ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Pankaj SinhaSubscribe to Pankaj Sinha

Performance of Self-help Groups in India

Since its inception, the performance of the self-help group programme in the area of rural development and women’s empowerment has been admirable. But, although the programme is being implemented in many parts of the country, its success has been patchy. This study evaluates its performance during 2011–19. It focuses on two aspects of the programme’s performance: its geographical expansion and the growth of non-performing assets. It shows that the programme has been more successful in well-off states, while in the central and north-eastern regions, it faces severe difficulties. The mounting NPAs in these regions require immediate intervention.

 

Dynamics of Competition in the Indian Banking Sector

Competition is supposed to make banks more efficient and stimulate financial innovation by opening up of new markets. Given the dynamic changes within the Indian banking system in the last two decades, the effect of the developments in the market on the competitive behaviour of Indian commercial banks is assessed. The empirical analysis suggests monopolistic competition. This feature of the Indian banking market is consistent with other emerging-market economies and developing countries. We also find a decrease in competition across the two time-periods, before and after 2007. This may be attributed to the consolidation of the sector, with major banks acquiring smaller banks to gain economies of scale, market share and transaction volume.

Myopic Investment View of the Indian Mutual Fund Industry

Since the majority of mutual fund investors are salaried individuals, the MF industry should have a long-term investment horizon. However, the data from all mutual funds for December 2007-May 2008 and December 2008-May 2009 reveals that the industry has adjusted its position on a short-term basis in tandem with the short-term volatility of the market. The findings substantiate the observation that there is an urgent need to set up an audit committee for this industry.

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