Informatics Publishing Limited

Radhagobinda Basak ¹

Affiliations
1 Maharani Kasiswari College (Affiliated to the University of Calcutta), West Bengal, IN

Abstract

Corporate restructuring decisions (demerger, etc.) are taken to enhance sustainability. Sustainability is enhanced if some more value for the stakeholders can be generated. Traditional measures like return on investment (ROI) can highlight short run sustainability well. But, to indicate long run sustainability, we need modern measures like economic value added (EVA).The present study highlights whether corporate restructuring through demerger adds value for the stakeholders. For this purpose, the demerger of Unilever India Exports Limited from Hindustan Unilever Limited has been taken as a case study. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) demerged its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) exports business into a wholly owned subsidiary Unilever India Exports Limited (UIEL) with effect from 1st April 2011. In this study, financial performance of HUL has been measured in pre and post demerger period respectively. Then performance of UIEL has also been measured after its incorporation. Performance has been measured under traditional and modern approach both. Finally a comparative analysis has been done between the performances in pre and post demerger period. On the basis of the comparative analysis it has been concluded that the demerger of UIEL is a value generating demerger.

Keywords

Demerger, Sustainability, Return on Investment, Economic Value Added, Cost of Capital.

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Radhagobinda Basak ¹

Affiliations
1 Maharani Kasiswari College (Affiliated to the University of Calcutta),West Bengal, IN

Abstract

Companies Act, 2013 has come into effect in India recently. Previously, Indian companies were under the control of Companies Act, 1956. In Companies Act, 1956, there were no provisions regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR). Therefore, it was practiced only by few Indian companies voluntarily and they would report it in the way as they deemed fit. In this background, presence of a structured legal framework for CSR was badly needed. Keeping this in mind, Companies Act, 2013 has provided some important and contemporary provisions regarding CSR practice and reporting and these provisions came into effect from 1st April, 2014. Now, the companies which satisfy the required conditions as laid down in the act must spend a specific percentage of their net profit for CSR activities and report it each year. Standing on this situation, in this present paper, it has been attempted to review the scenario of CSR practice and reporting by some major Indian companies. A sample of ten companies has been selected for this purpose. On the basis of their merit in complying the CSR provisions, they have been ranked. The conclusion is that the selected companies have already initiated good CSR projects and they have the intention to perform their social responsibilities in the coming years in a better way.

Keywords

Corporate Social Responsibility, Average Net Profit, Implementing Agency, Monitoring Mechanism, Education, Health.

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Radhagobinda Basak ¹

Affiliations
1 Maharani Kasiswari College (Affiliated to the University of Calcutta), West Bengal, IN

Abstract

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005, later renamed as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was enacted in the parliament to provide employment opportunities to the rural people of India. The State Government shall, in rural areas in the state, provide to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work not less than one hundred days of such work in every financial year.The West Bengal Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (WBREGS) came into force from February, 2006. In the present study, an attempt has been taken to review the performance of the scheme implemented in different districts of West Bengal and also to measure the inequality among the districts in implementing the scheme.Five parameters have been used to measure the performance of the districts, namely, percentage of households provided employment to the households demanded employment, percentage of households completed 100 days of employment, average person days of employment provided per household, percentage of women person days to total person days and average wage disbursed per person day. To calculate the inequality among the districts in performing the same, coefficient of variation and Ginni's coefficient have been used. Kendall's coefficient of concordance has also been used to test the propriety of the ranks obtained by different districts on the basis of different parameters.

Keywords

Employment, Person Days, Performance, Development.

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Manidipa Das Gupta ¹, Radhagobinda Basak ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Commerce, University of Burdwan, West Bengal, IN
2 Department of Commerce, Maharani Kasiswari College (Affiliated to the University of Calcutta), West Bengal, IN

Abstract

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) play a significant role in introducing high level of socio-economic empowerment to all levels of social beings with its huge contribution in production, export promotion, employment generation, and value addition. Besides, it is well capable in redressing off the concomitant hazards of our nation like unemployment, poverty etc. The beneficial effect of the very sector is increased sharply if it is being participated by the marginalized gender section of our society, women. Notwithstanding, the sector cannot protect itself from several down-gradation in its survival due to several controllable and/or uncontrollable causes amongst which the inadequate need-based finance is considered to be the most severe one (All India Fourth Census Report of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), 2006-2007). In this context, the Central Bank has declared many promotional financial policies for the neediest sector of economy which has been allowed to be practiced by all the financial institutions of which the Commercial Banks (CBs) are the most significant ones. But CBs sometimes are blamed for their unfriendly partial attitude towards the very sector for their sole emphasis on commercialization. The women-owned MSEs in this context sometimes suffer a lot for the gender-discriminative credit policy of the CBs. In India, amongst different states, West Bengal (WB) is taken as a significant contributor so far as the number of women-owned MSEs and their performances are concerned. WB here specially recognizes the engineering sector of Howrah, the former Birmingham of the East, for its special contribution in socio-economic development of it. Though men-dominated sector, women-owned units here are also found to perform prestigiously irrespective of different hindrances mainly originated from need-based financial lacuna. CBs here are also found to be responsible ones reflecting the nation-wide picture over there which ultimately puts a question on proper implementation of financial policies to serve the marginalized gender section of the society. The present paper, therefore, aims at identifying to what extent the financial assistance of Commercial Banks empowers economically the women-owned micro and small engineering enterprises of Howrah and recommending some suggestions for further improvement following descriptive research methodology and relevant statistical tools and techniques.

Keywords

Women-owned MSEs, Commercial Banks, Financial Inclusion, Economic Empowerment.

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Radhagobinda Basak ¹, Manidipa Das Gupta ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Commerce, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, IN
2 Department of Commerce, The University of Burdwan, West Bengal, IN

Abstract

The present study deals with the review of literature on the area of empowerment of women through their participation in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For this purpose, the literature has been divided into two main domains. In the first domain, literature on women participation in MSMEs and related issues has been reviewed. In the second domain, literature on empowerment of women participants and related issues has been reviewed. In the Introduction section of the study, the relevance of conducting such a study has been tried to be justified. While reviewing the literature in the second section of the study, the findings have been summarised and relationships between findings of different studies have been shown. The papers have not necessarily been reviewed chronologically. Rather, they have been arranged as per the ideas discussed in the study. Based on the findings of different studies, conclusions have been drawn for the two main domains of the study, respectively.

Keywords

MSMEs, Women, Participant, Empowerment.

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Radhagobinda Basak ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Commerce, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, IN

Abstract

Poverty and unemployment are relatively higher among the Scheduled Casts (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) than that in other communities in India, especially in rural areas. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, was introduced in India to create employment opportunities for the rural people. The present study measures the performance of the states in spreading the benefits of the scheme among the SCs and the STs of the rural areas. Ranks have been assigned to the states based on their performance as measured by the four selected parameters. Inequality among the states in carrying out the scheme has also been measured. Further, correlations between performance scores of the states and SC/ST poverty rates of the states, and performance scores of the states and SC/ ST literacy rates of the states have been computed, respectively.

Keywords

Employment, Person Days, Inequality, Poverty, Literacy.

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