Search results

PolyJet technology allows printing complex multi-material composite configurations using Voxel digital designs' capability, thus allowing rapid prototyping of 3D printed structural parts. This paper aims to investigate the processing and mechanical characteristics of composite material configurations formed from soft and hard materials with different distributions and sizes via voxel digital print design.

Voxels are extruded representations of pixels and represent different material information similar to each pixel representing colors in digital images. Each geometric region of a digitally designed part represented by a voxel can be printed with a different material. Multi-material composite part configurations were formed and rapidly prototyped using a PolyJet printer Stratasys J750. A design of experiments composite part configuration of a soft material (Tango Plus) within a hard material matrix (Vero Black) was studied. Composite structures with different hard and soft material distributions, but at the same volume fractions of hard and soft materials, were rapidly prototyped via PolyJet printing through developed Voxel digital printing designs. The tensile behavior of these formed composite material configurations was studied.

Processing and mechanical behavior characteristics depend on materials in different regions and their distributions. Tensile characterization obtained the fracture energy, tensile strength, modulus and failure strength of different hard-soft composite systems. Mechanical properties and behavior of all different composite material systems are compared.

Tensile characteristics correlate to digital voxel designs that play a critical role in additive manufacturing, in addition to the formed material composition and distributions.

Results clearly indicate that multi-material composite systems with various tensile mechanical properties could be created using voxel printing by engineering the design of material distributions, and sizes. The important parameters such as inclusion size and distribution can easily be controlled within all slices via voxel digital designs in PolyJet printing. Therefore, engineers and designers can manipulate entire morphology and material at each voxel level, and different prototype morphologies can be created with the same voxel digital design. In addition, difficulties from AM process with voxel printing for such material designs is addressed, and effective digital solutions were used for successful prototypes. Some of these difficulties are extra support material or printing the part with different dimension than it designed to achieve the final part dimension fidelity. Present work addressed and resolved such issued and provided cyber based software solutions using CAD and voxel discretization. All these increase broad adaptability of PolyJet AM in industry for prototyping and end-use.

In early 2008, IndusInd Bank (A), which had been faring poorly for several years, decided to bring on board a team led by Romesh Sobti, then managing director of ABN Amro Bank in India. The case outlines the challenges faced by the new team in attempting to turn around the bank. Students are invited to think through a turnaround plan for the bank.

This paper aims to endeavour to assess revenue efficiency (RE) scores of Scheduled Commercial Banks operating in India. Differences in RE are studied across varying ownership as well. The study also determines the nature of return to scale of Indian SCBs as whole as well as classified across ownership. Number of banks operating as leaders and laggards has also been calculated.

RE of banks is calculated by using the non-parametric approach, namely, data envelopment analysis (DEA). Further, the differences in the efficiency scores are examined by applying Panel Tobit Regression.

The results of DEA suggest that none of the banks has ever achieved full RE score of 1 in any of the years under study. An inconsistent pattern of RE is seen. Private sector banks have performed better than their counterparts in public and foreign sector. Maximum number of banks operating on decreasing return to scale are from public sector, and the highest number of banks operating on constant return to scale belong to Foreign Sector. More number of banks operates as laggards in the Indian financial system. Thus, there still exists room for improvement for banks in all sectors.

With specific reference to India, less empirical work has been carried out with respect to RE. As only two studies so far from the literature are available that consider RE exclusively, namely, Ram Mohan and Ray (2004) and Bhatia and Mahendru (2015). However, Ram Mohan and Ray (2004) considered only the reformatory phase, whereas Bhatia and Mahendru (2015) analyzed the performance for specific points of time only. None of the study has been able to give any concrete findings according to sector-wise performance of banks in terms of RE parameters.

In the past three centuries in India, outsiders have dominated economic fortunes. Yet, for a brief interlude for two decades (i.e. in the 1830s and 1840s), the Bengalis from Eastern India played a dominant role in the modern business sector of the economy as partners of the British. The singular reason behind this phenomenon was the role of Dwarkanath Tagore (DT) in building multiple multiracial business partnerships in a myriad of businesses. This study aims to demonstrate how all of these activities were synthesized in an integrated marketing approach and how DT was the catalyst in forging these partnerships with the British East India Company and other enterprises.

A historical research method is used in critically examining the business practices of DT. Resources include a few biographies about him as well as several print sources, including several publications owned by him.

DT’s approach to an integrated marketing approach in the nineteenth century, involved the traditional production, distributional and promotional components, and he understood the significance of using all tools at his disposal to reach his market using these synergies, each reinforcing his main self-identify was that of an entrepreneur. He used forward integration techniques in running other operations, e.g. distribution, publishing, advertising and promotion of his products. His multiracial social networks for business and social activities are also identified.

This study synthesizes different sections of DT’s businesses and illustrates how he used integrated marketing to build an enterprising, profit-making business, which was good for both the economy of Bengal and that of the British East India Company and his other partners. The study also establishes him as a pioneering Indian entrepreneur and identifies major social networks with other business partners (both Indian and British).

The paper aims to analyze the revenue efficiency (RE) of Scheduled Commercial Banks in India. The study also determines the nature of Return to Scale (RTS) of banks and thereby identifies the leaders and laggards in the Indian Banking Sector.

RE of banks is calculated by using the non-parametric approach, namely, data envelopment analysis. Further, the efficiency scores are decomposed into technical and allocative efficiency.

Public Sector Banks have higher RE as compared to their counterparts in private and foreign sectors. The choice of operating on incorrect scale is identified as the primary reason of inefficiency. It is suggested that banks should expand their business by opening new branches and also try to increase their customer base. Overall, it is seen that trends in RE are somewhat affected by the dynamism in the environment along with the bank-specific factors.

With specific reference to India, less empirical work has been carried out with respect to RE. None of the studies has identified that revenue inefficiency is caused either by mispricing of outputs or giving wrong choice of outputs.

Is the nuclear sky falling? It appears so. With the quantitative and qualificative improvements in nuclear stockpile, a proliferation-pessimism finds expression in metaphors about nuclear dominoes, chains etc. With a number of threshold states, the catch-phrase is ‘credible deterrence’. However, much of the zero-sum cold war thinking on strategic defence has now become anachronistic. A phased adaptive approach, leading to universal disarmament is necessary, especially in India’s strategic interest. A nuclear weapon-free world could ensure a safer regional security environment for India. It’s all the more imperative in view of China’s interest to emerge as the strategic leader in Asia, even well beyond Asia.

New START initiatives are positive developments in this regard. However, it is necessary to bring into this fold other nuclear powers. (China has rejected the US and Russian levels of nuclear ‘transparency’ as part of its defence calculus; it has already crossed the multiple warhead Rubicon. It may also install a National Missile Defence System by 2020.)

Though a Nuclear Weapon-Free World (NWFW) cannot emerge instantaneously, an NWFW can evolve, if the following measures are evolved:

• (i)

  Change the mind-set devaluing nuclear weapons by strategically displacing ‘disbelief’ with ‘faith’ in the efficacy of nuclear abolition.

• (ii)

  Change the perception of  the utility and prestige associated with nuclear weapons.

• (iii)

  Redraft nuclear doctrines to restrict their role and break the ‘feed-back paradigm of the need for nuclear deterrence’.

• (iv)

  Take measures to build confidence in multilateral initiation on NWFW.

• (v)

  Ensure universal acceptance of ‘no first use’ (NFU) through a legally binding, universally accepted agreement.

• (vi)

  Have agreement prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

• (vii)

  Devise agreements for controlling the continuous qualitative upgradation.

• (viii)

  Establishment of a Safeguard Regime with thorough organizational and institutional mechanism.

• (ix)

  Use advanced surveillance and monitoring technology to ensure compliance.

• (x)

  Implement effective enforcement strategy to penalize delinquent.

Change the mind-set devaluing nuclear weapons by strategically displacing ‘disbelief’ with ‘faith’ in the efficacy of nuclear abolition.

Change the perception of  the utility and prestige associated with nuclear weapons.

Redraft nuclear doctrines to restrict their role and break the ‘feed-back paradigm of the need for nuclear deterrence’.

Take measures to build confidence in multilateral initiation on NWFW.

Ensure universal acceptance of ‘no first use’ (NFU) through a legally binding, universally accepted agreement.

Have agreement prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

Devise agreements for controlling the continuous qualitative upgradation.

Establishment of a Safeguard Regime with thorough organizational and institutional mechanism.

Use advanced surveillance and monitoring technology to ensure compliance.

Implement effective enforcement strategy to penalize delinquent.

It is in India’s interest to pursue universal disarmament with universal focus on economic and social cohesion for war prevention as the key to long-term security.

As the first Asian country to build a nuclear reactor, and as one among the handful of countries with full nuclear fuel cycle capabilities, India should strive to bring about universal disarmament of nuclear weapons so that world can meet spiralling demand for power through nuclear reactors, which pose no threat to the world peace.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent of technical efficiency in 27 public sector banks operating in India and to provide strict ranking to these banks.

Two popular data envelopment analysis (DEA) models, namely, CCR model and Andersen and Petersen's super‐efficiency model, were utilized. The cross‐section data for the financial year 2004/2005 were used for obtaining technical efficiency scores.

The results show that only seven of the 27 banks are found to be efficient and thus, defined the efficient frontier; and technical efficiency scores range from 0.632 to 1, with an average of 0.885. Thus, Indian public sector banks, on an average, waste the inputs to the tune of 11.5 percent. Andhra Bank has been observed to be the most efficient bank followed closely by Corporation Bank. Further, the banks affiliated with SBI group turned out to be more efficient than the nationalized banks. The regression results incisively indicate that the exposure to off‐balance sheet activities, staff productivity, market share and size are the major determinants of the technical efficiency.

The practical implication of the research findings is that apart from the proportional reduction of all inputs equivalent to the amount of technical inefficiency, most of the inefficient public sector banks need to reduce the use of the physical capital and augment non‐interest income to project themselves on the efficient frontier.

This paper is the first to provide a strict ranking of Indian public sector banks on the basis of super‐efficiency scores.

The purpose of this paper is to appraise the efficiency, effectiveness, and performance of 27 public sector banks (PSBs) operating in India by using a two‐stage performance evaluation model.

Using the cross‐sectional data for the financial year 2006/2007, the technique of data envelopment analysis has been used for computing the efficiency and effectiveness scores for individual PSBs. The overall performance scores have been derived by taking the product of efficiency and effectiveness scores.

The empirical results reveal that high efficiency does not stand for high effectiveness in the Indian PSB industry. A positive and strong correlation between effectiveness and performance measures has been noted. Further, on the efficiency front, State Bank of Travancore appears as an ideal benchmark, while State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, and State Bank of Mysore emerge as ideal benchmarks on the effectiveness front.

The practical implication of the research findings is that in their drive to improve overall performance, Indian PSBs should pay more attention to their income‐generating capabilities (i.e. effectiveness) relative to their ability to produce traditional outputs such as advances and investments (i.e. efficiency).

This paper is perhaps the first to evaluate the performance of Indian banks by considering simultaneously the aspects of efficiency and effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to present a holistic approach for measuring overall bank efficiency and its decomposition in intermediation and operating efficiencies.

Recently developed two-stage network data envelopment analysis model by Liang et al. (2008) has been used for obtaining intermediation and operational efficiencies along with overall bank efficiency. The bootstrapped truncated regression algorithm as proposed by Simar and Wilson (2007) has been employed to explore the influential determinants of intermediation and operating efficiencies.

The empirical results reveal that the operating inefficiency is the dominant source of overall bank inefficiency in Indian banking sector. Another interesting finding is that public sector banks are more efficient than private banks in the intermediation stage of production process, while private banks are more efficient in the operating stage of production process. Finally, the results of bootstrapped truncated regression show that variations in intermediation efficiency are explained by bank size, liquidity position, directed lending and intermediation cost, while inter-bank differences in operating efficiency are influenced by profitability and income diversification.

The most significant practical implication that has been derived from the research findings is that at the industry level, overall efficiency enhancement needs improvement both in terms of resource-utilization and income-generating abilities of the banks. However, the relatively easy way to achieve higher bank efficiency is to improve the efficiency of banks in generating incomes from interest and fee-based sources.

This paper is the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of performance of Indian banks by examining the efficiency of individual banks considering both the intermediation and operating approaches simultaneously.