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Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has utterly disrupted the worldwide education system and compelled an emergency immersion of unplanned and rapid online teaching-learning. The online teaching readiness would highly depend on the competencies of teachers and skills to adapt the pedagogy and new roles by the teachers. In this context, this study aims to assess higher education institutions (HEIs) teachers’ readiness to handle online education based on the online teaching readiness competencies model.

A structured questionnaire has been adopted to survey and collect data from 296 teachers of HEIs across India. The questionnaire consisted of 29 constructs. The constructs in this section were measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging. In the first step first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is carried out, by using the software IBM AMOS-26. The initial model is generated for five constructs and outcomes are used to analyze the model’s goodness of fit and construct validity. In the second step structural equation modeling (SEM) is carried out to do the path analysis of the proposed model.

The findings connote that the level of course design competencies, communication competencies, time management competencies are not sufficient among the teachers of HEI of India, whereas the technical competencies possessed by the teachers meet the requirements for readiness to handle online education. The research is an attempt to provide possible explanations for establishing relationships between the constructs and discusses the usage of information, which can be further used to enhance the online teaching readiness competencies for the teachers of HEIs of India.

The research is an attempt to provide possible explanations for establishing relationships between the constructs and discusses the usage of information, which can be further used to enhance the online teaching readiness competencies for the teachers of HEIs of India.

Teachers’ competencies are a vital part of teaching online which has become the need of the hour in this COVID-19 outbreak. Because of the need for emergency response and strategies to minimize learning disruption at higher education, the study identifies the online teaching readiness competencies possessed by the online teaching communities and provides guidelines to enhance their capacity to build up the longer-term resilience of education systems. The study will be a ready reckoner for online training competencies which can be used as training need analysis to make each teacher highly competent to impart knowledge using online teaching platforms.

Covid-19 outbreak has compelled the world-wide education system to use the digital collaboration platform (DCP) for online learning, for robust inclusive sustainable education. The purpose of this paper is to understand the adoption intention and effectiveness of DCP using technology acceptance model (TAM) for online learning among students studying in higher education institutes (HEIs) in India.

A structured questionnaire has been adopted to survey and collect data from 324 students studying in HEI of Maharashtra state in India. The questionnaire consisted of 28 constructs. The constructs in this section were measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging. In the first step, first-order confirmatory factor analysis is carried out by using the software IBM AMOS-20. The initial model is generated for six constructs, and outcomes are used to analyze the model’s goodness of fit and construct validity. In second step, structural equation modelling is carried out to do the path analysis of the proposed model.

The findings connote that the interactivity, cost-effectiveness and the core TAM constructs as perceived usefulness form positive attitude towards usage of DCP and intention to adopt it in near future by the students of HEI of India. The research is an attempt to provide possible explanations for the epochal relationships between the constructs and discusses the usage of information, which can be further used to enhance the acceptance of DCP among students in urban as well as rural India.

The results and findings will provide a direction to the various stakeholders such as educators, management, learners and the parents on the adoption intention of digital collaborative platform from a learner’s point of view. This will lead to the knowledge which will help in practical implementations of these technologies.

The results and findings will provide a direction to the various stakeholders such as educators, management, learners and the parents on the adoption intention of DCP from learner’s point of view. This will lead to the knowledge which will help in practical implementations of these technologies. The findings imply that the interactivity, cost-effectiveness and the core constructs of TAM such as perceived usefulness form positive attitude towards usage of DCP and intention to adopt it in near future by the students of HEI of India. This research provides possible explanations for the significant relationships between the constructs and discusses how this information can be used to enhance the acceptance of DCP among students in urban as well as rural India.

This research provides possible explanations for the significant relationships between the constructs and discusses how this information can be used to enhance the acceptance of DCP among students in urban as well as rural India, which is the need of hour for sustainable education.

There are tremendous studies on online learning and use of digital platforms including the constructs of TAM but in the times of Covid-19, where it has become mandatory for all educational institutes to use the digital collaborative platform for continuance of education. The study is original and is an attempt to understand students’ perspective towards usage of DCP and its effectiveness in learning in the rural parts of Maharashtra from where the students hail to study in HEI in Pune and Mumbai.

Sustainable entrepreneurship education (SEE) is a field, which mingles two imperative fields of research, sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. This emerging area has gained momentum in recent years, and various quantitative and qualitative studies are carried upon to explore its diverse dimensions, literature remains scattered. This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of SEE by compiling the research articles, through a systematic literature review of prior research studies.

Two prominent databases are considered, and these databases then are searched with appropriately designed search strings. Based on an exclusion and inclusion criteria developed by the authors, 59 research papers are selected for further investigation. These research papers are then studied rigorously for review and qualitative content analysis.

A conceptual framework comprising of the areas of these research contributions is proposed as an outcome. This framework provides insights about the existing state and areas of SEE research namely: (1) Institutional framework, (2) Teaching/learning approaches and (3) External interactions and provides further direction for research.

The present study makes a significant contribution both in theoretical and in practical sense. (1) Compiled the extant literature on sustainable entrepreneurship education; (2) Developed a protocol to conduct the systematic review of literature on sustainable entrepreneurship education; (3) Reported the status of research on sustainable entrepreneurship education, and proposed a framework on existing work; (4) Presented the emerging topics, issues and challenges that need to be addressed in future research.

This article seeks to present a systematic literature review of the research field on sustainable entrepreneurship education. A review of existing literature in this field would certainly help to advance future research efforts as it presents a comprehensive picture of the status quo of this research field.

The paper models the financial interconnectedness and systemic risk of shadow banks using Granger-causal network-based measures and takes the Indian shadow bank crisis of 2018–2019 as a systemic event.

The paper employs pairwise linear Granger-causality tests adjusted for heteroskedasticity and return autocorrelation on a rolling window of weekly returns data of 52 financial institutions from 2016 to 2019 to construct network-based measures and calculate network centrality. The Granger-causal network-based measure ranking of financial institutions in the pre-crisis period (explanatory variable) is rank-regressed with the ranking of financial institutions based on maximum percentage loss suffered by them during the crises period (dependent variable).

The empirical result demonstrated that the shadow bank complex network during the crisis is denser, more interconnected and more correlated than the tranquil period. The closeness, eigenvector, and PageRank centrality established the systemic risk transmitter and receiver roles of institutions. The financial institutions that are more central and hold prestigious positions due to their incoming links suffered maximum loss. The shadow bank network also showed small-world phenomena similar to social networks. Granger-causal network-based measures have out-of-sample predictive properties and can predict the systemic risk of financial institutions.

The study considers only the publicly listed financial institutions. Also, the proposed measures are susceptible to the size of the rolling window, frequency of return and significance level of Granger-causality tests.

Supervisors and financial regulators can use the proposed measures to monitor the development of systemic risk and swiftly identify and isolate contagious financial institutions in the event of a crisis. Also, it is helpful to policymakers and researchers of an emerging economy where bilateral exposures' data between financial institutions are often not present in the public domain, plus there is a gap or delay in financial reporting.

The paper is one of the first to study systemic risk of shadow banks using a financial network comprising of commercial banks and mutual funds. It is also the first one to study systemic risk of Indian shadow banks.

Over the period, the role of finance has emerged significant in the socio-economic development of the women. There are two major types of finances, i.e. formal and informal ones. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate first the determinants of the demand for credit and then the demand for these credit sources by women especially in urban slums.

In this study, a primary survey was conducted with the help of a structured questionnaire in slums of two major urban cities in India, i.e. Delhi and Mumbai. In total, 450 individuals were interviewed in each city.

This paper presents a range of significant socio-economic factors affecting the demand for credit and source of credit by women borrower in Delhi and Mumbai. Despite, the greater emphasis by the government to increase the formal credit utilization, the informal credit is still preferred.

The outcomes of the study are expectedly useful to various policymakers and banks in encouraging women to opt more for the formal credit. The government can follow the research outcomes to scale up the programmes and schemes targeted for women empowerment in urban slums.

The study is unique of its kind in doing a comparative analysis in slums of two differently located urban cities with large slum population.

The purpose of this paper is to determine cause and effect relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth (gross domestic product (GDP) taken as proxy) for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS nations) individually for the period 1992-2013. Also, the study tries to explore the reasons behind the linkage between FDI and GDP by estimating a linear regression model consisting of both macro-economic and institutional variables.

Johansen cointegration technique followed by vector error correction model (VECM) and standard Granger causality test are employed to investigate the causal linkage between FDI and GDP. To delve into the reasons behind this linkage, an ordinary least square (OLS) technique is also applied to test the linear regression model consisting of net FDI inflows as dependent variable and nine macro- economic and institutional variables. Residual diagnostics is also conducted using Breusch-Godfrey Lagrange Multiplier test for diagnosing the problem of serial correlation, Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey test for examining heteroskedasticity and Jarque Bera test for verifying the normality of residuals.

The Johansen cointegration result establishes a single cointegrating vector (long run relationship) between FDI and GDP for India, China and Brazil. After proving a cointegration, VECM results revealed that there exists unidirectional long run causality running from GDP to FDI in case of Brazil, India and China. Also, it is confirmed that there exists short run causality between FDI and GDP in China, i.e. the past lags of FDI jointly impact the value of GDP. However, for Russia and South Africa, where there is no cointegration in the long run, standard Granger causality test is conducted which reveals that in both the nations, FDI and GDP are independent of one another. The results of OLS technique reveal different country-specific factors causing this linkage between FDI inflows and economic growth.

Various researchers in the past have examined this issue of linkage between FDI and GDP in the context of various developing or developed nations. This reveals a gap in the existing literature pertaining to this causal linkage in the context of the BRICS. Thus, this study fills this gap by analyzing not just this causal nexus with the help of VECM and Granger causality techniques but also tries to explore further the reasons for such strong/weak/no link with the help of fitting a regression model which comprises of both macro-economic and institutional country-specific variables influencing this causation.

Research findings indicate that there is positive relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company's reputation but relationship between CSR and company's profitability has not been explored in the Indian context. CSR level of business firms in India is increasing in terms of both amount of the disclosure and the number of participating firms. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to explore the link between good financial performance measure and other indicators of corporate responsibility. This paper also aims at studying the trend of disclosure of CSR reporting by Indian companies.

This study seeks to investigate the relationship between ethical commitment and financial performance over the four‐year period, through statistical regression and correlation analysis. Studies of few Indian companies who have successfully implemented CSR initiatives have also been analyzed to investigate the level and nature of engagement of Indian companies in social responsibility initiatives.

It has been reported that there is little evidence that companies with a code of ethics would generate significantly more economic value added (EVA) and market added value (MVA) than those without codes.

Indian corporations need to develop a proper strategy to integrate CSR goals with stockholders' goals. Top management should create a dedicated CSR team, which should identify the core areas of CSR and strengthen internal practices such as corporate governance, transparency and disclosure issues.

In the Indian context very few studies have analyzed the linkages between CSR and Organizational profitability. This article presents a new approach to correlate the relationship between CSR and Organizational profitability in terms of EVA and MVA.

Microfinance/microcredit/self-help groups (SHGs), as an instrument of women's empowerment, have attracted the attention of many researchers. However, despite being one of the most important aspects of SHGs, leadership in these groups has been neglected in the existing literature. The purpose of this paper is to focus on leadership in women-SHGs, and particularly on factors contributing to the emergence of leaders.

The research followed quantitative methodology. The study was conducted on women-SHGs in Dharavi (Mumbai, India), one of the largest slums in Asia. An equal number of leaders and non-leader members from women-SHGs were interviewed.

The findings demonstrates that a “participative/democratic style of leadership” is preferred by non-leader members within female SHGs. It also highlights that apart from traits/abilities of members and their situation within family and the group, other external factors also contribute to the emergence of leaders within SHGs. Often, rules and regulations of formal institutions and government policies force the group to replace its most efficient leader with another with no proven leadership qualities. The findings compelled us to re-think: “Is it really traits or situations that influence the emergence of leaders within women-SHGs?” or, “Is it a matter of forced leadership?” Leadership in female SHGs needs to be understood in totality, within the framework of their domestic world and their socio-economic context.

The findings of the study provide scope to governments and other formal institutions to re-evaluate their existing policies, rules and regulations in dealing with female SHGs in order to help women's empowerment in a real sense.

The study was conducted using a limited number of female SHGs, but it provides an insight to existing practitioners, governments and other formal institutions that are working on microfinance and using SHGs to empower women.

This paper aims to evaluate the inhibition efficiency (IE) of oxalate ions in controlling corrosion of aluminum at pH 10.

The IE has been determined by the classical weight loss method. The corrosion behavior of aluminum was investigated by using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance measurements. Ultra violet (UV)-visible and Fluorescence spectra have been used to analyze the film formed on the aluminum surface after immersion.

The maximum IE was 88 per cent, which was offered by a mixture of 250 ppm oxalate ions and 50 ppm [Zn²⁺]. Potentiodynamic polarization data revealed that the protective film was formed on the metal surface. UV-visible and Fluorescence spectra indicated the presence of Al³⁺−oxalate complex in the protective film formed on aluminum substrate after immersion in [OX]/[Zn²⁺] solution.

The findings of this work shed more light on the corrosion inhibition of aluminum by oxalate self-assembling monolayers.