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The present study aims to investigate the impact of liquidity management on profitability of Indian Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firms, as well as the relationship among them, using econometric models.

Liquidity indices like current ratio, liquid ratio, absolute liquid ratio and cash conversion cycle are taken as explanatory variables, whereas age of creditors, age of debtors, age of inventory, sales and inter-temporal growth in sales are taken as control variables. Profitability is measured in terms of return on investment. The sample size is restricted to 18 Indian FMCG firms, and the secondary data for analysis are retrieved from Prowess Database of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy for 10-year period from 2001-2002 to 2010-2011. Apart from using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis, panel data regression analysis like fixed-effects model and random effects model are used in the study. Hausman test is also used to make a choice between these two models.

The study results reveal a strong negative relationship between the measures of liquidity management and firms’ profitability, but firms’ size has a strong positive affiliation with profitability.

The study has been constrained by the sample size and the nature of the data, which could have well affected the results.

This study has identified critical management practices which are expected to help out finance managers and practitioners in recognizing vital areas for improving the financial performance of their firm’s operation.

This paper aims to deal with a closer look into the nature and extent of consumer expenditure inequality in India to identify the major contributions those are embedded, particularly after the economic reforms. Relative contributions of major consumption items/sources to the overall expenditure inequality are quantitatively examined in terms of a decomposition exercise. Eventually, the paper investigates the relative marginal effects of expenditure components/sources on overall inequality.

Gini index is used to measure the degree of inequality in consumer expenditure. Contribution of each expenditure sources to overall inequality is estimated by using source decomposition technique of Gini index contributed by Lerman and Yitzhaki.

The study observes that the inequality in consumer expenditure has increased in both the rural and the urban parts of India during the post-reform period. Non-food expenditure is more unevenly distributed, and it has been found to be more pro-rich in nature. Expenditure on cereals and pulses still exhibits higher inequality-reducing effect in rural and urban India. Education and health-care expenses have been inequality-increasing in the country. Contribution of expenditure on miscellaneous consumer services, durable goods, education and health care to the overall expenditure inequality is significantly higher.

The study identifies the capacity of different expenditure sources towards increasing or decreasing the overall inequality which is crucial for better redistributive policies to be adopted to enhance the well-being of the economy in real sense.

Individuals earn their income from different sources in an economy. Persons being engaged with different occupations have different income levels. Welfare level thus varies from person to person. Obviously an indignant feeling arises out of interpersonal shortages of income which is viewed as relative deprivation of the person to whom shortages are inflicted. This paper attempts to analyse geometrically inter‐temporal variations in relative deprivation.

Temporal movement has been analysed in terms of iso‐deprivation curves.

Reduction in relative deprivation is the cherished goal of every welfare economy. But how it should be pursued is a matter of concern to the policy makers. In the present analysis five paths are discussed along which the deprivation level may be reduced. The most desirable path is identified.

Different components and their relative contributions to changes in relative deprivation have been identified in a geometrical decomposition framework. The analysis is of use in framing policies for reduction in relative deprivation and increase in social well‐being.

The authors study the effect of access to smartphones on the socio-economic well-being in the case of rural base of the pyramid (BoP) women. While smartphone access may have its benefits, the paper suggests augmenting access with a sociotechnical intermediary (STI) that facilitates training and online community building to enhance the well-being outcomes.

The authors conducted a survey from three groups of women from rural West Bengal (India) – (1) who do not own smartphones, (2) who have their own smartphones and (3) who receive smartphones and STI support (over two years). The authors evaluate the effect of access to smartphones and STI support on social well-being (including structural social capital and empowerment) and economic well-being (including entrepreneurial intent and subjective economic well-being).

The analysis results suggest a high relationship between smartphone ownership and higher structural social capital, empowerment (in terms of freedom of movement) and entrepreneurial intent. The authors further find these effects to be enhanced amongst women who received smartphones and support from STI.

The authors attribute this enhanced well-being amongst women with smartphones and STI support to peer-learning and cultivation of virtual role models facilitated by the STI through creation of intra-community online groups. The results have significant policy implications for socio-economic well-being of rural BoP women.

The authors aimed to examine the incarceration experiences of injecting drug users in accessing harm reduction, and HIV‐related services inside prisons in India.

The authors conducted three focus groups with a purposive sample of 23 formerly incarcerated male IDUs and four key informant interviews with a former police official, a drug dealer and service providers. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method.

Participants reported availability of alcohol and injectable or oral drugs such as heroin, dextropropoxyphene, and marijuana inside prisons. Inmates obtained drugs and clean syringes (one syringe bought for 2.5‐4 USD) through prison staff, and collected used syringes and needles from the dustbins in prison sickrooms. Needles and syringes were reused and shared. Prisons did not have needle and syringe programmes, detoxification, overdose management or opioid substitution treatment. Drug‐using prison inmates faced several challenges in accessing antiretroviral treatment and HIV testing.

The authors' findings emphasize the need to protect the health of injection drug‐using inmates by introducing harm reduction programmes and removing barriers to HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment.

This study illustrates, for the first time, the contexts behind high risk injecting drug use behaviours among prison inmates in India. It also highlights the lack of availability of harm reduction services such as needle and syringe programmes, drug detoxification and opioid substitution treatment inside prisons. Further, it demonstrates the difficulties faced by HIV‐positive prison inmates in getting timely and uninterrupted antiretroviral treatment.