Volume 4 •  Number 3  • March  2010

SWOT Analysis of Micro Finance Credit As Financial Stability Model In Rural India

Microfinance, a financial innovation, originated in Bangladesh when Prof. Mohd. Yunus changed the lives of millions of Bangladeshis by creating the concept of micro loans. The idea came to his mind through involving himself in fighting poverty during the 1974 famine in Bangladesh. Besides teaching through the traditional methods, he wanted to understand the real life economics also. He gave $27 as the first loan from his pocket to a villager near to his university campus and discovered that villagers are quickly repaying the money by selling their goods in the market; and there evolved the concept of microfinance with the establishment of Grameen Bank in 1976. Prof. Yunus earned a nobel peace prize in 2006 for his most valuable credit to the financial system for the poor.
Astonishing growth rates in Bangladesh, particularly during 1990s created a new dimension for microfinance worldwide as microfinance institutions grew to include millions of clients. In India, a substantial microfinance system based on self-help groups (SHGs) progressed during 90s.

Jyoti
Assistant Professor
K.P. College of Management
Agra,Uttar Pradesh

jyotidb18@rediffmail.com

Banks play an active role in the economic development of a country. Their ability to make a positive contribution in igniting the process of growth depends on the effective banking system. These banks mostly deal with money collected in the form of deposits along with their own funds in the form of share capital and resources constituting around 5% of the total resources of the banks. So the banks have the obligation of meeting the demand of the customers promptly, paying interest for the amount and meeting the expenses to carry out its activities. This necessitates the banks to maintain adequate liquidity and earn required profit from their activities. Maintenance of liquidity and profitability are contradictory in nature. (Therefore, the banks have to perform the difficult task of maintaining equilibrium between liquidity and profitability). The maintenance of liquidity is necessary to prove the fact that the bank is able to meet its commitments without fail and is paying the day to day expenses. Thus, liquidity refers to the ability of the concern to fulfill its obligations promptly. Whereas, profitability is primarily the measure of the overall success of business and so, it is the ability to earn profit. Profitability is the most powerful motivational factor in any business. The larger the profit, the more efficient and profitable a business is deemed to be. It is the engine that drives a business concern. It also enables a concern to discharge its obligation to the various segments of the society.

Dr.N.Bharathi
Assistant Professor
 School of Management Studies
Karpagam University
Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu
bharathi7781@gmail.com

Agricultural Insurance In India

Agriculture productions in India are habitually precious due to their vulnerability to natural calamities such as droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, landslides and earthquakes. Vulnerability of agriculture to these calamities is compounded by the eruption of pandemics and man-made disasters such as fire, sale of unauthentic seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, price crashes etc. All these events rigorously affect farmers as there is failure in production and loss of farm income. With the emergent commercialization of agriculture, the enormity of loss due to adverse eventualities is increasing. The question is how to guard farmers by minimizing such losses. For a segment of farming society, the minimum support prices for definite crops provide a measure of income stability. But for most of the crops and in most of the states, MSP is not realized. In recent times, means like contract farming and future trading have been established which are anticipated to provide some insurance against price oscillations directly or indirectly. But agricultural insurance is an important mechanism to effectively address the risk to harvest and income resulting from various natural and manmade occurrences. Agricultural Insurance is a way of shielding the agriculturist against financial losses occurring due to agricultural losses arising from named or unexpected hazards beyond their control (AIC, 2008).

Nidheesh K.B
Lecturer
Department of Commerce
Pondicherry University
Puducherry
nidheeshkbpu@yahoo.co.in

Awareness Level of Services Offered By Depository Participants In Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu

The changing financial services scenario emerging by virtue of liberalization in last one decade has introduced a vast variety of concepts. Mutual fund is one of these. Mutual funds in Indian context are a recent phenomenon. In a short span of less than one decade, it has changed the investment pattern of medium and small Investors in India.
The origin of the Indian mutual fund industry can be traced back to 1964 when the Indian government, with a view to augment small savings within the country and to channelise these savings to the capital markets, set up the Unit Trust of India (“UTI”). The UTI was setup under a specific statute, the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963. The Unit Trust of India launched its first open-ended equity scheme called US 64 in the year 1964, which turned out to be one of the most popular mutual fund schemes in the country. In 1987, the government permitted other public sector banks and insurance companies to promote mutual fund schemes. Pursuant to this relaxation, six public sector banks and two insurance companies viz. Life Insurance Corporation of India and General Insurance Corporation of India launched mutual fund schemes in the country. Subsequently, in 1993, the Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI") introduced The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1993, which paved way for the entry of private sector players in the mutual fund industry.

Dr.Sushil Kumar Mehta
Assistant Professor
School of Business,College of Management,Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University,Katra
Jammu & Kashmir

sushilmehta2@rediffmail.com

Determinants of Dividend In Indian Pharmaceutical Industry - A Study of Select Companies

Today, the Indian Pharmaceutical industry is in the front rank of India’s science – based industries with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacturing and technology. As a highly organized sector, the Indian pharma industry is estimated to be worth $4.5 billion, growing at about 8 to 9 percent annually. It ranks very high in the third world, in terms of technology, quality and range of medicines manufactured.

Dr.D.Kamalaveni
Reader in Commerce
Vellalar College for Women
Erode,Tamil Nadu
kamal.mohanan@yahoo.co.in

Dr.S.Kalaiselvi
Lecturer in Commerce
Vellalar College for Women
Erode,Tamil Nadu
cutekalai_2003@yahoo.co.in

D.Sabitha
Lecturer in Commerce
Vellalar College for Women
Erode,Tamil Nadu

Derivative Trading In Indian Stock Market : Investor's Perception

The most significant event in finance during the past decade has been the astonishing development and expansion of financial derivatives. These instruments enhance the ability to differentiate risk and allocate it to those investors who are most able and willing to take it-a process that has undoubtedly improved national productivity, growth and standards of living.

Anjali Choksi
Lecturer
N.R.Institute of Business Management
Ahmedabad,Gujarat

choksianjali81@gmail.com