NCAER Annual Report 2005

Annual Report2005–2006

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCH (NCAER) was formallyinaugurated by the then President of India, Rajendra Prasad, on December 18, 1956. Its creationformed part of a broader effort to strengthen India’s institutional competence in economics. TheCouncil’s original Governing Body included leading figures from both public and private sectors:John Mathai, C.D. Deshmukh, T.T. Krishnamachari, V.T. Krishnamachari, Ashoka Mehta,J.R.D. Tata, John F. Sinclair and N.R. Pillai. Initial financial support was provided by the FordFoundation which has continued to support the Council over the years. The first Director-General, P.S. Lokanathan, took over the post after serving the Economic Commission for Asiaand Far East as its first Secretary-General. The bulk of the Council’s revenue comes from studiesdone on contract for sponsors in Government, the development community and the private sector.While all studies are managed by NCAER’s senior staff, they are often conducted in partnershipwith other organisations and individuals, located both in India and abroad.

Today, NCAER has links with major policy research institutions and universities outsideIndia including the National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge (Mass.), USA; theBrookings Institution, Washington DC; Centre for Economic Policy Research, London;University of Maryland, College Park, MD and the University of Oxford.

The NCAER work programme is currently divided into four broad research groupings:

• Growth, trade and economic management

• Investment climate, physical and economic infrastructure

• Agriculture, rural development and resource management

• Household behaviour, poverty, human development, informality and gender

A broad theme that flows through the Council’s research activities is the progress of India’seconomic reform programme and its impact on agriculture, industry and human development.

Mr. Suman K. Bery, the current Director-General, assumed charge on January 1, 2001. Hewas earlier with the World Bank in Washington D.C. where he held a number of positionsconcerned with economic research and analysis. Between 1992 and 1994, Mr. Bery was based inMumbai as Special Consultant to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The theme underpinning of the Golden Jubilee celebration is “The Role of AppliedEconomic Research in Post-Independence India” and a special volume on this has beencommissioned.

NCAER’s Golden Jubilee:1956–2006

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Annual Report2005–2006

August 2006

Published by

Rajesh Chadha

Senior Counsellor [Operations] and Secretary

National Council of Applied Economic Research

Parisila Bhawan, 11 Indraprastha Estate, New Delhi 110 002

T +91 11 2337 9861–63 F +91 11 2337 0164

E [email protected] W www.ncaer.org

CONTENTS III

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

THE INSTITUTIONTHE GOVERNING BODY 1FOUNDER MEMBERS 2THE GENERAL BODY 2

DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S REPORT 5

ACTIVITIES 2005–06PUBLICATIONS 11PUBLIC AFFAIRS 17RESEARCH PROGRAMMES 21GROWTH, TRADE AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT 25INVESTMENT CLIMATE, PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE 33AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 37HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOUR, POVERTY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, INFORMALITY AND GENDER 41

FINANCES 2005–06ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2005–06 47

APPENDIX I: ACTIVITIES OF SENIOR STAFF 67

APPENDIX II: RESOURCESSTAFF COMPOSITION 75LIBRARY 79COMPUTER CENTRE 81

Contents

IV NCAER ANNUAL REPORT 2005–2006

ACIAR Australian Centre of International Agricultural Research ADB Asian Development Bank AFMI American Federation of Muslims of Indian OriginAIMA All-India Management AssociationAoA Agreement on AgricultureAPEDA Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development AuthorityAPL Above Poverty LineARIS Additional Rural Income SurveyASSOCHAM Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry BCI Business Confidence IndexBITS Birla Institute of Technology and ScienceBPL Below Poverty LineCCI Competition Commission of IndiaCDPOs Child Development Project OfficersCEAs Committee on Economic AffairsCEPR Centre for Economic Policy ResearchCGE Computable General EquilibriumCICs Community Information CentresCII Confederation of Indian IndustryCPRC Chronic Poverty Research Centre CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchCSO Central Statistical OrganisationCUTS Consumer Unity and Trust Society ( Jaipur)DDA Delhi Development AuthorityDEA Development of Economic AffairsDELs Direct Exchange LinesDEPB Duty Entitlement Pass Book (scheme)DFID Department for International Development (U.K.)DIT Department of Information Technology (Govt. of India)DNA Daily News and AnalysisDRDO Defence Research and Development OrganisationDWCD Department of Women & Child Development (Govt. of India)ECARES European Centre for Advanced Research in Economics and StatisticsECCP Europe- India Cross Cultural ProgrammeEPS Electronic Payment SystemEU European Union

Abbreviations/Acronyms

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS V

2005 2006

FDI Foreign Direct InvestmentFICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and IndustryFPAC Fiscal Policy Analysis Cell FTA Free Trade Agreement GDP Gross Domestic ProductHDFC Housing Development Finance Corporation HDI Human Development IndexHPCL Hindustan Petroleum Corporation LimitedIAMR Institute of Applied Manpower ResearchIASSI Indian Association of Social Sciences InstitutionsICAI Institute of Chartered Accountants of IndiaICRIER Indian Council for Research on International Economic RelationsIEG Institute of Economic GrowthIMFL India-Made Foreign LiquorINSA Indian National Science Academy (New Delhi)IOT Input-Output TableIPF India Policy ForumIRR Incremental Rate of ReturnIWT Inland Waterways TransportationJETRO Japan External Trade Organisation JKP Jan Kerosene Pariyojana JSG Joint Study GroupLPG Liquefied Petroleum GasMETI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Govt. of Japan) MISH Market Information Survey of HouseholdsNACO National AIDS Control OrganisationNARS National Agricultural Research SystemNAS National Accounts StatisticsNATP National Agricultural Technology ProjectNBER National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, MA, USA)NIC National Informatics CentreNIPFP National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (New Delhi)NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development CooperationNSHIE National Survey of Household Income and ExpenditureNSSO National Sample Survey OrganisationO&M Organisation & Management OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentORS Oral Rehydration SolutionPDS Public Distribution System PER Poverty and Economic PolicyPHDCCI Punjab, Haryana and Delhi Chamber of Commerce and IndustryPPAC Petroleum Planning and Analysis CellREDS Rural Economic and Demographic SurveyRITES Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd.SAM Social Accounting Matrix SANEI South Asia Network of Economic Research Institutes

VI NCAER ANNUAL REPORT 2005–2006

2005 2006

SBI State Bank of IndiaSDP State Domestic ProductSKO Superior Kerosene OilTERI Tata Energy and Resources Institute TES Techno-Economic SurveysTRIMs Trade Related Investment MeasuresTSA Tourism Satellite AccountUNDP United Nations Development ProgrammeUSAID United States Agency for International DevelopmentUSOF Universal Service Obligation FundUT Union TerritoryVPTs Village Public TelephonesWHO World Health OrganisationWTO World Trade Organisation

THE GOVERNING BODY*

The Governing Body met four times during 2005–06: on April 11, July 20, November 22, 2005,and March 30, 2006. The General Body met on July 20, 2005.

PresidentBimal Jalan

Vice PresidentM.S. Verma Ex-Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and State Bank

of India

SecretaryRajesh Chadha Senior Fellow and Senior Counsellor (Operations) and Secretary

MembersShankar N. Acharya Honorary Professor and Member, Board of Governors, Indian Council

for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), NewDelhi

Isher J. Ahluwalia Chairperson, Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research onInternational Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi

Mukesh D. Ambani Chairperson, Reliance Industries Ltd., MumbaiSuman K. Bery Director-General, NCAER, New Delhi (ex-officio)Surjit S. Bhalla Managing Director, O(x)us Investments Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Tarun Das Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New DelhiYogesh C. Deveshwar Chairperson, ITC Ltd., KolkataAshok Jha Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India

(ex-officio)Ashok S. Ganguly Chairperson, ICICI One-Source Ltd., MumbaiK.V. Kamath Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd., MumbaiNaina Lal Kidwai Chief Executive Officer, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking

Corporation, Mumbai Anand G. Mahindra Managing Director and Vice-Chairperson, Mahindra & Mahindra

Ltd., MumbaiR.A. Mashelkar Director-General, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

(CSIR), New Delhi Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Chairperson & Managing Director, Biocon India Ltd., BangaloreRakesh Mohan Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of IndiaRohini Nayyar Ex-Senior Consultant, Planning Commission, New DelhiDeepak S. Parekh Chairperson, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.

(HDFC), MumbaiRajendra S. Pawar Chairperson, National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT),

New Delhi

The Institution

THE INSTITUTION 1

* As on August 1, 2006.

2005 2006

FOUNDER MEMBERS

2 NCAER ANNUAL REPORT 2005–2006

Special MemberNew Zealand High Commission, New Delhi

J.R.D. TataN.R. PillaiC.D. DeshmukhT.T. Krishnamachari

John MathaiV.T. KrishnamachariJ.F. SinclairAshoka Mehta

THE GENERAL BODY*

Corporate Members1. A.F. Ferguson & Company2. Asian Development Bank3. Associated Chambers of Commerce

and Industry4. Bank of Baroda5. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.6. Confederation of Indian Industry7. Central Electricity Regulatory

Commission8. Crompton Greaves Ltd.9. Eicher Goodearth Ltd.

10. E.I.D. Parry (India) Ltd.11. Federation of Indian Chambers of

Commerce and Industry12. V. Malik and Associates, Chartered

Accountants13. Godfrey Philips India Limited14. Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co.

Ltd.15. Hindalco Industries Ltd.16. ICI India Limited17. ICRA Ltd.18. Indian Banks’ Association19. Industrial Development Bank of India

20.Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

21. Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd.22. Kochi Refineries Ltd.23. Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd.24. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.25. Mineral and Metal Trading Corporation

of India Ltd.26. Murugappa Management Services Ltd.27. National Dairy Development Board28. National Mineral Development

Corporation Ltd.29. PCP Chemicals Private Ltd.30. Pepsi Foods Private Ltd.31. Population Council for South and

East Asia32. Punjab National Bank33. Punjab University34. PHD Chamber of Commerce and

Industry 35. Rail India Technical and Economic

Services Ltd. (RITES)36. Sakthi Sugars Ltd.37. Shell India Private Ltd.

Life MembersSubir GuptaS.M. WahiD.N. Patodia

Patron MembersBata India Ltd.DCL Polyesters Ltd.ICICI Bank Ltd.State Bank of India

* As on March 31, 2006.

THE INSTITUTION 3

2005 2006

38. Standard Chartered Bank39. Tata Consultancy Services40. Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd.41. Tata Power Company Ltd.

42. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India43. Valsad District Co-operative Milk

Production Union44. XLO India Ltd.

Ordinary Members 1. D.R. Agarwal2. M. Balasubramaniam3. Birla Institute of Technology and Science

(BITS)4. Central Leather Research Institute5. R.T. Doshi

6. EPW Research Foundation7. Global Business Park8. Vikram Kumar9. Martin and Harris Pvt. Ltd.

10. Rajan S. Talekar

Number of MembersMarch 31, 2005 March 31, 2006

Corporate members paying Rs. 5,000/-per annum 48 44

Ordinary members paying Rs. 500/-per annum 13 10

Patron members paying a one-timesubscription of Rs. 1 lakh 4 4

Special members paying a one-time subscription of Rs. 1 lakh 1 1

Total 66 59

Total fees received Rs. 2,40, 000 Rs. 2, 25, 000

THE FIRST PRIME MINISTEROF INDIA, PANDITJAWAHARLAL NEHRU,LAYING THE FOUNDATIONSTONE OF THE COUNCIL'SBUILDING IN 1959

THE NCAER’S FOUNDATION STONE IN ITS GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION YEAR

THE GOLDEN JUBILEE 2006–07 is being commemorated as NCAER’sGolden Jubilee. Preparing for thesecelebrations has stimulated a valuable review ofthe origins and purposes of the Council. It hasalso prompted an assessment in the GoverningBody and among the senior staff of what hasendured, what has changed, and how to keepthe Council relevant to serve India in thecoming decades.

I am happy to say that the tradition of widesupport from government, industry, andacademia for NCAER continues, as a glance atthe composition of the current GoverningBody will indicate. I am particularly gratefulfor the exceptional support that has beenprovided by the President, Dr. Bimal Jalan, theVice-President, Mr. M.S. Verma, and others inthe Governing Body in planning andimplementing our Golden Jubilee activities.

I feel honoured and privileged to be theDirector-General of the Council at thisimportant milestone. It coincides with thestart of my second term, and I am grateful tothe members of the Governing Body for theircontinued trust in me.

While the Council was provided ahandsome initial grant of both money andland by the Ford Foundation and theGovernment, there was concern from theoutset to establish and to preserve theintellectual independence of the Council, aswell as to ensure the practical orientation ofthe Council’s work programme.

Accordingly, it was expected that theCouncil would be substantially financedthrough fees for its analyses and advice. This

pattern has endured through the fiveintervening decades; even today, 50 years later,revenue from projects (and seminars) accountsfor some 90 per cent of our total revenue of Rs. 11.5 crore.

The NCAER of 2006 remains true to thevision of its founders; we continue to believethat diversified support is the best guarantee ofboth accountability and independence. Yetexperience has shown that high reliance onproject revenue alone creates difficulties inbuilding and retaining capacity. Accordingly,since the early 1990s, my predecessors and Ihave aimed to supplement project revenuewith corpus (and other untied grant income)to provide a necessary anchor for sustainingcapacity and building scale in the Council’sactivities.

Under the McKinsey-led review of theCouncil in 2001, it was suggested that weshould aim for at least 30 per cent of our workto be endowment-supported. In reviewing pastAnnual Reports, I find that this was also atarget enunciated in 1996 by my immediatepredecessor, Dr. Rakesh Mohan. This remainsa benchmark toward which we continue towork, both in raising our endowment andimproving its management. Accordingly, aspart of the Golden Jubilee effort, we are takinga fresh look at our investment policies, as perregulations applicable to non-profitorganisations.

Two other long-standing characteristics ofthe Council are its capacity for large-scaledata-collection and its relatively large size.I am indebted to my illustrious predecessor,Dr. I.Z. Bhatty, for his recollections on how

Director-General’s Report


2005 2006

these features came to be. He points out thatthe Council was created at the start of theSecond Five-Year Plan, which was India’s firstserious effort at planned development. Theneed to plan imposed a burden on the Statesfor which they were unprepared. The resultwas a series of techno-economic surveys(TES) for individual States undertaken by thenewly-formed NCAER. Because the TES hadto be done for all States in a hurry, the size ofthe Council enlarged rather rapidly.

NCAER’s subsequent entry into the areaof large-scale household surveys furtherdetermined the Council’s scale. In the 1950sand 1960s, the fundamental development taskwas to raise the investment rate. Sustainablefinancing entailed a corresponding rise indomestic savings. At the time, there was noreliable information on household incomesand savings at the national level, especially inrespect of rural households. NCAER’s all-India surveys provided some of the earliestdirect estimates of household incomes, savingsand consumption, and helped to establish theCouncil’s capacity for large-scale householdsurveys, which has been one of its hallmarksover the years. NCAER was a pioneer in thefield leading the way for subsequent officialexercises by the Reserve Bank of India andothers.

Given the preference of the Government’sNational Sample Survey Organisation(NSSO) to collect information onconsumption rather than income, suchsystematic information as exists on income(and income distribution) in India, particularlyrural India, has in general been generatedthrough NCAER’s various surveys over theyears. Indeed, in some ways we have returnedto our roots as the current round of the MarketInformation Survey of Households (MISH)has been extended to provide fuller data onhousehold incomes than in the past. I amgrateful to Dr. N.S. Sastry, former Director-General of the NSSO for his expertise andwise counsel in assisting us in this matter. This

symbolises the cordial, professionalrelationship that the NCAER and the NSSOhave established over the years.

These initial studies helped NCAERestablish a capacity for organising large-scalesurveys with greater flexibility than waspossible for the NSSO, while respectingacademic standards for management of bothsampling and non-sampling errors. Thiscapacity has been used over the years toprovide fundamental information in areas asdiverse as the dairy sector, householdconsumption of energy, the fertiliser sector andthe like. A landmark study in the early 1970swas the multi-round Additional Rural IncomeSurvey (ARIS) designed to capture the impactof the Green Revolution on rural welfare.Follow-up surveys of the same householdsperiodically over the next 35 years (including around currently being collected) have provideda matchless longitudinal resource forunderstanding rural development andeconomic change over the bulk of theCouncil’s existence.

A glance at the Annual Reports from as farback as the early 1960s shows much continuitywith the Council’s work today. The continuedfocus on savings and consumption has alreadybeen noted, but there was an equally strongfocus on infrastructure and energy whichcontinues. A large number of studiesforecasting demand for consumer goods findtheir echo in our ongoing work on consumermarkets. The array of sponsors as betweenGovernment, private sector and internationalbodies is also quite similar to today.

As I indicated in last year’s message, ourinternational contacts are, at present, extremelyvibrant. It is instructive to find that there was asteady stream of international academics evenin the early 1960s. Indeed, in certain otherrespects such as revenue from publications andstaff training and development, the Council ofthe early 1960s was perhaps even moreadvanced than that of today.

In sum, the NCAER today is a continuing


testament to the energy and foresight of adiverse group of leaders in a young nation whohad a belief in the importance of empiricalanalysis as a basis for sound decisions in boththe public and private spheres. It was a visionborn of the confidence that India was destinedto be a serious and important nation in theworld, which deserved institutions of thisstature. It is fortunate that the Council’sGolden Jubilee is taking place at a momentwhen India’s horizons seem limitless and whenconfidence is once again widespread. OurGolden Jubilee celebrations are accordingly anopportunity to salute the vision of ourpredecessors, to acknowledge the continuingvalidity of the model they created, and toupgrade our capacity to be of service to thenation in the exciting times that lie ahead.

Academic HighlightsThe Council’s capacity for large-scale datacollection was demonstrated in many contextsin 2004–05. We were honoured by the PrimeMinister’s launch of the India Science Reportcommissioned by the India National ScienceAcademy (INSA) in a ceremony at VigyanBhavan. I would like to thank our GoverningBody Member, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, currentPresident of INSA, for providing this visibilityto our work.

In his remarks at the launch, and insubsequent statements, the Prime Minister hasrepeatedly referred to the findings of the study,particularly on the declining interest in sciencestudies as students enter higher classes. Theseresults were based on a large survey designedby NCAER’s staff in consultation with INSA,which drew upon international best practice inscience surveys.

Earlier, work to capture data on domestictourism led to a further assignment from theMinistry of Tourism to assemble India’s first“Domestic Satellite Accounts” – an exercisecoordinated by NCAER with advisory inputby a broad range of statistical agenciesincluding the RBI and the Central Statistical

Office (CSO). The NCAER’s methodologyand sample design for capturing domestictravel was hailed by the World TourismOrganisation as a model for other developingcountries.

NCAER was requested by the Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Gas to undertake amajor study of household distribution ofSuperior Kerosene Oil (SKO). SKO is animportant household fuel used for bothlighting and heating. It is provided throughthe public distribution system (PDS) at belowmarket prices by the Union Government, withthe ultimate responsibility for distribution andpricing resting with State Governments. TheNCAER’s study provided estimates of thereach of the PDS, State taxation of SKO, thedifferences among States in organising thedistribution of kerosene, and of the apparentdiversion of household kerosene to other uses.

Innovative and sensitive field work wasalso required in our project for the NationalAIDS Control Organisation (NACO),supported by NCAER’s long-standing partnerthe UNDP, to measure the socioeconomicimpact of HIV-AIDS in the six high-prevalence States of India. The study team hadto grapple with difficult issues ofconfidentiality and sensitivity to gather thisinformation which has generated a veryimportant data set on the subject.

As mentioned earlier, Dr. N.S. Sastry,formerly of the NSSO, has kindly assisted theNCAER in an appraisal of its field-work anddata dissemination activities, with a view tomaking them more robust and transparent. Weare indebted to him for his advice.

There was considerable activity on a rangeof other fronts as well. We were approached bythe Ministry of Commerce and Industry of theSultanate of Oman for advice on setting up apolicy research cell within the Ministry. It isstriking to note that this form of advisory workwas anticipated and provided for in theoriginal memorandum of association of theNCAER!


2005 2006

2005 2006

Our own partnerships, international anddomestic, have continued to flourish, withregular joint activities with the NationalBureau of Economic Research (NBER), TheBrookings Institution, and the Australia-IndiaCouncil, documented elsewhere in the report.We deepened our cooperation oninfrastructure and regulation with aconsortium of three European institutions, ledby the Centre for Economic Policy Research(CEPR), London and supported by theEuropean Union Mission to India under theEurope-India Cross Cultural Programme(ECCP). The grant permitted original papersto be commissioned on issues in infrastructureregulation and on public-private partnerships.We were honoured that Montek SinghAhluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the PlanningCommission, participated in the launchworkshop for this event. Extensive datagathering and clearing continues on importanthousehold data sets in cooperation with theUniversities of Maryland, Harvard and Brown.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge thecontinued support of the Ministry ofCommerce, which has been extremelygenerous in involving NCAER in policy-oriented work connected with many aspects ofIndia’s trade policy and trade negotiations.Their sustained interest has encouraged us toincrease our capacity in this area. I waspersonally privileged to participate as amember of the Indo-Japan Joint Study Group,chaired by the Secretary Economic Affairs,Shri Ashok Jha, a member of our GoverningBody.

Management and FinancesConsiderable effort was devoted to a range ofmanagement initiatives over the year. Whileprogress is being made, it is slower than wewould wish. Project accounting, managementof receivables, crystallisation of liabilities,statutory compliance, contract managementand financing of capital assets all receivedattention. As there remained a vacancy in the

position of Finance Officer till late in the year,we retained Messrs. Ajay Sethi Associates asfinancial advisors to ensure the integrity of ourinternal systems, and of our compliance withstatutory functions. I would like to repeat mythanks to our Vice-President, Mr. Verma, forthe considerable time and interest he expendsin advising us on these matters.

The financial outcome revealed in theaccounts reflects continued productivityimprovement, in that there has been a largeincrease in both gross and net project revenues(net of payment to professionals andsurvey/data gathering) with no increase in staffsalaries and allowances. A glance at thestaffing composition table shows that the latterreflects continued (though slowing) reductionin the size of our regular research staff,complemented by a fluctuating body of non-regular research staff. As in previous years letme salute all the Council’s staff, research andsupport, regular and adhoc for theirprofessionalism, dedication and hard work.

The long-term trend has also beenpositive. We have shed much of the excesscapacity that perhaps existed on the researchside, and we have been able to re-orient oursalary outgo once to payments linked toindividual and corporate performance. Reviewof our overhead expenses suggests that theoverhead “load” per project threatens to makeus uncompetitive, and that we may need toexpand our portfolio of projects to reduce thisload. Accordingly, we followed a moresystematic approach to recruitment ofresearchers this year. The results were notentirely commensurate with the effort, and wewill need to work even harder to attract talentappropriate to our reputation and aspirations.

Looking ForwardOver the course of the past few years NCAERhas developed and upgraded a number ofchannels for dissemination of research on theIndian economy. These include the suite ofproducts connected with the Quarterly Review


of the Economy (Business Expectation Survey,MacroTrack, the Quarterly Review of theEconomy report itself ); Artha Suchi; Margin;the India Policy Forum; and Connexions.Several of these are peer – reviewed and aredesigned to provide an arena for empiricaldebate on policy issues facing the Indianeconomy. This bouquet of print offerings willbe complemented with our redesigned web-

site to provide a spectrum of data and views onthe Indian economy. In the earlier part of thisReport I focused on the continuity in ourwork; these are some of our fresh departures.I believe they remain consistent with our corepurpose and mandate: to bring data andanalysis to bear, in a neutral and professionalway, to the challenge of India’s economicdevelopment as it evolves.


2005 2006

THE PRESIDENT, DR BIMALJALAN, DELIVERING ASPEECH ON THE OCCASIONOF THE NCAER GOLDENJUBILEE CELEBRATIONEVENT AT NCAER, NEWDELHI, MARCH 30, 2006

GOVERNING BODYMEMBERS AT A GET-TOGETHER WITH NCAERSTAFF MEMBERS ON THENCAER LAWNS ON THEOCCASION OF THE NCAERGOLDEN JUBILEECELEBRATION EVENT ATNCAER, NEW DELHI, MARCH30, 2006

BOOKS

The Great Indian Market: Results from theNCAER Market Information Survey ofHouseholds(2005, NCAER AND BUSINESS STANDARD, PP. 284)

Since 1985–86,NCAER has beenconducting theMarket InformationSurvey of House-holds (MISH) in abroadly comparableand consistentframework. Thereport stems from an

annual all-India NCAER survey of 300,000households over 515 cities and 400 districts.While the focus of the MISH surveys hastraditionally been ownership and purchase ofmanufactured goods (consumer durables andconsumables), they are also distinctive inasking the respondent households about theirhousehold income.

This is a comprehensive report on what theIndian consumer is buying and how thepattern is projected to change by the end of thedecade by examining the interaction betweenrising household income levels and evolvingconsumer preferences. It provides demandtrends for 20 categories of durable goods andseven of consumer goods from actualconsumption in 1995–96 to projections for2009–10 and details of who is purchasing

these items – by income as well as occupationgroups – in different cities as well as States.

In addition, The Great Indian Marketintroduces various new analyses. For example,it includes a consumption matrix that showsthe relationship between purchases of differentconsumer durables. Such questions are at theheart of any marketing campaign, and theproduct matrix helps arrive at useful answers.Another first is the move toward consumptionof services, such as data on the demand for lifeand medical insurance, credit and debit cardsand mobile phones.

The Great Indian Market also attempts tomeasure the market for second-hand goods,and how this differs in the case of differentdurables, for different income/occupationgroups, and between rural and urban areas. Itcaptures the prices paid for both new as well assecond-hand goods by various income/occupation groups.PRINCIPAL NCAER STAFF: RAJESH SHUKLA,

SANJAY KUMAR DWIVEDI, ASHA SHARMA AND CHARU

JAIN WITH ASSISTANCE FROM SUNIL JAIN OF BUSINESS

STANDARD

India’s Telecommunications Industry:History, Analysis, Diagnosis(ASHOK V. DESAI, 2006, SAGE (INDIA) LTD., PP. 294)

This study was commissioned by NCAER’sCentre for Infrastructure and Regulation toprovide an independent account of thepolitical economy of reforms in the telecomsector, so as to draw lessons for reform in other

Activities 2005-06

PUBLICATIONS*

ACTIVITIES 2005–06 11

* Research programme and study output of the NCAER researchers published prior to August 1, 2006 in the form of books,reports, journals, research papers and articles by NCAER as well as by other prestigious global and Indian publishing houses.NCAER publications/ periodicals are available by direct/ email order, through subscription/ online order at the NCAER web site:www.ncaer.org or [email protected]

2005 2006

regulated sectors. Inaddition to theauthor’s analysis, thevolume is noteworthyfor detailedappendices that chartthe evaluation of thesector over the lasttwo decades.PRINCIPAL NCAER

STAFF: SUMAN BERY AND SKN NAIR

Social Accounting Matrix for India:Concepts, Construction and Applications(2006, SAGE (INDIA) LTD., PP. 438)

This book presents anew SocialAccounting Matrix(SAM) for theIndian economy forthe year 1997–98. Itprovides detailed andconsistent infor-mation on produc-tion for 60 sectors,

and on income distribution for six categoriesof occupational households, separately forrural and urban areas. Using fresh figures, theauthors also present the SAM for 2002–03. Inaddition, this book goes into details of theconcepts, methodology and limitations of theconstruction of SAM for India. This book willbe very useful for researchers who are workingin the area of input-output analysis, SAM andComputable General Equilibrium Modellingfor India.PRINCIPAL NCAER STAFF: BASANTA K PRADHAN,

M R SALUJA AND SHALABH K SINGH

REPORTS

Comprehensive Study to Assess theGenuine Demand and Requirement of SKO(2005, NCAER, PP. 172)

A study on distribution of kerosene throughthe Public Distribution System (PDS) by

various States/UnionTerritories and toassess its demand bydifferent types ofration cards and pla-ces of residence; con-sumption and usagepattern of consumersand leakage. It fore-casts the demand forkerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)and establishes correlations, if any, between therequirement of kerosene and release of newLPG connections. The study found that theper capita allocation of PDS kerosene is biasedtowards richer States and there is no setpattern of allocation to different types of cards.PRINCIPAL NCAER STAFF: DEVENDRA KUMAR

PANT, SHASHANKA BHIDE, P K ROY, S K DWIVEDI,

R K JAISWAL AND SHISHIR SHEKHAR

SERIALS

India Policy Forum 2005–06 (Volume 2)(Annual)(2006, NCAER AND THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION,

WASHINGTON DC, SAGE (INDIA) LTD., PP. 308

SUMAN BERY, BARRY BOSWORTH, AND ARVIND

PANAGARIYA (EDS.)

India Policy Forum(IPF) is an annualpublication dedicatedto analysing contem-porary trends in theIndian economy. Itsobjective is to carrytheoretically rigorousyet empirically in-formed research on current issues relating toIndia’s economic policy. A joint publication ofNCAER and Brookings, IPF serves as a forumfor a global network of scholars interested inIndia’s economic transformation.Contributor Highlights

• Willem H. Buiter and Urjit R. Patel on “Fiscal

Deficits, the Financial Sector, and Growth”


• M. Govinda Rao and R. Kavita Rao on “Tax Policy and

Tax Reform”

• Sheetal K. Chand and Kanhaiya Singh on “Inflation

Targeting”

• Surjit S. Bhalla and Tirthatanmoy Das on “Labor

Markets”

• Roger G. Noll and Scott J. Wallsten on “Universal

Service Obligation in Telecommunications”

SUBSCRIPTION PRODUCTS

Quarterly Review of the Economy (NCAER, QUARTERLY PUBLICATION

COORDINATOR: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT

Designed to meet theneeds of policymakers, corporatesand others interestedin tracking the latestdevelopments in theIndian economy,Quarterly Reviewprovides an analysisof current policies

and tracks developments in the domestic andworld economy. NCAER growth forecasts areobjective and widely quoted in Indian andinternational media. The subscribers toQuarterly Review also receive a copy ofdetailed report on NCAER’s quarterly BusinessExpectations Survey. An integral part ofQuarterly Review is its quarterly “State of theEconomy” seminars organised at NCAER,bringing together policy makers, industryleaders and researchers on to a single platform.

Margin (Quarterly)(NCAER, ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDING POSTAGE,

RS 500/ US $ 100)

VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3, 4 AND VOLUME 38, NUMBER 1, 2

EDITOR: T C A SRINIVASA-RAGHAVAN

Margin’s emphasis on policy analysis andapplication of modern quantitative techniquesin developmental issues brings forth researchfindings in broad areas of applied economics,

provides a forum forwell-known scholars,civil servants andjournalists tocomment on publicaffairs, while alsoserving as a vehiclefor dissemination ofresearch at theCouncil.Contributor Highlights

• Chadha, R. and Sharma, Pooja (2005). “Liberalising

Indian agriculture.” 37 (3), Apr.-June.

• Chadha, R. Pratap, Devender, Sharma, Pooja, &

Tandon, Anjali (2005). “Indian textiles: weaving a

success story.” 37 (4), July-Sept.

• Pant, Devendra Kumar, Jaiswal, Rajesh, and

Shekhar, Shishir (2005). “Household kerosene

consumption patterns.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Rao, Ch. Sambasiva (2005). “Information and

communication.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Arora, G.K. (2005). “The making of a statesman.”

38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Asher, Mukul and Vasudevan, Deepa (2005). “The

role of pension regulators.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Chandra Mohan, N. (2005). “Stepping up FDI into

India.” 37 (3), Apr.-June.

• Chari, P.R. (2005). “Indo-US nuclear Deal.” 37 (4),

July-Sept.

• Jain, Sunil (2005). “The war for the regulator’s

heart.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Manas Chakrvarty (2005). “Global liquidity and

emerging markets.” 37 (3), Apr.-June.

• Mehta, Pradeep S. and Pranav Kumar (2005). “The

post-Hong Kong scenario.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

• Subrahmanya, M.H. Bala, (2005). “SSI energy con-

sumption economics in Karnataka.” 37 (4), July-Sept.

• Yue-Wei Hu. (2005). “Private (occupational) pensions

in China.” 38 (1), Oct.-Dec.

Artha Suchi (Quarterly)(NCAER, ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, INCLUDING POSTAGE,

RS. 300/ US$ 80)

VOLUME 22, NUMBER 3, 4 AND VOLUME 23, NUMBER 1, 2

EDITOR: N J SEBASTIAN


2005 2006

2005 2006

A computerisedindex of governmentreports/journalarticles/newspaperwrite-ups related tothe Indian economy,brought out by theNCAER Library.

MacroTrack (Monthly)(NCAER, ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, INCLUDING POSTAGE,

RS. 3,000/US $100)

VOLUME 7, NUMBER 4 TO VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3 (12 ISSUES)

EDITOR: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT

Information andresearch-basedanalysis on majortrends in theeconomy, industry,and finance.Supplementaryanalysis, based onNCAER’s BusinessExpectations Survey

(BES) and the NCAER MacroeconomicForecast are also included. Each issue carriesstatistics on major States, based on currentissues of economic importance.

Connexions (Quarterly)(NCAER, FREE)

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1 TO VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2 (THREE ISSUES)

EDITOR: SHASHANKA BHIDE

“Efficiency, equityand access in IndianInfrastructure: blend-ing competition andregulation” (Projectco-funded by TheEuropean Unionunder the “Universityand Studies” dimen-sion of the EU-India

Economic Cross-Cultural Programme).

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCH

(NCAER)

CENTRE FOR ECONOMIC POLICY RESEARCH (CEPR),

LONDON

INSTITUTE D’ECONOMIE INDUSTRIELLE (IDEI), TOULOUSE

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH IN

ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS (ECARES), BRUSSELLS

The Newsletter is intended to provide newsand analysis relating to the infrastructuresector. Issues relating to regulation andcompetition in the sector will be given specialattention. The Newsletter also provides anopportunity to participating researchers toreport on the work carried out in the project.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Bandyopadhyay, S (2006): “Cotton TextileIndustry in India: Implications for MFAPhaseout” in Beyond the Transition Phase ofWTO, Academic Foundation, Delhi.

Bedi, J.S (December 2005): “General Statisticsfor Food Processing Sector, 2005” – Databankbook, Ministry of Food Processing,Government of India.

Bhide, S, Chadha, R and Kalirajan, K (2005,December): “Growth Interdependence amongIndian States: An Exploration”, Asia-PacificDevelopment Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2.

Bhide, S, Rajaraman I and Pattnaik R.K(2005, October): “A Study of DebtSustainability at State level in India”, ReserveBank of India, Mumbai.

Bhide, S and Mehta, A.K (2006): “Correlatesof Incidence and Exit from Chronic Poverty inRural India: Evidence from Panel Data”,Chronic Poverty & Development Policy in India,edited by Aasha Kapur Mehta and AndrewShepherd, Sage Publications.


Buragohain, T (2005, October): “Level ofAwareness of RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS, andGender Discrimination in Treatment inIndia”, published in a special internationalconference volume titled Engendering Healthand Human Rights.

Chadha, R (2005): “FTAs and DohaDevelopment Round: Asian Response to EEUand FTAA”, Global Economy Journal, 5(4),Berkeley Electronic Press.

Chadha, R (2005, Oct-Dec): “SectoralInitiatives: A Paradoxical Component ofNAMA!”, Trading Up, 1(3), Centre for Tradeand Development, OXFAM GB, New Delhi.

Dubey, A, Palmer-Jones, Richard and Sen, K(2006, March): “Surplus Labour, Social Struc-ture and Rural to Urban Migration: Evidencefrom Indian Data”, European Journal of Deve-lopment Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 89–107.

Dubey, A and Gupta, N.D (2006, January):“Fertility and the Household’s EconomicStatus: a Natural Experiment using IndianMicro Data”, Journal of Development Studies,Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 110–138.

Dubey, A and Haan, A (2005, May): “Orissa:Poverty, Disparities or the Development ofUnder-development?”, Economic and PoliticalWeekly, pp. 2321–29.

Kaur, R (2005, Oct-Dec): “Indian Punjab:Social Regulation of Rice Production,” SouthAsian Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 94–101.

Kumar, P, Pradhan, B.K and Subramanian, A(2005, December): “Farmland Prices in aDeveloping Economy: Some Stylised Factsand Determinants,” Journal of Internationaland Area Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 93–113.

Mondal, S.K and Kanwal, V (2006, March):“Addressing Key Issues in the Light of

Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) inHealth and Family Welfare Sector in India”,Working Paper No. 97 NCAER.

Pohit, S (2005, December): “MitigatingCarbon Emission through EconomicInstruments: An Indian Perspective, 2005”,Working Paper No. 96, NCAER.

Pohit, S (2005, July): “Trade FacilitationProblems & Informalisation of Trade: Lessonfrom India-Bangladesh Trade”, proceedings ofthe International Seminar on Indo-BangladeshBorder Trade: Status & Prospects, North EasternHill University, Shillong.

Pohit, S (2006, January): “WTO Agreementon Agriculture, Liberalisation in SelectCountries, and Implications for South Asia: ACGE Modelling Analysis,” proceedings of theInternational Conference on International Trade,Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

Pradhan, B.K and Amarendra, A (2006): “TheImpact of Trade Liberalisation on HouseholdWelfare and Poverty in India,” MPIAWorking Paper 2006–01, Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Network,(http://132.203.59.36/NEW-PEP/Group/papers/papers/MPIA-2006 – 01.pdf ).

Shariff, A and Razzak, A (2006): “CommunalRelations and Social Integration in India,”Social Development Report, Oxford UniversityPress.

Shariff, A (2006): “Some Thoughts on Natureand Persistence of Poverty in India,” inDeprivation and Inclusive Development,(editors) Diwakar, D.M and Mishra, G.P,Manak Publications: pp. 295–335.

Shariff, A and Mondal, S.K (2006): “User Fee in Public Health Care InstitutionsSecurity: Health for All Dimensions and Challenges” (editors) Sujata Prasad and


2005 2006

2005 2006

C. Sathyamala, Institute of HumanDevelopment.

Shariff, A (2006): “Household Food andNutrition Security in India, EconomicReforms and Food Security: The Impact ofTrade and Technology in South Asia” (editors)Suresh Chandra Babu and Ashok Gulati.

Sharma, A (co-authored with) Cook, C.C,Duncan, T, Jitsuchon, S and Guobao W(2005): “Assessing the Impact of Transport andEnergy Infrastructure on Poverty Reduction”,Asian Development Bank, Manila.

Sharma, A (2005): Paper “UnderstandingIndia’s Aggressive and Defensive Stance inAgricultural Trade Negotiations” in LesPolitiques Agricoles Sont-Elles Condamnees Par LaMondialisation? (editor) Pierre Rainelli,Institut Francais des Relations Internationales,Paris.

Singh, K. and Bery, S.K (2005): “India’sGrowth Experience”, in (editors) WandaTseng and David Cowen India’s and China’sRecent Experience with Reform and Growth,IMF and Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 23–58.

Singh, K (2006): Comment in M. GovindaRao “Mid-year Review of the Indian Economy2005–06, New Delhi, Shipra Publications inassociation with IIC/ MEAT, pp. 183–189.

Venkatesan, R (2005, September): “Charac-teristics of the Indian Markets and MarketPenetration Strategies,” East Asia EconomicForum in Seoul in Proceedings Leaps of AsianEconomies and Korea’s Future Direction.

Venkatesan, R (2005): “India: E-readinessReport for States/ UTs 2004,” Department ofInformation Technology, Government ofIndia.


LECTURE

JULY 25, 2005: Annual India Policy ForumLecture by Dr John Williamson, Institute ofInternational Economics, Washington DC, on“What Follows the Era of the USA as theWorld’s Growth Engine”CHAIR: Dr Bimal JalanAT: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Mr Suman Bery

CONFERENCES, SEMINARS,WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIA

APRIL 4, 2005: Workshop on DomesticTourism & India’s Tourism Satellite AccountAT: India International Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Pradeep Srivastava

APRIL 28, 2005 AND JULY 27, 2005: QuarterlyReview: State of the Economy Seminar

AT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr D K Pant

MAY 13, 2005: First Advisory CommitteeMeeting of the ACIAR-funded project,“Agricultural Trade Liberalisation andDomestic Market Reforms in IndianAgriculture”AT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Rajesh Chadha

JUNE 21, 2005: First Advisory CommitteeMeeting of the British High Commission-funded project, “Liberalising DomesticAgricultural Markets: Gains for India”AT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Rajesh Chadha

JULY 8, 2005: Seminar on “ComprehensiveStudy to Assess the Genuine Demand andRequirement of SKO”


2005 2006

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ON THE EVE OF THE INDIAPOLICY FORUM THE PRIMEMINISTER, DR MANMOHANSINGH, INVITED THEMEMBERS OF THE IPFADVISORY AND RESEARCHPANEL FOR TEA AT HISRESIDENCE, NEW DELHI,JULY 24, 2005

AT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr D K Pant

JULY 25–26, 2005: India Policy Forum 2005AT: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Mr Suman Bery

AUGUST 9, 2005: Presentation on “The GreatIndian Market”AT: PHDCCI, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr R K Shukla

AUGUST 16, 2005: MISH WorkshopAT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr R K Shukla

AUGUST 18, 2005: India-Bangladesh Trade &FTAAT: India International Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Sanjib Pohit

SEPTEMBER 28, 2005: Release of India ScienceReport by the Prime MinisterAT: Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr R K Shukla

OCTOBER 10–11, 2005: The First workshop on“Efficiency, Equity and Access in IndianInfrastructure: Blending Competition andRegulation Project”, co-funded by TheEuropean under the EU-India Economic

Cross Cultural Programme. The workshopwas inaugurated by Mr Montek SinghAhluwalia, Deputy Chairman, PlanningCommission.AT: India International Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Shashanka Bhide

OCTOBER 24, 2005: Policy ResearchNetworking: Macroeconomic Managementand Government FinanceAT: Assocham House, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Kanhaiya Singh

NOVEMBER 11, 2005: Lecture by ProfessorKemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator and UNUnder- Secretary General, on “High DebtEmerging Market Macroeconomics: Turkey,Brazil and other Experiences”AT: Somany Hall, ASSOCHAM House, NewDelhi.ORGANISER: Dr B K Pradhan, jointly withICRIER and UNDP

DECEMBER 1, 2005: The Sources of China’sEconomic Growth: An OECD PerspectiveAT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Shashanka Bhide

DECEMBER 12–13, 2005: Workshop on “Impact of Globalisation on National Firms: The Case of India and


2005 2006

MR KAMAL NATH, MINISTER,COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,PROF JAGDISH BHAGWATI,COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,PROF MARTIN FELDSTEIN,HARVARD UNIVERSITY ANDNBER, AND MR N.K. SINGH,FORMER MEMBER,PLANNING COMMISSION, ATTHE NBER-NCAERNEEMRANA CONFERENCE,NEEMRANA, RAJASTHAN,JANUARY 15–17, 2006


2005 2006

China in a Comparative Perspective”AT: India International Centre, New Delhi.ORGANISERS: NCEAR, with Centre deSciences Humaines, CERNA, London Schoolof Economics and India International Centre.Co-financed by the European Union underthe EU-India SPF Programme.COORDINATION: Dr B K Pradhan

DECEMBER 12–14, 2005: Roundtablediscussion: “Initiative for Policy Dialogue:Industrial Policy Taskforce”AT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Mr Dripto Mukhopadhyay

DECEMBER 16–18, 2005: Conference on “TheState of the Panchayats and the Way Forward”AT: Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi.ORGANISER: NCAER and Ministry ofPanchayati Raj.COORDINATION: Ms Puja Vasudeva Dutta

JANUARY 2, 2006: Workshop on “Savings andInvestment Behaviour” by Prof. RichardThaler, Professor of Behavioural Sciences,Graduate School of Business, CicagoAT: Committee Room, NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Anil Kumar Sharma

JANUARY 10, 2006: Workshop on RuralInfrastructureAT: Bangalore, Institute for Social andEconomic Change ORGANISER: Dr D B Gupta

JANUARY 15–17, 2006: NBER-NCAERSeventh Annual Neemrana Conference on theIndian Economy. A collaborative projectbetween National Bureau of EconomicResearch (NBER) and NCAER and fundedmainly by the former bringing together Indianpolicy makers, researchers, regulators andother professionals to interact with leading

American counterparts. An informal and off-the-record affair allowing free discussions onissues related to economic policy and researchcovering a range of topics including macroeconomy (monetary and fiscal policy),international trade, banking and finance,privatisation, regulation, economic reforms,employment, poverty and the social sector.AT: Neemrana Fort Palace Resort in Rajasthanand NCAER, New Delhi.ORGANISERS: Dr Anil Kumar Sharma,NCAER and Mihir Desai, National Bureau ofEconomic Research (NBER), Cambridge MAwith administrative support of bothorganisations.

JANUARY 15–17, 2006: Lecture by ProfessorRichard Thaler on “Behavioural Economicsand Public Policy: The LibertarianPaternalism Approach”AT: Committee Room, NCAER

JANUARY 16, 2006: Workshop on “DatabaseDevelopment for Karnataka, Uttaranchal andJharkhand”AT: Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi.ORGANISER: Dr Anushree Sinha

MARCH 2, 2006: Lecture on “Spillovers,Coordination Failure and Consequences ofFragmentation in Rural India” by Prof.Andrew Foster, Brown University, USA.CHAIR: Prof. Kirit S ParikhAT: Committee Room, NCAER.ORGANISER: Dr Hari Nagarajan

MARCH 10, 2006: Dr Klaus Deininger, WorldBank, on “Equity and Efficiency Impacts ofRural Land Rental Restrictions: Evidencefrom India”AT: Committee Room, NCAER.ORGANISER: Dr Hari Nagarajan

Programme Sponsor1. Quarterly Review of the Economy (M/05/020) ANNUAL SUBSCRIBERS

2. India Policy Forum* (G/05/009) STATE BANK OF INDIA, TATA SONS,

CITIGROUP AND HDFC BANK

3. Assessing the Potential for Economic SITRA, FINNISH NATIONAL FUND FOR

Co-operation between India and Finland* RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

(M/05/077)4. Potential and Constraints on India’s Alcoholic DIAGEO LIMITED

Beverages Industry* (M/05/078)5. Development of State- level Macro Database BEARING POINT /USAID

in USAID-REFORM States* (M/05/071)6. India on Development of Indirect tax model BEARING POINT /USAID

Reform Project, USAID (M/05/086)7. Quarterly reports for the Embassy of Japan, EMBASSY OF JAPAN, NEW DELHI

New Delhi* (M/05/67)8. Joint Study Group (JSG): Economic co- MINISTRY OF FINANCE, GOVERNMENT

operation between India and Japan (M/05/076) OF INDIA

9. Foreign Direct Investment Environment MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, TRADE AND

in India (M/05/083) INDUSTRY (METI) AND JAPAN EXTERNAL

TRADE ORGANISATION (JETRO),

GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN

10. Impact of Globalisation on National Firms: EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

The Case of India and China in a Comparative Perspective* (M/05/081)

11. Export Promotion Scheme Replacing Duty DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF FOREIGN

Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) Scheme* TRADE, MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

(I/05/034)12. Feasibility Report on establishing a MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,

Think Tank in the Sultanate of Oman* GOVERNMENT OF SULTANATE OF OMAN

(M/04/061)13. Snap Survey of Registered Dealers Under DEPARTMENT OF EXCISE AND TAXATION

CST Act* (I/05/032) (GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB)

14. Study of Services to Depositors and Small RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

Borrowers in Rural and Semi Urban Areas (S/05/021)


2005 2006

* An asterisk indicates programme/ project completion as on/ before the financial year ending on March 31, 2006.

RESEARCH PROGRAMMES*

Programme Sponsor15. Evaluation of Rasoi Ghar* (S/05/016) HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION

LIMITED

16. Tourism Satellite Account* (M/04/048) MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE

17. Study of Macroeconomic Impact of High PETROFED

Oil Prices* (M/05/072)18. Impact Assessment of Jan Kerosene PETROLEUM PLANNING AND ANALYSIS CELL

Pariyojana (JKP) (M/05/056) (PPAC), MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND

NATURAL GAS

19. Comprehensive Study to Assess the PETROLEUM PLANNING AND ANALYSIS

Genuine Demand and Requirement of SKO* CELL (PPAC), MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM

(M/05/079) AND NATURAL GAS

20. Economic Assessment of India-EU Compre- MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,

hensive Economic Engagement* (M/05/082) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

21. Preparation of User-Friendly Document- DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Master Plan for Delhi 2021 (H/04/018)22. Economic Assessment of India- MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Chile FTA* (M/05/075)23. Policy Research Networking to Strengthen ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) AND

Policy Reforms: Macroeconomic Group* DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

(M/03/046) (DEA) MINISTRY OF FINANCE, GOVERNMENT

OF INDIA

24. Assessing an Alternative Medium-term Growth CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRIES

Scenario for the Indian Economy* (M/05/066) (CII)

25. Economic Analysis and Forecast of India* HOCHTIEF AIR PORT GMBH, GERMANY AND

(M/05/063) ITS PARTNERS PIRAMAL HOLDINGS LTD.

AND LARSEN AND TOUBRO (L&T) LTD.

26. A Research Assignment to prepare a R&P MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION

Commentary for Visa International’s white PVT. LTD. AND FUNDED BY VISA

paper entitled Payment Solutions for INTERNATIONAL

Modernising Economies* (M/05/055)27. Competitiveness of the Beer Industry in TECNOVA GLOBAL LTD. FUNDED BY SAB

Andhra Pradesh* (M/05/053) MILLER

28. Retainer Relationship with Tecnova* TECNOVA GLOBAL LTD.

(M/05/058)29. Study of Beer Industry in India (M/05/080) SAB-MILLER

30. Towards Assessing the Performance of the DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Defence Research and Development ORGANISATION (DRDO), MINISTRY OF

Organisation (DRDO) Phase I: Framework of DEFENCE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Analysis (M/05/084)31. Efficiency, Equity and Access in Indian EU/ECCP

Infrastructure: Blending Competition and Regulation (I/05/035)

32. Relevance and Impact of Central Scheme of NATIONAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Assistance to Cooperatives for Marketing, CORPORATION Processing, Storage, etc.


2005 2006

Programme SponsorProgrammes in Comparatively Less Developed States/UTs (I/05/038)

33. Economic Gains of Cargo Movement through INLAND WATERWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Inland Water Transport Mode in National (MINISTRY OF SHIPPING, GOVERNMENT OF

Waterways No. 1 * (I/05/036) INDIA)

34. E-Readiness Assessment of States and DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION

Union Territories, 2004–05 (I/05/040) TECHNOLOGY, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

35. Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of Community NATIONAL INFORMATICS CENTRE, MINISTRY

Information Centres (CICs) in the North- OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION

Eastern Region (I/05/039) TECHNOLOGY, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

36. A Study of State Policies Affecting Competition - THE COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Passenger Transport Sector (I/05/037)37. Centre for Infrastructure and Regulation UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT

(I/01/013) PROGRAMME (UNDP) AND DEPARTMENT OF

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, MINISTRY OF FINANCE,

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

38. Telecom-Universal Service Obligations ADMINISTRATOR, UNIVERSAL SERVICE

(Benchmarking of subsidies) (I/02/019) OBLIGATION FUND, DEPARTMENT OF

TELECOMMUNICATIONS, GOVERNMENT

OF INDIA

39. Review of Subsidies Drawn from the ADMINISTRATOR, UNIVERSAL SERVICE

Universal Service Obligation Fund* OBLIGATION FUND, DEPARTMENT OF

(I/05/033) TELECOMMUNICATIONS, GOVERNMENT

OF INDIA

40. Comprehensive Study of Demand for NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CEMENT AND

Cement* (M/04/049) BUILDING MATERIALS (NCB) AND MINISTRY

OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, NEW DELHI

41. Coordination of Uttar Pradesh Development PLANNING COMMISSION OF INDIA

Report* (I/04/025)42. State Development Report for Uttaranchal PLANNING COMMISSION OF INDIA

(M/05/059)43. District-wise Export Potential Survey in MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT

West Bengal (M/05/065) OF WEST BENGAL

44. An Impact Assessment Study of National NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

Agricultural Technology Project* (M/05/060) PROJECT, INDIAN COUNCIL OF

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

45. Liberalising Domestic Agricultural Markets: BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION, NEW DELHI

Gains for India (M/05/069)46. Agricultural Trade Liberalisation and AUSTRALIAN CENTRE OF INTERNATIONAL

Domestic Market Reforms in Indian AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (ACIAR),

Agriculture (M/05/060 AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

47. Exports of Value-added Products from the AGRICULTURAL AND PROCESSED FOOD

Agricultural Sector: Impediments and EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Strategies for the Future (A/02/005) (APEDA), NEW DELHI


2005 2006

2005 2006

Programme Sponsor48. Policy Reforms in the Sugar Sector: MINISTRY OF FOOD AND CONSUMER

Implications for the Gur and Khandsari AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA,

Industry (A/02/004) NEW DELHI

49. A study of issues originating from New Draft MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,

Framework Agreement on Agriculture GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

(A/05/011)50. Land Market, Land Assets and Rural DFID-HTS DEVELOPMENT LTD., UK

Development of India (S/04/013)51. Current Evaluation Study of TPDS DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC

(S/05/022) DISTRIBUTION, GOVT. OF INDIA

52. Research for Chronic Poverty Research CHRONIC POVERTY RESEARCH CENTRE,

Centre (CPRCI)* (M/05/057) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION, NEW DELHI

53. Economic Growth and Chronic Poverty CHRONIC POVERTY RESEARCH CENTRE,

(M/05/085) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION

54. Investigation of the reasons of High Drop-out DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY AND HIGHER

rates in Secondary and Senior Secondary EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF HUMAN

Stage in India (H/05/025) RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

55. Maternal and Child Health (H/03/016) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, MARYLAND, USA

56. Parental Education and Child Outcomes NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND

(H/04/021) HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, MARYLAND, USA

57. Health Environment, Economic Development NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND

(H/03/022) HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, MARYLAND, USA

58. Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women and Girl Child UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT

and on Industry Sector (H/05/024) PROGRAMME (UNDP)

59. NACO-Socio-economic Impact of HIV/AIDS UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT

in India (H/03/017) PROGRAMME (UNDP)

60. Understanding the Dynamics of Poverty: IIPA/ CPRC

Persistent and the Transient (A/03/010)61. A Study Using Household Level Data (S/03/009) WORLD BANK

62. Decentralisation and Pro Poor Growth HARVARD UNIVERSITY, USA

in India (S/05/015)63. Consumer Demand Analysis for India* MCKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE

(S/05/020)64. National Survey of Income and Expenditure - SELF-SPONSORED

Market Information Survey of Households (S/05/018)

65. Demand for Cars (S/05/019) MARUTI UDYOG LTD.

66. India Protection Index (S/05/014) MAX NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE LTD.

67. Indo-Norwegian Programme of Institutional ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY, NEW DELHI

Co-operation (N001)68. Safety Nets and Social Protection in India THE WORLD BANK

(H/04/020)


Economy-wide perspectives are important forassessing policy choices. NCAER has atradition of providing assessment of the Indianeconomy using macroeconomic models. Suchanalysis is supplemented by periodic surveys ofthe business sector which track its expectationson output, prices, employment andinvestment. Assessment of policies relating totaxes and subsidies, administered prices,exchange rate, capital flows, monetary policyand public spending in a framework thatquantifies the impact of these factors on theaggregate output and price is made availablethrough commissioned studies, periodicreports and seminars. The Council has alsoresumed studying State-level economies againafter its initial involvement in this area in the1960s.

The Council has three distinct empiricalmodels of the Indian economy, to address arange of issues. A short-term macroeconomicmodel incorporating a Social AccountingMatrix (SAM) and a set of behaviouralequations such as investment, demand andtrade has been used to provide short-termforecasts and policy analysis. A structuraleconometric model has been maintained toprovide estimates of the key macroeconomicparameters such as GDP, inflation rate, fiscalbalance and external balance over a medium-term horizon. One application of theeconometric model has been to assess thefeasibility of sustained high rates of economicgrowth. The third type of modelling capabilitythat the Council maintains is that of analysingresource allocation across the production

sectors in the context of a global economy.What happens if India reduces its tradebarriers unilaterally? Or when such tradeliberalisation takes place within a multilateralframework? What are the implications of freeor regional trade agreements? What are theimplications of climate change in a globalcontext? These are the issues that can beexamined in a Computable GeneralEquilibrium (CGE) modelling framework.The Council maintains a capability to examinethe trade policy issues both in the CGEframework as well as other approaches ofpartial equilibrium analysis.

A set of monthly and quarterly reportsdisseminate the macroeconomic perspectivesfrom NCAER’s research. MacroTrack, amonthly journal providing insights fromanalysis of issues relating to agriculture,industry, trade, finance and the overalleconomy is now in its eighth year ofpublication. Quarterly Review of the Economy, apackage of quarterly reports and seminars onthe economy is in operation for well over adecade. The quarterly reports constitute acomprehensive review of the economy and areport on the quarterly survey of businessexpectations conducted by the Council. The“Business Confidence Index” constructed bythe Council is based on these quarterlysurveys.

This analytical capability has been formedthrough active collaborations with the officialagencies, scholars and universities in India andabroad.


2005 2006

GROWTH, TRADE AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT*


2005 2006

QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THE ECONOMY

(M/05/020)

SPONSOR: Annual subscribersThis subscription-based service comprises

Quarterly Review of the Economy, a quarterlyBusiness Expectations Survey (BES), a monthlynewsletter, MacroTrack, and quarterly State ofthe Economy seminars. Quarterly Review of theEconomy aims at providing assessments onmacro-economic models, leading indicators,and the BES which assesses the economy togenerate a Business Confidence Index (BCI).MacroTrack provides information and analyseson major trends in the economy, industry andfinance. The State of the Economy seminarscomprise presentations by the NCAER teamand commentaries by invited experts.Subscribers to Quarterly Review and otherexperts also make presentations on specifictopics related to the Indian economy. Thecontents of Quarterly Review are available tosubscribers both electronically as well as inprinted form.PROJECT TEAM: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT, RAJESH

CHADHA, ANIL SHARMA, ANUSHREE SINHA, SANJIB

POHIT, S K N NAIR, KANHAIYA SINGH, SUNIL K SINHA,

SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, KHURSHEED ANWAR

SIDDIQUI, DEVENDER PRATAP, SAMBASIVA RAO, RACHNA

SHARMA AND ANJALI TANDON

EXPERT COMMENTATORS AT QUARTERLY

REVIEW SEMINARS IN 2005–06:

PROF DEEPAK LAL, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS

ANGELES (ULCA)

MR K L DATTA, CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN

RIGHTS

DR RAJIV KUMAR, CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY

DR PRONAB SEN, PLANNING COMMISSION

DR SAUMITRA CHAUDHURI, ICRA LIMITED

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

DR M GOVINDA RAO, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC

FINANCE AND POLICY

MR P N GUPTA, STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED

DR NAGESH KUMAR, RIS

INDIA POLICY FORUM* (G/05/009)

SPONSORS: State Bank of India, Tata Sons,Citigroup and HDFC Bank

The second India Policy Forum (IPF)conference was held at India Habitat Centre,New Delhi, on July 25, 2005. Dr JohnWilliamson, Senior Fellow, Institute ofInternational Economics, Washington, DCdelivered the second annual IPF lecture on“What Follows the Era of the USA as theWorld’s Growth Engine?” The inaugural issueof the India Policy Forum annual publication,India Policy Forum 2004, was published inJanuary 2005. The second volume waspublished in July 2006.PROJECT TEAM: SUMAN BERY, SHASHANKA BHIDE

AND KARTIK VENKATRAMAN

ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC

COOPERATION BETWEEN INDIA AND

FINLAND* (M/05/077)

SPONSOR: SITRA, Finnish National Fund forResearch and Development

In this paper, we look at the potentialopportunities for business co-operationbetween India and Finland. We examine thepattern of trade between the two countries,examine the growth potential in India andprovide an assessment of the potential forlinkages between the two economies.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, DRIPTO

MUKHOPADHYAY, DIVJOT SINGH, DIVYA KRISHNAN AND

PAWAN KUMAR

POTENTIAL AND CONSTRAINTS ON INDIA’S

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES INDUSTRY*

(M/05/078)

SPONSOR: Diageo LimitedThis study has examined a number of

issues relating to the spirits segment ofalcoholic beverages industry. One of theimportant distortions affecting this industry isthe multiplicity of taxes applied to this sector.


The study aims to provide an assessment of thevariations in tax rates applied to this sector indifferent states of the country. The study alsoexamines the competitiveness of the domesticindustry in the context of import dutiesapplied to this sector.

The study has pointed to the widediscrepancy in the estimated quantity ofproduction and consumption of alcohol. Thehigh taxes lead to evasion, especially whenenforcement mechanism is weak. Puttingtogether data from various sources, the studyplaces the estimates of India Made ForeignLiquor (IMFL) and Country Liquorproduction/consumption at 7677.2 millionlitres during 2005, which means actualproduction and consumption of alcohol, isaround 3.5 times the level indicated by thedata on State Excise Revenue Statistics.Clearly, this has serious implications from therevenue angle. While high rates of taxes arejustified as a means to raise revenue and toreduce consumption of alcohol, both objectivesseem to be undermined.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, J S BEDI AND

L M PANDEY

DEVELOPMENT OF STATE-LEVEL MACRO

DATABASE IN THE THREE USAID-REFORM

STATES (M/05/071)

SPONSOR: Bearing Point /USAIDProposed a framework for developing

macro-economic databases for the threeUSAID-REFORM States – Karnataka,Jharkhand and Uttaranchal. The database wasdeveloped in SQL Server 2000 and includedboth industry and fiscal data sets. The data arecomprehensive enough for the Fiscal PolicyAnalysis Cells (FPACs) in each of these Statesto formulate comprehensive overviews on theirrespective macro economic conditions.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, ANUSHREE

SINHA, SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, PURNA CHANDRA

PARIDA, POONAM MUNJAL, PRAVEEN SACHDEVA AND

RAKESH KUMAR SRIVASTAVA

DEVELOPMENT OF INDIRECT TAX MODEL IN

USAID- REFORM STATES (M/05/086)

SPONSOR: Bearing Point / USAIDThe tax model for the three USAID-

REFORM States – Karnataka, Jharkhand andUttaranchal – should provide a detailedframework for projecting indirect taxes by yearand analyse the revenue impacts of proposedindirect tax policies by creating or changing taxlaw parameters to compute the resulting taxliability. The model should be flexible enoughto allow the user to specify alternate taxpolicies for most indirect taxes and sufficientlydetailed to provide estimates of VAT.PROJECT TEAM: ANUSHREE SINHA, SHASHANKA

BHIDE, SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, PURNA CHANDRA

PARIDA, POONAM MUNJAL, PRAVEEN SACHDEVA, RAKESH

KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, SUDESH BALA AND SADHANA SINGH

QUARTERLY REPORTS FOR THE EMBASSY OF

JAPAN, NEW DELHI* (M/05/67)

SPONSOR: Embassy of Japan, New DelhiDeveloped four quarterly reports for the

Embassy of Japan. Topics covered: “Value-Added Tax in India – June 2005”; “FundingInfrastructure in India” – September 2005”;“Supply and Demand of Petroleum Productsin India – December 2005”; “India-SingaporeCECA – March 2006”.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH CHADHA, DEVENDRA KUMAR

PANT, ANJALI TANDON AND ABHISHEK AKHOURI

JOINT STUDY GROUP (JSG): ECONOMIC

COOPERATION BETWEEN INDIA AND JAPAN

(M/05/076)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Finance, Governmentof IndiaDeveloped two chapters of the JSG Report on“Trade in Goods” and “Trade in Services”.PROJECT TEAM: SUMAN BERY, RAJESH CHADHA,

DEVENDER PRATAP AND ANJALI TANDON

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA (M/05/083)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry (METI) and Japan External Trade


2005 2006

2005 2006

Organisation ( JETRO), Government of JapanDocument FDI-related institutions and

procedures at Central as well as State level(major States to be considered). DocumentIndian investment laws and policies coveringgeneral investment, capital structures,performance requirements (including foreignexchange balancing) and TRIMS, accountingand tax systems, royalty, land ownership,labour, immigration, and disseminate relevantjudicial systems and legislations regulatingforeign exchange inflow, etc.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH CHADHA, GEETHANJALI

NATARAJ, ABHISHEK KUMAR, PRIYA NATARAJAN AND

SHEFALI RAI

IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON NATIONAL

FIRMS: THE CASE OF INDIA AND CHINA IN A

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE* (M/05/081)

SPONSOR: European Union (EU)A two-day international workshop on

“Impact of Globalization on National Firms:The Case of India and China in aComparative Perspective” in collaborationwith CSH, LSE and IIC was organised and apaper on Indian industry was developed. Thefindings of the paper was presented in theworkshop. A paper titled “Statistical analysisof the evolution of Indian Industry in the post-liberalisation era” was prepared.PROJECT TEAM: BASANTA K PRADHAN, SHALABH K

SINGH AND BIJAY CHOUHAN

EXPORT PROMOTION SCHEME REPLACING

DUTY ENTITLEMENT PASSBOOK (DEPB)

SCHEME* (I/05/034)

SPONSOR: Directorate General of ForeignTrade, Ministry of Commerce

Proposes a new, WTO complaint schemefor exporters. The DEPB has beencountervailed chiefly because there is no nexusbetween imported inputs and exports whileimport duties are cited for incentives/reimbursement. Annex II of Agreement onSubsidies and Countervailing Measure(ASCM) allows for remission of prior stage

cumulative indirect taxes and hence forms thebasis for the alternative scheme proposed inthis study.PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, M R SALUJA, RUPA

MALIK, POONAM MUNJAL AND REETA KRISHNA

FEASIBILITY REPORT ON ESTABLISHING A

THINK TANK IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN*

(M/04/061)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Commerce andIndustry, Government of Sultanate of Oman.

Suggests the vision, mission and activitiesof the proposed think-tank based ondiscussions with relevant authorities; evolves aproper positioning of the think-tank in theoverall economic development framework inOman; identifies the type of organisation anda suitable structure for the proposed think-tank; suggests the composition of the researchteam, qualifications and experience of itsmembers, their functioning including thelinkages with various ministries in Oman, and,finally, indicates the funds that would berequired for establishing such a think-tank.Unlike reports by other international agencieswhich are generally based on an assessment ata particular moment in time, NCAER’s reportwas prepared after prolonged discussions withvarious stakeholders. NCAER proposes thatthe most appropriate initial institutionalresponse would be to create a policy-planningunit reporting to the Minister which couldform the nucleus of an independent researchorganisation.PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, RAJESH SHUKLA

AND RUPA MALIK

PROJECT ADVISOR AND FINAL RECOMMENDA-

TIONS: SUMAN BERY

PROJECT INITIATION: PRADEEP SRIVASTAVA

SNAP SURVEY OF REGISTERED DEALERS

UNDER CST ACT* (I/05/032)

SPONSOR: Department of Excise andTaxation, Government of Punjab

Estimates sales tax evasion at the macro-level in Punjab, finds the linkages between


sectoral performance and sales tax collectionand compares with other States, determines towhat extent registered and unregistered dealersare under-reporting taxable transactions,thereby evading sales tax and suggestsmeasures to restrict leakage in the form of salestax evasion.PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, DRIPTO

MUKHOPADHYAY, M R SALUJA, BIBEK RAI CHAUDHURI

AND POONAM MUNJAL

EVALUATION OF RASOI GHAR* (S/05/016)

SPONSOR: Hindustan Petroleum CorporationLimited.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd(HPCL)’s innovative project, “HP GAS RasoiGhar (community kitchen)” providesalternative environment-friendly form ofcooking energy in rural areas. The study wasaimed at critically reviewing the working ofthese Rasoi Ghars to enable the agency to takecorrective measures to effectively implementthe programme at the all-India level.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH SHUKLA, RUPINDER KAUR,

TAJENDER SINGH AND SUBRATA BANDYOPADHYAY

TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT* (M/04/048)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Tourism and CultureThis study marks the culmination of a long

process, first initiated in 2000, when theMinistry of Tourism commissioned NCAERto undertake a feasibility study to developIndia’s first Tourism Satellite Account (TSA).Data from the All-India Domestic TourismSurvey, International Passenger Survey andofficial sources have been brought together todevelop a pilot TSA for India. In addition toproviding internationally comparable andcredible estimates of tourism in the Indianeconomy, the development of the pilot TSAwill also contribute to further strengtheningthe national statistical system for attractingtourism on a larger scale.PROJECT TEAM: PRADEEP SRIVASTAVA, RAJESH

SHUKLA, M R SALUJA, K A SIDDIQUI, POONAM MUNJAL

AND ASHA SHARMA

STUDY OF MACROECONOMIC IMPACT OF HIGH

OIL PRICES* (M/05/072)

SPONSOR: PetroFedExamines the impact of high oil prices on

some of the key aggregates of the economy inthe past both for India as well as for selectdeveloping and large economies like Chinaand Brazil; studies the implications of the highworld oil prices to the Indian economy andidentifies the policy responses that couldsustain its growth momentum and restraininflationary effects.PROJECT TEAM: ANUSHREE SINHA, PURNA CHANDRA

PARIDA, POONAM MUNJAL, PRAVEEN SACHDEVA, SUDESH

BALA AND SADHNA SINGH

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF JAN KEROSENE

PARIYOJANA (JKP) (M/05/056)

SPONSOR: Petroleum Planning and AnalysisCell (PPAC), Ministry of Petroleum andNatural Gas

The study involves a “concurrentdiagnostic study” to help in fine-tuning theimplementation of the JKP and an impactassessment study on its performance. TheImpact Assessment Study provides theassessment using a set of indicators that coversthe processes for ensuring adequate supplies tothe PDS and monitoring systems that ensureproper targeting of the benefits and actualimpact on the intended beneficiaries. Thestudy is being conducted on the basis of ‘withand without’ methodology of impactassessment surveys. For these surveys, a sampleof blocks is taken up from among those wherethe pilot scheme is implemented, 150 blockshave been taken up for the survey. Two villageseach from 150 adjoining blocks without JKPare also surveyed.PROJECT TEAM: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT,

SHASHANKA BHIDE, P K ROY, RAJESH JAISWAL,

RUPINDER KAUR, RASHMI RASTOGI, TEJINDER SINGH,

LAL MANI PANDE, R S LANDGE AND J M SHAWL


2005 2006

2005 2006

COMPREHENSIVE STUDY TO ASSESS THE

GENUINE DEMAND AND REQUIREMENT OF

SKO* (M/05/079)

SPONSOR: Petroleum Planning and AnalysisCell (PPAC), Ministry of Petroleum andNatural Gas

Studies the distribution of kerosene underthe PDS by various States/UTs, includingprice and taxation levels, whether thesubsidised kerosene is reaching the targetedpeople. Also assesses the demand andconsumption of PDS kerosene in variousStates and UTs by different types of cards andplaces of residence. Also forecasts the demandfor kerosene and LPG and establishes thecorrelation, if any, between the requirement ofkerosene and release of new LPG connections.PROJECT TEAM: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT, P K ROY,

RAJESH JAISWAL, S K DWIVEDI, SHISHIR SHEKHAR,

PIYUSH KUMAR SHANDILAYA, RASHMI RASTOGI, AMBIKA

AGGARWAL, K A SIDDIQUI, M K ARORA, K S URS, TEJINDER

SINGH, R S LANDGE, ASHA SHARMA, SUBRATA

BANDYOPADHYAY, CHARU JAIN, RAJ KUMAR CHAUDHARY

AND POONAM MUNJAL

ADVISER ON SAMPLE SURVEY: RAJESH SHUKLA

PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

SHASKANKA BHIDE AND ANIL KUMAR SHARMA

ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF INDIA-EU

COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT*

(M/05/082)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Commerce andIndustry, Government of India

A study of the implications of Indiaentering into a comprehensive economicengagement with the EU. The variouscomponents of the study are: Economicassessment of India-EU FTA using theNCAER-Michigan global trade model andIndia-EU Investment relations: current statusand future prospects; assessing exportcompetitiveness of India in the enlargedEuropean Union: emerging trends and policyoptions; environment related barriers in Indo-EU trade: issues and policy challenges and

India-EU service trade: current status andfuture prospects.PROJECT TEAM: SANJIB POHIT AND ANJALI TANDON

PREPARATION OF USER-FRIENDLY

DOCUMENT – MASTER PLAN FOR DELHI 2021

(H/04/018)

SPONSOR: Delhi Development AuthorityThe objective of the study is to facilitate

the DDA in the process of finalisation ofDelhi’s Master Plan in a user-friendly formatusing graphics and explanation of technicalterms and concepts. Once the MPD 2021 isadopted through various pieces of legislation,the Council will help in preparing brief dis-semination documents highlighting the salientfeatures of the Master Plan affecting thecommon citizen and would undertake mediawork through power point presentations.PROJECT TEAM: SAUMEN MAJUMDAR, D B GUPTA

AND S K BATHLA

ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF INDIA-CHILE

FTA* (M/05/075)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Commerce & Industry,Government of India

Analyses the potential implication of aFTA with Chile using the NCAER-MichiganGlobal Trade Model. To be specific, thisincludes analysis of the following: Bilateralliberalisation of trade in goods; bilateralliberalisation of trade in services; sector-specific effects; and welfare implication ofFTA between India and Chile.PROJECT TEAM: SANJIB POHIT, ANJALI TANDON AND

DEVENDER PRATAP

POLICY RESEARCH NETWORKING TO

STRENGTHEN POLICY REFORMS:

MACROECONOMIC GROUP* (M/03/046)

SPONSORS: Asian Development Bank (ADB)and Department of Economic Affairs (DEA)Ministry of Finance, Government of India

The Policy Research NetworkingProgramme of ADB and DEA was initiated to


strengthen policy reforms in India. As part ofthis programme, NCAER and Indian Instituteof Management (Calcutta) were made nodalagencies for four and three papers respectively.In addition, NCAER had to coordinate theresearch programme, prepare policy papers andorganise the dissemination seminars.PROJECT TEAM: SUNIL SINHA, KANHAIYA SINGH,

RACHNA SHARMA, Y VENKATARAMANA AND RAKESH

SRIVASTAVA

ASSESSING AN ALTERNATIVE MEDIUM-TERM

GROWTH SCENARIO FOR THE INDIAN

ECONOMY* (M/05/066)

SPONSOR: Confederation of Indian Industries(CII)

An analysis of the role of the variousfactors that influence economic growth, which,in a broader manner, link the growthperformance of the economy and two crucialgoals – generation of employment andreduction of poverty.

The study generated alternate growthscenarios of economic growth. In the absenceof continuity of the reform process and globaleconomic growth, the growth of the Indianeconomy will also be reduced. However, if thereform process continues with FDI inflowgrowth similar to the present levels andprovided the global economy also maintains itscurrent growth momentum, India has apotential to attain a growth rate of more thaneight per cent on a sustained basis. In order toattain this growth, more reforms and betterglobal environment would be required.PROJECT TEAM: DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT,

SHASHANKA BHIDE AND K A SIDDIQUI

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND FORECAST OF

INDIA* (M/05/063)

SPONSORS: Hochtief Air Port GmbH,Germany and its partners Piramal HoldingsLtd. and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Ltd.

Projects the long-term growth prospects ofthe Indian economy taking a synoptic view ofthe economy and accounting for planning

experiences, recent policy changes andeconomic performances of the emergingsectors and outlines an understanding of theeconomy’s potential in terms of advantagesand weaknesses. The model used is dividedinto two-point estimation based on thepresence of trend and cyclical components ofthe long series of GDP and the forecastsderived are depicted separately for the trendand the trend and cycle together.PROJECT TEAM: SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, SAMIR K

MONDAL, TOPOSMITO SENGUPTA AND PRADIP KUMAR

BISWAS

A RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT TO PREPARE A

COMMENTARY FOR VISA INTERNATIONAL’S

WHITE PAPER ENTITLED PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

FOR MODERNISING ECONOMIES* (M/05/055)

SPONSOR: R&P Management Communica-tion Pvt. Ltd. and funded by Visa International

Ascertains the benefit of ElectronicPayment System (EPS) to the economy whichare numerous. Some of the major gains includetime and cost savings, increment in consump-tion, streamlining pension account, efficiencyin Government resource allocation etc. to anoverall 14 per cent contribution to GDP.PROJECT TEAM: SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, SAMIR K

MONDAL AND ANANYA SARKAR

COMPETITIVENESS OF THE BEER INDUSTRY

IN ANDHRA PRADESH* (M/05/053)

SPONSOR: Tecnova Global Ltd. and funded bySAB Miller

Reviews the trend in the tax rates imposedon beer in Andhra Pradesh, analyses thecomponents of ex-factory pricing, determinesthe optimum revenue neutrality scenariowhich includes the fall in Government revenueas a result of downward revision of tax rates.As beer is price and income-sensitive product,the impact of reduction in excise leads tohigher revenue generation through increasedconsumption.PROJECT TEAM: SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, SAMIR K

MONDAL AND ANANYA SARKAR


2005 2006

2005 2006

RETAINER RELATIONSHIP WITH TECNOVA*

(M/05/058)

SPONSOR: Tecnova Global Ltd.An earlier study, Competitiveness of beer

industry in Andhra Pradesh, fructifies into abroader analysis for Delhi, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Orissa, and Rajasthan. Asrevealed in the analysis for Andhra Pradesh,beer is a price as well as income sensitive.However, due to variations in the prices of beerand income levels, the price and incomeelasticity vary. Therefore, reduction in exciseincidence would result in a revenue impactobviously caused by the increase in the volumeof consumption.PROJECT TEAM: SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY AND

TOPOSMITO SENGUPTA

STUDY OF BEER INDUSTRY IN INDIA

(M/05/080)

SPONSOR: SAB-MillerAn estimation of the impact of taxation on

the volume of consumption of beer in thedifferent States of India. The excise incidenceis placed in a Laffer curve framework, which,given the price and income and crosssensitivity of demand, leads to higher volume

of tax revenue realisation with a relativelylower level of excise incidence. Themethodology of the study is chiefly aneconometric analysis of the time series datarelating to volume of consumption with price,income along with cross price sensitivity ofdemand.PROJECT TEAM: SAURABH BANDYOPADHYAY, R

VENKATESAN AND SWATI BAJAJ

TOWARDS ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE

OF THE DEFENCE RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION (DRDO)

PHASE I: FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS

(M/05/084)

SPONSOR: Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO),Ministry of Defence, Government of India

An assessment of the operationaleffectiveness of DRDO in meeting the goalsenshrined in its vision and the missionstatements and seeks to optimise the combateffectiveness of the defence services throughproduct development and technologicalsolutionsPROJECT TEAM: KANHAIYA SINGH AND S K MONDAL


Well-functioning power, telecommunicationsand transportation infrastructure are vital forany modern economy. Over the years,NCAER has produced a number of importantstudies and reports on India’s infrastructure,including topics such as domestic fuel use, useof non-conventional energy, regulatoryframework for electricity generation andsupply, telecommunication and transportation.The Council has established a Centre forInfrastructure Studies and Regulation. Animportant project currently under way at theCentre focussing on regulation andcompetition in infrastructure industries isfunded by the EU-India EconomicCrosscultural Programme of EuropeanCommission. The project is a collaborationbetween the Council and a group of Europeanresearch institutions led by Centre forEconomic Policy Research, London. TheCentre for Infrastructure Studies andRegulation has carried out a series of studies inthe telecommunication sector focussing on theUniversal Service Obligation. Ruralinfrastructure issues have now emerged as keyto rural development strategy. The Council hascompleted an important programme on ruralinfrastructure which reviews the status of theseservices and lessons from various approachesto rural infrastructure development.

In the area of transportation, the Councilhas carried out studies on the civil aviationsector, inland transportation and is currentlyinvolved in a study of passenger transportationin the States.

Besides the physical infrastructure sectors,development of the industrial sectors has beenan important area of research for us. Thestudies on E-readiness in the States tofacilitate E-governance are our pioneeringprojects.

Surveys of household expenditure provideimportant data to understand the role ofdifferent sectors in terms of their impact onthe economy. A detailed survey of domestictourism has provided information on spendingby domestic tourists in the country. TheMarket Information Survey of Households hasgenerated a large database on consumerpurchases of major consumer goods acrossincome groups, States, major cities and forurban and rural areas.

EFFICIENCY, EQUITY AND ACCESS IN INDIAN

INFRASTRUCTURE: BLENDING COMPETITION

AND REGULATION (I/05/035)

SPONSOR: EU-India Economic Cross-Cultural Programme European Commission

Combines the analytical experience ofEurope on issues relating to regulation andcompetition with the emerging practicalexperience in India in achieving private sectorparticipation in infrastructure projects. Seeksto foster collaborative efforts betweenNCAER and European partner institutionsand provides opportunities for Europeanscholars to learn more about India’s economicpolicy. The Indian policy and academiccommunity can also learn from Europeanresearch.



2005 2006

INVESTMENT CLIMATE, PHYSICAL AND

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE*

2005 2006

PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, SAURABH

BANDYOPADHYAY, SUMAN BERY, RAJESH CHADHA,

SAMANTAK DAS, INDRANIL DE, SAUMEN MAJUMDAR,

PAYAL MALIK, DRIPTO MUKHOPADHYAY, SANJIB POHIT

AND SAMBASIVA RAO

RELEVANCE AND IMPACT OF CENTRAL

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO COOPERATIVES

FOR MARKETING, PROCESSING, STORAGE,

ETC. PROGRAMMES IN COMPARATIVELY LESS

DEVELOPED STATES/UTS (I/05/038)

SPONSOR: National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation (A statutory body)

Studies the impact of the scheme whichhas been in operation for the past 30 years witha view to assess at the ground level the changesbrought about in the income levels of the ruralpopulation through cooperatives, andrecommend changes required to improve upondeficiencies of the scheme.PROJECT TEAM:R VENKATESAN, SAURABH

BANDYOPADHYAY, VEENA NABAR AND SHANKAR SHARMA

ECONOMIC GAINS OF CARGO MOVEMENT

THROUGH INLAND WATER TRANSPORT MODE

IN NATIONAL WATERWAYS NO. 1 * (I/05/036)

SPONSOR: Inland Waterways Authority ofIndia (Ministry of Shipping, Government ofIndia)

Realistically identifies the nature andquantum of cargo likely to be available fortransportation on NW-1and NW-2. Also,assesses the operator’s cost of transportationfor the given cargo traffic by InlandWaterways Transportation (IWT) mode vis-a-vis other comparable modes of transport. Thestudy also quantifies economic gains of IWTin NW-1 and NW -2 in terms of a) reductionin energy consumption and operational costsvis-a-vis road and rail transport, b) savings inconstruction, maintenance and congestioncosts over rail and road, c) savings in users cost,and d) reduction in environment cost andsocial benefits by way of inter-linking of areasnot served by other modes of transport.

PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, Y K TANWAR,

KANIKA KALRA AND RAKESH SRIVASTAVA

E-READINESS ASSESSMENT OF STATES AND

UTS, 2004–05 (I/05/040)

SPONSOR: Department of InformationTechnology, Government of India

Assesses and ranks the States of India onthe basis of their E-readiness based on aprimary survey. The E-readiness study ofNCAER and DIT has assumed importancewith all State-level policy planners ever sincethe release of the first Report in 2003 and isnow an annual event.PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, RUPA MALIK, Y K

TANWAR, KANIKA KALRA, RAJEEV NARAYAN, WILIMA

WADHWA AND R K BAISYA

SOCIAL COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF

COMMUNITY INFORMATION CENTRES (CICs)

IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION (I/05/039)

SPONSOR: National Informatics Centre,Ministry of Communications and InformationTechnology, Government of India

Segregates the types of services providedby the CICs in the region in categories G2C(Government to Citizen), B2C (Business toCitizen) and G2G (intra-government) andproposes an understanding of the revenuepoints in terms of internet content,downloading, printing etc., as well as under thecategory of service provision such as B2C,G2C, G2G. A few CICs in the North-easternregion has been selected to correlate revenuegeneration to demographic characteristics.Includes a critical examination of pastprogrammes, the functioning of the CICs, andanalyses users’ expectations in the regions ofstudy. There is also an integration of theindicators on the social relevance of setting upCICs along with economic sustainabilityindicators and an examination of differentoptions of private-public partnership that canensure financial viability such as the model ofG2B2C.


PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, WILIMA WADHWA,

Y K TANWAR, RUPA MALIK, KANIKA KALRA, RAJEEV

NARAYAN AND R K BAISYA

A STUDY OF STATE POLICIES AFFECTING

COMPETITION – PASSENGER TRANSPORT

SECTOR (I/05/037)

SPONSOR: The Competition Commission ofIndia

This study attempts to advocate enhancedcompetition and institutional reforms to bringabout greater competition within thepassenger transport sector across the States ofIndia and within their boundaries. This wouldenhance the efficiency of the developmentprocess and the economy’s capacity attain thedesired economic and social ends.PROJECT TEAM: R VENKATESAN, Y K TANWAR, RUPA

MALIK, KANIKA KALRA AND RAJEEV NARAYAN

CENTRE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND

REGULATION (I/01/013)

SPONSORS: United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) and Department ofEconomic Affairs, Ministry of Finance,Government of India

A proposal to set up a dedicated Centre forInfrastructure in NCAER to undertake bothsponsored studies as well as carry outcontinuing research on policy and relatedissues of economic infrastructure supported bya comprehensive database. The Centre is nowfunctional. The concluding activity is thecompiling of a Status Report on InfrastructureServices in India. The Report looks at the roleof infrastructure to explain the differences inthe levels of socioeconomic development indifferent States. This work is in progress:Expected completion – September 2006.PROJECT TEAM: S K N NAIR, SAUMEN MAJUMDAR,

SAMBASIVA RAO AND K JAMAL KHAN

TELECOM-UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATIONS

(BENCHMARKING OF SUBSIDIES) (I/02/019)

SPONSOR: Administrator, Universal ServiceObligation Fund, Department of

Telecommunications, Government of IndiaAs part of the reforms of the telecom

sector, a non-lapsable Universal ServiceObligations Fund has been set up throughCentral legislation with the aim of ensuring“universal access” by funding unrenumerativetelecom services in rural areas.

This study supports the selection process of“universal service providers” for differentservices and regions through a transparentbidding process. The support to this selectionactivity is provided through determining thefair amounts of subsidy, calculated on the basisof economic and technical data, which are thenused as “benchmarks” for bids. With thefinalisation of “benchmarking” of subsidies forproviding rural private phones (DELs) in1,685 identified unremunerative “service areas”in the country, the work has been completedfor all six categories of services taken up forsubsidy support.PROJECT TEAM: S K N NAIR AND SAMBASIVA RAO

REVIEW OF SUBSIDIES DRAWN FROM THE

UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND*

(I/05/033)

SPONSOR: Administrator, Universal ServiceObligation Fund, Department ofTelecommunications, Government of India

A mid-term review of the subsidiesextended to the service providers of ruraltelephony in respect of Village PublicTelephones (VPTs) and recommends anappropriate revision of the subsidybenchmarks for each service area in thecountry.PROJECT TEAM: S K N NAIR AND SAMBASIVA RAO

COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF DEMAND FOR

CEMENT* (M/04/049)

SPONSORS: National Council for Cement andBuilding Materials (NCB) and Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, New Delhi

The report has analysed in detail a numberof issues facing the cement industry andprojected cement demand in six alternate


2005 2006

2005 2006

scenarios. The projections indicate that thegrowth of cement demand could vary from 8.4to 14 per cent depending on the policyinitiatives of the Government. There are hugedistortions in the tax structure related to thecement industry, and the infrastructuresupport is also inadequate. The report hasmade number of policy related recommen-dations that need to be initiated in the areas offiscal policy, trade related issues, monetarypolicy, construction policy, railways policy, coallinkages, power policy and other infrastructuresupplies related to the cement industry.PROJECT TEAM: KANHAIYA SINGH, K A SIDDIQUI,

RACHNA SHARMA, Y VENKATARAMANA AND RAKESH

SRIVASTAVA

COORDINATION OF UTTAR PRADESH

DEVELOPMENT REPORT* (I/04/025)

SPONSOR: Planning Commission of IndiaThis is an attempt at coordination and

compilation of the final document of the U.P.Development Report. The analysis indicatesthat UP is a low growth – low productivityeconomy, threatened by unsustainable debt,wide-ranging regional disparity and over-dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Theeconomy appears to be trapped in a low levelequilibrium arising out of low farm holdingsand lower capacity of farmers to raiseresources. The industrial sector, which isfragmented and operates at small scales, isunable to cope with competition from imports,particularly from China. The financialcondition of the State has been precariousdespite some improvements in recent years and

must be sustained by cutting revenueexpenditures and simultaneously generatingother sources of receipts.PROJECT TEAM: KANHAIYA SINGH, RACHNA SHARMA,

RUPA MALIK, REETA KRISHNA, Y VENKATARAMANA AND

RAKESH SRIVASTAVA

STATE DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR

UTTARANCHAL (M/05/059)

SPONSOR: Planning Commission of IndiaA 10-chapter Report, complete with ExecutiveSummary on Uttaranchal.PROJECT TEAM: KANHAIYA SINGH, PRADEEP KUMAR

SRIVASTAVA, S K N NAIR, S S RAO, RACHNA SHARMA AND

Y VENKATARAMANA

DISTRICT-WISE EXPORT POTENTIAL SURVEY

IN WEST BENGAL (M/05/065)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Industry, Governmentof West Bengal

Presently, West Bengal has a major share inthe country’s exports in items like engineering,tea, jute, agro-products, small leather productsand marine products. By and large, these are alltraditional items of exports from the State.Understandably, if exports from West Bengalhave to attain a double-digit share in India’sexports, efforts are required to diversify theexport basket of the State apart fromincreasing the exports of traditional items. TheStudy assesses the district-wise exportpotential with reference to traditional items aswell as new products and to draw relevantpolicy conclusions.PROJECT TEAM: SAMANTAK DAS, DRIPTO

MUKHOPADHYAY AND SANJIB POHIT


Agriculture continues to be critical because ofits importance to the rural economy on whichabout 60 per cent of the population depends.While the importance of Agriculture in termsof its contribution to the overall GDP hasdeclined over the years to reach 20 per cent in2006–07, its role as provider of livelihood tothe unskilled labour force cannot beoverlooked. In the absence of rapid growth ofemployment in the non-agricultural sectors,dependence on agriculture for such safety netswould continue. At the same time, thepotential for further improvements inproductivity, efficient resource use andconservation of resources are significant andneeds to be exploited to sustain thecompetitive position of the sector in this era ofglobal markets. The building of strong andmutually beneficial linkages betweenAgriculture and Industry is necessary forgrowth of productivity. The policy challengesin this sector are many and important both interms of social and economic objectives. Thesmall holdings of the farmers make itimperative that viable models of service andinput delivery to the sector are modelledappropriately. Trade policies would need totake into account the constraints in which thesector operates. Suitable models of investmentin rural infrastructure are needed not only toimprove the living conditions, but also toimprove productivity. NCAER has carried outa large number of studies in different areas ofthe sector over the years. The recent focus hasbeen on trade related issues. The studies have

utilised both primary data as well asquantitative models for the analysis. Thequantitative models have been applied fortrade policy analysis in the partial as well asCGE framework.

AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY OF

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

PROJECT* (M/05/060)

SPONSOR: National Agricultural TechnologyProject, Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch

The study was an attempt to provide anoverall impact of NATP specifically coveringthe Organisation & Management (O&M)systems, Technology Dissemination Systems(TDS), technological, social andenvironmental impacts with focus on ‘impacton what’ and ‘impact on whom’. Thetechnological impact was sought to becaptured by improving the quantity andquality of technology flow and adoption, inputuse efficiency, enhancement of productivityand profitability. The social impact indicatorsincluded the impact on marginal areas andsmall and marginal farmers, and economicempowerment especially of women. The studyalso looked at approaches under the NATP totechnology development and disseminationactivities, and public-private sectorparticipation in these activities.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, D B GUPTA,

M C JAIN, SURINDER SUD, TEJINDER SINGH, TARUJYOTI

BURAGOHAIN, M K ARORA, SUBBARAJ URS AND

S K BATHLA



2005 2006

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT*

2005 2006

LIBERALISING DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL

MARKETS: GAINS FOR INDIA (M/05/069)

SPONSOR: British High Commission, NewDelhi

Analyses the impact of liberalising India’sdomestic trade in agricultural goods on India’sinternational trade and to increase awarenessamong key stakeholders in India and the UKon the potential benefits from domestic andinternational trade liberalisation in agriculture.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, RAJESH

CHADHA, DEVENDER PRATAP, ANJALI TANDON AND

ABHISHEK AKHOURI

AGRICULTURAL TRADE LIBERALISATION AND

DOMESTIC MARKET REFORMS IN INDIAN

AGRICULTURE (M/05/060)

SPONSOR: Australian Centre of InternationalAgricultural Research (ACIAR), AustralianGovernment

Evaluates the working of agriculturalmarkets in India and proposes enhancement oftheir efficiency by taking into account theeconomy-wide effects of changes inGovernment intervention and the socialeffects of the operation of markets. Also, areview of the main institutional and regulatoryinterventions in select agricultural sectors. Themarketing system constraints in select sub-sectors and their impacts on prices,production, income, consumption, trade andefficiency are examined through in-depth casestudies. Finally, the Report identifies, evaluatesand quantifies the impact of domestic marketand international trade policy reform optionson agricultural prices, production, income,consumption, trade and efficiency through thedevelopment of suitable industry-specific andeconomy-wide models.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH CHADHA, DEVENDER

PRATAP, ANJALI TANDON AND ABHISHEK AKHOURI

EXPORTS OF VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS FROM

THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR: IMPEDIMENTS

AND STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE

(A/02/005)

SPONSOR: Agricultural and Processed FoodExport Development Authority (APEDA),New Delhi

Despite a relatively higher growth inexports of processed products during therecent years, their level in total exports stillcontinues to be very low. This study was takenup to quantify value addition in selectedagricultural products and the extent ofadditional expenses that the exporters of theseproducts have to bear due to lack ofinfrastructure and other constraints. It alsosuggests what levels of assistance would berequired to compensate exporters after takinginto account the levels of processing and valueaddition made in each of the select products.PROJECT TEAM: ANIL SHARMA AND PRAMOD KUMAR

POLICY REFORMS IN THE SUGAR SECTOR:

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE GUR AND KHANDSARI

INDUSTRIES (A/02/004)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Food and ConsumerAffairs, Government of India, New Delhi

Examines the current status of gur andkhandsari industries and suggests policyoptions to address the problems that wouldarise from the liberalisation of the sugarindustry. Accordingly, the precise goals of thestudy are to estimate the size and output ofkhandsari and gur units in select sugarcanegrowing States and examine the systems ofcane supply, pricing, rates of recovery andeconomics of production of khandsari and gur.PROJECT TEAM: ANIL SHARMA, JATINDER BEDI,

TEJINDER SINGH, AJAY SAHU, ANIMESH KUMAR AND

SUNIL KUMAR


A STUDY OF ISSUES ORIGINATING FROM NEW

DRAFT FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON

AGRICULTURE (A/05/011)

SPONSOR: Ministry of Commerce andIndustry, Government of India

Builds on the past work that the Councilhad undertaken to support the Ministry ofCommerce on trade negotiations under theAoA. While the July 2004 draft framework

appeared to be fairly comprehensive in dealingwith several weaknesses that exist in thecurrent AoA, yet ambiguities and weakerprovisions in the new modalities mayundermine many of the positives originatingfrom the draft framework. This report is theresult of a detailed research on the provisionsfor export subsidies under the three pillars.PROJECT TEAM: ANIL SHARMA AND AJAY SAHU


2005 2006

India’s economy has been growing at an annualrate of over six per cent for well over twodecades now. This acceleration, from theprevious three decades’ average annual growthrate of less than four per cent has had asignificant impact on the patterns ofconsumption and savings. These, in turn, haveinfluenced the pattern of growth. While themanner in which economic policies wouldhave an impact on households is based ontheoretical insights, monitoring the actualchanges and deriving their implications onhousehold conditions and behaviour, aresignificant inputs to public policies as well asstrategies of the business sector. Informeddecisions are possible only when household-level data on the economy are available.NCAER has made important contributions inthis area over the years by carrying out surveys

of expenditure and income of households. Theexpenditure surveys have provided profiles ofconsumers and consumer purchases, mobilityof households across income groups, theirpatterns across economic-demographiccharacteristics. Some of the surveys are uniquefor their longitudinal nature and some haveextensive coverage in that they provideinformation at the state level and for rural andurban areas.

Besides income, expenditure and povertyanalyses, the Council has also investigated avariety of social sector issues in the areas ofhealth and education by analysing primaryhousehold data. More recently, the Councilhas carried out an assessment of the impact ofHIV/AIDS on the economy using both fieldstudies as well as CGE modelling framework.A large programme of work on monitoring


2005 2006

HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOUR, POVERTY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,

INFORMALITY AND GENDER*


THE FIELD STAFF OF REDSPROJECT TEAM DURING APRE-TESTING OFHOUSEHOLDS SCHEDULE ATTHIRUMOHUR VILLAGE,MADURAI, TAMIL NADU,FEBRUARY 16, 2006

2005 2006

human development has been an importantactivity for the Council for about a decadenow. This programme presently focuses onmaternal and child health issues. The Councilhas developed a capacity for designing andimplementing statistically valid large and smallsamples for socio-economic surveys.

RESEARCH FOR CHRONIC POVERTY

RESEARCH CENTRE (CPRC)* (M/05/057)

SPONSOR: Chronic Poverty Research Centre,Indian Institute of Public Administration,New Delhi

The study uses NCAER’s panel data onrural households to examine the dynamics ofpoverty and factors influencing persistence ofpoverty and exit from poverty. It provides anassessment of what proportion of householdsremain in poverty, what proportion moves outof poverty and enters poverty over time.Although these are not estimates for thecountry as a whole, the data capture a varietyof situations across the country.

This paper has examined the patterns ofmovement of rural households across povertygroupings based on a unique panel data setcovering a period of three decades. Thefindings show that there is significant

incidence of chronic poverty in rural India. Ifwe consider the two consecutive periods inwhich the survey was conducted, separately,the incidence of chronic poverty in the samplepanel declined from 28.4 per cent of samplehouseholds between 1970–71 to 1981–82 to24.27 per cent of sample households in1981–82 to 1998–99). Among the poor, thepercentage of households chronically poordeclined from 43.28 per cent to 38.61 per centover these two sets of time.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, TANAYA PRASAD

AND SUPREET SONDHI

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CHRONIC POVERTY

(M/05/085)

SPONSOR: Chronic Poverty Research Centre,Indian Institute of Public Administration

Economic growth is expected to havepoverty reducing effects. This Report examinesthe issue using the panel data on ruralhouseholds covering the period 1970 to 1998.District-level data on agricultural output willbe used to combine with the household data toanalyse this issue.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE AND DIVYA

KRISHNAN


THE FIELD STAFF OF THEPROJECT, THE INDIAPROGRAMME OF RESEARCHIN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,2003–07, DURINGINTERVIEW ON HEALTH ANDEDUCATION IN PATNA,BIHAR, 2005

INVESTIGATION OF THE REASONS OF HIGH

DROP-OUT RATES IN SECONDARY AND

SENIOR SECONDARY STAGE IN INDIA

(H/05/025)

SPONSOR: Department of Secondary andHigher Education, Ministry of HumanResource Development

The Study provides some of the keyparameters that would help in understandingthe dimensions of the problem of achievinghigh levels of secondary school education inthe country. It assesses the estimates of currentpopulation in the age group of 15 to 19 yearsin different States, examines the trend ofenrolment in secondary classes across States,reviews the enrolment of students invocational courses after Class VIII or any othersimilar institutions like ITIs which offervocational courses. Based on a field study, itidentifies the social, economic and otherreasons causing drop-outs.PROJECT TEAM: SHASHANKA BHIDE, TARUJYOTI

BURAGOHAIN, S K DWIVEDI AND KALICHARAN SHUKLA

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH (H/03/016)

SPONSOR: National Institutes of Health andHuman Development, Maryland, USA

In this project, detailed information ofchildren and eligible women from over 41,000households were collected during the firstphase. The project is in the second phase ofdata validation, which is expected to completeby August 2006. Based on these data, adetailed report would be prepared which is alsolikely to be published as India HumanDevelopment Report.SENIOR ADVISOR: ABUSALEH SHARIFF

PROJECT TEAM: AMARESH DUBEY, O P SHARMA,

ABHILASHA SHARMA, MONISHA GROVER, LIPIKA DAS

GUPTA, KOYAL ROY, ABHISHEK KUMAR, NISHA VARGHESE,

HEMANT HAZARIKA, AND VIDYA SAGAR

EXTERNAL TEAM: REEVE VANNEMAN, SONALDE

DESAI AND MITALI SEN (ALL UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND)

PARENTAL EDUCATION AND CHILD

OUTCOMES (H/04/021)


In this project, detailed information ofschool-going children from over 41,000households was collected during the firstphase. In addition, all children in the surveyedhousehold falling in the age group of 8–11years were administered specially-designedlearning tests. The project is in the secondphase of data validation, which is expected tobe completed by August 2006. Based on thesedata, a detailed report would be preparedwhich is also likely to be published as the“India Human Development Report”.SENIOR ADVISOR: ABUSALEH SHARIFF




HEMANT HAZARIKA, AND VIDYA SAGAR

EXTERNAL TEAM: REEVE VANNEMAN, SONALDE

DESAI AND MITALI SEN (ALL UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND)

HEALTH ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT (H/03/022)


The project “Health Environment,Economic Development” is the third projectsponsored by University of Maryland. Theproject is exploratory in nature. The data havebeen collected from over 600 households infour States, viz., Madhya Pradesh, TamilNadu, Uttaranchal and West Bengal. Themain objective of this work is to develop, testand refine a set of research methods that willenable us to measure important environmentalvariables at household level. Therefore, thesecan be incorporated in the large surveys in costeffective way.SENIOR ADVISOR: ABUSALEH SHARIFF



2005 2006



HEMANT HAZARIKA AND VIDYA SAGAR.

EXTERNAL TEAM: PROFESSOR REEVE VANNEMAN,

SONALDE DESAI AND MITALI SEN

(ALL UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND)

NACO-SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS

IN INDIA (H/03/017)

SPONSOR: United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP)

An analysis of the nature and type of theeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS onhouseholds. The focus is on investigating therelationship between HIV/AIDS anddistribution of income and wealth, changes inthe structure of employment and socialsecurity and assessing the sectoral (agriculture,tourism, etc.) impact.STATUS: Submitted all-India Report, six Statereports and CGE-based report to NACO andUNDP. To be released as Reports by UNDPpossibly in July 2006.PROJECT TEAM: BASANTA K PRADHAN, M R SALUJA,

RAMAMANI SUNDAR, VIJAY PRAKASH OJHA, S K MONDAL,

SHALABH KUMAR SINGH, ABHILASHA SHARMA, GEETHA

NATESH AND SAMPURNA SINGH

IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS ON WOMEN AND GIRL

CHILD AND ON INDUSTRY SECTOR (H/05/024)

SPONSOR: United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP)

Assesses the impact of HIV/AIDS onwomen and female children in the six HIV-High prevalence States of India. The variousquestions explored are: The burden of care,domestic work and economic responsibilitieson women; gender differences in the healthseeking behaviour and household expenditureon medical care; the impact of HIV/AIDS oneducation of female children; the genderdifferences in stigma and discrimination; thestatus of HIV positive widows; genderdifferences in the knowledge, awareness andmisconception about HIV/AIDS, and,attitude towards PLWHA. The overarching

objective was to assess the impact ofHIV/AIDS on Indian industry. NCAERenvisages a redo of the CGE modellingexercise with a higher level of sectoraldesegregation, with a view to gain insight intothe impact of AIDS on the various sectorswhich actually constitute ‘industry’. Such anextended CGE model may pave the way for amore realistic assessment of the impact of theepidemic on the industrial sectors of theIndian economy.PROJECT TEAM: BASANTA K PRADHAN, M R SALUJA,

VIJAY PRAKASH OJHA, RAMAMANI SUNDAR, GEETHA

NATESH, DIVJOT SINGH AND SARBADAL PAL

CONSUMER DEMAND ANALYSIS FOR INDIA*

(S/05/020)

SPONSOR: McKinsey Global InstituteMcKinsey Global Institute is in the process

of studying consumer demand in emergingmarket – India and China to start – byunderstanding both prior and likely futureevolution of income and consumption in thesemarkets. This study is aimed to merge theselected consumption and demographic datafrom National Sample Survey (NSS) andincome data from NCAER for the years 1987and 1993–2003 (9 years) for total 21 categoriesfor rural and urban areas. January 2006PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH SHUKLA, AMARESH DUBEY,

ASHA VIRMANI, PREETI KAKAR AND NITASHA MONGA

NATIONAL SURVEY OF INCOME AND

EXPENDITURE (S/05/018)

SPONSOR: Self-sponsoredIt is unfortunate that there is great dearth

of reliable longitudinal data on householdincomes in India. The National Sample SurveyOrganisation (NSSO) has made efforts in thepast for collecting information on householdincomes along with the consumer expenditurefollowing interview method of data collectionin its a few selected rounds. Experienceshowed that there were difficulties incollection of reliable income data in the fielddue to ambiguities in choice of unit of


2005 2006

sampling, sampling frame, reference period ofdata collection, and even items of information.NCAER basically seeks to bridge that datagap by generating more robust and reliableestimates of household income throughemulating international practices. This study isimportant in view of the fact that NSS 61stRound (2004–05) data on householdconsumer expenditure would be available bynext year. There would be an opportunity to doa meaningful comparative analysis throughthese two data sets. It is hoped that theresultant data sets would be useful to differentsets of users such as core researchers, policymakers and corporates without diluting itsstrength i.e., time series continuity. This is anational-level household survey based on arepresentative probability sample (67,000households selected from over 440,000 listedhouseholds) and drawn from rural and urbanarea villages and urban blocks.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH SHUKLA, SANJAY DWIVEDI,

M K ARORA, ASHA SHARMA, SUBRATA BANDYOPADHYAY,

CHARU JAIN, PREETI KAKAR, NITASHA MONGA, ANUJ DAS,

DEVRAJ, AMARESH DUBEY AND N S SASTRY

DEMAND FOR CARS (S/05/019)

SPONSOR: Maruti Udyog Ltd.This study was undertaken to piggy-back

on the National Survey of Households Incomeand Expenditure (NSHIE) with the objectiveof understanding consumer behaviour in theIndian car market. It showcases primary dataon ownership of cars and two wheelers, bothrural and urban; relates the car informationwith some of the variables collected in NSHIEto identify their demographic profile andsocioeconomic characteristics; gives anunderstanding of the factors motivatingpurchase and usage of cars and, finally,measures the satisfaction level of car owners byanalysing the quality of after sales services andforecasting the purchase intention among thetwo-wheeler owners.PROJECT TEAM:RAJESH SHUKLA, SANJAY DWIVEDI,


CHARU JAIN, PREETI KAKAR, NITASHA MONGA, ANUJ DAS

AND DEVRAJ

INDIA PROTECTION INDEX (S/05/014)

SPONSOR: Max New York Life Insurance Ltd.Develops a household survey-based Index

that would help calculate the current status offinancial security and vulnerability to risk ofIndian families across the length and breadthof the country. It tries to gauge the significancethat life insurance holds as a risk-mitigatingtool for Indian households and arrives at a riskprofile of Indians across various socio-economic groups. The Protection Index couldbe used to arrive at an understanding of thenation’s financial security and well-being, justas the Human Development Index (HDI)measures a nation’s social development across abroad spectrum of social and developmentindicators. This Index for evaluating thecurrent level of protection in the countrywould serve as an eye-opener not just formarketers of insurance products but for policyand decision-makers in Government. Primarydata has been collected as piggy bag tonational level household survey based on arepresentative probability sample (67,000households selected from over 440,000 listedhouseholds) and drawn from rural and urbanarea villages and urban blocks.PROJECT TEAM: RAJESH SHUKLA, SANJAY DWIVEDI,


CHARU JAIN, PREETI KAKAR, NITASHA MONGA, ANUJ DAS

AND DEVRAJ

INDO-NORWEGIAN PROGRAMME OF

INSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION (N001)

SPONSOR: Royal Norwegian Embassy, NewDelhi

The programme which began in 1990, isnow in its second, five-year-long phasefollowing the signing of a bilateral agreementin November 2001, and a grant of NOK 50million. So far, 47 projects have beenapproved, and 30 completed. The projectscover wide and diverse areas such as detection


2005 2006


2005 2006

and evaluation of bacterial agents causingdiarrhoea among children by finding moreeffective alternatives to the WHO – approvedOral Re-hydration Solution (ORS). There isalso analyses on paper and pulp-makingtechnology, offshore geo-technicalengineering, engineering geophysics and rockmechanics, sustainable development of aridlands, application of solar and wind-power

technology in automobiles, deep sea bedmining, tunnelling technologies, selectivebreeding of rohu fish, environmentalgeotechnology, discovery of new drugs andvaccines against TB, reservoir modelling forenhanced oil recovery, soil and groundwatercontamination and remedial measures, naturalresources ecology, earthquake engineering, etc.PROJECT TEAM: SUMAN BERY AND P L NARAYANA

FINANCES: ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2005-06 47

MANAGEMENT REPORT ON FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR 2005–06The Management of the National Council of Applied Economic Research has the responsibilityfor preparing the accompanying financial statements and for their integrity and objectivity. Theannual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis, the applicable accountingstandards have been followed and there are no material departures. Management has takenproper and sufficient care, to the best of their knowledge and ability, for the maintenance ofadequate accounting records for safeguarding the assets of the Council and for preventing anddetecting fraud and other irregularities. The financial statement includes amounts that are basedon management's best estimates and judgements. Management also prepared other informationin the Annual Report and is responsible for its accuracy and consistency with the financialstatements.

Thakur Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co., independent auditors, appointed by the Governing Body,have audited the Council's financial statements. Management has made available to the auditorsall the Council's financial records and related data, as well as the minutes of the General Bodyand Governing Body meetings. Furthermore, management believes that all representations madeto the auditors during its audit were valid and appropriate.

Management of the Council has established and maintains a system of internal control andprovides reasonable assurance as to the integrity and reliability of the financial statements, theprotection of assets from unauthorised use or disposition, and the prevention and detection offraudulent financial reporting. The system of internal control provides for appropriate division ofresponsibility. Management continually monitors the system of internal control for compliance,and also there had been internal auditing programme that independently assesses theeffectiveness of the internal control and recommend possible improvement thereto. Managementwill strive to supplement the existing internal controls through an appropriate managementreporting system.

Management also recognises its responsibility for fostering a strong ethical climate so thatthe Council's affairs are conducted according to the highest standards of personal and corporateconduct. This responsibility is characterised and reflected in the Council's code of conduct,which includes the necessity of ensuring open communication within the Council; avoidingpotential conflicts of interests and compliance with all domestic and foreign laws, includingthose relating to financial disclosure and the confidentiality of proprietary information.

Sanjay Kumar Suman BeryFinance Officer Director-General

New Delhi21 August, 2006

Finances: Annual Accounts2005-06

48 NCAER ANNUAL REPORT 2005-06

2005 2006

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5–2

00

6

(Rs.

in L

akh)

Par

ticu

lars

1996

–199

719

97–1

998

1998

–199

919

99–2

00

020

00

–20

01

200

1–20

02

200

2–20

03

200

3–20

04

200

4–20

05

200

5–2

00

6

Pro

ject

Fee

s42

1.22

5

33.6

8

767.

41

88

4.28

63

8.9

4 79

1.5

1 75

1.5

7 63

4.5

5

895

.92

1025

.38

Inte

rest

on

Inve

stm

ents

44.1

7 44

.95

5

9.28

5

8.7

2 62

.96

53.

85

5

6.5

0

61.5

8

58

.99

54.

74

Sal

e of

Pub

lica

tion

5.7

0

8.1

0

15.8

0

21.2

5

10.3

5

8.9

0

7.19

22

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13

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8.6

1

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ers

41.1

9 44

.06

71.3

9 73

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72

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5

7.93

8

2.0

1 5

6.29

5

7.96

64

.76

Tot

al R

even

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512

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6

30

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9

13.8

8

1,0

37.

35

78

4.6

5

912

.19

8

97.

27

774

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1,

02

5.8

8

1,15

3.4

9

Sal

ary

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t*27

7.92

38

7.78

5

28.9

3 64

7.91

5

44.7

1 5

51.

27

619.

37

547

.31

688

.26

699.

29

Non

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ary

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t14

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5

188

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214.

86

239.

41

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71

238

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32

6.32

31

5.3

1 34

1.8

2 39

4.5

4

Dep

reci

atio

n8

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12.3

2 90

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67.0

0

49.5

2 38

.81

37.1

0

36.1

6 32

.27

37.7

1

Tot

al E

xpen

dit

ure

43

2.1

6

58

8.1

6

83

4.1

1 9

54

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8

27.

94

8

28

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9

82

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8

98

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1,

06

2.3

5

1,13

1.5

4

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rplu

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0.1

2

42

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79

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83

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(4

3.2

9)

83

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(85

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)(1

23

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)(3

6.4

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1.9

5

Cor

pus

Fun

d23

0.4

7 23

0.4

7 30

5.4

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8.5

7 41

6.38

5

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788

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85

93

6.5

5

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25

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er G

rant

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30

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72

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58

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9.29

5

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30

Inve

stm

ents

309.

73

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18

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86

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04

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966.

18

Cap

ital

Ass

ets

Fun

d14

1.0

9 16

7.47

20

7.14

22

7.5

5

260

.39

307.

58

33

6.99

33

6.99

33

6.99

35

8.9

4

Cap

ital

Bor

row

ings

–24

0.0

0

240

.00

22

5.0

0

215

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19

3.67

18

9.47

12

4.98

20

1.24

60

.00

Fix

ed A

sset

s (G

ross

)15

9.60

40

7.20

44

6.78

45

2.19

47

5.1

3 49

7.0

4 5

23.3

9 5

51.

66

569

.19

618

.93

Incr

ease

in P

roje

ct R

even

ue16

.63%

26.7

0%

43.8

0%

15.2

3%–2

7.74

%23

.88

%–5

.05

%–1

5.5

7%41

.19%

14.4

5%

Sur

plus

to

Tota

l R

even

ue15

.64%

6.76

%8

.73%

8.0

0%

–5.5

2%9.

14%

–9.5

3%–1

5.9

8%

–3.5

5%

1.90

%

Sal

ary

to P

roje

ct R

even

ue65

.98

%72

.66%

68.9

2%73

.27%

85

.25

%69

.65

%8

2.41

%8

6.25

%76

.82%

68.2

0%

Not

e:P

roje

ct F

ees

have

bee

n bo

oked

as

per

new

inco

me

reco

gnit

ion

syst

em f

rom

fin

anci

al y

ear

200

2-0

3 on

war

ds.

* In

clud

es p

aym

ent

to e

xter

nal

orga

nisa

tion

s fo

r da

ta c

olle

ctio

n.


2005 2006

INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR 2005–06 AND BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2006–07

(Rs. in lakh)Particulars 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07

ACTUAL Revised Budget ACTUAL Budget

INCOME

Fees – Project & Seminar * 895.92 1,014.60 1,025.38 1,245.79

Exchange Fluctuation – Gain – – 4.04 –

Golden Jubilee Fund – – – 40.00

Government Grant 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00

Membership & Subscription 2.56 2.46 2.25 2.46

Sale of Publications 13.01 10.00 8.61 10.99

Interest on Investments 33.18 28.97 29.42 29.97

Transfer from Corpus–Interest 25.81 26.55 25.32 27.55

Miscellaneous Income 5.39 1.00 1.19 0.50

Amount Written Back – 5.65 7.28 –

Total 1,025.87 1,139.23 1,153.49 1,407.26

(contd.)


2005 2006

INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR 2005–06 AND BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2006–07 (contd.)

(Rs. in lakh)Particulars 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07

ACTUAL Revised Budget ACTUAL Budget

EXPENDITURENCAER Staff Salaries & Allowances $ 441.42 410.17 423.67 401.60 Payment to Professionals & Survey/Data Gathering ^ 240.52 271.34 274.56 425.24 Travelling & Conveyance 98.60 99.69 109.27 111.92 Council's Publications + 8.21 21.17 9.62 34.81 Rent, Rates & Taxes 1.46 1.50 3.74 1.00 Postage, Telegram & E-Mail Expenses 14.55 10.00 11.04 11.50 Telephone & Fax Expenses 8.93 9.40 9.48 11.20 Stationery & Printing 51.23 18.57 16.44 11.80 Repairs & Maintenance 16.73 40.00 21.38 28.90 Periodicals & Journals 16.95 17.00 18.82 20.00 Entertainment Expenses 3.75 3.70 2.67 1.50 Advertisement Expenses 0.45 0.50 0.15 –Car Running & Maintenance Expenses 4.04 6.00 4.69 4.00 Interest on Bank Overdraft 6.20 5.00 4.89 5.00 Payment to Auditors 0.28 1.00 0.29 0.80 Depreciation on Fixed Assets 32.27 35.00 37.71 48.00 Legal Expenses 1.68 2.00 1.05 5.50 Maintenance of Computers & Stat. Lab. Charges 9.80 23.72 25.85 42.38 Miscellaneous Expenses 0.83 2.50 2.39 20.90 ICICI Loan Expenses & Other Finance Charges 1.83 1.00 1.36 6.00 Workshops & Seminars 4.70 48.51 43.95 37.10 Staff Welfare & Development Expenses 4.80 4.00 0.53 18.00 Staff Recruitment Expenses – 1.00 0.23 2.55 Water & Electricity 37.69 42.25 38.01 42.80 Prior Period Adjustments (net) – 3.00 – – Amount Written Off 34.61 30.00 39.16 – Amortisation of Premium on Investments 0.30 0.30 0.75 –Estimated Cost of Incomplete Projects 1.50 1.50 10.00 –Exchange Fluctuation – Loss 9.49 – – – Fixed Assets Written off 1.78 – 0.30 – Provision for Doubtful Debts–Projects 1.50 – 13.29 – Provision for Old Publications Stock 6.25 1.00 4.13 – Golden Jubilee Celebration Expenses – – 2.12 27.00

Total 1,062.35 1,110.82 1,131.54 1,319.50

Surplus/(Deficit) for the year (36.48) 28.41 21.95 87.76 Add: Balance from Previous Year (105.93) (198.10) (198.10) (270.48)

Balance available from Appropriation (142.41) (169.69) (176.15) (182.72)

Appropriation:– Transferred to Capital Account– Purchase & Sale of Assets 18.34 50.00 56.62 65.42 – Purchase of Library Books 7.35 8.45 7.71 9.00 – Repayment of ICICI Loan 30.00 30.00 30.00 40.00

Net Surplus Transferred to Balance Sheet (198.10) (258.14) (270.48) (297.14)

Note: $ Salaries & Allowances includes Permanent, Regular, Temporary, Contractual & BITS Staff.^ Professionals, Consultants, Networking Agencies & Field Cost.* Revenue recognised on the basis of old perdiem rate.+ Editing & Author Charges of India Policy Forum – II included in Payment to Professionals.

Earlier included in 'Cost of Council Publications'.


2005 2006

CASH FLOW STATEMENTFOR THE YEAR ENDED ON MARCH 31, 2006

(Rs. lakhs)Particulars Amount Amount

Opening Cash & Bank Balances

– Cash & Bank Balances 34.54

– Bank Overdraft (110.97) (76.43)

INFLOW

– Operation–Receipts 1,227.31

– Govt. of India–Grant-in-Aid 50.00

– Sale of Publications 9.29

– Membership & Subscription 2.38

– Interest Received 79.03

– Investment – Maturity 165.00

– Misc. Receipts 10.24 1,543.25

Total Funds Available 1,466.82

OUTFLOW

– Payment of ICICI Loan/Laptop Loan 30.00

– Expenses 1,020.07

– Purchase of Assets 46.24

– Library Expenses (including Books) 20.93

– Investments 190.19 1,307.43

Balance 159.39

Closing Cash & Bank Balances

– Cash & Bank Balances 159.39

– Bank Overdraft – 159.39

Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co. 221–223, Deen Dayal Marg, New Delhi–110 002Chartered Accountants Phones : 011-23236958-60, 23237772New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Fax: 011-23230831Patna, Hyderabad and Chandigarh E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

AUDITORS’ REPORTThe MembersNational Council of Applied Economic ResearchNew Delhi.

1. We have audited the attached Statement of Financial Position of National Council ofApplied Economic Research as at 31st March, 2006 and also the Income & ExpenditureAccount for the year ended on that date annexed thereto. These Financial statements are theresponsibility of the management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on thesefinancial statements based on our audit.

2. We conducted our audit in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted inIndia. Those Standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonableassurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An auditincludes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in theFinancial Statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used andsignificant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall FinancialStatement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

3. Attention is invited to the following:Note No. 2 (e) appearing in Schedule–14 regarding the shortfall of Rs. 52,10,451 in provisionfor Gratuity; andNote No. 2 (f ) appearing in Schedule–14 regarding non-provision of liability for leaveencashment amounting to Rs. 22,92,842.

4. Further to the above, we state that:(a) We have obtained all the information and explanations, which to the best of our

knowledge and belief were necessary for the purpose of our audit;(b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Council

so far as appears from our examination of those books; and(c) The Statement of Financial Position and the Income & Expenditure Account dealt with

by this report are in agreement with the books of account.5. In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to

us, subject to our observations in para (3) above, the Financial Statements read together withAccounting Policies and Notes to the Accounts (Schedule – 14) give a true and fair view inconformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India:(a) in the case of Statement of Financial Position, of the state of affairs of the Council as at

31st March, 2006; and(b) in the case of Income & Expenditure Account, of the surplus for the year ended on that date.

For Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co.Chartered Accountants

Place: New Delhi (Ranvir Sinha)Date: August 21, 2006 Partner


2005 2006


2005 2006

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31ST MARCH, 2006

(Rs.) Particulars Schedule As at As at

31st March 2006 31st March 2005

SOURCES OF FUNDS

Corpus 1 96,124,546 93,654,546

Capital Assets Fund 2 35,893,574 33,698,549

Grant Funds (Restricted) 3 330,275 530,275

Income & Expenditure Account (14,290,354) (14,290,354)

Loan Funds 4 6,000,000 20,124,441

Total 124,058,041 133,717,457

APPLICATION OF FUNDS

Fixed Assets (Net) 5 17,416,840 14,872,722

Investments 6 96,618,000 94,148,000

Net Current Assets 7 9,402,438 24,050,700

Miscellaneous Expenditure 620,763 646,035

Premium on Investments (to the extent not written off or adjusted )

Total 124,058,041 133,717,457

Accounting Policies and Notes to the Accounts 14

Schedules 1 to 14 form an integral part of the Accounts.

As per our report of even date For Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co. Dr. Bimal Jalan Suman BeryChartered Accountants President Director-General

(Ranvir Sinha) Dr. Rajesh Chadha Sanjay KumarPartner Senior Counsellor (Operations) Finance Officer

& Secretary

New DelhiDate: August 21, 2006


2005 2006

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED ON 31ST MARCH, 2006

(Rs.)

Particulars Schedule 2005–2006 2004–2005

INCOME Fees – Project and Seminars 102,537,929 89,591,821 Government of India – Grant in - Aid 5,000,000 5,000,000 Membership Subscription 225,500 256,000 Sale of Publications 861,162 1,301,315 Interest 8 2,942,117 3,123,332 Transfer from Corpus – Interest ( Refer Schedule 1 ) 2,531,592 2,580,898 Exchange Fluctuation Gain 403,601 – Other Income 9 846,919 733,867

Total 115,348,820 102,587,233

EXPENDITUREPersonnel (including Performance Linked 10 42,367,849 44,606,049

Incentive Pay , Rs. 50,13,175/- ) Survey / Data Gathering 15,911,483 16,272,674 Travelling & Conveyance 10,927,334 9,860,213 Consultants' Fees 11,650,094 7,946,729 Cost of Council Publications Sold 11 58,698 – Cost of Self-sponsored Publications 903,449 820,537 Interest & Finance Charges 12 624,932 803,457 Amount Written Off 3,915,788 3,460,535 Fixed Assets Written Off 30,037 177,889 Provision for Doubtful Debts – Projects 1,328,702 150,000 Provision for Old Publications Stock 412,889 624,718 Amortisation of Premium on Investments 74,472 29,679 Exchange Fluctuation Loss – 949,074 Depreciation 3,771,020 3,227,041 Other Expenses 13 21,177,048 17,306,466

Total 113,153,795 106,235,061

Surplus /(Deficit) for the year 2,195,025 (3,647,828)Balance available for Appropriation 2,195,025 (3,647,828)Less: Transfer to Capital Fund 2,195,025 – Add: Balance brought forward (14,290,354) (10,642,526)Balance Carried to Balance Sheet (14,290,354) (14,290,354)Accounting Policies and Notes to the Accounts 14

Schedules 1 to 14 form an integral part of the Accounts.

As per our report of even date For Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co. Dr. Bimal Jalan Suman BeryChartered Accountants President Director-General

(Ranvir Sinha) Dr. Rajesh Chadha Sanjay KumarPartner Senior Counsellor (Operations) Finance Officer

& Secretary

New DelhiDate: August 21, 2006


2005 2006

Schedule 1 – Corpus

Particulars As at Add: Grant Add : Less: Plough As at1st April, Received Interest Interest Back to 31st

2005 during for the transferred Corpus March, the year year - to Income Fund 2006

2005–06 Expenditure Account

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

CORPUS – 1

Government of India Grant – 1994–95 9,550,000 9,550,000

Ford Foundation Grant 8,075,779 8,075,779

General Fund 16,323,017 2,510,649 2,510,649 – 16,323,017

33,948,796 – 2,510,649 2,510,649 – 33,948,796

CORPUS – 2

Sir Ratan Tata Trust Grant 8,151,000 585,820 515,820 70,000 8,221,000

CORPUS – 3

Ford Foundation Grant 26,944,750 2,286,979 1,086,979 1,200,000 28,144,750

Matching Contribution *

Canadian International Development Agency 8,000,000 – – – 8,000,000

Government of India Grant – 2002–03 6,500,000 – – – – 6,500,000

Reserve Bank of India 7,500,000 – – – – 7,500,000

Interest Ploughed Back on Matching Contribution 2,610,000 – 2,128,793 928,793 1,200,000 3,810,000

59,705,750 – 5,001,592 2,531,592 2,470,000 62,175,750

Total 93,654,546 – 7,512,241 5,042,241 2,470,000 96,124,546

* Refer to Note 2 (K) – Schedule 14.

SCHEDULES FORMING PART OF THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Schedule 2 – Capital Assets Fund

Particulars As at As at31st March, 2006 31st March, 2005

Rs. Rs.

As per last Accounts 33,698,549 33,698,549

Add : Assets Acquired From – Internal Resources 2,195,025 –

Total 35,893,574 33,698,549


2005 2006

Schedule 3 – Grant Funds (Restricted)

Grant Total Grant Balance as Received Refunded Unutilised Received at 1st during During Balance as at

April, 2005 the year the Year 31st March, 2006

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Fulbright NCAER Grant 472,168

- HDFC Limited 200,000 –- Sir Ratan Tata Trust 400,000 200,000 272,168

IT Upgradation Grant 58,107 – – 58,107 - l. D. R. C., Canada 3,814,150 - ICICI Limited 1,150,000 - HDFC Limited 1,000,000 - GE Capital Service India 600,000 - ILFS Limited 500,000 - DSP Merril Lynch Limited 400,000

Total 530,275 – 200,000 330,275

Schedule 4 – Loan Funds

Particulars As at As at 31st March, 2006 31st March, 2005

Rs. Rs.

– ICICI Bank Limited – Bank Overdraft – 11,096,665 (Secured by negative lien on Fixed Deposits and Investment from Corpus Fund

– ICICI PFS Limited – 27,776 (Secured by hypothecation of Laptop Computers)

UNSECURED LOAN

– ICICI Bank Limited (Interest Free) 6,000,000 9,000,000 (Repayable within one year – Rs. 3,000,000)

Total 6,000,000 20,124,441



2005 2006

Sche

dule

5 –

Fix

ed A

sset

s

GR

OS

S B

LOC

KD

EP

RE

CIA

TIO

NN

ET

BLO

CK

Des

crip

tion

As

at

Add

itio

nsS

ale/

A

s at

A

s at

F

or t

he

Sal

e/

As

atA

s at

A

s at

1s

t A

pril

, A

djus

tmen

t31

st M

arch

, 1s

t A

pril

, ye

ar 2

00

5–

Adj

ustm

ent

31st

Mar

ch,

31st

Mar

ch,

31st

Mar

ch,

200

520

06

200

520

06

200

620

06

200

5

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Land

(Le

aseh

old)

49

,330

–

–49

,330

–

––

–49

,330

49

,330

Bui

ldin

g 1,

613,

130

–

–1,

613,

130

8

88

,035

18

,127

–

906,

162

706,

968

72

5,0

95

Ele

ctri

c In

stal

lati

ons

2,0

71,9

60

–5

,88

0

2,0

66,0

80

1,

230

,811

8

4,11

5

5,8

80

1,

309,

046

75

7,0

34

841

,149

Die

sel

Gen

erat

or S

et

443,

820

–

–44

3,8

20

405

,696

7,

625

–

413,

321

30,4

99

38,1

24

Sta

tist

ical

& L

abor

ator

y

270

,15

6 –

–27

0,1

56

256,

648

–

–25

6,64

8

13,5

08

13

,50

8

ED

P S

yste

m

30,6

27,2

99

2,25

6,91

5

900

,70

7 31

,98

3,5

07

27,7

94,9

17

2,0

29,0

34

88

4,8

71

28,9

39,0

80

3,

044

,427

2,

832

,38

2

Off

ice

Equ

ipm

ents

1,

598

,334

2,

392,

654

259,

615

3,

731,

373

1,13

1,96

0

424,

718

23

2,0

45

1,32

4,63

3 2,

406,

740

46

6,37

4

BP

L E

PA

BX

Tele

Sys

tem

44

5,3

60

––

445

,360

27

5,1

86

17,0

17

–29

2,20

3 15

3,15

7 17

0,1

74

Air

Con

diti

oner

&

Ref

rige

rato

rs

5,6

93,0

33

644,

913

43,4

10

6,29

4,5

36

2,75

5,5

72

356,

204

23,0

75

3,0

88

,70

1 3,

205

,835

2,

937,

461

Libr

ary

Boo

ks

6,8

32,9

05

77

0,5

14

1,98

7 7,

601,

432

3,17

0,2

94

443,

206

924

3,61

2,5

76

3,98

8,8

56

3,66

2,61

1

Mot

or C

ar

794,

342

230

,039

17

7,98

1 8

46,4

00

60

8,4

28

78,4

12

154,

093

5

32,7

47

313,

653

185

,914

Fur

nitu

re &

Fix

ture

s 6,

237,

730

11

1,26

2 35

,873

6,

313,

119

3,33

1,5

35

301,

461

33,4

06

3,5

99,5

90

2,71

3,5

29

2,90

6,19

5

Mis

c. F

ixed

Ass

ets

241,

327

– 6,

765

23

4,5

62

196,

922

11,1

01

6,76

5

201,

258

33

,30

4 44

,40

5

Tot

al5

6,9

18,7

26

6

,40

6,2

97

1,4

32

,218

6

1,8

92

,80

5

42

,04

6,0

04

3

,771

,02

0

1,3

41,

05

9

44

,475

,96

5

17,4

16,8

40

14

,872

,72

2

Pre

viou

s Y

ear

55

,165

,833

2,

833

,80

0

1,0

80

,90

7 5

6,91

8,7

26

39,2

70,2

26

3,22

7,0

41

451,

263

42,0

46,0

04

14,8

72,7

22

15,8

95,6

07

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Schedule 7 – Net Current Assets

Particulars As at 31st As at 31st March, 2006 March, 2005

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash & Bank Balances

– Cash in Hand (inclusive of Postage Stamps) 129,047 41,249

– Cheques in Hand – 2,198,225

– Balances with Scheduled Banks

– In Savings Accounts 7,019,569 1,209,570

– In ICICI O/D Account 8,694,576 –

– Margin Money – Deposits against Bank Gurantees 571,342 –

– In Current Account 77,918 16,492,452 6,396 3,455,440

Interest Accrued

– On Investments

– Accrued and Due 590,633 –

– Accrued but not due 1,708,319 2,273,189

– Others – 2,298,952 3,790 2,276,979

Sundry Debtors

(Unsecured considered good unless specified otherwise)

– Project

Considered Good 12,082,928 18,476,469

Considered Doubtful 1,478,702 13,561,630 150,000

18,626,469

Less: Provision for Doubtful Debts 1,478,702 12,082,928 150,000 18,476,469

– Publication Debtors 10,974 39,188

– Membership Subscription Receivable – 10,974 10,500 49,688

Other Receivables (Unsecured Considered Good)

– Planning Commission 345,128 372,008

– Asian Development Bank – 14,325

– Guru Govind Singh Refineries Ltd. 52,634 69,643

– PM's High Level Committee 9,061 –

– Institute for Social & Economic Change 100,000 –

– Receivable from ICICI Bank

– Centre for Economic Policy Research 363,243

– Institut D' Economie Industrielle 104,531

– European Centre for advance Res. In Eco. 78,752 546,526 –

– Recoverable from NORAD – Certification Charges 10,674 –

– Recoverable from Inititive for Policy Dialogue 1,917 –

– Staff Group Insurance – Birla Sun Life 26,250 –

– University of Maryland 416,339 1,508,529 2,439,913 2,895,889


(contd.)


2005 2006

Schedule 7 – Net Current Assets (contd.)

Particulars As at 31st As at 31st March, 2006 March, 2005

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

Project – Work in Progress 17,367,914 13,686,628

Publications Stock 2,173,703 2,232,401

Less: Provision for Old Publications Stock 1,032,874 1,140,829 624,718 1,607,683

(As per Management )

Advances & Deposits

(Unsecured considered good)

– Advances

– Advances to staff & Field offices 264,927 236,416

– TDS Recoverable 4,583,594 2,724,012

– Net working Institutions – 252,462

– Prepaid Expenses 1,728,893 1,582,476

– Deposits 160,452 158,508

– Other Advances 170,237 6,908,103 289,262 5,243,136

Total Current Assets 57,810,681 47,691,912

LESS: CURRENT LIABILITIES

Subscription Received in Advance 116,897 144,951

Project Fees Received in Advance 34,355,053 13,992,410

Liabilities for Expenses 8,925,281 7,742,344

Provision for Estimated Cost on Incomplete Projects 1,020,000 352,528

Due to Provident Fund Trust 346,720 17,763

Other Liabilities 3,644,292 48,408,243 1,391,216 23,641,212

Total Current Liabilities 48,408,243 23,641,212

Net Current Assets 9,402,438 24,050,700



2005 2006

Schedule 8 – Interest

Particulars 2005–2006 2004–2005 Rs. Rs.

On Investments

– Corpus 2,510,649 2,504,523

– Others 356,290 410,362

On Short Tem Deposits 32,122 149,924

On Others 43,056 58,523

Total 2,942,117 3,123,332

Schedule 9 – Other Income


Profit on Sale of Fixed Assets 34,190 2,210

Liabilities no longer required written back 728,407 89,886

Miscellaneous Income 84,322 641,771

Total 846,919 733,867

Schedule 10 – Personnel Expenses


Salaries & Allowances 23,577,969 23,845,692

Performance Linked Incentive Pay 5,013,175 4,716,679

Gratuity Expenses 458,584 4,330,866

Payment to Temporary / Casual Workers 9,624,001 8,127,130

Provident Fund Contribution 1,962,496 2,122,956

Provision for Leave Encashment 1,500,000 1,000,000

Staff Welfare Expenses 231,624 462,726

Total 42,367,849 44,606,049

Schedule 11 – Cost of Council’s Publications Sold


Opening Stock 2,232,401 2,119,966

Add: Printing, Editing & Translation Expenses – 112,435

2,232,401 2,232,401

Less: Closing Stock 2,173,703 2,232,401

Total 58,698 –

SCHEDULES FORMING PART OF THE INCOME STATEMENT


2005 2006

Schedule 12 – Interest & Finance Charges

Particulars 2005–2006 2004–2005 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

Interest – On Bank Overdraft 488,712 620,225 – On Secured ICICI PFS Ltd. Loan – 56,188 – Others – 488,712 16,128 692,541 Finance Charges – On Unsecured ICICI Bank Ltd. Loan 30,000 98,548 – Bank Charges 106,220 136,220 12,368 110,916

Total 624,932 803,457

Schedule 13 – Other Expenses


Rent, Rates & Taxes 373,875 146,095

Water & Electricity 3,801,236 3,768,907

Stationery & Printing 1,644,329 4,673,397

Postage, Telegram & Telephones 2,051,535 2,347,965

Repairs & Maintenance 2,138,182 1,673,543

Periodicals & Journals 1,881,686 1,695,258

Computers Services 2,585,238 1,429,488

Estimated Cost on Incomplete Projects 1,000,000 150,000

Car Running & Maintenance 468,835 403,639

Entertainment Expenses 266,172 374,794

Staff Recruitment Expenses 22,900 –

Audit Fees 29,182 28,000

Staff Development Expenses 52,955 17,101

Advertisment 15,000 44,720

Seminars & Workshops 4,394,927 470,255

Golden Jubliee Celebration - 2006 212,296 –

Miscellaneous Expenses 238,700 83,304

Total 21,177,048 17,306,466

SCHEDULES FORMING PART OF THE INCOME STATEMENT

SCHEDULES FORMING PART OF THE ACCOUNTS

Schedule 14 – Accounting Policies and Notes to the Accounts 1. Accounting Policiesa) Revenue & Expenditure are recognised on accrual basis. However, income pertaining to self-

sponsored projects and subscription to Journals and membership subscription are recognisedon receipt basis.

b) Project fees are recognised in proportion to all costs incurred on projects (including cost ofassociated computers, equipment etc. purchased from project funds) assuming that the costsincurred represent corresponding progress of projects. Where costs incurred are out ofproportion to progress of work, for revenue recognition the actual progress is taken intoaccount.

c) Contributions received from Co-Sponsor of the seminars conducted by the Council areaccounted for as fee for seminars.

d) Recurring Grant from Government of India and Corpus Grant are recognised in the year ofreceipt.

e) Investments are classified as long term and short term. Long-term investments are stated atcost unless there is a permanent diminution in the value. Short-term investments are valuedat cost or net realisable value whichever is less. In respect of unquoted interest-bearing bonds,the premium paid at the time of acquisition is amortised over the remaining period to thedate of maturity of the bonds.

f ) Fixed Assets are stated at historical cost less depreciation.g) Depreciation is provided on the Written Down Value method, as per the rates given below,

keeping 5% as residual value of the assets:

Fixed Assets Rate (%)

Building 2.50

Electric Installation, EPABX System, Air Conditioners & Refrigerators,

Library Books and Furniture & Fixtures 10.00

Office Equipment 15.00

Diesel Generator Set, Statistical laboratory, and Motor Car 20.00

EDP Systems 40.00

Miscellaneous fixed Assets 25.00

h) Stock of Publications has been valued at cost less provision for old stock.i) Retirement Benefits:

(1) Gratuity Liability has been funded through a Trust, which in turn has taken a GroupGratuity Scheme policy with LIC of India.

(2) Provident Fund liability is also funded through a Trust and the Council's contribution ispaid to the Trust.


2005 2006

2. Notes to the Accounts a) For ascertaining income from project fee in terms of the accounting policy mentioned in para

1(b) above, per day charges for different categories of research staff have been used tocalculate personnel cost. These per day charges are intended to cover common facilities andother overheads. The Council has been taking steps to establish systems whereby the costincurred for various projects can be calculated more accurately.

b) On the basis of an overall review, the expected completion cost of a small proportion ofprojects being executed by the Council, as on March 31, 2006, is likely to exceed availablerevenue. The Council has made an aggregate provision of Rs.10 lakhs for such expectedoverruns. Such a provision has been made on the basis of individual assessments, pastexperience and judgement of the management of the Council, and has been relied upon bythe auditors.

c) Sundry debtors, are subject to confirmation. In the opinion of the management they are allgood for recovery except to the extent they have been shown as doubtful.

d) Capital Assets Fund represents amount appropriated over the years towards fixed assets ofthe Council. The balance available for appropriation in the Income & Expenditure Accountfor the year ended 31-3-2006, viz. Rs. 21,95,025 has been transferred to Capital AssetsFund.

e) The Council has maintained a policy with the LIC to cover its Gratuity obligation towardsits regular staff and records gratuity obligation on the basis of the demand raised by the LIC,which is based on their actuarial calculations. As required under AS-15, the LIC hasconfirmed that the shortfall in the fund as on 01-04-2005 was calculated at Rs. 4,58,584which is the sum shown in the accounts. The Council has more recently received LICcalculation as on 01-04-2006, which shows a considerably lower fund size. The Shortfall ifconfirmed on further scrutiny, will be reflected in the accounts of 2006–07, and the demandraised by LIC as on 01-04-2006 for Rs. 52,10,451 will be paid during the year 2006–07.

f ) The council has undertaken an actuarial valuation for its liability under the LeaveEncashment facility available to regular staff and is gradually making provision in theaccounts to make good the shortfall as suggested by the relevant Accounting Standards. Afurther amount of Rs. 15 lakh is accordingly provided in the account leaving unprovidedliability of Rs. 22,92,842. It is expected that this remaining liability will be provided for inaccounts of 2006–2007 and 2007–2008.

g) An adhoc provision of Rs. 50,13,175 has been made in the accounts of Performance LinkedIncentive Pay payable to eligible staff for the Financial Year 2005–06.

h) As per terms and conditions of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust Grant for library up-gradation, aminimum sum of 10% of interest earned during the year, along with the unutilised amount ofincome is to be ploughed back to Corpus every year. Accordingly Rs. 70,000 (Previous YearRs. 70,000) has been transferred to the Corpus. Rs. 515,820 was spent on Library books,periodicals and journals out of total interest income of Rs. 585,820.


2005 2006


2005 2006

i) There is a balance of Rs 106,928.30 in the FCRA designated bank account-INR (Savings)with scheduled bank, representing funds / grants unutilised as on 31st March, 2006.

j) The Council is exempt U/S 10(23C) (iv) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 till the financial year2006–07.

k) Ford Foundation has given the Council an endowment grant of US $ 5,00,000 (Rs. 24,302,750). As per terms of the above grant, the Council is to raise an additionalamount of US $ 10,00,000 within a period of five years w.e.f. April 2002. Council has so farraised an amount of Rs. 25,810,000 equivalent to US $ 581,962 (inclusive of interestploughed back on matching grant).As per the terms of Ford Foundation Grant, if the Council does not fulfil the matchingrequirement within the stipulated period, the Foundation shall review the Council's positionand determine, whether (i) the grant term and matching period should be extended, (ii) theunmatched portion of the grant funds should be returned to the Foundation, or (iii) otheroptions should be pursued.

l) The cost of the fixed assets sold during the year is as certified by the management.m) Classification of Corpus 1 to 3 represents, General Corpus – Corpus 1, Sir Ratan Tata

Trust – Corpus 2, Ford Foundation & Matching Contribution from other Agencies as perthe terms of the Ford Foundation as – Corpus 3, respectively.

n) The previous year's figures have been regrouped - rearranged wherever considered necessary.

As per our report of even dateFor Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co. Dr. Bimal Jalan Suman BeryChartered Accountants President Director-General

(Ranvir Sinha) Dr. Rajesh Chadha Sanjay KumarPartner Senior Counsellor Finance Officer

(Operations) & Secretary

Place: New DelhiDate: August 21, 2006

67

SUMAN BERYEmail: [email protected]

Selected PositionsMEMBER

• Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board

(GASAB)

• State Bank of India, Central Board

• Board of Governors, Management Development

Institute, Gurgaon

• Governing Body, National Institute of Public Finance

and Policy

• DSA Committee of the Centre for Economic Studies &

Planning, School of Social Sciences, JNU

• Library Committee, India International Centre

• Planning Board, National Capital Territory of Delhi

• Advisory Board, Central Electricity Regulatory

Commission

• High Level Committee (Outcome Budget), Institute of

Chartered Accountants in India

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesAPRIL 18, 2005: Conference on India’sFinancial MarketsAT: New York. Organised by Asia Society.

MAY 13, 2005: Advisory Committee Meetingof “Agricultural Trade Liberalisation andDomestic Market Reforms in IndianAgriculture”AT: New Delhi, NCAER.

MAY 17, 2005: Presentation before UNESCAP Plenary Ministerial Roundtable on“Development Investment Requirements andResource Mobilisation issues of the Region”

AT: Bangkok, Thailand, Organised byUNESCAP.

JUNE 6, 2005: Meeting of Heads of NationalEconomic Research Organisations(Presentation)AT: Paris, Organised by OECD.

JUNE 7, 2005: India: Economic Reform,Growth and International EconomicIntegrationAT: Paris, Organised by CEPII.

JUNE 27, 2005: Attended the Conference on“India: The Next Decade” and gave apresentation “India: Engaging the World”AT: London, Organised by Chatham House.

AUGUST 5–6, 2005: Chair of Symposium:“What new Financial Institutions andMarkets will India need in the next fifteenyears (until 2020)?”AT: Hyderabad, Organised by Centre forAnalytic Finance (Indian School of Business).

AUGUST 13, 2005: Session Chair: Workshopon Bangladesh – India Trade and FTA “India-Bangladesh Trade Prospects, Trade Statistics”AT: Dhaka, Organised by IFC, The WorldBank, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute &SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility.

OCTOBER 27–28, 2005: “Such a long Journey:India’s Opening of its Capital Account”presentation at the IMF-CSFB-SCID India-China ConferenceAT: Beijing, China.

Appendix I

ACTIVITIES OF SENIOR STAFF

APPENDIX I: ACTIVITIES OF SENIOR STAFF

68

2005 2006

NOVEMBER 15–16, 2005: Meeting of theIndo-Japan Joint Study GroupAT: Japan, Organised by the Ministry ofForeign Affairs.

NOVEMBER 17, 2005: FASID InternationalSymposium: Development Assistance forEconomic Growth: Synergy between ODA,Trade and FDI with a focus on South AsiaAT: FASID, Tokyo.

DECEMBER 6, 2005: Eleventh Five-Year Plan,“A Medium-Term Macro-econometric Modelfor India”AT: Planning Commission, New Delhi.

JANUARY 4, 2006: To Hon. Minister ofCommerce and Industry, H.E. Maqbool BinAli Sultan, on “Feasibility Report onEstablishing a Think Tank in the Sultanate ofOMAN” (Major findings andrecommendations)AT: Muscat, Oman.

FEBRUARY 16, 2006: Speaker at session on“The Challenge of China and India, CriticalIssues 2006”: Business & Public PolicyConferenceAT: Melbourne, Australia, Organised by theMelbourne Business School.

FEBRUARY 21, 2006: Lecture on “Such a longjourney: India’s opening of its CapitalAccount”AT: Australian National University, Canberra,Australia.

FEBRUARY 25, 2006: Discussant at seminar onEconomic DiplomacyAT: New Delhi, Organised by The Associationof India Diplomats and India InternationalCentre.

MARCH 10, 2006: Symposium: Japan & India:Challenge & Prospects in the Asia-Pacific inthe 21st Century

AT: Tokyo, Japan, Organised by the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, Japan

SHASHANKA BHIDEEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesAPRIL 20, 2005: Presentation for the visitingteam of LAFIA (coordinated by AustralianHigh Commission) from Australia, on“Sustaining High Growth Rates: The IndiaStory”.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2005: Presented the paper,“Tracking Poverty Through Panel Data: RuralPoverty in India 1970–1998” at the “Seminaron Chronic Poverty” (Shashanka Bhide andAasha Kapur Mehta) held at IIPA, NewDelhi.

OCTOBER 10–11, 2005: The First Workshopon the ECCP project on “Blending Efficiencyand Competition in Infrastructure Industries”.

OCTOBER 24, 2005: The final conference onADB project, “Policy Research Networking:Macroeconomic Management andGovernment Finance”, at Assocham House,New Delhi, jointly with Dr Kanhaiya Singh.

DECEMBER 5, 2005: Presentation entitled,“Panel Data on India’s Rural Households” atthe Expert Meeting on “Income DynamicsSurveys”, held at Pretoria, South Africa.

FEBRUARY 6, 2006: Presentation to SITRABoard (Finnish National Fund for Researchand Development) on “India: EconomicReforms, Growth and Development”, jointlywith Mr Dripto Mukhopadhyay.

FEBRUARY 24–25, 2006: Discussant for twopresentations at the CPRC Workshop onPanel Survey and Life History Methods. ODI,London, UK.

NCAER ANNUAL REPORT 2005-06

69

2005 2006

RAJESH CHADHAEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesMAY 13, 2005: “Agriculture TradeLiberalisation and Domestic Market Reformsin Indian Agriculture”, First AdvisoryCommittee Meeting, ACIAR Project,NCAER, New Delhi.

MAY 19, 2005: “Agriculture TradeLiberalisation and Domestic Market Reformsin Indian Agriculture”, Competition AdvocacySeminar for State Governments, CompetitionCommission of India, New Delhi.

JUNE 9–11, 2005: “Titanic FTAs: Is this Timeto Establish A Pan-Asia FTA?”, presented atthe 8th Annual Conference on GlobalEconomic Analysis, Lubeck, Germany.

JUNE 21, 2005: “Liberalising DomesticAgricultural Markets: Gains for India”, FirstAdvisory Committee Meeting, UK HighCommission Project, NCAER, New Delhi.

OCTOBER 21, 2005: “FTAs and DohaDevelopment Round: Asian Response to EEUand FTAA”, presented during Perspectives onthe WTO Doha Development Agenda onMultilateral Trade Negotiations, University ofMichigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

OCTOBER 27, 2005: “NAMA Negotiations inDDA: Gains for Developing Countries”,presented at South Asia Conference on Tradeand Development: Run up To Hong Kong,CENTAD, New Delhi.

NOVEMBER 25, 2005: “NAMA Negotiationsin DDA: Gains for Developing Countries”,presented at Hong Kong WTO MinisterialMeeting: Outlook for India, ASSOCHAM,New Delhi.

JANUARY 16, 2006: “Titanic FTAs: Is thisTime to Establish A Pan-Asia FTA?”,presented at the 7th Annual NBER-NCAERNeemrana Conference, Rajasthan.

AMARESH DUBEYEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesOCTOBER 25, 2005: Attended nationalconference on “Empowering for Livelihoods:State Policy, Private Initiative and CivicAction” as panellist in the session,“Marginalised Access to Resources, Marketand Employment: Challenges and Options,”organised by Development Alternatives andPricewaterhouseCoopers, New Delhi.

OCTOBER 2005: Attended a workshop ofchapter writers of Arunachal DevelopmentReport and presented the paper, “RuralDevelopment and Poverty” co-authored withVeronica Pala, organised by Rajiv GandhiArunachal University, Itanagar.

NOVEMBER 23, 2005: Visited Social andPolicy Research Institute, University of Ulster,Jordonstown, Northern Ireland, UK andpresented a paper entitled “Issues inMeasurement of Poverty”.

DECEMBER 12–14, 2005: “Social Stratificationand Positive Discrimination: Role of Casteand Religion in Economic Status in India”(with Vani K Borooah and Sriya Iyer), paperpresented at the International Conference, theSecond Global Labour Forum, New Delhi.

MARCH 1–3, 2006: Attended nationalworkshop on “Large Health Surveys in India”and presented a paper entitled Health Surveysby NCAER (co-authored with AbhilashaSharma), organised by the National Instituteof Health Statistics, New Delhi.


2005 2006


2005 2006

MARCH 30–APRIL 1, 2006: “In the Margins:Social Inequality in Children’s EducationalOutcomes in India” (with Sonalde Desai andCecily Darden), paper presented at the AnnualMeeting of the Population Association ofAmerica, Los Angeles, USA.

SANJIB POHITEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesAPRIL 7–8, 2005: “Can EconomicInstruments Mitigate Carbon Emissions: AnIndian Perspective,” 2005, presented at theInternational Conference on Environment,organised by ITD, JNU.

AUGUST 13, 2005: “Trade Logistics andTransaction Costs of Goods Traded,” 2005,presented at Workshop on Bangladesh-IndiaTrade & FTA, organised by the BangladeshEnterprise Institute, Bangladesh

BASANTA K. PRADHANEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesSEPTEMBER 30, 2005: Participated and actedas a lead discussant on a paper titled “TrackingPoverty Through Panel Data: Rural Poverty InIndia 1970–1998.” Presented by Dr.Shashanka Bhide at the seminar on “ChronicPoverty – Emerging Policy Options andIssues”, organised by the Chronic PovertyResearch Centre and funded by the Universityof Manchester and DFID at IIPA, New Delhi.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2005: Participated and actedas a lead discussant on a paper titled “SpatialInequality among Indian Villages” presentedby Dr. Hari Nagarajan at the seminar on“Chronic Poverty: Emerging Policy Optionsand Issues”, organised by the Chronic PovertyResearch Centre and funded by University of

Manchester and DFID at IIPA, New Delhi.

NOVEMBER 19–30, 2005: Visited China aspart of a delegation to survey Chinese businessfirms under the EU-India SPF Programme.

NOVEMBER 26, 2005: Acted as Chair in atechnical session of the workshop on “Impactof Globalisation on National Firms: The Caseof China”, organised by the Chinese Academyof Social Sciences, Institute of WorldEconomics and Politics, Beijing ZhonngnanUniversity of Economics & Law, Centre forStudies on Modern and Contemporary China,EHESS, Paris and the State-owned AssetsSupervision and Administration Commissionof Wuhan held at Zhongnan University ofEconomic and Law, Wuhan, China

FEBRUARY 27, 2006: Panelist in a discussionon “Economic Survey”, organised by the PHDChamber of Commerce and Industry at PHDHouse, New Delhi.

MARCH 13, 2006: Attended the meeting ofResearch Advisory Group to identifyparticular topics for research and studies ondeveloping Sino-Indian relations, at the RajivGandhi Foundation, Jawahar Bhawan, NewDelhi.

ABUSALEH SHARIFFEmail: [email protected]


Member-Secretary, Prime Minister’s HighLevel Committee and for Preparation of aReport on the Social, Economic andEducational Status of the Muslim Communityof India

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesSEPTEMBER 17–18, 2005: “Growth andHuman Development in the Emerging

71

2005 2006

Governance Paradigm”, presented in the 2005Convention of the American Federation ofMuslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) held atDallas, Texas, USA.

SEPTEMBER 22–OCTOBER 4, 2005: Meetingwith the official of the project “Safety Net andSocial Protection” and “India Programme ofResearch on Human Development”, inWashington DC, USA

NOVEMBER 11–21, 2005: Visited University ofMaryland, Washington DC, USA inconnection with “India Programme ofResearch on Human Development” project.

JANUARY 5, 2006: “Is population in India anadvantage or a dividend? Have we earned italready? Is it in our kitty?” Presented on the25th Anniversary of Julian L Simon’smasterpiece, “The Ultimate Resource” (1981),Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, LodhiRoad, New Delhi.

MARCH 28–29, 2006: “Secularism v/sPluralism: The Conceptual Relevance for theIndian Economy”, presented at a meeting on“Civilisation Dialogue: Japan and India” atTokyo, Japan.

MARCH 30–APRIL 1, 2006: “Secularism v/sPluralism: The Conceptual Relevance for theIndian Economy”, at a session, “DemographicImplications of Religion and Politics in SouthAsia” at the 2006 annual meeting of thePopulation Association of America,Washington, USA.

ANIL KUMAR SHARMAEmail: [email protected]


Member of the Selection Committee forappointment of researchers in the IES Section

of Institute of Economic Growth (IEG),New Delhi, August 2005.

Member of Indian delegation to the SixthWTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong(China), December 2005.

Member of Technical AdvisoryCommittee for Evaluating Agro-EconomicResearch Centres/Units, constituted by thePlanning Commission. Attended meetings ofthe Committee in 2005 and 2006.

Member of High Powered Committee forOperating and Monitoring Price StabilisationFund Scheme, Ministry of Commerce andIndustry, Government of India. Attendedregular meetings of the Committee.

Attended inter-ministerial meetings onTrade Negotiations in Agriculture organisedby the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,Government of India, during 2005 and 2006.

Lectures/PresentationsAPRIL 2005: Made a presentation on “Dealingwith Non-Ad Valorem Bound Rates ofAgricultural Tariffs” before an inter-ministerial group meeting on AgriculturalTrade Negotiations in the Ministry ofCommerce, New Delhi.

MAY 2005: Participated in a Dialogue on“Commodities, Trade, Poverty and SustainableDevelopment” as Panel member organised bythe International Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED), London andInternational Centre for Trade and SustainableDevelopment (ICTSD), Geneva held inBarcelona (Spain).

MAY 2005: Made a presentation on “MarketAccess and Related Issues in AgriculturalTrade Negotiations” before an inter-ministerial group meetings on AgriculturalTrade Negotiations in the Ministry ofCommerce, New Delhi.

MAY 2005: Made a presentation on “Special


2005 2006


2005 2006

Products, Sensitive Products and NewSafeguard Mechanism” before an inter-ministerial group meeting on AgriculturalTrade Negotiations in the Ministry ofCommerce, New Delhi.

NOVEMBER 2005: Attended a Meeting of theGroup of Experts in the Agricultural Sectorwith the visiting US Under-Secretary for Farmand Foreign Agricultural Service, Mr. J.B.Penn, USDA in New Delhi.

DECEMBER 2005: Participated in a workshopas Panel member on “Cost of CultivationData” organised by the Institute of EconomicGrowth (IEG) and Indian Society ofAgricultural Economics (ISAE) held in NewDelhi.

JANUARY 2006: Participated as discussant inthe Trade Session at the Seventh AnnualNBER-NCAER Neemrana Conference heldat Neemrana Fort Palace, Neemrana(Rajasthan).

JANUARY 2006: Attended a meeting of theGroup of Experts in the Agricultural Sectorconvened by the Finance Secretary, Ministryof Finance, Government of India.

Delivered a talk on Agricultural Tradenegotiations in a seminar on “The DohaRound After Hong Kong: Where Does IndiaStand?” held in New Delhi (2006) organisedby the PHD Chamber of Commerce andIndustry and Centre for Trade andDevelopment (Centad).

FEBRUARY 2006: Made a presentation on“Policy Reforms in Sugar Sector: Implicationsfor Gur and Khandsari Industry” in theMinistry of Food and Consumer Affairs,Government of India.

FEBRUARY 2006: Made a presentation on“Identifying Products for Coverage under

Special Products and New SafeguardMechanism” in the Ministry of Commerceand Industry, Government of India.

FEBRUARY 2006: Participated in a conferenceon “Liberalising Domestic AgriculturalMarkets in India” and commented on a Paper“The Doha Round, The Future of the WTO,and the Role of India and China” held in NewDelhi.

ANUSHREE SINHAEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesAPRIL 9–12, 2005: ESAP-IAASTD Meeting,organised by the Chinese Academy atAgriculture Science Beijing, China.

MAY 5, 2005: Presented a paper on “A Surveyof the Indian Informal Economy”, at theNational Commission for Enterprises in theUnorganised Sector, Delhi.

AUGUST 7, 2005: Participated the IAASTDScenarios Design meeting, at FAO, Rome July18–20, 2005. Contributed to India’s OtherEconomy published by Reuters and uploadedby many other websites.

SEPTEMBER 29–30, 2005: Presentation on“Engendering Macro-economic Modelling forPolicy Analysis” in UNDP Conference atNCPA, Mumbai.

OCTOBER 11–15, 2005: First Global &Regional Scenarios Development Meeting ofIAASTD, at the World Bank, WashingtonDC.

MARCH 10, 2006: Presentation on “Study ofMacroeconomic Impact of High Oil Prices” atthe office of Petrofed, New Delhi.

R. VENKATESANEmail: [email protected]

Lectures/Presentations/Major ConferencesOCTOBER 7, 2005: Presentation on “IndianSteel Economy and World Steel Dynamics” at

POSCO Research Council at Seoul, SouthKorea at the invitation of POSCO Steel.

FEBRUARY 2–4, 2006: Addressing the ITsecretaries of the Indian States in a conferencein Kochi on IT sector impact – OutputMultiplier and Employment Multiplier.


2005 2006

75APPENDIX II: RESOURCES

Appendix II: Resources

STAFF COMPOSITION

Composition of NCAER Permanent and Regular Staff Members in Active Service on March 31, 2006Researchers March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31,

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

(I) Professionals 65 60 51 43 37 35

Director-General 1 1 1 1 1 1

Level 6 10 10 8 9 11 10

Level 5 15 14 12 8 4 3

Level 4 31 28 21 17 14 16

Level 3 6 5 8 7 7 5

Level 2 2 2 1 1 – –

(II) Field Staff 11 9 7 6 4 4

Level 4 10 8 6 5 3 3

Level 3 1 1 1 1 1 1

Total 76 69 58 49 41 39

Composition of NCAER Non-Regular Research Staff in Active Service on March 31, 2006Researchers March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31, March 31,

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Professionals 37 37 26 48 32 47

Sr. Consultants/Sr. Advisors 8 7 5 7 4 6

Consultant/Editor 13 21 10 15 10 12

Research Associate 16 9 11 26 18 29

Total 37 37 26 48 32 47


2005 2006

STAFF ANALYSIS

Researchers Support staff Total

Total Staff* 86 52 138

Permanent Staff 10 9 19

Regular Staff (3 Years and above) 29 24 53

Contractual staff (1–3 years) 46 19 65

Staff on deputation 1 – 1

Staff on lien/long leave 11 – 11

Male staff 58 42 100

Female staff 28 10 38

Doctorates 27 1 28* Staff composition does not include contractual staff on term less than six months and those on lien/long leave.

Regular Professional Research Staff 2005–06

(I) PROFESSIONALS LEVEL 5 (FELLOW) Dr. Rupinder KaurMr. Suman Kumar Bery Dr. Saumen Majumdar Mrs. Abhilasha SharmaDirector-General Dr. Devendra Kumar Pant Mr. Y.K. Tanwar

Dr. Kanhaiya SinghLEVEL 6 (SENIOR FELLOW) LEVEL 3 (RESEARCH ANALYST)

Dr. Shashanka Bhide LEVEL 4 (ASSOCIATE FELLOW) Mrs. Poonam MunjalSenior Research Counsellor Mr. M.K. Arora Mrs. Asha SharmaDr. Rajesh Chadha Dr. Saurabh Bandyopadhyay Mrs. Rachna SharmaSenior Fellow and Dr. J.S. Bedi @ Mr. Shalabh Kumar SinghSenior Counsellor Dr. Tarujyoti Buragohain Mrs. Anjali Tandon (Operations) & Secretary Dr. Samantak DasDr. Hari K. Nagarajan Dr. S.K. Dwivedi (II) FIELD STAFF

Dr. Sanjib Pohit Mr. P.K. Ghosh LEVEL 4 (ASSOCIATE FELLOW)

Dr. B.K. Pradhan Mr. R.K. Jaiswal Mr. S.K. BathlaDr. Abusaleh Shariff Mr. M.M. Khan Mr. Om Prakash SharmaDr. Anil Kumar Sharma Mr. S.K. Mondal Mr. K.S. UrsDr. R.K. Shukla Mr. Dripto MukhopadhyayDr. Anushree Sinha Mr. Devender Pratap LEVEL 3 (RESEARCH ANALYST)

Mr. R. Venkatesan Dr. Sambasiva Rao Mr. R.S. Landge

@ Also holding the responsibility of Head, General Services (Acting).

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77 APPENDIX II: RESOURCES 77

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SUPPORT UNITS

Non-Regular Professional Research Staff 2005–06

SENIOR CONSULTANTS/ Dr. Purna Chandra Parida Ms. Preeti Kakar SENIOR ADVISORS Mr. Sandipan Ray Ms. Kanika Kalra Dr. Amaresh Dubey Mr. P.K. Roy Mr. Abhishek KumarProf. D.B. Gupta (Part-time) Dr. Tejinder Singh Ms. Jayoti Mitra Mr. Gajendra Haldea Ms. Natasha Monga (On secondment) RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Mr. Rajeev NarayanMr. S.K.N. Nair Ms. Nandini Acharya Ms. Priya Natarajan Mr. P.L. Narayana Mr. Abhisekh Akhouri Mr. Sarbadal PalDr. N.S. Sastry (Part-time) Ms. Swati Bajaj Ms. Rashmi Rastogi

Mr. Subrata Bandyopadhyay Ms. Koyal RoyCONSULTANTS/EDITORS Mr. Bhuvnender Chaudhary Mr. Ajay Kumar SahuMs. Anuradha Bhasin Mr. Anuj Das Mr. Kaushik SenDr. Puja Vasudeva Dutta Ms. Lipika Dasgupta Ms. Deepti SethiMr. Kalathil Jose Mr. Indranil De Mr. Anuj Sharma Mr. Kosar Jamal Khan Ms. Monisha Grover Ms. Divjot SinghMs. Rupa Malik Mr. Hemanta Kumar Hazarika Ms. Anamika SinhaDr. Geethanjali Nataraj Mr. Honey Mr. Debraj Sinha Dr. L.M. Pandey Ms. Charu Jain Ms. NishaVarghese

Staff on Lien/Long Leave (as on March 31, 2006)

Mr. S.D. Brahmankar Mr. Santosh Kumar Dr. Sunil Kumar SinhaDr. Anil Gumber Mr. S.V. Malvea Dr. Pradeep SrivastavaMs. Veena Kulkarni Mr. Amrendra Sahoo Mr. A. SubramanianDr. Pramod Kumar Mr. K.A. Siddiqui

Composition of Support Units of NCAER March 31, March31, March31, March31, March31, March31,

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

REGULAR & PERMANENT

Level 5 5 6 6 4 3 2

Level 4 3 3 1 2 1 1

Level 3 16 19 13 14 13 13

Level 2 29 24 21 19 19 13

Level 1 3 4 4 4 4 4

Total 56 56 45 43 40 33

SUPPORT STAFF (SHORT TERM)

Officers 4 4 5 2 1 3

Technical staff 6 5 6 3 3 2

Office Staff 13 19 18 10 10 6

Service Staff 8 8 8 8 8 8

Total 31 36 37 23 22 19


2005 2006

Regular Support Staff 2005–06

LEVEL 5

Mr. J.M. ChawlaHead, Computer CentreMr. N.J. Sebastian Librarian

LEVEL 4

Mr. J.M. PanditAdmn. Officer (Personnel &Admn.)

LEVEL 3 (SENIOR EXECUTIVE)

Mrs. Sudesh BalaMr. Dharam PalMr. Ajay GuptaMrs. Geetu MakhijaP.S. to the Director-GeneralMr. J.S. PuniaSenior Publications AssistantMr. B. RameshMr. Praveen SachdevaMr. Praveen SharmaMr. Balwant Singh Mr. Dhanraj SinghMs. Garima Singh

Mr. Rakesh SrivastavaMr. Net Ram VermaAssistant Accounts Officer

LEVEL 2 (EXECUTIVE)

Mrs. Shalini AggarwalMr. G. Anil Mr. Ram BelasMrs. Sangita ChaudharyMr. Bijay ChouhanMr. Vinod Kumar GuptaMr. G.C. KhulbeMr. D.N. SharmaMr. Vinay Kumar SharmaMr. Budh SinghMr. Jai SinghMr. Niraj Kumar SinghMr. Rajender Singh

LEVEL 1 (SERVICE

ASSISTANT)

Mr. Khurshid AhmedMr. Ram Kumar Mr. Surinder KumarMr. Satyender Singh

NON-REGULAR SUPPORT

STAFF

Dr. Dalip Kumar Admn. Officer (Projects)Mrs. Poonam DhawanMr. Mahboob KhanMrs. Jaya KotiMr. Nitin KumarMr. Yogesh KumarMr. Mam Chand Mr. Dilip Kumar MishraMs. Roma PathaniaMrs. Neeta SahuMr. B.S. SainiConsultantMr. Ashok Kumar SharmaMs. Sarita SharmaMr. Surya Pal SharmaMr. Bhola SinghMr. Dinesh SinghMr. Kashmir SinghMr. P.M. Verma ConsultantMr. Rajkumar Yadav

79

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79

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APPENDIX II: RESOURCES 79

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The library of NCAER is one of the finest inSouth Asia in the field of applied economics.Scholars and researchers avail its resources fortheir pursuits. Its rich and varied collection,which is constantly being augmented by thelatest books, journals and online sources,makes it a veritable shrine for the economistcommunity. More than 1,100 scholars,students and consultants used the libraryduring 2005–06.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENTThe NCAER library’s collection developmentpolicy is largely determined by our researchrequirements but not restricted to that. Thevaried collection of books, journals and otherelectronic resources and non-print mediathrows up an interesting mix of traditionalmaterials and digital resources. The libraryadded more than 1,500 documents and otherelectronic resources during 2005–06. It alsoreceived more than 700 working papers fromnational and international institutions.

The “Knowledge Resource Committee”,which comprises subject experts from theCouncil, also guides the collection

development policy. While continuing toreceive CD databases, the following CDROMs and online databases were addedduring the year:

Indiastat.comAgriwatch.comEmerging textilesComtrade PC TASOther important online bibliographical

databases available in the library includeEconlit and ISID Research Reference.

Being a depository of both theInternational Monetary Fund and the AsianDevelopment Bank, the library continues toreceive all their publications and databases.

LIBRARY SERVICESThe library provides routine services like inter-library loan, photocopy and indexing serviceand bibliography compilation. NCAERpublications like Artha Suchi, “Currentawareness service in economics”, “Newadditions” and “List of working papers”.Online access to the library’s publications ispossible through the library’s homepage. The

LIBRARY

THE STUDY ROOM THE REFERENCE SECTION


2005 2006 2005 2006

library also collaborated with major librarieson management and economic research incompiling a “Union list” of all journalsavailable with them. Once the new NCAERweb site is launched, it would be easy to accessthe journals on the “Union list”.

TOWARDS 2006–07In NCAER’s golden jubilee year, the libraryproposes to undertake an important project. Itis born out of the realisation that the vast

amount (more than 700) of project reportspublished by the Council over the past 50years does constitute a formidable intellectualproperty and needs protection andpreservation for posterity. Most of thesereports are in the form of typed or cyclostyledmanuscripts. With age, many are showingsigns of brittle. The library is planning a moveto digitalise these manuscripts. However, theproject’s getting off the ground is subject toavailability of funds.

THE SIZE OF THE LIBRARY’S COLLECTION (AS ON MARCH 31, 2006)

Year Books Reports Other Documents Total Collection

2004–05 24773 34506 16841 76120

2005–06 25240 34890 17476 77606

NCAER’s Computer Centre is responsible formaintenance of the Council’s InformationTechnology (IT) infrastructure. It also servicesall data processing requirements.

With the increase in usage of the computeras a productivity tool, the number of desktopshas grown considerably. Each researcher andsupport personnel have been provided with apersonal computer. The Computer Centremaintains 180 desktop PCs, most of which arehigh-end Pentium IVs, 25 laptops, an array oflocal and network laser jet printers, colour laserprinters, scanners, CD writers and LCDs forthe research and support staff.

Researchers have been provided witheconometric and statistical software packages/programmes like EVIEWS, GEMPACK,GAMS, STATA, MICROFIT andSHAZAM among others, have been madeavailable for researchers along with good emailand internet connectivity through a 256 KBPSleased line. Besides, most of the members ofthe support staff have internet and emailaccess.

NCAER’s own web site (www.ncaer.org) is presently undergoing a major changeover.

An Office Management System is beingimplemented in the Council. This will help

streamline administrative activities, maintainrecords of personnel as well as serve as amanagement information system.

Together with the library, the ComputerCentre is working on the implementation of adata management system for conversion of allcompleted primary survey data sets to a usableformat to facilitate research and analysis work.

Some major data processing projectshandled by the Computer Centre during2005–06 included:

India Programme for Research in HumanDevelopment

Socio-Economic Impact Study of HIV/AIDS

Comprehensive study to assess the genuinedemand and requirement of kerosene oil.

APPENDIX II: RESOURCES 81

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81

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COMPUTER CENTRE

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCHParisila Bhawan 11 Indraprastha Estate New Delhi 110 002 IndiaT +91 11 2337 9861-63 F +91 11 2337 0164 E infor@ ncaer.org W www.ncaer.org