P. K. Jain

This book proposes three normative frameworks pertaining to risk-measurement, disclosure and governance using expert opinion and data from the top 429 non-financial companies (of the NIFTY 500 index) over a 10-year period. The book offers a novel contribution to the global literature on disclosure quality by presenting a composite measure of the quality as well as quantity of risk disclosures. Focusing on the quality of risk disclosures and risk governance structures, and using sophisticated methodology to tackle the issue of endogeneity, the book explores the important yet uncharted confluence of accounting information, risk and corporate governance. It addresses the interplay between three facets of risk, and is corroborated by practitioners’ perspectives as well as case studies. It is an excellent resource for practitioners, professionals and policy-makers, in addition to researchers working on the topic.

The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre) is an innovative science based institute which undertakes assessment and refinement of technologies, frontline demonstrations to promptly demonstrate the latest agricultural technologies to the farmers as well as the extension workers and conducts trainings for farmers, farm women, rural youth and extension personnel. ICAR had launched the scheme as the training institutes in the country were not sufficient to meet the training needs of the farmers and consequently the process of transfer of technology had been slowed down. Based on the recommendations of the Education Commission (1964-66) and Inter Ministerial Committee (1973), the ICAR decided to establish Krishi Vigyan Kendra in the country, as they observed the KVKs are of national importance and would help in accelerating the agricultural production and also in improving the socio- economic conditions of the farming community. It is observed that a huge amount of fund is released by Government for functioning of the KVKs for overall development of farming community by the mandated activities of KVKs. So, there is an urgent need to study the performance of KVKs.

This book proposes three normative frameworks pertaining to risk-measurement, disclosure and governance using expert opinion and data from the top 429 non-financial companies (of the NIFTY 500 index) over a 10-year period. The book offers a novel contribution to the global literature on disclosure quality by presenting a composite measure of the quality as well as quantity of risk disclosures. Focusing on the quality of risk disclosures and risk governance structures, and using sophisticated methodology to tackle the issue of endogeneity, the book explores the important yet uncharted confluence of accounting information, risk and corporate governance. It addresses the interplay between three facets of risk, and is corroborated by practitioners’ perspectives as well as case studies. It is an excellent resource for practitioners, professionals and policy-makers, in addition to researchers working on the topic.

The book presents a comprehensive view of the Indian equity markets over the past two decades (1994-2014). Equity markets constitute the most important segment of stock exchanges; in fact, the status of equity returns is, by and large, considered as a barometer of the state of a country’s economy. Returns earned by the equity investors on their funds invested in equity markets have become a decisive factor in the growth of such markets. In this context, the book discusses all the major aspects of equity returns and also conducts a dis-aggregative analysis based on underlying factors like age, size, ownership structure, industry affiliation/sector, among others, to explain the factors affecting returns and risk. While on the one hand the study ascertains the market rates of return (earned) on equities from the investors’ perspective (by including both the capital gains and the dividend income), it also shows how to compute the rates of returns on equities from the corporate perspective(that is, rate of return earned on equity funds). It further assesses the required/expected rate of return and examines the volatility in stock returns, with a focus on its behaviour during the period of the study. It deepens investors’ understanding of equity investment, helping them to make more-informed investments. While of interest to the investor community, this book also contributes significantly to the existing literature on market returns and is a valuable reference resource for academics, researchers and market participants, financial institutions and other intermediaries, regulators and policy makers.

The book examines the various aspects of non-financial central public sector enterprises (PSEs) in India, for a period from 1986-87 to 2010-11. The analysis is based on all the key financial ratios; namely, profitability, efficiency, liquidity, leverage and productivity. Liberalization and globalization have caused competition in India and have lowered the profit margins. At the same time, Indian government has reduced subsidies and budgetary support for PSEs to curtail their own fiscal deficit. Strategic and economic reforms were also introduced in PSEs to make their operations commercially profitable so that they are not dependent on the government to meet their financial requirements on the one hand, and have their own earnings to finance their expansion/modernization requirements as well as their social obligations, on the other. To what extent, the PSEs have succeeded in this objective constitutes one major aspect of the present research work. The other equally important aspect examined is financial performance of the PSEs which have opted for disinvestment and have signed memorandum of understanding (MoU)/ self obligations. The Indian Government has desired the central PSEs to be profitable in their operations in post-liberation era of 1990s. For this purpose, two major instruments, namely, disinvestment and MoUs, were introduced. This book examines, in detail, financial performance of PSEs which had opted for disinvestment and have signed MoU. Based on analysis/ findings and literature on the subject, the book contains some concrete suggestions that would prove extremely helpful to Indian Government to further improve their financial performance. ?