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After 73rd and 74th Amendments, panchayats and municipalities were devolved with more and more functions, functionaries and funds. Hence, their electoral politics has grown in importance and became more competitive, violent and expensive. With the constitutional and statutory provisions for the reservations, they have huge scope for social inclusion. But there are social and economic forces with vested interest which try to hamper the effective participation of women and other weaker sections of the society. In this background, the complex implications of the social objectives-laden electoral rules for PRIs have been analysed from the political justice perspective. A brief survey of emerging electoral politics at the grassroots level in different states locates these positively projected norms in their comprehensive context. These add-on provisions for minimum education, two children and toilets result in exclusion of that target group who need inclusion in decision-making the most. The social objectives can be achieved by increasing the bargaining power and agency of women and marginalised social segments, rather than impinging on their democratic rights.

This study focuses on the post-1990s Anti-Coca-Cola movement that emerged in the village of Plachimada, which is located in the Perumatty panchayat in the state of Kerala, India. Taking the larger neoliberal context into account, this article examines how the advent of global capital destructed the "local," and the ways in which it has been reconfigured, giving rise to the Anti-Coca-Cola movement. Various conceptions of the "local" have been constructed within the movement and they have been examined using discourse analysis. This article argues that the "local" is not a pre-given concept; rather, it can be used in an antagonistic as well as collaborative manner with the "global."

PurposeSupply chain management is one of the most important areas for competitiveness and growth of industries. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India and other developing countries face problems in coordinating their supply chain due to lack of resources and improper directions. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for improving the coordination in supply chain and development of an index for coordination.Design/methodology/approachThe interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been employed to develop the structural relationship among different factors of coordination and responsiveness in supply chain to take strategic decisions. This framework is also used to evaluate coordination index for an organization. It has been further illustrated with the help of a case study.FindingsIn total, 32 enablers for coordination in a supply chain have been identified based on literature review. These are further grouped into six categories such as top management commitment, organizational factors, mutual understanding, flow of information, relationship and decision making and responsiveness. It is observed that all of these factors have strong mutual linkage and top management commitment is a major driver for improving the coordination among these factors.Research limitations/implicationsAs ISM methodology is based on experts' opinion, this framework needs further validation with empirical data and detailed case studies.Originality/valueThis paper has explored major factors for coordination in supply chain. It will be of great value for SMEs in developing their strategies for coordination in supply chain. The coordination index evaluated in this paper will also help them in benchmarking their performance in terms of different attributes of supply chain.

SummaryCrow's index is widely used for indirect quantitative estimation of natural selection using birth and death rates. The present investigation is based on 179 studies among 144 different endogamous communities belonging to nineteen states and six geographical regions of India, categorized into six social groups. These studies appeared in 33 different years over six decades (1956 to 2007). The secular trend in Crow's index (It) and its mortality and fertility components (Im and If) shows a gradual decline in It and radical shift in the relative contributions of Im and If. Before 1990 the opportunity for natural selection was mainly determined by differential pre-reproductive mortality (Im), whereas after 1990 it has been determined by differential fertility (If). To find out the covariates of It, Im and If sixteen socio-demographic variables were considered, and nine were found to be significantly correlated with It: total dependency ratio, decadal growth rate 1991–2001, young age dependency ratio, crude death rate, total fertility rate, child mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, old age dependency ratio and decadal growth rate 1981–1991. On the basis of multivariate stepwise regression analysis, female literacy emerged as one of the most important predictors of It. The declining trend of It, Im and If shows that the Indian population is passing through the demographic transition.

AbstractKnowledge management (KM) research has focused more on large firms. Lately, there is increasing realization of need and significance of KM for sustainable competitiveness for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Potential competitive advantage of KM may be more profound in a small firm. Information Technology (IT) has a crucial role in KM. IT is the facilitator, the enabler. The IT requirements of SMEs are different from that of big firms. Most of the research on role of IT in KM has focused on big firms. The purpose of this research paper is to look at IT for KM in SMEs particularly, in Indian context. The paper consists of five sections of introduction, literature review, research methodology, research findings and conclusion. IT tools are more in use in international auto components manufacturers (ACMs) as compared to Indian ACMs. The major problems faced by ACM vary among international and Indian ACMs. Internet is used by every organization under study followed by intranet. IT has just grown over time in the organizations under study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SummaryBody mass index (BMI) is the 'measuring rod' of nutritional status. This study investigates the type and extent of correlation between adult male BMI and socioeconomic, cultural and bio-demographical variables using data from 11,496 individuals from 38 districts of Central India. For each individual, stature, body weight and sitting height data were collected, their Cormic index and BMI computed, and averages for each district calculated. Mean BMI was found to be lowest for the population of Tikamgarh (17·90±1·91 kg m−2) and highest for that of Durg district (19·33±2·16 kg m−2), whereas the mean BMI for the total population of Central India was 18·67±2·18 kg m−2, which is lower than that of well-to-do individuals in India as a whole. The F ratio indicates that there is inter-district variation in anthropometric characteristics of populations. District-wise biosocial indicators were obtained, namely population density per square kilometre, percentage urban population, percentage of population that is of scheduled caste/tribe, sex ratio, average rural population per PHC/CHC (primary or community health centre), literacy rate, life expectancy, total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, gender development index and human development index. Most of these variables were found to be significantly correlated with each other, but BMI was only significantly correlated with three of them, viz. gender development index (R2=0·211), life expectancy (R2=0·130) and infant mortality rate (R2=0·128). Gender development index and life expectancy were positively correlated with BMI, whereas infant mortality rate was negatively correlated. It is concluded that if BMI increases then life expectancy will also increase. Thus better nutritional status may be a helpful tool for reducing infant mortality rate, which is an indicator of socioeconomic status, health condition, health care and ultimately overall development of a region or population.