Performance Assessment Study of Indian Railways – Case of Low Efficiencies in Large Government Monopoly

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110255
Author(s):  
Sabyasachi S. Roy ◽  
Mukul Kulshrestha
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Rail Network ◽  
The Past ◽  
Assessment Study ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Financial Losses

Indian Railways is the world’s largest government-owned monopoly, annually carrying passenger numbers that surpass the global population. It is world’s fourth largest rail network after the U.S.A., China, and Russia, and is managed by a separate Ministry of Railways. The operating ratios have consistently been around 90% in the past several years, indicating that that the capability to generate operational surplus is low. Further, its expenditure on staff and their pensions has been increasing. Consequently, capacity growth is increasingly being funded through borrowings, which threatens to further worsen the financial situation. Thus, railway services in India are often perceived as being inefficient and unsatisfactory. However, this perception of inefficient services has no scientific basis as mid- and micro-level efficiency analyses of Indian Railways have never been carried out. This paper adopts a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based approach to evaluate the performance efficiencies of the 69 divisions of Indian Railways. Six models that deploy a range of performance indicators like operating expenditures, numbers of staff employed or passengers carried, freight carried, rail network length, and revenues generated have been employed to assess efficiencies. The results demonstrate the existence of significant inefficiencies that may possibly be attributed to lack of proper management, planning policies, and mis-governance, resulting in significant financial losses. The paper discusses these issues and the policy reforms needed in the developing country context, while suggesting some reforms that may lead to improved sector performances.

Efficiency evaluation of urban water supply services in an Indian state

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukul Kulshrestha ◽  
Amit Vishwakarma
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Supply ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Financial Losses ◽  
Water Supply Services

Water supply services in urban India are essential functions of urban local bodies or municipalities. These services are mostly perceived as unsatisfactory across urban centres and the sector is widely perceived to be misgoverned with large number of municipalities making financial losses. However, this common perception of inefficient services has not much scientific basis as the efficiencies of these services are not measured. This paper, therefore, attempts to evolve a framework for evaluating the relative inefficiencies of water supply services and applies a non-parametric approach, data envelopment analysis (DEA), to 20 urban centres in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India, by applying three different models. The results of the analysis indicate that there are significant inefficiencies amongst the various municipalities that supply water. It was found that larger cities exhibit better efficiencies than smaller ones, requiring policy interventions. However, even the larger municipalities need restructuring and downsizing of their operations to be more efficient. DEA results also show that significant savings with respect to operating expenditures, staff and non-revenue water are actually possible if best practices are adopted. The paper discusses the results of the study in the context of policy issues that are relevant from a developing country perspective.

Social Policies and Center-Right Governments in Argentina and Chile

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (03) ◽  
pp. 72-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Niedzwiecki ◽  
Jennifer Pribble
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Left Turn ◽  
The Past ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Spending Cuts

AbstractLatin America's “left turn” expanded cash transfers and public services, contributing to lower poverty and inequality. Recently, right-leaning candidates and parties have begun to win back seats in the legislature, and in some cases have captured the executive branch. This shift has sparked debate about the future of Latin America's welfare states. This article analyzes social policy reforms enacted by two recent right-leaning governments: that of Sebastián Piñera in Chile (2010–14) and Mauricio Macri in Argentina (2015–). It finds that contrary to neoliberal adjustment policies of the past, neither Macri nor Piñera engaged in privatization or deep spending cuts. Instead, both administrations facilitated a process of policy drift in some sectors and marginal expansion in others. Policy legacies and the strength of the opposition help to explain these outcomes, suggesting that Latin America's political context has been transformed by the consolidation of democracy and the experience of left party rule.

scholarly journals A Fast and Effective Method to Identify Relevant Sets of Variables in Complex Systems

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1022
Author(s):  
Gianluca D’Addese ◽  
Martina Casari ◽  
Roberto Serra ◽  
Marco Villani
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Gene Regulatory Networks ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Graph Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Gene Regulatory ◽  
High Level

In many complex systems one observes the formation of medium-level structures, whose detection could allow a high-level description of the dynamical organization of the system itself, and thus to its better understanding. We have developed in the past a powerful method to achieve this goal, which however requires a heavy computational cost in several real-world cases. In this work we introduce a modified version of our approach, which reduces the computational burden. The design of the new algorithm allowed the realization of an original suite of methods able to work simultaneously at the micro level (that of the binary relationships of the single variables) and at meso level (the identification of dynamically relevant groups). We apply this suite to a particularly relevant case, in which we look for the dynamic organization of a gene regulatory network when it is subject to knock-outs. The approach combines information theory, graph analysis, and an iterated sieving algorithm in order to describe rather complex situations. Its application allowed to derive some general observations on the dynamical organization of gene regulatory networks, and to observe interesting characteristics in an experimental case.

scholarly journals Trans-regional rice supply paradigm reveals unsustainable water use in China

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Wu ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Kirti Avishek
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Southwest China ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Rice Production ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
The Past ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Global Population

Abstract Rice is an important staple food for more than half of the global population and one of the largest water consumers on earth. Improving the efficiency of water embedded in rice production and supply could have great implications for food and water security. This study starts from Yunnan, a traditional rice producing and consuming province in southwest China, and analyses its rice supply structure and dynamics, together with embedded water footprints (WFs) of three other regions: Northeast China, South and Southwest China and Southeast Asia. The results show that Yunnan has been under through drastic food change in the past decades, leading to increasing production and supply gap. Yunnan is found to have the least WF (778.2 m3/t) for rice production across the study regions, while Northeast China consumes the highest blue WF (364.6 m3/t) and blue to total WF ratio (97.7%). The study indicates that Northeast China is at risk of groundwater deficit due to rice production and export and the current rice production and consumption pattern is inefficient. The study suggests that policies for groundwater extraction, water resource price and international trade need to be in place to ensure sustainable food supply and water use at regional and national levels.

Plant-Based Proteins: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Aimutis
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Food Science ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
The Past ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Consumption Enjoyment ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Made In

Our global population is growing at a pace to exceed 10 billion people by the year 2050. This growth will place pressure on the agricultural production of food to feed the hungry masses. One category that will be strained is protein. Per capita protein consumption is rising in virtually every country for both nutritional reasons and consumption enjoyment. The United Nations estimates protein demand will double by 2050, and this will result in a critical overall protein shortage if drastic changes are not made in the years preceding these changes. Therefore, the world is in the midst of identifying technological breakthroughs to make protein more readily available and sustainable for future generations. One protein sourcing category that has grown in the past decade is plant-based proteins, which seem to fit criteria established by discerning consumers, including healthy, sustainable, ethical, and relatively inexpensive. Although demand for plant-based protein continues to increase, these proteins are challenging to utilize in novel food formulations. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 13 is March 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals A Series of Astronomy Programs for Television in India

1990 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 342-345
Author(s):  
Jayant V. Narlikar
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Scientific Experimentation

Astronomy, unlike most other sciences, arouses great curiosity amongst laypeople. It is a subject that can be described relatively easily in public lectures. Distinguished astronomers like James Jeans and Arthur Eddington in the past and many more in recent times have “stooped down” to the public level to share the excitement of astronomical discoveries. Today, the popularization program normally proceeds in four different ways — through popular articles, public lectures, planetarium shows, and radio – TV programs. However, this overwhelming public interest in astronomy brings its own difficulties. Not all of it is motivated by a scientific interest! Many persons read mystic significance into astronomical findings. Many more are guided by astrological interest. Many fail to perceive the scientific basis for astronomy, a subject whose laboratory is the whole cosmos with objects too remote to be subject to scientific experimentation.

scholarly journals THE ANTHROPOCENE AND THE LONGEVITY REVOLUTION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S542-S542
Author(s):  
Moon Choi
Keyword(s):  
Human Longevity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Average Life ◽  
Average Life Expectancy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Life Expectancy At Birth ◽  
The Face ◽  
Important Evidence ◽  
Global Population

Abstract The Anthropocene, a term popularized in 2010 by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen, refers to the current epoch during which human beings have begun to have a significant impact on the earth, e.g., the environment and climate change. Global population has grown approximately seven-fold over the past 200 years, while average life expectancy at birth has dramatically increased due to improvements in nutrition, medicine, and technology. The human Longevity Revolution thus provides important evidence of the Anthropocene. Yet, in the face of the Anthropocene, contemporary lifestyles rooted in capitalism–continually seeking more and bigger–are not sustainable; changes are needed for humanity to “live long on the damaged planet.” This presentation will discuss the Longevity Revolution in the context of the theory and previous research on the Anthropocene, then suggest an agenda for future research related to the intersection between the Anthropocene and the Longevity Revolution.

Randomizing Efficiency Scores in DEA Using Beta Distribution

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Parakramaweera Sunil Dharmapala
Keyword(s):  
Beta Distribution ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Imprecise Data ◽  
Output Data ◽  
Uniform Sampling ◽  
The Past ◽  
Stochastic Dea ◽  
Dea Models ◽  
Assurance Regions ◽  
Fuzzy Dea

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has come under criticism that it is capable of handling only the deterministic input/output data, and therefore, efficiency scores reported by DEA may not be realistic when the data contain random error. Several researchers in the past have addressed this issue by proposing Stochastic DEA models. Some others, citing imprecise data, have proposed Fuzzy DEA models. This paper proposes a method to randomize efficiency scores in DEA by treating each score as an ‘order statistic' that follows a Beta distribution, and it uses Thompson et al.'s (1996) DEA model appended with Assurance Regions (AR) randomized by our “uniform sampling”. In an application to a set of banks, the work demonstrates the randomization and derives some statistical results.

scholarly journals The Global Historical and Contemporary Impacts of Voluntary Membership Associations on Human Societies

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Horton Smith
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Past ◽  
Voluntary Membership ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Membership Associations ◽  
The Universe

AbstractReviewed here is global research on how 13 types of Voluntary Membership Associations (MAs) have significantly or substantially had global impacts on human history, societies, and life. Such outcomes have occurred especially in the past 200+ years since the Industrial Revolution circa 1800 CE, and its accompanying Organizational Revolution. Emphasized are longer-term, historical, and societal or multinational impacts of MAs, rather than more micro-level (individual) or meso-level (organizational) outcomes. MAs are distinctively structured, with power coming from the membership, not top-down. The author has characterized MAs as the dark matter of the nonprofit/third sector, using an astrophysical metaphor. Astrophysicists have shown that most physical matter in the universe is dark in the sense of being unseen, not stars or planets.

Measurement Efficiency of Entrepreneurial Universities by Using Mathematical Programming (DEA) Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Hosein Moradi Deluyi ◽  
Fatemeh Rashed ◽  
Saudah Sofian ◽  
Khadijah Daud
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Programming ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Measuring Efficiency ◽  
Dea Method ◽  
Descriptive Survey ◽  
Measurement Efficiency

Entrepreneurship orientation (EO) approach provides universities with a plan and roadmap for getting over rising uncertainty and complexity. Inspiring universities to embrace transformation and innovation, risk taking and proactive policy for planning and executing development strategies for success in the dynamic competitive environment arise from entrepreneurship orientation spirit. To reach this status, the key factors of success in entrepreneurship should be taken into consideration and assessed in universities. Structural and entrepreneurial policies as key non-financial factors are two concepts that have received considerable attention over the past years. Measuring efficiency of universities by the mentioned factors and using mathematical programming like Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is the aim of this study. Hence, this paper applied DEA method for measuring efficiency of 16 faculties and institutes in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) in Iran. Descriptive-survey methodology was used and data were collected through questionnaire survey. The faculties and institutes were ranked based on structural policies and EO through DEA. Finally, the DEA method recommended the development roadmaps template for the 11 faculties and institutes which were inefficient.

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