Total Factor Productivity Growth and Output Growth in Indian Electronics Industry in the Liberalization Era: An Empirical Examination

This paper analyses the efficiency and productivity growth of Electronics industry, which is considered one of the vibrant and rapidly growing manufacturing industry sub-sectors of India in the liberalization era since 1991. The main objective of the paper is to examine the extent and growth of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and its components namely, Technical Efficiency Change (TEC) and Technological Progress (TP) and its contribution to total output growth. In this study, the electronics industry is broadly classified into communication equipments, computer hardware, consumer electronics and other electronics, with the purpose of performing a comparative analysis of productivity growth for each of these sub-sectors for the time period 1993-2004. The paper found that the sub-sectors have improved in terms of economies of scale and contribution of capital.The change in technical efficiency and technological progress moved in reverse directions. Three of the four industry witnessed growth in the output primarily due to TFPG and the contribution of input growth to output growth had been negative/negligible, except for Computer hardware where contribution from both input growth and TFPG to output growth were prominent. The paper explored the possible reasons that addressed the issue of low technical efficiency and technological progress in the industry.

Activation of TGF-beta Pathway by Areca Nut Constituents: A Possible Cause of Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of excess collagen, and areca nut chewing has been proposed as an important etiological factor for disease manifestation. Activation of transforming growth factor-beta signaling has been postulated as the main causative event for increased collagen production in OSF. Oral epithelium plays important roles in OSF, and arecoline has been shown to induce TGF-beta in epithelial cells. In an attempt to understand the role of areca nut constituents in the manifestation of OSF, we studied the global gene expression profile in epithelial cells (HaCaT) following treatment with areca nut water extract or TGF-beta. Interestingly, 64% of the differentially regulated genes by areca nut water extract matches with the TGF-beta induced gene expression profile. Out of these, expression of 57% of genes was compromised in the presence of ALK5 (T beta RI) inhibitor and 7% were independently induced by areca nut, highlighting the importance of TGF-beta in areca nut actions. Areca nut water extract treatment induced p-SMAD2 and TGF-beta downstream targets in HaCaT cells but not in human gingival fibroblast cells (hGF), suggesting epithelial cells could be the source of TGF-beta in promoting OSF. Water extract of areca nut consists of polyphenols and alkaloids. Both polyphenol and alkaloid fractions of areca nut were able to induce TGF-beta signaling and its downstream targets. Also, SMAD-2 was phosphorylated following treatment of HaCaT cells by Catechin, Tannin and alkaloids namely Arecoline, Arecaidine and Guvacine. Moreover, both polyphenols and alkaloids induced TGF-beta 2 and THBS1 (activator of latent TGF-beta) in HaCaT cells suggesting areca nut mediated activation of p-SMAD2 involves up-regulation and activation of TGF-beta. These data suggest a major causative role for TGF-beta that is induced by areca nut in OSF progression.

Costs and benefits of the presence of leopards to the sport-hunting industry and local communities in Niassa national reserve, mozambique

Sport hunting is often proposed as a tool to support the conservation of large carnivores. However, it is challenging to provide tangible economic benefits from this activity as an incentive for local people to conserve carnivores. We assessed economic gains from sport hunting and poaching of leopards (Panthera pardus), costs of leopard depredation of livestock, and attitudes of people toward leopards in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique. We sent questionnaires to hunting concessionaires (n = 8) to investigate the economic value of and the relative importance of leopards relative to other key trophy-hunted species. We asked villagers (n = 158) the number of and prices for leopards poached in the reserve and the number of goats depredated by leopard. Leopards were the mainstay of the hunting industry; a single animal was worth approximately U.S.$24,000. Most safari revenues are retained at national and international levels, but poached leopard are illegally traded locally for small amounts ($83). Leopards depredated 11 goats over 2 years in 2 of 4 surveyed villages resulting in losses of $440 to 6 households. People in these households had negative attitudes toward leopards. Although leopard sport hunting generates larger gross revenues than poaching, illegal hunting provides higher economic benefits for households involved in the activity. Sport-hunting revenues did not compensate for the economic losses of livestock at the household level. On the basis of our results, we propose that poaching be reduced by increasing the costs of apprehension and that the economic benefits from leopard sport hunting be used to improve community livelihoods and provide incentives not to poach.

The knight of sugar industry: T. S. Venkatraman (1884-1963)

Tiruvadi Sambasiva Venkatraman (TSV) was a plant breeder. In response to a call from Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya, he made it his mission to develop high-yielding varieties of sugarcane for manufacturing sugar and making it available as a sweetening agent and an energy source for the malnourished children of India. Using Saccharum officinarum, then under cultivation in India, as the female parent, he artificially fertilized it with pollen from S. barberi, which grew wild in Coimbatore. After 4-5 recurrent backcrossings of S. officinarum Chi wild Sorghum spontaneum with S. officinarum as the female parent, TSV selected the `rare' interspecies hybrid cane varieties that resembled sugarcane and had approximately 2.5 cm thick juicy stems containing 16-18% sucrose - nearly 35 times more than what occurred in parent stocks. The hybrid canes matured quickly, were resistant to waterlogging, drought, and to the red-rot disease caused by Glomerella tucumanensis (Sordariomycetes: Glomerellaceae), and to the sereh-virus disease. Most importantly, they were amenable for propagation using stem cuttings. In recognition of the development of high-yielding sugarcane varieties, TSV was conferred the titles Rao Bahadur, Rao Sahib, and Sir by the British Government, and Padma Bhushan by the Republic of India. In the next few decades, consequent to TSV's work, India turned into the second largest sugar producer in the world, after Brazil. The hybrid sugarcane varieties developed are the foundational stocks for new sugarcane x bamboo hybrids, and for possible resistance to Puccinia megalocephala (Pucciniomycetes: Pucciniaceae) and Ustilago scitaminea (Ustilaginomycetes: Ustilaginaceae) using molecular techniques.

BIOMASS GASIFICATION TO SUBSTITUTE FOSSIL FUEL IN FOOD INDUSTRY

Food industries like biscuit and confectionary use significant amount of fossil fuel for thermal energy. Biscuit manufacturing in India is carried out both by organized and unorganized sector. The ratio of organized to unorganized sector is 60 : 40 (1). The total biscuit manufacturing in the organized sector India in 2008 was about 1.7 million metric tons (1). Accounting for the unorganized sector in India, the total biscuit manufacturing would have been about 2.9 million metric tons/annum. A typical biscuit baking is carried in a long tunnel kiln with varying temperature in different zones. Generally diesel is used to provide the necessary heat energy for the baking purpose, with temperature ranging from 190 C in the drying zone to about 300 C in the baking area and has to maintain in the temperature range of +/- 5 C. Typical oil consumption is about 40 litres per ton of biscuit production. The paper discusses the experience in substituting about 120 lts per hour kiln for manufacturing about 70 tons of biscuit daily. The system configuration consists of a 500 kg/hr gasification system comprising of a reactor, multicyclone, water scrubbers, and two blowers for maintaining the constant gas pressure in the header before the burners. Cold producer gas is piped to the oven located about 200 meters away from the gasifier. Fuel used in the gasification system is coconut shells. All the control system existing on the diesel burner has been suitably adapted for producer gas operation to maintain the total flow, A/F control so as to maintain the temperature. A total of 7 burners are used in different zones. Over 17000 hour of operation has resulted in replacing over 1800 tons of diesel over the last 30 months. The system operates for over 6 days a week with average operational hours of 160. It has been found that on an average 3.5 kg of biomass has replaced one liter of diesel.

Role of Areca Nut Induced TGF-beta and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interaction in the Pathogenesis of Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Areca nut consumption has been implicated in the progression of Oral Submucous fibrosis (OSF); an inflammatory precancerous fibrotic condition. Our previous studies have demonstrated the activation of TGF-beta signaling in epithelial cells by areca nut components and also propose a role for epithelial expressed TGF-beta in the pathogenesis of OSF. Although the importance of epithelial cells in the manifestation of OSF has been proposed, the actual effectors are fibroblast cells. However, the role of areca nut and TGF-beta in the context of fibroblast response has not been elucidated. Therefore, to understand their role in the context of fibroblast response in OSF pathogenesis, human gingival fibroblasts (hGF) were treated with areca nut and/or TGF-beta followed by transcriptome profiling. The gene expression profile obtained was compared with the previously published transcriptome profiles of OSF tissues and areca nut treated epithelial cells. The analysis revealed regulation of 4666 and 1214 genes by areca nut and TGF-beta treatment respectively. The expression of 413 genes in hGF cells was potentiated by areca nut and TGF-beta together. Further, the differentially expressed genes of OSF tissues compared to normal tissues overlapped significantly with areca nut and TGF-beta induced genes in epithelial and hGF cells. Several positively enriched pathways were found to be common between OSF tissues and areca nut + TGF-beta treated hGF cells. In concordance, areca nut along with TGF-beta enhanced fibroblast activation as demonstrated by potentiation of alpha SMA, gamma SMA and collagen gel contraction by hGF cells. Furthermore, TGF-beta secreted by areca nut treated epithelial cells influenced fibroblast activation and other genes implicated in fibrosis. These data establish a role for areca nut influenced epithelial cells in OSF progression by activation of fibroblasts and emphasizes the importance of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction in OSF.