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IMPACT FACTOR (SJIF) 2021= 7.380

ONLINE ISSN 2278-8808 PRINTED ISSN 2319-4766

An International Peer Reviewed & Refereed Journal

SCHOLARLY RESEARCH JOURNAL FOR

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES JULY-SEPT, 2021, VOL- 10, ISSUE-50

Index

SR. NO.

TITLE & AUTHOR NAME

PAGE NO.

EDITORIAL

i

1 STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOURAL

INTENTION TO USE AR-ENABLED PRODUCTS

WITH REFERENCE TO LENSKART

Dr. Neelam Arora & Krishnakant Suryakant Lasune

1-11

2 WOMEN ENTREPRENURSHIP: THE INDIAN

WAY- HIGHLIGHTING THE GLITCHES AND

PROGNOSES

Dr. Arati Deepak Kale

12-24

3 A STUDY ON THE DIGITAL PAYMENT

ECOSYSTEM OF INDIA

Dr. Aashish S. Jani & Mr. Kayzad F. Dadachanji

25-33

4 IMPLEMENTATION OF HR ANALYTICS IN

SELECTED SUPER MARKETS OF MUMBAI

Dr. Priyadarshini Nidhan & Dr. Arati Deepak Kale

34-39

5 IMPACT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN ON SALE OF

LEATHER PRODUCTS

Dr. Ashok Vasant Mahadik

40-44

6 IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON FITNESS INDUSTRY- A

CORRELATIONAL STUDY IN MUMBAI

Dr. Vinay Pandit

45-53

7 EMERGING TRENDS & ADAPTION BY

ORGANIZATIONS IN CHANGING

SOCIO CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT - WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SUSTAINABILITY

Indu Nair & Dr. H. J. Bhasin

54-64

8 EMERGING TRENDS IN DIGITAL MARKETING

Dr. Kshamali S. Sontakke

65-68

9 STUDY OF IMPACT OF IN-STORE FACTORS ON

IMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF

CONSUMERS IN TIER-II & TIER-III CITIES IN

INDIA

Dr. Rajesh Mankani

69-80

10 STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND

SATISFACTION TOWARDS CHATBOTS USED BY

FOOD DELIVERY APPS

Krishnakant Suryakant Lasune & Dr. Harvind J. Bhasin

81-91

11 IMPACT OF INDUSTRIALIZATION ON

ENVIRONMENT—REFLECTIONS FROM THANE

DISTRICT

Ms. Laxmi Podoli & Dr. Vilasini Patkar

92-98

12 A STUDY ON SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES AND ITS

IMPACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY

Ms. Loveena Atwal & Dr. Neelam Arora

99-108

13 A STUDY ON GROWTH OF CRYPTOCURRENCY IN

INDIA: ITS CHALLENGES AND IMPACT

Prof. Neetu Singhwal & Prof. Trapti Shandiya

109-121

14 USE OF DATA MINING FOR ANALYSIS OF WAGON

TURN ROUND TIME OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF

STOCKS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS FREIGHT

SERVICES

Nidhi Singh

122-131

15 A STUDY ON INVESTOR PERCEPTION TOWARDS

SBI MUTUAL FUND IN EASTERN MUMBAI

Mr. Prasad M Supekar & Dr. Suryakant V Lasune

132-139

16 A STUDY ON EFFECT OF COTTON PRICE

FLUCTUATIONS ON THE PROFITABILITY OF

TEXTILE INDUSTRY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE

TO CENTURY TEXTILES & INDUSTRIES LTD.

Ms. Pooja Ashok Jogu & Dr. Neelam Arora

140-148

17 MARKETING CHALLENGES FACED BY

INSURANCE COMPANIES IN MUMBAI IN

PANDEMIC SITUATION

Dr. Purnima Sharma

149-158

18 TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES FACED BY BANKS IN

ANDHERI IN THE PANDEMIC SITUATION

Dr. Sangeeta Pawar & Ms. Gangaur Sharma

159-166

19 COVID-19 RELATED LABOUR MIGRATION AND

ITS REPERCUSSIONS FOR ECONOMY

Prof. Anjali M Kulkarni

167-174

20 A STUDY ON THE CODES OF 2020 BY THE

GOVT.OF INDIA TO REFORM THE BUSINESS

Prof. Anusha R. Patil & Dr. Shreedhar Sherigar

175-186

21 A STUDY OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY AND ITS

ROLE IN ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS

Prof. Anusha R. Patil & Dr. Shreedhar Sherigar

187-203

22 A STUDY ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION

CONCERNING INNOVATIVE BANKING

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Prof. Trapti Shandilya & Prof. Neetu Singhwal

204-215

23 A STUDY TO EXAMINE ROLE OF SELF-HELP

GROUPS FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN

ADAPTING TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF

THE ECONOMY

Dr. Sangeeta Makkad

216-225

24 PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION: AN EFFECTIVE

TOOL IN PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT IN

INDIA

Mr. Shaun D’Souza & Mr. Aaron D’Souza

226-233

25 A STUDY ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON

ECONOMIC AND SOCIO CULTURAL

ENVIRONMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

E-COMMERCE

Ms. Zeal M. Kanani

234-241

26 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS HUMAN

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: A THEORETICAL

REVIEW

Mrs. Amrita Ajit Jadhav & Dr. Suryakant Lasune

242-251

27 PUBLIC PROVIDENT FUND (PPF)- SERVING INDIA

FOR DECADES

Dr. Gagan J. Bhatia & Prof. Ritika Vohra Kathuria

252-257

28 A STUDY ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTIAL

REAL ESTATE SECTOR IN MUMBAI

Ms. Akshaya Bagwe & Dr. Neelam Arora

258-264

29 URBANIZATION INDUCED INEQUALITY: THE

PLIGHT OF SLUM DWELLERS

Litton Prosad Mowalie & Prof. A. M. Gurav

265-281

30 DIGITAL MARKETING OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: USER PERSPECTIVES

Nancy Waral L, Dr. P. Saravanan & Dr. G. Gnana Elpinston

282-295

31

32

IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON INDIAN

EDUCATION SECTOR AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE

OF TEACHING FACULTY MEMBERS

Dr. Sussmita Daxini & Prof. Neha Mehta

A STUDY ON PERCEIVED USEFULNESS AND

ACTUAL USAGE OF E – HRM

Supriya Shetty

296-302

303-311

EDITORIAL………………….

The present pandemic situation has changed the world’s order and its effect would be

long lasting. While our fight against this is yet to be over, several economies of the world have

shown tremendous resilience to absorb the shock and then over forward. Indian economy is

one of them. While the likely projection of global growth rate by World Bank is 5.6% in 2021,

its projection for Indian economy growth rate is 8.3% which is far above than the likely global

growth rate. There is always a silver lining is the tremendous capacity of our economy to

bounce back which is being shown by certain emerging trends in various sectors. 2021is the

year of transition. Barring unforeseen catastrophes, we can observe that trade, commerce,

technology, individuals, society, environment, etc. have started looking up to shape their

futures rather than just mulling over the present. The next normal is going to be different.

Considering how various areas of our economy have started adapting to the overall changing

scenario and gradually moving forward, it is in fitness of things that comprehensive discussion

and brainstorming sessions are invited to ponder over. Hence the main aims of this special

Issue to focus inviting papers and deliberations on new emerging trends and different

adaptation strategies being adopted by us in the fields of science, technology, environment,

management, trade and commerce, society, ect. To overcome the challenges and move forward.

Prime objectives of this Special Issue is to assess and examine the dynamics of changing

environment in different sectors of the country. To bring academicians, research scholars and

students across the country on a common platform to brainstorm on issues related to emerging

trends in field of science, technology, finance, trade, environment etc. Main theme of this issue

is “Emerging trends and adaption of different sectors of economy to changing environment”.

Dr. Suryakant Lasune

Associate Professor

Lala Lajpatrai College of Com. & Eco, Mumbai.

JULY-SEPT, 2021, VOL- 10/50 Page 1

STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION TO USE AR-ENABLED

PRODUCTS WITH REFERENCE TO LENSKART

Dr. Neelam Arora

Principle at Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, India.

Krishnakant Suryakant Lasune

Research Scholar at Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, India.

Abstract

Purpose- With the use of the Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM), this study aims to

explore the factors influencing behavioural intention to use AR enabled products with reference to

Lenskart.

Design/methodology/approach- To capture Perceived ease of Use, Enjoyment, User control and

Behavioural intention to use, questionnaire was shared with 120 respondents for data collection. The

data was analysed using Smart PLS, with the measurement model being examined first, followed by the

structural model to test modified HMSAM model.

Findings- The result of structural model shows that Perceived ease of use, Enjoyment and User control

all three variables positively impact Consumer behavioural intention to use AR-enables products.

Research/limitations/implications- The information was gathered primarily from respondents who

prefer online shopping through Lenskart App, the results may differ from those obtained from other

similar online businesses. A five-point Likert scale was used to develop the questionnaire and no items

that were negatively worded, hence future study may include 7-point scale. The study is geographically

limited to the Thane region.

Originality/value- Applying the Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM), the study

intends to determine the impact of Perceived ease of Use, Enjoyment, User control on Behavioural

intention to use AR enabled product. The effect of user control on behavioural intent is examined for

the first time. This study will benefit both researchers and retail companies. This research establishes

a theoretical framework for understanding behavioural intention and the factors that influence it, which

will serve as the foundation for future research. Lenskart and other retail companies will learn about

the usefulness of AR-enabled products, and this research will aid them in making future decisions about

application of AR in product display.

Keywords- Augmented Reality (AR), retail, Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) and

Lenskart.

Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com

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1. Introduction

Retailers are striving to grow their operations into new channels, and one of the most significant

components in developing and improving various business activities is having a robust

technology framework that supports these changes. E-stores are electronic shops that are online

equivalents of actual stores. It sells items directly to e-customers and provides them with a

variety of products and services with the single mouse click. It makes money by selling things

to e-customers through the internet. Lenskart, for example, is an online shop that sells

eyeglasses through an e-platform and presently ranks #1.

Lenskart is India's fastest-growing eyeglasses brand, with the goal of providing affordable

eyesight to all Indians. It's an eyewear-selling e-commerce platform. Customers can buy things

both online and in person because the platform supports both online and offline distribution.

The platform currently has over 5,000 frame styles and a wide range of lens possibilities.

Spectacles, goggles, sunglasses, reading glasses, computer glasses, contact lenses, frames, anti-

glares, and eye accessories are just a few of the products in its range.

Lenskart's virtual "3D Try On" service, which is available both online and in-store and allows

customers to virtually try on the company's whole range of glasses to see what suits their

personality, is one of the company's unique value propositions. Lenskart also provides detailed

buying advice to help clients select the perfect pair for their lifestyle and hobbies, as well as a

variety of information to support this hassle-free service.

All of this is made possible by augmented reality, a cutting-edge technology that will usher in

a paradigm shift in the online marketing sector. Marketers may be able to give new consumer

experiences with virtual information, assisting the customer in making a purchasing decision.

The integration of a digital object with a real-time environment is known as augmented reality.

To merge the digital object with the real environment, customers must use the camera on their

smartphone or tablet. Augmented Reality (AR) is immensely popular among smartphone users

in today's globe. Augmented Reality is an interactive approach that "enhances" real-world

objects by simulating sensory input. Augmented Reality is an interactive approach that

"enhances" real-world objects by reproducing sensory information in a real-world setting. AR

is a cutting-edge technology that is being widely utilised by marketers across the globe.

2. Literature Review

Dr. Kali Charan Modak (2019): The aim of this article was to investigate customer perceptions

and awareness of augmented reality Ads. According to the findings of the study, marketers can

better demonstrate products using augmented reality advertisements, and customers can better


evaluate products using augmented reality advertisements. AR-based advertising aids in the

struggle against competition and the creation of a more vivid image of a product in the minds

of buyers.

Prof. Niharika Mishra (2015): The aim of this research was to see if Lenskart physical store

sales complement those of e-tail stores. An attempt has been made in this study to make

Lenskart retailers aware of the upcoming issues that are projected to loom over their business

in the near future so that they may make proper preparations to meet them. The findings of this

investigation reveal that Lenskart store dealers have difficulties. The appearance of the store,

goods display, retail atmosphere, in-store service, and accessibility were discovered to be the

leading causes of dissatisfaction.

T. Senthil Kumar (2021): The retail applications and research activity that leverage VR and

AR technology were compared and assessed in this study. The "implementation," "customer

acceptance," "applications," "problems," and other variables were compared. The findings of

this research suggest that successful implementation and acceptance of VR and AR technology

interfaces in online commerce improves the shopping experience and makes it more consumer

friendly.

Komal Chopra (2019): The aim of this study was to apply a grounded theory approach to

generate Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation in order to understand why young customers

want to use artificial intelligence (AI) products like chatbots, voice assistants, and augmented

reality in purchasing. The findings suggest that Vroom's expectation theory of motivation can

be utilised to explain why young people want to employ AI technologies to help them make

purchases.

Federica Caboni (2019): The purpose of this paper was to examine augmented reality (AR) in

retailing by identifying, outlining, and debating concepts of AR, relevant AR applications for

retailers, and the value AR brings to both merchants and consumers. The study gives a

synthesised definition of augmented reality, its essential aspects, and how it differs from virtual

reality, based on earlier literature. It also examines and illustrates three key forms of augmented

reality (AR) applications in retailing: online web-based, in-store, and mobile app-based.

Finally, the study discusses the specific value that augmented reality apps may offer to

customers and retailers.


Krishna Teja Perannagari (2019): The purpose of this paper was to look at the impact of

augmented reality (AR) on retailing through thematic analysis of variables that have been

addressed in the literature. The eight topics that emerged from the investigation were organised

into a conceptual framework that was used to describe users' decision-making processes.

Fridolin Wild (2017): This research intends to improve existing TAM to meet the unique

objectives of assessing technology acceptance of Augmented Reality and Wearable

Technologies, as well as to validate the new instrument with participants from three industry

pilot areas: aviation, medicine, and space. The findings of this baseline show that respondents

in these pilot locations appreciate and anticipate utilising these technologies since they are

intuitive and simple to learn to use.

Joao M.F. Rodrigues (2019): The main focus of this study was on the analysis of users'

adoption of this technology, namely the AR (software) application and its integration with the

(hardware) device to achieve five senses AR. Social influence, effort anticipation, and

facilitating environments are the major components that motivate people to accept M5SAR's

technology, according to the findings.

Maria Jose Castillo (2021): This paper proposes a model that extends the technology adoption

model by identifying factors that affect consumer adoption of augmented reality self-service

technologies in retail, leading to the augmented reality in retail model. Results showed that

aesthetics and navigation are important predictors of perceived utility and usability, and self-

efficacy also explains perceived usability. The willingness to use technology and the need for

personal interaction were not found to be influencing factors.

3. Objectives of the Study

Main Objective-To study Consumer Behavioural Intention to use AR-enabled products with

reference to Lenskart.

Sub-Objectives-

1. To Analyse Consumer Behavioural Intention to use AR-enabled products using HMSAM.

2. To study the relationship between Perceived ease of use, Enjoyment and Behavioural

Intention to use the products displayed with AR interface.

3. To investigate the influence of User control on Behavioural Intention to use.

4. Hypothesis development

The definitions for all of the variables in Figure 1 that make up the study's theoretical

underpinning are listed in Table 1, with the majority of them having appeared in earlier research

but not all of them having been included in a single study.


Table 1. Description of Factors

Factor Label Definition

Perceived ease of Use PU The degree to which a person believes that using

AR-enabled interface would be free of effort.

(Davis, 1989)

Enjoyment EN The state of taking pleasure in using AR interface.

User control UC The extent to which user can interact with AR

interface.

Behavioural intention

to use

BIU The degree to which a person has formulated

conscious plans to perform or not perform specific

activity on AR interface.

Table 2 shows the hypothesis for this study, which establishes a relationship between various

variables. Previous studies have backed up two of the relationships, H1 and H2. H3 was not

present in the prior investigation, hence a logical argument is used to define their relationship.

Table 2. Hypotheses development

Label Link Relationship Theory Support /Logical argument

H1 PEU → BIU +ve Hedonic-motivation system adoption model

(HMSAM).

H2 EN→ BIU +ve Hedonic-motivation system adoption model

(HMSAM).

H3 UC→BIU +ve The more a user interacts with AR interface, the

more likely it is that the user will consider using

it for purchase decision.

Based on theory, previous study, and logical argument, three hypotheses developed are as

follows-

H1(A): Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on the Behavioural Intention to use.

H1(O): There is no relationship between Perceived ease of use and Behavioural Intention to

use.

H2(A): Enjoyment has a positive effect on Behavioural Intention to use.

H2(O): There is no relationship between Enjoyment and Behavioural Intention to use.

H3(A): User control has a positive effect on the Behavioural Intention to use.

H3(O): There is no relationship between User control and Behavioural Intention to use.


5. Theoretical framework

Lowry et al. (2013) proposed the Hedonic-motivation system adoption model, also known as

the HMSAM model, which is the basis for this research. Relationships between different

factors were found after a thorough review of prior literature. Perceived ease of use, enjoyment,

and user control were hypothesised to have a significant impact on behavioural intention to

use. A proposed model was developed based on all of these hypotheses, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

6. Methodology and Result

a. Data collection

The questionnaire was designed to measure Perceived Ease of Use (PEU), Enjoyment (EN),

User Control (UC), and Behavioural Intention to Use (BIU) based on the proposed theory. The

questionnaire was developed using a 5-point Likert scale with options ranging from Strongly

disagree to Strongly agree. The data from the respondents was collected using a Google form

which was open from August 30 to September 5, 2021. Data was collected from respondents

who have done online shopping of eyeglasses through Lenskart application.

b. Demographic profile of respondents

A total of 120 respondents took part in the study. The gender breakdown for the sample is

56.7% of female and 43.3% of male. Regarding the age distribution of the respondents; 75%

of respondents were in 16-25 age range, 23.3% in 26-49 age range and 1.7% in 50-65 age


range. In terms of educational qualifications, 27.5% Graduates, 71.7% Post graduates and 0.8%

were Ph.D. or higher.

Table 3. Demographic characteristics of respondents

Group Variable Frequency Percentage (%)

Age 16-25 90 75 26-49 28 23.3 50-65 2 1.7

Gender Female 68 56.7 Male 52 43.3

Qualification Graduate 33 27.5 Post graduate 86 71.7 Ph.D. or higher 1 0.8

c. Measurement Model

The validity and reliability of all latent variables in the reflective measurement model must be

examined in order to assess the model (Chin, 2010; Hair et al., 2012; Hair et al., 2017). First,

factor loadings, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE) were

evaluated to establish convergent validity.

Convergent Validity

Table 4. Loadings, Reliability and Validity.

Loadings Cronbach's Alpha Composite reliability AVE

PEU1 0.743 0.792 0.863 0.612

PEU2 0.751 PEU3 0.837 PEU4 0.802 EN1 0.906 0.913 0.939 0.793

EN2 0.873 EN3 0.877 EN4 0.904 UC1 0.821 0.852 0.900 0.693

UC2 0.863

UC3 0.844 UC4 0.800 BIU1 0.799 0.904 0.933 0.778

BIU2 0.903 BIU3 0.923 BIU4 0.900


During the examination of the measurement model, all items had a factor loading value greater

than the recommended value (>0.600). (Gefen Straub,2005). The constructs' reliability was

assessed using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR). The CRs were all higher than

the recommended threshold of 0.700. Wasko and Faraj (Wasko and Faraj, 2005). Cronbach's

alpha for each construct exceeded the 0.700 criterion. Convergent validity was satisfactory

because the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was more than 0.500. The results of the

reliability and validity assessments, as well as the factor loading for the items, are shown in

Table 4.

Discriminant validity

To evaluate discriminant validity, the Fornell-Larcker criterion was utilised; the table shows

that the square root of AVE for the construct was greater than the correlation between the

constructs. According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), discriminant validity is proven when a

latent variable has greater variance than the indicator variables, it shares with other constructs

in the same model. Table 5 reveals that the square root of each construct's AVE (diagonal

values) is greater than the corresponding correlation coefficients, indicating appropriate

discriminant validity.

Table 5. Discriminant Validity

BIU EN PEU UC

BIU 0.882

EN 0.800 0.890

PEU 0.704 0.659 0.782

UC 0.819 0.835 0.734 0.832

Note: Note that the bolded values reflect the Square-root of AVE, whereas the off-diagonals

represent correlations.

d. Structural Model

The structural model illustrates the research framework's hypothesised paths.

The R², Q², and significance of paths are used to evaluate a structural model. The strength of

each structural path is defined by the R² value for the dependent variable (Briones Penalver et

al., 2018); the R² value should be equal to or greater than 0.1. (Falk &Miller,1992). The result

in Table 6 shows that all R² values are greater than 0.1. Hence, the predictive capability is

established. Further Q² establishes the predictive relevance of the endogenous constructs. A Q²


above 0 shows that model has predictive relevance. The findings demonstrate that the

predictability of the constructs is significant. Hypotheses were evaluated to determine the

significance of the relationship.

H1 evaluates whether PEU has a significant impact on BIU. The results revealed that PEU has

a significant impact on BIU (β=0.189, t=2.077, p=0.038). Hence, H1 was supported. H2

evaluates whether EN has a significant impact on BIU. The results revealed that EN has a

significant impact on BIU (β=0.355, t=3.416, p=0.001). Hence, H2 was supported. H3

evaluates whether UC has a significant impact on BIU. The results revealed that UC has a

significant impact on BIU (β=0.384, t=2.488, p=0.013). Hence, H3 was supported.

Table 6.

7. Conclusion and Findings

Augmented reality has become one of the most effective tools in recent years. AR has made its

way from gaming to the retail and e-commerce industries, where it is a powerful tool for

acquiring new clients. This technology is becoming increasingly popular around the world.

This study aims to use the Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) to

investigate the factors that influence behavioural intention to use AR-enabled products with

reference to Lenskart. The theoretical framework was constructed using four variables:

perceived ease of use, enjoyment, user control, and behavioural intention to use, which are

based on the Hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM). For the first time, the

effect of user control on behavioural intent is investigated in the Hedonic-motivation system

adoption model (HMSAM). This study was successful in establishing a positive relationship

between all the variables.

Β S.D. T

Statistics

P Values

Significance level

PEU→BIU 0.355 0.104 3.416 0.001 Significant

EN →BIU 0.189 0.091 2.077 0.038 Significant

UC →BIU 0.384 0.154 2.488 0.013 Significant

R² Q²

BIU 0.732 0.558


During data analysis, it was observed that perceived ease of use, enjoyment, user control all

three positively affect the behavioural intention to use. It can be concluded that the degree to

which a person believes that using an AR-enabled interface would be free of effort would

positively impact his intention to use the interface in the future for the purchase decision. The

more pleasure or delight a user experience from Augmented Reality, the more inclined he is to

use it. Also, the more engaging an AR interface is, the more likely a user will consider using it

to make a purchase choice. As a result, the features of the AR interface that make it user-

friendly, fun, and engaging all influence the user's decision to use the interface.

From a practical perspective, researchers working in the subject of consumer behaviour will

benefit from this study because it provides a foundation theory for future research. The

HMSAM model was successfully applied in this study to identify customer behavioural

intentions, as well as the impact of additional external factors on the model. By adding new

variables to this model, it can be further developed and researched. This study will benefit

Lenskart and similar companies in assessing the usefulness of present AR interface features,

and the outcomes of the study can be used for further service development.

References

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technologies: a two-country comparison”, https://www.emerald.com/insight/0959-0552.htm.

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Chakrabarti.”, www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-0552.htm.

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AND PEDRO J. S. CARDOSO, (2019), “Mobile Five Senses Augmented Reality System:

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www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-0552.htm.

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Mobile based Augmented Reality (AR) Advertising.”, ISSN No. 2349-7165.

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OF ONLINE SHOPPING IN 21ST CENTURY: IMPACT OF ENJOYMENT IN TAM MODEL”,

http://aessweb.com/journal-detail.php?id=5004.


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Cardoso,(2019), Mobile Five Senses Augmented Reality System: Technology Acceptance

Study.” https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/269005033.pdf.


WOMEN ENTREPRENURSHIP: THE INDIAN WAY- HIGHLIGHTING THE

GLITCHES AND PROGNOSES

Dr. Arati Deepak Kale

Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai – 400 034. Email:

[email protected]

Abstract

Women Entrepreneurship play a very significant role in industrial development. Development has

economic, social and political dimensions and is incomplete without the development of women who

constitute of nearly fifty percent of the total population. So, contribution of women is essential in

economic activities for healthy nation building. In the so-called patriarchal society, women were

seldom allowed to go to work, becoming Entrepreneurs was a very distant dream or next to impossible.

However, post-independence, development of women has become a policy objective of the Indian

Government by giving them priorities in all Sectors. Though this transition from homemaker to

sophisticated business women has been a rough path, the picture is changing. This paper aims at finding

out the glitches in entrepreneurship for women. It will also suggest Futuristic Approaches for

development of Women Entrepreneurs.

Key words: Women, Entrepreneurs, India, Entrepreneurship, glitches, futuristic approaches

Objectives

1. To determine the dynamics of Women Entrepreneurship in India.

2. To determine the glitches in entrepreneurship for women.

3. To suggest Futuristic Approaches for development of women entrepreneurs

Introduction

India has great entrepreneurial potential. Indian women are becoming increasingly visible and

successful in all spheres and have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities.

India has been witnessing a bulging growth in the number of aspiring women entrepreneurs

and this pattern is bound to continue in the future. Everywhere you look, there is an Indian



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woman in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream. Women entrepreneurs are fast becoming a

force to reckon with in the business world and are not only involved in business for survival

but to satisfy their inner urge of creativity and to prove their capabilities. Women

entrepreneur’s explore the prospects of starting a new enterprise; undertake risks, introduction

of new innovations, coordinate administration & control of business & providing effective

leadership in all aspects of business and have proved their footage in the male dominated

business arena. The young generation woman has become more dynamic than before and is

open to taking risks and challenges for the right returns.

Today’s women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope up with

market need and are flourishing in variety of businesses and still exploring new avenues of

economic participation. The statistics prove that these women have very high aspirations and

goals for their businesses but somewhere face difficulties in certain areas of their business. It

is perhaps for these reasons that Government Bodies, NGO’s, Social Scientists, Researchers

and International Agencies have started showing interest in the issues related to

entrepreneurship among women in India. The development of women entrepreneurship has

become an important aspect of our plan priorities. Several policies and programmes are being

implemented for the development of women entrepreneurship in India.

Women Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur is the economic agent who utilizes all means of production systematically.

Entrepreneurship has gained currency across the sphere and female- entrepreneurship has

become an important module. “Women Entrepreneurship” means an act of business ownership

and business creation that empowers women economically increases their economic strength

as well as position in society. Women-entrepreneurs have been making a significant impact in

all most all the segments of the economy. Their willingness for the future is apparent in their

growing confidence, in their strengths and in their desire to seek different forms of work in

order to achieve a new balance between work and home.

Thus a “Women Entrepreneur” is a person who is an enterprising individual with an eye for

opportunities and an uncanny vision, commercial acumen, with tremendous perseverance and

above all a person who is willing to take risk with the unknown because of the adventures spirit

she possesses. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial


women, who is capable contributing values in both family and social life and is one who faces

the challenges boldly with an iron, will to succeed.

The Dynamics of Women Entrepreneurship in India

India is one of the fastest emerging economies and the importance of entrepreneurship is

realized across the gamut. At present, women involvement in economic activities is marked by

a low work participation rate, excessive concentration in the unorganized sector and

employment in less skilled jobs. Any strategy aimed at economic development will be lop-

sided without involving women who constitute half of the world population. Evidence has

unequivocally established that entrepreneurial spirit is not a male prerogative. Women

entrepreneurship has gained momentum in the last three decades with the increase in the

number of women enterprises and their substantive contribution to economic growth. The

industrial performance of Indian region propelled by Foreign Direct Investment, technological

innovations and manufactured exports has brought a wide range of economic and social

opportunities to women entrepreneurs.

In this dynamic world, women entrepreneurs are an important part of the global quest for

sustained economic development and social progress. In India, though women have played a

key role in the society, their entrepreneurial ability has not been properly tapped due to the

lower status of women in the society. It is only from the Fifth Five Year Plan onwards that their

role has been explicitly recognized with a marked shift in the approach from women welfare

to women development and empowerment.

There is a need for changing the mind-set towards women so as to give equal rights as enshrined

in the constitution. The progress towards gender equality is slow and is partly due to the failure

to attach money to policy commitments.

Protagonist of Women Entrepreneurs in India

Women entrepreneurs are key players in any developing country particularly in terms of their

contribution to economic development. For the past few decades the revolution of Women

Entrepreneurs in India has been tremendous. From the compulsive factors in the fifties to the

Jill of trades in the 21st Century. With the spread of education and awareness, women have

shifted from the kitchen, handicrafts and traditional cottage industries to non-traditional higher

levels of activities. The Government has also laid special weight age on the requirement for

conducting special entrepreneurial training programs for women to enable them to start their


own ventures. Financial institutions and banks have also set up particular cells to help women

entrepreneurs. This has rebound the women entrepreneurs on the economic scene in the recent

years although many women’s entrepreneurship enterprises are still remained a much neglected

field. Though, for women there are quite a lot of handicaps to enter into and manage business

ownership due to the intensely entrenched conventional state of mind and strict principles of

the Indian society. The characters that have been prominent in the Women entrepreneurs which

elevate them are as follows:

Women can poise home and work

The art of work-life balance as a female leader requires careful planning and prioritization. A

successful woman entrepreneur is more complacent at making perfect trade-offs between work

and their personal lives. Her multitasking talent combined with support from spouse and

relatives enables her to bring together business priorities along with the domestic

responsibilities competently and efficiently.

Women are Creative

Women do have the creative approach or innovative ideas to vie with the competitive market.

Well-planned approach is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the

entrepreneurial opportunities which the women are good at indicating that women

entrepreneurs have coalition with experienced people and contracting the right organization

offering support and service. She comes with new innovative solutions to old problems to tide

over issues.

For women, learning is continuous process for which they are open and enthusiastic about

A successful woman entrepreneur is always alert about the changes because she is aware of the

importance of evolving changes which will impact her entrepreneurial venture. She is ahead of

her competitors and thrives on changes. She adapts her business to changes in technology or

service prospect of her patrons. She is inquisitive, concerned to learn and accommodative to

innovations. They ensure access and alertness to latest scientific and technological

information.

Women are risk takers

The desire refers to the willingness to take risk and ability to the proficiency in planning making

estimates and calculations. The preparedness to take risks always prevails in the women. Her

buoyancy towards life enables her to take risks. She is often relatively comfortable with

ambiguity, uncertainty and risk

Women are ambitious


A successful woman entrepreneur is appallingly strong-minded one, has an inner urge or drives

to change contemplation into realism. She is ready to grab opportunities, sets goal, possess

clear vision, steps confidently forward and is ambitious to be successful. Every successful

woman entrepreneur is truly determined to achieve goals and make her business prosper.

Women are packed with Determination

Women entrepreneurs possess an intention to fulfil their dreams. They work towards making a

dream transferring it into an idea enterprise. They strive hard to make their enterprise into a

success story irrespective to facing all odds with the help of their determined or never say die

attitude. Patience and bearing the sufferings on behalf of others has some blend of critical

analytical thinking, creativity, and practical implementation of ideas and ability to work

physically more at any age.

Women are Resourceful

Women entrepreneurs take advantage effectively coordinating the available factors and

resources such as mentoring, other small business development assistance, training and

coaching and build a strong base of education, training and experience which can help lead to

success. She can live a life that belies her financial situation because she is resourceful.

Women value cooperation and commitment

A woman has the ability to work with all levels of populace. She is keen on maintaining

associations and communicates evidently and efficiently. This helps her to negotiate even

responsive issues without difficulty. She is sympathetic to people around her and have good

networking skills that help her to get better contacts and utilize opportunities. Even the

associates are committed and depict loyalty which is a very positive aspect which helps the

women to gain success in her venture.

Women do possess the Profit earning capacity

A successful woman entrepreneur prepares reasonable budget estimates. She provides cost-

effective quality services to her clients. With minimized cost of operations, she is able to

energize her team to capitalize on profits and gather its benefits. She also has the capability to

acquire maximum return out of invested capital with her calculative mind.

Women are optimistic

A successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to learn from others,

search for help from experts if it means adding value to her goals. She is positive in nature and


is keener to take risks. A winning woman entrepreneur uses common intelligence to make

astute judgments when encountering everyday situations. This is gleaned from past experience

and information acquired over the years. It is essential not to get aggravated and give up when

you face obstacles and trials. The aptitude to explore uncharted territories and take bold

decisions is the hallmark of a successful woman entrepreneur. A successful woman usually

loves what she does. She is extremely passionate about her tasks and activities. Her high energy

levels motivate her to contribute immensely towards building, establishing and maintaining a

prosperous business. She has the ability to judge ambiguous business conditions in more

positive, enthusiastic, and optimistic terms.

Women are devoted to their work

To become successful, one has to put in sincere efforts and the enterprising women have strong

ability to work hard. The creative ideas have to be realised and hence hard work is essential to

build up an enterprise. They are diligent and devoted to their work.

Women focus on their Plans

Women Entrepreneurs strategize their work. The roadmap helps them to diligently do their

work in a smooth fashion. They set long-term and short-term goals and take consistent actions

in accomplishing them.

In addition to the above, an effectual Women Entrepreneur requires certain additional essential

abilities, such as innovative thinking and farsightedness, quick and effective choice making

skill, self-efficacy, strong determination, have high levels of work motivation, high levels of

social competence and social intelligence, accepting changes in right time and last but not the

least that they have an ability to build relationships and to connect with others on a social and

interpersonal level .

Many women have these traits but probably they never got a platform to showcase their talents

and for this reason they don't know their real abilities. Matching the basic qualities required for

entrepreneurs and the basic characters of Indian women reveal that, much potential is available

among the Indian women on their entrepreneurial ability. This potential is to be documented,

brought out and exposed for utilization in productive and service sectors for the progress of the

nation

Glitches in Entrepreneurship for Women

Women entrepreneurs face many hurdles. Societal support is a key determinant in

entrepreneurial establishment. The most common problem, which a woman faces, is the non-

cooperation from her husband or close family members. Majority of the time the family

members do not motivate them. There are some umpteen problems faced by women at various


stages beginning from their initial commencement of enterprise, in running their enterprise.

Their various problems are as follows:

1. Male-controlled Society

Entrepreneurship has been traditionally seen a male domain and idea of women taking

up entrepreneurial activities considered as a distant dream. Any deviation from the

norm is frowned and if possible, immediately curbed. Women also have to face role

conflict as soon as they initiate any entrepreneurial activity. It is an uphill task for

women to face such conflicts and cope with the twin role.

2. Lack of education and prevalent levels of illiteracy amongst women

Knowledge of latest technological changes, know how, and education level of the

person are significant factor that affect business. In India, around (40%) of women are

still illiterate and illiteracy is the root cause of socioeconomic barriers or hurdles.

Women in India lack the education needed to spur successful entrepreneurship.

Although great advances are being made in technology, many women's illiteracy,

structural difficulties, and lack of access to technical training prevent the technology

from being beneficial or even available to females. This discourages women to set up

competitive enterprises. According to The Economist, this lack of knowledge and the

continuing treatment of women as second-class citizens keeps them in a pervasive cycle

of poverty.

3. Lack of self-confidence and optimistic attitude amongst women

Nowadays most of the women are suffering from one major problem of lack of self-

confidence, determination, physically powerful outlook, hopefulness etc. They are

always panic from committing mistakes while doing their piece of work, more over

there is limited initiative of taking risk and bearing uncertainty in them. Thus all these

psychological factors often obstruct their path of achieving success in the area of

enterprise.

4. Prioritization expectations

Women's family obligations also bar them from becoming successful entrepreneurs in

India. Women have to deal with performing of home role as they are not available to

spend enough time with their families. In India, woman’s duty is considered to look

after her children, other family members and manage household activities. Initial set up


of business consumes long hours and as a result, they find it difficult to meet the

demands of their family members and society as well. Their absence to attend to

domestic and social work, quality time for children, personal hobbies, and

entertainment adds to their conflicts. Even the financial institutions discourage women

entrepreneurs on the belief that they can at any time leave their business and become

housewives again. The result is that they are forced to rely on their own savings, and

loan from relatives and family friends.

5. Absence of Entrepreneurial Aptitude

Almost 83 % women do not have any feel/jest for entrepreneurship but they take the

training by attending the Entrepreneurship Development Programmes. Women who

are imparted training by various institutes must be put through aptitude tests,

interviews etc.

6. Low Mobility

The male - female competition is another factor, which develop hurdles to women

entrepreneurs in the business management process. Despite the fact that women

entrepreneurs are good in keeping their service prompt and delivery in time, due to lack

of organisational skills compared to male entrepreneurs women have to face constraints

from competition. The confidence to travel across day and night and even different

regions and states are less found in women compared to male entrepreneurs. This shows

the low level freedom of expression and freedom of mobility of the women

entrepreneurs.

7. Quality of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes

EDP training is same for all women entrepreneurs, although Second-generation women

entrepreneurs don't need such training as they already have the previous exposure to

business.

8. Marketing Problems: Women entrepreneurs continuously face the problems in

marketing their products. It is one of the core problems as this area is mainly dominated

by males and even women with adequate experience fail to make a dent. For marketing

the products women entrepreneurs have to be at the mercy of middlemen who pocket

the chunk of profit. Although the middlemen exploit the women entrepreneurs, the

elimination of middlemen is difficult, because it involves a lot of running about.


Women entrepreneurs also find it difficult to capture the market and make their

products popular. Marketing means mobility and confidence in dealing with the

external world, both of which women have been discouraged from developing by social

conditioning. Even when they are otherwise in control of an enterprise, they often

depend on males of the family in this area.

9. Financial Problems And Credit Facilities

For every business undertaking Finance is said to be the “life blood”, whether it is large,

medium or small enterprise. The financial institutions are sceptical about the

entrepreneurial abilities of women. Women do not in general have property on their

own names to use that as collateral securities for obtaining loans/funds from banks and

other financial institutions. Thus their access to external sources is very limited.

Obtaining the support of bankers, managing the working capital, lack of credit

resources are the problems which still remain in the male’s domain. According to a

report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), despite

evidence that women's loan repayment rates are higher than men's, women still face

more difficulties in obtaining credit, often due to discriminatory attitudes of banks and

informal lending groups. Financial problems are such obstacles where even training

doesn't significantly help the women. Some problems are structural in nature and

beyond the control of entrepreneurs

10. Shortage of raw-materials

Women entrepreneurs encounter the problems of shortage of raw-materials and inputs.

The failure of many women co-operations in 1971 such as these engaged in basket

making were mainly because of the inadequate availability of forest-based raw

materials. To top it all, is the high prices of raw materials, on one hand and getting raw

materials at minimum discount rates are the other.

11. Low Need-of-achievement

Achievement motivation of the women folk found less compared to male members.

The low level of education and confidence leads to low level achievement and

advancement motivation among women folk to engage in business operations and

running a business concern

12. Cut-throat Competition

Lot of the women entrepreneurs have imperfect organizational set up to drive in a lot

of money for canvassing and advertisements. They have to face severe competition


from organized industries. They have also to face a stiff competition with the men

entrepreneurs who easily involve in the promotion and development area and carry out

easy marketing of their products with both the organized sector and their male

counterparts. Such a competition ultimately results in the insolvency of women

entrepreneurs.

13. High cost of production

High cost of production undermines the efficiency and stands in the way of

development and expansion of women's enterprises. The installation of new machinery

during expansion of the productive capacity and similar factor dissuades the women

entrepreneur from venturing in to new area. Government assistance in the form of grant

and subsidies to some extent enables them to tide over the difficult situations. However,

in the long run, it would be necessary to increase efficiency and expand productive

capacity and thereby reduce cost to make their ultimate survival possible, other than

these, women entrepreneurs so face the problems of labour, human resources,

infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack of family support, mistrust etc.

14. Sustainability

Probably the most important aspect of turning an Entrepreneur is being able to sustain

your business. Most women are unable to carry through their ideas because of the short

term goals they set without thinking through the sustainability of their venture and also

partly due to the priorities they are forced to change when it comes to family.

Futuristic Approaches for Development of Women Entrepreneurs

The emergence as well as development of women entrepreneurs is quite visible in India. Today

the role of Women entrepreneur in economic development is inevitable because women are

entering not only in selected professions but also in professions like trade, industry and

engineering. Right efforts from all areas are required in the development of women

entrepreneurs and their greater participation in the entrepreneurial activities. Following efforts

can be taken into account for effective development of women entrepreneurs:

1. All developmental programs should be taken up focusing female market groups.

2. Better educational facilities and schemes should be extended to women folk from

government part.


3. Vocational training programs to be provided to women community so as to enable them

to understand the production process, production management and develop overall

management & leadership skills.

4. Encourage women's participation in decision-making.

5. Promoting women entrepreneurship is important to tackle under employment and

unemployment problems in the society.

6. Encouraging skill development in women's through higher percentage of women

reservations in polytechnics and industrial training institutes.

7. Activities in which women are trained should focus on their professional competence,

marketability and profitability.

8. Training and rigorous counselling of existing and emerging women entrepreneurs to

remove psychological causes like lack of self-confidence, fear of success, social

backlash, etc., through the aid of committed NGOs, psychologists, managerial experts

and technical personnel.

9. Government assistance/aid in marketing and sales of women entrepreneur products.

10. State finance corporations and financing institutions should permit by statute to extend

purely trade related finance to women entrepreneurs.

11. The financial institutions should provide more working capital and credit assistance

both for small scale venture and large scale ventures.

12. Making provision of micro credit system and enterprise credit system at low rate of

interest to the women entrepreneurs at local level

13. Infrastructure, in the form of industrial plots and sheds, to set up industries is to be

provided by state run agencies.

14. Industrial estates could also provide marketing outlets for the display and sale of

products made by women.

15. Regular programs on training financiers to avoid gender bias and treat women with

dignity and respect as persons in their own right.

16. A Women Entrepreneur's Guidance Cell set up to handle the various problems of

women entrepreneurs all over the state.

17. District Industries Centres and Single Window Agencies should make use of assisting

women in their trade and business guidance.


18. Programmers for encouraging entrepreneurship among women are to be extended at

local level.

19. Training in entrepreneurial attitudes should start at the high school level through well-

designed courses, which build confidence through behavioural games.

20. More governmental schemes and benefits passed on to motivate women entrepreneurs

to engage in small scale and large-scale business ventures.

Conclusion

It can be aptly stated that women entrepreneurship is growing in leaps and bounds but at the

same point there are some challenges which need to be met by the support and cooperation of

the required bodies and institutions. Every woman has the potential to be an Entrepreneur and

it can be developed through nurturing skills and ideas. Women in business attain success for

their intelligence, efficiency, commitment and honesty. However, women in India have to earn

an extra quality to consider the society and its norms and values for the sake of business.

Although it is an added burden on them but this consideration helps them to stand beside the

men as equals. The evident fact is that women are half of the total; their contribution to the

economy is unrecognized in most cases. They are underrepresented in many economic sectors.

There are good number of successful women entrepreneurs and have scaled to the peak where

many men find it hard to reach. They are mentors for hundreds of thousands of women

particularly in business having the qualities like hard work, devotion, sincerity, professionalism

and significant managerial capacity. And it is very true because women are far more better

managers as compared to their male counterparts because they learn Management not in

Schools but through real life Experiences. The biggest challenge that many literate and illiterate

women in rural and urban areas faces in entering into small industry as entrepreneurs is due to

the lack of knowledge on product, market, quality, financial assistance and the like. It’s to be

seen that some committee should be constituted and the recommendations which are put forth

should be implemented in phases to root out the problems faced by these women.

The government of India should acknowledge the importance of Women Entrepreneurs and

provide assistance to groom them especially in the wake of liberalization policy. At the same

time, the education system should be revamped so as to groom them. The big thirst for finance

and knowing the markets among women need to be satisfied through taking necessary steps by

all stakeholders including Banks and the Government. In the End there is an urgent need for


establishing a Women Development Bank (WDB), a separate and independent bank for

women, after observing that a large number of women fail to compete with the male

entrepreneurs in receiving bank loans and assistance.

Summing up , it can be rightly said that the future for women entrepreneurship is very bright

and there will soon arrive a day when women entrepreneurs will not only be performing at par

with the male-counterparts but will also proceed to supersede them in various spheres of

entrepreneurship. This will be a great success in the development of the culture of

entrepreneurship amongst women. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, counted among the most successful

women entrepreneurs in India, did not build Biocon overnight. It took her time, perseverance

and a ‘never say die’ attitude to get to where she is today. You need exactly the same

ingredients to get past these obstacles and rub shoulders with her someday.

Lastly would like to end the paper by quoting to Laila Kabir, a noted Entrepreneur’s words “If

women get the opportunity to develop as entrepreneurs, I think they can do very well because

they very early in life learn to manage available resources and time successfully"

References

Dhameja S K (2002), Women Entrepreneurs: Opportunities, performance, problems, Deep

publications (p) LtD, New Delhi, p 11

Rajendran N (2003), "Problems and prospects of women Entrepreneurs" SEDME, Vol. 30

no.4.

Rao Padala Shanmukha (2007) "Entrepreneurship Development among Women: A case study

of self-help Groups in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh" The ICFAI Journal of

Entrepreneurship Development Vol.1V No. 1

Saidapur, S. (et.al). (2012). Women Candle Entrepreneurs in Gulbarga District – A Micro

Analysis. Spectrum: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 4, 7-17.

Shane, S. (2013). "The genetics of entrepreneurial performance". International Small Business

Journal 31 (5): 473–495

Sharma Sheetal (2006) “Educated Women, powered, women" Yojana Vol.50, No.12

http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/is-the-women-entrepreneur-

empowered-inindia-3147613.html#ixzz15PmH5WNy

about:blank#ixzz15PmH5WNy

about:blank#ixzz15PmH5WNy


A STUDY ON THE DIGITAL PAYMENT ECOSYSTEM OF INDIA

Dr. Aashish S. Jani

Vice Principal and Research Guide, Smt. MMK College of Commerce and Economics

Bandra (W). [email protected]

Mr. Kayzad F. Dadachanji

Research Scholar, Smt. MMK College of Commerce and Economics

Bandra (W). [email protected]

Abstract

This research paper makes an attempt to study the digital payment system of the country. It

tries to study the recent innovations made in the field of digital payments. The paper also

highlights the rise in digital payments due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The paper also briefly

discusses the reasons for people’s preference of cash and also suggests few measures for the

growth of the Digital Payments Sector in the country.

Keywords: Cashless, Coronavirus Pandemic, Digitalisation

Introduction

In order to curb black money and other such evils, the Government of India has

undertaken various initiatives to make our economy “A Cashless Economy .” The scheme of

Demonetisation implemented by the Government of India in November, 2016 and the

Coronavirus Pandemic from March, 2020 have contributed significantly to the growth and

development of Digital Payments Ecosystem in India.

The Digital Payments commenced in India in the 1990s in the form of Online

Banking with the availability of Internet. Recent innovations and technological developments

had offered a number of options to the customers to make payments online. The Digital








Revolution in Payments in India started with the technologies like MICR, Credit Cards and

Debit Cards. This was followed by Digital Wallets, Prepaid Cards and Recharge Vouchers.

The rise of FINTECHS in India have led to new innovations for transacting money online. The

recent developments in the field of digital payments include UPI, QR Codes, Fastags, NFC

payments etc.

Through this research paper, an attempt is being made to study the recent

innovations made in the field of digital payments in India. We have also tried to study how

have Government initiatives and Coronavirus Pandemic led to a growth of digital payments in

India. Effort is also made in finding out the reasons for people’s preference for cash even when

various convenient digital payment modes are available. Lastly, we have also tried to give a

few suggestions for the further growth and acceptance of Digital modes of Payments in India.

Review of Current Literature

During the course of research work, we came across various scholarly articles and

research articles published by research scholars and Academicians in reputed journals. A few

prominent ones have been listed below

(i)Sahyaselvi S. (2017), An Overview on Digital Payments, International Journal of

Research,4(13) Studied the various options of digital payments available in India and also

opined that in future people shall resort to cashless transactions as they are safer and time

saving.

(ii) Malsure L. (2019), Digital Payments Methods in India: A study of Problems and Prospects,

International Journal of Scientific Research & Management Studies, 3(8) Tried to study the

problems of digital payment system in India and stated that digital illiteracy and risks

associated with digital payments as the root cause for reluctance of people to use digital modes

(iii) Erandekar and Ravi Kumar (2020), Emergence of Digital Payment Instruments in India as

an Alternative to Cash – An Appraisal, International Journal of Advanced Science and

Technology,29(5)

Tried to study the growth of various digital payment modes and also tried to analyse the volume

of transactions done using digital payment options in India

Objectives of the Study

(i) To study the recent innovations made in the field of digital payments in India.

https://www.researchgate.net/journal/International-Journal-of-Scientific-Research-Management-Studies-2349-3771


(ii) To evaluate the impact of demonetisation and cornonavirus pandemic on digital

modes of payment in India.

(iii) To understand the reasons for people’s preference towards cash

(iv) To suggest measures for the further growth and acceptance of digital payments in

India

Methodology

The entire research is based on secondary data collected from relevant materials available with

agencies like Reserve Bank of India, websites, research publications and newspapers.

Discussions

I. Recent Innovations in the field of Digital Payments in India

Due to the recent technological developments, better infrastructural facilities new and

different modes of digital payments are made accessible to the people of India. A few

prominent recent innovations are discussed below

(A) Unified Payment Interface (UPI)

It is an application primarily for smart phone users enabling them to trade funds between

bank accounts. It is a system created by the National Payments Corporation of India. Under

this system, the user is not expected to enter information pertaining to their bank accounts

every time they initiate a transaction. Under UPI, the transfer of funds or money takes

place between two banks without any waiting period i.e.on real time basis. This interface

is under the control of the Reserve Bank of India.

UPI is considered as one of the safest and secured mode for the movement of funds

electronically. For sending the money (Push Transactions) and receiving money (Pull

transactions) without any hassles, the system makes use of existing systems namely Aadhar

Enabled Payment Systems (AEPS) and Immediate Payment Services (IMPS). The system is

also extensively used for barcode payments and also for regular monthly payments like

subscriptions, utility bills to name a few.

Under UPI, once the user’s identity is established, he can initiate transactions only with

the smartphone (mobile number) linked to his bank account and that too without any hassles.

The user is not expected to make use of his card details or provide his account details or internet


banking information while transacting via UPI, thereby enabling greater safety and secrecy of

sensitive data.

Phonepe, Paytm, Google Pay are few well known UPIs available in India currently.

(B) QR Codes

The easy availability of smartphones and high-speed internet at a nominal cost has led to an

increase in population making use of QR codes for payment digitally.

QR stands for Quick Response. It is a code having two dimensions and white background.

There is a square grid on which one can see black squares arranged in a particular

pattern. The smartphone cameras can be used for reading these QR codes.

QR codes are becoming one of the best online payment modes as the customer is just

expected to scan the QR code using his smartphone camera, thus there is no sharing

of any bank information or phone number for making the payments. Usually both the

customer and the merchant would be using an app which will facilitate the scanning

of the QR code and initiating the payment process.

QR code is one of the quickest ways to make the payment online. The customer has to

scan the code and proceed of payment, on confirming the process of payment, the

payment is done instantaneously in a matter of a few seconds.

For the merchants, QR code is a cheap option as there are not expected to invest in

acquisition of a hardware like POS machine for acceptance of funds.

QR codes is a highly secured and fool proof system of payment as they are no chances of

errors. Formulating a QR code is simple and it can be easily printed on paper which

can be used subsequently by the customer for scanning and making the payment.

The pattern of black boxes in QR codes is unique thereby providing a greater degree of

reliability

(C) FasTag

Fastag is a device using Radio Identification Technology for direct online toll

payments of vehicles. Fastag is affixed on the vehicle’s windscreen and enables the online

payment of toll from the bank account linked to the Fastag.

In addition to the advantage of cashless payment, Fastag also results in savings in fuel

and time. Fastag facility has a reach of more than 720 toll plazas throughout the country.


Almost all leading commercial banks and UPI handles offer Fastag facility for seamless

and hassle-free payment of toll plaza when your vehicle is still in motion.

The toll amount is directly debited from the bank account of the customer linked to the

Fastag. If the customer does not have sufficient balance, then the Fastag may get blacklisted at

toll plaza.

The online recharge of Fastag can be done easily through any of the modes like card

payments, NEFT, Net banking etc.

From the midnight of February 15, 2021, the Government has made it mandatory for all

vehicles passing through tolls to make toll payments online using Fastags.

(D) NFC Payments

Near Field Communication (NFC) are slowly becoming a very common word with

regards to payments digitally in India.

NFC is a method facilitating wireless transfer of data thereby enabling devices like

smartphones, tablets, laptops to share data when they are in close proximity of upto 4 cms.

Many digital wallet apps use NFC feature for added security. In order to enhance the

safety, NFC readers connect to only one NFC Payment Device at a point of time. Thus, the

possibility of a nearby customer erroneously paying for someone else is removed.

NFCs also permit its users to store their card information on their mobile devices.

This method of contactless debit card and credit card has gained momentum in India post

January, 2019 as the RBI made chip-based card mandatory. The contactless card work on the

payments of NFC technology.

The Contactless credit or debit card is an NFC tag containing important details like card

number, expiry date of card, CVV number provided at the back of the card etc.

The person desirous of making a contactless payment is required to tap or drift the card on

the RFID reader installed in front of the POS machines and the payment is completed in a

matter of few seconds.

The RBI Guidelines state that no pin or signature is required for contactless debit or credit

card payment for any transaction below Rs. 5,000.

Mastercard Tap and Go, Visa payWave, Rupay Contactless Card are a few well known

contactless debit and credit cards available in India.


II. Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the digital payment transactions in India.

“Online or digital payments have been on the rise, especially after the spread of the Covid-19

pandemic in the country,” Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Electronics and Information

Technology, had said in the Lok Sabha on March 24, 2021.

Table 1: - Comparison of Digital Payments for two years: - 2020

(April 2019 to March 2020) and 2021 (April 2020 to March 2021)

Mode of

Payment

Volume of Transactions

(in lakhs)

Value of Transactions in

Rupees (in crores)

2020 2021 2020 2021

RTGS 1,507 1,592 13,11,56,475 10,55,99,849

AEPS 10 11 469 623

IMPS 25,792 32,783 23,37,541 29,41,500

NACH credit 11,290 16,450 10,43,212 12,32,714

NEFT 27,445 30,928 2,29,45,580 2,51,30,910

UPI 1,25,186 2,23,307 21,31,730 41,03,658

BHIM Aadhar

Pay 91 161 1,303 2,508

Card

Payments 72,384 57,841 14,34,814 12,93,822

Prepaid

Payment

Instruments

53,318 49,392 2,15,558 1,97,695

Source:- RBI Annual Report

Overall, the total digital transaction volume in 2020-2021 stood at 4,371 crores as against

3,412 crores in 2019-2020, clearly confirming the fact that more people resorted to digital

modes of payment during the pandemic to avoid physical contact and maintain safe

distance. The Pandemic has encouraged people to adapt to new innovative modes for

payment thereby resulting in an enormous change in the digital payment landscape of the

country during the last year.

As per a study by Razorpay, roughly the digital transactions have grown upto 76% during

the last year in India. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of people

restoring to the digital payments for the first time. The industries which witnessed a


substantial increase in online payments due to the pandemic include education, food and

beverages, travel.

NACH is a new system of online payment enabling users with a bank account to automate

recurring payments like telephone, electricity, water etc. This system has recorded an

enormous growth in the volume of transactions during the past year due to the pandemic

and lockdown.

Firstly, demonetisation and now the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a number of

people accepting online modes of payment. They are not hesitant and seem to be more

comfortable using this system which offers them convenience, saves time and also provides

numerous incentives for digital payments.

III. Preference of the Indian people towards cash for making payments.

The Reserve Bank of India had conducted a pilot survey of 6,192 respondents from

different cities of India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and

Guwahati to know about the various modes of payment used for retail transactions in

India.

The survey found that about 54% prefer to make payments in cash and digital payment

modes were used by 41%. The usage of cash was found to be more prominent for small

value transactions ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 500. The survey also found that when

the value of transactions increased to Rs. 5,000, more people were in favour of digital

mode.

According to RBI, the reasons stated by the people for usage of cash were

Lack of internet and digital infrastructure.

Complexity of digital transactions

Lack of awareness about various digital payment options.

The survey found that close to 94% of the respondents were having knowledge about

debit cards and credit cards, the number reduced to close to 70% when people were asked about

internet and mobile banking. As per the survey less than 50% of the respondents were aware

about the BHIM UTI App

Research Limitations

The major limitation of this research is that is solely based on secondary data.

For better results primary data should also be included. Secondly technology is ever changing


and hence new modes of payments are introduced frequently, so there is a possibility that the

payment modes mentioned in this research paper may become obsolete over a period of time

Conclusions and Suggestions

Over the last few years, due to Government measures like Demonetisation and

coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people resorting to digital

modes of payments. The Digital modes of payment offer many benefits to the customers like

convenience and comfort and they are also time saving. The digital modes also offer attractive

cash back options and also have various gift and discount coupons.

Due to lack of IT infrastructure, people are unable to avail digital services more

particularly so in the rural areas. So, there should be a better infrastructure and easy availability

of internet and smartphone and other devices if we want to increase the value and volume of

digital transactions in our country.

Secondly, a vast majority of the population in our country is reluctant to use digital

modes of payment because they are not aware about them. This is a real challenge which our

country needs to address, we can have more digital users provided people are educated about

the various digital options available to them.

Thirdly, few people have faced a problem of online theft / fraud and that discourages

them and their known contacts to use digital modes of payments. The RBI, the Government

and the various players of the Fintech industry should jointly work in this direction. The RBI

survey stated that close to 45% of the respondents have never changed their debit and credit

card password. The survey also found that 8% of the respondents shared their passwords and

OTPs with others. There is a greater need to sensitise people about the basic safety norms that

they should follow while initiating an online payment.

The ever-rising E-commerce transactions in India is provide an enormous scope for the

digital payment ecosystem to grow and prosper and make our economy a truly cashless

economy, the only thing is awareness on the part of public, sound security features and stringent

laws by the Government and regulating agencies to prevent online frauds and data theft and

also a better technological infrastructure.


References

Journal Articles

Erandekar and Ravi Kumar (2020), Emergence of Digital Payment Instruments in India as an

Alternative to Cash – An Appraisal, International Journal of Advanced Science and

Technology,29(5)

Malsure L. (2019), Digital Payments Methods in India: A study of Problems and Prospects,

International Journal of Scientific Research & Management Studies, 3(8)

Sahyaselvi S. (2017), An Overview on Digital Payments, International Journal of Research,4(13)

Online Documents

Awasthi P. (2021) Digital Payments in India to grow to 71.7% of all payment transactions by 2025

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/digital-payments-in-india-to-grow-to-717-of-all-

payment-transactions-by-2025-report/article34204827.ece )Published on March 31, 2021

Ganti A. (2021) Unified Payment Interface https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unified-payment-

interface-

upi.asp#:~:text=A%20Unified%20Payment%20Interface%20%28UPI%29%20is%20a%20

viewed on July 13, 2021

https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/future-of-digital-payments-what-s-next-for-india-s-

digital-space-lyra-network-827936593.html viewed on July 13, 2021

Lyra Network (2020) Future of digital payments - What's next for India's Digital Space

Lyra Network (2020) What is QR Code Payment and How does it work QR Code Payment - What is it,

how does it work & Use Cases | Everything about QR Code Payment (lyra.com) viewed on July

13, 2021

Money Control News (2021) The digital payment landscape in India is changing and growing like

never before! https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/despite-

uptick-in-digital-payments-india-continues-to-be-a-cash-based-economy-6770501.html

viewed on April 15, 2021

RBI Survey :- Cash Is Still King Despite Digital Payments Gaining Traction In India

https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/cash-is-still-king-despite-digital-payments-

gaining-traction-in-india-rbi-survey

Sanyal S. (2021) The state of Digital Payment Ecosystem in India https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-

state-of-the-digital-payment-ecosystem-in-india/) viewed on June 14,2021

https://www.researchgate.net/journal/International-Journal-of-Scientific-Research-Management-Studies-2349-3771

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/digital-payments-in-india-to-grow-to-717-of-all-payment-transactions-by-2025-report/article34204827.ece

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/digital-payments-in-india-to-grow-to-717-of-all-payment-transactions-by-2025-report/article34204827.ece

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unified-payment-interface-upi.asp#:~:text=A%20Unified%20Payment%20Interface%20%28UPI%29%20is%20a%20



https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/future-of-digital-payments-what-s-next-for-india-s-digital-space-lyra-network-827936593.html

https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/future-of-digital-payments-what-s-next-for-india-s-digital-space-lyra-network-827936593.html

https://www.lyra.com/in/qr-code-payment/

https://www.lyra.com/in/qr-code-payment/

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/despite-uptick-in-digital-payments-india-continues-to-be-a-cash-based-economy-6770501.html%20viewed%20on%20April%2015



https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/cash-is-still-king-despite-digital-payments-gaining-traction-in-india-rbi-survey

https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/cash-is-still-king-despite-digital-payments-gaining-traction-in-india-rbi-survey

https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-state-of-the-digital-payment-ecosystem-in-india/

https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-state-of-the-digital-payment-ecosystem-in-india/


IMPLEMENTATION OF HR ANALYTICS IN SELECTED SUPER MARKETS OF

MUMBAI

Dr. Priyadarshini Nidhan & Dr. Arati Deepak Kale

Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Lala Lajpatrai Marg, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai-400034

[email protected], [email protected]

Abstract

Decision making by managers from every day task to major areas like PMS and talent management in

organization by studying data in the form of HR metrics is called HR Analytics. Most of the companies

collect and maintain data on regular basis and many companies having software which generate report

on this data automatically, HR managers take decision after analyzing data report carefully. Decisions

taken with the help of HR analytics are more authentic and profitable for organization. At the same

time analytics helps in reducing time and manpower. It also translates into efficient manpower

planning.

This research paper studies implementation of HR analytics on select super market chains in Mumbai

by collecting primary data from D-Mart, Big Bazaar and Hyper city. Data is collected in the form of

questionnaire and studied by using appropriate statistical tools. This research also tries to find future

scope of utility of HR analytics in these supermarkets.

Key words: HR analytics, HR metrics, Supermarkets

Objectives

To study the HR analytics practices in Indian supermarkets

To find out the effects of using HR analytics on employee management

To identify the future scope of utility of HR analytics in Indian supermarkets

Introduction

Supermarkets are currently the booming sector of Indian economy. This trend is expected to

continue for at least the next two-three decades, online supermarkets like grofers, amazon

pantry and nature basket are equally attractive for customers from all economic classes.

Supermarkets are also expected to create huge employment opportunity at all level. To manage



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this much of employees productively, so they can motivate to deliver as per customer demand,

tastes and preferences effectively is the challenge for the HR. Performance management and

analysis of large workforce in supermarkets is not easy, from predicting to make any decision

from recruitment to reward they need a proper standardized system which they can practice in

all their operating branches irrespective of city and state of store.

Data analytics is becoming a successful decision making tool in the business world. The

finance, customer’s service and sales using data analytics since long time and companies are

now seeking how to use data analytics in human resource department as well.

Human Resource Analytics

“HR analytics uses statistical models and other techniques to analyze employee-related data,

allowing HR managers to improve the effectiveness of employee-related decision-making the

human resource strategy.”

History of HR Metrics and HR Analytics

Although the importance of using employee data gain a lot of attention recently, if we see

history than it start emerging since early 20th century. For example, German-American

researcher Hugo Munsterberg published an article in 1913 in a book entitled psychology and

industrial efficiency in which he argued that in order to increase productivity and job

satisfaction of employees it’s better to hire people as per the job-personality fit model. In 1980s

Jac Fitz-enz used HR metrics in organizations and published “How to measure Human

Resource Management” in 1984 along with the formulae to calculate it by using HR metrics.

In recent times HR balance score card developed in 1996 by Robert Kaplan and David Norton

in their book show how to measure customer satisfaction, process effectiveness and employee

development.

HR ANALYTICS PRACTICES PRACTICING BY SUPER MARKETS

1. Smarter recruitment and people management

HR managers of these supermarkets check background of employees by visiting their social

networking sites and information including picture, post and other activities they added here.

They found that employees who are less active socially are better in customer satisfaction while

those who are active can be better in sales.

2. Forecasting employee turnover

HR managers of Big Bazar and D-Mart use predictive analytics to assume attrition rate of

employees which help them to work on how to retain employees and how to manage human


resource planning in the company in less expansive and fastest way. Predictive analysis helps

them to understand that most of the people resign after performance appraisal announce in the

company.

3. Predicting sick leaves or day off

Predictive analysis shows that most of the absent does not happen during festivals or weekends

but due to employee falling sick due to weather. For female employees with kids, exam and

summer vacation can be a little reason.

4. Workforce planning

D-Mart has maximum foot falling during weekends and during peak hours in evening and late

evening. This helps them to place more people on billing counters on those timings. Big Bazar

has maximum sales of certain items during festivals and holidays, so they need to keep more

sales executive at those counters during this period.

Weekly off, job placement and shift time of employees are decided by analyzing this data.

Research Methodology

The research was descriptive in nature and uses convenience sampling. The sample size is 60,

20 get filled by D-Mart managers, 20 by Big Bazar and other supermarket store managers. The

source of data collection was primary and secondary. Secondary data was collected from the

past data, reports and articles published. The data analysis was done with using the statistical

tools Primary data was collected from HR managers working with supermarkets in Mumbai

which includes the following:-

S. No. Name of supermarket

1 Big Bazaar

2 D-Mart

3

Others supermarket with

employee strength 1000+ and 5

stores across Mumbai

S. No. Supermarket Name No. of

Employees

Stores across

Mumbai

1 Big Bazaar 35000 24

2 D-Mart 1000-5000 35

3 Others 1000+ 5

Data is collected in the form of questionnaire which contains 5 questions related to how

Human Resource managers in supermarkets using HR analytics in different way and how it is


beneficial to them.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

To study the HR analytics practices in Indian supermarkets

Results clearly shown biggest retail chain Big Bazar use HR Analytics practices for recruitment

and performance appraisal followed by D-Mart and others.

To study the effects of using HR analytics on employee management.

Results shown Predictive analysis helps big retailers’ Big Bazar and D-Mart to predict and

reduce turnover rate and work on hiring process in advance to manage HR capital in the

company.

18

18.5

19

19.5

20

20.5

21

21.5

Big Bazar DMART Other

Do you use social networking sites as a tool for backgroung checking of employees?

18

19

20

21

22


Do you find any relation between employee level of using social network and

his performance?


To study the future of HR analytics in Indian supermarkets

Most of them agree on usability of HR analytics practices in Super bazar.

18

19

20

21

22


Are you using Predictive Analysis to assume Employee Turnover rate in Super

Bazar?

18

18.5

19

19.5

20

20.5

21

21.5


Do you thing using Predictive Analysis helps to reduce turnover in the company ?

18

18.5

19

19.5

20

20.5

21

21.5


Do you find Predictive Analysis helpful in better management of employees in Super

Bazar?


Conclusion

Most of the front level employees in supermarkets are working in shifts and sometimes their

weekly off is also shuffled due to festivals and public holidays. If job rotation is not happened

regularly they get demotivated dues to monotonous work. Managing leaves and weekly off of

such large number of employees is impossible without HR analytics. HR analytics can be also

used to provide better training program for employees as per job-person fit model, which helps

to retain right employees in the organization. This paper was an attempt to shown importance

of using HR analytics by supermarkets and it clearly shown scope of using analytics in other

personnel functions as well.

References

Bhatla Neeta, Pandey Krishnakant, “The impact of HR isssues in retail sector in emerging market with

special reference to lucknow”, IOSR Journal of business and management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN: 2278-

487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668, Vol. 16, issue 1, version VII Feb. 14, PP 1-7

www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org

https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/how-to-implement-hr-analytics/workforce composition descriptive and

prescriptive analytics

https://www.visier.com/clarity/5-ways-people-analytics-solves-retail-workforce-issues/

https://blog.cake.hr/8-ways-use-hr-analytics-big-data-workplace/

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IMPACT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN ON SALE OF LEATHER PRODUCTS

Dr. Ashok Vasant Mahadik

Assistant Prof., Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics Mahalaxmi west,

Mumbai 400034

Abstract

Executive Summary: In this paper the Research scholar has undertaken the study to assess the

impact of the corona pandemic led lock-down on sale of leather made consumer products.

Primary data is collected from 100 respondents living in Mumbai city. The paper has analyzed

impact of corona pandemic led lock-down on sale of leather made consumer products

considering different income groups viz income above 1lakh, income between 50,000 to 1 lakh

and respondents having income below 50,000/-. Paper will bringout the effect of corona

pandemic led lock-down on sale of leather made consumer products and also its impact on

consumers of different income groups.

Key Terms: corona, pandemic, lock-down, leather made consumer products

Objectives

1. To know if the leather industry business was affected due to corona led lockdown

2. To know whether there is any connection between income group and sales

Introduction

As we all are aware that covid-19 lockdown has affected most of the industries except sale of

essential commodities. The lockdown has affected business of all the companies struggled to

survive as the sales of goods and services produced by a great extent research scholar has

concentrated to study impact of covid-19 LED lockdown on sale of consumer usable leather






products research methodology research scholar has collected primary data from around

hundred respondents.

The research scholar has collected data from one hundred respondents who were using leather

made consumer products. Research scholar has divided respondents as per their income. There

are three groups, first respondents having income above Rs 1,00,000/- pm, second group having

income Between 50,000 to 1,00,000/- p.m. and third group having income below 50,000.

The data collected is presented in tabular format for better understanding

Income above Rs.

1,00,000/- p.m.

Amount

spent range

No. of

respondents

before

lockdown

No. of

respondents

after

lockdown

Value

per unit

(Average

spent)

Amount

Spent

before

Lock-

down

Amount

Spent

during

Lock-

down

%

Reduction

in sales

Nil (Almost

negligible) 2 9 0 0 0

-

Below

Rs.1000/- 3 3 500 1500 1500

-

Between Rs

1,000/- to

5000/-

7 1 2000 14000 2000

86

Above Rs.

5,000/- 1 0 2500 2500 0

100

Total 13 13 18000 3500

81

Following are the observations of respondents having income above rupees 100000 for money

those who had spent 0 amount it before lock down on leather products did not spend any

amount on leather products even during the lockdown people who had spent amount below

1000 have spent same amount even during the lockdown on leather products people between

B people who who had made purchase a between 1000 to 5000 have shown biggest fall or

reduction in sale of leather goods they have sown A reduction of 86 % people who had spend


more than 5000 rupees on leather products have not spent any amount on leather products

during the lockdown period so there was 100% decrease in sale of their products in this segment

Income Between 50,000 to

1,00,000/- p.m.

Amount

spent range

No. of

respondents

befor

lockdown

No. of

respondents

after

lockdown

Value

per unit

(Average

spent)

Amount

Spent

before

Lock-

down

Amount

Spent

during

Lockdown

%

Reduction

in sales

Nil (Almost


-

Below

Rs.1000/- 7 5 500 3500 2500

29

Between Rs

1,000/- to

5000/-

10 2 2000 20000 4000

80

Above Rs.

5,000/- 0 0 2500 0 0

-

Total 20 20 23500 6500

72

About respondents whose income Falls between 50000 to 1 lakh per month following

observations were made people who had spent Nil amount before lock down have not spend

any amount during the lockdown period so there is no reduction in the sale in this category

people who had spend 1000 rupees on leather products before allowed down there were a total

purchases over 3500 before long down which reduced to rupees 2500 during the lockdown

which shows a decrease of 29% people spending amount between 1000 to 5000 there total


spend before lockdown was 20002 using the log down they have spent around 4000 rupees so

they have shown a decrease of 80% in sales people who used to spend 5000 aur more have

shown no decrease or no sales at all whether it before lock down or after lockdown.

Income

Below

50,000/- p.m.

Amount

spent range

No. of

respondents

befor

lockdown

No. of

respondents

after

lockdown

Value

per unit

(Average

spent)

Amount

Spent

before

Lock-

down

Amount

Spent

during

Lockdown

%

Reduction

in sales

Nil (Almost


-

Below

Rs.1000/- 38 18 500 19000 9000

53

Between Rs

1,000/- to

5000/- 17 11 2000 34000 22000

35

Above Rs.

5,000/- 0 0 2500 0 0

-

Total 67 67 53000 31000

42

Respondents whose income was below 50000 have shown following details people who had

spent 0 amount or Nil amount on leather products before lockdown have so no change that

means they have not bought anything even during the lockdown people who had spent 1000

below 1000 rupees before allowed down they have shown biggest in to decrease in this category

their total spend before allowed on was nineteen thousand and their amount spent during the

lockdown fail to only 9000 there is a fall of 53% in which segment people who had spent


amount between 1000 to 5000 their total spend before lockdown was 34000 they have spent

rupees 22000 in all during the period of lockdown so they have shown a decrease of 35% in

sale there were no respondents who had spent amount above 5000 on leather products before

log down or after lockdown.

Conclusion

1. Yes from the analysis of data we can reach the conclusion that the sale of leather

products have dropped. A drop of 54% in purchase of leather products is observed in

case of respondents.

2. Income has no bearing on the purchase pattern of the consumer in case of leather

products as the reduction in sale of leather products is observed in all the three income

groups. But it is observed that higher income group sale has reduced more that lower

income group.

References

Sumitra Pokhrel, Roshan Chhetri (2021), A Literature Review on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on

Teaching and Learning, Higher Education for the Future, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, pp. 133-141.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdown_in_India#Economic_Impact

Ramaswamy, K.V. and Gereffi, G, (1998). “India’s Apparel Sector in the Global Economy –Catching

Up or Falling Behind?” Economic and Political Weekly, 33- 3.

http://www.moneycontrol.com

http://www.wikipedia.com


http://www.moneycontrol.com/

http://www.wikipedia.com/


IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON FITNESS INDUSTRY- A CORRELATIONAL STUDY

IN MUMBAI

Dr. Vinay Pandit

Asst. Professor, Mathematics and Statistics Department, Lala Lajpatrai College

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper is about the impact of Covid19 on the Fitness industry in Mumbai during Unlocking the

restrictions in recent times. The data regarding 300 samples was collected using simple random

sampling Method. Correlational study indicated that there is no relation between the hours spent in

gym, the number of days and distance from home to gym.

Using regression analysis, it was found that there is no impact of Covid19 on fitness industry in terms

of the usage of gymnasium in terms of preference in terms of how far it is located, hours spent and

number of days.

Key words: Covid19. Correlational, Regression, Fitness Industry

Introduction

On account of the novel Covid episode, virtual wellness classes and emotional well-being

choices were popular during 2020. Doesn't seem as though that pattern will end at any point in

the near future. Following a year in which individuals went through months cooped up at home

getting next to no activity, New Year's goals have taken on somewhat more weight in 2021.

Notwithstanding the Covid confining re centre limit while covering some totally, the

conventional January spike in enrolments has coordinated—and here and there surpassed—

those of years past. Coronavirus has pushed individuals to contemplate wellbeing all the more

comprehensively.

Mind Body said it’s on track to match the typical 30% increase it usually sees in the new year,

largely thanks to the pivot to virtual workouts. About 50% of the platform’s virtual bookings



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are now for yoga as more customers seek classes focused on mindfulness. “In addition to

physical well-being, one’s emotional, mental, and spiritual fitness has become a bigger

priority.” (Hindustan Times JAN 20, 2021)

The online shift is contributing to what experts said will be a permanent change to how the $32

billion industry works. While 75% of consumers surveyed said they will eventually return to

pre-pandemic routines and the actual gym, many indicated they will retain a virtual

component—a phenomenon with broad implications for the sector. (Hindustan Times JAN 20,

2021)

The fitness lobby group International Health, Racquet, and Sports club Association (IHRSA)

estimated that as of September 30, 15% of gyms had permanently closed. It also reported that

the industry lost more than $15 billion in revenue and cut 480,000 jobs.

At the onset of the pandemic, the company ramped up digital content on its app and launched a

digital subscription in November for $5.99.

“The first four months of the year are always really important for us,” he said. “We’ve seen

people excited about returning, but we’re still going to have to claw our way back.”

Over at Equinox, the chain responded to March lockdowns by launching Variis, a streaming

app that offers on-demand fitness content. It seeks to recreate the in-person experience of cult-

favorite fitness brands like SoulCycle (which is owned by Equinox), Precision Run and Pure

Yoga.


Research Problem

Covid19 have impacted many sectors during pandemic, thus researcher wanted to know if it

had an impact on fitness industry, for the same an attempt was made by the researcher to find

how fitness industry was impacted by covid19 during the lockdown.

Objectives of Research

To Study the impact of Covid19 on Fitness Industry.

Scope of Research

The scope of the research was to restrict to city of Mumbai and gymnasium situated in Mumbai

city.

Hypothesis

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and number of days visit in gym.


H1: There is a relation between hour spent and number of days visit in gym.

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and distance of gym from home.

H1: There is a relation between hour spent and distance of gym from home.

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and Gender

H1: There is a relation between hour spent and Gender

H0: There is no impact of covid19 on Fitness industry

H1: There is an impact of covid19 on Fitness industry

Sample Techniques

Sampling technique followed was simple random sampling with a sample of 300.

Research Design

The research design deployed for the study was exploratory as well as Descriptive in nature.

Data Collection Method

The method of data collected was secondary as well as Primary in nature.

Statistical Techniques

The Statistical techniques used was correlation, Simple and Multiple Regression.

Limitation of Study

The Study was limited to limited sample size.

Time and cost are the major limitations

The geographical area was limited in nature.

Data Analysis and Findings:

To satisfy the objective considered for the research, the following hypothesis were tested using

simple correlation technique.

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and number of days visit in gym.

H1: There is a relation between hour spent and number of days visit in gym.

Hypothesis Testing: Zero Correlation

GROUP Mean Standard

Deviation

Hours Spent 1.454 0.594

NO OF DAYS 4.203 1.422

Sample Size : 300

Sample Correlation Coefficient : 0.062


95.00% Confidence Interval : -0.051 to 0.174

t : 1.076

p-value : 0.283

Since p value is > 0.05

Therefore, the researcher has rejected H1

Thus, there is no relation between hour spent and number of days visit in gym.

From the above graph it is seen that the most of the people spent irrespective of number of days

in a week. So, there are people who don’t relate spending time in gym whether they are going

1 or many days in a week.

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and distance of gym from home.

H1: There is a relation between hour spent and distance of gym from home.

Hypothesis Testing: Zero Correlation

GROUP Mean Standard

Deviation


Distance from home 1.823 1.736

Sample Size : 300

Zero Correlation

0 1 2 3 4 5

Hours Spent

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

NO

OF

DA

YS


Sample Correlation Coefficient : 0.063

95.00% Confidence Interval : -0.051 to 0.175

t : 1.081

p-value : 0.280

Since p value is > 0.05

Therefore, the researcher has rejected H1

Thus, there is no relation between hour spent and distance of gym from home.

From the above graph it is seen that the time spent in hours in the gym is ranges from 1 km to

10 kms from where people stay.

H0: There is no relation between hour spent and Gender

H1: There is a relation between hour spent and Gender

GROUP Mean Standard

Deviation


GENDER 1.327 0.470

Sample Size : 300

Sample Correlation Coefficient : -0.120


95.00% Confidence Interval : -0.230 to -0.007

t : 2.088

p-value : 0.038

Since p value < 0.05

Therefore, we reject H0

There is a relation between hour spent and Gender

From the above graph it is noticed that males spent more time than females.

To study the impact of covid19 on Fitness industry

H0: There is no impact of covid19 on Fitness industry

H1: There is an impact of covid19 on Fitness industry

The regression equation is given by

Dependent Variable Hours Spent

N 300

Multiple R 0.095

Squared Multiple R 0.009

Adjusted Squared Multiple R 0.002

Standard Error of Estimate 0.594


Regression Coefficients B = (X'X)-1X'Y

Effect Coefficient Standard

Error

Std.

Coefficient Tolerance t

p-

value

CONSTANT 1.283 0.118 0.000 . 10.852 0.000

NO OF DAYS 0.030 0.024 0.072 0.982 1.232 0.219

Distance from home 0.025 0.020 0.072 0.982 1.237 0.217

Analysis of Variance

Source SS df Mean

Squares

F-ratio p-value

Regression 0.947 2 0.474 1.344 0.262

Residual 104.656 297 0.352

Durbin-Watson D Statistic 0.324

First Order Autocorrelation 0.836

Information Criteria

AIC 543.431

AIC (Corrected) 543.567

Schwarz's BIC 558.246

The regression equation is y= 1.283 + 0.030X1 + 0.025X2

Where Y= No. of Hours spent in the gym

X1 = No. of Days

X2 = Distance from home in kms

The above equation is not significant as 0.262 > 0.05

Therefore, Covid19 has no impact on fitness industry on whole


Fig 1

Fig 2

Conclusion

From the findings it is concluded that the pandemic has not impacted much on fitness industry.

May be due to the virtual platform or other factors which are responsible for the impact of

Covid19 on fitness industry. It was seen that the people have not considered distance (location)

from their house as one of the factors as well as number of days spent in the gym during covid.

Also the prediction equation considered for the number of hours spent in the gym when

independent variables considered were number of days distance (location) from their house is

also not significant.


References

Meahjohn, Inshan and Persad, Prakash, The Impact of COVID-19 on Entrepreneurship Globally

(September 7, 2020). Journal of Economics and Business, Vol.3 No.3 (2020), Available at

SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3687519

Ananthakrishnan, Uttara M and Chen, Jiaoping and Susarla, Anjana, No Pain, No Gain: Examining

the Digital Resilience of the Fitness Sector During the COVID-19 Pandemic (November 30,

2020). Available at

SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3740143 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3740143

https://ssrn.com/abstract=3740143


EMERGING TRENDS & ADAPTION BY ORGANIZATIONS IN CHANGING SOCIO

CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT - WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

SUSTAINABILITY

Indu Nair

HR Business Partner @ Bayer Crop Science, Research Scholar- LLIM

Dr. H. J. Bhasin

Professor and Ph. D. Guide, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management (LLIM), Mumbai.

Abstract

Today the world is facing a very unconventional change of capabilities and capacities. Whether its an

educational institution, a multinational organization, or a small service centre, ultimately, it’s the

employees who are managing to their best which further contributes to the economy. Pressure on

organizations for understanding new ways of working is much higher. As the titanic shift arises due to

pandemic, yet another challenge faced is to become adaptable to these changes. Personal experiences

along with reference to various writeups on pandemic, drills down to one point that how one can

embrace this changing environment and become sustainable. COVID-19’s impact on employees is huge

and they are trying to adapt to various possibilities daily.

This paper is an attempt to highlight on the socio-cultural challenges faced by employees within the

organisation and various trends adopted by organization for business sustainability without

compromising on values or employee experience.

Keywords: Socio-cultural, Emerging Trends, Sustainability, GIG workers

Introduction

COVID-19 has brought in a titanic shift than ever before in everyone’s life. This transition is

at a very fast rate. Infact COVID is a trigger for an immediate transformation and change to

take calls on big decisions today. It was only recently that we read about the flexible working

norms and virtual working by 2030, but already in 2021, we are doing the same, since last 2






years. While companies felt that there was a need of moving towards digitalization few years

back, however COVID knocked the doors for immediate actions.

Socio-cultural practices are the distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional

features that characterize a society or a social group. Culture may be defined as “the way of

life of people, including their attitudes, values, beliefs, arts, sciences, modes of perception and

habits of thought and activity” (Akuoko, KO 2008). In this context, a culture depicts how

individuals live and behave in an environment and how their perceptions are shaped which

affect the mutual relationship between both the individuals who are part of that environment

and those who interact with that environment. Hofstede (1996), an authority on national

culture also studied organizational culture stating that an organizational culture provides a

“collective mental programming which differentiates the members of an organization from the

members of another organization”

Literature Reviews

COVID has given us a wakeup call of Transformation in real sense and accelerating the change.

We all went to sleep in one world and woke up to another doing everything differently. Various

articles have been written mentioning on the impact of COVID not only to organizations but

in every sector of economy. To better understand on how organizations are dealing with the

new norm specially with reference to adoption of various trends including culture, socio-

cultural behaviour, new ways of working and various trends adopted for approach on the people

front, some literature review summaries has been referred.

An article written by Jeanne Meister, focused that the future workforce is a blend of human,

gig workers & robots. Though many organizations have mandatorily shifted 88% of their

workforce to work from home, many also have led to unemployment. She also mentioned that

COVID is an opportunity to redefine business and at the same time taking care of people.

Research by Delloite, Adaptable Organization: The New Normal says that almost 40% of the

organizations are yet understanding the situation and are dealing with change as and when it

arrives rather than proactively. It also highlighted that the strong belief of organization that

change is a choice, and high regards for traditional working style is the biggest hinderance to

change. It also focused on “Super Jobs” which will be in high demand today which is more

service oriented and analysts’ job and the other would-be Hybrid jobs which will be a

combination of technical skills including data analysis and operations.


Trehan and Trehan, (2009): There are various socio-cultural factors that significantly affect the

economic activity as well as the performance of multinational companies. The key socio-

cultural factors that have a major impact on the operations of the multinational companies are

(1. Culture; 2. Language; 3. Religion; 4. Level of education; 5. Customer preferences; 6. The

attitude of the society towards foreign goods and services.

According to Jeff Schwartz, Steve Hatfield, Robin Jones, Siri Aderson (2016), Future of work

will be defined in 3 dimensions of work: work (what), workforce (who), workplace (where)

will be redefined. Also Shift in work style - physical and virtual type of work will be in the

future organization.

David Michaels in his article mentions that company who accepts change gracefully and puts

its organization & its people in the test waters at a frequent rate into new situations and different

scenarios, defining behaviors will make the achievement of goals much faster and quicker

which will lead to faster and more efficient way of acceptance of change which in turn develops

culture.

An article mentioned by Trisha Sharma (May 2020), Re-learning and re-skilling will be the

key catalyst for change post COVID. Acquiring talent in new ways will also be an important

element.

3. Objective of the Research

1. To study the c growth.

2. To study various challenges faced by organizations in changing socio-cultural

environment.

3. To study strategies to mitigate challenges and understand emerging trends.

III. Research Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1: Socio-cultural factors have a significant impact on organizational growth.

Null Hypothesis: There is no significant impact of socio-cultural factors on organizational

growth.

Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant impact of socio-cultural factors on organizational

growth.

Hypothesis 2: Organizations face challenges in changing socio-cultural environment.

Null Hypothesis: There are no significant challenges faced by organization due to changing

socio-cultural environment.


Alternative Hypothesis: There are significant challenges faced by organization due to changing

socio-cultural environment.

4. Research Methodology

A) Sources of Data

1) Primary data - Survey using structured questionnaire to collect the opinions from the

respondents who are employees of an organization.

2) Secondary Data - Literature from Textbooks, Online articles relating to organization

culture, future scenario, sustainable development and future readiness.

B) Research Design

Descriptive cross-sectional (one-time availability) & Exploratory Research

The research aims to study the various challenges seen in organization due to COVID and

understanding strategies adopted to cope up with the current situation.

C) Sampling Design

Sample Size: The sample of respondents for this study consists of 53 respondents from

Corporates and professional employees in Gujarat.

The information has been collected from 53 working professional based on their

availability and ability to share the information about the transition shift post COVID and

changes faced in their organization.

D) Sampling Method

Target Population – 100

Sampling Technique- Convenience & Snowball Sampling

Sample Size - 53

Data Collection– WhatsApp/ Microsoft forms, Interviews

E) Questionnaire

The data was gathered through a self- administered structured questionnaire.

Parameters were identified with the help of literature review & questions related to impact on

business and HR due to COVID are included.

Key parameters – Impact on Work, Key Challenges faced

All the variables are marked in 1-5 rating scale method.


V) Data Analysis

Survey was conducted based on the responses by 53 employees following key highlights were

derived;.

55% of the employees said that their organization made a flexible move & have given

them Work from Home option.

Almost 51% of the respondents said that their organization is still thinking to address

the future of work & are dealing with changes as it arrives.

77% of the respondents felt that there will be huge unemployment and foresee job

reductions within their organization.

On understanding about the acceptance of Gig/ Freelancing Jobs, 42% agreed to join

Gigs, however 15% have never heard about this terminology. At the same time, 26%

are doubtful of their choice.

52% of the employee responses feel highly stressed during the pandemic.

48% believed that they will have to do new jobs in the future which they haven’t done

before.

30% felt learning IT skills will be the key notch in days to come.

VI) Findings & Recommendations

A. Socio-Cultural Environment In Organisations

Fig1: Socio-cultural factors

1. Society– Society in the context of Organization comprises of core employees,

customers and stakeholders. Employees with right skill set are every important to

sustain today’s organization. Among the various environmental changes, cultural

differences are increasing and challenging perhaps due to changing norms globally.

Further workforce diversity set out expectations globally has heightened the need to


understand how culture impacts organizations performance & how it has overall impact

on the society at large in the organization.

2. Changes in Culture/Values – During these times when most employees are juggling

up to meet the needs with much uncertainty and anxiety, it is very important that leaders

of the organization study what the future of organization looks like. They must see

where the culture is moving in the new norm, what is the customers new way of

preference. They must be futuristic and see how one can create best customer

experience in the changing environment and also what are the new skills required to

deal with the change.

On the other end, where we have gone virtually, there is a huge risk of confidential data

being exposed. The current state purely works on the value of “Trust”. The changing

situation has also called out for changed culture & vision defined within the

organizations to meet the current expectations.

3. Health & Mental Wellbeing – The most important part of the environment today is

the health and mental wellbeing of employees. Constant meeting over virtual apps leads

to complete burn out impacting productivity further leading to stress. Physical

wellbeing is another aspect where most employees must manage things virtually but

they might not get an office environment or strong IT network which has led to added

financial costs.

Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors

All the areas of HR have been revamped and accustomed based on the new norm of

working. Various new work models have been explored to understand smooth way of

working.

a. Performance & Development- focus on more conversations and dialogues

rather than defining KPI & KRAs.

b. Learning & Development - New ways of AI learning, already developed next

gen learnings which employees can learn.

c. Talent Acquisition – Hiring employees thru GIGs, Freelancers and coming out

from full time employment with more focus on quality of work and time of

accomplishment.


Key Challenges

Uncertainty of Future

o Whether it is a matter of changing norms, policies or identifying new work model

to get the work done easily or supply chain management of goods /materials

organizations are facing tremendous challenges. Because of this constant changes

to predict a future to an extent has become a challenge.

o It is not only the uncertainty of business that has called out loudly for future

readiness but it is also the uncertainty of lives of employees during these times

which has driven things in other dimensions. Hence the future has become uncertain

with frequent changes in the environment.

Managing Talent & Competency

o Organizations are re-working on the defined competencies as the existing ones

make no meaning today based on the changing environment. The focus has shifted

from the traditional ways of doing work.

o The virtual way of managing performance is also challenging where productivity

by high performers is also low.

o Engaging the workforce virtually becomes challenging especially the high potential

employees with various opportunities has become limited.

Accelerated Digital Mindset

o With the constant changes and heavy dependency on the digital tools and digital

way of working, there has been need for increase and quick learning skills on the

digital front. There is good amount of working aging population which are not

easily comfortable with the frequency of changes.

Work Life Balance

o The work life balance has been clearly impacted. Earlier it was a work and life

integration now the work is been managed from home which has its own ups and

downs. Increase in domestic violence, divorces, working mothers with small

children have no space to keep kids at a day care due to Covid, infrastructure at

home with no office space, managing children education in between of the meetings

has made life of virtually working employees more challenging.


Strategies for Mitigation of Challenges & Emerging Trends

Community Formation

o One of the best practices that has been widely handled successfully in

multinationals is community-based working. There are various challenges in an

organization coming up frequently, hence what organizations are doing is creating

communities and seeking volunteers for those critical topics which needs

scrutinizing and address timely. If there is repetitive problem on logistics or

appreciation framework or new work model the community members works for the

same and become volunteers to provide various active solutions.

Fostering I&D (Inclusion & Diversity) Agenda

o With the new norms and working model, various opportunities for especially abled

candidates have been at a rise. More and more opportunities have been offered to

the talented with diverse abilities and to women who couldn’t pursue their careers,

after long career breaks, now has become possible.

o Work from Anywhere (WFA) – The concept of Work from Home has been

adopted and now organizations are also working on work from anywhere concept

where some of the jobs that can be fully virtualized. Organizations are also moving

towards Hybrid model where teams can decide one or two weekly visits to office,

in case of urgency.

o Gig Economy – More and more creation of contract jobs where employment can be

generated across the world through GIG seeking expertise skills the way we want

and within the time.

Employee Family Well-being

o Employee well being is the most important element in the current scenario and

various practices for the same have been adopted by organizations like Resilience

Workshops, Mental Health Workshops, for all the employees to deal with the

current scenario. Organizations have also hired full time counselors for having

physiological conversations related to mental health through psychiatrists.

o Family members and dependents of deceased employees were provided with

secured funds. Financial advice, job advice was also given for their wellbeing and

support.


o Free Medical apps have been enabled for the employees for getting doctor’s

consultancy.

o 50% of Electricity Bills were paid by the company as employees working from

home have more usage of internet & electricity.

o Office infrastructure provided to the employees

Digital Mindset

o Organizations are turning towards technology-based organizations. Even

manufacturing organizations are thinking towards future Industry 4.0 enabling IoT,

Artificial Intelligence, machine-based learnings, AR, Virtual Reality as new tools.

They have identified internal digital masters within the company who further

mentor other businesses towards technology and suggest ideas.

o Organizations have created platforms for reverse mentorship where juniors would

take a session for the seniors equipping them to use the IT apps & tools.

Social Responsibility

o Doing for the society becomes extremely important. Organizations have gone

beyond their limits to help the world around them for a good cause during the

pandemic. Organizations have created volunteering groups wherein willing

employees can contribute to the society while organizations would fund them to

encourage societal development. This is also a great move towards creating brand

value along with being sustainable in values and culture.

VI) Limitations of the Study

1. The information has been collected from employees working in a manufacturing and

corporate set up.

2. Cultures in terms of region, age and other demographics in different countries

(developed and underdeveloped) are not considered.

3. The outcomes generated from the study are based on the samples from a region and the

same cannot be incorporated to other regions.

4. The limited sample size constrained to focus on the broad cultural issues.

5. The research would have been more captivating if the time span would have been larger.

VII) Future Implications & Recommendations

The paper helps to have structured approach towards the new normal.


Leaders in organizations can follow the strategies laid down for bringing in change

seamlessly within organization and facing impact tactfully.

Organizational goals can be better achieved along with embracing change.

Business sustainability is assured.

The study was aimed to meet all the objectives on identifying socio cultural factors in an

organization, identify various challenges faced in the new norm also define emerging trends to

mitigate the challenges. Ultimately all of them were met, however there are some limitations

which were identified during the study. The study was focused on nearby manufacturing

industries in South Gujarat which might limit the generalization of findings and references

based on the industry types which can be experimented to other industries & sectors as well.

Researchers can further explore the challenges and strategies with reference to region wise /

state wise/ country-wise to understand consistency, which would help to develop more

strategies towards re-designing of Jobs. Economic and social change is also an important factor

that can be considered.

VIII) Conclusion

COVID19 has created the biggest global crisis in generations and various articles have been

published in understanding and analyzing the situation. This paper focussed on various socio-

cultural challenges faced by employees within the organisation and suggested various emerging

trends that can be adopted by organization for business sustainability without compromising

on values or employee experience.

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EMERGING TRENDS IN DIGITAL MARKETING

Dr. Kshamali S. Sontakke

Head, Department of Cmmerce, Chetana’s H.S. College of Com. & Eco. And Smt. Kusumtai

Chaudhari College of Arts, Bandra (East), Mumbai.

Abstract

In today’s competitive market environment, many organisations have realized that digital marketing is

a key for survival and growth. It gives a marketer an opportunity to interact as well as understand the

consumers and also increases trust in the brand. Digital Marketing shows advertisements to people

based on their preferences and actions on the internet. While being less expensive than traditional forms

of advertising it can be advertised digitally through search engines, websites, emails, social media

platforms and mobile applications.

Key Words: Digital Marketing, Digitalisation, Social Media, Internet

Introduction

Digital marketing is nothing but marketing efforts done through internet and electronic devices.

With the 1.39 billion population, India is the second largest online market with 560 million

internet users in the world followed by China. In 2010, Digital marketing spending in India

was 1,000 crores which has increased up to 50,000 crores in 2019. It means, in just 9 years the

Digital Marketing spending increased by 50 times.

Aims and objectives of the study

The basic aim of the study is to understand the developments in the field of marketing especial

Digital Marketing. However the main objectives of the study are:

1. To take an overview of Digital Marketing

2. To understand the different concepts involved in Digital Marketing

3. To study the need and importance of Digital Marketing






Digital marketing needs a strategic approach to connect it’s customers. There are

various methods under the spectrum of Digital Marketing. These are explain as follows:

Concepts of Digital Marketing:

1. Content Marketing: In Content Marketing, a marketer creates content in the form of

blogs, videos, info graphics and case studies so that they can generate audience interest

and business.

2. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): In order to attract more audience the marketer uses

specific search key words that are relevant to target audience and makes optimisation to

the website targeting back to the content. Whenever someone goes on SEO no matter

whether it is Google, Bing or anything, and he/she enters a query you get hundreds or

thousands of search results which consists of websites and web pages. And whenever

someone searches for a website the particular website is pushed up to the top therefore

attracting more clicks and making more money.

3. Pay-per-click: A marketer can also drive traffic to the website with advertisements For

that a marketer has to pay a certain fee every time the ad is clicked. The marketer can

create advertisements in the form of text ads which appear in search engine results, and

image or video ads which appear on websites.

4. Social Media marketing: To reach a larger audience, marketer has to tap into social media

platforms. The marketer can approach audience through various social media platforms

like Instagram, You Tube, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. To advertise the brand’s content

these platforms are very useful. For advertising the brand’s products and services through

posts, images and videos to shed a light on the brand.

5. E-mail Marketing: If the marketer realise that a large part of the audience weren’t visiting

the website a second time the e mail marketing strategy is adopted. In this, e mails are

sent to prospective customer to help them understand the product’s offering. Through e

mail the required information is forwarded to target customer to ensure they buy the

product.

6. Affiliate Marketing: More traffic can also be driven through third party. In Affiliate

marketing, affiliates promote the brand to the audience for a fee. with the help of

registrations, conversions, subscriptions and e mail sign ups.


So, getting along with these Digital Marketing channel is very easy. Digital Marketing

also helps to build better and long term relationship with customers. Ultimately it helps to

develop and grow the organisation. In today’s technological world it is the Digital Marketing

which helps to maintain and build better relationships with customers.

Need for Digital Marketing

It is seen that till the end of year 2020 Digital marketing size has increased upto $ 1.16

billion. It is also observed that in India, 560 million population is not yet using internet; which

means in future this size will also be added in existing internet user population. As compare to

today’s Internet users traffic it will be double in coming years. Today, almost 22% of world’s

population is on Facebook. India is a leader in terms of Facebook users with 340 million

Facebook users which accounts 23% of its population. It is forecasted that it will increase up

to 400 million by the year 2022. India is a also a leading country based on size of Instagram

users. The Instagram users in India were 180 million till July 2021.

From these statistics it is clear that there is an increasing trend in Digital Marketing. In

coming future India will also experience a rapid increase in job opportunities. It is expected

that by the end of 2022 it will provide approximately 2 lakh job opportunities. It also has a

variety of career opportunities. Especially, youngsters below the age of 30 have a huge scope

in the field of Digital Marketing. It provides job opportunities not only to experienced

candidates but also for fresher as this field is still evolving and there is a need of creative people

in this fields. Candidates can also earn good amount of remuneration through freelancing.

There is a huge demand for people with digital marketing skills. Digital Marketing is a field

where a candidate can learn new things and adopt new skills.

Digital media provides a platform to it’s user to access a global market in just a click.

A marketer can connect with global audience through digital network. It is a channel which

provides instant and easy communication with global audience. Not only this, marketer can

also track the data of audience. This data if analysed properly can give valuable input to

marketer for designing future strategies. Not only this, Digital marketing also gives an

opportunity to marketer to reach it’s prospective buyer in an innovative way. Digital Marketing

plays an important role in generating good traffic to marketer’s website. The marketer gets an

opportunity to convert this audience into actual sales. Customers can also get transparent and

valid data through digital platforms which creates customer trust and brand loyalty.


Digital Marketing nowadays is essential to face cut throat competition. It is a channel

through which a marketer can take in to account currents trends and can adopt the changes

easily and efficiently. Digital Marketing is not only useful for large businesses but also for

small businesses. This is because prospective consumer are present online, in the absence of

small businesses online presence they will move to competitors who are conducting business

on large scale. For this now it is essential for small scale businesses to be present and active

through digital platforms. Small business can use cost effective techniques of Digital

Marketing. For this small businesses can start creating blogs or they can keep the record of e

mil id’s of customers. These kind of practices will not require huge amount initially, but it will

help the marketer to collect data of prospective customers and then marketer can send e mails

of the products and services to them.

Conclusion

Digital Marketing has a long way to go not only India but in entire world. For every

business, whether it is a start up, small or large size business digital presence is very important.

Nowadays buyers make their decision based on online information of brands and reviews of

existing customers. So, brands have to be very careful on digital platform. The marketer should

keep a track of his business through online channels. Most of the Digital marketing channels

are cost effective and they gives high amount of Rate of Return to business. Marketer need to

study cost and return ratio of each channel and accordingly should select a right channel.

Bibliography

Ramya.L, Kartheeswaran (2019), Future of digital marketing in 2020.

Vasudeva P K (2010), International Marketing, Excel Books, New Delhi

Rajgopal (2004), Marketing – Strategy, Implementation and Control, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.


STUDY OF IMPACT OF IN-STORE FACTORS ON IMPULSIVE BUYING

BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS IN TIER-II & TIER-III CITIES IN INDIA

Dr. Rajesh Mankani

B’Com, DSM, MBA (HR), LLB, UGC-NET (Management), UGC-SET (Management), PhD

(Management) Faculty: Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics, Visiting Faculty

in Management/HR/Family Managed Businesses, Corporate Trainer & Management

Consultant, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Impulsive buying behavior is the unplanned purchase psychologically triggered in the mind of the

consumer on account of various stimulants. This study focuses on understanding these stimulants in

the form of In-Store factors such as Promotions & Discounts, In-Store atmosphere enhanced by using

music, lighting, ventilation, etc and the presence of friendly store staff. Many studies on similar

grounds have been done for major cities, but small cities have not been tapped for studies based on

these parameters. This study is an attempt to study the impact of these stimulants on the triggering of

impulsive buying behavior of consumers in Tier II & Tier III cities in India.

The study was conducted with a sample population of 300 drawn from 4 cities falling in the relevant

category and with the help of a structured questionnaire, responses were collected on the impact of the

three variables identified for the purpose of the study. All three variables were found to be supported

by the data collated and were found to have significant impact on triggering the impulsive buying

behavior in consumers. The study can go a long way in identifying such potential areas for pushing

sales volumes and increasing customer satisfaction.

Keywords: Impulsive Buying behavior, In-Store factors, Tier II & Tier III cities

Introduction

An impulse purchase or impulse buying is an unplanned decision to buy a product or service,

made just before a purchase. It is a spontaneous, immediate purchase without pre-shopping

intentions either to buy a specific product category or to fulfill a specific buying task (Beatty

& Ferrell, 1998). One who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an impulse purchaser



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or impulse buyer. Although plenty of studies explain the consumer behavior and consumer

decision process since long, the purchase decision process of consumers in small cities has

been relatively ignored (Badgaiyan & Verma, 2015). Consistent but a growing stream of

studies on impulse buying examined different situational variables, such as intrinsic factors

(Badgaiyan & Verma, 2014, Flight, Rountree, & Beatty, 2012; Foroughi, Buang, Senik, &

Hajmisadeghi, 2013), music in the store (Dubé & Morin, 2001), external factors (Mehta &

Chugan, 2013), the emotions and mood (Foroughi et al., 2013; Solomon, Sanders, & Prather,

2012), and lighting in the store (Summers & Hebert, 2001). Badgaiyan and Verma (2014)

investigated the impact of personal factors and in-store factors on impulsive buying behavior

among big cities’ consumers, and they called for further investigation by examining the whole

model in

relatively small and medium sized cities. Tier II & Tier III cities in a developing country like

India are gaining more and more significance in terms of the impact of consumers on demand

for products & services and it is these cities that are seen as major drivers of economic demand

in the times to come. Therefore keeping in mind the importance of this very prominent angle,

this study is going to investigate the impact of in-store factors in contributing or driving the

impulsive buying behavior of consumers in these small cities of India.

Literature Review

According to Stern (1962), impulse buying defined as “an unplanned purchase which is aroused

in the store and it changes the shopping patterns of the buyers and it’s an unplanned purchase

decision that is made just before a purchase.” According to Stern (1962), “planned buying

behavior involved a time-consuming information search followed by rational decision making.

Unplanned buying on the other hand entails all purchases made without such advanced

planning and includes impulse buying.” After understanding the impulse buying behavior, the

marketer can efficiently develop their strategies (Tifferet & Herstein, 2012; Xiao & Nicholson,

2011); Mankani (2021). Virvalaite et al. (2009) stated that in the past few decades impulse

buying has attracted attention of various domains, that is, consumer behavior, marketing, and

psychology. According to the CEO of Coca Cola, Mukhtar Kent, their 70 percent sale depends

on impulse purchases (Karmali, 2007). Saleh (2012) stated two terms, unplanned purchase and

impulse buying, that are used interchangeably, though in-store may be termed as unplanned

purchasing. Balakrishnan, Dahnil, and Yi (2014) investigated the effect of marketing through


social media on purchase intentions and brand loyalty among the consumers of generation Y

in Malaysia. This study discusses literature regarding sales promotions and its impact on

impulse buying behavior. Many studies have proven the positive relationship between

discount, promotion, and impulse purchase (Abratt & Goodey, 1990; Stern, 1962). Jamal and

Lodhi (2015) stated that there is a positive relationship between consumer’s impulse buying

behavior and promotional activities. These studies prove a positive and significant relationship

between discount offering and impulsive buying. So, by increasing the sales and promotional

activities the chances of increase in the customer’s purchase behavior may increase. According

to Mohan, Sivakumaran, & Sharma (2013) lighting and music have a positive effect on

consumers, which in turn influences their impulse buying. The place is of significant value to

customer where customers usually make thoughtful decisions and often serve as store internal

stimulus (Paakkari, 2016). According to Babin and Kim (2001), the arrangement of

commodities in the store besides lighting and colors significantly affects the purchase behavior

of consumers. Akram, Hui, Khan, Hashim, and Rasheed (2016) investigated the impact of store

atmosphere on impulse buying behavior, and the results reveal that store atmosphere has

significant and positive effect on impulse buying behavior. It is reported by another study that

if salesperson provides information about the product, admires customers, solves their queries,

then they fuel the process of impulse buying (Virvilaite et al., 2009; Yu &

Bastin, 2010). Also professional employees reduce the frustration of the consumer by providing

support during their shopping (Parboteeah, 2005)

Need of the Study

Impulse buying disrupts the normal decision making models in consumers' brains. The logical

sequence of the consumers' actions is replaced with an irrational moment of self-indulgence.

Research findings suggest that emotions and feelings; both positive and negative, play a

decisive role in purchasing, triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a well-crafted

promotional message. Marketers and retailers tend to exploit these impulses which are tied to

the basic want for instant gratification. Moreover review of literature has shown that several

in-store factors such as friendly staff, internal atmosphere in the store (including lighting,

music, etc) & customer outreach activities such as offering promotions and discounts to

customers have a significant impact in stimulating the impulsive purchase instinct among

consumers and this can be an added sales strategy amongst the variety of strategies applied


by marketers nowadays to attract the customers and force them to make a purchase decision.

This study aims to throw reliability on these aspects and prove through actual research that

these in-store factors can lead to greater degree of trigger of impulsive buying behavior among

consumers.

Formulation of Objectives

1. To understand the impact of promotions and discounts offered by stores on triggering

impulsive buying behavior among consumers of Tier II & Tier III cities in India

2. To understand the impact of in-store atmosphere on triggering impulsive buying behavior

among consumers of Tier II & Tier III cities in India

3. To understand the impact of friendly staff in stores on triggering impulsive buying

behavior among consumers of Tier II & Tier III cities in India

Hypothetical Statements(s)

1. Promotions and discounts offered in stores have a positive impact on trigger of

impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

2. Good in-store atmosphere has a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying

behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

3. Having friendly staff in stores has a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying

behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Study Limitations

1. The study has been only confined to consumers in Tier II & Tier III cities in India

2. Since the observations derived from the study were based on a specific regions, they

may not be generalized to other regions.

3. The impulsive buying triggers classified through this research are highly situation-

based due to the changing perception of the respondents

4. In addition to the in-store factors considered for this research, there may be other

factors which may also have a significant impact on the impulsive buying behavior of

the consumers and which may alter the outcomes and reliability of this research

Methodology of the study

Sources for the Data

Primary data

• A survey has been developed using structured questionnaire to collect data from


respondents. The respondents in this case are the consumers who visit supermarkets for

shopping and who have indulged in impulsive purchases in the past

• Scaling techniques consisting of Interval scale and Likert rating scale have been used for

designing the questionnaire.

Secondary Data

• Literature for consumer buying behaviour has been reviewed from online sources of

journals, newspapers, magazines and websites

Research Design

Descriptive Cross-sectional design

The information has been collected from the respondents to identify the impact of in-store

factors on triggering the impulsive buying behavior in consumers.

Process of Sampling

Size of the sample: To obtain the information, around 300 consumers were surveyed in Tier

II cities like Surat, Pune & Vadodara & Tier III cities like Nashik, Solapur & Kolhapur.

Sampling Method

For this, the researcher has applied convenience sampling method to choose those respondents

who visit supermarkets for shopping and have been indulged in impulsive purchases in the

past. In addition, a quota sampling as per the respondents’ age group is also applied

Statistical tools

The statistical tools like Simple Percentage Method, Chi Square test, Kolmogorov Smirnov

test, Multiple correlation, have been applied to analyse and interpret the data collected using Excel &

SPSS.

Results

Testing Hypotheses

Chi Square Test was used to examine the hypothesis Hypothesis 1

Null Hypothesis (H1O): Promotions and discounts offered in stores do not have a positive

impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Alternative Hypothesis (H1A): Promotions and discounts offered in stores have a positive

impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India


Table 1: Observed & Expected values for Promotions & Discounts

Category Observed Expected Residual

Highly not influential 50 60.0 -10.0

Not Influential 20 60.0 -40.0

Neutral 40 60.0 -20.0

Influential 100 60.0 40.0

Highly Influential 90 60.0 30.0

Total 300

Table 1(a) : Chi-Square Analysis for Promotions & Discounts

Description Promotions & Discounts

Chi-Square 76.667

Df 4

Sig .000

General Observation: The significance level less than 5% and high value of Chi-Square test

demonstrates that (H10) may be ruled out. It’s possible to deduce that Promotions and

discounts offered in stores have a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior in

Tier II & Tier III cities of India.

Application of Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test to

test hypothesis Hypothesis 2

Null Hypothesis (H2O): Good in-store atmosphere does not have a positive impact on trigger

of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Alternative Hypothesis (H2A): Good in-store atmosphere has a positive impact on trigger

of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India


Table 2: Descriptive analysis for in-store atmosphere

Dimension No. of respondents Percentage(%)

Highly not essential 33 60.0

Not essential 36 60.0

Neutral 42 60.0

Essential 78 60.0

Highly essential 111 60.0

Total 300 100

Table 2 depicts the descriptive analysis for necessity for having a good in-store atmosphere

Table 2(a): Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test for in-store atmosphere

Description In-store

Atmosphere

N 300

Normal Parameters

Mean 3.66

Std. Deviation 1.368

Most Extreme

Absolute

0.228

Extreme Differences

Positive 0.164

Negative -0.228

Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z 3.952

Significance level 0.00


General Observation: The null hypothesis can be rejected as the significance value is less

than 5%. It can be inferred that Good in-store atmosphere has a positive impact on trigger of

impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Chi Square Test to be induced for

assessing hypothesis Hypothesis 3

Null Hypothesis (H3O): Having friendly staff in stores does not have a positive impact on

trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Alternative Hypothesis (H3A): Having friendly staff in stores has a positive impact on

trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India

Table 3: Observed & Expected values for requirement of having friendly staff

Category Observed Expected Residual

Very low 20 45 60.0

Low 18 60 60.0

Neutral 15 35 60.0

High 110 80 60.0

Very high 137 80 60.0

Total 300

Table 3 depicts the residuals for requirement of friendly staff

Table 3(a) : Chi-Square Analysis for extent of requirement of friendly staff

Description Requirement of Friendly Staff

Chi-Square 27.500

Df 4

Sig .000

General Observation: The depicted value of (p< .05) is an indication of rejecting (H30) that

states that having friendly staff in stores does not have a positive impact on trigger of impulsive

buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of India.


Discussion(s) from the Study

This study is an attempt to understand the impact which In-Store Factors have on triggering

the Impulsive buying behavior in consumers in developing cities i.e. Tier II & Tier III cities of

India. The factors that make this study unique is that this study focuses on areas which have

been overlooked or have not been given much importance earlier, therefore this research will

be able to identify the areas potential areas for triggering impulsive buying behavior in

consumers in smaller cities and also how to increase it further and develop it. current research

is distinctive in the sense that it proposed and empirically analyzed an often neglected view of

understanding the impulse buying behavior of consumers living in small cities. As pointed by

Badgaiyan and Verma (2015), there will be a different outcome if such relationship is identified

in the smaller cities. All three hypotheses have been supported.

1. A hypothetical study using the Chi-Square test observed that Promotions and

discounts offered in stores have a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior

in Tier II & Tier III cities of India. Displays provide detailed information about the

products/services offered by FMCG companies to customers. Discounts encourage

customers to make repeat purchases and also buy in bulk quantities. The sales volume for

the company will be increased. Promotions help in tempting the customers by appealing to

their psyche and thereby triggering their positive buying behavior.

2. The hypothetical test using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test indicated that Good in-

store atmosphere has a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II

& Tier III cities of India. To overcome the present pandemic situation, there is need to

make the customer feel more welcome and safe within the store premises and by creating

a suitable ambience by using a number of techniques such as subtle lighting, ventilation,

pleasing music, mood lighting, etc the consumers can not only be made to feel at ease but

also once their initial guard is dropped, these very factors can have a suitable impact on

initiating the impulsive buying behavior of these consumers.

3. The analysis using Chi-Square test indicated that having friendly staff in stores has

a positive impact on trigger of impulsive buying behavior in Tier II & Tier III cities of

India. Consumers are knowledgeable and are alert as to what they require to purchase.

However when there is knowledgeable and friendly staff around, the consumers are more

at ease and tend to resort to their advice while making the purchase decision more often


than not, as far as choosing between multiple brands or between supplementary and

complementary products are concerned. These friendly staff can also be used as a tool to

suggest purchases other than the purchase list of the consumer having gained the

confidence of the consumer and often this can succeed in triggering the impulsive buying

decision of the consumers.

Conclusion

Borsdorf and Grütter (1999), have expressed that quality of life is geographically distributed,

and it is also socially differentiated. So, when the customers find any promotional activity or

reduction in price, it attracts them to purchase more products beyond their prior planning;

consequently, they buy impulsively. Consistent with the previous research, Xu (2007) reports

that store atmosphere impacts on the consumer’s emotions, which in turn results in increased

impulse buying. These findings are in line with previous studies in which Babin and Kim

(2001) point out that the arrangement of commodities in the store besides lighting and colors

significantly impacts on the purchase behavior of consumers. Finally, friendly employees have

positive influence on impulse buying behavior. It is expected that admiration from the

salesperson could increase impulse buying (Yu & Bastin, 2010). Because most of the time

when people start choosing their product, they get confused, if at that time staff are friendly

and facilitate product selection, this often leads toward impulsive buying (Atulkar & Kesari,

2018). The results not only support the existing literature but also emphasize the importance of

these variables in the strategic planning of retailers while establishing their new retail store or

updating their outdated retail store. These findings could be helpful in both cases of retail

management—whether they are going to start a new setup or they are existing retailers wanting

to update their outdated retail setup. For retailers, a dire need to offer discounts on different

range of products with some novel promotional strategies that may increase more unplanned

transactions.

Contribution of research

The findings of this study were based upon cross-sectional data; a more informative result

with more variation could be found if longitudinal data were collected. Furthermore, only

small cities were chosen instead of taking the comparison between small and big cities that

also increase the generalizability of the outcomes. This was a purely quantitative study; there

can be more detailed results if it was done by using a mixed method. This research has


demonstrated that the in-store factors like offering discounts and promotions to consumers

can trigger the impulsive buying behavior in consumers. Also in addition to this, the in-store

atmosphere augmented by appropriate mood lighting, music, ventilation and coupled with

customer friendly staff who can engage the consumers at making them feel at ease and thereby

gaining their confidence and passing out subtle messages for triggering off-the-shopping-list

items purchases are very significant parts of todays’ retail modalities. There exists potential

in these areas and needs to be tapped and developed further to increase the sales volume in

businesses.

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405


STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS

CHATBOTS USED BY FOOD DELIVERY APPS

Krishnakant Suryakant Lasune

Research Scholar, Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, India.

Dr. Harvind J. Bhasin

Professor and Ph. D. Guide, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mumbai, India.

Abstract

Purpose- With the use of the Technological acceptance model (TAM), this study tries to explore the

factors influencing customer perception and satisfaction when utilising Chatbots to resolve queries on

food delivery applications.

Design/methodology/approach- To capture perception, satisfaction, and other variables affecting

them, a questionnaire was shared with 188 respondents for data collection. The data was analysed

using Smart PLS, with the measurement model being examined first, followed by the structural model.

Findings- The results of the structural model show that Interactivity (IN) has a positive impact on

perceived usefulness (PU) and Perceived ease of use (PEOU). It was also found that Availability (AV)

has a positive impact on perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). The results show

that Perceived ease of use (PEOU) positively affects Perceived usefulness (PU) and Satisfaction (SA).

Finally, it is noted that Perceived ease of use (PEOU) positively affects Satisfaction (SA).

Research/limitations/implications- Since the data was solely acquired from customers of food delivery

apps, thereby the findings may differ across sectors. A five-point Likert scale was used to create the

questionnaire, and no negatively worded items were included.

Originality/value- Applying the technological acceptance model, this study intends to determine the

impact of availability and interactivity on customer perception and satisfaction when using Chatbots.

Perception was further categorised into perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This study will

aid food delivery companies in understanding the efficiency of Chatbots so that they may improvise

their services based on the findings.

Keywords- Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Interactivity, Availability, Perceived usefulness,

Perceived ease of use, Chatbots, Food Delivery Apps.






1. Introduction

In both the workplace and everyday life, technology plays a significant role. It has a wide range

of applications and is used in different ways in different parts of the world. Artificial

Intelligence has recently captivated the public's interest. Artificial Intelligence (AI) mimics a

human's cognitive capacities. AI Chatbots is now replacing human responses with this software

in order to be more precise and closely connected to people. (Aishwarya Gupta, Divya

Hathwar, Anupama Vijayakumar,2020).

Today, every organisation relies on information and communication technology (ICT) to

supply efficient services and make cost-effective use of technological resources. With a

growing need for speedier services and acceptance of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based

solutions in company operations worldwide, including in India, the global Chatbot market is

expected to rise rapidly in the coming years. With the rising demand for smartphones and

increased use of messaging apps in the AI era, the Chatbot market is experiencing amazing

growth. The food delivery industry, finance, and the e-commerce industry have all embraced

Chatbot technology in recent years. (N. Sandu and E. Gide, 2019)

Chat as a medium has existed since the dawn of computers and has risen to prominence in

recent decades as one of the most popular modes of communication. A chatbot is a computer

software that analyses natural-language input from a user and generates smart and related

responses that are subsequently given back to the user, according to the traditional definition.

(Rashid Khan and Anik Das, 2018)

Chatbots are available to assist consumers at all hours of the day and week, and are not

restricted by time or location. This makes it desirable to many organisations that may lack the

manpower or financial means to maintain employees working 24 hours a day, seven days a

week. Nowadays, chatbots are employed to address consumer concerns or problems in food

delivery app businesses such as Zomato and Swiggy. These Chatbots communicate with

customers and respond to their questions. It mimics a standard human dialogue. (Dr. Amisha

Gupta, 2020).

2. Literature Review

Mariya Grace(2021): The main aim of the study was to understand respondents' attitudes

towards online food ordering apps among college students in the Thrissur area. According to

statistics, the majority of consumers use food apps because they are the greatest time-saver and


practical way. Swiggy was rated as the most popular food app and cash on delivery as the safest

and most secure payment method.

Davinia Rodríguez Cardona(2021): This study examines the impact of trust and privacy

concerns on the intent to use chatbots, as well as the relative importance of these factors in

relation to the extensively studied variables of technological acceptance of perceived

usefulness and perceived usability. According to the results, trust is crucial, but other

properties, such as perceived benefit, are more important for chatbot use.

Sachin Kuberkar and Tarun Kumar Singhal (2020): The aim of this study is to examine the

willingness of smart city citizens to use AI-powered chabots to provide automated information

services for public transport anytime, anywhere. The results of this study show that

performance expectations, performance expectations, social influence and trust have a direct

influence on the acceptance intention of the chatbot. In a developing country like India, the

study also provides traffic managers and political decision-makers with important insights into

the development or modernization of information systems for public transport.

Dr. Amisha Gupta(2020): The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Chatbots

in terms of customer satisfaction and to see whether understanding has an impact on Chatbots

customer satisfaction. The study found that it took the Chatbots more than 2 minutes to resolve

a customer's complaint, which means it took time for the Chatbots to understand the customer's

concern and provide the appropriate solution.

Monika Ambawat, Dr. Deepti Wadera (2019): The aim of this study was to perform a scoping

analysis of the existing evidence-based literature on consumer attitudes towards the

introduction of chatbots. It explores how a chatbot could be beneficial in areas such as

education, information retrieval, business, and e-commerce. This study also suggests that while

trust does not directly affect a customer's attitudes towards a chatbot, it does indirectly through

attitudes.

Richad Richad(2019): The aim of this study is to examine the elements influencing the

adoption of chatbot technology by millennials in banking in Indonesia. The results show that

the behavioral intention was influenced by the ability to innovate, the perceived usefulness, the

perceived ease of use and the attitude towards the use of the chatbot.

Zarouali Brahim(2018): The use of chatbots for brands on Facebook is examined in this study.

The Consumer Acceptance of Technology Model is used to propose and test a model.


According to the study, consumer attitudes towards the chatbot brand are positively associated

with perceived benefit, helpfulness and all three affective predictors, joy, arousal and

dominance.

3. Hypothesis development

Table 1 lists the definitions for all of the variables in Figure 1 that form the theoretical basis of

the study, most of which appeared in previous research, but not all of which were included in

a single study.

Table 1. Description of Factors

Factor Definition

Interactivity The extent of interaction that a user has with Chabot.

Availability The extent to which Chabot is accessible to a user.

Perceived

Usefulness

The extent to which a person believes that using Chabot

will improve their performance.

Perceived Ease

of use

The degree to which a person believes that using

Chabot would be effortless is referred to as perceived

ease of use.

Satisfaction

User satisfaction refers to a user's comfort and

acceptability of Chabot during interaction with the

system.

Table 2 describes the hypothesis used for this study, a relationship between different variables

is established. Three relations H3a, H3b and H4 were supported in previous studies. H1a, H1b,

H2a and H2b were not present in the previous study and therefore a logical argument is made

to define their relationship.

Table 2. Hypotheses development

Label Link Relationship Logical argument


H1a Interactivity →

PU +ve

The more a user interacts with Chabot, the

more likely it is that the user will consider

the Chabot to be useful.

H1b Interactivity →

PEU +ve

The more a user interacts with Chabot, the

more likely it is that the user will consider

the Chabot to be easy to use.

H2a Availability →

PU +ve

The higher the availability of Chabot, the

more likely it is that users will consider it

to be useful.

H2b Availability →

PEU +ve

The higher the availability of Chabot, the

more likely it is that users will consider it

to be easy to use.

Theory support

H3a PEU→PU +ve Technological acceptance model

H3b PEU→SA +ve Technological acceptance model

H4 PU→SA +ve Technological acceptance model

Based on theory, previous study, and logical argument, seven hypotheses developed are as

follows-

H1a(A): Interactivity has a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of Chatbot.

H1a(O): Interactivity does not have a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of Chatbot.

H1b(A): Interactivity has a positive effect on Perceived ease of use towards Chatbot.

H1b(O): Interactivity does not have a positive effect on Perceived ease of use towards Chatbot.

H2a(A): Availability has a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of Chatbot.

H2a(O): Availability does not have a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of Chatbot.

H2b(A): Availability has a positive effect on Perceived ease of use towards Chatbot.

H2b(O): Availability does not have a positive effect on Perceived ease of use towards Chatbot.

H3a(A): Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of Chatbot.

H3a(O): Perceived ease of use does not have a positive effect on the Perceived usefulness of

Chatbot.

H3b(A): Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on Satisfaction towards Chatbot.

H3b(O): Perceived ease of use does not have a positive effect on Satisfaction towards Chatbot.

H4(A): Perceived usefulness has a positive effect on Satisfaction towards Chatbot.

H4(O): Perceived usefulness does not have a positive effect on Satisfaction towards Chatbot.

4. Theoretical framework

This study is based on the Technology Acceptance Model also referred to as the TAM model

which was proposed by Davis (1989). After studying previous literature in detail, relationship

between different variables were established. It was hypothesized that Interactivity and

Availability will affect the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the user. Further,

Perceived Ease of use will have positive affect on Perceived usefulness. Lastly, Perceived ease


of use, and Perceived usefulness both will affect Satisfaction. Based on all these hypotheses

proposed model was established which is as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

5. Objectives of the Study

Main Objective-To study Consumer Perception and Satisfaction towards Chatbots used by

Food Delivery Apps.

Sub-Objectives-

1. To Analyse Consumer Perception and Satisfaction towards Chatbots using TAM.

2. To investigate the influence of Interactivity and Availability variables on the TAM

framework.

3. To study the relationship between Perceived ease of use and Perceived usefulness towards

Chatbots.

4. To study the impact of Perceived usefulness and Perceived ease of use on Satisfaction.

7. Methodology and Result

a. Data collection

The questionnaire was created based on the proposed theory to measure interactivity (IN),

availability (AV), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and satisfaction

(SA). A 5-point Likert scale was used during the development of the questionnaire, consisting

of: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neutral, (4) agree, (5) completely agree. A Google

form was used to collect the respondents' data. The survey was open from August 15 to August

30, 2021.

b. Demographic profile of respondents

Respondents who were aware and making use of food delivery applications provided the data.

A total of 188 respondents took part in the study.

The gender breakdown for the sample is 46.8% of female and 53.2% of male. Regarding the

age distribution of the respondents; 75% of the sample is in 16-25 age range, 21.8% in 26-49

age range and 3.2% in 50-65 age range. 0.5% respondents were High school students, 25.5%

Graduates, 70.7% Post graduates and 3.2% were Ph.D. or higher.


Table 3. Demographic characteristics of respondents

Group Variable Frequency Percentage (%)

Age Under 16 0 0 16-25 141 75 26-49 41 21.8 50-65 6 3.2 above 65 0 0

Gender Female 88 46.8 Male 100 53.2

Qualification High School 1 0.5 Graduate 48 25.5 Post graduate 133 70.7 Ph.D. or higher 6 3.2

c. Measurement Model

The measurement model used in this study comprises five constructs: availability (AV),

interactivity (IN), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), and satisfaction

(SA). The evaluation of the reflective measurement model requires checking the validity and

reliability of all latent variables in the model (Chin, 2010; Hair et al., 2012; Hair et al., 2017).

To assess the convergent validity of the measurement model, factor loadings, composite

reliability (CR) and average extracted variance (AVE) were assessed.

Convergent Validity

Table 4. Loadings, Reliability and Validity.

Loadings Cronbach's Alpha

Composite

reliability AVE

AV1 0.743 0.789 0.86 0.607

AV2 0.780

AV3 0.811

AV4 0.781

IN1 0.807 0.787 0.862 0.614

IN2 0.601

IN3 0.844

IN4 0.855

PEU2 0.867 0.778 0.871 0.693

PEU3 0.805

PEU4 0.824

PU1 0.871 0.896 0.928 0.762

PU2 0.874

PU3 0.856

PU4 0.890

SA1 0.799 0.851 0.91 0.772

SA2 0.915

SA3 0.917


Due to low factor loading (<0.600), two items (PEU1 and SA4) were eliminated from the

analysis as part of the measurement model evaluation (Gefen Straub, 2005). Cronbach's Alpha

and Composite Dependability were used to assess the constructions' reliability (CR). All of the

CRs were higher than the suggested level of 0.700. (Wasko and Faraj, 2005). Each construct's

Cronbach's alpha was greater than 0.700. Since the mean extracted variance (AVE) was greater

than 0.500, convergent validity was acceptable. Table 4 shows the results of the reliability and

validity tests, as well as the factor loadings for the items.

Discriminant validity

The Fornell-Larcker criterion was used to test discriminant validity; the table reveals that the

square root of AVE for the construct was greater than inter-construct correlation. According to

Fornell and Larcker (1981), discriminant validity is proven when a latent variable has greater

variance than the indicator variables it shares with other constructs in the same model. Table 5

reveals that the square root of each construct's AVE (diagonal values) is greater than the

corresponding correlation coefficients, indicating that discriminant validity is satisfactory.

Table 5. Discriminant Validity

AV IN PEU PU SA

AV 0.779

IN 0.612 0.784

PEU 0.640 0.700 0.832

PU 0.622 0.697 0.743 0.873

SA 0.631 0.751 0.755 0.722 0.879

Note: The square-root of AVE is represented by the bold values, whereas the off-diagonals are

correlations.

d. Structural Model

The structural model depicts the research framework's hypothesised pathways. The R², Q², and

significance of paths are used to evaluate a structural model. The goodness of the model is

determined by the strength of each structural path which is determined by R² value (Briones

Penalver et al., 2018); the value for R² should be equal to or greater than 0.1. (Falk &Miller,

1992). Table 6 reveals that all R² values are more than 0.1. As a result, the predictive

capability has been established. Q² further establishes the endogenous constructs' predictive

relevance. A Q² value greater than 0 indicates that model has predictive relevance.


H1a evaluates whether IN has a significant impact on PU. The results revealed that IN has a

significant impact on PU (β=0.293, t=3.718, p=0.000). Hence, H1a was supported.

H1b evaluates whether IN has a significant impact on PEU. The results revealed that IN has a

significant impact on PEU (β=0.493, t=7.408, p=0.000). Hence, H1b was supported.

H2a evaluates whether AV has a significant impact on PU. The results revealed that AV has a

significant impact on PU (β=0.167, t=2.030, p=0.0). Hence, H2a was supported.

H2b evaluates whether AV has a significant impact on PEU. The results revealed that AV has

a significant impact on PEU (β=0.338, t=5.071, p=0.000). Hence, H2b was supported.

H3a evaluates whether PEU has a significant impact on PU. The results revealed that PEU has

a significant impact on PU (β=0.431, t=6.370, p=0.000). Hence, H3a was supported.

H3b evaluates whether PEU has a significant impact on SA. The results revealed that PEU has

a significant impact on SA (β=0.489, t=7.782, p=0.000). Hence, H3b was supported.

H4 evaluates whether PU has a significant impact on SA. The results revealed that PU has a

significant impact on SA (β=0.358, t=5.274, p=0.000). Hence, H4 was supported.

Table 6.

8. Conclusion and Findings

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government prohibited on-premises dining at restaurants

hence the online food services gained momentum. Swiggy, Zomato, Uber eats and Food panda

are few delivery service providers who were offering contactless delivery and payment mode.

This study aims to understand the behaviour of consumers towards Chatbots used by food

Β S.D. T Statistics P Values Significance level

AV → PEU 0.338 0.067 5.071 0.000 Significant

AV →PU 0.167 0.082 2.030 0.042 Significant

IN → PEU 0.493 0.067 7.408 0.000 Significant

IN → PU 0.293 0.079 3.718 0.000 Significant

PEU → PU 0.431 0.068 6.370 0.000 Significant

PEU → SA 0.489 0.063 7.782 0.000 Significant

PU → SA 0.358 0.068 5.274 0.000 Significant

R² Q²

PEU 0.562 0.382

PU 0.629 0.468

SA 0.628 0.477


delivery apps with the help of the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM). This study was

successful in exploring the factors that influence customer perception and satisfaction when

utilizing Chatbots to resolve queries on food delivery applications.

With the application of the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM), the impact of availability

and interactivity on customer perception and satisfaction when using Chatbots, was

determined. Assessment of the reflective measurement model was followed by examining the

validity and reliability of all latent variables. During examining the structural model, the

goodness of the model was determined by the strength of each structural path for the dependent

variable thereby establishing the predictive capability. It also established the predictive

relevance of the endogenous constructs and proved that there is significance in the prediction

of the constructs.

After analysis, it was observed that Interactivity and Availability positively affect the perceived

ease of use and perceived usefulness of the user. Further, it was noted that Perceived Ease of

use has a positive effect on Perceived usefulness. Lastly, Perceived ease of use and Perceived

usefulness both positively impact Customer Satisfaction. The study was successful in

establishing a relation of two new variables Interactivity and Availability on TAM. It can be

concluded that the more a user interacts on Chabot, the more likely it is that the user will

consider the Chabot to be useful and easy to use. Also, the higher the availability of a Chabot,

the more likely it is that users will consider it to be useful and easy to use.

From a practical point of view, this study will benefit researchers working in the field of

consumer behaviour as the study gives a foundation theory for future research. This study has

successfully implemented TAM for understanding behaviour of consumers and also proved the

impact of two new external variables on the model. This model can be further extended and

studied by including new variables. For companies providing online food delivery services,

this study will benefit in understanding the effectiveness of features which are currently used

and the findings of the study can be used for further development in service.

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IMPACT OF INDUSTRIALIZATION ON ENVIRONMENT—REFLECTIONS FROM

THANE DISTRICT

Ms. Laxmi Podoli

Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, R.J. College of Arts, Science and Commerce

(Autonomous) Mail id: [email protected]

Dr. Vilasini Patkar

(Retired) Professor and Head Department of Commerce, R.J. College of Arts, Science and

Commerce (Autonomous) Mail id: [email protected]

Abstract

Industrialisation is the backbone of any country’s economy. With rapid growth in industrialisation the

problems attached have also increased many folds. Thane being one of the industrialised districts in

Maharashtra is also listed as only the most polluted district in Maharashtra. Thane district comprises

9 industrial areas and majority of industries in this district are engaged in chemical, engineering, textile

dyeing and food processing.

As per the report of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) dated February 15, 2021, Trans- Thane

Corridor, Taloja, Ambernath and Dombivli are the leading pollution hotspot in Mumbai Metropolitan

Region and the key reason being use of around 2 million tonnes of coal burnt in this industrial area.

This paper aims to study the different types of industries functioning in Thane district and what are the

different environmental laws followed by industries in this region.

Key words: Industrialisation, Thane District, Pollution & Environmental laws.

Introduction

Any country’s growth, economy and development depend largely on the Industrial growth

within the country. All countries in today’s world are facing tough competition due to

globalisation, ever changing consumer demand, market instability, environmental issues, etc.

and India is no exception to it. The top five states that contribute handsomely to India’s GDP








includes Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka.

(https://statisticstimes.com/economy/india/indian-states-gdp.php )

Thane is the third most industrially developed district in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune.

It is economically and socially developed due to the presence of a good number of small,

medium and large enterprises and MIDC being the facilitator it is developing at a faster pace.

Large scale Chemical and Medicine industries are set up in this district. Even medium and

small producers of plastic goods, iron goods and power-loom fabrics are manufactured in large

quantities. Large scale employment is generated due to rapid industrialisation.

Review of literature

(Telang, 2018), in her article stated that Mumbai and Thane are the cities having the highest

number of industries causing heavy pollution according to the MPCB on the basis of their

pollution level. Thane District has 9 industrial units which emit a minimum of 250 mg/ nm3 of

particulate matter, recording a very high level of toxic emission.

( Pattnaik, 2018) reviewed the impact of Industrialisation in Pudicherry District. The researcher

had studied the impact of industrialisation on environment as well as socio economic impact,

the immediate causes of industrial pollution and increase in pollution and also the root cause

of increase in pollution in Pudicherry district. The major root cause for pollution were lack of

governance, lack of suitable procedures for implementation of environmental laws, non

commitment by business units for environmental friendly approach, etc.

Objectives

To study the different category of industries functioning in Thane District.

To study the different environmental laws/ rules followed by industries in Thane

District.

To study the Impact of Industrial development on the environment in Thane District.

Hypothesis

(H0): There is no impact of industrial development on the environment in Thane District

(H1): There is impact of industrial development on the environment Thane District


The present study is descriptive in nature. Primary data was collected by visiting 510

respondents. For collecting primary data a separate questionnaire was designed and data was

collected from entrepreneurs or managers or supervisors working in different industrial estates

https://statisticstimes.com/economy/india/indian-states-gdp.php


of Thane district. Random sampling techniques were used in determining the samples.Field

survey was also conducted to find out the real problems in industrial growth.

Secondary data for research will be collected through Economic Surveys of Thane district in

particular and Maharashtra state in General, Census Handbook, Books, Maharashtra pollution

Control Board Annual Reports and from various journals.

Analysis and Interpretation:

List of number of industries registered in Thane District with Maharashtra Pollution Control

Board:

Table No. 1 Industry statistics of Thane District for the year 2018-19

Regional office

GREEN ORANGE RED WHITE

LSI MSI SSI LSI MSI SSI LSI MSI SSI

RO Kalyan 31 34 1768 90 51 1168 95 63 1746 225

RO Navi

Mumbai 53 74 1868 148 86 1034 178 43 1090 274

RO Thane 29 17 1669 230 34 867 190 28 742 75

Total 113 125 5305 468 171 3069 463 134 3578 574

Source: Compiled by researcher from Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Annual Report

2018-19 pg. no. 122.

Table No. 1 explains the categorisation of industries on the basis of pollution index in Thane

district. The table further explains the classification of industries into small, medium and large,

where LSI stands for Large Scale Industries, MSI for Medium Scale Industries and SSI for

Small Scale Industries. In Thane district there are in total 12745 manufacturing industries

functioning with different pollution indices. Most of the Industries are small-scale industries.

Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 60 and above are categorized in Red, score

of 41 to 59 as Orange, 21 to 40 as Green Category and industries having pollution index of less

than 20 as White Category. It can be seen in the above table that the number of industries in


the Red category is very high depicting that almost one third of industries in Thane District are

part of the high pollution index category.

To understand how the industrial units follow environmental laws, the following data was

collected from 510 units

Table no. 2 Industrial Area of the sampled units

Industrial Area Frequency Percent

Thane Wagle Estate 59 11.6

Thane Belapur 83 16.3

Dombivli 110 21.6

Kalyan-Bhiwandi 30 5.9

Ulhasnagar 40 7.8

Ambernath 115 22.5

Badlapur 34 6.7

Murbad 39 7.6

Total 510 100.0

Source: Compiled by researcher from Primary Survey

The sample were collected from different industrial areas as shown in Table no. 2 above. About

23 percent of the selected unit were from Ambernath industrial area , 21.6 Percent selected

from Dombivli, 16.3 Percent in Thane- Belapur, and others were from Thane-Wagle Estate,

Kalyan Bhiwandi, Badlapur, and Murbad. 7.8 percent of industrial units were from Ulhasnagar.

Table no. 3 Environmental rules followed by Industrial Units

(Figures in the bracket indicate percentage)

The organisation follows

Environmental Rules

Always Often Someti

mes Rarely Never

Not

applicable

Solid Waste Management

Rules, 2016 35 (6.9) 31 (6.1)

77

(15.1) 1 (0.2) 16 (3.1) 350 (68.6)

Plastic Waste Management

Rules, 2016

55

(10.8) 32 (6.3) 42 (8.2) 14 (2.7)

77

(15.1) 290 (56.9)

E-Waste Management Rules,

2016 19 (3.7)

69

(13.5) 31 (6.1) 5 (1) 42 (8.2) 344 (67.5)

Bio-Medical Waste

Management Rules, 2016 36 (7.1) 26 (5.1)

65

(12.7) 13 (2.5)

62

(12.2) 308 (60.4)


Construction and Demolition

Waste Management Rules,

2016

27 (5.3) 40 (7.8) 65

(12.7) 10 (2) 43 (8.4) 325 (63.7)

Hazardous and other waste

Management Rules, 2016 11 (2.2) 33 (6.5) 49 (9.6) 14 (2.7) 50 (9.8) 353 (69.2)

Source: Compiled by researcher from Primary Survey

Table no. 3 shows the different environmental rules followed by industrial units in Thane

district. Ensuring the environment is cleanis of utmost importance. The Government has

notified several rules and acts to be followed by the industry for the same. Only 6.9 Percent of

the industries follows the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, 3.7 Percent always follow up

the E-Waste Management Rules, 2016, 7 Percent always follow the Bio-Medical Waste

Management Rules, 2016, more than five Percent reported to follow the Construction and

Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016, while less than 3 Percent reportedly following

the Hazardous and other waste Management Rules, 2016. At most, 11 Percent of the industries

have been following the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 regularly.

Testing of Hypothesis

The hypothesis needs to be tested from the view of impact on the environment and hence

requires a single answer from the set of questions. For testing the hypothesis, we have created

an index using the six questions which includes environmental rules followed by the industry

while doing business that are Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016; Plastic Waste

Management Rules, 2016; E-Waste Management Rules, 2016; Bio-Medical Waste

Management Rules, 2016; Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 and

Hazardous and other waste Management Rules, 2016.

Responses of the above set of questions are available on likert scale of Always to never, also

not applicable. All the set of questions were recorded into the dichotomous variable

(Sometimes to never as yes (impacted) while always and often as no (not impacted)). A mean

score variable or Environment impact index is generated to find continuous variables using the

set of these six variables with reference to environmental rules followed by industry. Therefore,

for testing the hypothesis, we have used “One sample T-test” as we have a single set of values

and because we are not comparing it over two distinct elements such as male or female. The

results from the t-test are as follows


One-Sample Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Environment

impact index

510 .2209 .29549 .01308

One-Sample Test

Test Value = 0

t df Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Environmen

t impact

index

16.88

4 509 .000 .22092 .1952 .2466

The result above shows that mean of the single variable generated is 0.220 and has a standard

deviation of 0.295. The calculated value of t is 16.884 with a degree of freedom 509. The

tabulated value of t is 1.987 at 509 degrees of freedom and 95% confidence interval. The

significant value as calculated is 0.000 (“Sig. (2-tailed)”) and also T calculated > T tabulated.

It was very well seen that a large portion of the organizations skip from observing

environmental laws therefore environment was severly affected.Therefore, we reject the null

hypothesis. Hence we accept the alternative hypothesis and conclude that there is impact of

industrial development on the environment in and around Thane.

Recommendations:

• Industry should be made to follow strict rules and regulations or guidelines issued by

Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and Central Pollution Control Board to curb

pollution and greater stress should be put on use of cleaner fuel.

• Small Scale Industries generally do not fall under the Ambit of Factories Act as a result

of this they skip from abiding to the rules and regulations in the context of non

applicability for their firms. It is an urgent need to bring these Industries under the

Regulation and to regulate emission of Industrial waste from them.


• Existing Common Effluent Plant Treatment (CEPT) should be assessed to find out

whether they are functioning properly or not. Moreover it is necessary to establish a new

CEPT for proper industrial waste treatment as the existing plants are not sufficient.

• Eco Industrial Parks can be set up in the district where the industrial waste of one industry

can be sourced to another industry as raw material. A common database can be set up in

all the industrial units for material inputs and outputs for industrial synergies.

Conclusion

Proper strategic planning is necessary to reduce industrial pollution. Industries are aiming to

achieve their organisational goals while ignoring the environmental issues. This was

predominantly observed in the case of small scale units as they are not under the ambit of

Environmental laws and thus ignore to follow the rules. It'simportant on the part of MPCB,

Local bodies and MIDC to come up with new techniques that can be implemented to reduce

industrial waste as well as control industrial pollution. They should conduct drives and training

especially for SMEs to inform them about the importance of Sustainable Industrialisation.

References

Telang, S. (2018, August 29). Thane, Mumbai top air pollution. THE ASIAN

AGE.https://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/290818/thane-mumbai-top-air-pollution.html

Rasmi Patnaik 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 120 012016

https://www.cseindia.org/mumbai-s-air-becoming-more-foul-industrial-clusters-could-be-a-major-

culprit-says-new-cse-analysis-10689

Mallik, A. (2020, October). Towards Promoting Green Economic Recovery For Maharashtra.

https://puneinternationalcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Towards-promoting-Green-

Economy-in-Maharashtra-1.pdf

www.thane.nic.in

www.midcindia.org.in

E- Reports accessed

Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2019-20

Annual Reports of MPCB 2018-19

District Census Handbook, Thane

https://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/290818/thane-mumbai-top-air-pollution.html

https://www.cseindia.org/mumbai-s-air-becoming-more-foul-industrial-clusters-could-be-a-major-culprit-says-new-cse-analysis-10689

https://www.cseindia.org/mumbai-s-air-becoming-more-foul-industrial-clusters-could-be-a-major-culprit-says-new-cse-analysis-10689

https://puneinternationalcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Towards-promoting-Green-Economy-in-Maharashtra-1.pdf

https://puneinternationalcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Towards-promoting-Green-Economy-in-Maharashtra-1.pdf

http://www.thane.nic.in/

http://www.midcindia.org.in/


A STUDY ON SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES AND ITS IMPACT ON INDIAN

ECONOMY

Ms. Loveena Atwal

Phd Research Scholar-University of Mumbai, Assistant Professor, BMS Department

Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai 400056

E-Mail ID: [email protected], [email protected]

Dr. Neelam Arora

PhD Research Guide-University of Mumbai, Principal, Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce

and Economics, Mumbai 400034 E-Mail ID: [email protected]

Abstract

The limited scale ventures assume a fundamental part in the development of the country. It contributes

practically 40% of the gross modern worth included the Indian economy. By less capital serious and

high work retention nature, SSI area has made extensive commitment to business age and furthermore

provincial industrialization. Under the changing financial situation, SSI needs to confront a number of

different issues like tremendous populace, huge scope of un-business and underemployment and

shortage of capital assets and such. Henceforth, the public authority has been giving some unique

offices through various arrangements and projects to beat the issues and for the development and

improvement of limited scope businesses. The endeavours of the public authority have come about in

the incredible expansion in the quantity of units in the SSI. The public authority likewise presented

different plans and impetuses for the advancement of SSIs. Steady help to SSI area by the Govt. as far

as foundation improvement, financial and money related approaches have assisted with arising as

unique and dynamic area of Indian economy. In the course of recent many years the area has been

exceptionally energetic and dynamic. It has obtained a conspicuous spot in the financial improvement

of the country. Generally this area displayed positive development drifts in any event, during periods

when different areas of the economy experienced either negative or ostensible development. It is a well

perceived truth that an energetic limited scope area holds the way to financial thriving in an economy

like India. Be that as it may, SSI has been dealing with various issues, which make them uncompetitive

and debilitated. In such a specific circumstance, the paper endeavours to feature the significance of SSI

in Indian economy

Keywords: Small Scale Industries, Socio-Economic Development, Economic Reforms.


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Introduction

Financial advancement of a nation is straightforwardly identified with the degree of mechanical

development. The development of modern area prompts a more noteworthy usage of regular

assets, creation of labour and products, formation of business openings and improvement in

the overall way of life. India has likewise been endeavouring to create the country’s modern

base since autonomy. It has outlined different strategies focused on improvement of businesses

in general society and private areas. Extraordinary accentuation has been laid on SSI. SSI plays

a key job in the arranged improvement with its benefits of low venture, high potential for work

age, expansion of the modern base and dispersal of ventures to rustic and semi metropolitan

regions. The meaning of limited scope area is expanded from limited scope businesses to

limited scope endeavours that incorporate all business ventures in the administrations area

which offer support to mechanical area notwithstanding limited scope ventures considering this

load of variables, as of now, Reserve Bank of India utilizes an extended meaning of limited

scope businesses, which establish of Small scope mechanical endeavour which are occupied

with the assembling, handling and protection of products in which the interest in plant and

apparatus not to surpass Rs. 5 crore. These would incorporate units occupied with mining or

quarrying overhauling and fixing of hardware. These small ventures' interest in plant and

hardware ought not surpass Rs. 25 lacs. It moreover establishes decentralized and casual area

like handlooms and handiworks. The business identified with administrations/ business

ventures, food and agro-based enterprises, programming industry additionally structure large

piece of limited scope enterprises in India. The improvement of SSI is being given due

significance by the public authority to give extra work openings, to activate assets and capital

even handed appropriation of public pay and advance the industrialization. Most likely, in India

the SSIs with their dynamism, adaptability and creative drive progressively zeroing in on

further developed creation techniques, penetrative promoting procedures and the executives

capacities to maintain and fortify their activities, their offer is just 30.8 percent of complete

fares as on 2007-08 which are about 34.28 percent of absolute fares as on 2000-01 and

decreased by 3.48 percent from 2000- 01 to 2007-08. From the Table-4, it is obvious that the

offer SSIs fares to add up to sends out have been continually decreased throughout the years





i.e., from 2000-01 to 2007-08. The approaches of progression, globalization and marketization

(Government arrangements are more disposed towards support of the enterprises then, at that

point selling of the resources) brought out key changes in the business climate in which

ventures work. The New Economic Policy followed by Structural Adjustment Program

presented by Government of India in 1991 significantly changed the principles of business

games as far as section, evaluating and host of other choice factors are concerned. This changed

the market structure; character also, focal point of promoting methodologies. The changed

financial climate has constrained Indian corporates to adapt with interaction of advancement

and globalization. In India, the passage of Multinational Companies (MNCs) has been

advanced and supported while effects of MNCs on business and mechanical improvement have

come about in expanded contest and value cooperation in assembling, preparing and

advertising of products and administrations.

Limited Scope Service and Business Enterprise (SSSBES)

An industry related help/business undertaking with speculation up to Re.0.5 million (5 Lakhs)

in fixed resources, barring area and building, is treated as a SSSBE. For example publicizing

offices, marketing consultancy, Auto fix, administrations and carports, Tailoring, Desktop

printing and so forth The assistance area has arisen as the major fragment of the economy.

Attributes of SSI in India

Limited scope businesses have certain novel components, which recognize it from the Large-

scale area. There are some notable attributes of limited scope organizations. In most private

ventures the actual proprietors are chiefs thus they can work autonomously. They can give

redid administration to their customers, which in many cases is their USP (Unique Selling

Point). Since most private ventures are a limited show and they do not need to go through a

progressive system to get consents to make changes. Independent company can react rapidly

to natural patterns. Deftness and nimbleness are attributes that permit little business people to

comprehend economic situations and quickly react to changes. Private companies have gigantic

limit with respect to business age through their work concentrated procedures. Private

companies really make a larger number of occupations than huge organizations. This element

of a limited scale unit is of incredible importance in a nation like India where the quantity of

jobless individuals is sensational. Private ventures are generally nearby in activity; but the

market for its items might be neighbourhood, provincial or even worldwide SIDBI report


(1999). The capital interest in the little area is for the most part low and the time taken for

creation to initiate is likewise less. Because of short growth period the units give fast returns

and subsequently the speed of financial improvement enlivens. One more element of the Indian

economy and the majority of the creating economies is the shortage of capital. The present day

enormous scope area requires titanic speculations while the little area is the exact inverse. Not

exclusively is the business capital proportion high for the SSI yet the yield capital proportion

are likewise high. SSI‟s are useful in adjusted local turn of events. Scattering of independent

company in all pieces of the nation helps in eliminating territorial uneven characters by

advancing decentralized advancement of enterprises. Coming up next is a portion of the

significant pretended by limited scope enterprises in India? Limited scope ventures have huge

ability to produce or assimilate developments. They give adequate openings for the

advancement of innovation and innovation consequently, establishes a climate helpful for the

advancement of little units. The business people of little units assume an essential part in

commercializing new developments and items. It additionally works with the exchange of

innovation from one to the next. Therefore, the economy receives the reward of further

developed innovation.

IV. SMES in the Indian Economy

After Independence, the premier assignment for the public authority was to accomplish fast

industrialization of the country inside the general system of a government assistance state. The

arrangement objective of monetary development with social equity was kept in see in the

general technique of modern turn of events. Huge, medium and little modern units have been

allotted a commonly correlative job so as to work with a coordinated and agreeable

development of mechanical area in general. Public records measurements characterize

fabricating pay into pay from enlisted and unregistered units. Pay contributed by undertakings

administered by the Indian Factories Act 1948 (for example those units which utilize on any

day of the year at least 10 labourers while utilizing force and at least 20 labourers with totally

manual course of creation) is the pay from enrolled units. Unregistered producing pay is the

pay beginning from the foundation other than enrolled manufacturing plants. The order of

enormous scope and little and medium endeavours by naming the enlisted producing as the

enormous scope and the unregistered assembling as the SMEs isn't right on the grounds that

the enrolled fabricating additionally incorporates the SMEs enrolled under the Factories Act.


Mechanical Policies of the Government of India and the separate State Governments have been

empowering the little ventures in order to satisfy the targets of decentralization of enterprises,

work age and pioneering advancement. Without satisfactory information, only on the SMEs

area, it was hard to make practical evaluation of the exhibition of SMEs. It is obvious from the

initiation of improvement programs, the restoration of different stale town and house

enterprises were given a conspicuous spot in the country’s monetary plan. The core values were

cherished in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India, which charged

upon the state to endeavour to limit pay imbalances and local incongruities, and advance

bungalow enterprises in the provincial regions. In light of the verifiable foundation and the

sacred order, the Government of India, while outlining the mechanical arrangement, concurred

extraordinary status and significance to the “Small and medium endeavours".

Present Policy Framework and Focus Areas

Strategy – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 planned

to advance the advancement of these ventures and furthermore upgrade their intensity. It gives

the very first lawful system for acknowledgment of the idea of "big business" which contains

both assembling and administration elements. It characterizes medium undertakings

interestingly and seems to incorporate the three flames of these, to be specific, miniature, little

and medium. The demonstration additionally accommodates a legal consultative component at

the public level with adjusted portrayal of all areas of partners, especially the three classes of

undertakings, and with a wide scope of warning capacities. It offers the foundation of explicit

assets for the advancement, improvement also, upgrading seriousness of these ventures, notice

of plans/developers for this reason.

Impact of Small Business on National Economy

Private venture has assumed an exceptionally essential part in changing the Indian economy

from a regressive agrarian economy to its current height. Its advantages range from setting out

work open doors for a huge number of individuals, counting numerous with low degrees of

formal instruction. It has sustained the intrinsic enterprising soul in far flung corners of the

country bringing about the development and advancement, everything being equal. It has been

instrumental in increasing the expectation of living of the hoards. The limited scale area has

contributed explicitly in the following regions. The SSI area in India is the second biggest labor

manager in the country next just to the horticulture area. India is described by plentiful work


supply and is tormented by joblessness and underemployment. Under these conditions the

limited scale area is a shelter. For each Rs.0.1million of venture, the limited scale area gives

occupations to 26 individuals when contrasted with 4 positions made in the huge scope area

(C.B Gupta, S.S Khanka, 2003). It helps in industrialization of the country and in reverse

regions. Some little units produce sub-parts, gatherings, parts and embellishments for the

enormous scope area particularly in the electronic and auto areas. The main commitment of the

SSI has been in the field of fares. There has been a critical expansion in the fares from this area

of both customary and non-conventional products counting adornments, articles of clothing,

cowhide, hand apparatuses, designing products, delicate products and so forth. Improvement

of business is one of the significant destinations of SSI‟s. Independent companies tap the inert

potential accessible locally. This way they work with the soul of big business, which brings

about generally speaking development, and advancement of all the locales/areas of the country.

Issues of Small Business

While the little business people can set up a unit even with less capital, appreciate speedy

returns and have the adaptability to deal with the ideas of the market, they need to deal with

numerous issues. Lack of money is a significant issue for SSI‟s. The little business visionaries

have a powerless monetary construction and think that it is very hard to get credit on account

of absence of guarantee security. This goes about as a major impairment, particularly in the

underlying stages, in the greater part of their tasks like their capacity to recruit the best

labourers or to buy the most recent hardware and gear or to gain complex innovation. Helpless

accessibility of force and other framework is another obstruction for advancement. However

infrastructural bottlenecks are issues for huge organizations as well, yet they can beat these

issues somewhat due to their monetary strength for example producing their own force, or in

any event, affecting the public authority in outlining its approaches here and there. The little

business visionary then again needs to fight with them. Old Technology for SSI‟s is the issue

which doesn't permit firm’s to be cutthroat. Most private ventures utilize old advancements

since they can't manage better.

The issues of SME’s are named under:

1. Market Structure Problems

2. Calculated Problems

3. Administrative Problems


4. Financial Problems

5. Correspondence Problems

6. Socio-mental Problems.

Accordingly the nature of their merchandise is mediocre and the expense of creation is higher

than in the event of other enormous adventures. This has gone about as a genuine impairment

particularly in the wake of opening up of the economy when they have needed to contend with

imported merchandise. The little business person can't supply normalized merchandise of

superior grade and as a result can't contend with results of huge organizations or MNCs. They

for the most part don't have a brand name or steadfastness, as there are not really any assets for

publicizing or deals advancement. Every one of these increment their showcasing burdens.

Poor administrative and authoritative abilities don't permit SSI‟s to be productive and

compelling. Normally the business person needs to play out a large number of different

capacities perpetually without having any openness to proficient schooling or formal preparing.

The enormous area then again can employ the best qualified and prepared individuals. High

rate of affliction is pervasive in SSI as 7 out of 10 private ventures as a rule fall wiped out and

kicks the bucket inside 3 to 5 years. Fundamental driver for this are an off-base decision of

item, poor administrative abilities, absence of involvement, poor nature of items in view of the

utilization of old innovations, and so on Aside from the previously mentioned issues the little

business visionary has feeble haggling ability to manage providers and monetary organizations,

needs to confront administrative red tapism and can't put resources into Research and

Advancement. After the opening up of the economy the little area has been thinking that it is

amazingly hard to rival the top notch products accessible on the lookout. Mechanical affliction

is the vital occasion of current modern age; and rate of ailment has been filling in such a huge

extent that countless new units covering a wide range of units in little, enormous and medium

areas are included in this classification. The quick development and greatness of modern

ailment is an astounding issue not just for present yet additionally forever to come, particularly

for India coming into the 21st Century. Absence of administrative and showcasing abilities

doesn't permit ideal coordination, creation, and estimating and income age for the firm.

Absence of openness to venture and monetary assets become deterrent for the extension of firm

and furthermore age of additional income, business age and being useful in socio monetary

improvement of individuals. Absence of government motivating forces for internationalization


of SMEs has too deterred SSI‟s from being cutthroat and turned into a huge firm then, at that

point simply being SSI‟s. Absence of openness to data and information doesn't permit firms to

be refreshed and forward moving for the accomplishment of the firm’s objective. Rivalry of

native SMEs in unfamiliar business sectors is a huge danger; a ferocious contest for piece of

the pie could be the principal threat for the firm. Because of low minor income and slow it

turns out to be very troublesome in getting to the monetary assets, absence of capital.

Insufficient practices of worldwide organizations against home grown SMEs because of

unsatisfactory item and administrations, high danger and low income age, Lack of government

supply-supporting projects are not successful enough. Item and administration range is

extremely slender and its use contrasts are restricted. Because of unacceptable items and

administrations there is enormous danger in selling and promoting in abroad market. Language

obstructions and social contrasts additionally play a major role in debilitating the firms.

Lacking licensed innovation security doesn't permit innovation to be moved and it doesn't

permit up to a certain degree of innovation. Infringement of SSIs by Medium and Creamy layer

businesses, and it did not permit development of the SSI‟s units. Infrastructural issues like high

force levy, inadequate fare framework not reasonable for little units due significant expense.

Scope of the Study

The SSI sectors have recorded significant growth and impressive performance. This study aims

at identifying and analyzing the growth, in employment, production and the contribution of

SME’s in the Economy of the country.

Objectives of the Study

i. The main purpose of the study is to identify the role of SSI in economic

development.

ii. To examine the Role of SSI in employment generation.

iii. To study the per unit employment generation in the SSI sector.

Need of the Study

1. The study can be very useful in understanding the factors that contributes towards the

functioning of SSI’s in Indian Economy.

2. This study will also help us in the understanding the policy formulation of the

government towards SME’s.


Limitations of the Study

1. The study is limited to India. (Geographically).

2. The study is limited to shoe manufacturing industry (Industrially).


For so many years, In quite a number fields or sectors, research has typically been an

quintessential component in the constant\frequent study, observation, series of

information\data and findings of science & technology, educational study, industrial enterprise

study, fitness-care, i.e. (medicine), social and economic studies, cultural study, human and

environmental studies, etc. to beautify know-how with regards to the respective departments

that society is divided into. Research is exceedingly essential and informative.

Method of Data Collection

• Secondary Data

The Secondary information is accrued in the shape of books, magazines, the internet, etc.,

which helps the researcher to get increased insights into the research work.

Conclusion

The limited scale businesses assume a fundamental part in the development of the country. It

contributes practically 40% of the gross modern worth including the Indian economy. Limited

scope businesses are examined all around the states and they fulfil nearby interest.

Consequently they assume a basic part in the advancement of areas. The public authority

reported a few arrangements and projects to help business people of handlooms to support work

in country regions and to work on the personal satisfaction for handloom weavers. Different

advances were assumed to further develop acknowledgment stream to SSIs, the government

has likewise presented different plans and motivators for the advancement of SSIs and give

institutional framework for SSIs. Advancement and globalization of government’s backing and

sponsorships are bound to diminish, along these lines, reinforcing of SSIs for trade intensity

turns into the desperate need in India. Presumably, in India the SSI with their dynamism,

adaptability and creative drive progressively zeroing in on further developed creation

techniques, penetrative showcasing procedures and the executives capacities to maintain and

reinforce their tasks. SSI has been exceptionally useful in the age of income predominantly

through the fare of products also, resolving the issues, for example, work and at same time it

has raised the financial state of individuals.


References

Bharathi Dr. G. Vijaya, Subbalakshumma Dr. P. furthermore, Reddy P. Harinatha (2011), „Promotion

of Small Scale Industries: - A Panoramic View‟ International Journal of Enterprise Computing

and Business Frameworks , http://www.ijecbs.com/July2011/15.pdf, got to on 13.11.2011.

Charantimath Poornima (2006), Entrepreneur Development Small Business Enterprise. Sweetheart

Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.

Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology (2007), Report of the

Working Group on Science and Technology for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)

for the 11th long term plan (2007-2012), http://www.dst.gov.in/about_us/eleventh

arrangement/rep-subsme.pdf got to on 17.11.2011.

Dwivedi, O. P. and Khator, R. (1995), India's natural approach, projects and legislative issues. In O.P.

Dwivedi and D. K. Vajpeyi, Environmental approaches in the third world: A relative

examination, Westport, Greenwood Press undertakings.

Gupta C.B, Khanka S.S. 2003, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, fourth Edition New

Delhi, King Chand and Sons.

Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries (2007), Package for Promotion of

Micro also, Small Enterprises

http://dcmsme.gov.in/distributions/booklets/GazNot/promotion_package_english.pdf got to on

07.12.2011

Ministry of Science and Technology, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research,

http://www.dsir.gov.in/reports/mitcon/chap2.pdf, got to on 24.12.2011

Ministry of Small Scale Industries , Government of India (2006) , „Guidelines of the Small Industries

Group Development Program (SICDP)‟ New Delhi,

http://www.msmediagra.gov.in/writereaddata/clusterdetails.pdf, got to on 27.11.2011.

Narayana, M.R. (2004), Determinants of Competitiveness of Small-Scale Industries in India, Volume

8, Bangalore, Institute for Social and Economic Change

Rajendran, S. (1989). „Institutional backing to SSIs. In The Hindu Survey of Indian Industry‟, Madras,

Kasturi and Sons.

Report of the Study Group on Development of Small Scale Enterprises, Planning Commission (2001),

Legislature of India, New Delhi March.

SIDBI report on limited scope ventures area (1999). Lucknow, India: Small Industries Development

Bank of India.

Sethi, Dr. Jyotsna, (2005) Ministry of Small Scale Industries (SSI) handbook on right to information

act, illustration – 2 independent company,

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/684/7/07_chapter-i.pdf gotten to on

27.12.2011

Sengupta, Prof. A.K, Project Report, Planning Commission Government Of India „A Study Of The

Issues of Sick Small Scale Industries in Uttar Pradesh and Suggested Strategies for their

Revival‟,Lucknow,UniversityOfLucknow,

Http://Planningcommission.Nic.In/Reports/Sereport/Ser/Ser_Ssi.Pdf, Accessed On 03.12.2011

Dr. Ramavat Vaijayanti, Lecturer, Pratibha Niketan College, Nanded, „Problems Faced By The Small

Scale Sector–An Analysis‟ in Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal Of Research In

Commerce&Management,

http://www.abhinavjournal.com/pictures/Commerce_&_Management/Jan13/13.pdf, got to On

03.12.2013


A STUDY ON GROWTH OF CRYPTOCURRENCY IN INDIA: ITS CHALLENGES

AND IMPACT

Prof. Neetu Singhwal

Assistant Professor, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mumbai,

[email protected]

Prof. Trapti Shandiya

Assistant Professor, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mumbai,

[email protected]

Abstract

Crypto currency is an innovative concept of decentralized virtual currency. It has turned out to be a

new avenue of investment instrument in India similar to gold. One of the most ordinary instances of

cryptocurrency is Bitcoin which is gaining popularity in India every now and then even with restrictions

upon it to use in India. The main difficulty to use these cryptocurrencies is its safety controversy. These

digital coins are not as much protected as the people think they are. The second difficulty faced by many

people is the variation problem of the currency is not known to anybody as it is uncertain. Anything

which varies so much is the most ineffective thing to use. There are many things which India needs to

learn from this digital era are that some are for their benefit but some of them are to create tension and

to worry about. Even though we all know that India is moving fast towards the era of Digital age and

that day is not far away that India will also be considered as one of the most developed nation in the

world. Even though the government hasn’t formulated any regulatory body or legislation with regards

to crypto currency trading and transaction in India, the govt restricts the buy and sell of crypto

currencies like bit coin, lit coin, etc. Crypto currencies raise various limitations on its existence in

Indian markets. This study focuses on understanding what crypto currency is all about and its impact

on the Indian economy. The study also focuses on this situation and

future prospects of crypto currencies in India.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Challenges, Block Chain etc.

Introduction

Over in the recent past crypto currency has been a subject of discussion among the public at

large. In the world of technological advancements, crypto currency is becoming more






comfortable for investors who values privacy and creation of money. In these days’ crypto

currencies like Bit coin, Ethereum, Ripple, Lit coin, etc. are trending in the financial market as

people are showing interest in buying crypto currencies. On the other hand, there are a greater

population at a confused state of mind with regards to the overall performance of crypto

currency. Bit coin was the first decentralized crypto currency created in the year 2009.

Crypto currency doesn’t form any physical form as it is completely a digital value in the web.

These currencies are often used as debt instrument for transactions and other business. Crypto

currency doesn’t rely on the financial institutional regulations but are encrypted and protected

which makes it difficult to increase the supply of money over a predefined algorithm rate.

Crypto currency charges fee at a minimum rate which are comparatively lesser than the fee

collected by a financial institution for the processing of a credit card. Crypto currency can be

changed over into different types of money and kept into client's records at a faster pace.

From 1998-2009 the creation of online currencies with ledgers secured by encryption like

B-Money and Bit Gold were tried and formulated but never fully developed. In the year 2008,

Satoshi Nakamoto posted a paper called Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System to a

discussion on cryptography, whose real identity remains a mystery. This gave birth to the rise

of cryptocurrency or digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange.

There are currently over 2,200 different cryptocurrencies traded publicly, according to

CoinMarketCap.com. The total value of all cryptocurrencies on June 6, 2019, was about $246

billion and the total value of all bitcoins was about $136 billion.

Legal aspect

After the supreme court scrapped the RBI report regarding the functioning of cryptocurrencies

in India. The Indian government is inching towards banning the transactions in

Cryptocurrencies with a new law, they believe that this would cause some threats and pave a

new currency within the country. The companies dealing with crypto believe banning this new

aspect of technology would set India far behind and that “thoughtful regulations” would be the

best way to go about it. Keeping this in mind there are a couple of laws that will be amended

with the introduction of cryptocurrency, they are: The securities Contracts (Regulations) Act

1959, Companies act 2013, Prevention of money laundering act 2002.

Cryptocurrency in India

In India, during recent years, the utilization of technology, including blockchain, to fuel

financial transactions has increased significantly. Such improvement has not gone unnoticed

by most regulators, for example, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") (Indian Central Bank).


While the current government has boosted advancement to develop a computerized or cashless

economy, cryptocurrency despite everything stays an outlier. The RBI considered the

utilization of cryptocurrency in open markets around 2013 and has since reacted by advising

clients, holders, and brokers of the utilization of "virtual money" while staying quiet on the

legitimacy of its utilization, including in 2017. So also, different controllers, for example, the

enforcement directorate and income tax department, have been quick in their activities to close

down organizations related to cryptographic money by leading strikes under the appearance

that the utilization of digital money was infringing upon outside trade and against illegal tax

avoidance guidelines.

Review of Literature

Rahman and Dawood(2019) in their Bitcoin and Future of Cryptocurrency focused on

cryptocurrency as an imaginative and technically advanced alternative for

globalization. It examined the possibility of an alternative for processing payments

across geographical boundaries and if regulated effectively cryptocurrency could

remove a lot of the financial challenges faced in the present.

C.A. (Dr.) Pramod Kumar Pandey (2017) in his Bitcoin As Emerging Virtual Currency

and Its Related Impact on India focused on the high returns and the high risk that comes

along. He believed bitcoins aren't mature and investing in bitcoins would be like

jumping in a dark well without knowing the depth, since bitcoin is not backed by

anything. One of the challenges to be faced would be to establish it as a currency or

commodity. If this is established as a currency, probably RBI will play a leading role

in its regulation, while if this is a commodity, SEBI will initiate regulations.

Komal Dhande (2017)in his Bitcoin and Its Prospects in India study focuses on the

remarkable growth in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies but does not see it replacing

paper currencies anytime soon. The problem is to structure it for the law enforcement

agencies and users to ensure safety in transactions and the problems to determine a way

to charge cryptocurrency tax. The high growth on bitcoins has attracted a lot of interest

but the high amount of risk involved in keeping the investors hesitant to invest. Though

the study shows belief in virtual currencies, a good legal and regulatory framework is

required for investors to trust this form of currency in India.


Dr. Vijeta Banwari(2017) CRYPTOCURRENCY-SCOPE IN INDIA discusses the

change in finance and the world of money. Cryptocurrencies have a huge risk factor but

are increasingly popular and it will be difficult for the government to control the

transaction. According to the Blockchain Foundation of India, (lobby of around 45

crypto dealers,) claimed that more than 30 new exchanges have applied for membership

in the recent two months. (The Print, 2018). Blockchain has huge potential to improve

the way data is stored. Despite the ban on cryptocurrency, the blockchain is adopted in

various government organizations(Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and so on). Over the

counter, markets could come up in the future instead of routing transactions through

banks.

Shailak Jaini (2018) in his The Growth of Cryptocurrency in India focuses on aspects

such as the impact of cryptocurrencies in India and the opportunities that come along

with it. It also talks about the various aspects of other countries and their rules and

legislature revolving around the Introduction of cryptocurrencies.

Rahul J. Nikam (2018) in his Model draft regulation on Cryptocurrencies In India

focuses on aspects of India to start taking a rm decision on cryptocurrency trading and

regulate it and also speaks about how the RBI should be more open to the idea of

cryptocurrencies and understand the value and opportunities that come with it.

Gunjan Jindal and Sheza Azeen (2018) in their Legal acceptance of bitcoin in India

discuss how bitcoin plays a pivotal role in aggregating the growth percentage of the

nation and how it would not be possible unless the government pushes towards making

the transactions legal and implies its regulations on it.

Neil Shroff and Padma Venkataraman(2017) in their paper, endeavor to set out an

administrative system for Blockchain Protocol Tokens, tending to both ICO Tokens

and Cryptocurrency. They outline 3 expansive classes of tokens, further partitioned in

5 kinds dependent on their inclination, and dangers for the two controllers and

purchasers. At that point, they proposed one of two administrative methodologies:

exacting consistency with existing laws or boosted reception of rules, contingent upon

the capacity and reason for the token concerned. We have looked to safeguard the

expected motivation behind various ICO Tokens while setting consistent necessities, as


per existing laws, including Securities Regulations, Tax Laws, Companies Law, and

KYC standards ("KYC/AML/CFT").

M Trivedi(2018), in his project, discusses the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,

and Threats of Cryptocurrency also, its extension in India. Cryptographic forms of

money have been viewed as productive interests for a long time. On account of its

different points of interest: Easy accessibility, No contribution of any middle person,

Fast installments, Low exchange charges, and Information security. Be that as it may,

Cryptographic forms of money additionally experience the ill effects of certain

shortcomings. The security of information and digital currency has been a significant

concern.

Rehman and AK Dawood(2013) in their project say that due to the rapid development

of information and communication technologies, many activities in our daily life have

been merged online and they become more flexible and more effective. The massive

growth in the amount of virtual users has activated virtual word concepts and created a

new business phenomenon which is a cryptocurrency to facilitate financial activities

such as buying, selling, and trading. Cryptocurrency represents important and

intangible assets which are used electronically in different applications and networks

such as online social networks, online social games, virtual worlds, and peer to peer

networks. The use of virtual currency has become widespread in many different systems

in recent years. This paper aims at matching the user's expectations of the future of

cryptocurrency.

Kurihara & Fukushima, (2017) explained, it is not digital cash, which has prevailed all

over the world. Unlike central bank- and government-issued currency, Bitcoin can be

inflated at will, the supply of Bitcoin is limited to a certain volume, which cannot be

changed.

Wonglimpiyarat, (2016) highlights that there are obstacles of lawless tender where

Bitcoin wants the government’s legislation to boost the permissibility of this new

currency. Bitcoin currency may transform the future of banking in developing countries

but it is hard to substitute a cash-based society.

I. Objectives of the study

1. To understand the concept of crypto currency, its working, its types and the top

player Bitcoin.

2. To study the advantages and drawbacks of Bitcoin.

3. To study the current status of crypto currency in India and the future it holds


Research methodology

This paper is purely based on secondary data referring to various sources such as journals,

newspaper articles, websites and statutory reports.

IV. Features of crypto currency

1.The impact is of crypto currencies on the Indian economy is clearly depicted because

the prices of crypto currency market are now falling down.

2.Indian government has made it clear with their stand of not providing a status for crypto

currency in India.

3. The rationale for this type of a choice from government hails from first, the challenge

of monitoring the decentralized transactions in crypto currencies are difficult to trace

which might be advantageous for the hackers, criminals and also for terrorist activities.

4. The second reason being crypto currency market might be a number one competitor for

the banking industry. Crypto currency like Bit coin has become popular in India like other

nations because the volume of Indian rupee being traded in crypto currency are at the very

best post demonetisation. Researches shows that the quantity generated by the rupee

dominated crypto currency is that the third largest volume traded after American dollar and

yen. The demonetization policy of 2016 may have encouraged the implementation of crypto

currencies amongst a considerable share of the population but realities rapidly began to

return out that have subdued the expansion of the market within the country. In spite of its

enormous population, India only contributes two percent of the entire global crypto

currency market capitalisation.

V. Crypto currencies in Indian context portrays few limitations..

1. Reliability and security: Crypto currency for its characteristic of be a digital mode of

transaction, it's become a really common platform for hackers, terror finance, drug

transaction, and concealment . This has brought tiredness among the population to a

bigger extent because it as it brings lesser security and lack of reliability.

2. Speculative and risky: There are various sorts of crypto currencies available within

the market and these crypto currencies functions on the speculative sell creates. Not

all the crypto currencies may fetch good returns for a crypto currency investor. The

price is only decided upon the demand supply of the crypto currency. Speculation


becomes the key player just in case of pricing crypto currency and hence the

danger factor comes in.

3. Taxing trouble: The income Tax rules don’t make it clear on the taxability of crypto

currency gains. However the tax authorities haven’t ruled out the likelihood of taxing

the gain out of crypto currencies. If an investor makes a capital gain from the

investments of crypto currencies, it invites tax liability as long term capital gain or

short term capital depending upon the period of holding the crypto currency.

4. Lack of regulatory body: Indian government is following a wait and watch policy

towards crypto currencies; where as other nations of the planet have already skilled the

utilization of crypto currency. There are not any regulatory body to seem after the

transaction of crypto currencies. This has led to increased chances of fraud, threat to

investor protection, monitoring of the movement of money in the economy. Reserve

bank of India along with other central banks of the world was unable to track the

activities of crypto currencies.

5. Price Volatility and KYC Norms: Crypto currency is a highly volatile market as the

pricing strategy depends upon demand and supplies along with speculation, Hence an

investor who signs up for a crypto currency transaction need to go under the KYC

norms which can take a while for the approval by the respective wallets. This approval

time taken could vary from wallet to wallet and should even take a couple of days time.

In such cases the investor tends to lose the the prospect of creating profit because the

value of the currency would be fluctuating at a bigger pace.

Phraseology used---

• Crypto currency: It is digital money. It is considered to be safer that the important money.

• Cryptography: It’s a way is a method of converting comprehensible data into complicated

codes which are tough to crack.

• Block Chain – A Block Chain may be collection of linked Blocks from the foremost current

one to the Genesis Block

VI. The type of crypto currencies

a) Bit coin– Bit coin is the crypto currency which is worldwide payment system. It is the

currency which is decentralized digital currency as the central bank system not worked in

this and there is no administrator which is single in it. There is peer to see networking and


every one the transfer of digital currency happened with none help of intermediary. The

transfers which occurred are properly verified by the network codes which use

special quite cryptography and block chain record has been made for the ledger.

b) Ethereum- Ethereum also can be defined as Ether due its generation on the platform of

Ethereum. It is like platform which is public with source opening and has block chain

computing. Smart scripting facility is also available in it. It works based on the version

which is modified in crypto currency and has transaction-based payment system. It was

first found out within the year 2013 by Vitalik Buterin who was a programmer and

was also the researcher in crypto currency. Ethereum software development was funded

by a crowd sale between July and august 2014 also developed a system that goes survive

30 July 2015. Earlier with in initative 11.9 million coins was premined for the gang sale

and its circulation increases with almost 13% of its total circulation of currency. The price

of Ethereum grew within the past years of 2014 to 2017.

c) Lite coin – Lite coin is that crypto currency which is giving tough competition to the

leading development of Bit coin currently and the main agenda to design Lite coin was to

do the transaction for the smaller value in a fast way. Lite coin was found in the year 2011

and the founder of Lite coin was Charles Lee. The main difference between Lite coin and

Bit coin is that for the Bit coin mining process is extremely heavy and therefore the fast

computing is required on the other hand Lite coin normal personal computer with slow

processing is enough. As comparison to Bit coin, today Lite coin is fourfold bigger that's

84 million.

d) Ripple – Ripple was established within the year 2012 by a corporation named Open Coin

with its founder Chris Larsen. it's a crypto currency which worked same as payment

method like Bit coin. The mechanism payment method of Ripple is extremely fast which

enables the funds transfer in any currency to a different user on the ripple network within

seconds

e) Mint Chip– Mint chip is creation of state institution like Royal Canadian Mint unlike

most other crypto currencies. Mint Chip may be a smartcard which holds the electronic

value and transfer it securely from one chip to a different . Like Bit coin, Mint chip doesn't

need personal identification but unlike Bit coin is backed by the

physical currency like Canadian dollar.


VII. Challenges of Cryptocurrency in india

Government Regulation: Indian government stand towards Bitcoin is the prime

challenge for its growth. The future of cryptocurrencyis doubtful in India for now.

Currently in 2019 RBI announced that cryptocurrency will not be considered as a legal

tender. Because it is completely decentralized.

Security Threat: Hackers and malicious users can create as much as they want from

virtual currency if they break the system and know the method of virtual currency

creations. This will lead to the ability to create fake virtual currency or steal virtual

currency by just changing the accounts balances.

Negative impact on Indian monetary system: Cryptocurrency like Bitcoinhelp users to

purchase virtual and real goods and services with virtual currency in some platforms may

reduce the demands on real money. Users will no longer depend on real money to buy

what they want and they will use virtual money instead. On the other hand, some platforms

enable users to exchange their virtual currency with real currency and this will increase

the demands on real world currency. This demand-supply fluctuation will negatively affect

the real monetary systems.

Using for Alleged activities : Several incidences have occurred stating that Bitcoins have

been used for illicit and illegal activities around the globe like money laundering, black

marketing, tax evasion etc.

No Ombudsman: There is no forum, where a user can possibly reach out for any help or

grievance, as a result of which Indian consumers are being exposed to transactional and

informative risks.

Upcoming entry of India’s own Cryptocurrency. As per business standard report the Indian

government is going to introduce its own Cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin called

“Lakshmi”. Its discussion is going on.

Deep embedment on local currency: EY’s Global Innovation Leader Paul Brody has

indicated that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency lack any concrete practical use in the

country, given that local currency is deeply embedded in the economy.

Human mismanagement in online exchanges: The people running unregulated online

exchanges that trade cash for Bitcoins can be dishonest or incompetent. The only


difference is that conventional banking losses are partially insured for the bank users,

while Bitcoin exchanges have no insurance coverage for users.

VIII. Present and future Crypto currency in India

The impact is of crypto currencies on the Indian economy is clearly depicted because the prices

of crypto currency market are now falling down. Indian government has made it clear with

their stand of not providing a status for crypto currency in India. the rationale for this type of a

choice from government hails from first, the challenge of monitoring the decentralized

transactions in crypto currencies are difficult to trace which might be advantageous for the

hackers, criminals and also for terrorist activities. The second reason being crypto currency

market might be a number one competitor for the banking industry. .

Crypto currency like Bit coin has become popular in India like other nations because

the volume of Indian rupee being traded in crypto currency are at the very best post

demonetization. Researches shows that the quantity generated by the rupee dominated crypto

currency is that the third largest volume traded after American dollar and yen. The

demonetization policy of 2016 may have encouraged the implementation of crypto currencies

amongst a considerable share of the population but realities rapidly began to return out that

have subdued the expansion of the market within the country. In spite of its enormous

population, India only contributes two percent of the entire global crypto currency market

capitalization.

March 4, 2020: Hope at last. The Supreme Court strikes down RBI’s banking ban on crypto,

terming the April 6 circular unconstitutional. One of the SC’s reasons for overturning the ban

is that crypto currencies are unregulated but not illegal in India. A decaying crypto market

is jolted back to life.

Exchanges see a sharp increase in interest as the SC ruling coincides with a crypto boom. The

price of Bit coin jumps more than 700% between April ..

Indian economy’s backbone. They contribute about 30% to the country’s GDP, and for exports,

it is about 48%. In the present day, while the nation’s morale has been somber, what is still

noteworthy is the determination of this sector. Local sellers and small businesses are using

every opportunity to push through. These challenging circumstances

The pandemic and then its subsequent second wave has affected small businesses across India.

On-ground restrictions have further impacted several of their processes. But Amazon’s Small

Business Days 2021 is a move to help these sellers get their businesses on track. Amazon has


enabled small businesses to reach millions of customers across India by providing an ecosystem

for them to use. They have been empowered to offer a superlative customer experience while

helping these local sellers increase their product exposure, expert endorsements along with

product reviews. It has also created a space that can foster these sellers’ unique products and

services. To further minimise the impact of this pandemic on local businesses, Amazon has

also enabled an ‘on-demand disbursement’ feature. This functionality ensures that sellers can

get their disbursements daily to sail through profit making While the situation in the country

evolves, Amazon continues to build on its selling experience, which has helped many small

businesses thrive in these unreal times. Here are some success stories of local brands who

have scaled new ideas.

Presently there's no regulation in India for crypto currencies. The absence of a regulation

certain bit coin exchanges like Uno coin, Zeb pay, etc. have initiated their operation in trading

or crypto currencies with Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. The Federal Reserve Bank of

India initially was against the trading of crypto currencies in India, however within the year

2014 RBI showed its interest in block chain technology employed by crypto currency to scale

back the physical paper money circulation. In 2015, a financial stability report was published

by RBI to spot the importance of personal block chain. In 2016, ICICI bank with Emirates

NBD (in terms of assets, one among the most important banking groups within the Middle

East) has executed transactions and remittance using block chain technology. Then in 2017, a

white book has been issued by Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology

(IDRBT) of RBI and also a pilot test was taken.

The Union Minister of finance in her Union Budget 2018 speech said, “The government doesn't

consider crypto currencies tender or coin and can take all measures to eliminate use of those

crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as a part of the payment system.” However,

the govt has recognized block chain and said that a “distributed ledger system or the block

chain technology allows organization of any chain of records or transactions, without the

necessity of intermediaries. the govt will explore use of block chain technology proactively for

introduction digital economy.” Though government is taking a cautious approach on crypto

currencies, it's bullish on the utilization of block chain. Crypto currency industry believes that

block chain and crypto currencies need to go hand in hand. But unless and until a decentralized

system is made, it's nearly as good as keeping track. If only block chain technology is to be


accommodated that just builds up a centralized system which provides authority to an

individual or a body to rectify and modify it.

Experts and observers within the country hope and predict that the govt will regulate crypto

currencies in India in several stages. These favorable and positive signs give hopes to the

industry of crypto currency. Meanwhile private companies dealing in crypto currencies have

found out an association called, the Digital Assets and Block chain foundation which has been

engaged in educating the general public on the advantageous and investment avenues in crypto

currency by conducting security checks, identification documents issued by the govt ,

Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) or Aadhaar IDs.

As the arrival of internet, crypto currency also features a tremendous growth potential. With

the assistance of both these factors of internet and blockchain technology, in future there are

probabilities of virtual banks in India. Hence to prove it on a positive note the Federal Reserve

Bank of India has taken initiatives to launch its own crypto currency named as ‘Lakshmi’

of the general public distribution. An unknown person or group of people released the Bit

coin and it created the software which is open source in the year 2009. Bit coin crypto currency

is used as a process of rewarding which is known as mining. This thing are often used for as a

mean of exchange for other currencies, products and services. Over one lakh merchants and

vendors accepted bit coin as payment method from February 2015.

Conclusion

Crypto-currency is such an invention which has become a worldwide phenomenon. Earlier

RBI warned the Indians from using cryptocurrency that to be associated with money

laundering and terrorist financing. However, crypto currency is a modern technology and a tool

which needs to look forward for. Even though there has been no regulatory response from the

Indian government, the number of investors in crypto currency is increasing rather swiftly over

the previous couple of years. Indian government should take responsible steps now to

manage such currency as its user in India is rapidly growing. Future of crypto currency in India

looks promising and there's ray of hope.

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Perspective. Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, 57-64

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27,2018,1:04p.m.)

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USE OF DATA MINING FOR ANALYSIS OF WAGON TURN ROUND TIME OF

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STOCKS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS FREIGHT SERVICES

Nidhi Singh

Assistant Professor, Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Transport sector has significant impact on economy of any country as it influences economic activities

of the country. Indian Railways occupies a pertinent place in surface transport of India, which is not

gifted with many waterways and is very large in area. Passenger services of Indian Railways are highly

subsidized and hence burden of earning falls heavily on Freight Services, often referred to as “Bread

earner of Indian Railways”. This makes it very challenging for it to compete with other modes of freight

shipment both in terms of cost and speed of delivery. This has led to a constant decline in the share of

Indian Railways in Freight Transport, affecting country’s economy adversely and also increasing

carbon footprint on environment, Railways being most environmental friendly means of freight

shipment. Government of India aims to increase the share of Indian Railways in total land based Freight

Transport to 45% by 2030. To achieve this, asset utilization of Railways has to improve. Wagons are

important and scarce asset and Wagon Turn round Time is a time based measure, which indicates time

elapsed between two successive loadings of a wagon. Lesser the Wagon Turn round Time, better is the

wagon utilization. This paper aims to compare the Wagon Turn round Time of two types of

Stocks/Wagons - BCN and BOXN, and in the process, uncover the bottlenecks with the help of Power

BI. This could help in identifying better performing wagons, which would go a long way in helping

decision makers to improve the performance of Indian Railways Freight Services.

Keywords: WTR, BCN, BOXN, Clustering, Decision Tree, Placement Time, Release Time

1.0 Introduction

As of March 2019, Indian Railway comprises of 1,23,542 km of track over route of 67,368 km

and 7349 stations. It is the fourth largest National railway Network in world after US, Russia

and China, shipping 1225 billion tons of freight annually. Its rolling stock consists of 2,89,185

freight wagons along with 12,147 locomotives. Varied items are transported through railways







– Raw materials, finished goods, livestock etc. Demand for these items keeps fluctuating

depending on market scenario and hence, it is not feasible to have a fixed time table or schedule

for freight traffic. This makes Freight Operations a very complex task.

Freight terminals comprise of sidings owned by private parties and good sheds owned by

railways. Freight traffic booking is done at terminals. It is categorized into two types:

Wagon Loads- These consignments utilize full capacity of a wagon. These wagons or

stocks are then formed into train at marshalling yard. But this type of load has now been

discontinued because lots of effort and resources on part of railways is required.

Train Load: It is suitable for bulk users who have train load of traffic to be carried to one

point. This type is generally used for shipping factory products, agricultural produce etc.

These are also known as bulk rakes, where a shipper contracts for entire rake (40 BCN or

58 BOXN wagons).

Operation of Goods trains involves providing empty wagons for loading, collecting these from

yards after these are loaded, forming them into trains, allocating them crew and locomotives

and then constantly monitoring them till they reach their destination, where extreme care is

taken that the wagons are unloaded within stipulated time.

When a rake arrives at terminal, it is placed for loading or unloading. The time of Placement is

called Placement Time. Once the goods are loaded or unloaded, they are released and are ready

for departure. This is known as Release Time.

Any holdup in loading or unloading of rakes results in increased Wagon Turn round time and

hence reduced Wagon Usage and poor asset utilization. This negates the performance of

Railways and reduces customer satisfaction, eventually resulting in narrowing customer base

of Indian Railways for Freight Services. For efficient movement of Rolling stock, it is a must

that wagons are loaded and unloaded in minimum possible time.

Over the period of time, there has been marked decrease in Freight share of Railways in India

and traffic is shifting to roadways. Few reasons for this are listed below:

Lack of rake availability when demand for fertilizers, cement, coal etc increases.

Dearth of adequate infrastructure at terminals resulting in inefficient turn round of

rolling stock.

Unpredictable and unreliable scheduling of Freight trains.

Loading and unloading delays which affect other traffic on network.


According to Shakti Foundation report, the growth rate of Wagon Turn round time in 10th, 11th

and 12th Year Plan has been -5.9%, -0.7% and +0.7% respectively, which indicates degrading

asset utilization by Railways.

Operating Ratio is defined as the amount of money spent to earn every Rs. 100. Indian

Railway’s Operating Ratio has remained above 90 since 2008-09 and in 12th Year Plan it is

nearing 100. Wagon Utilization has also reduced by 3.4% in 12th Year Plan. All this gives a

very gloomy picture for Indian Railways. But still it forms the backbone of our country’s

economy and it is taking every effort to come back with a boom. It has taken several initiatives

for the same. This paper focuses on the Wagon Turn Round time of two major types of wagons-

BCN and BOXN to judge their performance so that the better type of wagon is given more

priority. This will go a long way in improving the wagon utilization and hence asset utilization

of Railways which will play a major role in bringing back Freight traffic to Railways from

Roadways. Power BI is being used here as data mining tool to make this comparison.

Power BI is a tool which is used to connect, analyze and visualize huge dataset which aids in

making timely and strategic decisions. This work uses various Supervised Data Mining

technique like Decision Tree and Unsupervised Data Mining technique like Clustering for data

analysis and prediction of average time taken for loading of goods i.e, difference between

Placement and Release Time depending on the season and the commodity they are carrying.

2.0 Literature Review

Ciguang concluded that the increased transit time for Freight Traffic in China was mainly due

to the time consumed at Freight terminals. Xiamiao, analysed that the circulation money

required for transport of good is directly proportional to the time for which goods are held up.

According to Bennetto, when trains do not follow the original plan, it results in wastage of

crew, terminal and the occupancy schedule is also disrupted. Franklin suggests that if each train

follows its schedule, with minimum waste of time, it would result in better service and customer

satisfaction which would play a great role in widening the customer base. Hummels proved

that increased transport time resulted in trade reduction and increase in logistic costs because

of raised inventories. Transit time of Freight wagons can be decreased by reducing the wagon

processing time. The handling and waiting of wagons in sidings and yards constitute around

50% of the total transit time.


According to the CAG Report, Indian Railways needs to increase capacity and efficiency so as

to deal with increased traffic volume of Freight and for that, reduction of procedural delays is

required. For efficient movement of rolling stock, it is pertinent that goods are loaded and

unloaded in minimum time. Going by this report, 54% of detentions at terminals occurred from

placement to release of rakes, when the loading/unloading operations take place. Moreover,

analysis of 4 zones (CR, ER, SCR and SWR) show that 60 out of 87 terminals have more than

stipulated 16 hrs of detention time between placement and release. This report also

recommends that Indian Railways must improve utilization of locomotives and wagons to

improve performance.

Indian Railways aims to add 1.5% to the Indian GDP by improving infrastructure so as to

support 40% modal freight share of India’s economy. For this it aims to improve its asset

utilization, reduce Wagon Turn round Time and improve wagon utilization.

According to MORTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), share of Railways in

Freight shipment has declined from 39% in 2002-03 to 27% in 2014-15. Indian Railways aims

to carry minimum 2400 million tons by 2025 which will require annual growth rate of 8.5%

from 2017 till 2025.

During 12th 5 year Plan, there has been a massive shortfall in targeted NTKM, one of the

reasons being delay in loading and unloading of rakes.

3.0 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Problem

The Turn round time of Wagons is on rise since 12th five Year Plan indicating inefficient

operation of Railways. Due to high turn round time, there is dearth of wagons and Railway

loses upon many loading prospects and it also indicates delayed delivery of goods many a

times. Freight Services are the actual bread earners for Indian Railways, and it has huge targets

to meet. In such a scenario, optimum asset management is a must. Terminals, Sidings, Yards

and wagons are very important resources of Indian Railways. Lesser the Wagon Turn round

time, better is the asset utilization. Better the assets utilized, more will be the profit for the

Indian Railways, both in terms of increased customer base and Goods traffic.

3.2 Research Objective

This work aims to compare average Turn round time for BCN and BOXN rakes - Rake-wise,

Commodity-wise and Season-wise. This comparison would help in identifying the factors

which contribute towards increasing the Wagon Turn round Time.


3.3 Scope

This research is based on the primary data collected by FOIS (Freight Operations Information

System) of Indian Railways for the annual year 2018-19. It includes all the Fright routes

across India. The data was provided for this work by FOIS on request.

3.4 Data Analysis and Observation

It is an immense data of around 100 MB, in the form of MS-Excel files. Power BI has been

used for data extraction, cleansing and transformation. Various Visualization techniques of

Power BI were used to:

Demonstrate the average time taken from placement time to release time for BCN and

BOXN Rakes depending on type of commodity they carry or the season in which the

load is being carried. Standard Deviation from Mean was also calculated.

To identify the factors which affect this delay.

Average Wagon turn round time for BCN and BOXN were depicted with Standard

Deviation, commodity wise and season wise.

To calculate Wagon Turn round Time, following steps were taken in Power BI:

All incomplete data was removed.

The rows were grouped together Rake-wise, where each rake has unique Id.

A new custom column was added called Prev_Departure_Time, which was required to

calculate the time between two consecutive loading/departure. This

Prev_Departure_Time is nothing but the previous departure time of that particular Rake

id. Hence the Turn round time for a particular journey undertaken by a rake can be

calculated as:

Wagon Turn round Time= Departure_Time – Prev_Departure_Time

One Rake(with unique Rake_id) undertakes multiple journeys. For each Rake Id,

Average Wagon Turn round Time is calculated.

Overall Average and Median Wagon Turn round Time is calculated with Standard

Deviation from Mean Value.

These steps are carried out for BCN and BOXN rakes separately

Various visualization techniques of Power BI are used to compare the Wagon Turn

round Time of BCN and BOXN Rakes.

Also the delay between the Placement Time and Release Time of BOXN and BCN

Rakes were analyzed using various visualization Techniques.


Fig.1. Average and Median Wagon Turn round Time for BCN and BOXN Wagons

Fig 2. Standard Deviation of WTR for BOXN Wagons

Fig 3. Standard Deviation of WTR for BCN Wagons


Fig 4: Commodity Wise Delay in Placement and Release of BCN and BOXN Wagons

Fig 5. Season Wise Delay in Placement and Release of BCN and BOXN Wagons

Fig 6. Commodity Wise Delay in Placement and Release of BCN and BOXN Wagons

depicted by Clustering


Fig 7. Decision Tree for Average delay between Placement and Release Time of BCN

Wagons depending on Season and Commodity they Carry

Fig 8. Decision tree for Average delay between Placement and Release Time of BOXN

Wagons depending on Season and Commodity they Carry

Observations

The Average Wagon Turn round Time for BCN Wagon is 7.2 hrs with a Standard

Deviation of 1.82 hrs whereas the Average Wagon Turn round Time for BOXN

Wagons is 4.54 hrs with a Standard Deviation of 2.12 hrs.

The Median Wagon Turn round Time for BCN Wagon is 7.08 hrs whereas the Median

Wagon Turn round Time for BOXN Wagons is 4.2 hrs.


From Figure 3, we come to a conclusion that with the exception of few commodities

like Cement and Fertilizer, the Delay between Placement and Release of BCN Wagons

is much more than in case of BOXN Wagon.

Figure 5 indicates that the delay between Placement and Release for BOXN and BCN

is more or less independent of Season or Quarter when the loading is being done.

According to Figure 6, the delay between Placement and Release time is much more in

case of BCN Wagon than in case of BOXN Wagon.

Figure 7 and 8 show the decision tree for BCN and BOXN Wagons respectively. This

tree has been trained on huge amount of data and can be used to develop an algorithm

for predicting the Average Delay between the Placement and Release time of BCN and

BOXN wagons depending on type of commodity it is carrying and the season in which

the goods are being transported.

Conclusion and Recommendation

After data analysis, it is quite clear that the Wagon Turn round time for BCN wagons is much

more when compared to BOXN wagons. Also, it is evident that the delay between the

Placement time and Release time of BCN rakes is more than BOXN rakes, barring a very few

commodities like cement and fertilizers. Hence, it will be wise to say that if we use BOXN

rakes instead of BCN rakes, where they are suitable for carrying those category of

commodities, we can better utilize scarce resources like wagons, sidings, terminals, rail

networks, which can in turn free up resources for more freight traffic and hence higher profit

for Indian Railways. This would go long way in steering ahead India’s economy and reducing

carbon foot print on Environment.

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A STUDY ON INVESTOR PERCEPTION TOWARDS SBI MUTUAL FUND IN

EASTERN MUMBAI

Mr. Prasad M Supekar

Research Scholar, Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics, Mumbai

Dr. Suryakant V Lasune

Associate Professor, Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce & Economics, Mumbai

Abstract

Now a Days A Mutual fund is an ideal investment and modern financial scenario. A Mutual Fund is a

trust that pools the savings of a number of investors who share a common financial goal.

Find out the investors awareness and their perception towards SBI Mutual Funds. There has been

growing importance of mutual fund investment in India, when compared with other financial

instruments. Thus a Mutual Fund is the most suitable investment for the common man as it offers an

opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively low

cost. The present study explains briefly about the mutual fund industry. The study also helps to

understand the role of investment pattern and preferences of investors behind investing in mutual fund.

Financial markets are constantly becoming more efficient by providing more promising solutions to the

investors. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the financial performance of SBI mutual funds

in East Mumbai.

Key Words:- Investment, SBI Mutual fund Scheme , Portfolio, Growth,

Introduction:-

Mutual fund is a type of financial intermediary that pools the funds of investors who

seek the same general investment objective and invests them in a number of different types

of financial claims, These pooled funds provide thousands of investors with proportional

investment managers.

A Mutual Fund is an investment tool that allows small investors access to a well-

diversified portfolio of equities, bonds and other securities. Each shareholder participates in

the gain or loss of the fund.






Mutual fund issues units to the investors in accordance with quantum of money invested by

them. Investors of mutual funds are known as unit holders.

When an investor subscribes for the units of a mutual fund, he becomes part owner of the

assets of the fund in the same proportion as his contribution amount put up with the corpus,

the total amount of the fund. The concept of mutual fund emerged for the first time in

Netherlands in the18th century and introduced in India by Unit Trust of India (UTI) in1960s.

In the late 80s Indian mutual fund market witnessed entry of number of public sector players

and in 1993 private sector was permitted to enter into the market. All mutual funds whether

promoted by public sector or private sector entities including those promoted by foreign

entities are governed by the same set of Regulations. There is no distinction in regulatory

requirements for these mutual funds and all are subject to monitoring and inspections by

SEBI. The risks associated with the schemes launched by the mutual funds sponsored by

these entities are of similar type.

SBI mutual fund was setup on June 29th, 1987 and incorporated in February 7th,

1992. It is a result of joint venture between State Bank of India and Society General Asset

Management of France.

Investment analysis the best performing SBI mutual fund, Equity Fund and Equity Linked

Scheme categories. SBI Mutual Fund operates under State Bank of India and Society

General Asset Management of France and has asset management experience of more than

25 years. SBI Mutual Funds offers different kind of products like growth

Review of Literature:-

Lenard et., al. (2003) empirically investigated investor’s attitudes toward mutual funds.

The results indicate that the decision to switch funds within a fund family is affected by

investor’s attitude towards risk, current asset allocation, investment losses, investment mix,

capital base of the fund age, initial fund performance, investment mix, fund and portfolio

diversification. The study reported that these factors are crucial to be considered before

switching funds regardless of whether they invest in non-employer plans or in both employer

and non-employer plans.

Zhi Da, PengjieGa, and Ravi Jagannathan (2011) in the article “Impatient Trading,

Liquidity provision, and stock selection by mutual funds” showed that a mutual fund’s stock

selection skill can be decomposed into additional components that include liquidity


absorbing impatient trading and liquidity provision.

Deepak Agrawal (2011) in the study “Measuring performance of Indian mutual funds”

touched the development of Indian capital market and deregulations of the economy in 1992.

Since the development of Indian capital market and deregulations of the economy in 1992

there have been structural changes in both primary and secondary markets. Mutual funds are

key contributors to the globalization of financial market and one of the main sources of capital

flows to emerging economies.

Dr. V. Rama Devi and Nooney Serien Kumar (2010) in the paper entitled “Performance

evaluations A comparative study between Indian & foreign equity mutual funds” studied the

performance of Indian & foreign equity mutual funds, evaluated the performance of different

equity mutual funds on basis of risk – returns parameters and also evaluated the performance

of Indian & foreign equity mutual funds on risk adjusted measures suggested by Sharpe,

Treynor & Jensen. The researcher has selected Indian & foreign equity funds and classified

into the followings categories. Indian equity diversified funds – index funds, tax saving funds,

tax saving and technology funds.

Dr. Hitesh S. Viramgami (2009) in his article “Resource mobilization by Indian mutual

funds industry” has made an attempt to analysis total resource mobilization by the mutual

funds industry for eight year period (2001-2007). The study entitled “Resource mobilization

by Indian mutual funds industry” shows that 70Percent of the resources mobilized are from

liquid/MM schemes, ELSS and income funds offered by private sector mutual funds shares

of public sector has decreased to 8.81Percent percent over the study period.

Singh and Vanita (2002) explained that the risk inherent in mutual funds investment and use

it primarily as a tax saving instrument. They pointed out that tax benefits associated with

mutual funds is the basic driving force behind mutual fund investment. Investors prefer to

invest in private mutual funds, open ended schemes and balanced funds. It is also pointed out

that most of the investors are not aware of the risk inherent in mutual fund investment. They

suggested for providing more investor education and awareness through workshops and

seminars by SEBI.

Raju and Rao (2008) study pointed out that poor performance of many selected schemes and

suggests that the managers of the schemes have to redesign and change the investment pattern


by identifying the likely phases in the market (bullish / bearish) well in advance and emerging

stocks on a continuous basis.

Objective

1. To observe the opinion of people regarding mutual funds and what they feel about availing

the services of financial advisors.

2. To Examine and explore the general opinion about mutual funds. It also covers why/why

not investors are availing the service the services of financial advisors.

3 To know the preference of the portfolios.


A research was performed to find out the actuality from the investors about what they think

about the various investment options. A research design is an arrangement of conditions for

collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to research purpose

with economy in procedure. In the study the researcher has been used descriptive research

design. The research was done in East Mumbai , with the sample size of 60 investor. All 18

and above, Based on the convenience sampling technique the researcher chosen. The unit for

sample was the investor who visited at SBI bank in East Mumbai . The primary data was

collected through questionnaire and interaction with investor. The secondary data is collected

through internet & books relating to investment pattern

Investment Preference towards Mutual Fund -Data Analysis Work

Chart- 1

Figure 1 – Age Group of the Investor

18-30

31-40

41-50

50 above

33%

28%

27%

12%


Above Diagram Show that the out of 60 respondent age group between 18-30 having number

of 20 responded that is 33%, in the age group 31-40 having 28% Responded. The age group

41- 50 having 27% respondent. And above 50 having number of respondent is 12%

Chart-2

Figure.2 Monthly Family income of the investor

The Above diagram show that monthly income of the respondent. Between Rs 15,000- 25,000

the number of respondent 28%. Between 25001-35000 the number of respond having 35%.

And 35001-45000 the number of Respondent having 13% even those who have income above

Rs 45000 there 23% respondent.

Chart-3

Figure.3 Risk factor while investing in mutual Fund

Rs. 15000- 25000

RS. 25001- 35000

Rs. 35001-45000

Rs.45000 above

35%

28%23%

13%

High Risk

Minimum Risk

NO Risk48%

18%33%


Above Diagram show that there will be 33% responded having high perception about the

mutual fund.

And 48% Responded having minimum risk perception, and last there will be 18% responded

think about mutual fund having No Risk.

Chart- 4

Figure.4 Investors invested in mutual Fund

Diagram 4 shows that 82 percent responded invested in mutual fund because they know about

the mutual funds and tis operation. At same 18 percent respond not investment in mutual fund

not having specific reason.

Cahrt-5

Figure.5 Preference of investors various mutual fund investment.

Yes

No82%

18%

SBI Mutual Fund

Kotak Mutual Fund

Reliance MutualFund

HDFC Mutual Fund

63%15%

10% 12%


Above chat has been show that there will be 63% Responded prefer to invest in SBI mutual

fund. 15% Responded invest in Kotak Mutual Fund. Rest of 10 percent respondent give

preference to Reliance Mutual Fund. And remaining 12 percent respondent Invest in HDFC

mutual Fund

Chart 6.

Figure. 6 Reason for investing in Mutual Fund.

Above Diagram show that 47 Percent responded has investing because they Believe that

SBI is Government Bank. 32 percent responded has said that bank give good Return in term of

Mutual Fund.

Rest of the 22 Percent investor invest because of Agent Advice.

Chart.7

Public sector bankMF

Giving Good Returnyear after year

Agent Advcie

47%

32%

22%

Debt & EquityPortfolio

Only EquityPortfolio

Only DebtPortfolio

20

13%

67%


Figure.7. Above Diagram Show that there will 67 percent Responded having Debt and Equity

portfolio in the SBI mutual Fund. Even 20 Percent Responded having the only Equity portfolio.

And Remaining 13 Percent making their portfolio in Debt only.

Conclusion

The complete research work helped Researcher to gain knowledge and at the same time it was

very beneficial for the SBI Sector.

This research paper is mainly measured in the Mutual Funds provided investor a good

experience of investment avenues like mutual funds and there Diversification if portfolio. It

was a good experience for Researcher as it helped, enhance knowledge as well as gave a good

industry exposure for the period which would definitely prove to be very useful at the time of

situations. The market research performed gave an insight of the actual investors, their

investment behaviour and their investment trends which would again help the company to make

correct strategies to attract more investor and provide them with what they are comfortable to

invest in different-different mutual fund scheme.

References

Anand, S. & Murugaiah, V. (2007). Analysis of components of investment performance - An

Empirical study of Mutual funds in India. [Online] Available: http://www.ssrn.com

Dash, Manoj Kumar and Mahapatra, D.M. (2006). Measuring customer satisfaction in

banking industry. [Online] Available: http://www.indianmba.com

John. L Maginn “Managing Investment portfolio”

4.http://www.scirp.org/(S(vtj3fa45qm1ean45vvffcz55))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?Ref

erenceID=145130

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=244153

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1972.tb00984.x

7.Dr. L. Natarajan “Investment management” Margham Publication - Chennai

Prasanna Chandra “Investment analysis and portfolio management” – Tata McGraw Hills

www.amfiindia.com

www.sbimf.com

www.mutualfundsindia.com

www.economictimes.com

www.bseindia.com

www.nseindia.com

http://www.ssrn.com/

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=244153

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1972.tb00984.x


A STUDY ON EFFECT OF COTTON PRICE FLUCTUATIONS ON THE

PROFITABILITY OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

CENTURY TEXTILES & INDUSTRIES LTD.

Ms. Pooja Ashok Jogu

Research Scholar, Vidyalankar School of Information Technology, Wadala

Dr. Neelam Arora

Research Guide, Lala Lajpatrai College of Commerce and Economics, Mahalaxmi

Abstract

This paper focuses on the impact of fluctuations in the price of cotton as a raw material on the textile

industry with special reference to Century Textiles & Industries Ltd. Even though there is an increase

in the revenue of the company, the total cost has been increasing simultaneously. The textile industries

are facing a problem of declining profits. Cotton being the raw material of these textile industries is a

seasonal product. Production of cotton is highly fluctuating due to high seasonal fluctuations.

Introduction

The Indian textile industry is one of the oldest industries having evolved from a domestic small-

scale industry to one of the largest industries in the world with an extensive manufacturing

base. It is one of the most important sectors of the Indian economy in terms of output, foreign

exchange earnings and employment. Maharashtra ranks second in the production of cotton in

India. It is the important cash crop in the state. Nearly three million farmers are mostly busy in

the cultivation of cotton in backward Marathwada and Vidarbha region. Maharashtra state

accounts 20% of the country’s total cotton production and 30% of the country’s total area under

cotton cultivation.

Century Textiles and Industries Limited is into the business of textiles, rayon, cement, and pulp

and paper. The segments of the company include Textiles, which includes yarn, cloth and






denim cloth, viscose filament yarn and tire yarn; Pulp and Paper, which includes pulp, writing

and printing paper, tissue paper and multilayer packaging board; Cement, which includes

cement and clinker; Real Estate, which includes leased properties, and Others, which includes

salt works, chemicals and floriculture.

Century Textiles and Industries Limited (CTIL), was incorporated in Mumbai, India, in the

year 1897. Birla Century which is an important division of CTIL was set up at Jhagadia,

Bharuch, Gujarat, with an investment of about US$ 180 million (Rs. 850 Crore) in the year

2009.

The company is spread over an area of 43.56 million Sq.Ft. (100 Acres). It uses the best modern

machinery to produce a variety of premium textiles — from Bottom weights & Suitings to

Finer fabrics, household linen etc. Innovative products of the companyinclude wrinkle-free,

easy care, anti-bacterial etc, which are imparted to fabrics through world-class automated

processing with eco-friendly and non-toxic dyes and chemicals.

The plant hasworld-class mechanical and chemical laboratories to test fabrics as per

international norms and equipped with a pilot sampling facility for quick development of

samples. Its Research&Development centre has a Design Studio for continuous innovations in

designs and weaves in tune with the latest international trends.

Birla Century’s USP is the customizationthey offer to their clients in terms of the weave, design

and texture of products. They have an extensive network of distributors and dealers in India

and also sell the exclusive range of home-textiles and other products in the global market.


Kalyan Chakroborty, Darren Hudson, Don Ethridge, Sukat Misra and Gyana Kar (1999)

in their research paper titled, “An overview of Cotton and Textile Industries in India” noted

that India is one of the largest producers in the world but has played a minor role in the world

cotton trade. Cotton based garments dominate India’s cotton exports.

D’ Monte (2005) in his book “Ripping the Fabric: The Decline of Mumbai and its Mills”

has mentioned that the decline of cotton mills in Mumbai, the industrial, commercial and

financial capital of India, and the potential redevelopment of the land they occupy in the heart

of the city, has become a major urban policy issue. It raises vital questions about the future

growth of this metropolis


Vijaya Switha Grandhi and Alec Crawford (2006) through the research paper titled “Price

Volatility in the Cotton Yarn Industry: Lessons from India” have highlighted the problem

of fluctuations in the price of cotton. This paper discusses the impacts of cotton yarn price

volatility on handloom weavers, and the public and private interventions that have been

employed to address them

Dr. E. Muthukumar and Nisha.K.G (2014) in their research paper titled “A Study on the

Effect of Material Price Fluctuations on the Profitability of Yarn Industry in India”

focused on the effect in profitability of yarn producers when the prices of cotton are fluctuating.

Even though there is an increase in the sales volume and reduction in the cost, Yarn producers

facing the risk of maintaining the profitability margin.

Ashwini Darekar and A Amarender Reddy (2017) through their research paper titled

“Cotton Price Forecasting in Major Producing Statesma.” attempted to forecastthe cotton

prices which is beneficial for the farmers as well as the millers who purchase cotton.According

to this paper, the Indian textile industry has an awesome existence in the Indian economy. The

study aimed to forecast the prices of cotton of major producing states of India.

Research Problem

This paper focuses on the problem of fluctuations in cotton price and its effect on the

profitability of the textile industries with special reference to Century Textiles and Industries

Ltd. The fluctuations in cotton price will vary theyarn price in turn the textile industries are

facing the hard competition in the domestic as well as international market. So, theseprice

fluctuations will adversely affect their profitability margin.

Objectives

1. To study the financial performance of Century Textiles & Industries Ltd

2. To study the relationship between Profitability and sales.

3. To analyze the influence of price fluctuations in the Profitability of Century Textiles &

Industries Ltd

Methodology

Period of the Study

Period of study is five years from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021

Source of Data

Secondary Data is used for the study


Secondary data is collected from Annual Reports of company through its Website, Newspapers

and Journals

Data Analysis and Interpretation:

Data analysis and interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to the collected

information and determining the conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings.

Ratio analysis is an important tool for examining the health of a company by studying the

relationships of key financial variables.

The cost of raw cotton is a single largest cost factor for the manufacturing in spinning and

composite mills. This industry is facing the problem of getting supply of raw cotton at

reasonable prices and in superior quality. The high prices of raw cotton turn into rising cost of

production.

1.Table showing the increasing price of cotton per kilogram for the past five years

Year Price of Cotton per kg (in Rs)

2017 125.9

2018 131.97

2019 128.54

2020 120.75

2021 147.04

125.9131.97 128.54

120.75

147.04

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

PR

ICE

YEAR

Price of Cotton per kg (in Rs)


From the above table and graph it can be inferred that there has been fluctuations in the prices

of cotton per kilogram from 2017 to 2021

2. Table showing the Sales and Net Profit for the Past five years

Net profit ratio=Net profit/Net sales*100,

this ratio measures the overall profitability of the firm.

The ideal net profit ratio is 5% to 10%.

(Rs. In crores)

Year Sales Profit Net profit

2017 837.96 42.75 5.10%

2018 803.82 47.75 5.94%

2019 783.13 40.54 5.18%

2020 856.01 8 0.93%

2021 997.88 5.86 0.59%

Inference:From the above table and graph it is clear that company shows a fluctuating but

increasing trend in sales, but the company’s net profit margin shows a decreasing trend.

Increasing trend in sales is not influencing the profitability of the companyproportionately.

837.96 803.82 783.13856.01

997.88

42.75 47.75 40.54 8 5.86

5.10%

5.94%

5.18%

0.93%0.59%

0.00%

1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

4.00%

5.00%

6.00%

7.00%

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Net Profit to sales

Sales Profit Net profit


3. Table showing the Sales and Total cost for the five years

The cost-to-sales ratio measures operation efficiency by comparing operating costs as a

proportion of the total revenue.

Cost to sales ratio = (total cost / sales) *100

(Rs. In crores)

Year Sales Total Cost Cost to Sales

2017 837.96 795.21 94.90%

2018 803.82 740.9 92.17%

2019 783.13 735.03 93.86%

2020 856.01 847.57 99.01%

2021 997.88 992.4 99.45%

Inference: Sales are increasing every year,simultaneously cost is also increasing year by year,

so company couldn’t attain any high profit margin even though the company shows an

increasing trend in sales. In the year 2020 company shows high cost and in the year 2021

company shows highest cost while compared to previous years.

837.96 803.82 783.13856.01

997.88

795.21740.9 735.03

847.57

992.4

94.90%

92.17%

93.86%

99.01% 99.45%

88.00%

90.00%

92.00%

94.00%

96.00%

98.00%

100.00%

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Total Cost to Sales

Sales Total Cost Cost to Sales


4. Table showing the material cost and other cost to Total cost

Total cost = Material cost + other cost

Material cost to total cost is to find out the proportion of material cost in total cost

Material cost to total cost = (material cost/Total cost) *100

Other cost to total cost ratio is to find out the proportion of cost other than material from

total cost

Other cost to total cost = (other cost/ total cost) *100

(Rs. In crores)

Year Total

Cost

Material

cost

Material Cost to Total

Cost Ratio

Other

Cost

Other Cost to Total

Cost Ratio

2017 795.21 445.32 56.00% 349.89 44.00%

2018 740.9 432.06 58.32% 308.84 41.68%

2019 735.03 433.67 59.00% 301.36 41.00%

2020 847.57 522.10 61.60% 325.47 38.40%

2021 992.4 595.44 60.00% 396.96 40.00%

Inference: The major element of Total cost is material cost, so any fluctuations in material

cost will affect the total cost and ultimately the profit margin. Trend line of total cost is similar

795.21740.9 735.03

847.57

992.4

445.32 432.06 433.67522.1

595.44

349.89308.84 301.36 325.47

396.96

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trendline of Material Cost, Other Cost and Total Cost

Total Cost Material cost Other Cost


to that of material cost.With the increase in material cost, there is a corresponding increase in

the total cost. Other cost has also increased but in less proportion as compared to material cost

and total cost.

Findings

1. From the above data, it is clear that there is an increasing trend in sales of the company,

but its net profit margin is fluctuating showing a decreasing trend.

2. In the year 2019 and 2020 the company’s profits have fallen drastically from 5.18% in

2019 to 0.93% in 2020 and finally to 0.59% in 2021.

3. Increasing trend in sales is not influencingthe profitability of the company.

4. In the year 2021the company has witnessed the least profit as compared to the previous

five years.

5. Even though the company shows an increasing sales trend, Company was unableto

maintain an increasing trend in its profit margin.

6. Salesare increasing year by year correspondingly cost is also increasing year by year, so

company cannot attain anyhigh profit margin even though the company shows an

increasing trend in sales.

7. In the year 2021 companyshows highest cost corresponding to the increased material cost

which is due to the increase in the price of cotton in the domestic markets.

8. Major element in the Total cost is material cost, so any changes in the price of material

will affect the total cost and profitmargin. Trend line of total cost is similar to that of

material cost.

Conclusion

1. In a today’s competitive global market conditions, doing business is a big challenge. And

these challenges can be met bytaking informed decision. On analyzing the overall

scenario of Century Textiles & Industries Ltd in India, it can be said that theprice of raw

materials is key factor affecting the total cost of the product.

2. So, any changes in the price of raw material will affect the profitability of the product.

3. As the textile industries are facing the hardcompetition in Domestic as well as

International market it is advisable to have a separate data warehouse anddata mining

department for updating the information with regards to the latest trends in the economy

and market.


4. Cotton textile Industry is one of the privileged industriesof Indian economy, so the

companies under such industry should beprotected and guided.

Suggestions

1. The company should take necessary measures to withstand the uncertain contingencies

in the global economy.

2. There should be an increase in the level of awareness on the part of company about

domestic and international market cotton pricing policies.

3. Effective cost minimization techniques should be adopted to control the production

cost.

4. Cost of Material should be minimized by adopting proper procedure techniques.

References

Bagchi, S, (1994) “Will there be free trade in textiles?” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 4, July.

Chandra, P., (1998), “The Primary Textile Industry: Trade Policy, Technology and Practices,” in

Technology, Practices, and Competitiveness: The Primary Textile Industry in Canada, China

and India,”P. Chandra (ed.), Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.

Chaudhary, A. (2011), “Changing structure of Indian textile industry after MFA (Multi Fibre

Agreement) phase out: A global perspective”, Far East Journal of Psychology and Business,

Vol 2, No. 2.

Gupta, Shashi K. and Sharma R.K., (2006), “Financial Management theory and practice”, Kalyani

Publishers, 5th Edition.

Kathuria, S. and A. Bhardwaj, (1998), “Export Quotas and Policy Constraints in the Indian Textile and

Garment Industries,” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2012, Washington DC.

Maheshwari, S.N. “Management Accouting and Financial Control”, Sultan Chand and Sons, New

Delhi.

Manikandan, S, Thirunuvakkarsu, S., (2010), “Tamilnadu Power loom Industry Issues & Challenges

:(A Critical Analysis)”. International Research Journal, Volume I, Issue 10.

Marwaha, A, (2008), “Impact of China on Indian Garment Industry”, A dissertation presented in part

consideration for the degree of MA Marketing, The University of Nottingham.

Pandey, I.M., Financial Management, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 9th Revised

Edition

Ramaswamy, K.V. and Gereffi, G, (1998). “India’s Apparel Sector in the Global Economy –Catching

Up or Falling Behind?” Economic and Political Weekly, 33- 3.

Verma, S, (2002), “Export Competitiveness of Indian Textile and Garment Industry. Indian Council

forResearch on International Economic Relations, New Delhi.

http://www.yarnsandfibers.com

http://www.moneycontrol.com

shttp://www.indiantextilejournal.com


MARKETING CHALLENGES FACED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES IN MUMBAI

IN PANDEMIC SITUATION

Dr. Purnima Sharma

Introduction

The insurance companies in Mumbai are facing a lot of issues on account of pandemic

problems. There are issues dealing with claim settlement and glitches with technical problems.

There is further problem of dealing with the rising complaints in banking sector. There is

further issue of increasing the serviceability and tangibility of services.

The insurance companies are more focusing on ensuring right and balanced objectives. They

are in fact making the right and better idea for ensuring greater value addition to consumers in

following ways:

1 Insurance companies are thus focusing on determining most customised procedures to help

the policy holders. This further helps in managing business change management and ensuring

better business advantage.

2.These companies are also improving their commitment of good and the empowered service

which arises by managing business perspective and hence develops idea of more and more

reliable base of managing the market .

3.This way insurance companies are bringing out the most adorable and manageable base of

carrying out business activities in streamlined manner.

4.There is hence a large and more focus of ensuring business and customer acquisition.This is

leading to better and right approach in maximising clarity and the growth orientation of the

business.

5.These insurance companies are hence providing a fundamental and loyal basics to create

sustained growth and relevance of business in the market






6.One can also understand how these insurance firms are playing important role in managing

progressive and proactive approach, this can be further strengthening scope for better and

comprehensive approach for the business


1.To know how the marketing challenge of insurance company can be overcome in Pandemic

The insurance companies in Indian market are facing the market challenge of developing real

and proper idea of implementing right activities for fulfilment of business purpose..

2.To focus on how there can be better and complete structure for hassle free operations by

insurance companies.

There is need for further developing the better and complete business structure, which is very

helpful to ensure right and integrated approach by which business change can be derived as per

market.

3.To determine how there can be ready and better reference of making Insurance Companies

more competent for service changes.

There is hence a focused approach by insurance companies. This helps to increase the focused

help and support for managing business development and thus extended support to consumer.

The Insurance market in India is estimated to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020 from US$ 840

billion in 2017, with modern trade expected to grow at 20 25% per annum, which is likely to

boost revenue of Insurance companies. The Insurance market in India is expected to increase

at a CAGR of 14.9% to reach US$ 220 billion by 2025, from US$ 110 billion in 2020.

According to Nielsen, the Indian FMCG industry grew 9.4% in the January-March quarter of

2021, supported by consumption-led growth and value expansion from higher product prices,

particularly for staples. The rural market registered an increase of 14.6% in the same quarter

and metro markets recorded positive growth after two quarters. Final consumption expenditure

increased at a CAGR of 5.2% during 2015-20. According to Fitch Solutions, real household

spending is projected to increase 9.1% YoY in 2021, after contracting >9.3% in 2020 due to

economic impact of the pandemic

Hypotheses of Research

Following are the main Hypotheses of Research

1.Null Hypotheses The Insurance Companies in Mumbai had no service issues in Pandemic.

2.Alternative Hypotheses The Insurance companies in Mumbai had lags of service due to

technical glitches in Pandemic.

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Basic Assumptions

The researcher has made following assumptions for the research:

1.Insurance companies are committed to creating better customer value.

There is certainly a focused commitment of most of the managers to leverage a balanced and

required base which really helps in empowering business objectives.

2.There is commitment of the insurance companies in India to give a superior customer

experience.

This way the customer experience is of primary importance to most of the companies in order

to launch value added services and thus developing base of business improvement.

3. There is also further mechanism for the insurance companies of handling the customer

complaints on a speedy basis for timely resolution of customer queries. This not only helps to

provide regularity of business idea but also promptness of after sale service to customers.

4.This way there is a clear and well defined focus of the insurance companies in helping the

customers in managing the insurance requirements.

This practice of focusing on well defined objectives is helping the insurance companies in

developing a clarity and genuinety to develop business response.

5.The researcher has aimed on providing a strong base to the consumers in matching the

emerging expectations and thus leading to improving their logical and customised operations.

These emerging expectations are providing strong base to manage business favourably in

market. It further manages challenges by which consumers can strengthen business

performance in given market.


1. Fenil & Zakaria (2019) in their research paper titled,’ Changing ideology of service sector’

have emphasised how there is need for making right and accurate observation of

improvements needed in service sector.

Service sector hence is focused on creating such strong base so as to empower more

customer service.There is thus a major boost to insurance sector which is beneficial in

maximising benefits to large number of consumers.

2. Ghag & Kharapure (2020) in their research paper tiled, ’Making the Insurance Sector

Reforms’ have highlighted how there can be a better and rightful orientation of the

customer in the sector towards achieving the business objectives.


As per latest findings of above research paper immediate remedies like online claim

settlement process, etc are useful in increasing business focus for good returns.

3. Murthy & Pagare (2020) in their research paper titled ‘New Horizons of India’s service

sector’ have provided clear demarcation of how there can be better compatibility and

service orientation for the service sector.

The above research paper is encouraging more and more researchers in augmenting real-

time support and improvement which derives longer value addition in the market.

4. Sharma & Srivastava (2020) in their research paper titled, ’How service sector has evolved

in Indian Economy’? has provided how to provide a clear and better perspective of service

sector in India.

This research paper is one of the lead initiatives which gives high and assured clarity on

developing growth in market. It further ensures a fulfilling and real approach to generate

real and reliable market advantage.

5. Parth & Daschaudhury (2020) in their research paper titled ‘Reforms in the service sector’

has highlighted how there can be a balanced and rightful approach for developing service

sector in India.

The research paper is one of leading initiatives which is empowering businesses and thus

creates support and help in reinforcing lead initiatives to make tangible market support to

new and old customers.


1.The Researcher makes sufficient use of the primary and the secondary data for determining

the accuracy and ensuring attainment of the research objectives.

2.For reducing the sampling error the researcher has identified a sample size of 300 samples

for deriving the logical research comparisons.

3.Researcher has referred to Random basis of data collection so that there is proper and accurate

collection of data.

4.There is focus of researcher to use the method of Ch-square and moving averages for purpose

of data analysis and interpretation.

5.In addition researcher maintains 95 Percent confidence levels in the research with 5 degrees

of freedom.


Data Analysis

Researcher aims to identify that the data needs to be properly and regularly analysed with

reference to knowing how there can be integrated and balanced approach for taking the

decisions and what can be rational of identify the clear base of accurate decision making.

Researcher has made the following analysis from data collected:

1. There is more focus on giving a good customer service in the market, which is thus ensured

by overall improvement in research. There is also help in increasing the accuracy of insurance

industry in policy servicing and giving proper information to the policy holder. About 18% of

the respondents in research complained service deficiency.

2. This research is thus core of understanding how there can be growth and also the right

sustainability of the business by improving better business focus and empowering consumers

accordingly.

22% of respondents complained about problem in getting service at right time which can be

redressed by focusing on greater and improved service and thus ensuring improved value

addition to consumer.

3.The entire basis of research is developing customised idea and better solutions which can

maximise the certainty of business in insurance industry. About 9% of the respondents

complained about non cooperation of the insurance company’s employees in giving the prompt

service.

4.Insurance sector has recognised use of the technology to empower its consumers and making

the right and need based changes for same.

In addition there is focus on developing better change in the insurance sector so that tit can

fulfil real expectations of consumers expectations.

5.About 19% of respondents are also complaining about lengthy procedure. This further needs

a more and more focused and direct approach to clarify better and proactive approach for

handling customer queries.

Data Interpretation

As per study of the data collected the researcher has made the following key findings

A. 21% of respondents agree that they can now understand the various terms and concepts of

insurance.


B. About 15% of respondents have analysed that there is need to engage and involve in terms

of policy servicing by insurance companies.

C. only 5% of the respondents actually admitted that there is real quality focus through

insurance to improve the convenience of policy holders.

Insurance

Service Area of sales%

Term 13%

Retirement 11%

fixed

income 17%

savings 15%

Income 22%

Annuity 22%

Chart 1 Depicts Insurance details from April 2020 to June 2020

Market

share

Growth

of

sales%

Savings 10%

Current 12%

Corporate 13%

Business 12%

SSI 12%

Exporters 22%

Chart 2 Depicts the Market share increase of sales during March 2020 to September 2020

Area of sales%

Term Retirment fixed income

savings Income Annuity

Growth of sales%

Savings Current Corporate

Business SSI Exporters


Interpretation of Chart 1

1.Termwise there is 13% rise in the sales of the insurance products in period which is a

significant realisation of needs for insurance.

2.Retirement plans have increased by more than 10% in same period which is a significant

improvement in the sales variable.

3.Fixed Income plan for the same period has multiplied by 17% which is a significant increase

in business opportunity in area.

4.Savings sector increased by 15% which is certainly an important area for business.

5.Income sector has witnessed growth of 22% which is certainly a vital area to ensure a better

and purposeful advantage for the business.

6.There is further constant growth of 22% in annuity sector which is a better support for

increasing market choice.

Interpretation of Chart 2

1.Savings charts have shown rise by about 10%in the same period which is certainly a

consistent growth for the overall insurance industry.

2.Current account rose by 12%in the same period which is thus a positive sign of improvement

and right focus of initiative in the business.

3.Corporate accounts showed rise of 13%which is also highlighting the strong need for the

keyman insurance and property insurance felt by corporate sector.

4.Business accounts have shown rise of 12% which is helping in providing focus of increasing

market advantage in given market.

5.Small Scale Industry is showing rise of 12%, this is a healthy idea of how small industries

are ensuring a culture of protection of risk through insurance.

6.Exporters have witnessed a 22% rise in the profits which is certainly improving the right and

the better base of the business growth.

Rationale of Study

In the present study searcher aims to highlight

1.The servicing issues: It covers issues with reference to issue of the new policy, also refers to

challenge of analysing employee perspective also is to be analysed.

Above study is thus focused on servicing issues, it helps to analyse employee perspective

which is basis to empower business operations


2.The Technical issues: many times the policy is not issued immediately, there are delays in th

dispatch of the policy documents.

These technical issues require state of art solutions for managing equity problems and thus lead

to problem in developing favourable perspective of consumable.

3.Processing of the claims: For most of the insurance companies there are hassles in terms of

processing of the claims, which are creating unexpected difficulties for policyholders in terms

of getting the benefit of the policy.

There is thus a focus approach of given business, which not only pushes market growth but

manages well framed base of right returns

4.Handling customers online servicing requests : it has been analysed by the researcher for

determining how difficult there are problems in managing the customer requests and also

solving the real customer queries.

There is hence more focus on customers online service requests which can be processed in real

time and thus empowers towards developing creative base of achieving objectives.

5.Managing customer awareness : The customer awareness about the insurance needs is really

to be ensured by the business. Not only this focus on analysing how to resolve the customer

queries in real time is also a big challenge.

Limitations

1.Researcher faces problem of comparing the challenges of pandemic with possibility of better

returns.

Researcher aims to identify which problems can lead to possibility of less returns in market.

This further maximises help in developing lead to business in given market

2 Focus on understanding how customer need changes leads to upgrading system for future

needs.

There is thus focus orientation of business which is required in form of live handling complaints

and solving various customer queries.

3 There is thus a right and the balanced idea for making research base of logical idea of

customer needs in market.

There is hence a strong need to identify real and most uniform system for helping in managing

process of business.


4 The researcher thus ensures a better focus on customer based focus on improving customer

relations.

Researcher hence is focused on developing real time interventions and thus creating better

customer ideologies in given market.

Conclusion

1 Researcher thus aims to determine the basis of taking a more uniform and integrated base of

knowing the customer integration and also to know change development.

Researcher analyses the change and improvement for right progress which can transform way

of developing integrated service.

2 There is keen focus on knowing how there can be focused idea of managing the right and

customised approach for customer solutions.

It is hence based on customised solutions and logical ideas which can maximise in developing

loyalty of customers in better business advantage.

3 one also needs a focused idea to understand customer choices in the long term.

There is hence a strong base to identify customer choices and hence managing business

objectives which can accurately ensure right and need driven customer service

4 This thus requires a integrated idea to know how there can a uniform system in the modern

times in handling the customer queries in minimum time.

This way there is complete development of synergy and better coordination of favourable

factors which further adds to better and real time customer service.

Conclusion as suggested by Data collected:

1.Researcher as per data collected is focused on understanding changes which can be done and

thus focuses on ensuring better and reliable services.

2.There is a need for customised support for the young customers who require help in managing

business changes.

3.This way one needs focus on creating right and accurate basis of creating reliable customer

logic of long term and relevant service.

4.The experts in sector feel that there is need to integrate policy servicing in India which has

to be handled by third party professional agencies.

5.There is further suggestion to create separate IT support cell in every zonal area to give real

time assistance to consumers.


References

Pandemic issues in insurance.767.Suresh &Mathai.2019.Basic Issues in Service sector

Basics of problems in Life insurance sector in India.363.Graham & Mishra.2020.Prime Issues in Life

Insurance.

Deriving issues in India’s Life Insurance.127.Hitesh & Mahendra.2020.Major Issues in service sector.

Handling the servicing issues in insurance sector.2892.Jitendra & Chaatpar.2020.Creating the right

and balanced solutions.

Determining the most balanced business solutions.212.Krish & chhatpar.2020.improving the Indian

Growth story.


TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES FACED BY BANKS IN ANDHERI IN THE PANDEMIC

SITUATION

Dr. Sangeeta Pawar

Professor and Research Guide, Department of Commerce, University of Mumbai.

Ms. Gangaur Sharma

Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, University of Mumbai.

Introduction

The banks in India are aiming to provide a well designed solution for the long term goal

attainment. They are also deriving how there can be a balanced and progressive role of the

banking sector for the right and the seamless growth of banks in India. However majority of

the banks in India are facing lot of technical issues in giving the adequate service to the

customers.

On December 3, HDFC Bank said the RBI asked it to temporarily stop all launches under its

Digital 2.0 initiative and stop sourcing new credit card customers. The announcement came

after the bank experienced multiple outages in its internet banking, over previous two years.

In view of Pandemic situation nowadays Technology seems to the most viable contactless

option, nowadays. There are also lot of conveniences associated with same due to its focus on

contactless operations.

1.Convenience for new generation consumers: The new generation consumers are experiencing

lot of convenience due to the advantage and the edge of any time and anywhere banking due

to online banking operations. This way the new generation consumers are making the

transformation and uniformity of the changes and thus ensures a right and accurate method of

transforming the business pattern.

The convenience to the consumers is thus helping in providing such base which is helping to

ensure a good connect and understanding of the people’s convenience. This is further

increasing a better basis of managing the suitable and strong base to manage the banking

demands of consumers.






2.Focus on better business transactions: The Technology is coming up as one of the better and

the most feasible solution to provide help in settlement of the transactions. It is thus one of the

most effective enabler of the support and the help to most people to ensure smooth and timely

transactions on non personal basis. Due to the good connectivity and better bandwidth

promised by the latest technology in banking, it has become easy to connect with more people

and hence multiply the size and the value of the transactions.

This way technology is helping in ensuring a supportive and the balancing approach in ensuring

a better deal of the business by ensuring the payments in the real time and thus provides the

due speed and the focus on opportunities for the business expansion.

3.Improving speed of the transactions: The banking technology has provided a cutting edge for

providing a better and streamlined approach for banks, this is also thus providing a base for

managing the requirement to make transactions and ensure proactive convenience of banking.

The banking thus needs a very strong base for managing better and most wider change in the

given market. This is further enhancing the value and efficiency of the banking operations in

India. There is thus way a stringent connect

4.Managing better volume of transactions: It is ultimately through technology that there is help

and proactive role of the banking services as one of the most sought after services, in the

pandemic. In fact it has motivated greater number of people to take the benefits of banking

facilities.

5.Ensuring More customer orientation: many banks in the area also organised customer connect

sessions so that they can connect with the customers and also help them to use the digital mode

so that there can be more and more easy access to the banking services.


1.To focus on Technical issues in banking which are arising due to the Pandemic.

The Banks in the Andheri Area are keenly looking into removing the procedural bottlenecks,

so that there can be more and more better push and flow of the information for taking better

decisions for the business.

2.To focus on flexible timing of operations for customers so as to accommodate more

customers.

Banking system is now more receptive to have flexible timings in the area.in fact some of the

cooperative banks in the area also operate on Sundays to give the extra facility to the account

holders.

3.To help in managing the needs of the different banking operations so as to increase the new

customer base in the market.


In order to fulfil the demand of the banking operations now there is need to ensure a better and

more receptive approach to transform the business and individual involvement for the

achievement of financial inclusion objective of banking.

4.There is thus a complete focus to maximise the right and the better customer impact in market.

The customer impact further has to be matched very precisely with respect to achieving the

right and the better idea of managing the business development factors. This thus creates need

to maximise reach out to the diverse needs of the various sectors.

Hypotheses of Research

1.Null Hypotheses: There are no Technical Issues faced by banks in Mumbai.

2.Alternative Hypotheses There are series of technical glitch issues faced by banks in Mumbai.

Basic Assumptions

Researcher has made following assumptions

1.There is not a recurring problem of technical glitches in banking operations across Mumbai.

2.There is further focus on developing the right and the uniform base of empowering the

customers

3 There is thus a integrated focus on making the right and the suitable dimensions of making

the banking framework more integrated for customer needs.

4.There is further focus on creating systematic and continuous base of ensuring correct and

balanced idea of dealing with customers.


1.Gavhane & Sompaura (2020) in their research paper titled ‘Banks technical challenges’ have

provided how the banks can handle the various technical flaws.

2.Suresh & Gokhle (2019) in their research paper titled, ’Handling the everyday banking

challenges’ have provided details of better opportunities in improving the banking operations.

3.Mahesh & Dhakale(2020) in their research paper titled, ‘Suggestions and Planning for

Banking Sector’ has thus provided basic idea of improvising their business operations.

4.Mohit & Gunesh(2019) in their research paper titled, ‘Managing the innovations in Banking;

have provided the right and the basic inputs for improving the right and balanced solutions.

5.Mitikesh & Sampat (2020) in their research paper ,’Making over the banking ideas’ have

given the compilation of the right and the most accurate ideas for ensuring the management of

banking sector in India.



Researcher has referred to following methodology:

1.There is combined use of secondary and primary data.

2.There is focus on 250 sample sizes

3.There is also use of random sampling method for systematic data collection.

4.Researcher has referred to measures of central tendency for accurate and systematic data

collection and analysis

Data Analysis :

Researcher has analysed primary data collected through questionnaire method where there is

also focus on analysing the various issues concerning the banking operations. This way

researcher aims to analyse following

1.Strategies used by the banks to help in technological leverage.

There is a specific focus of the banking sector to understand how the technical needs can be

analysed and what are the real focus needs which can actually help in handling the issue.It thus

specifies in managing the real time intervention in managing the operational guidance for

banking.

2.Customising banking through E-galleries

Through the E-galleries the banks are providing the much needed progress to develop focused

attention and the overall programming which can improve the lead in the banking industry.

This is a very effective step in strengthening banking system and also the diversity in the

banking operations.

3.Developing more proactive approach in solving banking issues

The banks are nowadays following a proactive approach in handling the complaints of the

consumers. This is thus a need based and customer driven effort by the banking industry so as

to increase convenience and thus advantages to the majority of the customers.

4.Creating a dynamic banking system to manage the divergent banking operations.

The dynamic banking system thus requires a proactive and the creative idea to maximise the

level of operations and thus it is providing the basis of maximising the efficiency of banking

services in India. There is this way a very streamlined approach of the banking in improving

focus of the business.


Data Interpretation

1.The Researcher on analysis of the data collected analysed that there is need to increase focus

on increasing online banking services in India. About 42% of the respondents are ensuring

proper banking experience however the same group has also reported continuous glitches and

deficiency in banking operations.

2.14% of respondents have been able to access to the Net banking facilities any time but there

were subsequent delays in the transfers. This has lead to problem in understanding banking

operations successfully.

3.23% of respondents also complained that there was not clear and time bound response from

the banking authorities, when any technical complaint was raised.

4.About 15% of respondents have pointed about issues concerning the banking sector, which

has lead to issues in making the collaborative approach for the banking operations.

5.In addition about 53% of respondents brought about better and long term changes which can

lead to managing the problem and issues with managing banking operations.

Segment

Growth in sales

%

Consumer 1.20%

Industry 1.50%

SME 1.80%

Corporate 2.10%

Exporter 2.30%

Services 1.60%

In the above chart one can see the following improvement in performance in the Banking

sector (Period of Data: March 2020 to June 2020)

1.The consumer segment has shown about 1.20% rise in sales growth which is phenomenal

and highlights more savings habit of consumers

Growth in sales %

Consumer Industry SME

Corporate Exporter Services


2.The Industry segment has a further 1.5% rise in sales which is base of increasing sales focus

of the industry in the given market.

3.In SME sector has a astonishing increase of 1.8%rise which is possible due to the market

performance and good returns.

4.In corporate sector the growth is more exponential at 2.1% which is useful to ensure a greater

base of confidence of corporates in banking.

5.The exporters have further shown a 2.3% rise in their performance which is thus a strong

indication of good returns.

6.The services sector thus shows 1.6% growth in this period which is truly right focus of

increase in the better business performance

Area Zone

Sales

Increase%

Local 1.10%

Regional 1.40%

Zonal 1.32%

Statewise 1.42%

National

1.51%

In above

1.There

Is

greater focus on local sales which is increasing at 1.10% during

(Jan to June )

For 2020 there is thus focus on improving local base of banking

2.There is regional increase of 1.40% which is sufficient to provide help in ensuring regional

presence of banking.

SalesIncrease%

Local Regional Zonal Statewise National


3.The Zonal area is hence becoming broad and more expansionary which can lead to expanding

in same period at 1.32%.

4.The state wise progress was also highly satisfactory at 1.42% which shows the active

participation of state wise population in the banking sector.

5.The nationwide progress in same duration has been 1.51% which is helping in ensuring a

progressive and dynamic returns to the banking sector.

Rationale of Study

1.Focusing on bringing the latest issues in banking.

The researcher aims to understand the emerging issues in the banking sector which is arising

due to the pandemic. It is further creating challenge of managing the challenges and choice for

better development of the factors which can promote banking services development.

2.To create integrated approach to know the banking difficulties

There is a sincere effort of the researcher to analyse how there can be better and responsible

approach for helping in achieving the complete banking solutions.

3.To also provide base of making the banking compatible to all the solutions.

There is a key focus of the researcher to suggest the resolution of the glitches in the banking

system and making them more and more conducive for managing the customer choice.

Limitations

1.The researcher has used more of secondary data due to the pandemic.

The researcher is thus focusing on more of secondary data so as to take the accurate and the

balanced decisions in the pandemic. This is thus a strong base to increase the better idea for

managing the choice and focus of the returns.

2.researcher must have given more time to analyse impact of pandemic

The researcher feels that there is certainly more time and efforts to be devoted to make the

study more and more qualitative. The researcher purports to ensure more quality in the research

by using the latest analytical techniques in research.

3.There is lack of systematic framework for conducting research.

Researcher aims to analyse that there is need for a perfect and more synergised framework for

the research, which is thus helping in increasing the purpose and the objectives of research.

Conclusion

1.The research requires focus on knowing technological needs,


Researcher feels that the technological needs of the research still needs more and more accurate

attention and thus there can be more focused and regular approach to ensure a right and the

balanced approach for the research.

2.It is thus needing integrated approach to solve banking issues.

The solution to the whole issue lies in making and managing a constructive approach to solve

the problem in real time and also creating supportive base for helping the purpose of the

business.

3.There is further need to ensure holistic and all purpose operation to improve efficiency.

For the improvement of the overall efficiency the banking system needs and immediate push

of the upgraded technology and push for managing the right dimension of the business.

Conclusion as per Data Collection in Research

1.The Researcher thus analyses how there can be a integrated and purposeful base of knowing

the problems and issues faced by consumer due to the technology in the market.

2.This way there is a real time and better support in creating idea for ensuring base of

improvising the banking operations for the business.

3.The emerging businesses which are extensively using the banking technology are now more

driven by the ease of utilising the business operations. This not only improves the quality of

the customer experience but leads to managing the base of comfortable market operations.

4.Data analysis of the primary source of information provides how there can be logical base of

analysing customer information and thus a right and clear base which can certainly improve

the quality of consumer experience.

5.There is further focus of the data analysis which provides a systematic idea to identify the

help in managing the details and the purpose of the banking operations.

References

Technology in Banking today and tomorrow.123.Leander & Gholap.2019.Technical side of banking.

Challenges across the Banking sector in India.342.Hitendra & Ghosh.2020.Ensuring the right

technical understanding.

Developing rationality in Banking in India. Joshi & Chhatpar.321.kelly & rohra.2020.making the right

and rational moves

Helping India to create proper and democratic view. Link & Jash.326.lowe & lintas.2020.Managing

the new normal

Deriving the growth among technical glitches. Jay & Vighnesh.342.2020.Help in managing the

technical side of banking


COVID-19 RELATED LABOUR MIGRATION AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS FOR

ECONOMY

Prof. Anjali M Kulkarni

Abstract

The Covid 19 pandemic affected global economy on a vast scale. Still after 11 months of the lockdown

announced in India on 24th March, the economic impact and the disturbance in the socio-economic

fabric is yet to be reset for the betterment of the country.

It gave rise to the biggest labour migration after the country’s partition in 1947. This led to a huge

crisis for the manufacturing and services sectors and mainly the informal sector where most of the

migrant labour are employed. This crisis also resulted in a steep increase in unemployment rates; both

urban and rural. The increasing number of unemployment further creates many more problems in the

stability of the nation.

This research is based on studying the importance of migrant labour in various economic sectors,

identifying the key reasons for the exodus, the effect on economy as a result of the reverse migration,

current situation and also tries to suggest the measures that should be taken now to regain the

confidence of the workforce and achieving social and economic stability.

Keywords: labour migration, Covid-19, economy, socio-economic aspects

Objectives of study

To study effect of Covid-19 on Labour Migration and its Repercussions for Economy

Introduction

The global pandemic Covid-19 affecting our lives since more than a year and a half now, has

been detrimental to the economic growth and the employment scenario of the country. The

nationwide lockdown imposed all of a sudden in March, 2020, took all the people by shock,

panic and confusion. More so because neither the government machineries could sense the

depth and impact of the pandemic and nobody was in a position to predict the duration of the

lockdown and its side effects. This resulted in chaos, confusion and owing to lack of any

assurance of any income, the workers started moving back to their native places by whatever






possible means of transport, and even on foot. The journey was not easy, they had exhausted

their resources, unable to pay any rent for their accommodations without any income, and miles

to go, mostly on barefoot, walking several miles or whatever means of transport they could get.

According to the Economic Times data, there are about 600 mn workers in informal sector,

constituting about 90% of the country’s workforce. These workers also constitute what is

known as unorganized sector and contributes to roughly half the GDP of the country. The

impact of their contribution to the state they have migrated to as well as the growth due to

sending the remittances which they send to their families at their native place; helps

development and growth of various businesses and industries at both these locations.

The informal economy drives growth and livelihoods. It supplies labour-intensive exports. It

provides the goods and services that COVID-19 reminds us are essential. Its costs and returns

provide the structure of costs and prices for the rest of the economy. India’s comparative

advantage relies on it. Labelled ‘unorganised’, it is far from being disorganised: it is organised

through business associations, unions and the identities of caste, ethnicity, religion and gender.

The research tries to understand the concept of labour migration, its need and contribution to

the Indian economy and the resulting disturbance in the socio economic fabric. This research

also tries to highlight the policy initiatives taken by the government after the humanitarian

crisis resulted due to the nationwide lockdown and further measures which needs to be taken.

The meaning of migrant labour

A migrant labour is a person staying away from his or her place of birth for the purposes of

getting employment, with no intention to stay there for a long term.

The migration could be Urban to Urban, Rural to Urban and Rural to Rural.

These could be within the same district, within the state or outside the state. According to the

Census Survey of 2011, intra-district migration has always been the highest percentage of total

migration.


Moreover the analysis based on the types of employment during 2019 by Meherotra and Parida

shows us that service sector employs more people in Unorganised sector.

Table 1: The Type of Employment in Non-farm sectors in India (in Million)

According to the 2011 Census, there were 450 million internal migrants in India, thus

accounting 37.7 per cent of the total population (Registrar General of India 2011). Based on

census trends, we estimate about 600 million internal migrants in 2020. Among this, one-third

are interstate and inter-district migrants which accounts to 200 million, and within this 200

million, two-thirds are estimated to be migrant workers that roughly constitute 140 million

(Gupta 2020). The Economic Survey 2016–17 estimated an interstate migrant population of 60

million and an inter-district migrant population of 80 million (Government of India 2017a).

The average annual flow of migrants between states was calculated at 9 million persons.

However, this number uses data from the Railways, which is a popular mode of transport for

migrants, but far from the only one.

Various Sectors Employing Them

Agriculture, Construction and Real Estate sectors are the large scale employers of migrant

labour. Moreover, there is still no recognised central data base to exactly predict of record their

details and pass on any benefits to them.

Table 2: Share of Migrant Workforce among the Total Workforce in the major sectors

(in Percentage)


The Migration of Labour due to Covid-19

Covid-19 related lockdowns by the whole country and subsequent continued lockdowns by

different states has imposed severe restrictions on movement of people. This lead to shutdowns

of factories and other workplaces for a significant time period. This sudden step of the

government hit the daily wage earners and migrant labourers. Uncertainty about future,

exhaustion of the resources and money and lack of any clear cut directive about their

employment security made them travel thousands of kilometres with their families.

The huge exodus happened as a result of panic among the migrant workers pertaining to

insecurity, fear, loss of jobs, and social and emotional issues. Many migrant labourers and their

families have been left to walk to their places of origin deprived of work, lodging and shelter,

food, water and transport, except through acts of charity and occasional action by states (which

have been promptly punished by the Central government for doing so). And on arrival,

stigmatised, they have not always been welcome. Other migrant workers have not been allowed

to move but instead have been imprisoned in factory compounds and quarters, unpaid, poorly

fed and prevented from returning home. The migrant labour problem got highlighted only after

all this brouhaha. The migrant labour have never been attributed to the significant but silent

contribution they were doing to the economy till then. They had always been a continuously

moving part of the society, therefore not a part of any vote bank, or any social benefit schemes.

Their kids seldom got a regular education and are forced to lead a lowly life.

Policies and programmes of urban development and planning in India hardly launched any

specific programmes for the migrants as they were not considered as a part of the urban


community. Failure to recognize migrants as a stake holder in urban development is one of the

biggest mistakes in achieving urban sustainability and realizing the goals of sustainable

development in India. It is to be realized that migrants are not a victimizer, nor a victim, but

they are vulnerable.

They are engaged in many 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and demeaning) which the so-called urban

natives hate to do. Access to social security programmes, access to health care and other

entitlements are grossly denied to many migrant workers due to lack of their inclusion in urban

society.

Role of migrant labour in the economy

Labour migration within India is crucial for economic growth and contributes to improving the

socio-economic condition of people. It is estimated that more than 90% of working people in

India are engaged in the informal economy. Migration can help, for example, to improve

income, skill development, and provide greater access to services like healthcare and education.

Migrants are not just objects of charity that need support. Internal migrants are key income

generators that play a vital role in Indian society and should never be overlooked again.

Whatever they earn, spend very little on themselves and send most of the money to their

families in villages. This helps channelizing the rural economy as well. It also gives a boost to

the education, food, textile and healthcare industries in the rural areas. Moreover they provide

skilled, unskilled labour to their places of work at a lower wage rate. Mostly they don’t have

any written contract, paid leaves, health benefits or social security. Still they contribute to

almost 10% of the GDP.

India’s economic growth is enabled by the migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Jharkand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. These migrations also help in bringing cultural

diversity to the states where they work. They engage themselves in all possible kinds of work

which may seem unpleasant to the locals. They are normally not aware of their rights and do

not have much demand from the employers.

Policy Initiatives

The introduction of the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 and The Code on

Social Security, 2019 are conducive to the conservation of the rights of unorganized labourers,

they have not been very effective.


However the plight of migrant labourers during the pandemic made the government take steps

like speeding up the national database, creating better facilities for them, reskilling or up

skilling them, providing education to their children, creating a one point portal for connecting

the labourers to employers etc.

Implementation of one nation one ration card scheme is also a good step towards making them

getting benefitted with their legal claims on the facilities, they cannot have, due to continuously

changing the place of residence (often temporary)

Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Pradhan Man-tri Jan-Dhan Yojana

(PMJDY) are well praised for their gender-sensitive approach

and objectives. With Ujjwala Yojana—aiming to put an end to the use of firewood

and biomass fuels for cooking that cause respiratory ailments and morbidity issues

for rural women—LPG connections taken by women across India have increased by

16.26 per cent. However, recent studies show that due to the price rise of LPG, many

women continue with the traditional method of cooking, after their first gas cylinder

empties. Because of this, the use of gas cylinder has increased by only 9.83 per cent,

which is lower than in 2014–15, before the scheme was introduced.

The Unified Shram Suvidha Portal is developed to facilitate reporting of Inspections, and

submission of Returns. The Unified Shram Suvidha Portal has been envisaged as a single point

of contact between employer, employee and enforcement agencies bringing in transparency in

their day-to-day interactions. For integration of data among various enforcement agencies, each

inspectable unit under any Labour Law has been assigned one Labour Identification Number

(LIN).

eSHRAM portal has been developed for creating a National Database of Unorganized

Workers,which is seeded with Aadhaar. It will have details of name, occupation, address,

educational qualification, skill types and family details etc. for optimum realization of their

employability and extend the benefits of the social security schemes to them. Any worker who

is working in unorganized sector and aged between 16-59, is eligible to register on the

eSHRAM portal e.g. migrant workers, gig workers, platform workers, agricultural workers,

MGNREGA workers, Fishermen, Milkmen, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Street

Vendors, Domestic workers, Rickshaw pullers and other workers engaged in similar other


occupations in the unorganised sector. It is the first-ever national database of Unorganised

workers including migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers, etc.

Conclusion

While the Covid-19 was a significant nail to the poor migrant labourers life, it started a

nationwide debate and millions of people, social workers and NGOs felt moved to see the

visuals of thousands of migrant labourers going barefoot, with small kids, aged family members

in scorching heat and rains.

It made people and government aware of the problems and issues they are facing.

Further many things need be to be done for migrant labourers. Some of these include:

● Stimulating Public Awareness on Migration

● Establishing institutional mechanisms for inter-state coordination

● Improving enforcement of labour laws

● Adopting a four-pronged approach for better protection of rights of workers that defines

the roles and responsibilities of the state, employers, workers/trade unions/civil society

organizations and emphasizes the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining for

promoting the rights of migrant workers

● Ensuring access and portability of social security schemes, for example, access to

public distribution network/ subsidized ration in destination areas

● Accessing housing, water and sanitation

● Providing identity documents to migrants, which enables them to open bank accounts

and enrol for welfare schemes

● Strengthening and/or setting up district facilitation centres, migrant information centres

and gender resource centres

● Strengthening the role of panchayats in registering workers

● Strengthening the role of vigilance committees to guard against bonded labour and child

labour

● Providing education and health services at the worksites or seasonal hostels

● Providing skills training, in particular for adolescents and young workers

● Establishing a universal helpline for migrant workers

*(Decent Work for Migrant Workers in India, United Nations in India)


References

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/formalising-social-security-for-the-informal-

sector/article33742343.ece

https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/statsguru-informal-sector-plays-

important-role-in-india-s-labour-market-121012400871_1.html

R.B. Bhagat et al. IIPS Analytical Series on Covid 19: Paper 1: The COVID-19, Migration and

Livelihood in India

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/national-database-of-workers-in-

informal-sector-in-the-works/articleshow/73394732.cms?from=mdr

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00283-w

Labour Migrants During the Pandemic: A Comparative Perspective, Arjan de Haan

The Indian Journal of Labour Economics volume 63, pages885–900(2020)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00293-8/tables/1

IrudayaRajan2020_Article_TheCOVID-19PandemicAndInternal.pdf

covid_19_paper_IJICC.pdf

International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change. www.ijicc.net Special Edition: COVID-19

Life Beyond, September 30 2020 243 COVID-19 and India’s Labour Migrant Crisis

Rituparna Bhattacharyyaa, Pranjit Kumar Sarmab, Mr Manjit Nathc ,

Dr Champa Patel Director, Asia-Pacific Programme , COVID-19: The Hidden Majority in India's

Migration Crisis

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/formalising-social-security-for-the-informal-sector/article33742343.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/formalising-social-security-for-the-informal-sector/article33742343.ece

https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/statsguru-informal-sector-plays-important-role-in-india-s-labour-market-121012400871_1.html

https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/statsguru-informal-sector-plays-important-role-in-india-s-labour-market-121012400871_1.html

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/national-database-of-workers-in-informal-sector-in-the-works/articleshow/73394732.cms?from=mdr

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/national-database-of-workers-in-informal-sector-in-the-works/articleshow/73394732.cms?from=mdr

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00283-w

about:blank

https://link.springer.com/journal/41027

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00293-8/tables/1

https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/champa-patel


A STUDY ON THE CODES OF 2020 BY THE GOVT.OF INDIA TO REFORM THE

BUSINESS

Prof. Anusha R. Patil

Head of Dept. Human Resources, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mahalaxmi,

Mumbai

Dr. Shreedhar Sherigar

Assistant Professor, Human Resources, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mahalaxmi,

Mumbai

Abstract

Globally, the employment status in any business has drastic impact directly or indirectly in relation to

pre and post coronavirus -19 period. It has largely affected in India due to high density of population

resulting in fast spread and sufferings including death rates. Furthermore, many companies including

organisations working under the Public sectors are compelled to close down due to lose making. Labour

laws in operation are over protective of working forces as compared to other developed countries. This

is despite our encouragement to attracting the FDI.

Considering the overall situations under economical growth of the country, the government of India

pushed to reform the economy through easing the business and also to attract the FDI. Although

previous government lead by the Congress was initiated with the political support from other Political

parties, the BJP lead government at Center has aggressively made drastic changes in the laws to

implement and reform industrial sectors both organised and unorganised sectors in the interest of the

country. The changes in Labour laws is the need of the hour with changing economic scenario for

improvements, as per consumer perception and satisfaction.

Over the last three decades beginning from 1991, many organisations have been using fashionable

jargons and terminologies in the arena of Human Resource Management (HRM) while forgetting that

IR is an integral part of HRM. Indeed, most of the leading Management institutes in India have also

suspended teaching of subjects like IR and Labour Laws, in their Post Graduate Programmes in

Management, assuming, perhaps, that IR is no more essential.

Organisations require competent professions who can analyze and understand the complex work

situations of the modern-day industries. We need managers who can build relationships not only with

the permanent workers but with the contract workers as well. We need leaders who can skilfully

manage disputes and conflicts by developing situation-specific IR strategies and innovative solutions.

It is imperative that all the disputes are negotiated and settled amicably so that the interests of the

organisation and of the employees associated with the enterprise are safeguarded.



Introduction

With the growing trade and with the largely competitive market at International level

including world market, the Indian labour laws which is considered to be pro-labour laws

requires to be changed, to make the labour market flexible, remove artificial bias towards

capital intensity and at the same time, retain attraction for global market that are ever more

mindful of investor and consumer preference for Environmental, Social and Governance

concerns (in short ‘ESG’). The investment on ESG compliance of USA grew from 2016 to

2017 to the extent of 38% i.e. $12 Trillion out of a total asset under management of $46 Trillion,

and the share of ESG has only been rising since the top CEOs of US declared a formal shift

from treating the shareholders as the primary beneficiary of corporate achievements to all stake

holders. The aims of encouraging the business are depending on the principle for improving

the quality of change in climate, labour and corporate governance and the positive impact

companies can play in social life to the top of corporate concerns. Japan and South Korea have

grown into manufacturing powerhouses on par with Germany and France and all workforces

that are heavily unionised. The employers and unions have learnt to come together in using

unions to raise productivity. They offer directions for India’s labour reforms.

For enactment of historic, Parliament passes Four Labour Codes viz Wage Code, 2020,

Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Occupational safety, Health and Working Conditions

Code, 2020 and Social Security Code, 2020 pave way for enactment of labour laws to ease

the business due to growing tough competitions in the global market with the following

objectives:

i. To harmonise workers and industry needs.

ii. To boost development.

iii. To cover workers employed in organised and unorganised sectors including

self-employed for minimum wages & social security covering over 50 Crores.

iv. Setting up of ‘Social security Fund’ for 40 Crores workers.

v. Pay parity to women workers as compared to their male counter parts.

vi. Working journalists’ definition to include digital and electronic Media,

vii. Helpline to redress the grievances of Migrant workers.





viii. Labour Codes will establish transparent, answerable and simple mechanism

reducing to one registration, one license and one return for all codes.

The Code of Wages is a part of four labour codes that resulted from the merging of 29 out of

the 44 central government labour laws. The erstwhile acts that governed the employees’

provident fund (EPF) and gratuity will now be part of the Code of Social Security. But the

calculation of your provident fund (your retirement kitty) will depend on the new definition of

wages as per the new Code of Wages, 2019.

The Government of India initiated the implementation of lockdown process from 23.3.2020

initially for 21 days which in phases got extended due to increasing numbers of Coronavirus

cases from time to time to control the spread of Coronavirus -19 disease amongst the citizens

including children. Despite political difference of opinion between some o of the States/UTs,

health being the State subject, the Central government has made all possible efforts to cooperate

with the concerned States/UTs to control the spreading of coronavirus which can’t be

undeniable. It is to be noted that India is spending around 1.28 per cent of GDP on health where

as other countries spend in the range between 4 and 8 percent or more.

The parliament of India passed the Code on Wages Bill, 2019 (“the Bill”) with following

features:

The Bill will enable the federal government to fix minimum statutory wage for millions

of workers.

• The Bill is the first in the series of four labour codes that the government is working on

to rationalize its 44 labour laws to facilitate and attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)

to encourage the business in the country.

• The Bill seeks to subsume relevant provisions of the previous laws pertaining to

workers’ wages, equal remuneration for men and women, its payment and bonus. The

other three codes will deal with industrial safety, social security, welfare, and industrial

Relations.

Important provisions of the Code on Wages Bill, 2019:

• A simplified definition of wage: There are 12 different labor laws defined wages

differently leading to litigation in addition to difficulty in its implementation. The new

wage code will remove the multiplicity of wage definitions, which can significantly

reduce litigation and related costs to employers.

https://www.dezshira.com/library/legal/code-of-wages-bill-2019-india-labor-laws.html

https://www.india-briefing.com/news/labor-laws-india-guide-federal-state-industry-specific-regulations-18133.html/?hilite='labor'

https://www.india-briefing.com/news/labor-laws-costs-hiring-practices-india-new-issue-india-briefing-magazine-now-17193.html/?hilite='labor'

https://www.india-briefing.com/news/introduction-social-security-system-india-6014.html/?hilite='social','security'


• Uniformity in coverage and payment:

The Bill allows provisions of minimum wages including periodical payment of wages

of all employees in both the organized and unorganized sectors.

• Factors to determine minimum wage

• The Bill links minimum wage across the country to the skills of the job performer and

the place of employment. Currently, laws fix minimum wages based on multiple

factors, ranging from the level of skill set to the type of employment.

State wages to be higher than the national floor rates

The Bill says that the state government will fix the minimum wages for their regions, which

cannot be lower than the national floor wage set by the federal government. The Bill also

specifies that the minimum wages must be revised every five years, and the overtime rate must

be set at twice the standard wage rate across the country.

The Code on Wages, 2019 has defined ‘Wages’ in great detail. The same definition is quoted

in the subsequent three labour Codes passed by Parliament in 2020.

Following the enactment of The Code on Wages, 2019, Four existing Act stand repealed. The

concerned Acts are: The Payment of Wages Act,1936, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The

Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and Equal Remuneration Act 1976.

The Code on Wages, 2019 is applicable to all the employees of every establishment. This

means the Code applies not only to the workers but the supervisors and executives as well. The

new definition of ‘wages’ will ensure that the minimum wages as prescribed by the government

from time to time would strictly be complied with, while eliminating the scope for reducing

the contribution to terminal benefits, because of the bifurcation method applied by employers

in the past.

Simultaneously, there were other developments. The practice of including dearness allowance

in the monthly salary of executives was abandoned by most companies.

Elements of Cost to Company (CTC)

The items defined under Section 2 (y) of the Code fall into three categories of the CTC format

in vogue among the companies. They are as follows: -

Direct Benefits to an employee – (i) basic pay, (ii) dearness allowance, (iii) retaining

allowance, (a) bonus, (d) conveyance allowance, (e) special expenses, (f) house rent allowance


or reimbursement, (g) amount payable under an award, (h) over time allowance, (i)

commission.

Allowances such as shift allowance, education allowance, dress allowance, and any other

allowance which form part of the direct benefits but have not been defined anywhere in the

Code, will have to be considered as elements of item (e) special expenses and be regarded as

part of remuneration.

However, medical allowance of reimbursement, medical insurance premium and leave travel

reimbursement, which are shown as part of CTC, may not have to be included in calculating

the remuneration under the Code.

Indirect Benefits to an employee includes the item value of house accommodation. Which

under Section 2 (y) of the Code is defined as: “the value of any house accommodation, or of

the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from

the computation of wages by a general or special order of the appropriate Government”. House

accommodation to employees plus supply of electricity, water is generally provided in the

company’s township. In some cases, accommodation is provided to essential staff or persons

in top management cadre. There is a method of computing the value of accommodation, if

provided free, as per existing income tax laws.

There are organisations which provide also the following benefits: interest free loans for buying

assets, food coupons in lieu of subsidized meals, payment of medical insurance premium, free

transport to office and free uniform. All these items form part of indirect benefits, but they

have not been defined anywhere in the Code. On the other hand, they are being shown as part

of CTC by the organizations. These items stay as grey areas and there is a danger that they

may become objects of arbitrary interpretation by the Labour & Employment Department.

Saving Contribution to an employee refers to item 2 (y) (c) of the Code contribution paid by

the employer to any pension or provident fund, and the interest which may have accrued

thereon. Organizations were including the contributions made by the Employer to the

employee’s Pension and Provident Fund accounts under the existing law, in the employee’s

CTC. However, the interest which may have accrued to the contribution in the year was

never considered as part of CTC, as this is not paid by the Employer. Be that as it may, for

the first time ever, the interest accruing to the contribution has been made a part of

remuneration under the new Code. This is clearly a new development.


Many companies operate Superannuation Fund for their executives. The contribution to the

Superannuation Fund, amounting to 15% of an employee’s basic salary (plus dearness

allowance, if any), is solely made by the Employer. The Government of India has presently

set an aggregate limit of Rs.7.5 lakh for employer contributions to the Provident Fund(PF),

National Pension System (NPS) and Superannuation Fund (SF), any contribution beyond

which is taxable for the beneficiary, otherwise this amount does not at present attract any

liability. In fact, the Code seems silent about Superannuation Fund. The Superannuation Fund

is, no doubt, a pension fund, and the Code does make a mention of pension fund. But the

pension fund referred to under item 2 (y) (c ) in the Code is about the pension scheme which

forms part of the Provident Fund. Superannuation Fund does not get discussed at all in the

Code. This is yet another grey area. It would therefore, be advisable to include the employer’s

contribution to the Superannuation Scheme as part of remuneration. There are companies that

have stock options for certain category of employees and this could be a grey area for it to be

considered as remuneration based on the income Tax Act.

All organizations have to calculate the “wages” as defined under the Code and see whether the

existing basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance together amount to more than

50% of the remuneration for every one of their employees, whether they are executives,

supervisors, workers or even contract workers. If it does, there would not be any additional

financial liability to the Company when the Code becomes operational.

But in organizations where the “wages” do not add up to 50% of the remuneration, extra

provision will have to be made for leave encashment and gratuity payments. As for the

employer’s contribution towards Provident Fund, as long as the present limits are in force - @

12% of the wages subject to a present wage ceiling of Rs.15,000 pm – the additional financial

impact is likely to be marginal. If, however, the wage ceiling of Rs.15,000/- were to be

enhanced or removed, then there is bound to be additional liability, once the Code becomes

operational.

2.1 CODE OF SECURITY-2019: The existing 8 Labour laws have been amalgamated,

simplified and rationalized by the Ministry of Labour and employment and draft has been

prepared under this code. The existing 8 labour laws are:

Employees’ Compensation Act, ESIS, EPF Act, Employment Exchanges (Compulsory

Notification of Vacancies) Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Payment of gratuity Act, Cine Workers


and Cinema Theatre workers (Regulation of employment Act, Building and other construction

Workers (Regulation of employment and conditions of service Act and unorganised workers

Social Security Act.

The said 8 Acts are related to Organised Sectors. They constitute 10% of the total employment

as of 2016. 2/3 of 10% are in the Public sector and 1/3 are in the Private sector. 4 Cr employees

in the Organised sector are protected by more than four dozen labour laws.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019 (OSH & WC 2019)

subsume and replaces 13 Labour Laws relating to safety, health, and working conditions of the

workmen/ employees. These laws include Factory Act,1948; Mine Act,1952; Dock workers

Act, 1986; Contract Labour Act, 1970; and Inter-State Migrant Workers Act, 1979.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2019 (IR Code): The IR code subsumes and replaces THREE

Labour Laws: The IDA, 1947, The Trade union Act, 1926 and Industrial Employment (SO)

Act, 1946.

One of the key features of the IR Code stipulates that the establishments which employ more

than 100 workers have to obtain permission from the relevant government before retrenchment

of a worker. The State govt. may increase or decrease this threshold through a notification.

The parliamentary Standing committee on labour is yet to make recommendations on Social

Security Code and is likely to submit by the end of July or thereafter. Confusion still persists

among the professionals of most companies as to which components of the CTC are to be

included in computing the remuneration, to determine the quantum of “wages”. It would

hugely benefit organizations, trade unions and employees, if the Ministry of Labor &

Employment, Government of India can release Question and Answers by sharing real life

examples to explain how the “wages” are to be calculated. This will help the organizations to

duly comply with all the provisions of the new Code and spare them from being harassed at a

later date by Government Agencies for non-compliance, which, in many cases, could be merely

due to ignorance or misunderstandings.

The structure of welfare and rights of Atmanirbar Shramik is based on four pillars. Regarding

First Pillar which is salary protection, the Minister said despite having 44 labour laws, only

30% of India’s 50 Crore workers had the legal right to minimum wages and all the workers

were not paid on time. Hence, discrepancy is corrected.


2.5 Industrial Relations in an Enterprise:

We are all conversant with the notion of IR, but the way IR is practiced differs widely amongst

the organisations in the country. We have real life examples of situations varying from being

regarded as ‘peaceful’ to being classified as ‘turbulent’. Industrial unrest witnessed in our

businesses in India during the period 1960 to 2000 has reduced considerably in the recent past.

However, no one can deny that IR continues to be a very important aspect in the life of any

business.

An effective IR situation contributes to the continued success and the sustainability of any

business, while ensuring, at the same time, a fair deal for the people who work for the

organisation. In this regard, it is important to emphasize that compliance of the applicable laws

by all the parties is a must for maintaining a healthy IR situation.

The state of IR in an organisation depends upon several different factors, the organisation’s

culture, the governance practices, the style of management of the owners and the top

management, the approach and the style of functioning of the leaders of the trade unions, and

the methods employed by them in handling the IR issues in the organisation. The IR situation

is also influenced by the labour legislations in force, the contract of employment, the rules and

the regulations of the enterprise, and the past agreements between the Management and the

Trade Union.

IR issues in an enterprise can be about items such as recognition of trade unions, trade union

rivalry, aspects of work, quantum of output, quality of output, terms and conditions of

employment, type of employment, number of employees, engagement of contract labour,

compensation, welfare measures, promotion policy, rewards, punishments arising out of

disciplinary proceedings and other related matters.

In any organisation, there will be situations where disputes may rise between the Management

and the Trade Unions. Avoidance is never the best option to resolving differences. Any

measure aimed at enabling each side to understand the other’s point of view will be a better

alternative. While working out solutions, we are not to lose sight of other important aspects

such as maintaining discipline and improving quality and productivity. We have also to ensure

uninterrupted operations, growth and profitability of the enterprise.

In addition, we need to take care of the growth and the development of the workers and payment

of adequate, fair remuneration. This calls for transparency from both the parties and clear,


open, continuous communication. For achieving a robust IR situation, both sides need to invest

time and energy to build a relationship based on trust. Trust begets trust. Any trace of mistrust

will damage the relationship.

The IR Climate

The IR climate is organisation-specific. The IR climate will differ from one company to

another. The IR climate will depend on the attitudes and the behaviour of the Management

towards the Trade Union and of the Trade Union towards the Management. Where there is

more than one Trade Union in an Unit, the IR climate will also be influenced by the quality of

the relationships amongst the trade unions of the company.

There may be situations when trade unions and workers resort to confrontational measures and

indulge in agitations of some kind. The protests may take different forms such as putting up

posters/ banners. Wearing of black badges, shouting slogans, go-slow, work to rule, stoppage

of work, illegal strikes and, in some extreme cases, violence and sabotage. These actions by

trade unions may invite retaliations from the management and in extreme cases leading to

suspension of operations and declaration of a lockout.

In some instances, managements may also behave in a high-handed fashion by victimizing the

workers who are seen as trouble makers. The workers who are likely to incur the wrath of the

management are those who are in the fore front of leading the agitations or of forming a trade

union or of taking active part in trade union activities or of questioning the Management about

their decisions and actions. These actions of the management may lead to counter relation by

the trade unions and the workers. It is important for both the Trade Unions and Management

to realise that whosoever starts a fight, should also know how to end it. They have to learn to

work together for the larger good of the company, for the business to be sustainable.

Besides, organisations need to educate their internal trade union leaders about the complexities

of running a business and about competition and competitors. The internal trade union leaders

need to know how to read and understand a company’s balance sheet. They also need to acquire

knowledge of the relevant portions of labour laws and the process of negotiation. These

knowledge and skills help internal trade union leaders in resolving disputes to manage

differences and to work collaboratively.

Restructuring and Downsizing:

During the decade 1991 to 2000, many organisations in the manufacturing as well as in the

services sectors had, in phases, restructured their business and employment model. This led to


most manufacturing companies getting various components, subassemblies and, in some cases,

even finished products, manufactured by third parties. In the services sector too, various

activities were outsourced to service providers.

To achieve their purposes, these organisations had to downsize their workforce, both

bargainable and non-bargainable, through Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS). The trade

unions, though, alleged that these VRS were actually Compulsory Retirement Schemes (CRS),

resulting in a change in the employment structure itself. Inevitably, these schemes also led to

a lot of uneasiness and industrial unrest in the organisations.

The greenfield businesses set up after 1991, had the option of choosing a different business and

employment model. These businesses to begin with outsourced quite many activities and

adopted a minimum adequate manning model. Though in some cases they also had to

restructure their work force at a later date.

Industrial Relations in the Future:

The four Labour Codes passed by the Parliament in 2019 and 2020 repeal the 29 existing labour

laws. The Codes along with the rules are likely to become operational in the current year i.e.

2021. While the Labour Code is, by and large, a continuation of the existing labour laws that

are being repealed, some provisions of the Code, though, could impact the IR in a significant

way. Some areas which can escalate into a critical issue are:

i) Engagement of contract labour in the organisation will get restricted to activities which

are defined as non-core activities of the specific business. Presently organisations are

able to obtain approvals to engage contract labour in any sort of activities, and not

restricted to the non-core areas, except in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.

ii) It is mandatory for Trade Unions and Employers to give 14 days’ notice for a strike or

a lockout. This applies to all the establishments, and not just the public utility services.

Violation of this provision will render a strike or a lockout illegal. Disputes, if any,

would have to be referred to conciliation. All this is likely to give rise to numerous

cases of illegal strikes and illegal lockouts in the future.

iii) For the first time, the criteria for recognition of a Trade Union in an organisation have

been clearly spelled out in the Code. This will directly impact the IR situation in the

organisations, especially of those which do not have a Trade Union thus far or where

the Management had refused to grant recognition to a Trade Union in the past.


These is no gainsaying the fact that social media facilitates speedy flow of information across

people and organisations. Everyone, including Managements, are using social media to put

across their points of view. With more than a billion mobile subscribers in the country, the

workers and trade union leaders will certainly consider using the social media for their

purposes, particularly to communicate on issues of IR. They can, for example, circulate videos

highlighting violations of labour laws or other such unfair labour practices, or the type of work

being done by contract labour compared to what has been approved by the appropriate

Government. This is going to be a new, big challenge to the Employers.

Yet another likely challenge can be dealing with the third and fourth generation industrial

workers who harbour high expectations and aspirations. Most of all, this generation of workers

expect clarity about their paths in the company. Managements will be compelled to draw up

career plans for their employees.

Conclusion

Globally, the employment status in any business has drastic impact directly or indirectly in

relation to pre and post coronavirus -19 period. It is largely affected in India due to high density

of population resulting in fast spread and sufferings including death rates. Furthermore, many

countries are considerably maintaining secrecy of factual position prevailing. Most enterprise

post 1991 in India adopted a workforce model thereby engaging the workforce as executives,

limited bargainable category out sourcing the jobs and engaging labourers on contract through

independent contractors etc. Majority of the workforce in the unorganised sectors are migrant

workers and due to pandemic, these workers are making all efforts to return to their home towns

due to fear created by unavoidable situation. Therefore, mass movement has created labour

shortage for viability of business. It is evident that coronavirus has negatively impacted on the

safety, health and overall life of every individual/citizens in the country which has further

adverse impact on the economy of the nation.

Over the last three decades beginning from 1991, many organisations have been using

fashionable jargons and terminologies in the arena of Human Resource Management (HRM)

while forgetting that IR is an integral part of HRM. Indeed, most of the leading Management

institutes in India have also suspended teaching of subjects like IR and Labour Laws, in their

Post Graduate Programmes in Management, assuming, perhaps, that IR is no more essential.


However, a couple of serious incidents of violence in the recent past woke up the Businesses

to the reality that IR is very critical for the smooth and successful functioning of any

organisation. We are referring to the mayhem of Manesar, Haryana in August 2012 leading to

the death of Awinash Kumar Dev, General Manager (HR) of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., and the

vandalism unleashed by the contract labourers of Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India)

Pvt. Ltd., at Narasapura in Kolar, Karnataka on 12 December 2020 resulting in massive losses

of property amounting to several hundred crores of rupees.

All Management Institutes in India need to recognize that IR is the backbone of sustainable

business and the subject needs to be an essential part of the syllabus for their postgraduate

students. Omission of IR in the curriculum will be gravely detrimental to the students, who are

the future professionals and leaders of our industries.

From 1991 onwards, organisations are increasingly resorting to outsourcing in the supply and

distribution chain and are engaging more and more of contract workers through contractors.

Also since 2000, there has been increased employment in the Gig economy. This business

model is bound to give rise to serious conflicts between the Management and the Workforce,

the Trade Unions, if any. The main areas of contention center around earnings, working

conditions, terminal benefits, continuity of employment and related issues.

Organisations require competent professions who can analyse and understand the complex

work situations of the modern-day industries. We need managers who can build relationships

not only with the permanent workers but with the contract workers as well. We need leaders

who can skilfully manage disputes and conflicts by developing situation-specific IR strategies

and innovative solutions. It is imperative that all the disputes are negotiated and settled

amicably so that the interests of the organisation and of the employees associated with the

enterprise are safeguarded.

References

Yoder, D.(1970). Personnel Management and Industrial Relations. Britain: Prentice Hall.

Dunlop,John T.(1958). Industrial Relations Systems. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

CLR 2020

Fox,A.(1966). Industrial Sociology and Industrial Relations. London.

Kaufman,Bruce E. (2004). The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations: Ideas, events and IIRA.

Geneva, Britain: International Labour Organisation.


A STUDY OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY AND ITS ROLE IN ORGANIZATIONAL

SUCCESS

Prof. Anusha R. Patil

Head of Dept. Human Resources, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mahalaxmi,

Mumbai

Dr. Shreedhar Sherigar

Assistant Professor, Human Resources, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, Mahalaxmi,

Mumbai

Abstract

The contemporary world of business has embraced hybrid models of work necessitated by the

disruptions of COVID-19. Since work is carried on virtually, organizations have opened up to sourcing

the workforce across the nation and globe at large. This workforce diversity brings with it a unique set

of challenges. Workforce diversity refers to the ways that people differ, that can impact a task or a

relationship with the productivity, within an organization such as age, gender, race, education, religion,

knowledge, skills, abilities, values, beliefs, and attitudes, personality and cognitive and behavioral

style; and culture. Diversity and its implications for effective management have become increasingly

important over the last two decades and global trends indicate that managing diversity has become a

business imperative. The rationale behind this research is to examine the different ways of dealing with

work place diversity as well as to provide management with the necessary guidelines for effective

diversity management. Two companies were selected one with operations wholly within India and

another with operations across eight countries. A structured questionnaire was prepared which formed

the basis for electronic mode of communication with the top level management. The analyses reveals

that both the companies see diversity at the workplace as the norm of the company and therefore cannot

be ignored, which has motivated them to be among the leading and successful companies worldwide.

They confirm that diversity management requires the strong support of management, and

dedicated/committed workforce with integrity towards incorporating diversity in their organizations in

a very sustainable manner.

Key Words: Diversity Management, Organizational Culture, Organizational Productivity,

Organizational Effectiveness, Organizational Success






1 Introduction

The contemporary world of work has embraced hybrid models of work necessitated by the

disruptions of COVID-19. Since large part of the work is carried on virtually, organizations

have opened up to sourcing the workforce across the nation and globe at large. This workforce

diversity brings with it a unique set of challenges.

Workforce diversity refers to the ways that people differ, that can impact a task or a relationship

with the productivity within an organization such as age, gender, race, education, religion,

knowledge, skills, abilities, values, beliefs, and attitudes, personality and cognitive and

behavioral style; and culture. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and

nurturing environment. Managing workforce diversity refers to a comprehensive managerial

process for developing an environment that works for all employees. Although an increasing

number of organizations are attempting to enhance inclusiveness of underrepresented

individuals through proactive efforts to manage their diversity, they may only gain from

diversity through proper management and adjustment. Proper diversity management can

increase an employee’s self-esteem and feeling of non-belongingness to the organization

especially, if the employee is from a minority group. Diversity brings the value of different

employee perspectives and varied types of contribution especially when organizational

members increasingly reflect the diverse customer base of the organization. This provides a

way in which organizations can understand, and therefore meet, their customer needs.

Diversity has two key roles in an Indian Business Organizations; the first is at the workplace

which involves the employees of the company while the second is at the marketplace and

involves the interaction of the company with three groups of stakeholders- The Owners, the

Partners & the Customers.

There are three main Reasons for diversity management in organizations:

1.1. Talent Shortage

One reason to diversify a workforce is talent shortage. In an era of critical talent shortages,

organizations are finding that they must attract, motivate, retain, and utilize their valuable

employees effectively if they are to be competitive. Diversity management can reduce

unwelcomed turn over and reduce absenteeism. In order to get the best out of the workforce,

companies should not exclude any particular group by gender, race, or religion, the company

will be excluding the person that is going to produce the next famous and successful product


or someone who is going to contribute in another useful way in marketing, computing or

engineering or elsewhere.

1.2 Range of Consumer Need

In recent years, organizations have recognized that they can best serve different customer

groups in many different markets in more diverse workforce even if the locality or home base

of the organization is located in a culturally heterogeneous market, there may be substantial

customers that are located in other more diverse communities either in its home country or

abroad. In communities where other languages dominate, organizations benefits from hiring

employees who speak the dominant languages. They could also have diverse workforces design

products that attract diverse consumers or customers.

1.3 Globalization

Globalization can be defined as a process where organizations or businesses start to operate in

an international scale. If companies are more open to internationalize their operations; they

choose an efficient location to operate. Prices of inputs vary all over the world, which attracts

companies to shift some of their production to countries with cheaper inputs such as labour in

developing countries but are usually limited to some countries.

1.4 Diversity in the Indian Workplace:

Managing workplace diversity is a task for HR Managers in India. The following facts bear

this out:

India occupies 2.4% of the total area of the world but supports over 15% of the world’s

population.

Although Hinduism is the popular religion comprising 83% of the population, India is

also home to one of the largest population of Muslims in the world – over 120 million.

India has the world’s largest number of professionally qualified women & has more

working women than any other country in the world across skill-levels, from the surgeon

to the airline pilot to bus conductors & menial laborers.

In India there are approximately 450 ethno - linguistic groups but over 2,300 ethnic

groups, when caste, religion and cultural factors are considered.

According to the Pre-Budget economic survey of 2013-14, the proportion of working age

population in India is likely to increase from 58% in 2011 to 64% or more by 2021 with

a large number of young people in the age group of 20 – 35.


In the past, companies were driven towards creating a homogenous workplace in which

employees acted and thought in identical way. “Currently managers and supervisors are

looking at a workplace that is different from that managed by their ancestors” (Wigglesworth,

1997, p. 18) .There are two main reasons for this increase in the levels of workplace diversity-

Firstly India has witnessed a tremendous change in the demographics in the past 20-25 years.

Many people from the agricultural sector have shifted their occupation due to various factors

and now have joined the ranks of the middle class society. Also, large numbers of women are

now securing a number of high level managerial positions which were initially male dominated.

Secondly many companies in India are pro-actively encouraging diversity within its ranks.

They are seeking to build a diversity-sensitive workforce which would be comfortable with

diversity tensions. Diversity tension is the stress, strain and anxiety that tend to flow from the

interaction of differences and similarities. It is not automatic conflict or hostility. It is, in fact,

a natural accompaniment of diversity. Frequently, diversity tension is seen as a sign of a lack

of progress when that is not necessarily so. It is a major task for leaders to possess the

capabilities to effectively manage these tensions and develop the same in their teams. This

enables them to encourage their employees to understand each other and be sensitive towards

each other's needs and capabilities. The ability of a diverse group of people to build unity and

team spirit is the power that propels organizations towards new dimensions of performance

When considering adopting a diverse workforce, some important factors and attributes need to

be taken into account -

a. Company type

b. Organizational culture

c. Company Location

a) Company type:

The type of a company plays a significant role in the decision making process of the company

in determining whether or not to employ a diverse workforce. Companies differ in size and

activities, and come with their own rules and Company Act. Most public companies tend to

employ more workers due to its size as compared to private companies; the same applies to

other types such as limited liability companies, Government companies and so on. (The Times

100, 2013) Employing diverse employees would mean, being convinced that the company will

do well or much better with them on board.


b) Organizational culture

Organizational culture could be defined as a set of values that are share in the organization,

which reflects on the company’s activities. There are five components to organizational culture

that involves its practices, vision, value, people, place, and its history. Each organizational

culture is unique and different from any other company’ s, therefore any decision made by a

company about workplace diversity is based on the company’s beliefs and norms, and must

therefore reflect on that company. (Coleman 2013)

c) Company location

Company location contributes to the decisions of a company to or not to employ a diverse

workforce. Companies that have their manufacturing plants situated in most parts of the world

do not seem to have much choice but to employ workers from diverse cultures, since workers

are needed in each office they operate. However some companies have the discretion to decide

whether or not to employ a diverse workforce especially when they are situated only in their

country of origin.

2. Review of Literature

a) “Diversity Management can be defined as the process of planning, directing, organizing and

applying all the comprehensive managerial attributes for developing an organizational

environment, in which all diverse employees irrespective of their similarities and differences,

can actively and effectively contribute to the competitive advantage of a company or an

organization. According to Kreitner, (2001:37) diversity “Stands for the various differences in

individuals as well as similarities that exist among them.”

b) The act of managing diversity requires that these two aspects be dealt with and managed at

the same time. Managers are expected to integrate the collective mixture of similarities and

differences between workers into the organization. As such, diversity can be described as

having four layers (Kreitner, 2001:38):

Personality: This describes the stable set of characteristics that establishes a person’s identity.

There are many different types of personality traits that an individual can portray. These types

of traits could be a person’s action, the behavior they process and their attitude. Moreover, the

personality traits could be classified into two types, namely positive personality trait and

Negative trait. Some of these traits are given in the table below:


Table 1. Some Personality Traits of a Diverse Workforce

Positive Personality Traits Negative Personality Traits

Patience Laziness

Honesty Unfriendly

Reliable Self-centered

Intelligent Rude

Trusting Obnoxious

2.1 Internal dimensions: These dimensions are characteristics that have a strong influence

on people’s perceptions, expectations and attitudes towards other people. These include factors

such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, physical ability and race

2.2 External dimensions: These dimensions are personal traits over which one has a certain

amount of control or influence. They are factors such as income, personal and recreational

habits, religion, education, work experience, appearance, marital status, and geographic

location.

2.3. Organizational dimensions: These dimensions are relevant or significant to the

organization itself. They include factors such as management status, Unit or division, work

field, seniority, union affiliation and management status.

Valuing diversity emphasizes the awareness, recognition, understanding and appreciation of

human differences. By valuing diversity, employees feel valued and accepted, and are

recognized as a valuable resource that contributes directly to an organization’s overall success

(Kreitner, 2001:41).

Grobler (2003:49) states that for an organization to value diversity it must first understand the

differences between valuing diversity and employment equity. The fundamental difference is

that employment equity is enforced by legislation. The management values diversity due to its

desire to gain competitive advantage by using the talent of a diverse workforce. Unfortunately

there is no single formula that a company can apply to be successful, therefore it depends on

the ability for the manager to figure out what best suits the company based on teamwork and

the dynamics of the workplace.


Managers must be ready to change the organizational culture when the need to do so arises

and learn how to effectively manage the diverse workforce in order to be successful in the

future. (Kelli A. G, Mayra L, Allen W, Karl K 2013).

Roosevelt (2001) explains that diversity management involves a complete process needed for

creating a working environment that involves everyone. When creating an effective and

successful diverse workforce, managers in the first instance must focus on personal awareness.

Both employers and employees need to outline their personal prejudices. A one day session of

training is not enough to change people’s mind and behaviours, therefore organizations need

to constantly develop, implement, and maintain ongoing training and awareness creation.

Cox & Beale (1997, p. 13) are of the opinion that managing diversity “consists of taking

proactive steps to create and sustain an organizational climate in which the potential for

diversity related dynamics to hinder performance is minimized and the potential for diversity

to enhance performance is maximized”. Organizations willing to make this type of environment

in reality will profit from many benefits of diversity.

3. Cost –Benefit of Diversity

Diversity becomes most advantageous when the organization wants to expand its perspective,

strategy tactics, or approach, to reposition the organization , reposition strategy from a bricks

and mortar to an e-commerce environment , launch a new product, create a new idea, develop

new marketing plan, design a new operation, or assess emerging trends from a new perspectives

(Adler, 2002). If diversity is well managed, organization can benefit from both synergistic and

culture specific advantages including enhanced creativity, flexibility, and problem solving

skills (Zillar, 1972, Hayles and Robert, 1982). Rijamampianina and Carmichael (2005) argue

that diversity, if effectively managed, can be a source of competitive advantage for the group

or organization. Only organizations that can anticipate and respond to change will be able to

survive in today’s business environment. Indeed ability and agility to change require ability

and agility to learn, and learning requires diversity. A more diverse workforce will increase

organizational effectiveness (Kulik and Roberson, 2008). It will lift morale, bring greater

access to new segments of the market place and enhance productivity (Thomas and Ely, 1996).

3.1 Linkages to Success

Forbes report indicates that diversity is crucial for encouraging different perspectives and ideas

that foster innovation (Forbes Insight, "Global diversity and inclusion: Fostering innovation

through a diverse workforce," Forbes Insight, New York, 2011).

A recent study examined the relationship between gender diversity and financial performance

at the business-unit level, using more than 800 business units across two organizations from


different industries. The study found that employee engagement and gender diversity

independently predict financial performance at the business-unit level. Employee engagement

served as a moderator of the diversity performance relationship. The basis for such findings is

the notion that men and women bring different viewpoints, diverse market insights and broader

repertoire of skills for problem solving and innovation (S. Badal and K. J. Harter, "Gender

diversity, business-unit engagement, and performance," Journal of Leadership &

Organizational Studies, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 354-365, 2014)

Diverse organizations are thought to offer opportunity for greater creativity, innovation,

financial performance, organizational adaptability, better problem solving and information

processing, employee retention and enhanced profit and corporate image (E. Holvino, B. M.

Ferdman and D. Merrill-Sands, "Creating and sustaining diversity and inclusion in

organizations: strategies and approaches," in The psychology and management of workplace

diversity, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004, pp. 245-276).

The findings that more women as board members translates to higher financial returns, was

based on a study commissioned by the Times of India group to examine the relationship

between companies with women on their boards and profitability. Using the top Indian 100

companies as listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the study reports a positive impact of

women representation in top leadership and as board members, on ROE. (S. P. Acquavita, J.

Pittman, M. Gibbons and K. Castellanos-Brown, "Personal and organizational diversity factors'

impact on social workers' job satisfaction: results from a national internet-based survey,"

Administration in Social Work, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 151-166, 2009.)

Diversity management alone is insufficient to improve performance. Inclusive workplaces

characterized by supportive leadership and empowered employees is required to translate the

gains. Diversity management strategies or approaches have also been criticized for not

addressing the exclusion of people from different identity groups and their limited access and

participation in the organization ( A. Prasad, "Understanding workplace empowerment as

inclusion," Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 51-69, 2001)The above

review of research studies suggests that, in order to create value out of both human differences

and similarities, it will be essential to create a management system and environment that

welcomes and accommodates workforce diversity


3.2 Research Objectives

1. To create the awareness about workforce diversity and diversity management

2. To examine the different ways of dealing with work place diversity

3. To provide management with the necessary guidelines for effective diversity

4. To show how to build effective workplace diversity by applying different diversity

management tools.

5. To identify the trends and perception of diversity

3.3 Research Methodology:

The process for this study has involved a combination of research, synthesis and analysis.

Research Problems:

1. What does workplace diversity and diversity management mean?

2. Has workplace diversity contributed to organizational success?

3. How workplace diversity influences organizational effectiveness?

4. What are the fault lines in managing issues around them?

5. What role does leadership and organizations play in aligning workforce diversity with

organizational performance?

Research Design:

Two companies were selected one with operations wholly within India and another with

operations across eight countries.

A structured questionnaire was prepared which formed the basis for telephonic interviews with

the top level management.

Secondary sources of data were the websites of the companies, periodicals, news portals and

statutory bodies.


1. The findings of this study reflect the perceptions of the Companies or organizations

involved, therefore not be assumed to be universally applicable to all companies

2. Managers who evaluate the research findings should use discretion in following a

particular course of action.

3. Limited time span is also another limitation of this study.

3.4 Company Cases on Workplace Diversity

For the sake of this research work, two companies have been focused on to attain their views

on workplace diversity and to ascertain the degree at which they agree or disagree to the

research question.


CASE STUDY 1

Trillium Flow Technologies India Private Limited

Trillium Flow Technologies, established in 1995, with a portfolio of 16 legacy brands

offers product lines of premier valves, pumps and actuators designed for specific industry

applications. With a supply chain that spans the globe, their key manufacturing and

service centers are located in Canada, China, France, India, Italy, South Korea, UK and

USA.

The company has been successfully operating with about 9500 permanent diverse workers both

locally and outside India, and has about 500 non-permanent workers. The company continues

to grow each day in customer satisfaction. The company believes immensely in workplace

diversity and has had numerous experiences in adopting and managing it. It ensures that equal

treatment is given to workers irrespective of their backgrounds.

Below are the interview responses that were given to the interview questions that were used in

the research work.

Q.1 Does your company have a diverse workforce and how do you promote its

implementation?

R.: “We strongly believe in workplace diversity due to the nature of our corporate culture, and

it has gone a long way to contribute to our success”.

Q.2 What do you see as the most challenging aspect of a diverse workforce?

R. The language barrier is one of the challenging aspects in the services department of the

company. Especially in our branch in Salerno, but our mentoring program has been tackling it

successfully.

Q.3 What steps have you taken to meet these challenges?

R. Due to the size of its workers, the company has a routine online conference meeting.

Workers handbook that states the code of conduct of the company also serves as a guide for

each worker.

Q.4 What do you see as the advantages of working with employees from a diverse cultural

background”?

R. The response was that the workers bring different ideas to the table.

Q.5 What kind of experiences have you had working with others with different backgrounds

than your own?

R. “All the diverse workers always seem to have their own different significant opinions on a

given task, so it helps in the decision making process of a particular task, as the best idea is


considered and improved upon for a successful outcome. It is more fun to work with diverse

employees as well”.

Q.6 Has there ever been a situation where an employee was not accepting other employee’s

diversity, if yes how did you handle the situation?

R. The manager answered yes and added two years ago, a female employee was promoted to

the position of a senior sales officer, and a male employee complained that he deserved the

post because he felt that “As a man he is much stronger both mentally and physically to excel

than the female”. The manager explained to him how important it is for the company to practice

gender equality, and respect of the right of each diverse employee.

Q.7 What strategies have you used to address diversity challenges? What were the positives

and negatives?

R. The response was that we do not have an official laid down strategies to address any

challenges, but instead try to deal with it as it comes, according to the situation at hand which

makes it more difficult to solve problems

It can be inferred from the interview responses that workforce diversity has contributed to the

success of Trillium Flow Technologies.

A summary of the results obtained from the responses: Workplace diversity has contributed to

high productivity in the company.

• Workers bring to the table different ideas.

• There is no laid down strategies to deal with diversity management problems.

• Language barrier and discrimination is one of the challenging aspects in the services

department of the company. Gender discrimination has also been a challenge.

The overall outcome of the interview response regarding the company’s diversity management

and the impact on the company were positive. However, the company lacks ideas to

successfully manage diversity.

CASE STUDY 2

VRL LOGISTICS LTD.

VRL was founded in 1976 by Dr. Vijay Sankeshwar in Gadag district in North Karnataka with

a single truck and a vision that was way ahead of its time. VRL gradually expanded its services

to 23 states & 4 Union Territories. From this humble beginning VRL has today grown into a

nationally renowned logistics and transport company which is also currently the largest fleet


owner of commercial vehicles in India with a fleet of 4835 Vehicles (Including 362 Passenger

Transport Vehicles & 4473 Goods Transport Vehicles amongst others). VRL finds mention in

the Limca Book of Record as the largest fleet owner of commercial vehicles in India in the

Private Sector. Over the years, VRL has pioneered in providing a safe and reliable delivery

network in the field of parcel service. It has spread its operations to Courier Service, Priority

Cargo & Transport of Passengers by Air to meet the growing demands of its burgeoning

customer base.

We have not only built a company, we also developed a culture among our staff, right from

truck drivers to the top management. A sense of responsibility, honesty and dedication is

inculcated in each of our team member. This is what makes quality & on-time service possible.

VRL has given employment to over 15,000 employees and our growth & success is attributed

to this strong workforce. This coupled with the strong in-house IT would propel the Company

to newer growth pinnacles in the days to come. –Dr. Vijay Sankeshwar

Below are the interview responses that were given with regards to the questions that were used

in the research work.

Q.1 Does your company have a diverse workforce and how do you promote its implementation?

R. The response was yes they believe in workplace diversity and employ workers from diverse

cultures, except that they do not employ disabled persons because their working activities are

labour intensive.

Q.2What kinds of experiences have you had working with others with different backgrounds

than your own?”

R.The response was that the language barriers normally result in confusion and ineffective

teamwork.

Q.3 What do you see as the advantages of working with employees from a different cultural

background?

R.The response was that it makes work easier and faster, as some of the workers are stronger

than others, so they usually group them together based on the nature of the task for easy flow

of work.

Q.4 What do you see as the most challenging aspect of a diverse workforce and what steps

have been taken to meet these challenges?


R.The response was that communication; nepotism and resistance to change have been the

major challenges that the company have been facing. The company fears to fail if they recruit

more diverse workforce such as disabled employees, as they feel it will cause them low

productivity and high cost of diversity management.

Q.5 Has there ever been a situation where an employee was not accepting other employee’s

diversity (Yes / N0). If yes, how have you handled a situation when a colleague was not

accepting of others’ diversity?

R. The response was No. “All the workers accept and respect one another”.

Q.6 “What strategies have you used to address diversity challenges, what were the positives

and negatives?”

R. The response was that they do not have specific strategies set before hand to manage their

diverse workforce except that every worker goes on with his or her job normally and problems

are dealt with as they come. Moreover, more attention is paid to a good work done by the

workers instead and not their backgrounds or differences.

The responses showed that workplace diversity has contributed to the company’s success.

• The company believes in workplace diversity but is selective on the human attributes.

• There are factors that hinder the successful management of the workforce such as

communication problems, and resistance to change.

• Managers’ feel that if they recruit more diverse workforce such as disabled employees, it

may lead to low productivity and high cost of diversity management.

• Nepotism is seen as a major challenge; most employees tend to favour their friends and

relatives whenever there is a vacancy to be filled, thereby blocking the chances of

recruiting more diverse workforce.

The overall impact of workplace diversity is positive.

3.5 Outcome of the Study

The outcome of the study discusses the findings of this research work, reflecting on the research

question “Has workplace diversity contributed to organizational success?” .The researchers are

of the opinion that the rationale behind an organization or a company’s decision to diversify or

not to diversify their workforce completely lies on the company’s organizational culture and

its business strategies, since workforce diversity could have a positive and negative impact on

an organization The outcome compares and discusses the extent to which the companies view


diversity at the workplace, and also the reasons for the variation in managing diversity in the

two companies.

They confirm that diversity management requires the strong support of management, and

dedicated workforce towards incorporating diversity in their organizations in a very

sustainable manner.

1. A Comparison of how the two companies differ and the reasons why they have different

diversity management practices is given in the table below:

Table 2 The difference in diversity management in Trillium Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and VRL

Logistics (based of the findings of the research work)

Trillium Technologies Pvt. Ltd. VRL Logistics

1. The company has organized different

Employee Resource Groups to provide

mentoring programs and seminars to guide

the workers

Human Resource managers and supervisors

guide the employees.

. The company creates a working

environment that provides equal working

opportunities and access to information.

The company mostly contacts the suitable

employee it feels could perform well on a

specific task.

3. The company provides facilities for

disabled employees to make them feel

comfortable and safe at work.

The company does not employ disabled

persons, due to the challenges that come

with it. Employees work outside the office

premises and the work is Labour intensive.

4. The company has provided a diversity

library where different kinds of diversity

books and information can be found.

Managers do not extensively educate their

employees on diversity but they mostly give

professional guidance to workers to get

tasks done. They only tackle diversity issues

when the need arises.

5. The company puts in more effort and

money to ensure that diversity is effectively

managed to have a successful outcome.

They do not spend so much on diversity

education and training, but organize

diversity meetings once in a while.


2. The table below points out some reasons why diversity management in MNC companies are

different from diversity management in wholly Indian companies.

Table 3. The Reasons for the difference in diversity management in MNC and Indian

Companies (based of the findings of the research work)

MNC (Trillium Technologies Pvt. Ltd) Wholly Indian Company (VRL

Logistics)

The companies have operation plants in

most parts of the world

The companies operate only in one to three

countries

The Companies employ Workers in every

country in which they operate

Their recruitment is confined to one to

three countries.

3) Their workforce Diversity covers almost all

the individual differences, both primary

and secondary dimensions due to the nature

of the company’s operations.

They mostly consider physical ability,

gender, and geographical location when

recruiting their Workforce due to the nature

of their company´s operations.

4) The company employs over 5,000 people in

more than 6 countries

The company employs about 1500

employees.

They encounter numerous challenges due

to the size of the company and employees

Their challenges are minimal challenges

because the companies are not so big

Conclusions

The research emphasized on the implications management should be mindful of in order to

build a healthy working environment within the ambit of workplace diversity. More so, the

research suggested that managers must have a more positive and proper perception regarding

the implementation of workplace diversity. Companies should constantly devise ways to

effectively manage diverse employees.

Based on the information gathered and the responses given by various companies with regards

to the interview questions, it was noticed certain areas where the two companies are lacking

and needs some improvement. These aspects consist of:

The inability of some managers to effectively manage diversity due to the nature of the

company and its activities.


Some of the managers do not have enough knowledge about how to manage their

workforce effectively.

There is lack of open communication between managers and employees.

The Employee Resource Groups that are created by the companies to guide the employees

are not enough to eradicate diversity management challenges

While managers are positive about the existence and implementation of workplace diversity,

one of the interview questions raised some concerns due to the fact that one out of the two

companies had some bad experiences with employees unaccepting each other’s culture and

religion. However some of the employees felt they have been discriminated upon as explained

by the managers.

3.7 Recommendations

a. Cultural mentoring is one of the proven ways to orient manager and employees both

new and old to cope with the working environment and their responsibilities. The

mentor could give counselling about personal problems as well as job related ones.

b. Employees tend to perform very well by developing more self-confidence when they

are being mentored.

c. With regards to the development of skills, the managers should be trained and sent for

workshops and annual conferences.

d. Regular internal emails should create awareness when the need arises. Managers need

to communicate more with employees, to give the workers the room to confide in them

with their challenges.

e. Managers should be prepared to change some part of their company techniques, when

the diversity management techniques adopted are not working effectively but before

doing so, the vision for the change must be communicated effectively.

f. Moreover, managers should adopt some change management principles to guide them

on the decision making of the change. Some of the steps involve constantly developing

the company’s Strategy and vision, appointing a person with high influence to lead the

change.

g. Finally the company should give tangible reason as to why managers and employees

should accept the change.


References

Blommaert, J. and J. Verschueren (1998). Debating Diversity: Analyzing the Discourse

Crockett, Joan. "Diversity as a Business Strategy." Management Review, May 1999, 62.

Devoe, Deborah. (1999). Managing a diverse workforce. San Mateo, CA: InfoWorld Media Group.

Ashton 2010, the dimensions of diversity. 18 May 2010. Ashton Fourie: Blog.

http://ashtonfourie.com/blog1/2010/05/18/the-dimensions-of-diversity/

Myers, M. D. 2009, Qualitative Research in Business & Management, London: SAGE

Thomas, D. A. and R. J. Ely (1996). ‘Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for diversity

Management’, Harvard business Review, September-October, pp. 79-90.

Grummit, J. (1980) Interviewing skills, London, Industrial Society.

Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A manager’s

guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage.

Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation.

Ruth Mayhew, 2013, Disadvantages in increasing diversity in the workplace`, The Houston Chronicle

(http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-increasing-diversityworkplace-24337.html)

David Ingram http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-diversity-workplace-

3041.html

Global market group 2013, Dabbousi International Company profile

(http://companies.globalmarket.com/dabbousi-international-company-ltd-186491.html)

Miljoy group (http://miljoygroup.com/)

Dastia Siivous (http://www.dastia.fi/)

Some personality traits http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-personalitytraits.html

Organisation http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organization.html

Strategic areas of Focus (http://corporate.ford.com/careers/diversity/ford-

diversity445p?releaseId=1244754317443&ccode=FI)

Work life Integration http://www.employeralliance.sg/worklife_integration.html

James J. Padilla, The Business Case for Diversity, pp 6-11 http://www.nae.edu/File.aspx?id=10147


A STUDY ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION CONCERNING INNOVATIVE

BANKING PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Prof. Trapti Shandilya

Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management

Prof. Neetu Singhwal

Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management

Abstract

The study of consumer satisfaction generates the structure on the estimation of the bank related to the

functions of the goods and services. The important aspects of the process are mostly used to provide

the functionality required during the innovation of the products. The growth of technology helps in

determining the authenticity of the process in order to estimate the determinants of customer

satisfaction. The banking industry highlights the strategies related to the process involved during the

aspects of the services related to customer orientation. The different transitions of the system are widely

used to create awareness among the customers. The provision of the services depicts methods on the

consequent models of the system. The quality of the services enhances the functions in the strategies of

customer perception. The comparative rate of the banking sector highlights the approach related to the

quality of the services.

Keyword: Banking industry, customer perception, awareness, consumer satisfaction, and technology

Introduction

The above study of the report is based on the satisfaction of the customer with respect to the

different products and services. The sector of the banking plays an important role in the quality

of different products and services. The different levels of customer satisfaction provide a

strategy in the range of suitable amounts of services. The commercial use of the services

provides a variety of services on the needs of the customers. The innovation in the banking

sector attracts a large customer in the context of the process. The utilization of the customer

services provides a function on the basis of a certain level of acquaintances. There are different






services of banks that are discussed in terms of suitable levels of approaches. The services

quality and the satisfaction of the customer are frequently used to interact with the ability of

the customers. The different models such as Richard rol has been discussed in the given study.


Research paper is based on secondary data obtained from various sources like:

• Earlier paper published

• Websites

• Articles published in Research magazines

• Articles published in news papers.

Objective of Study

• To analyze the factors affecting the level of customers' satisfaction regarding innovative

practices of commercial banks

. • To ascertain whether occupation wise groups of customers differ in their level of satisfaction

from the banking services.

• To study the customers opinions towards various innovative services offered by banks.

Literature Review

I) Consumer Behaviour

According to Warner, consumer behavior defines that “the study of the mental and physical

activities performed by individuals or groups that result in decisions or actions associated with

the purchase, use or disposal of goods and services”(Malcolm). Warner emphasized the

consumption related behaviors are often undertaken collectively. For example, some activities

performed by individuals but consumed by a family or group of people, similar as organization

purchasing activities usually followed by group decisions.

Consumer behaviour has been always of great interest to marketers. The knowledge of

consumer behaviour helps the marketer to understand how consumers think, feel and select

from alternatives like products, brands and the like and how the consumers are influenced by

their environment, the reference groups, family, and salespersons and so on. A consumer’s

buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. Most of

these factors are uncontrollable and beyond the hands of marketers but they have to be

considered while trying to understand the complex behaviour of the consumers.


Consumer is the study “of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase,

use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires”

(Solomon 1995, 7). In the marketing context, the term consumer ‟ refers not only to the act of

purchase itself, but also to patterns of aggregate buying which include pre-purchase and post-

purchase activities. Pre-purchase activity might consist of the growing awareness of a need or

want, and a search for and evaluation of information about the products and brands that might

satisfy it. Post-purchase activities include the evaluation of the purchased item in use and the

reduction of any anxiety which accompanies the purchase of expensive and infrequently-

bought items. Each of these has implications for purchase and repurchase and they are

amenable in differing degrees to marketer influence (Foxall 1987).

II) CONSUMER PERCEPTION

The topic consumer perception and frequency of usage basically come from consumer

behavior. The purpose of the present study is to provide an over view of existing research work

about consumer behavior and perception about internet banking. Consumer behavior is the

study of why, when, and how. Consumer behavior is that rational behavior that consumer

shows toward products while buying. Consumer behavior is the mixture of psychological,

social, economical, and social anthropological situations and environment.

Perception is how human recognize and interpret stimuli (SITTER, 2008). Consumers’

perception of quality is measured an essential determinant of product choice (Zenithal, 1988).

In other words perception is the first impression that individual draw and on the basis of it

select, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world (MUNNUKKA,

2008). That’s why it is believed that consumer perception influence customer level of

satisfaction and so their buying and usage decisions.

Consumer preferences of product attribute is different according to product nature as well as

its Social and economic nature of consumer (Uusitalo, 2001). Product attributes are often eye-

catching in nature (Vishwanathan and Childers, 1999). The attributes model proposed by Gwin

and Gwin (2003) posits that consumer preference of product is based on maximizing utility

from the product features subject to financial shortage. Choice theory defines that consumer

preference based on product features.

The perception is the formed as a result of interpreting the experience. There is a growing

interest in understanding the users’ experience (Hiltunen et al., 2002); as it is observed as a


larger concept than user satisfaction. From this perspective, assessing the user experience is

essential for many technology products and services (Wilson &Sasse, 2004).

Different services of bank

The services of the bank provide a variety of services in the context of customer satisfaction.

The different products and services of the bank create an innovation in terms of suitable

organizations. According to Kumar (2017), the function of customer satisfaction increases the

ability in order to estimate the requirement of the banking sector. In the different banks such

as indusland bank, SBI bank, there are different services are required by the customer on the

function of customer needs and maintenance. The bank service includes a certain level of

perspectives which are commonly used for the purpose of the customers. The services such as

savings account, current account, trade and premium current account, fixed deposits, and the

defense salary account regulate the functions of the bank. Services include account and deposits

services, loan services, and card services are provided for the satisfaction of the customer. The

first service such as account and deposit services analyze the parameter required during the

transaction.

The different quality of products and services enhance the estimation of the system based on a

range of suitable approaches. The different services and products are required for the

maintenance of the bank with respect to innovative range of function. The second service of

banks is loan services which are rapidly arise in the perspectives of the system. The indusland

bank creates an attribute on the ability of the process. The services of loan estimate the range

of financial approach in the norms of the customer. The satisfaction of the customer creates an

approximation on the function of different services. The third service of banks is card services

are playing an important role in the range of suitable amounts of products. The card services

of SBI bank provides a wide variety of information on the features of the innovative banking

sector. The expenditure of the customer regulates the information by conducting a proper

enhancement (Lin et al. 2018).

The cards such as credit card, prepaid card, and debit card are mostly used to analyze the

functions of the customers. In indusland and SBI bank, the function of the card generally arises

to meet the objectives of the banking sector. As per Eklof et al. (2020), the last services of the

bank i.e. investment and insurance, the scheme of different marketing ranges enhance the

approach which are widely used to fulfill the demands of the customer. The investment and the


financial services help in innovating the criteria of investment on the quality of services

required for the norms of the person. The different services of the bank are described in the

diagram given below.

Figure 1. Different services of Bank

(Source : Aaron et al. 2017, p. 573)

The offer of the bank services are directly involved in the strategic effort of the sector required

during the innovation of the products. The majority of the services increase the overall

estimation required during the utilizations of the process. The goals of the different banking

sector analyze the quality of investment responsible for the needs and the satisfaction of the

customer. The appraisal of the customer services generates the level of functions involved

during the phenomenon of the products suitable for the decade of the banking sector (Iwenya

2019).

Service quality and customer satisfaction

The different quality of services and the satisfaction of the customer measures the quality of

products required during the needs of the bank. According to Hamdi (2019), it confirms the

standard of customer satisfaction paradigm can maintain moderate satisfaction, high-

satisfaction is maintained by the positively disconfirmed standard. On the other hand, a


negatively disconfirmed standard is used to maintain dissatisfaction. The efficiency of the

banking industry is maintained by distinction and association between service quality and

customer satisfaction. It is important to collect information about the position of service quality

that can maintain various components of the banking industry which directly has an impact on

the partial determination of customer satisfaction. Information about constructs of service

quality can help the banking industry to maintain customer satisfaction. Authentic agreement

of the banking system can play a crucial role in maintenance of customer satisfaction. The

innovative technology of the banking sector can help customers to fulfill their needs without

any complexities.

On the other hand, it is noticed that the perish ability of products and services can maintain

customer satisfaction easily. As per Toumi (2019), technical quality, functional quality, and

corporate image are involved in the maintenance of service quality. Service setting of the

banking industry is involved in the maintenance of the relationship. Along with this, marketing

literature-related debates are increased to maintain the service quality of the banking sector.

The role of the customer maintains the structures of the bank which are required during the

innovation of the system. The increasing role of the process highlights the needs which are

mainly focused on the consumption of the system. The quality and the customer satisfaction

play an important role in the aspects of the banking sector involved in the analysis of the

function. The performance of the organization is involved to meet the requirements of the

customer. The services and the products are used to innovate the business environment of the

bank required during the function of transactions (Ahmad 2020).

The satisfaction of the customer regulates the enhancement which is required during the

performance of the customer. The delight of the customer estimates the range of functions in

order to compare the level of the system. The products are maintained to establish the

requirements used during the transactions of the process. The criteria of the process generally

used to identify the system of establishment during the range of satisfaction. The loyalty of the

customer occurs to decline the effect of the products which are increasing in a wide amount of

range. The functions of the employee working on the bank generates a system on the response

of the customer. The opportunity of goods and services are the main indicators which help to

compare the functionality of the system used in the given study (Keating and Gaur 2017).


Richard Rol Model

In the study of consumer satisfaction with respect to innovative banking products and services

used a model i.e. Richard rol in the industry of banking. The given models are used in the sector

of banking to develop the quality of products required in the strategy of consumer satisfaction.

The different trend of the bank creates a relation which is commonly used to increase the range

of the services. The qualities of the services are used to reduce the overall estimation of the

system and focus on the needs and the satisfaction of the customer. The significant factor of

customer satisfaction includes a process to manage the information of the customers best used

for innovation (Rita et al. 2019).

The model of Richard rol generates a strategy based on the services of management involved

in the context of the system. As per Afthanorhan et al. (2019), the valuable needs of the system

regulates the approach required during the development of the bank managers. The industry of

the bank accumulates different factors such as quality of the services, customer services,

relationship between the customer and the management. The innovation of products and

services maintain the needs of the customers which are directly focused on the quality of the

process.

Importance of innovative banking products and Services

Banking innovation plays an important role in improving services and cost-efficiency. Banking

sectors are using digital innovation for creating competitive advantages as well as competitive

intelligence. According to Sharipoy (2020), expanding open banking, AI-Driven Predictive

banking and Cardless ATM services are some innovative services that are offered by the banks

to the customers. The use of digital innovation of banks helps the bank to improve services and

products by decreasing the chances of error in the services. The use of innovation in banks

required fewer employees and fewer traditional branches which enhanced the cost-

effectiveness of the bank (Mamadiyarov 2020). Innovation in the bank helps to manage the

issues arising due to the rapid increment of competition in the market. The competition

increasing in the bank leads to increment in the chances of cybercrime. Banks are facing issues

related to cybersecurity and privacy concerns.

The innovation in the bank’s products and services help the bank to increase cybersecurity and

also helps in improving the technological capabilities. The expectations of the customers are

changing every day which requires technological improvement in the banking sectors. Banks


are innovating themselves by using various technologies for creating unique customer

satisfaction by providing innovative services and products. According to nazaritehrani and

Mashali (2020), the advancement in technologies helps the bank to provide security to their

data and reduces the threat of cybersecurity as in traditional banking. The banks need to update

themselves and provide innovative services and products for meeting customer requirements.

The innovative banking products and services focus on a customer-centric perspective instead

of paying more focus on real-time intelligent data integration.

Banking sectors use various technologies for updating themselves and providing innovative

banking products and services. These technologies are used for increasing customer

satisfaction by providing more privacy and transparency to the customer who increases the

faith of the customers in the banks.

Augmented Reality- Augmented Reality is a kind of technology whose arrival will give a

different shape to the banking sector all over the world. According to Rahi and Ghani (2018),

this technology will help in increasing the customer experiences by providing various

innovative services such as the customer will allow complete autonomy in actions by sitting at

home. This technology is at the first stage of development. According to Ho et al. (2019), at

the last stages, it will provide various innovative services that will help the customers to

perform their transactions by sitting at home. In some of the banks augmented reality has been

implemented which has increased customers satisfaction. The customers who want to sell or

buy homes can get information through Augmented Reality about the recent sales, price

tendencies and current listing from the banks as banks created rich date augmented reality

applications for enhancing the services of the customers (Garg and Dhar 2017).

Robotic Process Automation- The implementation of Robotic Process Automation will help

the banking sectors to keep their large volume of unstructured data into structured form.

According to TuSheng and Ibrahim (2019), the structural form of data present in the bank will

help the customers to get information regarding transactions and quickly depositing money.

The rise of the digital economy leads to an increase in the volume of unstructured data in the

banks which creates various difficulties for banks to maintain such data manually. Robotic

Process Automation in banking helps to maintain such a large voluminous data in an easy

manner which increases the satisfaction of the customers.


Figure 2: Types of AI used in Banking

(Source: Agolla et al. 2018, p.867)

Blockchain- Using a blockchain in the banking sectors will help to maintain the integrity and

confidentiality of the data in the database. According to Firdous and Farooqi (2017),

Blockchain helps banking for improving the efficiency of clearing and settlement systems.

Blockchain provides an operation known as KYC (Know Your Customers) which helps the

bank to see a huge saving in the banks by performing these operations.

Impact of banking products and services on consumer satisfaction

Banking sectors act as commoditized spaces where the satisfaction of the customers is the most

important thing for the growth of the banks (Herath and Hearth 2019). Almost all the banks

offer the same services and products to the customers which makes it difficult to provide more

satisfaction to the customers. The experience of the customer with the banks depends on how

many competitive advantages are provided by one bank to another. Banks are mainly focusing

on types of services for increasing the customer experiences. Interpersonal services and

consistent Omni-Channel Experience are the two areas where the banks are delivering their

services for increasing customer satisfaction in their bank. Interpersonal services focus on

establishing a relationship between customers and the banks.


Customer Satisfaction can be increased when the bank delivers on the customer’s experiences

in all the Omni Channel. Customer satisfaction can be measured in the banks by identifying

the customer’s experiences and solves the issues regarding the experiences of the customers in

the banks. Improving the customer’s services and products will help the banks to increase their

profitability and differentiate themselves from the market competitions.

Need for financial innovation in bank

Financial innovation in the banking sectors helps the bank to establish itself uniquely and

differentiates itself from the market competition. Innovation in the financial growth of their

bank helps in providing stability of the financial system of the banks. The features in the

financial innovation in the banks depend on the products and organizational innovation. The

financial innovation in the banks helps in reducing the risk and cost in the bank and helps in

providing innovative and improvised products and services to the customers, which will help

to increase the customer's experiences and customer services. Financial innovations are

developed in the banks such as specialized technology and software houses. The innovation in

the financial system helps the bank to be safer from cyber and ethical issues. The financial

innovation in the banks helps to perform smoothly and facilitates to perform investment

decisions easily with lots of benefits for the corporations. Innovation of finance in the banks

helps in creating new financial instruments that get advanced over time which will help in

increasing the customer experiences and increased customer satisfaction.

Conclusions

As with the other sectors, customer satisfaction plays an important role in the growth of the

banking sectors. The experiences of the customers are changing every day and the banks need

to provide the services and products that meet with the customer experiences. The customer

experiences of the banks help in improving customer satisfaction by observing the experiences

of the customers in the banks. Innovation in the services and products of the bank is required

due to change in the demand of the customers. Banks used various innovative services and

products to improve customer satisfaction. Various technologies such as blockchain augmented

reality and artificial intelligence are used for providing innovative services in digital form. The

innovative services and products in the banks help to gain more profit by increasing

competitive advantages and competitive intelligence.


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A STUDY TO EXAMINE ROLE OF SELF-HELP GROUPS FOR WOMEN

EMPOWERMENT IN ADAPTING TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF THE

ECONOMY

Dr. Sangeeta Makkad

PhD. LLM, LLB, MAJMC, MSW, SET, PGDGC, PGDPR, PGDFM Designation: Assistant

Professor, University of Mumbai. Email id: [email protected]

Abstract

De-establishing the most functional of systems ,the first and second wave of COVID-19 created new

roadways and challenges for the various parameters of growth and sustenance in all spheres of life

including economic political cultural and social. Seeking to diversify the nature of sustenance self-help

groups came as a modality to strengthen and to give a direction of empowerment to women encouraging

women to do what they want and allowing them to make their own choices whilst undergoing a 360°

change with the changing environment. Thus the emphasis on the capacity building and the

infrastructure built up with technology credit activity clusters and marketing by self-help groups once

again came to nurture and to create a sustenance level for women .This research paper is an attempt

to understand the need of these groups, in direction of women empowerment for them to sustain

themselves and the society at large.

Key words: Women, Sag, Empowerment, Sustain, Environment

Introduction

Creating sustenance and female resilience is the integral nature of self-help groups for women.

A powerful medium for re-shaping whilst creating new perspective and meanings of the social

construct the society has given to gender is achieved for women via these self -help groups.

Interestingly they are also the channels to créateconfidance for women, to get credit for

financing business, adding on to pool of savings,allowing the woman to cheer her ideation into

reality and lending the infrastructure to create a dreams into the manifestation of an

entrepreneur.







As members of SHG groups women are able to create independent sources of income for

themselves, use the primitive skills to engage into ideas which are supported and empowered

with the self- help groups

Literature Review

World Bank (2020), The World Bank details the report on COVID-19 and self-help groups in

India and comments upon the victorious spirit of women. The report talks about the

unprecedented situation and the challenges that arose from it and role of women groups.

The World Bank records report clearly states how during the difficult times of COVID-19 virus

the women self-help groups played a very vital role in combating and creating situations where

they were feeding migrant laborers , homeless and vulnerable people by running committee

kitchens .It also elaborates on equating the network of WhatsApp groups of these women to

curb rumor mills and miss information that was rude that was circulating in the society during

COVID-19

(QAZI, 2021)Sewa International (2020),The Seva international organization has been working

in the field of voluntarism has created a lot of spaces for women to match the role of

stakeholder’s managers and beneficiaries taking Uttarakhand as one of the case studies. The

Micro-finance groups created through Seva lends financial information and knowledge via

micro-credits and banks These work on the capacity building of women through the activity

clusters, and various other means.

Scroll.in (2019),applauds the women self-help groups of benefiting Dalits and Adivasis and

ensuring that where is challenges were overcome through the activities.

The report states that women in India do not have as much access to Bing and also care and

hold business and they buy has less finance control and access and thereby also found very less

active in decision-making and political affairs national rural livelihood Mission of government

works on this profile of women and empowers them to build up their capacities

Objectives of the study

To examine the awareness levels of women towards SHGs

To study the general practices of women towards their empowerment.

To find out about motivation of women to move ahead for their be empowered.

To understand and assess the possibility of initiating awareness campaigns for SFGs to

women.


To suggest various actions and possibilities for women to be empowered.

Scope of the Study

The study is undertaken in the city of Mumbai. Primary data is collected from the members of

SFGs groups of Mumbai. Views of 100 respondents as sample size are gathered in this study

Research Design and Methodology

This study is descriptive and exploratory in nature. Both primary as well as secondary analysis

of data is undertaken. The researcher has made an attempt to satisfy the objectives of the study

by testing the hypothesis. Secondary data is collected through the books and related websites.

The instrument used to collect primary data is structured questionnaire which is duly filled by

the women members of SFGs.

The sample size is 100.

Limitations of the study

1. Descriptive Statistics and Frequency model with Correlation has been used for primary

analysis.

2. Due to limitation of time and cost the sample size is kept small.

3. The sampling universe is also limited to Mumbai only.

Hypothesis of the study

1) H0: There is no significant relationship between the literacy levels of women with

motivation to join a SHG

H1: There exists a strong relation between the literacy levels of women with motivation to join

a SHG

2) H0: There is no change in decision making of women after being part of SHGs.

H1: There is significant change in decision making of women after being part of SHGs.

Analysis and Interpretation

Table 1: Profile of SHG members in Age

Age No of

Members

Percentage

18-30 20 20%

31-40 40 40%

41-50 30 30%

Above 50 10 10%

Sample size 100 100

Source: Primary Data

The data in the table above reflects the profile in parameter of Age of the SHGs group members.

Maximum no of respondents i.e. 40% are in age group of 31-40 years, 30% of them are in 41-


50 years of age, 20% are in 18-30 years of age with least number of respondents i.e. 10% are

in age bracket of 50 years and above.

Table 2: Profile of Type of Family of SHGs group members

Family Kind No of Members Percentage

Joint Family 70 70%

Nuclear Family 30 30%

Sample size 100 100

Migrated Migrated Joint

Family 30 43%

Migrated Migrated Nuclear

Family 10 33%

From Mumbai

Staying in

Mumbai for

more than 10

years

60 24%

100 100

70% of the SHG group members are belonging to Joint family structure and only 30% belong

to Nuclear family structure. Whilst 43% are the migratory joint family and 33% of the migrated

nuclear family SHG group members and 24% belong to Mumbai and have been living in it for

over last 10 years.

Table 3: Literacy levels of SHGs group members

Literacy levels No of Members Percentage

Illiterate 40 40%

Primary Education level 45 40%

Secondary Level 15 15%

Total 100 100

Table 3: As is evident 12 from the table about 45% members of the self-help group are

belonging to illiterate category. 40% have completed their primary education level and 15%

has managed to complete in the secondary level of the education


Table 4: Needs of Women to join the SHG group

Need of Women No of Members Percentage

To supplement home income

through credit facility 26 26%

To create additions to their

savings 30 30%

To start a business 5 5%

Have no support System so

need to make a living via

earning.

9 9%

To earn money & be decision

maker for family 29 29%

To create more opportunities 5

Total 100 100

The Table 4 clearly shows the recent out the need of the women to join the self-help group 30%

of the members join to add to create more savings and add to the pool of it another 29% of the

members reason to join was to avail the credit facility through the self-help group followed by

26% of women deciding to make a thrust of earning money through some source of business

of work and thereby engaging into decision-making process for herself and the family.


Table 5: Co-or elation of Needs of Women to join the SHG group

To supplement

home income

through credit

facility

To create

additions

to their

savings

To

start

a

busin

ess

Have no support

System so need to

make a living via

earning.

To earn

money & be

decision

maker for

family

To

create

more

opportu

nities

To supplement

home income

through credit

facility

1

To create additions

to their savings 1 1

To start a business 1 1 1

Have no support

System so need to

make a living via

earning.

1 1 1 1

To earn money &

be decision maker

for family

1 1 1 1 1

To create more

opportunities 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

To supplement home income through credit…

To create additions to their savings

To start a business

Have no support System so need to make a…

To earn money & be decision maker for family

To create more opportunities

Coorelation Table : Needs of Women f0r SHGs

To supplement home income through credit facility

To create additions to their savings

To start a business

Have no support System so need to make a living via earning.

To earn money & be decision maker for family

To create more opportunities


Descriptive Statistics of Profile of Members Familes of SFGs

Joint

Fami

ly

Nucl

ear

Fami

ly

Sam

ple

size

Migra

ted

Joint

Famil

y

Migrat

ed

Nuclea

r

Family

Staying in

Mumbai for

more than

10 years

Mea

n

35

.3

5

Mea

n

15

.1

5

Mea

n

1

0

0

Mea

n

#

D

I

V

/0

! Mean

#

N

U

M

! Mean

5.

16

5 Mean

30

.1

2

Stan

dard

Error

34

.6

5

Stan

dard

Error

14

.8

5

Stan

dard

Error 0

Stan

dard

Error

6

5

5

3

5

Stand

ard

Error

14

.7

85

Standa

rd

Error

4.

83

5

Standard

Error

29

.8

8

Medi

an

35

.3

5

Medi

an

15

.1

5

Medi

an

1

0

0

Medi

an

#

N

U

M

!

Media

n

15

.2

15

Media

n

5.

16

5 Median

30

.1

2

Mod

e

#

N/

A

Mod

e

#

N/

A

Mod

e

1

0

0

Mod

e

#

N

/

A Mode

#

N/

A Mode

#

N/

A Mode

#

N/

A

Stan

dard

Devi

ation

49

.0

02

5

Stan

dard

Devi

ation

21

.0

01

07

Stan

dard

Devi

ation 0

Stan

dard

Devi

ation

#

D

I

V

/0

!

Stand

ard

Deviat

ion

20

.9

09

15

Standa

rd

Deviati

on

6.

83

77

23

Standard

Deviation

42

.2

56

7

Sam

ple

Varia

nce

24

01

.2

45

Sam

ple

Varia

nce

44

1.

04

5

Sam

ple

Varia

nce 0

Sam

ple

Varia

nce

#

D

I

V

/0

!

Sampl

e

Varia

nce

43

7.

19

25

Sample

Varian

ce

46

.7

54

45

Sample

Variance

17

85

.6

29

Kurt

osis

#

DI

V/

0!

Kurt

osis

#

DI

V/

0!

Kurt

osis

#

D

I

V

/0

!

Kurt

osis

#

D

I

V

/0

!

Kurto

sis

#

DI

V/

0!

Kurtosi

s

#

DI

V/

0! Kurtosis

#

DI

V/

0!

Skew

ness

#

DI

Skew

ness

#

DI

Skew

ness

#

D

Skew

ness

#

D

Skew

ness

#

DI

Skewn

ess

#

DI Skewness

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The Graph 4 clearly shows the recent out the need of the women to join the self-help group

highest number of women members expressed the need to join SHGs and cater to adding on to

their savings while next reason for them to be the members was to avail facility of credit

through the self-help group followed by 26% of women deciding to make roadways in being a

business person or take a job and earn money and thus with finance literacy and earning power

to engage into decision-making process for herself and the family.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

J O I N T F A M I L Y

N U C L E A R F A M I L Y

S A M P L E S I Z E

M I G R A T E D J O I N T

F A M I L Y

M I G R A T E D N U C L E A R

F A M I L Y

S T A Y I N G I N

M U M B A I F O R M O R E

T H A N 1 0 Y E A R S

CHART TITLE

No of Members Percentage


Conclusion

Majority of % of the member respondents of Self-help Groups are belonging to age group of

31 to 40 years

Majority of % of the member respondents of Self-help Groups are educated and literate.

Majority of % of the member respondents of Self-help Groups are belonging part of joint

families

Majority of % of the member respondents of Self-help Groups join the group to save money,

empower themselves and play a decision making role in the family with financial power.

Analysis and Interpretation

The analysis clearly points and concludes the data in favor of Alternate Hypothesis and it is

fails to reject the Alternate Hypothesis and null hypothesis is rejected.

H1: There exists a strong relation between the literacy levels of women with motivation to join

a SHG fails to be rejected.

And

H1: There is significant need to be financially independent for decision making by women after

being part of SHGs.

Suggestions and Recommendations:

Women should be encouraged to seek education and get literate.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

JOINT FAMILY

NUCLEAR FAMILY

SAMPLE SIZE

MIGRATED JOINT

FAMILY

MIGRATED NUCLEAR FAMILY

STAYING IN MUMBAI

FOR MORE THAN 10

YEARS

Type of Family Kind of SHGs members

No of Members Percentage


Girls education should be made compulsory and ensured that no household is without

their daughter woman getting and getting educated.

Financial literacy and financial decision making

Can be encouraged by the families and self-help groups.

Schools must encourage young boys and girls to open accounts in banks and take personal

trips to banks to educate them about financial literacy

NGOs and cooperates as part of the CSR role to create inclusive projects to encourage

women to be an entrepreneur open a business and on money for herself.

Government policies and the macro and micro level may be encouraged to include gender

financial focus.

References

Ayyothi*, R. V. (2016, e-ISSN: 2321-5933, p-ISSN: 2321-5925.Volume 7, Issue 3. Ver. II (May. - Jun.

2016), PP 33-39). The Role of SHG in Women Empowerment- A Critical Review. IOSR

Journal of Economics and Finance (IOSR-JEF).

Bank, W. (2020). In India, women’s self-help groups combat the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

Brody, T. D. (2019). Economic self-help group programmes for improving women’s empowerment.

International Initiative on Impact Review, Thomas De Hoop.

Glenwright, D. ( (2011), ). Using social media to empower Women: A case study from southern Africa.

Goyal, M. J. (2011). Women Entrepreneurship in India: Problem and Prospects”. International

Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol.1, Issue 5, ISSN- 22315780. .

Guru, C. M. (2012). “Pretty Lies –TV telling us what we need,. Gustave Trish, “Role of Media in the

Empowerment of Tribal Women”, International Journal of in Multidisciplinary and Academic

Research (SSIJMAR), Vol 4 Issue 2, ISSN- 22785973. • .

Gutha, M. (2015). “Empowerment and Entrepreneurship of Rural Women- Government Initiatives.

International Journal of Advanced Research, , Vol. 3 Issue 7, ISSN- 23205407.

QAZI, M. (2021). Self-help Groups: Women Become the Change They Want to See in the World. The

Leaflet (Alt News).

SEWA. (2019). Women Empowerment Through SHGs. Sewa International.


PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION: AN EFFECTIVE TOOL IN PROTECTION OF

ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA

Mr. Shaun D’Souza & Mr. Aaron D’Souza

K. J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce.

Abstract

Public Interest Litigation or PIL offers to the underprivileged section of the society a path to justice and makes

an immense contributioninescalating awareness about fundamental rights pertaining to the environment and the

roleof the government in decision-making. The main object of this research is to understand the current scenario

& study the extent of developments through international conventions, various legislations, and the role of the

judiciaryin ensuring sustainable development and environmental protection.

Keywords: Environment, protection, Judiciary, PIL, sustainability, conventions, legislations, judicial

activism.

Introduction

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed”

-Mahatma Gandhi.

Public interest litigation in lucid dialect is litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection

of public interest. It is an indisputable fact that this modern era of environmental imbalance

makes it extremely vital to promote sustainable development and environmental protection

through the use of strategies that secures and ensures citizen’s rights to access information,

public participation, and access to justice.

‘Judiciary exists for the people and not vice versa’ -Justice Lodha

In India, a large population is a victim of exploitation due to deprived education and so it makes

it extremely important to invoke judicial activism which can be achieved with the introduction

of Public InterestLitigation (PIL), to ensurejustice and to provide a fair opportunity to the

socially and economically backwardclass of the society.






The Stockholm conference held in June 1972, reflected on the clamour for preservation

&conservation of environmental issues globally and laid the foundation for global

environmental governance. The conference was instrumental in the establishment of the United

Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and several laws to protect the environment and

prompted the 42ndamendment of the constitution of India in 1976.

Genesis of PIL:

During the 20th century in the United States of America, the practice of encouraging lawyers

to take up cases of the under-privileged and fight against the dangers to the environment and

public health led to the introduction ofPublic Interest Litigation in the famous caseof Brown vs

Board of Education of Topeka1which was based on racism. In India,Justice Krishna Iyer

introducedPIL in 1976 in the case of Mumbai Kamgar Sabha vs Abdul Faizullabhai2and was

further introduced by Justice P.N. Bhagwatiin 1979, when the first PIL was filed, it was the

case of Hussainara Khatoon vs the State of Bihar3. The Public Interest Litigation means, filing

litigation for the protection of public interest, it does not necessarily need to be filed by the

aggrieved party but can be filed by any other private party, or the court itself.

After the Bhopal gas tragedy1984, theimportance of environmental protection was striking and

the extremities of gaps in the legal systems were exposed leading to the 42nd amendment in the

Indian constitution in 1984focusing on environmental protection and conservation. The

Supreme Court after the Bhopal gas tragedy, to fix the chaos applied Judicial activism which

broadened the scope of Article 21 to include the right to a clean environment.

Legal Provisions-

International Declarations-

The Stockholm declaration of 1972 broadly recognizes the global environmental problems and

issued 26 principles which included Article 21 thatguaranteedthe right to life and the right to a

healthy environment. A few examples of the principles are- Principle 2. Natural resources must

be protected; Principle 6. Pollution must not exceed the environment’s capacity to clean itself;

Principle 19. Environmental education is essential etcetera. There are several other

conventions and provisions like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.

Constitutional provisions-


The ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ enumerates in Part IV of the constitution from

Articles 36 to 51states the principles that are fundamental in the governance of the country and

shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws. It denotes the ideals that

the state needs to reckon with while formulating policies and enacting laws. Fundamental rights

are human rights conferred on citizens of India.The right to live is a fundamental right under

Article 21 of the constitution which involves clean water and air for a quality life, if anything

is to compromise it, citizens have a right to invoke Article 32 to file a petition under the

Supreme Court andArticle 226 to file a petition under a High Courtas cited in the Constitution

of India to resolve it.

During the 19th century, there was no section pertaining to the environment in the Indian Penal

Code, it merely had two sections indirectly connected to the environment like Section 268-

when the person is guilty of public nuisance and Section 144- includes abetment of public

nuisance. Within 5 years of the Stockholm Conference the 42nd amendment to include two

important words, Protection and Improvement of the environment as a mandate was introduced

in the form of two articles, Article 48; A- where the state shall endeavour to protect and improve

the environment and Article 51; A(g)- saying every citizen has to safeguard the environment.

Indian Laws-

Even before the independence of India in 1947, several environmental legislations existed but

the real impulse to bring about a sophisticated framework was only after the Stockholm

conference, 1972. Since the 1970’s an all-encompassing network of environmental legislation

has been developed in the country. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change

(MoEF) and the Pollution Control Boards i.e., Central Pollution Control Board pollution

(CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) together form the regulatory and

administrativecore of the sector.The Environmental action programme (EAP)

was formulated in 1993 to improve environmental conditions3. Furthermore, certain laws were

introduced to safeguard the interests of the environment like the Environment (Protection) act,

1986; The Forest (conservation) act, 1980;The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; The

Water(prevention and control act), 1974; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

and the Indian forest act, 1927.

Judicial responses:

M. C. Mehta vs Union of India5popularly known as the Oleum gas leak casewas filed soon

after the Bhopal gas leak. Oleum gas was leaked from the Shriram Chlorine plant in Najafgarh,

and the whole of Delhi fell into panic. There was a prior PIL filed by M.C. Mehta against


Shriram Chlorine Plant which was scheduled to argue on a later date, but as the matter came

up the hearing took place in a couple of hours, known to be one of the fastest hearings. The

above scenario is a clear violation of Article 48A which states the duties of the state in respect

to the prevention of pollution. The Supreme Court held that any enterprise engaged in

hazardous activity is ‘absolutely’ liable to recompense all those affected by an accident. The

core feature of this verdict was the principle of ‘absolute liability’, in which no exceptions like

Vis Major are brooked. This case was keenly under observation to determine how the courts

would deal with enterprises that engage in environmental disasters. Unfortunately, the intricate

court processduring the Bhopal gas tragedy was an example of what to avoidduring such times.

Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra vs state of Uttar Pradesh and ORS6,also known as

the ‘Dehradun Valley Litigation’. TheSupreme Court took up the matter when the central

government got concerned about the destructive mining in the valley. Limestones were mined

using explosive, it resulted into slides and slumping as it illegally was dug too deeply. In 1988,

the court concluded that continued mining in the valley violated the Forest conservation act,

1980.However, the forest conservation policy only prohibits non-forest activities on forest

lands that do not have the approval of the Central government. Along with the national interest

and ecological integrity the court was also concerned with the labourers that would be

unemployed once the mine is closed. The court held that the job lessees whose operations were

terminated by the court will be given priority in new areas open to limestone mining and the

eco-task force of the Central Department of Environment, reclaim and reforest the area

damaged by mining.

M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India7 ( Ganga River Case)

Ganga isa holy river in India and it’s our duty to keep it clean, with factories and tanneries

constantly releasing pollutants it is getting worse. For this a PIL was filed in the Supreme court

under Article 32 of the constitution saying that Ganga is one of the oldest rivers in the world

and as it’s considered holy, people use water for purification and having it unclean is

preposterous. The court held that environmental protection and public health of the

environment cannot be sacrificed in the name of revenue and employment. The court also held

that Kanpur situated on the bank of the Ganga River is a large city and the polluted water of

the city are being discharged in this river and directed to stop the water pollution, proper action

should be taken by the Municipality within 6 months and its proposal to be forwarded to the


water council, Milk dairies were shifted outside the city. Furthermore, public latrines and

urinals were constructed, sewerage lines in labour colonies were laid down, the practice of

throwing corpses into the river Ganga was ended and applications for licenses to be established

industries be refused unless adequate provision has been made for the treatment of trade

effluents.

Municipal council, Ratlam vs. Vardhichand and others8

Residents of Ratlam were tormented by the stench and stink from open drains and public

defecations. The people moved to the magistrate under Section 133 of the criminal procedure

code to require the municipality to perform its duties towards the people. The high court

approved the order of the magistrate and subsequently, the case appeared before the Supreme

Court. According to Section 123 of the M. P. Municipalities Act 1961, the council had a duty

to undertake adequate provisions within its municipality likecleaning the public areas,

disposing of rubbish and abating all public nuisance. The apex court upheld the decision of the

high court. The Supreme Court instructed the Municipal Council of Ratlam city to protect the

area from pollution caused by alcohol plants flowing into the areas of the residents. The

Supreme Court also held the municipality to take necessary steps to fulfil the obligation by

providing an adequate number of public latrines specifically for men and women along with

water supply and proper sanitation. This decision was considered as a landmark case as it

proved that the judiciary is a protector of the fundamental rights, which in the above case was

protecting the right of each person in regards to the environment under Article 21 of the

constitution.

M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India9(Taj Trapezium case)

Taj trapezium refers to an area of 10,400 sq. km. the trapezium-shaped area around the Taj

Mahal covering five districts in the city of Agra10.When in 1984, M. C. Mehta visited the Taj

Mahal and noticed the marbles turning yellow because of the pollution. Gasses like sulphur

dioxide emitted by industries mix with oxygen with the help of the atmosphere and result in

‘Acid Rain’. On 8th January1993, the Supreme Court after hearing M. C. Mehta and reviewing

the report on ‘Control of Urban Pollution’ by the Central Pollution Control Board concluded

that the main sources of pollution are iron foundries and industries in the region. The U.P.P.C.B

documented 511 industries as directed by the court and dispensed notices. The Supreme Court

held that environmental measures must be taken to prevent and tackle the pollution crises. The


court further held that 292 industries shall change over to natural gas as an industrial fuel and

gave certain rights with benefits to the workmen in the aforementioned 292 industries. The

Agra Bypass was also constructed to avoid traffic and the green belt as recommended by

NEERI was constructed around Taj. All emporia and shops operating in Taj were directed to

close and lastly, directions were issued to the government to declare the city of Agra as a

heritage city, within 2 months. After the judgement, there was a remarkable difference in the

pollution conditions near the Taj Mahal, and was an excellent job by the Supreme court as it

not only provided effective measures but also kept the rights and benefits of the employees.

Quantitative research resultson Impact of PIL In India-


Conclusion and Recommendations:

PIL has undoubtedly played a major role in the development and preservation of the

environment. Ithas been instrumental in spreading social awareness concerninghuman rights

and the conservation of the environment. The authorities have displayed insensitivity towards

the interest of the public and PIL has gone a step ahead to ensure justice to the citizens.

Furthermore, it’s critical to ensure that PIL as a tool is not misused for vested interest. This

research paper discusses a survey on the effectiveness of PIL with respect to the environment.

Overall, the results suggest that:-

1.) There is awareness about Public Interest Litigation amongst the masses.

2.) There is a clamour for speedy disposal of cases, as rightfully said justice delayed is justice

denied.

3.) The rights of the masses need to be taken into consideration and must not be influenced

bythe personal interest of the authorities.

4.) Taking into consideration the current scenario appropriate amendment must be

incorporated into the legal system.

5.) There must be an imposition of strict penal action to ensure delivery of justice.

6.) There is a clamour to create awareness amongst the masses through schools, colleges, social

media, NGOs and youth participantsmust be organised.

7.) There must be a good mechanismto monitor and control corruption.

8.) The authorities must take efforts to inculcate environmental ethical behaviour and

valuesamongst the citizens.

In my opinion, the recommendations suggested have substance if applied appropriately.

Creating more awareness will ensure transparency and having corruption under control will


help to have a reliable justice system. Taking all the aforementioned recommendations we can

build a better society and be what’s right for us for every individual and finally for the whole

nation.

References

1.347 U.S. 483

AIR 1976 SC 1455

AIR 1979 SCR (3) 532

Moef.gov.in

AIR 1987 SCR (1) 819

AIR 1985 652 SCR (3) 169

AIR 1988 SCR (2) 580

AIR 1980 SC 1622

AIR 1987 SC (1) 819

Lawtimesjournal.in


A STUDY ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIO

CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO E-COMMERCE

Ms. Zeal M. Kanani

[email protected]

Abstract

The current paper puts light on the changing economic environment and its effect on the socio-cultural

environment. It studies the cause and effect of changing behaviour of consumers. It examines how a

global phenomenon could affect the shopping methods and behaviour of the Indian middle class

consumer. The pandemic has hit the world in a hard way and all the sectors contributing to the GDP

have seen serious downfall but it has proved a blessing in disguise for the growth of the E-Commerce

sector. It actually gave a required jump to the E-Commerce field by forcing the skeptical Indian

consumer to give online shopping a try in absence of traditional business.

Keywords: Pandemic, Consumer Behaviour, E-Commerce.

Introduction

‘Pandemic’, a term which wasn’t popular as it is today prior to about 2 years ago. Technically,

a term that changed the way of living. It changed the human perception about life and living it.

Way of working, the way of living, the way of paying, the way of surviving, changed or rather

transformed. Since all the aspects of a human life were clearly seen to be affected so was the

most effective aspect i.e. the Economic aspect was shaken.

31st december 2019, world was ready to welcome the last year of the decade, when the world

was taken aback by the news coming all the way from Wuhan, China, officially the People’s

republic of China, that there was case reported of a new viral disease which was termed to be

COVID-19 (CoronaVirus Disease -2019).Not too long was taken for the new disease to mark

its presence in India and on 27th January 2020, first case of COVID-19 was reported in the

state of Kerala. Slowly Steadily cases were reported from different states where most of the

patients had a history of overseas travel. Regular guidelines were issued by the World Health







Organisation to provide whatever information was found out by the scientists of all around the

globe. Very little information and a lot of uncertainty led to a panic-like situation throughout

the world.

In January 2020, China’s Hubei province became the first place to go under complete lockdown

in the world, followed by Italy in march 2020. Due to less information, and almost no full proof

method to beat the virus, the tradition was followed in India as well. 24th March 2020, a 21day

countrywide lockdown was announced by the prime minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Lockdown

was implemented all over the country after a 14 hr ‘Janta curfew’ on 22nd March, 2020.The

lockdown was extended twice and the country was under complete lockdown till 30th May

2020. Even after that the restrictions were lifted in different phases. A fall in the GDP by 23.9%

in the 1st quarter of (April-June) of the financial year was reported. Shutting down of factories,

construction workers were among the primary reasons for the hit.

Economic impact was not the only impact on the nation but there was more to the impact on

the country and its people. The overall behaviour of people was affected. Their habits,

preferences, way of spending , allocation of funds to various needs, and many more

transformed. People now were more concerned about their and their family member’s life and

safety. Mask, personal hygiene and social distancing were the means to keeping yourself and

your loved ones safe. Overall the way of living was about to change.

In order to ensure one’s safety people refrained from stepping out. As much as possible work

and buying was done from home, at home. Delivery and delivery executives became the most

important part of life and rather proved to be a ‘strong pillar’ of the slow moving

economy.Needs and wants were satisfied with the help of E-Commerce and hence became the

most important link between the business and consumers.

Review of literature

● The 2021 Global Payments Report by Worldpay1 clearly explains the sudden rise in the

E-commerce market. On the basis of their study, Worldpay in its report states that E-

Commerce has and will see its highest growth rate globally. The report also divides the

globe into various regions and gives region specific numbers for better understanding. In

a country like India driven by its traditional mindset, E-Commerce is expected to see a

1 The 2021 Global Payments Report by Worldpay,fisglobal.


growth rate of around 15% till the year 2024. Along with a jump in E-commerce, people

are also changing their methods of payment. Digital wallets have been the most popular

method of payment throughout the world and the same is the case with India.

Numerically speaking, digital wallets comprised 39.7% of payment methods used in India

to shop through E-commerce. This definitely explains that India is no longer a country

with a traditional method.

● Lockdown proved inflection point for e-commerce in India2 explains the sudden rise in

the use of E-Commerce not only in the tier -1 regions but also in the Tier -2 and Tier 3

regions. Social distancing compulsions through the year, massive smartphone base and

reliable broadband galvanised e-commerce uptake beyond metros, deep into smaller

cities and towns, bringing an element of ‘trust in online commerce. During the pandemic

induced lockdown only essentials were ordered from various customers, some of which

were even the first time users, whereas the phased unlock increased the online orders for

fashion, healthcare, personal care, hygiene products etc. Few products that facilitated

work from home like laptop or desktop, 3 times higher sales were seen in these goods.

Overall there is seen to be a ‘Structural Shift’ in the shopping behaviour of customers.

● E-commerce in India: Where do we go from here?3The article explains with rock- solid

evidence that in India the time has come for E-Commerce to flourish. Although giving

focus to the demographic condition of the country it's a pre- requisite for the sellers to be

forearmed to bear the unexpected infrastructure related problems that might arise. Being

proactive seems to be the key to success. The article mentions the first hand experiences

of three players in the E-Commerce field, namely: Big bazaar, Big Basket and the souled

store. All of them had one common experience and that is the difficulty faced to provide

deliveries to consumers in the time of lockdown. The causes were the same : Lockdown

related restrictions, lack of personnel due to restricted movements, lower stocks due to

less supply and huge demand. Although these were mere temporary barriers, one huge

barrier that all these E-Commerce sellers pledge to work on is not only supplying the

products to their ‘beloved’ customers but giving them a wonderful shopping experience

from the comfort of their homes.

2 Lockdown proved inflection point for e-commerce in India, Economic Times, 3 E-commerce in India: Where do we go from here?,Biprorshee Das, WARC, 21st April,2021


1. Objectives of the study

● To study the effect of COVID-19 induced nationwide Lockdown over E-

commerce.

● To study the scope of E-commerce in India in the upcoming years.

● To understand the challenges to be faced by E-Commerce sellers.

2. Research Methodology

5.1 Sample type and Size

Sample type consists of middle class consumers. The sample size is 52 consumers.

5.2 Source of data

The current paper is based on the study from primary data collected by using structured

questionnaire. Secondary data is collected from various reports, articles published online .

5.3 Sampling method

The sampling method followed is a simple random sampling method. This technique provides

every element or unit an equal chance of being selected in the sample.

5.4 Data Collection

The data is collected from the consumers belonging to the middle class category . Close ended

questions are included in the questionnaire.

3. Data analysis and interpretation.

The questionnaire was prepared with an aim of understanding the behaviour of Indian middle

class consumer’s mindset with respect to response of COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown. It

was aimed at understanding the shopping behaviour and the change in the same due to the

pandemic.

The observation from the survey are as follows:

- Almost 58% of the population belongs to the age group of 30-60 years and the rest 42%

belongs to 18-30 years .

- 100% of the population is well aware about the terms of E-Commerce and have

purchased from one or another website.

- Out of 52 respondents 7.7% of respondents purchased online for the first time post

COVID-19 pandemic. Other than 92.3% of the respondents it wasn’t the first buy.

- Talking about consumer’s increase in demand from the E-Commerce post the

pandemic, there is an evident rise in the number of online buyers. Factors like lockdown


restrictions, dire need to follow social distancing and the need to keep oneself away

from crowded places led to an increase in the number of online buyers. Overall 61.5%

of the respondents agree that their purchase from E-commerce websites have increased

post pandemic.

- The type of product bought through E-commerce varies from the essentials like food

and groceries to electronics like mobile phones and work from home essentials like

laptop and desktop. According to the survey, 38.5% of the respondents bought apparels

and highly marketed fashion related products. 34.6% of respondents bought essentials

like groceries, fruits, medicines etc. 17.3% of respondents bought electronics and

remaining 9.6% of respondents bought home and kitchen related products.

- Next is the factor that persuades the consumers to buy online. 34.6% of respondents are

of the opinion that convenience is what persuades them to shop online. Timely home/

office deliveries are much more convenient than moving around in the market. 30.8%

of respondents are driven by discounts and offers given on the E-commerce websites.

Whereas an equal proportion of 17.3% respondents are of the opinion that the

availability of multiple options of products and safety concern is the reason they buy

online.

- A sharp increase can be seen in the number of orders placed before and after the

pandemic. People placing 10-25 orders increased from 9.6% of respondents to 30.8%

of respondents.


- It is a well known characteristic of an Indian consumer to always look for and get a

better or rather a best deal. Same is the case with online shopping . The marketing

techniques, discounts and offers given by the E-Commerce websites helps the Indian

households to control their budgets and eventually increase savings. 53.8% of

respondents are of the opinion that online buying doesn’t increase their budget,

whereas, 46.2% believe the other way.


- Lastly, the more you see the more you buy is the philosophy that is also effective in

online shopping. Approximately 65.4% of respondents are of the opinion that online

shopping results in impulsive purchase.

Conclusion and Suggestion

It is a natural law “ Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”, and the commerce field

is not spared from the same. The pandemic has resulted in dividing the era in two phases

namely: pre-covid and post-covid. In the beginning of the pandemic when countrywide

lockdown restrictions were imposed, it was a well established fact that the medical emergency

that had arrived would affect the economy in an unseen manner and obviously that did happen.

Almost all the sectors were hit in a bad manner but the newly introduced E-Commerce managed

to not only survive but bloomed like a flower in the desert. The sector was facing challenges

due to the traditional mindset of the Indian consumer but the mindset was kind of forced to

change when the traditional shops were restricted to operate. Alot of reports and studies claim

that the pandemic which did not do anything good to anyone in the world proved to be a

stepping stone for the hardworking E-Commerce.

Infact, not only the existing websites benefitted from the pandemic but also a few proactive

entrepreneurs did not wait to bring their brick and mortar shop online. As it is well said that “

the only thing constant is change” and so all the entrepreneurs need to be proactive as it is well

known that the most volatile part of any business is business itself.

Hence it can be well concluded that the choice of the consumer is changing not only in terms

of products but also in the expectations of the shopping experience that they receive. Anytime

winning the hearts of the consumer was not an easy deal and the current situation has made it

even tougher. So the traditional business relying only on the brick and mortar stores need to

realise that it's high time that they update themselves and their businesses to survive in the

forthcoming era of cutthroat competition.

Based on this study, the following suggestions are proposed for implementation.

- Traditional stores need to start using the E-marketing facilities to not lose their existing

customer base and increase the same.

- Given the statistics about the jump that E-commerce is going to experience in the

upcoming decade, the E-commerce companies need to expand their reach to rural areas.


References

First confirmed case of COVID-19 infection in India: A case report:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7530459/

Critical preparedness, readiness and response actions for COVID-19. Interim guidance 7 March 2020:

https://www.who.int/


The 2021 Global Payments Report by Worldpay:https://www.fisglobal.com/en/

Lockdown proved inflection point for e-commerce in India:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/lockdown-proved-inflection-

point-for-e-commerce-in-india/articleshow/81665377.cms?from=mdr



https://www.who.int/


https://www.fisglobal.com/en/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/lockdown-proved-inflection-point-for-e-commerce-in-india/articleshow/81665377.cms?from=mdr




GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: A

THEORETICAL REVIEW

Mrs. Amrita Ajit Jadhav

Annasaheb Vartak College, Vasai (W) [email protected]

Dr. Suryakant Lasune

Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai [email protected]

Abstract

Human Resource being critical variable in the process of production. Therefore, HRD contribute

employees to develop their personal skill, knowledge and abilities to make them more functional and

productive and thus leading to long term sustainability of organisation. The researcher has tried to

gain insight on HRD through examine of previous literatures from secondary sources on HRD in

different Organisations and from different countries. After thorough study researcher concluded

Human Resource Development is the key to cope with present and future personnel challenges and is a

proactive approach focuses on maximum utilization of human resources. HRD in post-COVID-19 will

have change face due to leadership style, Contactless work, Work design, online training, Performance

appraisal these will demand to have strategically flexible HRD, having capability to respond to a

dynamic environment through continuous changes and systematic actions.

Key Words: HRD, Skill, Capability, Personnel, COVID-19

Introduction

Adam Smith stated “The capacities of individual depend on their access to Education” Human

Resource Development (HRD) is the planned framework for helping employees to develop

their personal and organisational skill, knowledge and abilities. HRD is a process, a system not

mere set of techniques. The techniques which include performance appraisal, counselling,

training, career and organisational development. The mechanism may need to adopt to examine

whether these are leading to growth or hindering one. The organisation can facilitate this

Development process by planning for it. (A. Din.Pangotra,2013)








The word ‘Development’ is the acquisition of capabilities that are needed to perform the

present job or future expected job. It is the fundamental responsibility of HRD department to

develop their manpower in a manner that could equipped them in handling the managerial

obligations in an efficient way and to sharpen their knowhow in direction of meeting out the

dynamic challenger of time (Michael, 1995).

Human resource development as a process within the organisation helps employees

continuously and planned way to develop;

Sharpen and acquire capabilities to perform various functions associated with their present or

expected future roles.

Develop general capabilities as individuals, discover & make use of their inner potential for

their own/or organization development purposes.

Develop an organisational culture, where superior -subordinate relationships, teamwork and

collaboration contribute to professional wellbeing and motivation of employees. (Rao. T.V,

1990).

HRD is a term which associates with the growth of organisation through development of its

employees. Any organization can grow up to that extent, where its people want to take it to.

HRD is not just a coping with present personnel challenges but it is a proactive approach to

human beings which focuses on maximum utilization of human resources and reduction of

human wastages like intellect, skills, knowledge and aptitude (Wang, 2002).

The HRD in any business practiced through its creative techniques or sub system which include

potential appraisal, performance appraisal, career planning, training & development,

organizational development, employee welfare measures & quality of work life etc., which

ultimately leads to vitalization, renewal & growth of the organization in achieving

organizational goals and objectives as well. (Nonaka, 1994)

HRD is important key to cope up with rapid changing scenario of organizations like

technological advancement, which can only be achieved through proper HRD in any

organization just to remain is the business race or to compete with the existing businesses of

the same field. Human Resource development can also be defined as a strategic approach which

aims to invest in human capital.

Indian Industrial workforce is undergoing tremendous pressure, due to the beginning of

liberalization, globalization & privatization. In the 21st century, an environment has been


created that compelled Indian industries to rethink their vision and mission about HRD

processes, practices and perspectives (Jain, 2000).

Objective of Study

The present study aims in reviewing the available literature in context to Human Resource

Development in different organisations operational in India and in World.

Methodology

Present study is Exploratory in nature and purely based on secondary data which are taken from

published sources includes articles published in Journals, Books, Doctoral thesis and Online

content.


The researcher has taken important studies conducted by various Researchers in India and even

in foreign countries in different sectors.

1.HRD Practices in Indian Context

1.1 HRD in Financial Service Industries

1.Dr. Birajit Mohanty, Ms. Susmitaparija & Mr. Ghansyamsahu (2012), there exists a

good/average HRD climate in the private insurance sector in Odisha. Further it was also

concluded that there is a significant relationship between HRD climate and Job performance

and any positive change in HRD climate will bring about positive changes in job performance.

2.The author Priyanka Kapoor (2014), concluded the HRD subsystems have evolved and

matured to a substantial degree, especially the performance management system and training

and development system. OD and feedback and counselling are in the next level of maturity.

Potential appraisal and career planning and development are the least developed and used

subsystems. The HRD departments need to have professionally trained and competent staff. If

they have to make an impact, they should enhance the maturity levels of all the above

subsystems. These subsystems have a lot of potential for giving competitive advantage through

the development of employees and their competencies.

3.T J Ramya & PSV Balaji Rao (2016), The HR policies which are adopted in the banks are

same in both private and public sector. From the study it is found that HRM has very good

impact on individual and organizational development.

4.Swetapadma Dash & Dr. Kishore Kumar Das (2016) Employees are fairly satisfied with the

top management initiatives and the organisational culture; they are somewhat dissatisfied with


the commitment level of the employees in their organisation as well as with the employee

relationships and mixed feelings towards the support and encouragement they receive from the

organisation and their officers’ role in their development.

5.Dr. Sandhya Shrivastava (2018), Researcher concluded saying employees are fairly satisfied

with the top management initiatives and the organisational culture, they are somewhat

dissatisfied with the commitment level of the employees in their organisation as well as with

the employee relationships.

6.Dr. Rita Goyal (2018), Researcher interpretated saying HRD Climate in selected branches of

LIC is average and there is a tremendous scope of improvement, there is no significant

difference between the perception of male and female, managers at different level and graduate

and post graduate employees in observance of HRD climate in selected branches of LIC.

7.G, Dipak Kumar , J, Duryodhan & S, Anup Kumar(2019) career planning in Indian public

sector banks is very good. That is why the Indian public sector banks have brought change in

promotion policy after making thorough rigid review.

8.Dr.Satish soni & Bhanu Priya (2019), The bank officers insignificantly differ themselves in

the level of satisfaction on HR practices, yet all respondents have same level of satisfaction

over the HR practices adopted in the banks. The demographic characteristics Gender, Age,

Designation and Work Experience do not influence the level of satisfaction of the Punjab

National Bank on the HRD Practices.

1.2 HRD in Manufacturing or in Production Industries

9. V.ANITHA, S. KAVITHA & M. KAVITHA (2012), Sugar Industry in Tamilnadu is an

important agro-based industry having greater impact on economic development of rural people.

Researcher aims to study the existing personnel policies, appraise the level of HRD, satisfaction

level of employees towards HRD. The results showed that suitable training practices, carrier

planning, reward and recognition and performance appraisal were followed, which in turn remit

higher motivation, encouragement, organizational commitment and level of satisfaction of

workers. The major findings of the study reveal that there is a direct link between the level of

satisfaction of the employees and their motivation. Suggested Understudy mill should think of

preparing a human resource accounting report so to reflect complete details about HR.

10.C. Loganathan& A. Valarmathi (2015), Recruitment and Training found to have strong

correlation with job satisfaction. However, compensation and performance appraisal reflected


weak correlation with job satisfaction. It is recommended that employees should be paid

adequately; their pay package must be competitive and payment must be linked to their

performance. Organization needs to work on training and development practices in order to

retain and enhance skills of employees. Lastly, performance appraisal should be fair and

evaluated at regular intervals.

11.Priya Singh & Shruti C. Nair (2015), tries to evaluate effectiveness of human resource

practices, its relationship and impact on employee retention. The results revealed that human

resource practices used are effective in nature and also shows that there is a significant impact

of human resource practices on the retention of the employees in the organization.

12.Ms. Amena Khatoon (2017), salary increment method is most popular methods for

rewarding good performance, majority of employees are satisfied with transfer policy, Industry

pays high wages, compensations, social securities and perks, job security and employees are

highly satisfied with these facilities. Gym, indoor /outdoor games, meditation /yoga classes,

library facilities and late-night party facilities are provided for entertainment and to reduce

work pressure

13.Geetanjali Bhambhani, Monica Sainy & Rajiv Gupta (2018), Authors aims to investigate

HRD-climate of Infosys Technologies Pune, examine variables contributing to HRD-Climate,

to know different aspects influencing HRD-Climate and scrutinize the environment of HRD-

Climate and OCTAPACE Culture in Infosys. The correlation analysis has observed that all

three components HRD Mechanisms, General climate and OCTAPACE Culture are highly

correlated to each other. Employees are motivated in their organization.

2. HRD in Global Perspective

14.A.A.M. (Ida) Wognum (2001) with a view to create effective HRD interventions, it is

important to investigate which contextual factors have an impact on the effectiveness of

corporate HRD programs and other learning activities and to what extent. In other words: To

what extent does HRD effectiveness vary for organization and HRD related factors. Two

company-related factors were used as selection criteria like the size of the company and its

economic sector. No differences in perceived HRD effectiveness were observed for the factors

size and structure of the organization, structure of the HRD function, and transfer conditions.

Significant differences were found for the problem that serves as starting point for HRD–

company HRD climate, position of the HRD department, and the form the HRD program takes.


15.SUN YOUNG SUNG & JIN NAM CHOI (2014), investigates the effects of various human

resource development (HRD) dimensions on organizational performance. Authors identifies

four distinct dimensions of HRD that reflect either quantitative or qualitative approaches from

either managerial or employee perspectives. A series of structural path analyses confirm that

HRD improves employee commitment and competence, which in turn determine the financial

performance of the organization. The quantitative dimensions of HRD (resource investment in

HRD) predict only employee commitment. On contrary, the qualitative dimensions of HRD

(management support for, and perceived benefits of, HRD) enhance both employee

commitment and competence.

16.Md. Bashir Uddin, Kamrun Naher, Afroza Bulbul, Neser Ahmad & Mohammad Mizanur

Rahman (2016), HRD practices enhance the internal capabilities of an organization to deal with

current or future challenges to be faced by an organization. HRD process variables include role

clarity on a continuous basis, working planning, awareness of competencies and a more

directed efforts to build them, better communication and the practice of HRD values like

openness, trust, pro-active, authenticity, autonomy, confrontation etc.

17.Fotios V. Mitsakis & Dr Eleni Aravopoulou (2016), under this study the authors investigate

the nature and changes of Human Resource Development (HRD) in two Greek banks under the

challenging context of the economic crisis. It examines HRD as it was perceived by different

stakeholders and through a pre and ongoing-crisis assessment approach. Over 75% of

participants in both organizations rated the impact of the crisis as being severe. Overall, the

impact was seen negatively, with pay cuts, redundancies, increased workloads, the suspension

or deferment of training and reduced morale and job satisfaction, being given as the reasons.

18.Hong Thi Thuy Nguyen (2018), Researcher concluded HRD practices at HOU (Hanoi Open

University) are not strong enough in terms of providing employees’ career opportunities,

developing employees’ capacities and utilizing employees’ potentials. Secondly, HRD climate

referring to supporting employees and building team spirit activities is not efficient enough.

Third, HRD is not sufficient enough to enable the employees to develop their competences and

achieve their personal best. Fourth, HOU has not effectively utilized benefits from HRD in

terms of building staff-training policies and implementing staff development programs to gain

better performances. Fifth, technological infrastructure and manpower for online training at

HOU still need improvement to fully actualize their thrusts.


19.Author Robert Yawson (2020) article proposes the use of the Strategic Flexibility

Framework (SFF) to determine the possible futures of HRD post-COVID-19 pandemic. The

COVID-19 pandemic is a game-changer for HRD Research and Practice. Strategic Flexibility

is the capability to respond to a dynamic environment through continuous changes and systemic

actions. SFA (Strategic flexibility analysis) is a four-step framework Anticipation,

Accumulation, Formulation, and Operation, which was first developed by Michael Raynor.

There will be life ‘after COVID-19ʹ too, it will not be as normal, it is the next normal, and we

should do our utmost to make it the best possible future for people in urgent need of help.

Rapid, iterative, strategic flexibility analysis of potential scenarios can optimize HRD research

and make HRD practice even more relevant.

Theoretical frame work for Proposed Study by Researcher:

After thorough verification of varied literature review that are presented. This paper is an

attempt to substantiate the view that the present problems or Proposed study do not find

adequate treatment in the existing literature on the subject. The study is an attempt to analyse

the “The descriptive study of HRD practices of Public General Insurance Companies in

Mumbai”. The Public General Insurance Companies are found to be functioning and

operational in different state and region of India. The inducement of the large workforce in the

organisation needs to be managed properly so that, the chances of conflict and dispute get

reduced. Most of the Public General Insurance Companies are facing the problems of

diversified human resource issues. Many employees who are joining the organisation are

coming from different states with the different background, dialect and education background,

found it difficult to get accustom to the present working condition of the organisation.

Additionally, many more competitors have emerged in the insurance sector with the

inducement of Private organisation which is imposing a great threat to the progress of Public

General Insurance Companies (Ozair, Jamshed, Sharma & Aggarwal,2015). Therefore, the

study scrutinizes prevalent HRD practices in Public General Insurance Companies and overall

HRD climate by examining the variables like Performance Appraisal, Quality of work life,

Organizational Development, Training and Development, Employee Productivity and Prost

covid -19 effect on HRD practices. And researcher takes the liberty to alter the variables

understudy as the research study proceed and situation so demand to make the research more

relevant.


Research Gap

Analysing various literature on HRD, researcher found that enormous research took place in

different sectors, like HRD study in Indian Banking sector, LIC, Private Insurance sector and

in Manufacturing Industries. Lack of literature on Public General Insurance Companies (GIC,

National Insurance Companies Limited, New India Assurance Companies Limited, Oriental

Insurance Companies Limited, United Insurance Company Limited) which are Nationalised

and Government undertaking, provides an opportunity to a researcher to held research on the

said area, which demand to analyse HRD practices in Public General Insurance Companies,

especially after Covid -19. Hence researcher take this research gap as an opportunity to take-

up this as area of research.

Conclusion

Post COVID -19 would shape some areas of HRD functions, as Meaning of work, Work design,

Leadership, Contactless work would change and it would encourage to held new HRD research

and practices. HRD in Indian industry context found to be satisfactory but on other hand, to the

world context it is found to be not efficient enough to support employee and to build team

spirit. There is always scope for change and room for improvement. Undoubtedly developed

and satisfied HR will bring development to any organisation. This paper will guide the

researchers to come up with a vision and will open avenue towards development of Human

resources across various sector.

References

Rao. T.V. (1990), The human resource development machinery. Sage Publication, New Delhi.

Nonaka, I. (1994) A Dynamic theory of organisational knowledge creation. Organisation Science 5:1,

14–35

Michael, V.P (1995), HRM and Human Relations. Himalaya publishing house, NewDelhi, PP, 155

Jain, V. k., (2000) New Trends in human resource Management, RBSA publishers, Jaipur, India PP-1-

11.

Wang, G. D. (2002), A system approach to measuring returns on investment for HRD program. Human

Resources Development Quarterly, 13(2), pp. 203-224

A.Din. Pangotra (2013), A Textbook of Human resource management with practical up-Gradation,

Asian book Pvt ,Ltd, New Delhi ,ISBN 978-8412-193-3

Ozair, F.F., Jamshed, N., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015). Ethical issues in electronic health

records: a general overview. Perspectives in clinical research, 6(2),73.


Literature review references

1.An empirical study on HRD climate and its impact on Job performance in Private Insurance

companies in Odisha, ZENITH International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol.2 Issue

5, May 2012, ISSN 2231 5780, Pg15-28

2.Study of HRD Concepts, Structure of HRD Departments, and HRD Practices in India,

IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6, Year 2014, ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print), International

Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com, PP 255-263

3.A Study on current HR practices and policies adopted by commercial Banks in India, Vol.04

Issue-08, (August, 2016) ISSN: 2321-1784 International Journal in Management and Social

Science (Impact Factor- 5.276) IJMSS , Page 257-269

4.HRD CLIMATE IN INSURANCE SECTOR: A Study with Special Reference to Life

Insurance Corporation of (LIC) India, International Journal of Research in IT and Management

(IJRIM) Available online at : http://euroasiapub.org/current.php?title=IJRIM Vol. xIssue x,

August 2016, pp. 5~18 ISSN(o): 2231-4334 | Impact Factor: 5.96 ,Pg. 6-18

5.HRD climate in insurance sector: A Study with Special Reference to Life Insurance

Corporation of (LIC) India, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BASIC AND APPLIED

RESEARCH www.pragatipublication.com ISSN 2249-3352 (P) 2278-0505 (E), Received: 5

December Revised: 13 December Accepted: 22 December Index in Cosmos January 2018

Volume 8 Number 1 UGC APPROVED, Pg.203-217

6.An empirical study of HRD climate in insurance companies, International Journal of

Research in Social Sciences Vol. 8, Issue 8(1), August 2018, ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor:

7.081 Journal Homepage: http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected],Pg.365-371

7.Human Resource Development Climate (HRDC) and Career Planning – A Challenge for

Public Sector Banks (India), Revista ESPACIOS. ISSN 0798 1015 Vol. 40 (Nº 14) Year 2019

8.HRD Practices Adopted by Punjab National Bank with Reference to Kangra District

Himachal Pradesh, IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 24,

Issue 1, Ver. 1 (January. 2019) 59-64 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.

www.iosrjournals.org

9. An evaluation of HRD practices in private sector sugar mills in Tamil Nadu,

ACADEMICIA: A N I N T E R N A T I O N A L M U L T I D I S C I P L I N A R Y R E S E

mailto:[email protected],Pg.365-371

http://www.iosrjournals.org/


A R C H J O U R N A L, Published by: South Asian Academic Research Journals, Volume 2,

Issue 1 (January, 2012) ISSN 2249-7137

10. A study on effectiveness of HR practices and policies on job satisfaction with reference to

textile industries in Tamilnadu, India, Vol.03 Issue-11 (November, 2015) ISSN: 2321-1784

International Journal in Management and Social Science (Impact Factor- 4.358), IJMSS , Page

168-180

11. Impact of human resource practices on employee retention - a case study of JK Tyre &

Industries limited, Delhi, Anusandhan The Research Repository, Volume 2, Number 1, August

2014 - July 2015

12. Human resource development in the Technological Era,International Journal of Academic

Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.4, Issue-1(4), January, 2017 Impact Factor: 4.535; Email:

[email protected]

13. An Empirical Research on Impact of HRD Climate on Infosys Pune, Journal of Technology

Management for Growing Economies Vol. 9, No. 1 April, 2018 pp. 7-21

14. Does HRD Effectiveness Vary for Organization- and HRD-Related Factors? Performance

Improvement Quarterly, 14(3) pp. 133-147, VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3/2001

15. Multiple dimensions of human resource development and organizational performance,

Journal of Organizational Behavior, J. Organiz. Behav. 35, 851–870 (2014) Published online

28 April 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.1933

16.The Impact of Human Resource Development (HRD) Practices on Organizational

Effectiveness: A Review, Asian Business Review ●Volume 6 ●Number 3/2016, ISSN 2304-

2613 (Print); ISSN 2305-8730 (Online), Pg no.131-140

17. The Impact of the Economic Crisis upon Human Resource Development (HRD): Evidence

from two Greek Banks, International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2016, Vol

1 No 2: 67-82 doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.1.117, Pg. 67-82

18. Towards human resource development at Hanoi Open University, Asian Association of

Open Universities Journal Vol. 13 No. 2, 2018 pp. 223-235 Emerald Publishing Limited 2414-

6994 DOI 10.1108/AAOUJ-12-2018-0031, www.emeraldinsight.com

19. Strategic flexibility analysis of HRD research and practice post COVID-19 pandemic,

human resource development international https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1779169 ,

2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, [email protected]


http://www.emeraldinsight.com/



PUBLIC PROVIDENT FUND (PPF)- SERVING INDIA FOR DECADES

Dr. Gagan J. Bhatia

Assistant Professor, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Managemet, Mumbai

Prof. Ritika Vohra Kathuria

Assistant Professor, Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Managemet, Mumbai

Abstract

The Pubic Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the most popular schemes among Indian salaried & business

class people. Public Provident Fund, popularly known as PPF, is a savings cum tax saving instrument.

It also serves as a retirement planning tool for many of those who do not have any structured pension

plan covering them. The product has been darling of Indian middle class investors from quite some

time. The selling point of the product is its security: Being a government-guaranteed scheme, the

investor’s money is completely secure in this product. The benefits of PPF are two-fold. Not only it

enables the investor to save tax on the invested capital, but also the interest income from the scheme is

tax-free. The scheme came into force on 1st July, 1968.

PPF per se has been serving Indians relentlessly through decades. It is one of the most trusted financial

products in the country. This article throws light on PPF as successful financial product in the country

& identifies the reasons behind this achievement. The product is hailed as the most secure in terms of

capital appreciation & security.

The data regarding the topic has been collected by various sources such as books, websites, research

journals, magazines & newspapers.

Keywords: Public provident fund, PPF, 80C, Tax saving

Introduction

The Pubic Provident Scheme is one of the most popular financial products in the country. The

people of India have a very high connect with this scheme. The PPF account can be opened in

a post office or designated PSU bank branches. The current rate of interest offered by the

scheme is 7.1% per annum. The rate offered by the scheme is revised in the month of April

every year. It is above 0.25% the 10-year government of India bond yield. The calculation is

done every month & the interest on balance is compounded annually. The interest is calculated






on the lowest balance between the fifth and last day of every month. The interest rates on the

scheme have fluctuated over a period of time. It has been in the range of 13% to 7% since the

year 1986. The product has given the highest interest rate which was 13% during the period

April 1986 to January 2000. The current interest rate offered by the scheme is 7.1%.

The investment under the scheme is eligible for tax deduction under 80C provision of the

income tax act. Also, the maturity amount including the interest & the principle are not liable

for taxation. Even Non Resident Indians (NRI)s can invest in PPF, provided the PPF account

had been opened before the person became an NRI. NRIs cannot open a new account or extend

the scheme beyond its maturity.

Objective

The objective of this article is to highlight & analyze the reasons behind the success of Public

provident Fund (PPF) as a financial product.

Literature Review

An article in (DNA Newspaper 2020), describes how a meagre amount of Rs. 1000 deposited

per month can turn to Rs. 26.32 lakhs if invested in PPF. The article says that if an individual

starts investing Rs 1000 per month at the age of 20 years & invests up to 40 years in PPF

account, this small amount can be grown to Rs 26.32 lakhs. The tenure of the PPF account

which is for 15 years initially, can be extended by a 5-year period, for 5 times more after the

initial 15 years. Thus, the account can be held for a period of 40 years at a go.

According to (The Economic Times Wealth Newspaper 2021), the rate of interest that PPF

provides is directly in sync with Government of India (GOI) bonds. The article also suggests

that a minimum amount of rs. 500 should be invested annually in the PPF account, so that the

account does not go dormant. If an amount excess of Rs.1.5 lakh is invested in PPF account,

even by mistake, the interest is only earned on the limit of Rs. 1.5 lakhs.

(TaxGuru.com 2014), in an article gives a detailed analysis of the PPF scheme. One of the

things the article does mention is that the PPF account can be operated in a joint name, i.e.,

unlike the savings account PPF account is operated or opened only on an individual basis. But

there can be nomination(s) which can be given at the time of opening the account. Also, in due

course, the nomination(s) can be modified by submitting Form F, to the designated bank or

post office in which the account is operated. PPF is a safe product, government backed and is

a tax beneficial investment, which has low risk.


Financial Products in India

In India, there are a large number of financial products. These are from risk free low returns

fixed deposits which offer around 5-6% interest rate per annum to mutual funds & systematic

investment plans which invest in stock market & thereby they have no fixed percentage of

return. In fact, there is a risk involved of capital erosion, as the investment of many of these

products is directly in equity markets.

PPF- A Financial Success:

PPF or Public Provident Fund is a saving scheme managed by the Central Government,

aimed to benefit small savers over the long term. It is one of the most preferred options for

individuals who are looking for guaranteed returns on their savings, without any market

risk. It is typically suited for small savers who want to deposit a part of their savings in

their PPF account regularly and accumulate a corpus in the long run. The current interest

rate for Q1 (April-June) FY 2021-22 for PPF accounts has been fixed at 7.1%.

India since its good old days as a country believes in power of savings. Indians as a

community are supposed to be diligent savers. People in India tend to save money, not

only to achieve their short term goals but also their long term goals like marriage, child

education, etc. Saving money takes an automatic course from an early childhood. The

traditional values of saving money to lead a comfortable life are imbibed in a child from

a very young age. Since childhood, children see their parents saving money. Saving habits

are perhaps the primary reason why most Indians retire with sufficient money to fund a

comfortable lifestyle after retirement. The tool to help them save money is none other than

their trusted financial product i.e. Public provident Fund

Indians rely on PPF to achieve their long term goals. The money received after the maturity

of the product is generally used by the people to accomplish the goals they aspire for. In a

span of 15 years people go through a lot of hardships to save a certain amount of money

for their PPF account. This wealth, built over period of time, can serve multiple purposes

such as catering to the education of children, retirement and even medical emergencies.

For instance, Mr. A saves about Rs.1 lakh/ annum in the PPF account. Considering the

present rate of interest offered by the trust, which is 7.1%, if Mr. A deposits 1 lakh/annum

for 15 years without withdrawing the money in this span, he will end up with an amount


close to 28 lakhs after 15 years. The effective yield or the compounded yield comes out to

be 14%, which is able to beat the inflation in the longer run.

The products also allows the investors to withdraw the money after the sixth year, but it

cannot exceed 50% of the balance at the end of fourth year, or the immediate preceding

year, whichever is lower. The interest rate for the loan is charged at 2% till 36 months,

and 6% for longer tenures. Till a loan is repaid, an investor cannot take more loans. Thus,

the product serves as a cushion to investors by allowing them to withdraw money from

their account which investors can avail of during exigencies.

Another feature which PPF provides is that the amount the investor wishes to invest in the

said scheme can be invested in 12 installments. Thus, the burden of a large sum of amount

to be invested in the scheme is eased off. Also, there is a clause which states that the

minimum investment required in the year is Rs. 500. Thus the investor does not carry the

liability that a hefty amount has to be compulsorily invested. If the investor fails to put in

this amount, there is a penalty of Rs. 50 charged.

A PPF account matures in 15 years, but the tenure can be extended in the blocks of five

years after maturity. The balance continues to earn interest at the normal rate. So, basically,

you can convert your PPF investment into a five-year deposit that offers 8% tax-free

interest, tax saving under Sec 80C and immense liquidity —- and all this for your lifetime.

The minimum investment of Rs.500 has to be maintained even for accounts extended

beyond 15 years. .

Another reason why PPF has been so successful in India is that the product since its

inception has had a positive word of mouth. Investors tend to pass on their secrets of

investing to their children. Thus, the product has had an automatic and a free of cost

promotion & the positive word of mouth has been passed since decades.

Opening PPF account is a very simple & uncomplicated process. This account can be

opened with post office & designated PSU bank branches. The account can be opened by

an individual in his own name, on behalf of a minor of whom he is a guardian, or by a

Hindu Undivided Family. The PPF account cannot be opened in joint names. On death of

subscriber in case of individual PPF account, it can be closed before maturity


PPF presents a wonderful opportunity to not only to save their money to attain goals, but

also benefits them by giving tax rebates. Investments under the said scheme fall under the

category of 80 C, wherein amount up to Rs. 1.5 lakh is exempted from taxation.

For Instance, Mr. ‘X’ earns a salary of Rs. 4 lakhs per annum. If Mr. X does not make any

kind of investment, he will be levied a tax of 5% plus surcharge & education cess on the

amount of Rs.1.5 lakh, after taking exemption of 2.5 lakhs into consideration. The income

tax of Mr. ‘X’ the year turns out to be somewhere close to Rs.7600. But if he invests Rs.

1.5 lakh in PPF, his tax liability stands nil. Thus not only Mr. ‘X’ avails the benefit of

7.1% interest on the PPF but also he tends to save around Rs 7600. Thus the percentage

of annual savings in this case turns out to be 14% if you club the benefits of interest

generated on income & tax saving.

The amount on maturity from PPF is tax free. This means that after a lock in period of 15

years, the principle amount along with the interest obtained is tax-free.

The product does not carry any risk, since it is promoted by the Government of India. Thus

the money of the investors is very secure. The product per se has proved to be a capital

building instrument for the investors over a period of time. The product has bee able to

grow the capital for the investors at a considerable rate over a period of time without the

any risks. PPF has been able to break the myth that capital appreciation can be done only

via stock markets. A disciplined investment approach over a period of time allows

investors to reap dual benefits of capital appreciation & tax savings.


Exploratory research is undertaken to explore the reasons for PPF being in ascendency & being

the most popular among Indian people. The data collection is secondary as it is based on various

sources such as books, magazines & newspapers. The articles from various newspapers &

from the internet have been extensively referred and used for the purpose of exploring the

research issue. Also, calculators available on various websites are used for calculation of the

maturity amount for PPF.

Conclusion

A Public Provident Fund (PPF) account is the most tax efficient vehicle launched by

government of India. Not only can the investors reap the benefit of tax saving, but also

considerable capital is built over a period of 15 years. An investment of 1.5 lakh rupees per


annum turns out close to Rs.28 lakhs after a time frame of 15 years. The product has been a

cynosure of the eyes of Indian investors since quite some time. There is tremendous feeling of

likeability for the product as far as the middle class population of the country is concerned.

Indians investors have witnessed the year 2008 stock markets crash, where all the major Indian

indices were at an all time low. This wiped off a huge savings of the people. PPF as a financial

instrument provides aversion to such kinds of risks. It also provides the investors a vehicle to

park their hard earned funds without any fears. The researcher is of the opinion that PPF will

continue to bask in glory as one of the most preferred financial products for the Indian

investors.

References

Khanna Smita, Reverse Mortgage:Hits & Misses, The Economic Times Newspaper, April 29th 2008

Shanbhag Sandeep, Make no mistake, a PPF account is forever, The Daily News and Analysis

Newspaper, Aug 17th 2011

Sinha Prabhakar, PPF Vs Equity, The Times Of India Newspaper, Oct 27th 2007

5 things to know about the PPF, The Economic Times Wealth Newspaper, Febuary 23rd 2011

7 things to know about Public Provident Fund : The Economic Times Wealth Newspaper, January 11th

2021

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Provident_Fund_%28India%29

http://www.indiantaxupdates.com/2013/02/12/public-provident-fund-ppf-at-glance/

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/ppf.aspx

http://maxutils.com/sm/ppf.htm

http://www.ppfcalculator.co.in/calculate/?a=100000

http://www.math.com/students/calculators/source/compound.htm

https://www.paisabazaar.com/saving-schemes/ppf-interest-rates/

https://www.dnaindia.com/personal-finance/report-ppl-account-find-how-to-turn-rs-34-to-rs-26-

lakhs-learn-trick-budget-hack-personal-finance-money-saver-public-provident-fund-

investment-future-savings-2899552

https://cleartax.in/s/ppf-account

https://taxguru.in/income-tax/analysis-public-provident-fund-ppf-scheme.html

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A STUDY ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SECTOR IN

MUMBAI

Ms. Akshaya Bagwe

Phd Research Scholar-University of Mumbai, Assistant Professor, BFM Department

Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai 400056

E-Mail ID: [email protected]

Dr. Neelam Arora

PhD Research Guide-University of Mumbai, Principal, Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce

and Economics, Mumbai 400034. E-Mail ID: [email protected]

Abstract

India ranks second in terms of its population on world map, showing increasing trend in its GDP

growth. Hence, this makes India as emerging business location and its favourable demographics makes

it attractive place for property investors. In the past, real estate sector was one of the unorganised

sectors with lack of transparency, lack of standardisation in laws etc. However, with recent

developments, Real estate sector is witnessing greater organisation and transparency due to various

regulatory reforms. Due to reforms introduced in real estate industry, demand for residential,

commercial and retail real estate is rising across India. However, increase in the disposable income,

rapidly growing middle class, innovative housing loan products, increased urbanisation and growing

nuclear families are crucial factors responsible for growth of residential Real estate industry. The

residential sector is expected to grow in next few years due to tax incentives, emergence of regulatory

authority, variety of housing finance products etc.

Keywords: Land, RERA, Real estate industry

Introduction

Real estate sector consists of four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial and

one of the globally recognised sector. Corporate environment and the demand for office space

as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations has resulted into boost in demand in Real

estate sector. The Real estate industry ranks third among major sectors in terms of direct,



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indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the economy. In India, the real estate sector is the

second-highest employment generator. It is also expected that this sector can witness more

investment by non-resident Indian (NRI) investment, both in the short term and the long term.

It is expected that by 2040, real estate market will grow to Rs. 65,000 crore from Rs. 12,000

crore in 2019 and market size of US$ 1 trillion by 2030 from US$ 120 billion in 2017 and

contribute 13% to the country’s GDP by 2025. Retail, hospitality, and commercial real estate

are also growing significantly, providing the much-needed infrastructure for India's growing

needs. According to Savills India, real estate demand for data centres is expected to increase

by 15-18 million sq. ft. by 2025. Retail real estate segment attracted private equity (PE)

investments of US$ 220 million and US$ 971 million, respectively, in 2020. Housing launches

were 86,139 units across the top eight Indian cities in the second half of 2020. Home sales

volume across eight major cities in India jumped by 2x to 61,593 units from October 2020 to

December 2020, compared with 33,403 units in the previous quarter, signifying healthy

recovery post the strict lockdown imposed in the second quarter due to the spread of COVID-

19 in the country.

According to the Economic Times Housing Finance Summit, about 3 houses are built per 1,000

people per year compared with the required construction rate of five houses per 1,000

population. The current shortage of housing in urban areas is estimated to be ~10 million units.

An additional 25 million units of affordable housing are required by 2030 to meet the growth

in the country’s urban population.

Indian real estate sector has witnessed high growth in the recent times with rise in demand for

office as well as residential spaces. In July 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India

lowered the minimum application value for Real Estate Investment Trusts from Rs. 50,000

(US$ 685.28) to Rs. 10,000-15,000 (US$ 137.06 - US$ 205.59) to make the market more

accessible to small and retail investors.

According to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

Policy (DPIIT), construction is the third-largest sector in terms of FDI inflow. FDI in the sector

(including construction development & activities) stood at US$ 50.8 billion between April

2000 and March 2021.

Some of the major investments and developments in this sector are as follows:


In the top seven cities, housing sales increased by 29% and new launches by 51% in

the fourth quarter of FY21. Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune together

accounted for 83% sales in the same quarter.

Demand for residential real estate revived in Q4 FY21 as homebuyers took advantage

of low mortgage rates and incentives rendered by developers. Residential sales in this

quarter recovered to >90% volumes recorded in 2020 across the top seven cities.

In 2021, working remotely is being adopted at a fast pace and demand for affordable

houses with ticket size below Rs. 40-50 lakh is expected to rise in Tier 2 and 3 cities,

leading to an increase in prices in those geographies.

In April 2021, HDFC Capital Advisors (HDFC Capital) partnered with Cerberus

Capital Management (Cerberus) to create a platform that will focus on high-yield

opportunities in the residential real estate sector in India. The platform seeks to

purchase inventory and provide last-mile funding for under construction residential

projects across the country.

In March 2021, Godrej Properties announced it would launch 10 new real estate

projects in Q4.

Government Initiatives

Government of India along with the governments of respective States has taken several

initiatives to encourage development in the sector. The Smart City Project, with a plan to build

100 smart cities, is a prime opportunity for real estate companies. Below are some of the other

major Government initiatives:

Introduction of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in each state for regulation

of the real estate sector

Under Union Budget 2021-22, tax deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh (US$ 2069.89) on

interest on housing loan, and tax holiday for affordable housing projects have been

extended until the end of fiscal 2021-22.

The Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package announced by Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala

Sitharaman in November 2020 included income tax relief measures for real estate

developers and homebuyers for primary purchase/sale of residential units of value (up

to Rs. 2 crore (US$ 271,450.60) from November 12, 2020 to June 30, 2021).


In October 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched an

affordable rental housing complex portal.

On October 27, 2020, the government announced the application of Real Estate

(Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

This has paved the way for any Indian citizen to buy non-agricultural land and property,

as opposed to the eligibility of only local residents earlier.


Dr. Bhartendu Kr. Chaturvedi, Mr. Ayush Sharma attempted to study on ‘Anticipating

and Gearing up Real Estate Sector in India’ and concluded that the Indian real estate

market is growing and there is significant untapped potential. The long-term demand

drivers for real estate in all sectors are positive.

J.Chadchana and R.Shankar conducted an analysis of urban growth trends in the post-

economic reforms period in India and suggested that the In order to preserve, the loss

of fertile agricultural land and to make available, affordable housing units with efficient

public transport accessibility, it is imperative to evolve and adopt an alternative

sustainable urban development pattern.

Cushman and Wakefield, (2014); publish journal on Indian Real Estate: Poised for

Higher Growth. and conducted demand – supply gap analysis in residential sector and

stated that Further, the long gestation periods in residential projects being started and

completed due to delays in approvals expose developers to multi-fold risks due to

change in market conditions. To prevent this and ensure timely completions, single

window clearance mechanism should be implemented and processes should be

automated to reduce time.

Sukrit Basu attempted to study Emerging Trends in Indian Residential Real Estate

Market With Reference To Pune and concluded that though the global recovery in

residential real estate market will be gradual, the Indian situation is unique.

Prashant Das, Vivek Sah, Divyanshu Sharma, Vinod Singh, and Louis Galuppo (2013)

presented article on Real Estate Development Process in India and stated that Real

estate development in emerging markets lacks transparency and is rather a ‘black box’

to foreign direct investors.

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Objective of the Study

1. To study the current status & growth of Real estate sector.

2. To study the various opportunities available for real estate sector.

3. To analyse the transformation in the Real estate sector.

Need of the Study

1. The study can be very useful in understanding opportunities available in Real estate

sector.

2. This study will also help in understanding transformation in Real estate sector.


1. The study is limited to only the Mumbai region.

2. The study is limited to the residential Real estate sector.


The study is based secondary data that has been collected through various secondary sources

such as magazines, various other published reports etc. The data has been analysed further in

light of the objectives of the study cited above.

Analysis

The Real estate (Regulation and Development) Act,2016, an act of the parliament of India was

passed to establish the real estate regulatory authority for regulation and promotion of the real

estate sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment or building or sale of real estate project in an

efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumer in the real estate sector.

This has helped to deal with issues like delays, price, quality of construction, and other changes.

The act has also establish an adjudicating mechanism for speedy dispute release. This has

helped builders especially in redevelopment cases to speed up the work as redevelopment

projects used to be pending for years and years before introduction of RERA.

Also, the Government has assigned responsibility of each state regulator to register the real

estate project and real estate agent operating in their state under RERA. The Details of all the

registered projects will be put on the Website of public access. Developers can’t invite,

advertise, sell, offer, market or book any plot, apartment, house, building, investment in project,

without first registering it with the regulator authority. Further, more, after registration, all the

advertisements inviting investment will have bear the RERA registration number. This has

helped investors to check all project details through RERA registration number before making


any investment. This initiative has contributed a lot to bring more transparency in the real estate

industry.

Delays in projects are the biggest issue faced by buyers in real estate industry. The reasons for

delay were diversion of funds to other projects, changes in regulation by authorities, the

environment ministry, national green tribunal etc. Under the RERA Act, the promoter of a real

estate development firm has to maintain a separate escrow account to each of these projects. A

minimum 70% of the money from investor and buyers will have to be deposited. This money

can only be used for construction of projects and cost of borne towards land. RERA requires

the builders to submit the original approved plans for their ongoing projects and alteration that

they made later. They also have to furnish details of revenue collected from allotters, how the

funds are utilized, the timeline for construction, completion and delivery that will need to be

certified by an engineer/Architect/Practicing Chartered Accountant. Developer needs to add

completion date of the project and can seek for further extension of six months to complete

project. However, not meeting this deadline will attract monetary penalty and developer has to

pay interest to investors. This has boosted the confidence of investors to invest in under

construction projects. Leading to more demand for under construction houses as it costs less

compared to finished projects to the buyers or investors. This creates opportunities for bossing

demand in residential sector. This has also led to boost demand redevelopment projects. As

residents are willing to go for redevelopment.

Government initiatives for affordable housing, tax relief measures and introduction of subsidies

have created huge scope for residential real estate sector in future. Introduction of innovative

housing products, less interest rates, Repo rate linked interest rate policy have added more

opportunities for residential real estate sector.

Conclusion

RERA Act can be classified as buyers’ protection act and also it is useful for the builders with

a high budget as well as middle class people. Due to this act builders are mandatorily bound to

include the technical and professional people. All the possible ways of corruption are totally

altered. Corruption between the agents and the builders could be stopped to a greater extent.

This has established real estate project process to be highly transparent.

With introduction of all such measures, buyers are willing to invest in more RERA approved

projects. Demand for under construction projects have also increased significantly. Calculation


of prices based on RERA carpet have also added feather in buyers cap as prices will be in

controlled and leaves no scope for manipulation for developers.

Responding to an increasingly well-informed consumer base, the most marked change has been

the shift from family-owned businesses to that of professionally managed ones. Real estate

developers, in meeting the growing need for managing multiple projects across cities, are also

investing in centralised processes to source material and organise manpower and hiring

qualified professionals in areas like project management, architecture and engineering. The

residential sector is expected to grow significantly, with the central government aiming to build

20 million affordable houses in urban areas across the country by 2022, under the ambitious

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban

Affairs.

References

Dr. Bhartendu Kr. Chaturvedi and Mr. Ayush Sharma (2015), Anticipating and Gearing up Real Estate

Sector in India, International Journal of Business and Management Invention, Online ISSN:

2319 – 8028 Print ISSN: 2319 – 801X, www.ijbmi.org, Volume 4 Issue 5, May. 2015, PP-11-

16

J.Chadchana and R.Shankar (2012), An analysis of urban growth trends in the post-economic reforms

period in India, International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, Volume 1, Issue

1, June 2012, Pages 36-49

Cushman and Wakefield, (2014), Indian Real Estate: Poised For Higher Growth, A Cushman &

Wakefield Research Publication, October 2014, Page no. 12 to 14.

Sukrit Basu (2014), Study Of Emerging Trends In Indian Residential Real Estate Market With Reference

To Pune, Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Commerce &

Management, Volume 3, Issue 6 , June, 2014, ISSN - 2277-1166, Page No. 70 To 83.

Prashant Das, Vivek Sah, Divyanshu Sharma, Vinod Singh, and Louis Galuppo (2013) Real Estate

Development Process in India. Journal of Real Estate Literature: 2013, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 271-

292.

RERA Act

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URBANIZATION INDUCED INEQUALITY: THE PLIGHT OF SLUM DWELLERS

Litton Prosad Mowalie

Research Scholar, Department of Commerce and Management, Shivaji University, Kolhapur,

MS. E-mail: [email protected]. Mob: 9635585650

Prof. A. M. Gurav

Professor, Department of Commerce and Management, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, MS.

E-Mail: [email protected], Mob: 9850012545

Abstract

Rapid industrialization all over the globe has fueled urbanizations in recent times. However,

urbanization is not a new phenomenon, it dates back many centuries back. Urbanization is a process

by which a great number of people become temporarily or permanently concentrated or settled in small

areas thus forming cities. People huddles to cities for various reasons like better access to job

opportunities, better health, higher education, and better life. In addition, sometimes people migrate to

cities due to lack of employment or underemployment in rural areas. Due to the great influx of people

rushing to cities, major cities of the world are overcrowded and greatly suffocating. One of the by-

products of urbanization is slums. The slums are called the ‘pockets of poverty ’. The slum dwellers

face economic inequalities, social disparity, discrimination, and challenges due to rapid and unplanned

urbanization. Thus directly and indirectly urbanization induces or contributes to inequalities of the

slum dwellers. The present paper is empirical. The geographical scope of the study is Kolhapur City

and the sample respondents are slum- dwellers. A total of 6 different slums from 64 slums of Kolhapur

city has been chosen for the study. The researchers used the non-probability purposive sampling method

to select the slums, identify the respondents, and collect the data. The basic aim of this paper, first of

all, is to explore the actual conditions of slum dwellers of the selected slums of Kolhapur city. Secondly,

it is to discover the issues and challenges of slum dwellers of the city. Finally, it is to investigate how

and in what way urbanization induces inequality in the selected slums of the city. The paper concludes

that the slum-dwellers suffer social and economic inequality in various dimensions and urbanization

contributes towards it.

Key Words: Slums, Slum Dwellers, Economic Inequality, Social Inequality, Urbanization, Challenges

of Slum Dwellers.






I. Introduction

Urbanization is not a phenomenon of recent times. Though the rapid industrialization all around

the globe has accelerated the speed of urbanization in recent times; yet its origin dates back to

many centuries ago. Mark (2014) described that the process of urbanization begun in ancient

Mesopotamia during the Uruk period between 4300-3100 BCE. Today, urbanization is a global

issue impregnated with many positive as well as negative results.

Duignan (2019) in Encyclopaedia Britannica defined urbanization as “the process by which

large numbers of people become permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming

cities”. Every year millions of people migrate from villages or countryside to cities. The world's

urbanization surpassed fifty percent in 2009. As per the estimates of the United Nations, the

urban areas will be absorbing the projected two and half billion global population growth. It

will further continue to draw in some rural populations over the coming forty years or so

(Liddle, 2017). People often migrate to cities to have better access to job opportunities, better

health, higher education, and better life which is a pull factor of cities. On the other hand, the

issue of under-employment and various types of unemployment in the rural work environments

caused prime migration patterns because unemployed folks realized that cities availed better

income and livelihood to the troubled lot (Humanity, 2017). This can be termed as the pushed

factor. Due to this pull and push factor, a great influx of people come to live in cities, thus

causing the major cities of the world to be overcrowded, jam-packed, and greatly suffocating

(Karn, et al., 2003). Among the poor ones who arrive in cities are those without education and

employable skills. So they engage themselves in manual and very low-paid jobs available in

cities. To survive and cope up, they then live in the poorest conditions and unhealthy

neighborhoods where food is limited, sanitation is unthinkable, health care is rare, safe drinking

water is insufficient, house condition is pathetic and safety and security are very minimal. The

poor neighborhood areas of the city where these poor folks and economically weak ones live

are coined with the word “slums”. UN-HABITAT defines a slum household as “a group of

individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following:

durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions,

sufficient living space which means no more than three people sharing the same room. Easy

access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price. Access to adequate sanitation

in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of people. Security of


tenure that prevents forced evictions.” The UN-Habitat for Humanity further expounds this

concept by adding that one of the persistent by-products of urbanization is ‘pockets of poverty,

‘neighborhood decay’ called ‘slums’. Urbanization thus somehow directly contributes to the

development of slums, imbalances, and inequalities and consequently the slum dwellers suffer.

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary (2021) defines Inequality as “the difference in

social status, wealth, or opportunity between people or groups”. The United Nations looks into

inequality from two different angles: “inequality of outcomes” (i.e. individuals lacks the

similar levels of material wealth or all-inclusive living economic condition) and “inequality of

opportunities” (i.e. unequal access to employment or education; and difficulty in having the

freedom to choose one type of life rather than another) ( United Nations, 2015). This definition

fits well with the slums dwellers who suffer due to poor economic conditions and unequal

access to employment and education. In the context of inequality of distributions of wealth,

economic status, poor living conditions, and limited opportunities of slum dwellers, the present

paper is a humble endeavor of the researchers to peek into urbanization-induced inequalities in

the slums of Kolhapur City. The researchers thus, first of all, strives to empirically explore

actual conditions of slum dwellers of Kolhapur city, Maharashtra State, India. Secondly, the

paper elaborates on the basic issues and challenges of the slum dwellers of the city. Finally, it

renders an effort to look at how or in what way urbanization induces inequality of the slum

dwellers. The concept of urban inequality in slums has been investigated in the context of

monthly income, type of house, monthly medical expense, children's educational qualification,

the experiences of biased and prejudiced treatment, social exclusion and isolation, types of

violence faced by women, and other parameters considered for the study.

II. Review of Literature

As per the report published by United Nations, it is found that “a sixth of the world's population

— nearly 1 billion people — live in slums, and that number could double by 2030 if developed

nations don't reverse course and start giving the issue a serious attention” (CBS News, 2003;

Mahabir et al., 2016). Bolay (2006) pointed that the “slum is not only a manifestation of

mismanaged urban planning but is also a sign that the slum is a crucial element of contemporary

urbanization”. Unplanned, unorganized, and rapid urbanizations over the years led to many

negative outcomes. Lack of proper housing and development of slums is one of them.

Urbanizations further escalated poverty and issues of unemployment. Crime, pollution, issues


of heath, poorly managed artificial or man-made calamities and disasters added unwanted

catastrophes too. Thus inequalities of various shades and dimensions have been caused by

urbanization irrespective of its positive contributions.

D’souza (1979) pointed that the slum dwellers are part of the lowest rugs of the social

hierarchy. Therefore, they have a very low status which seems to be socially inherited and it

continues to perpetuate. Behrens (2014) delineated that countries all over the world are

experiencing urbanization and there is a sharp rise in earnings inequality in cities.

Unfortunately, these inequalities can be greatly observed among the slum dwellers. Ahmad

(2015) brought this into focus that the slum dwellers of India suffered due to the inequality of

their housing in urban society. Liddle (2017) found that a high level of urbanization leads to

poverty and rural-urban gaps. The researcher further pointed that any increase in urbanization

aggravates poverty. Therefore, it is seen that though urbanization is indispensable for

development, yet when it is done haphazardly, it leads to inequalities and sufferings of the poor

households. Kuddus et al. (2020) pointed that “urban settings contribute to inequalities and

health problems”. United Nations (2021) reported that the “growing number of slum dwellers

is the result of both urbanization and population growth”. Urbanization affects urban equity

and inclusion, general health and safety, and livelihood opportunities for everyone and

especially the slum dwellers. The slum dwellers are affected significantly due to urbanization.

Urbanization has its adverse effect on both developed and developing nations. Therefore, the

former studies have exhibited that urbanization has both a direct and indirect link to inequalities

(economic and social). Therefore, on the foundation of the preceding framework, the present

researchers sought to discover how the slum dwellers of Kolhapur city experienced inequality

due to rapid urbanization in Kolhapur city and what challenges they had to face.

Kolhapur is one of the ancient and oldest cities in Maharashtra. The Census of India (2011)

reports that Kolhapur City is said to have been built by King Karnadeva of Chalukya Kingdom

around 550 A.D. to 660 A.D. and embellished by the Silahara rulers of Kolhapur in the 9th

century which represents the best Hindu architectural model of its kind. The legend goes that

the name ‘Kolhapur’ was derived from the story of a demon called ‘Kole’(Kolhapur) who was

defeated and killed on a hill in the vicinity of Kolhapur. Kolhapur is a city with a population

of 5, 49,236 as per the record. The population of the city increased from 29.8 percent in 2001

to 31.7 percent in 2011. Kolhapur city has a total of 64 slums, 46 of which are notified by the


Municipal Corporation to date. The slums are both located on the property of Municipal

Corporation, Government of India, and as well on private property. The number of households

in each slum is about 30 to 177 and the population is about 400 to 1300. According to the 2011

Census of India, the slum population is 94,650, which is about 15% of the total population of

Kolhapur city (Patil, 2013). The Times of India in 2016 reported that the slum dwellers in

Kolhapur city lived in high poverty (TNN, 2016). Therefore, in contexts of the slum dwellers'

issues and challenges, the present paper strives to give an empirical overview.

III. Objectives of the Study

The primary focus of research is usually expressed in terms of the aims and objectives of the

research. The research objectives of this paper are as follows:

1) To explores the actual conditions of slum dwellers of the selected slums of Kolhapur

city.

2) To discover the issues and challenges of slum dwellers of Kolhapur City.

3) To investigate how and in what way urbanization induces inequality in the selected

slums of the city.

III. Research Methodology

The present research paper is empirical. The researchers have selected 6 different slums out of

64 slums from Kolhapur city based on the non-probability purposive sampling method. The

total sample size for the study is 46. And the samples are conveniently selected from each slum.

The researchers have considered the purposive sampling technique because the basic purpose

of the study is to find out how urbanization causes inequality in the slums of Kolhapur city.

The primary data have been collected from the slum dwellers with a pre-tested and structured

questionnaire. The questionnaire was pre-tested with 20 sample respondents before

administrating it. The researchers’ observation, discussions with the slum residents, and the

discussion with the city corporation engineers, administrators, doctors, and other community

people during the data collection and field survey have also been used as background

information for data interpretations in this paper. The data for the present study also have been

collected from secondary sources like published books, online and offline national and

international journals, government websites, United Nations websites, other articles,

newspaper reports, etc. For the purpose of this study and concentration, the researchers have

considered the inequality of the slum dwellers in the context of the following parameters: a)


Economic Inequality (i.e. monthly income, type of house, monthly medical expense, and

monthly food expense), b) Social Inequality (i.e. children's educational qualification,

experience of biased and prejudiced treatment, social exclusion and isolation, types of violence

faced by women, experiences regarding social discrimination).

IV. Findings, Analysis, And Inferences

a. Economic Conditions and the Inequalities of the Slum Dwellers: To find out the

economic conditions and the inequalities of the slum dwellers, their monthly income, type

of house, monthly medical expense, and food expense have been evaluated. The following

tables describe the details:

Table 1 – Monthly Income of the Respondent

Monthly Income of the Respondents Frequency Percentages

Rs. 1000 to 5000 19 41

Rs. 6000 to 10000 17 37

Rs. 11000 to 15000 3 7

Rs. 16000 to 20000 7 15

Total 46 100.0

Source: Field Survey

Table 1 exhibits that 41% of the respondents have had their income between Rs.1000 to 5,000,

37% of the respondents have had income between Rs.6000 to 10,000, 7% of the respondents

have had income between Rs.11,000 to 15,000 and only 15% respondents have had income

between Rs.16,000 to Rs.20,000.

It has been observed that more than 2/5th (41%) of the slum dwellers had very low incomes.

This highlights that these slum-dwellers had poor economic conditions and thus experienced

income inequality. The reason behind this was that many slum-dwellers were under-employed

and unemployed. In addition, it has been unearthed through discussion that they lacked aptitude

for trades of higher income. Due to insufficient earning, slum dwellers were unable to pay for

their basic needs. As per the world bank, if a person earns lower than $ 1.90 ( or monthly about

$ 57 or Rs. 3900) per day, they are considered to be poor or living in poverty (World Bank,

n.d.). Due to the rapid development of cities, every basic amenities of the city has become very

expensive starting from vegetables to daily use items. This rise of prices of basic items poses

challenges of survival with a meager income, causes economic struggle among the slum

dwellers of Kolhapur city. However, it has also been discovered that a significant number of


slum-dwellers have had income between Rs.6000 to 10,000 which points out the signs of

improvement.

Table 2 - Type of House of the Respondents

Type of Houses Frequency Percentages

One Room House 28 61

Two Rooms House 18 39

Total 46 100


Table 3 - Type of House of Respondent * Number of Family Members of the

Respondent Cross-Tabulation

Type of Houses

Number of Family Members of the

Respondent Total

2 to 4 5 to 7 8 to10 10 and

Above

Type of House of

Respondent

One Room House 5 14 5 4 28

Two Rooms

House 6 9 2 1 18

Total 11 23 7 5 46


Chart -1 - Comparison of Type of House with No. of Family Members

Table No. 2 shows that 61% of the respondents had a one-room house and 39% had a

two-room house. Table No. 3 further expounds that 28 (61%) responded had 2 to 4, 5 to 7, 8

to 10, and 10 and above members in their one-room house. It is seen that 50% of those living


in the small house had 5 to 7 members. Whereas 50% of those who lived in the two-room house

had 5 to 7 members.

It can be inferred therefore that the majority (61%) of the respondent had a very small house

as they had to accommodate on an average 5 to 7 members within one room. This exhibits that

the slum dwellers had to cram and crawl within one room with so many members of their

households. The respondent in response to open-ended questions expressed that it was greatly

difficult to cook, sleep and live in the same room. On rainy days their suffering knew no

bounds. In addition, most houses are made of wood, plastic and Tin Sheet which became

extremely hot during summer thus they have to live in an oven-like room. However, a

significant number of the respondents were in a better shape as they had two rooms houses.

But it can be interpreted that since a majority of the respondent suffered the setbacks of

insufficient living space, it is a sign of acute poverty and economic inequality experienced by

slum dwellers caused by rapid urbanization.

Table 4 - Monthly Medical Expenses of the Respondents

Monthly Medical Expense Frequency Percentages

0 to 250 18 39

251 to 500 14 30

501 to 750 2 4

751 to 1000 7 15

1000 and Above 5 11

Total 46 100


The variable ‘monthly medical expense’ has been drawn to investigate whether slum dwellers

have sufficient capabilities to take care of their basic medical needs. Table no. 4 pinpoints that

39% of the respondents spent as low as Rs.0 to 250 per month, 30% of the respondents spent

Rs.251 to Rs.500, 4% respondents spent Rs.501 to Rs.750, 15% spent Rs.751 to Rs.1000 and

11% spent above Rs.1000 for their medical expense per month.

It is observed that close to 2/5th (39%) of the total respondents were not economically sound to

pay for their medical bills and they could only afford to spend Rs.0 to Rs. 250 per month in

case of a medical emergency. It brings into focus that even basic needs like medical support

were not affordable to them. Respondents pointed that they had to opt for a government hospital

in times of their medical issues for treatment where they had to wait for hours. They further

narrated that due great rush of people and a limited number of doctors, government hospitals


in the city were unable to support free checkups and free medicines. Therefore, health support

was unavailable to slum dwellers. In addition, the inability to pay for their sick ones to get to a

hospital, they had to suffer from health issues. This highlights the economic impotence that

makes the slum dwellers suffer due to unequal access to medical facilities.

Table 5 - Monthly Food Expense of the Respondent

Monthly Food Expense Frequency Percentages

1000 to 3000 8 17

3001 to 5000 18 39

5001 to 7000 12 26

7001 to 9000 4 8

9001 and Above 4 8

Total 46 100


Table 6 - Number of Family Members of the Respondent * Food Expense of

the Respondent Cross-Tabulation

Number of Family

Members

Food Expense of the Respondent

Total 1000 to

3000

3001 to

5000

5001 to

7000

7001 to

9000

9001

and

Above

Number of

Family

Members of

the Respondent

2 to 4 2 7 2 0 0 11

5 to 7 3 8 8 3 1 23

8 to10 2 1 1 1 2 7

10

and

Abov

e

1 2 1 0 1 5

Total 8 18 12 4 4 46


Table no. 5 reveal that 17% of the respondents spent Rs.1000 to 3000, 39% spent Rs.3001 to

5000, 26% spent Rs.5001 to 7000, 8% of the respondents spent Rs.7001 to Rs.9000 and 8% of

them spent Rs. 9001 and above for their food expenses per month.

The table leads to the inference that close to 2/5th (39%) of the respondents spent Rs. 3001 to

Rs.5000 per month for food expenses. In addition, about 1/5th of respondents condition was

very poor as they spent only between Rs.1000 to Rs.3000. It discloses that the slum-dwellers

couldn’t afford more than a mere supply of daily needs. The percentage of respondents who

were capable of spending a reasonable amount for their monthly food was very low (i.e. 8%).

The cross-tabulation table no. 6 further reveals that the food expenses of the respondents didn’t


increase proportionately with the increase in the number of family members. It is found that

households with 8 to 10 or 10 and above members had to manage their limited food within

their budget (Rs.1000 to Rs.3000 or Rs.3001 to Rs. 5,000). The respondents couldn’t even opt

for nutritious food due to a shortage of money. Specifically, women and children of the slums

are the worst sufferers due to lack of nutritious and sufficient food. Escalating urbanization and

its consequent hike of prices of food materials pushed many slum dwellers into more poverty,

thus earning enough to buy their grocery items and the food turned out to be difficult.

b. Social Conditions, Challenges, and Inequalities of Slum Dwellers: The social

parameters considered for the study to find out the social conditions, challenges of

inequalities of the slum dwellers are as follows: Children’s Education Qualification,

Experience of Biases and Prejudices, Social Exclusion and Isolation, Violence and Social

Discrimination. The following tables and charts describe the details of all the parameters.

Table 7 - Children’s Educational Qualifications of the Respondent

Educational Qualification Frequency Percentages

No Education 5 10

Below SSC 19 42

SSC 7 15

HSC 5 11

Graduate 6 13

Post Graduate 1 2

Others 3 7

Total 47 100


Chart 2 - Children’s Educational Qualifications of the Respondent


Table 7 reveals that 10% of the respondent’s children had no education, 42% of respondents’

children’s had education below SSC, 15% of respondents’ children had education up to SSC,

11% of respondents’ children had education up to HSC, 13% respondents’ had their children

educated up to Graduation, 2% respondents’ children had education up to post-graduation and

only 6% respondents’ children had ‘others’ types of education.

Based on the finding, it can be deduced that more than 2/5th (42%) of the respondents’

children’s education level was below SSC. It has been further noted that less than 1/5th (15%)

of the respondents' children had education up to SSC. The reason behind the poor educational

pursual of the children was the poor economic condition of the slum dwellers. Due to poverty,

children of the slum-dwellers start working from childhood. The researchers found that many

parents were even unable to pay for their children’s higher education due to their financial

issues. Higher education support of the government was also unavailable to the slum residents.

Having no support, the children of the slum dwellers were unable to get into universities and

colleges. This caused a vicious cycle of poverty as the young children joined the same trade as

their parents and lived in the same condition. The researchers through conversation with the

respondent however discovered that self-employed respondent’s children were lesser educated

than those of salaried jobs. Lack of easy access to education is a social inequality that the slum

dwellers experienced in Kolhapur city.

Table 8 - Experience of Biased and Prejudiced Treatment

Experience of Biases and Prejudices Frequency Percentages

Yes 27 59

To Some Extent 3 6

No 16 35

Total 46 100


Table 8 reveals that 59% of the respondents responded ‘yes’, 6% of them said ‘To Some

Extent’ and 35% of the respondents pointed that they (i.e. Slum Dwellers) experienced biased

and prejudiced treatment from the common city dwellers.

It can be inferred that the majority (59%) of the slum dwellers experienced biased and

prejudiced treatment from the common city dwellers. It shows that they were excluded from


mainstream society and that their value and dignity were often attacked. Some respondents

during the data collection shared how painful it is for them to be treated indifferently by the

common folks of the city because they were poor. Sometimes their children were also treated

with a slum stigma which affected the children socially and mentally. Indifferent treatment and

low social status are social inequality. As urbanization speeds up in cities, the distinction

widens and slum dwellers' dignity and value dwindle. However, a positive trend has been

observed as 35% of the respondents pointed that they experienced no biased or prejudiced

treatment. Some slum dwellers strongly believed that the negative attitude of mainstream

society automatically vanishes when a slum dweller leaves a slum area and shifts to a good

living area of the city.

Table 9 - Social Exclusion and Isolation

Social Exclusion and Isolation Frequency Percentages

Yes 17 37

To Some Extent 5 11

No 24 52

Total 46 100


Table 9 indicates that 37% of the respondents experienced social exclusion, 11% agreed that

they faced the problem “To Some Extent” and 52% pointed that they experienced ‘no’ social

exclusion or Isolation issues.

The finding shows that the majority (52%) of the slum dwellers did not experience any social

exclusion and social isolation issues. It is found that slum dwellers who stayed within their

slums especially within their community and did not usually move to other areas of the city for

work faced fewer issues regarding social exclusions. However, it is seen that close to 2/5th of

the respondents faced issues of social exclusion and isolation. During the interaction with the

slum dwellers, the researchers discovered from the respondents that some slum dwellers often

worked in different locality and they felt that they are categorized and treated indifferently.

Some shared that they are not even called to attend certain functions and festivals thus they had

were bound to accept social exclusion as their fate.


Table No: 10 - Type of Violence Faced by Women in the Slums

Type of Violence Frequency Percentages

Eve Teasing 3 7

Physical Assault or Beating 17 37

Bullying 2 4

No Issue 24 52

Total 46 100


Chart 2 - Type of Violence and Issues of Women in Slums

Table 10 manifest that 7% of the respondent said that women slum dwellers faced the problems

of Eve Teasing. 37% of the respondents said that women in slums suffered physical assault and

beating, 4% of the respondent said bullying (i.e. use of harsh and bad words) is faced by women

too. However, 52% of respondents shared that women in the slums faced no issue.

Based on the data, it can be deduced that the majority (52%) of the respondents denied the

presence of any kind of violence in their slums. It shows that most women in the slums of

Kolhapur did not face any major setbacks. However, a significant number (37%) of the

respondent pointed that had to experience physical assault or beating. This reflects the poor

conditions of the women in the slums. In addition, while discussing with the female

respondents during the field survey, the researchers found that majority of the women

respondents were born and brought up in the poor condition and hostile environment of the

slums so they considered sufferings as a very natural thing, thus they bore all violences of all

sorts and kept quiet. Some women further shared the issue of their privacy due to inadequate

space, lack of good toilets, and washrooms. In response to women ended questions, some

respondents pointed that rapid growth, additional migration of people in the city, extensions of

roads in many areas displaced many slums dwellers and so slums dwellers had to settle and


huddled together within a limited slum area. This is a sign of social inequality and a great threat

to privacy, safety, and security for women and girls.

Table No: 11 - Experience of Social Discrimination Faced By Slum Respondents

Experience of Social

Discrimination Frequency Percentages

Always 28 61

Sometimes 3 6

Never 15 33

Total 46 100


Table 11 discloses that 61% of the respondents agreed that they faced the social discrimination

‘always’, 6% of them faced the issues ‘sometimes’ and 33% of the respondents ‘never’

experienced any discrimination.

It is found that the majority (61%) of the respondents pointed that they faced social

discrimination. It reflects that the slum dwellers did not enjoy common social recognition,

status, and dignity like other affluent members of the society. In response to open-ended

questions, some slum dwellers pointed that they suffered discrimination as they lacked proper

education. They even did not have the aptitude and the skills for finding good professions. It

reflects that the slum dwellers required job-related training which they did not have. However,

it has been discovered that 1/3rd of the respondents never experienced any social discrimination.

It suggests the positive change that has been taking place due to various initiatives taken by the

city authorities. It should be pointed that social inequality leads to various issues in society

like drug addictions, crimes, theft, etc. In cities, unequal distributions of jobs, improper

planning, improper housing, and poor settlements cause the economically and socially weak

ones to suffer the most. Social inequality is an emblem of urbanizations and a lack of

appropriate plans to accommodate and support the poor slum dwellers. The slums of Kolhapur

city are the epitome of what urbanization does by leaving the poor and needy ones behind.

V. Conclusion and Suggestions

The slum dwellers in many cities including Kolhapur have been living in the penurious

condition in terms of economic and social inequality for decades. It is unfortunate that some

households have had to suffer inequality from the time of their forefathers which dates back to


forty to fifty years. The researchers found that the reason for this decades-long suffering is poor

education which leads to poor income; poor income then leads to poor economic dungeon and

poor standard of living. Further, poor economic status and poor standard of living leads to

health issues, social stigma, social isolation and discrimination. No doubt that the government

has been working to render support to the slum-dwellers, but it has been insufficient to move

the slum-dwellers out of their vicious circle of poverty. Though a substantial amount of

developmental work has taken place in Kolhapur city over the past few decades, however, the

condition of slum dwellers did not improve much instead economic and social inequality

expounded. Therefore while many well-to-do city dwellers enjoy better education, sufficient

income, and cozy living condition, the slum dwellers are in the drainage of poverty. Thus, the

apparent difference between haves and have-nots are distinctly visible. These recognizable

inequalities are caused or induced by rapid urbanization and progress without pity and the lack

of consideration for the poor. However, to have sustainable and inclusive growth, there has to

be exhaustive plans to rehabilitate the poverty-stricken slum dwellers. Some of the steps that

can be taken by the central, state, and local government to help the slum dwellers and to reduce

their social and economic inequalities are as follows:

a. The central and state government along with local city administration should lay out plans

to relocate slums-dwellers where they can have sufficient space and can have their own

home. Some slum dwellers suggested that the government should build row houses or

housing societies for the slum-dwellers and provide them the title of the property so that

they can have a good living conditions.

b. Free educational facilities should be provided to the children of the slum-dwellers. In

addition, special schools should be established for the slum children where they will not

be treated with indifference.

c. Scholarships facilities should be easily available to the college-going children of the

slum-dwellers so that they can get necessary support for higher education and

consequently can secure good employment after their education. This will have a great

impact to change the fate of the families in the long run.

d. Skill-based training of various types both for the men and women of the slums can be

given to help them find appropriate employment or to start their entrepreneurial activities.

Entrepreneurial support in terms of interests free loans should be sactioned by


government. It will empower the slum-dwellers and help them improve their economic

conditions.

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DIGITAL MARKETING OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY PRODUCTS AND

SERVICES: USER PERSPECTIVES

Nancy Waral L

Register No: 19233112272016, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti,

Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu, [email protected]

Dr. P. Saravanan

Librarian, Library and Information Science, Lekshmipuram College of Arts & Science

Neyyoor, [email protected]

Dr. G. Gnana Elpinston

Faculty, Department of Economics, Nesamony Memorial Christian College Marthandam

[email protected]

Abstract

The user is the fundamental person in services provided by an institution, company, and organization.

Therefore, it is important to emphasize the users of the library and doing extremely to make them

fulfilled. Understanding the user needs is half the battle won in giving information services in an

academic library. The victory of any information system depends extensively on how best the system

design is based on a close and precise comprehension of the users. The study was undertaken to know

the frequency of using the library services, to examine the various sources of information, how libraries

extend their services, and to know the users' satisfaction level. The sample of the study covers of mainly

research scholars, M.Phil and post-graduate students of Arts Science College under Kerala and

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. Survey method has been embraced for guiding this study. The

paper highlights the significant results in respect of the user satisfaction regarding the library

services. The majority of the respondents are conscious of library services, generally, the respondents

visited the libraries for referring the previous years' question paper, references, and printing &

scanning, only a few libraries used Social Net Working Sites to extent the library services and out of

368 respondents, 109 of them are completely satisfied with the library resources. The study

recommended that library needs to use digital technologies to market the library services, libraries

need to improve their marketing technique and improve the services by updating the new information

and digital service and libraries should frequently update the library websites.

Keywords: Academic library, products and services, digital technologies user’s satisfaction, Social

Media tools, librarians, information, marketing, digital services



https://www.msuniv.ac.in/







Introduction

Libraries are set up fully to intent on giving information assets and services to meet the

users' information and knowledge needs. Meeting the necessities of the clients necessitates that

the library gives the real information resources and services that will fulfil the requirements of

its clients. Yet, probably the best test for libraries today is how to restore them as one of the

most important doors to which clients can turn for help with exploring their way through the

immense measure of information that is accessible in an assortment of arrangements. (Naidu

2009). The very reality of libraries is reliant on users of the efficiency of that information

service. To offer an efficient should identify exact community needs which it will target its

services as different users need different services. This identification is needed for the efficient

development of the needed resources and the planning of suitable effective utilization of such

resources. The user of a library is its most essential element as the library processes revolve

around them. Aina (2004) describes a “user” as a term generally used to contain all those who

make suitable and real use of the services offered by a library and the term also includes several

terms such as customer, patrons, reader, client, and consumer. As the users have been

characterized based on various issues, they also have their different information requirements

which a library must attempt to meet. Library users, whether children, professionals, literate or

non-literate, skilled or unskilled and other categories make use of the library for one reason or

the other.

Literature Review

I.M. Nawarathne and Ajay Pratap Singh (2013) conducted a study on users’ satisfaction

with the academic library services in Sri Lanka. To find out the library usage

among undergraduates, examine the most satisfactory attributes of the library services, know

the most important factor affecting the user satisfaction were the prime areas of this paper. The

data was gathered from two hundred undergraduates of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

through the questionnaire method. The results highlighted that majority of the users visited the

library regularly; most of them were satisfied with the space, infrastructure, location, services,

and collection and information of the library as a whole. The practical investigation is that the

libraries need to give genuine consideration in conveying the best services to their clients. The

discoveries propose that libraries assessing clients' fulfillment on academic library performance


ought to improve their services, framework, and collections to serve the clients' learning and

research prerequisites.

Norsyafiqah Nasokha and Che Zainab Abdullah (2017) this research presents perception

on library marketing (product, promotion, and staff) and its associations with client fulfillment.

Questionnaires were disseminated to 183 library clients who are utilizing the academic library

services. The investigations were embraced utilizing SPSS. Descriptive discoveries showed

moderate perceptions in three factors estimated where the mean worth was in the reach 3.61 to

4.10 on a 5-point Likert. Other than that the outcomes likewise demonstrate a positive and

moderate connection between staff, product, promotion, and client fulfillment. The finding of

the study is valuable for the library to understand that marketing methodologies applied will

add to the client fulfillment. Library ought to improve their promoting systems to make them

still important in this time.

Pereware Aghwotu Tiemo (2016) this study researched clients' satisfaction with library

information resources and services College of Health Sciences (CHS) library Niger Delta

University, Nigeria. The goal was to decide the degree of clients' fulfillment with library

information resources and services. The survey research scheme was adopted, using a

population of 687 registered users in the College of Health Sciences Library. The sample size

of one hundred and eighty was selected through a random sampling technique. The tool used

for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire. Among the results highlighted that users

were satisfied with the renewal of library materials, lending services of the library, and longer

hours of internet services in the library. It was also revealed in the study that users were

unhappy with the incomplete reference materials in their various subject areas, national and

international journals because they were not up to date.

Syuhada Ali, Halida Yu (2018) this paper looks at library client's perceptions towards

librarians in a public library in Selangor, Malaysia. The library clients center their perceptions

on various extents of the custodians like the picture, ability, and nature of work. The discoveries

from this study illuminate whether library clients have a similar generalization assessment

towards curators in the public library. The investigation was led utilizing the quantitative

technique and questionnaires were dispersed to 383 library clients in a public library in

Selangor. This investigation analyzes library clients' insight towards curators in Perbadanan

Perpustakaan Awam Selangor. In contrast to the prevalent view, the discoveries in this study


discredit the supposition that library clients have negative perspectives on curators. The outputs

in this study show that the library clients of the Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Selangor have

a negative insight towards librarians.

Objectives

1. To find out the frequency of using the library resources and services

2. To know the different sources of information regarding the library resources and

services

3. To find out the Services extended by the library

4. To study the users’ satisfaction with library information resources and services

Methodology

The present study is based on the descriptive survey method used. The sample size of the study

consists of 368 users of research scholars, M.Phil and Post graduates from Arts and Science

Colleges of Manonmaniam Sundaranar and Kerala University. A structured online

questionnaire was used to collect the information for the study purpose. The questionnaire was

sent to 525 users out of 525 of the respondents 421 of them filled the questionnaire out of that

only 368 were filled and were taken for the present study. The data were analyzed by using

simple percentages and Tests.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Demographic Information

Category Item No of

respondents

Questionnaires

distributed Distributed questionnaires 525

Questionnaires

received Received questions from participants 421

Questionnaires

selected for study Selected participants 368

Gender Male 171

Female 197

Category

Research Scholars 131

M.Phil. 56

PG 181


Gender wise profile of respondents

The chart represents the gender-wise profile of the respondents, out of the total respondents,

respondents as per their 57.5% were female and 42.5% were male.

Age wise profile of respondents

The pie diagram demonstrates the age-wise profile it reveals that 35.6% of the respondents

were below 30 years of age. 27.45% of them were from the age group 30-40, 25.82% were

from 40-50, and 50-60 groups were 11.14%.

Frequency of Library Visit

171

197

150

160

170

180

190

200

Male Female

Gender wise break up

131

101

95

41

Age wise profile

Below 30 Years

30 - 40

40 - 50

50 - 60

91

156

106

15

0 50 100 150 200

Daily

Twice or thrice in a week

Once in a week

Once in a monthFrequency of Library Visit


The bar diagram presents the frequency of user visits to the library. 24.73% visited the

library daily, 42.39% visited the library twice or thrice a week, 28.8% visited the library once

a week and only 4.08% visited the library only once a month.

Awareness of library services

The line chart portrays the awareness of library resources and services on a 5-point

scale, as far as the awareness of library resources and services was concerned it was observed

that 18.48% of the users were extremely aware of the library resources and services, followed

by 45.11% were just aware, 33.42% were moderately aware, 2.99% slightly aware and none of

the respondents have the opinion of not at all aware.

Mention the average time that you spend in the library per day

The bar diagram states the average time spent in the library, out of the total respondents 17.12%

spent less than 30 minutes, 27.99%30-1 hour. Those who spent 1-2 hours were 18.75%, 23.1%

spend 2.3 hours and none of them spend more than 3 hours.

68

166

123

11 0020406080

100120140160180

Awareness of library services

63

103

69

85

48

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

< 30 minutes

30 – 1 hour

1 - 2 hours

2 - 3 hours

More than 3 hoursAverage time spend in the library


Frequency of using the library resources and services

SI.

NO

Library

resources and

services

Frequently Often Sometimes Rarely Never Total

1 Issue & return 63 136 105 51 13 368

17.12 36.96 28.53 13.86 3.53 100

2 References 137 121 56 45 9 368

37.23 32.88 15.22 12.23 2.45 100

3 Previous years

question paper

162 136 44 26 0 368

44.02 36.96 11.96 7.07 0 100

4 Referral

Services

56 43 124 89 56 368

15.22 11.68 33.70 24.18 15.22 100

5 Printing &

Scanning

139 123 62 33 11 368

37.77 33.42 16.85 8.97 2.99 100

6

Current

Awareness

services

49 71 98 102 48 368

13.32 19.29 26.63 27.72 13.04 100

7 Bibliographic

Services

63 79 102 73 51 368

17.12 21.47 27.72 19.84 13.86 100

8 Translation

service

56 91 86 82 53 368

15.22 24.73 23.37 22.28 14.40 100

9 Reprography 83 126 82 42 35 368

22.55 34.24 22.28 11.41 9.51 100

10 Inter Library

Loan

92 89 125 42 20 368

25 24.18 33.97 11.41 5.43 100

11

Services for

competitive

examination

103 156 87 13 9 368

27.99 42.39 23.64 3.53 2.45 100

12 Access to e-

resources

221 134 13 0 0 368

60.05 36.41 3.53 0 0 100

The table shows the frequency of using library resources, the frequency of visits in the library

stated that the respondents 17.12% frequently, 36.96% often, 28.53% sometimes, 13.86%

rarely visited for the issue and return and 3.53% never issued any books from the libraries.

37.23% of the respondents visited the library for references, followed by 32.88% often, 15.22%

sometimes, 12.23% rarely, and 2.45% never visited the library for any references. 4402% of

the respondents frequently visited the library for the previous year's question paper, 39.96%

often, 11.96% sometimes, 7.07% rarely visited the library. 15.22% of the respondents

frequently visited the library for referral services, followed by 11.68% often, 33.7% sometimes,

and 24.18% rarely visited the library and 15.22% never came to the library for referral services.

37.77% of the respondents visited the library for printing and scanning, followed by 33.42%

often, 16.85% sometimes, 8.97% rarely, and 2.99% never visited the library for printing and


scanning. The respondents 13.32% frequently visited the libraries for current awareness

services, 19.29% often, 26.63% sometimes, 27.72% rarely, 13.04 of the respondents never

visited the library for current awareness services. 17.12 % of respondents visited the library for

bibliographic services, 21.47 % often visited, 27.72% sometimes, 19.84% rarely and 13.86

never. 15.22% of respondents of the study visited the library for translation services, followed

by 24.73% often, 23.37% sometimes, 22.28% rarely, and 14.4% never visited the library for

translation services. 22.55% of the respondents visited the library for reprography, followed by

34.24% often, 22.28% sometimes, 11.41% rarely, and 9.51% of the respondents never visited

the library for reprography purposes.25% of respondents visited the library for interlibrary

loan, followed by 24.18% often, 33.97% sometimes, 11.41% rarely and 5.43% never visited

the library for interlibrary loan. 27.99% of the respondents visited the library to prepare for the

competitive examination, followed by 42.39% often, 23.64% sometimes, 3.53% rarely, and

2.45% never visited the library to prepare for the competitive examination.60.05% of the

respondents visited the library to access the E-resources, followed by 36.41% often, 3.53%

sometimes.

Sources of information regarding the library resources and services

SI.No Items Response

Yes % No %

1 OPAC 236 64.13 132 35.87

2 User education 368 100 0 0

3 Library orientation 368 100 0 0

4 Library website 123 33.42 245 66.58

5 Library Blog 96 26.09 272 73.91

6 Email alerts 193 52.45 175 47.55

7 New arrivals 269 73.10 99 26.9

8 Notice board 216 58.70 152 41.30

9 Social Networking Sites 193 52.45 175 47.55

10 Conference/Seminars 102 27.72 266 72.28

11 Online Instruction 96 26.09 272 73.91

12 Brochure 163 44.29 205 55.71

13 Displays 210 57.07 158 42.93

14 Published guides 164 44.57 204 55.43

15 Interaction with

librarian and staffs 354 96.2 14 3.8

16 Current Awareness

Services 231 62.77 137 37.23

17 Selective Dissemination

Information 198 53.8 170 46.20


The table states the sources of information regarding library resources and services. This

question has multiple responses. The responses were shown in yes and no option.64.13% of

the respondents said yes that they obtained information through OPAC, and 65.87% said no,

through library websites 33.42%, library blog 26.09%, email alerts 52.45%, new arrivals

73.10%, notice board 58.70%, Social networking sites 52.45%, conference/seminars 27.72%,

online instruction 26.09%, brochures 44.29%, displays 57.07%, published guides 44.57%,

interaction with librarian and staffs 96.2%, Current Awareness Services 62.77% and 53.8%

used Selective Dissemination Information as their source of information.

Services extended in the library

SI.NO Items Excellent Good Fair Poor Very

poor Total

1 OPAC 103 156 69 31 9 368

27.99 42.39 18.75 8.42 2.45 100

2 User education 216 90 59 3 0 368

58.70 24.46 16.03 0.8 0 100

3 Library orientation 293 54 21 0 0 368

79.62 14.67 5.71 0 0 100

4 Library website 31 96 102 91 48 368

8.42 26.09 27.72 24.73 13.04 100

5 Library Blog 26 109 96 85 52 368

7.07 29.62 26.09 23.10 14.13 100

6 Email alerts 91 136 55 55 31 368

24.73 36.96 14.95 14.95 8.42 100

7 New arrivals 121 163 49 26 9 368

32.88 44.29 13.32 7.1 2.4 100

8 Notice board 89 96 100 54 29 368

24.18 26.09 27.17 14.67 7.9 100

9 Social Networking

Sites

42 93 121 63 49 368

11.41 25.27 32.88 17.12 13.32 100

10 Conference/Seminars 29 89 143 71 36 368


7.9 24.18 38.86 19.29 9.8 100

11 Online Instruction 18 73 96 125 56 368

4.9 19.84 26.09 33.97 15.22 100

12 Brochures 56 123 112 56 21 368

15.22 33.42 30.43 15.22 5.71 100

13 Displays 62 106 141 41 18 368

16.85 28.8 38.32 11.14 4.9 100

14 Published guides 32 85 104 91 56 368

8.70 23.1 28.26 24.73 15.22 100

15 Interaction with

librarian and staffs

283 63 22 0 0 368

76.90 17.12 6.0 0 0 100

16 Current Awareness

Services

56 103 101 63 45 368

15.22 27.99 27.45 17.12 12.23 100

17

Selective

Dissemination

Information

29 56 146 81 56 368

7.88 15.22 39.67 22.01 15.22 100

The table demonstrates the services extended in the library. The quality of library services in

different areas was tested with a 5-point scale. As far as OPAC is concerned 27.99% stated that

the library extends excellent services through OPAC, followed by 42.39% good, 18.75% fair,

8.42% poor 2.45% of the respondents opted for very poor. 58.7% of respondents agreed that

the libraries provide excellent user education to the respondents followed by, 24.46% good,

16.03% fair, and 0.8% poor. The respondents are 79.62% have the opinion that library renders

excellent library orientation, followed by 14.67% good, 5.71% fair, and none of them have the

opinion that the library offers poor and very library orientation.8.42% of respondents have an

excellent opinion about the library websites followed by 26.09% good, 27.72% fair, 24.73%

poor, and 13.04% very poor. Only 7.07% agreed that libraries have excellent library blogs,

followed by 29.62% good, 26.09% fair, 23.10% poor, and 14.13% very poor. Only 24.73% of

the respondents agreed that email alerts are excellent, followed by 36.96% good, 14.95% fair,

14.95% poor, 8.42% very poor. 32.88% of the respondents agreed that the library extent

excellent new arrivals services followed by 44.29% good, 13.32% fair, 7.1% poor, and 2.4%


very poor. 24.18% of the respondents agreed that the library provides an excellent notice board

system, 26.09% good, 27.17% fair, 14.67% poor, and of them have the very poor opinion about

the notice board services of the libraries.11.41% of the respondents said that the libraries have

excellent social networking sites services, followed by 22.27% good, 32.88% fair, 17.12% poor

and 13.22% very poor. 7.9% conference /seminars in the libraries are excellent, 24.18% good,

38.86% fair, 19.29% poor and 9.8% very poor. 15.22% of the library’s extent excellent services

through brochures, followed by 33.42% good, 30.43% fair, 15.22% poor, and 5.71% very poor.

16.85% of the respondents said the libraries provide excellent display services, 28.8% good,

38.32% fair, 11.14% poor, and 4.9% very poor. 8.7% of respondents agreed that the library

provides excellent services through published guides, followed by 23.1% good, 28.26% fair,

24.73% poor, and 15.22% very poor. 76.9% of the respondents agreed that the libraries extent

excellent service of interaction with librarian and staffs,17.12% good, 6% fair and none of the

respondents have a poor and very poor opinion. 15.22% of the respondents said that the library's

current awareness services are excellent, followed by 27.99% good, 27.45% fair, 17.12% poor,

and 12.23% very poor. 7.88% of the respondents agreed that the libraries offer excellent

selective dissemination information services, followed by 15.22% good, 39.67% fair, 22.01%

poor, and 15.22% very poor.

Satisfaction of the marketing strategies in the library

98

81

126

35

28

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

CompletelySatisfied

VerySatisfied

ModeratelySatisfied

SlightlySatisfied

Not at allsatisfied

Marketing Strategies


The table illustrates the satisfaction of the marketing strategies in the library and was

analyzed based on the 5-point scale. 26.63% of the respondents were completely satisfied with

the marketing strategies, followed by 22.01% very satisfied, 34.24% moderately satisfied,

9.51% slightly satisfied, and 7.61% not at all satisfied with the marketing strategies of the

libraries.

The satisfaction level of the resources and services in the library

The bar diagram represents the satisfaction level of library resources and services in the

library. 29.62% of the respondents were completely satisfied with the resources and services

in the library, followed by 22.83% very satisfied, 31.52% moderately satisfied, 9.78% slightly

satisfied, and 6.25% not at all satisfied with library resources and services.

Findings

1. The majority of the respondents belongs to the age group of below 30 years

2. Out of 368 respondents, only 91(24.73%) visited the library daily and 15(4.08%) once a

month.

3. Majority of the respondents are aware of library services

109

84

116

36

23

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Completely Satisfied

Very Satisfied

Moderately Satisfied

Slightly Satisfied

Not at all satisfied

Library Services


4. None of them responded that they are not at all aware of the services

5. Only 48 respondents spend more than 3 hours in the library per day

6. The majority of the respondents spend 30 – 1 hour in the library per day

7. Mainly the respondents visited the libraries for referring to the previous years' question

paper, Printing & Scanning, and references.

8. Out of 368 respondents, 221 frequently visited the library to get access to e-resources.

9. All the respondents agreed that library orientation and user education are the main sources

to know the different services in their libraries.

10. The majority of the respondents have the opinion that there was a conducive Interaction

with the librarian and staff.

11. All most all the libraries displayed the current services regularly on notice boards,

brochures, and displays.

12. Only a few libraries used Social Net Working Sites to the extent the library services.

13. Majority of the respondents moderately satisfied with the marketing strategies

14. Only 28 respondents are not at all satisfied with the marketing strategies

15. Out of 368 respondents, 109 of them are completely satisfied with the library resources

16. Only 6.25% of respondents were not at all satisfied with the library services.

Suggestions

The library needs to use digital technologies to market the library services

Improve the marketing of library service according to the present time.

Libraries need to update their services to satisfy the users

Assess the services provided by the libraries.

The libraries should frequently update the library websites

Conclusion

The study focused on User Satisfaction with Academic Library Information Products

and Services. The study delivered empirical data on variables that foreseen the User

Satisfaction with Academic Library Information Products and Services In light of the

discoveries obtained in this study, the following conclusions were reached. All the respondents

were aware of the different services provided by the Arts Science College under Kerala and

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. The respondents frequently visited the library for

various purposes. Some of the respondents spent more than three hours in the libraries. Only a


few libraries used the Social Media application to showcase their services. The librarians used

various marketing strategies to showcase the services. Library Website is the main tool the

librarians used to depict the services. On the whole, the respondents were satisfied with the

services offered by their respective libraries.

References

Aharony, N. (2009). Librarians' attitudes towards marketing library services. Journal of Librarianship

and Information Science, Pp39-45.

Akporhonor, B. A. (2020). Attitude and Perception of Librarians Towards Marketing of Library

Services in Colleges of Education Libraries In South-South, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and

Practice (e-journal), Pp17-23.

Andaleeb, S. S., & Simmonds, P. L. (2018). Explaining User Satisfaction with Academic Libraries:

Strategic Implications. College & Research Libraries, Pp210-216.

Bhattacharjee, S., & Bhattacharjee, S. (2016). User Perception and Expectation from University

Libraries: A Case Study among Student Community at Tripura. 10th Convention PLANNER,

Pp346-353.

Chegwe, A. O., & Anaehobi, S. E. (2015). Academic Librarians Perception and Attitude towards

Marketing of Library Services in Delta State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-

journal), Pp45-51.

Nasokha, N., & Abdullah, C. Z. (2017). Library Marketing and User Satisfaction in Higher Institution.

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Pp832-841.

Nawarathne, I., & Singh, A. P. (2013). Users’ Satisfaction of the Academic Library Services in Sri

Lanka. PEARL - A Journal of Library and Information Science, Pp 103-112.

Ramadevi, V. (2018). Librarian’s Perception on Marketing of Information Resources and Services in

Academic Libraries with Special Reference to Amhara Region Ethiopia. International Journal

of Scientific Research and Management, Pp152-161.

Syuhada Ali, H. Y., & Amran, N. (2018). Library User Perception towards librarians in public library:

A Malaysian Story. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social

Sciences, Pp452-463.

Tiemo, P. A., & Ateboh, B. A. (2016). Users` Satisfaction with Library Information Resources and

Services: A Case Study College of Health Sciences Library Niger Delta University, Amassoma,

Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, Pp54-59.

Yemi-Peters, O. E., & Omoniwa, M. A. (2016). User Satisfaction as a Marketing Strategy in the 21st

Century Library. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, Pp 106-122.


IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON INDIAN EDUCATION SECTOR AND

WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF TEACHING FACULTY MEMBERS

Dr. Sussmita Daxini

Incharge Principal, Sanskar Sarjan Education Society’s, D.T.S.S. College of Commerce

Prof. Neha Mehta

B.M.S. Coordinator, Department of Commerce And Management, M.K. Sanghvi College of

Commerce And Economics

Abstract

The global impact of the COVID-19 epidemic may be seen in every area. It has a significant impact on

the education system not only in India but around the world. People from all walks of life were affected

by the COVID-19 pandemic, as people across the country were forced to self-quarantine in their homes

to avoid the spread of the novel corona virus. The global lockdown has had a negative impact on student

life, resulting in the near-complete shutdown of schools, colleges, and institutions. In an attempt to stop

the spread of the corona virus, most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational

institutions. The lockout had a significant impact on people's mental health, causing psychological

issues such as frustration, stress, and sadness, as well as work-life balance issues among various

teaching faculty members.

The current situation makes it difficult to predict when educational institutions will reopen. Closure of

educational institutions, on the other hand, has switched physical classrooms to online classes as a

social distancing mechanism to avoid community spread transmission. This has led to the use of

eLearning technologies and platforms for effective student involvement, which may have drawbacks for

many students in terms of accessibility and affordability. The epidemic has exposed the flaws in the

current educational system, highlighting the necessity for greater digital technology training for faculty

members in order to adapt to the world's quickly changing educational atmosphere. With various new

standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, reopening schools, colleges, and universities after a

reduction of restrictions is a difficulty.

The education sector has been combating the crisis with a unique method and by digitising the

challenges in order to eliminate the pandemic threat. Faculty members' work-life balance has shifted

dramatically as a result of the pandemic. Because it has completely altered their working pattern.

This research paper examines some of the steps taken by the Indian government to ensure that education

in the country runs smoothly. The positive and negative effects of COVID-19 on education are reviewed,

as well as some helpful suggestions for conducting educational activities during a pandemic. In this



stage of the epidemic, faculty members' personal and professional life have been infiltrated by the work-

from-home mentality. Faculty members are adapting to the new way of working by enhancing their

ability to stay connected through the usage of digital platforms. This makes it extremely difficult for

them to strike a balance between their career and household responsibilities at the same time.

Key Words: Virtual education, COVID-19, Pandemic, Work-life balance, Government of India,

eLearning, Teaching-learning.

Introduction:

COVID-19 infection was first recorded in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and quickly

spread over the world, eventually being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization

on March 11, 2020. (WHO, 2020). The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in India was

recorded on January 30, 2020 in the state of Kerala, with a travel history from Wuhan, China.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the immediate closure of universities and colleges around

the world, as well as official instructions to use social distance, which could help to flatten the

infection curve and reduce total disease fatalities.

It has surely wreaked havoc on the education sector, which is a crucial predictor of a country's

economic future. Following the discovery of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO urged that the

first cautious action be to maintain social distance. As a result, every country in the globe

implemented a lockdown to segregate the tainted people. Schools, colleges, and universities,

as well as other educational institutions, were closed. As a result, the lockdown disrupted every

student's schedule.

Because not every student in India has access to high-speed internet and digital devices, some

students are unable to benefit from online learning. Furthermore, many advanced educational

institutions now lack the necessary digital infrastructure to adapt to a quick shift from a

traditional education model to an online education model. Transitioning from traditional

physical learning to online learning can be a very different experience for students and teachers,

especially if there are few or no other options.

COVID-19 has created multiple opportunities to transition from the tough classroom teaching

system to a new generation of digital system, despite the fact that it is an unparalleled scenario





in the history of education. The transition from offline to online teaching has been difficult for

faculty members, and it has had a significant impact on their life.

Teachers and students were initially perplexed and unsure of how to deal with the scenario of

this sudden crisis, which forced the closure of educational facilities. COVID-19, on the other

hand, has given educational institutions the chance to improve their technological knowledge

and infrastructure. Teachers and students can now pursue their educational activities through

online teaching, thanks to the lockout. Teachers used numerous Apps such as Microsoft Teams,

Zoom, Google Meet, and others to assign work to students and conduct lectures via live video

conferencing. Teachers, students, and parents have WhatsApp groups for effective

communication, and they are continuously in touch to share their issues and worries via this e-

medium.

On a personal level, the family balance has emphasised health, career, and friends; everyone is

now exceedingly careful of their personal and surrounding hygiene, as well as the manner in

which they interact with others. The following are some of the changes brought about in

people's lives as a result of the pandemic:

National Lock down

No domestic help

Household work

Health and Hygiene

Social Distancing

Sharing of Responsibility

Dependence on digital technology for work

Time for professional Work

Space at home for professional/Office Work

No Physical Activities for fitness like external walks, exercise, gym, etc.

To some extent, all of the following factors have influenced the work-life balance of people in

various professions around the world. The work-life balance of teaching faculty members is

also impacted significantly as a result of the substantial change in their operational procedures.

Work done at a workplace is more effective than work done at home because it is done during

set working hours. However, because work done from home has no set working hours, faculty


members must also deal with time management concerns. Time management has become a

significant concern, with serious consequences for faculty members' work-life balance.

Objectives of the study:

To provide information on the various steps implemented by the Indian government

in the education sector during the pandemic.

To draw attention towards various positive impact of COVID-19 on education.

To highlight some of COVID-19's negative consequences and make some practical

recommendations for continuing education during a pandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic has a Positive Impact on Education:

Nevertheless, the disruption of COVID-19 has caused many negative impacts on education

sector, educational institutions of India have accepted the challenges and they are trying their

best to provide smooth support services to the students during the pandemic. Indian education

sector got an opportunity for transformation from traditional face to face teaching system to a

new era of digital teaching platform. The following are some points that may be considered as

the positive impact of COVID-19 on education:

The necessity for acceptance of digital technology to deliver lectures has arisen as a

result of COVID-19. Every educational institution in the world has shifted to a blended

learning model. It encouraged all staff and students to learn more about technology. It

allows students to access a big group of classmates at once.

Students were unable to get hard copies of study materials due to the lockdown. As a

result, the majority of them chose soft copy material for reference, which increased the

use of soft copy learning materials.

Due to the pandemic, a significant increase in faculty members using teleconferencing,

virtual meetings, webinars, and e-conferencing has resulted in an increase in online

meetings.

Faculty members are encouraged to study and apply digital technologies, resulting in

an increase in digital literacy.

COVID-19 Pandemic has a Negative Impact on Education:

Classes have been suspended and exams at various levels have been postponed because

of the pandemic. Various boards have postponed annual examinations, entrance tests,

and even the admission process, causing educational operations to be impeded. This is


aggravating the current situation of educational continuity, as students and faculty

would have a tough time returning to college after a long break. It will be a radical

change that faculty members will have to make, and it will have a significant influence

on their work-life balance.

Due to the pandemic, unemployment has risen. As a result, when unemployment rises,

education falls as people focus their efforts on food rather than education.

The majority of faculty and students were unfamiliar with the online teaching and

learning process. They were unprepared for online education, and they weren't even

prepared for the abrupt shift from traditional to online schooling.

Several pupils may not have access to the internet or be unable to purchase a computer,

laptop, or smart phone in their household. Students may develop a digital divide as a

result of online teaching and learning. As a result, the online teaching-learning approach

may widen the divide between rich and poor, urban and rural.

Many parents have been affected by the lockdown in terms of unemployment; as a

result, they may not be able to pay their child's fee for that time period, which may have

an impact on colleges and schools as a result of the delay in receiving the money.

The Use of Digital Technology in Teaching and eLearning is on the Rise:

Even though there have been numerous challenges for faculties, institutions, and the

government in regards to online education, the COVID-19 epidemic has generated

significant chances for those that are unprepared and have long-term intentions to

develop an e-learning system.

For the first time, online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Zoom,

virtual learning environments, social media, and numerous other group forums such as

Telegram and WhatsApp are being investigated for use in teaching and learning. Even

after offline education resumes, this online system can be retained, and these platforms

can provide additional resources and guidance to students.

Suggestions and Recommendations:

During the pandemic, India should create new measures to ensure that all kids have

continuous access to schooling. For the operational and successful delivery of education

in India, persons from various backgrounds, including distant regions, marginalised and

minority groups, must be included in the guidelines.


Traditional Indian knowledge is well-known throughout the world for its scientific

achievements, culture, and ideals in the development of sustainable technology. As a

result, this knowledge system should be merged with a modern traditional higher

education system in several fields.

The government and educational institutions should suggest that educational activities

be continued while social distance is maintained. When schools/colleges are at 50%

capacity, students and teachers may attend in two shifts each day to continue

instructional activities while taking every precaution and adhering to COVID-19 rules.

In today's world, having access to technology and the internet is a must. Digital

competencies and basic infrastructure must reach the most remote and poorest places

in order for students to continue their education during the pandemic. The state

government and institutions should take the lead and provide solutions to the problem

of digital education.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely hampered India's educational sector, as well as, to some

extent, faculty members' work-life balance. Despite the fact that it has exposed individuals to

several obstacles, it has also resulted in the emergence of numerous opportunities. India is not

fully ready to disseminate education across the country via various digital platforms. Many

students are not as fortunate as others, and they suffer as a result of the current online

programmes. Because internet bandwidth is limited in some areas, with fewer connection

points, and data packages are expensive in proportion to people's income, accessibility and

affordability for students from all walks of life becomes inadequate.

However, colleges, institutions, and the government are working tirelessly to find a solution to

this challenge, as the use of digital technology is a top priority for millions of Indian students.

Educational institutions must recognise that strengthening their knowledge and information

technology infrastructure is critical in order to prepare for eventualities such as the COVID-19

pandemic. If the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it is critical to make every effort to maximise

the use of online platforms so that students' education is not disrupted and they are prepared

for the forthcoming digitally oriented environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that faculty and students should be educated on how

to use various online educational platforms and resources. Because online learning is


advantageous to students, faculties and students should be encouraged to continue using online

resources to enhance teaching and learning when offline schools/colleges reopen.

In an ideal world, these are extraordinarily difficult times for everyone on the planet, but one

thing is certain: the best answer is dependent on global empathy, cooperation, and community

building, which are at the heart of the movement.

The researchers concluded that the current study has discovered COVID-19 pandemic

implications and repercussions that have had a significant impact on the work-life balance of

teaching faculty members, as well as the wider education sector.

References

Dr. Pravat Kumar Jena (2020), Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 on Education in India, International

Journal of Current Research, Volume: 12 Issue: 7, pp. 12582-12586.

Dr. Aruna Deshpande, Mr. Parth Salunke, Ms. Tanaya Joshi (2020), Work Life Balance in Phase of

Pandemic, An International Bilingual Peer Reviewed Refered Research Journal, Volume: 10

Issue: 38, pp. 229-240.

Shazia Rashid, Sunishtha Singh Yadav (2020), Impact of Covid 19 Pandemic on Higher Education and

Research, Indian Journal of Human Development, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, pp. 340-343.

Sumitra Pokhrel, Roshan Chhetri (2021), A Literature Review on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on

Teaching and Learning, Higher Education for the Future, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, pp. 133-141.


A STUDY ON PERCEIVED USEFULNESS AND ACTUAL USAGE OF E – HRM

Supriya Shetty

Lecturer, Department of Bachelor of Management Studies, R. A. PODAR College of

Commerce & Economics (Autonomous) Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Electronic HRM or E- HRM is not a new phenomenon in the business world. Sub consciously we all

are directly or indirectly using this in various HR functions of the organisation. Many organisations

have replaced human interaction with Information technology, and the presence of a similar philosophy

in HR department is called as “E – HRM”. Usually E- HRM is associated with modernisation, but it is

vital to understand that E- HRM brings along an added advantage of easy and convenience. The most

prominent question is its applicability, usage and its perceived usefulness among its users in 21st

century. This paper aims to understand the practical or actual usage of E- HRM in various HR

functions; also, it further talks about the perceived usefulness of E – HRM as a tool in various HR

functions.

Key words: Electronic Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management, E- HRM,

Perceived usefulness, Actual Usage

Objective:

1. To get a conceptual understanding of E – HRM by studying the content from various

secondary sources.

2. To investigate the perceived usefulness of E – HRM among the sample.

3. To study the actual usage of E – HRM in the HR department.

Research Methodology:

Primary data: Data was collected through Google form circulated to a focused sample group

who are working in the HR department covering various sector and working at different level

in the organisational hierarchy. The research was divided into 3 parts: The first section helps

us to understand the basic use of E – HRM in respondents organisation, the second part of the

questionnaire helps us to understand the usefulness of E – HRM among the respondents and


Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies, Online ISSN 2278-8808, SJIF 2021 = 7.380, www.srjis.com PEER REVIEWED & REFEREED JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE JULY-SEPT, 2021, VOL- 10/50




the third part of the questionnaire helps us to understand the actual usage of E – HRM in relation

to various HR functions.

Secondary Data: Secondary Sources includes data collected from various books, national,

international articles, and research studies. The methodology also includes surveys conducted

by global research organization, thoughts and writings of various researchers in the stream of

academic and corporate industry.

Sample Design:

i. Extent: Mumbai Only

ii. Sample Size: 32

A structured questionnaire with prearranged questions was circulated among the participants

in the sample. The questionnaire consisted of close ended questions, which includes multiple

choice questions. The rating was done on the basis of Likert5 point rating scale of 1-5, where

1 states strongly disagree and 5 denotes strongly agree and 3 being neutral (neither agree, nor

disagree).

Introduction

The term e-HR was first conceived in early 1990s when e-commerce started dictating the

business world. The term E-HRM means - conducting HRM activities with the use of the

Internet or the Intranet.

(Lengnick-Hall & Moritz, (2003) Strohmeier (2007) defines: E-HRM is the application of

information technology for networking and supporting at least two individual or collective

actors in their shared performing of HRM activities. That is how with the dominance of IT over

various business functions, electronic human resource management (E-HRM) has emerged as

an indispensible component which the HR cannot neglect while performing various HR

functions.

Types of E-HRM

E-HRM can be grouped into 3 broad categories: Operational E-HRM, Relational E-HRM and

Transformational E-HRM.

Operational E-HRM is purely linked with administrative functions. Operational E- HRM

works solely on inputs proved by the human intervention, so an employee has an option of

feeding in data on their own or upload it through single point of contact. It is purely an input


output relationship. Few examples of Operational E- HRM can be payroll, employee personal

data, Leave Management System etc.

Relational E-HRM is purely linked with supporting business processes through multifaceted

HR functions like developing training module, assimilating recruitment process with

technology, supporting online performance management. It simplifies the process by providing

strong backend technological support by removing all the activities, which does not require

human intervention. Technological strength of the organisation will determine the efficiency

of Relational E – HRM.

Transformational E-HRM is purely linked with strategic HRM for example knowledge

management. It includes those web-based tools that are developed with reference to

organisations strategic objectives. This form is very specific in nature as it is developed keeping

in mind the overall HR strategy of the organisation.

Findings from the study:

Part 1:


From the above study, most of the respondents “Strongly agreed” that their organisation has

integrated E - HRM for various HR functions making it approximation of 35.5%, additionally

the respondents also “ Agreed” that their organisation demonstrates high usage of E - HRM

for various HR functions which accounts for 37.5%. From the point of view of application

perspective 46.9% of respondents chose the option of “Strongly Agree” as well as “Agree”.

Part 2


Part 2, mainly focuses on to understand the usefulness of E – HRM in respondent’s organisation

based on various parameters. From the above research, it is clearly understandable that the

respondent group feels - the top rated attribute of E – HRM is “Allows better Time

Management” where 43.8% respondents “Strongly Agree” to this followed by – “Facilitates

Task Execution”- 37.5%, “Helps in minimizing work efforts” – 31.3%, “Ease to use”- 31.3%

and “Helps in Cost reduction” – 18.8%.

Part 3


Part 3, mainly focuses on to understand the actual usage of E- HRM in various HR functions.

From the above study it is clearly understandable that in most the organisation (where

respondent group works), E- HRM is mainly used for maintaining Employee Data Base

followed by Payroll and Administration activities, used at the same level for R&S and

Performance Appraisal and promotion and last to be for Training and development.

Conclusions:

Human resources are considered as the most expensive resource in any organization; therefore,

they need careful management. Hence, HR Dept of any firm strives to achieve “maximum

benefit at minimum cost”. Deployment of E-HRM practices provides more strategic ways of

working to reach the goals. E-HRM facilitates human resource functions with the chance to

create new ways of committing to organizational success.

Nowadays, many technological applications have emerged, claiming to cover nearly

every “traditional” human resources management (HRM) activity; not only complementing it,

but often even substituting it (Martin, Alexander, Reddington, & Pate, 2006).

Today it has become essential for every company to maximize the potential and

productivity of their employees, in order to achieve this objective HRM information systems

and E-HRM could be the best implementable solution. However, it is strongly recommended

that every firm should evaluate the requirement of such technological integration considering

the fact that – “up to what level of technological integration (E- HRM) will give maximum

benefits”.


References

Ball, K. S. The use of Human Resource Information systems: a survey. Personal Review, 2001,

Vol. 30, No. 5/6, pp. 677-693. ISSN 0048-3486.

Boateng, A. A. The Role of human resource information systems [HRIS] in strategic [online]

2007. [cit. 2009-4-15].

Bondarouk, T.V., & Ruël, H.M. (2009). Electronic human resource management: Challenges

in the digital era. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(3), 505-

514.

Gueutal H. G. and Stone D. L. (2005). The brave new world of eHR: Human resources

management in the digital age, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lengnick-Hall, M.L., & Moritz, S. (2003). The impact of e-HR on the human resource

management function. Journal of Labor Research, 24(3), 365-379.

R. Broderick and J. W. Boudreau (1992). Human Resource Management, Information

Technology, and the Competitive Edge, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 6,

No. 2, pp. 7-17.

Strohmeier, S. (2007) Research in e-HRM: Review and Implications. Human Resource

Management Review, 17, 19-37.

Shrivastava, S. and Shaw, J.B. (2003) Liberating HR through Technology. Human Resource

Management, 42, 201-222.

Guideline to the Contributors

SRJHSEL invites high quality research papers, Critical Analysis of Philosophies, Policies,

Reports and issues from all parts of the globe providing meaningful insights to research

scholars.

General Instruction for Submission

SRJHSEL strongly recommends following format of manuscripts. The first page of the

submission should include the title of the article, the name of the author(s), institutional

affiliation, email address (es) Title: Times New Roman, bold, 14 pt., space 6 above and

6 below, centered. Name of the Author(s): Times New Roman, 12 pt., bold, centered,

below the title. Author(s) affiliation, email address (es): Times New Roman, 10 pt.,

italic. Abstract: Abstracts of no more than 10 lines summarizing the primary argument(s)

and finding(s) in the article should be included at the beginning of the article. Times New

Roman, 10 pt., italic, not exceeds than150-200 words. Keywords: Times New Roman 12

pt., maximum 5 keywords. Articles should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in length.

The pages of the typescript should be numbered in consecutive sequence, with Justify

alignment. Page numbering: position right, Times New Roman, 12 pt. All articles must

be typed in a Microsoft Word file. Subtitles (sub-headings) use Times New Roman, 12

pt., bold, left justified. Main text font use Times New Roman, 12 pt., justified. Articles

should be single spaced and have 2.54 cm (1 inch) margins. Please separate paragraphs

by one empty line (touching „enter” key once). All abbreviations and acronyms should be

defined at first mention. To facilitate reader comprehension, abbreviations should be

used sparingly/carefully. Article should be free from spelling and grammatical mistakes.

APA style of referencing should be used for article referencing. Tables & Figures:

Number tables / figures are consecutively as they appear in the text. Center tables /

figures close in the text where they are first mentioned. Do not split tables / figures across

two pages. If there is not enough space at the bottom of a page, continue your text and

place the table at the top of the next page. Each table / figure must have a label (title)

beginning with the table number and describing the contents. The label needs to inform

the reader what the table / figure presents (coefficients, means, percentages, rates, etc.),

the time frame, and the geographical coverage. Each row and column of a table must have

a heading. If the contents of a table / figure are drawn or adapted from a published source,

note that as footnote to the table. Major Elements of Paper: Title: It should be short,

precise. Authors: Name,

Address, qualification, and institutional affiliations etc. should be provided beneath to the

title. Abstract: The Abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory,

which should briefly present the topic, state the scope of the experiments, indicate

significant data, and point out major findings and conclusions. The abstract should not be

exceeds than 100 to 200 words in length. Complete sentences, active verbs, and the third

person should be used, and the abstract should be written in the past tense.

Introduction: It should be not a long review of the subject area and details of history. It

should pertain to specific area. Research Method: It should be covers Population,

Sample, Tools for data collection, Statistical techniques. Methodology should be provided

separately after the research method. Results: It should relevant facts only, data, may be

given preferable in the form of tables or occasionally in figure/text but do not repeat same

data in more than one form. Discussion: This is important aspect of the paper, should be

drafted carefully. Stating what answers we got, then in individuals paragraphs discussing

these in light relevant past work and finally, try to answer: what does it means in the

conducting part. In some situation section of Results may be combined with Discussion

so as to avoid repetition. Acknowledgement: It should be short not exceeds than 150

words, which should include essential facts given at the end of the paper but not

necessary. References: References must be arranged according to APA style of

referencing.

Book

Best, J.W., & Kahn, J.V. (2006).Research in Education. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India.

Book with Two Authors

Garrett, H. E. and Woodworth, R. S. (1981).Statistics in Psychology and Education. Bombay:

Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd.

Book with More than Two Authors

Robert, H. et. al., (1982).Instruction Media & New Technologies of Instructions

Computer.New York. NY: Mac Millan Publishing Company.

Edited Book

Gupta, M. (1989).Two Strategies of Computer Assisted Instruction in Chemistry. In

Mukhopadhaya, M. &Khanna, K., Parhar (Eds.), Educational Technology. Year Book,

New Delhi: All India Association for Educational Technology.

Article

Netragaonkar, Y. (2009). Pedagogical Aspects of Computer Assisted Instruction.

Techno learn International Journal of Educational Technology. Page 137 to 145.

2011, June.

Proceedings from Conference

Netragaonkar, Y. (2011). Tablet PC: Superb Innovation of 21st Century. A Paper presented

at Prabuddhan International Conference on Elevating Learning. 3– 4 Dec, 2011.

A Commission Report

National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation, 2006. (2007). New Delhi: Govt. Of

India

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