives and the potential increase in their workload. This study, therefore, attempts to identify the problems faced by teachers in the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) initiatives. Factor analysis on a set of 36 statements was undertaken to identify pertinent problems faced by teachers in the implementation of TQM. Variations in the intensity of problem felt by teachers by gender, age, subjects handled, location and ownership of the schools are also brought out.