Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment

Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment The theory of the determinants of private investment, irrespective of whether it originates domestically or from abroad, is relevant for an understanding of what drives FDI. This has become increasingly true with the globalisation of world markets, although there remain additional factors which may inhibit or encourage FDI that would not affect domestic investment. Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment depends on firms expectations of demand relative to existing capacity and on their ability to generate investment funds (Fazzari and Athey, 1987:481; Fazzari and Mott, 1986:171). Several studies have challenged the neoclassical assumption that any desired investment project can be financed2. Asymmetric information3 about the quality of a loan could lead to credit rationing, implying that not all borrowers seeking loans at the prevailing cost of capital may be able to obtain financing (e.g, Greenwald, Stiglitz and Weiss, 1984). Consequently, firms tend to rely on internal sources of funds to finance investment, and to prefer debt to equity if external financing is required4. A further theoretical development was the introduction of irreversibility and uncertainty in explaining investment behaviour. This literature demonstrates that the ability to delay an irreversible investment expenditure can profoundly affect the decision to invest (Dixit, 1989; Pindyck, 1991:1110). Firms have an i ncentive to postpone irreversible investment while they wait or new information which makes the future less uncertain (Bernanke, 1983; Cukierman, 1980). The development literature has long been concerned with investment, because of its importance for the rate of growth of per capita output in the economy (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:204; Fei and Ranis, 1963:283; IMF, 1988). Although empirical models of the determinants of investment in developing countries are in broad agreement with results obtained for industrialised countries, there are additional factors which have been found to constrain capital accumulation. Most of these are related to the problem of uncertainty and/or risk, which acts as a disincentive to private investment, because of the irreversible nature of most investment expenditures (Pindyck, 1991). Inflation reduces private investment by increasing risk, reducing average lending maturities, distorting the informational content of relative prices, and indicating macroeconomic instability (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:206-208; Oshikoya, 1994:585,590). Empirical studies show that the variability of inflation has a stronger negative effect on private investment than does the level (Serven and Solimano, 1993:137). Large external debt burdens also have a strong disincentive effect on private investment, especially short-term debt (Faruqee, 1992:52). Debt-service payments reduce the domestic resources available for investment, and poor international creditworthiness reduces access to foreign savings5. For domestic investors, the existence of a large debt overhang reduces the future returns to investment because a high proportion of the forthcoming returns must be used to repay existing debt (Borensztein, 1990:315). A debt overhang is also a major source of uncertainty: the size of future transfers to creditors is uncertain; macroeconomic policy is uncertain; and the exchange rate is uncertain. The combined risks of changes in relative prices, taxation and aggregate demand reduces investment by both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. Whatever the cause, the irreversibility of real capital expenditures can result in underinvestment if the future is uncertain, even when current conditions are righ t (Tornell, 1990). During macroeconomic adjustment, the credibility of policy changes is an added problem (Rodrik,1989), and the possibility of policy reversal can have serious consequences for real private capital expenditures. Investors prefer to hold financial capital, which is easier to realise if conditions turn out to be adverse, and which retains the option to purchase real capital if optimism continues. For this reason, there are frequently long lags in the investment response to adjustment(Serven and Solimano, 1993:131,137). Several studies report the effects of changes in the real exchange rate6 and the terms of trade7 on investment. These studies generally find that the variability of the real exchange rate is usually Some researchers support the notion that FDI contributes to the productivity and growth of local enterprises. Blomstrom and Sjoholm( 1998) are of the opinion that the productivity and growth of local enterprises could be achieved through spill over effects/externalities from FDI. This is achieved as the Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) either introduce superior technology of through the marketing activities of MNEs that affect the market equilibrium forcing local operators to act in such way that they can retain their original market shares. Graham and Krugman (1995) indicates that competitive enterprises (MNEs) contribute to productivity and growth of the host nation by infusing technology, labour skills, management methods, and training into the host economy. Empirical research shows that FDI affects the economy of a host country in a variety of ways. Firstly, it provides the required capital and state -of -the- art technology that enhances economic growth in the host country (Caves,1996; Dunning, 1993; Blomstrom and Sjoholm, 1998; Smarzynska,2002; Akinkugbe ,2005). Secondly, it augments the skills of the host nations and thus stimulates growth through the infusion of managerial, labour skills and training (de Mello,1999). Thirdly it promotes the technological upgrading, regarding start- up, marketing , and licensing arrangements (de Mello and Sinclair , 1995 ; Markusen and Venables ,1999). FDI is thus seen as a catalyst to the host nations economic growth and development as it enhances technological process and promotes industrial development (Asheghian, 2004). In addition, FDI can be expected to encourage economic growth of the host nation, given the prevailing view that MNEs can complement the local industry and stimulate growth and welfare in the host nations (Grossman and Helpman, 1991; Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995). The major determinants of the host countrys economic development and growth is the economic environment portrayed by its rate of economic growth , trade policy, political stability, legislation , domestic market size and balance of payments constraints (Caves, 1996; de Mello, 1999; Dunning, 1993)- the political economy of the nation . These factors may inevitably influence the decision of foreign investors (MNEs ) on the possible choice of a viable investment location (Akinkugbe, 2005). Dunnings (1981, 1988) electric theory provides a flexible and popular framework where it is argued that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is determined by three sets of advantages which direct investment should have over the other institutional mechanisms available for a firm in satisfying the needs of its customers at home and abroad. The first of the advantages is the ownership specific one which includes the advantage that the firm has over its rivals in terms of its brand name, patent or knowledge of technology and marketing. This allows firms to compete with the other firms in the markets it serves regardless of the disadvantages of being foreign. The second is the internationalisation advantage, that is why a bundled FDI approach is preferred to unbundled product licensing, capital lending or technical assistance (Wheeler and Mody, 1992). The location-specific advantages relate to the importance for the firm to operate and invest in the host country and are those advantages that make the chosen foreign country a more attractive site for FDI than the others. For instance firms may invest in production facilities in foreign markets because transportation costs are too high to serve these markets through exports. This could either be directly related to the actual nature of the good, either being a high bulk item or a service that needs to be provided on site, or due to policy factors such as tariff rates, import restrictions, or issues of market access that makes physical investment advantageous over serving the market through exports. Location advantage also embodies other characteristic (economic, institutional and political) such as large domestic markets, availability of natural resources, an educated labor force, low labor cost, good institutions (the clarity of countrys law, efficiency of bureaucracy and the absen ce of corruption), political stability, corporate and other tax rates among others. Bende-Nabende and Slater (1998) investigate both the short-run and long-run locational determinants of FDI under the broad categories of cost-related, investment environment improving and other macroeconomic factors. The short-run dynamics indicate that European investment in the Thai manufacturing sector has been more responsive to the macroeconomic factors. The long-run dynamics on the other hand suggest that European investment has been more responsive to the investment environment improving factors. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that the Thai manufacturing sector is losing its cost-related comparative advantage. Dar, Presley and Malik (2004) studied the causality and long-term relationship between Foreign Dirct Investment (FDI), economic growth and other socio-political determinants. Although a considerable literature gives the evidence of relationship between FDI and economic growth. Their paper considers economic growth, exchange rate and level of interest rates, unemployment, and political stability as determinants of the level of FDI inflows for Pakistan over the period 1970-2002. Almost all variables are found to have the theoretically expected signs with two-way causality relationship. The present study also estimates an error correction model by ordinary least squares, based on cointegrating VAR (2). Nunnenen (2002) argues that there is a startling gap between, allegedly, globalization-induced changes in international competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) and recent empirical evidence on the relative importance of determinants of FDI in developing countries. He shows that surprisingly little has changed since the late 1980s. Traditional market-related determinants are still dominant factors. Among non-traditional FDI determinants, only the availability of local skills has clearly gained importance. As concerns the interface between trade policy and FDI, he finds that the tariff jumping motive for FDI had lost much of its relevance well before globalization became a hotly debated issue. Artige and Nicolini (2005) analyse the determinants of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows for a group of European regions. The originality of their approach lies in the use of disaggregated regional data. First, they develop a qualitative description of their database and discuss the importance of the macroeconomic determinants in attracting FDI. Then, they provide an econometric exercise to identify the potential determinants of FDI. In spite of choosing regions presenting economic similarities, they show that regional FDI inflows rely on a combination of factors that differs from one region to another. Bà ©nassy-Quà ©rà ©, Coupet and Mayer (2007) re-examine the role of institutions in the host and in the source country by estimating a gravity equation for bilateral FDI stocks that includes governance indicators for the two countries. Second, they tackle multicollinearity and endogeneity bias by implementing a three-stage procedure for instrumentation and orthogonalisation. Third, they look further into the detail of institutions by using a new database constructed by the French Ministry of Finance network in 52 foreign countries. This database is used to point out in some detail the relevant institutional features. Its country coverage, which focuses on developing countries, is very helpful for studying the impact of the institutional environment of the host country. It does not allow, however, going deeply into the impact of the institutional environment in the source country as well as into the impact of institutional distance. Hence they complement our analysis with estimatio ns based on the Fraser database, which provides fewer details on institutions, albeit on a more balanced country coverage between industrial and developing countries. Finally, they study the impact of institutional distance on bilateral FDI. Onyeiwu and Shrestha (2004) argues that despite economic and institutional reform in Africa during the past decade, the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the region continues to be disappointing and uneven. In their study they use the fixed and random effects models to explore whether the stylized determinants of FDI affect FDI flows to Africa in conventional ways. Based on a panel dataset for 29 African countries over the period 1975 to 1999, their paper identifies the following factors as significant for FDI flows to Africa: economic growth, inflation, openness of the economy, international reserves, and natural resource availability. Contrary to conventional wisdom, political rights and infrastructures were found to be unimportant for FDI flows to Africa. The significance of a variable for FDI flows to Africa was found to be dependent on whether country- and time-specific effects are fixed or stochastic. Nakamura and Oyama (1998) studied the macroeconomic determinants of FDI from Japan and the United States into East Asian countries, and the linkage between FDI and trade, and other macroeconomic variables. Their analysis focuses on the structural differences among East Asian counties and classifies them based on statistical tests of fixed effects models using panel data. This examination helps to clarify how Japanese and American multinational firms position their production bases in East Asian countries within their world marketing strategies. In order to avoid the problem of simultaneity among variables, they examine simultaneous equation models to confirm the validity of panel regression results. In their study they find that East Asian countries can be classified into four groups depending on FDI from Japan and other elasticities to macroeconomic variables, and this grouping almost coincides with their economic development stages. Moreover, they confirm that FDI from Japan into a ll the groups are strongly affected by changes in real bilateral exchange rates, but this is not always the case for FDI from the United States. Among different country groups, FDI into group 1 (Taiwan and Korea) responds positively to the Japanese capacity utilization, indicating their industries integration with the Japanese economy. Group 3 (Indonesia and the Philippines) shows that Japanese FDI is buoyed up by the yens appreciation against the U.S. dollar. FDI into group 4 (China and Malaysia) and, to a lesser extent, group 2 (Singapore and Thailand) is oriented more toward capturing local markets compared to the other groups. They also find that Japanese FDI has strong trade expansion effects, which is rarely seen for U.S. FDI. With regards to research on the determinants of FDI to Africa there appears to be a dearth of literature. A Search on the Econlit database using Foreign Direct Investment and Africa as keywords yielded the other two reffered journal articles on the Determinants of FDI to Africa. One of the papers, Schoeman et al (2000), analyses how government policy (mainly deficits and taxes) affects FDI. However, their analysis focuses on one country, South Africa. The Second paper , Asiedu (2002) examines whether the factors that drive FDI in developing countries have a different impact on for countries in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA). However, the analysis focuses only on three variables the return on investment, infrastructure availability and openness to trade, and does not take into account the natural resource availability , which is an important determinant of FDI to Africa. Another paper that focuses exclusively on Africa is Morisset (2000). Unlike Asiedu (2002), Morisset (2000) controls for natural resource availability , measured by the sum of primary and secondary sectors , minus manufacturing. However, this measure of natural resources is too broad and does not accurately capture the availability of minerals and oil, the most important types of natural resources relevant for FDI to SSA. In addition none of the studies examine the impact of some of the important variables that feature predominantly in investor surveys, such as corruption and regulatory framework in the host country. This research extends the limited to empirical literature on the determinants of FDI to Africa by examining the extent to which the economic, political, institutional characteristics of a country, as well as the policy environment affect FDI flows. Nunnekamp (2002) sought to assess whether determinants of FDI have changed with globalisation i.e whether traditional determinants are losing importance whilst non traditional ones are increasingly gaining importance. Two approaches were adopted, namely survey data from European Round Table of Industrialists ( ERT 2000) and simple correlation for 28 developing countries. Market size (proxied by host countrys population and level of GDP ) as a traditional determinant of FDI is said to have declined in importance over time. Other factors such as location, cost differences, qualities of infrastructure, ease of doing business and the availability of skills measured by average years of schooling have become increasingly important as non-traditional determinants of FDI (Nunnekamp 2002:16) The survey results were supplemented by World Bank Data on variables that are considered important FDI determinants. Results show that traditional market related determinants still dominate determinants of FDI distribution among the countries considered (Nunnekamp 2002:24). Non traditional determinants such as cost factors, and trade openness , measured by ratio of exports plus imports to GDP, have typically not become more important with globalisation. Of importance is the availability of skills which is proxied by average years of schooling, which has become a relevant pull factor of FDI in the process of globalisation (Nunnekamp 2002:35). An analysis of a developing country by (Tsai 1991) focused on Taiwan by providing demand size determinants of FDI using time series data. Tsai (1991:279) employed OLS method using equations in logarithm form. Two equations were specified, i.e first on the demand size determinants and the second using variables as ratio of GDP to eliminate possible side of influences. A dummy variable was used to assess the impact of government incentive polices on FDI in different periods. Tsai (1991:276) suggests that for Taiwan only labour cost, market size and government incentive policies are important demand size determinants. Although FDI is seen to exploit cheap labour in developing countries, the case of Taiwan seems to show that growth in FDI with rising labour costs indicates the cheap labour may not be as important as expected. No clear evidence was found to support the expectation that government incentive policies were effective in attracting FDI to Taiwan. An interesting finding in Tsai (1991:279) is that Taiwans relatively outstanding economic performance as reflected in the expanding domestic market and ever increasing per capita GDP during 1965-1985 was not particularly attractive to foreign investors. As Tsai argues, this could be attributed to FDI being used supply side determined rather than demand side or perhaps non- economic factors outweigh the investment incentives. It is generally believed that factors determine FDI inflow in developing countries could have a different impact on SSA countries in particular . This is because developing countries outside Africa seem to attract huge FDI inflow while SSA attracts low levels of FDI as discussed by Asiedu (2002). Another study in Africa by Obwona (2001) investigated the FDI-growth linkage for Uganda. Obwona used the investor surveys approach and econometric tests. Using investor surveys, both local and foreign investors were directly questioned regarding their decisions and decision making processes when investing in Uganda (Obwona 2001:55). The focus was on productive investment, as such purely commercial and consulting activities were excluded. For econometric tests , time series data was used for the period 1975-1991to estimate the determinants of FDI and growth. Findings from the survey showed that increased foreign investment was a result of a conducive investment environment provided by government though its policies and institutions (Obwona 2001:56). The author concludes that from the investors surveyed, foreign investors are primarily concerned with fundamental factors, i.e a stable macroeconomic and political situation and credible policy reforms. For Uganda , Obwona considered pull factors such as growth factors , liberalised exchange rate, low inflation and fiscal discipline. The major determinants are availability and cost of natural and human resources, adequacy of infrastructure , market size, trade policies, macro stability, economic growth and political stability (Obwona 2001:62). The importance of each of these variables , however depends on the type of investment and motivations or strategy of investors. Obwona (2001:62) agrees with other researchers, such as Nunnekamp (2002) that given the shifts in the type of investment, the availability of low cost unskilled labour in location decisions has declined over time. This has meant more emphasis on skilled labour or the trainability of workers. Furthermore, two notable studies by Moolman et al (2006) and Fedderke and Romm (2004) have focused on determinants of Inward FDI to South Africa. Moolman et al (2006) sought to examine the macroeconomic link between FDI in South Africa and its resultant impact on output for the period 1970-2003. In so doing, they initially identified supply side determinants of FDI before analysing their impact on output. Their research method follows the supply side macro econometric framework, which does not take into account the demand side determinants that are equally important as well. On Model specification , five variables were explored as explanatory variables for FDI in the empirical estimation, namely, market size measured by real GDP, exchange rate proxied by the rand-dollar exchange rate , infrastructure, openness and a dummy variable for sanctions. The empirical results of Moolman et al (2006:3) indicate that market size, openness, infrastructure and the nominal exchange rate are factors which South African policy makers should focus on when seeking to attract FDI. The FDI output link does not take other factors such as increased employment , improved skills and new management techniques into account (Moolman et al 2006:29). After thorough investigation and studies, it was found out that only market size and openness are common factor determining FDI. The role of exchange rate is an important determinant of foreign investment in most countries. Particularly for South Africa, it should be considered whether it could be an important FDI determinant. Studies from developing countries have also identified other factors that should be considered as in the case of South Africa as those of Loots (2000) and Ahmed et al (2005).

Promoting good governance makes vigilance awareness Essay

Vigilance makes preparedness to be watchful always and sense the happening around oneself. People always have wrong approach towards vigilance as they perceive vigilance as enquiry, fixing responsibility etc. Vigilance is not investigation but it is prevention. To punish and not to prevent is like pumping the water through a pump without arresting the leakages which result in wastage of water, energy and time. Why do organizations need vigilance:- An organization protects itself from external dangers through creating security and posting manpower to guard against such threats. The role of vigilance is to protect organization from internal dangers which are more serious than external threats. Responsibility of Employees in Vigilance Matters: Vigilance officer should be own officer;All men are vigilance people-raising awareness level. Vigilance very essential ; All officers should work for the same target/goal. Vigilance is not confined to a particular individual or set up. All public servants should be honest. They also have a responsibility towards the nation to help the organization to discharge vigilance functions effectively by bringing to the notice of organization about the activities of dishonest employees. Need for Preventive Vigilance Preventive vigilance plays an important role in strengthening the vigilance set up of any organization. There has been a wide spread realization that punitive vigilance alone cannot be the foundation of an efficient vigilance machinery. In punitive vigilance, the vigilance wing reacts to complaints or information of specific instances of mala fide action, verifies such information and then proceeds against the erring officials. VIGILANCE AND E-GOVERNANCE Vigilance means watchfullness or to bring awareness. Vigilance came into existence mainly for the purpose of fighting corruption. Corruption involves misuse of power , money ,government property etc. Though corruption can’t be brought down to zero level, we can try to bring it as low as possible. This can be ensured by watchfulness, caution and vigilance. Or in other words it can be achieved by E-Governance. Corruption is anti national, anti poor and anti economic development. According to the UNDP Report on Human Development 1999 on South Asia, if the corruption level in India goes down to that of Scandinavian Countries, the GDP will grow by 1.5% and Foreign Direct Investment will go up by 12%. Corruption is anti poor because nearly 30% of the food grains and sugar meant for the public distribution system disappear in the black market. Corruption literally takes away the food from the mouths of the poor people for whom food security by way of the public distribution systems is devised by the government. Corruption is anti national as revealed by the Bombay blasts of 1993 when the customs officials who were bribed permitted the smuggling of the RDX which resulted in the death of 300 people. M/s Transparency International, a Berlin based non-government organisation has ranked India 73 out of 99 countries in the Corruption Perception Index. This refers to the perception of the degree of co rruption as seen by business people, risk analysts and the general public. It ranges from 10 (highly clean) to zero (highly corrupt). Denmark appears at the top of the list with a score of 10 and India figures at 73 with a score of 2.9. Fighting corruption is too important an activity to be left only to the Central Vigilance Commission. The Commission therefore proposes to launch a systematic campaign against corruption by involving all members of the civil society in fighting this social evil. The first step in this campaign is to educate the people about the dangers of corruption and sensitize them about the evil consequences of corruption. Participative Vigilance Definition Participative Vigilance refers to participation of everyone in curbing the corruption. At organization level it refers to participation of all internal and external stakeholders in curbing the corruption. Necessity In recent times many scams such as 2G, COLGATE, Procurement of Tatra Trucks and allocation of defence spectrum by ISRO has rocked the country. The spread and magnitude of the amount involved indicates that the corruption is deeply rooted in our democracy. Widespread corruption cannot be rooted out â€Å"just by 300 people sitting in the CVC but each and every citizen of the country must contribute towards building a TEAM India where T stands for technology and transparency, E for efficiency and empowerment, A for audit trail and accountability and M for metrics measurement and mutual cooperation,† After the move by the Civil Society led by Anna Hazare the awakened citizens might ask from themselves what is it that I can do to check corruption in my country instead of merely expecting that somebody else can do something to check corruption. CVC Approach First time on 31 October -2011 Participative Vigilance was the theme of Vigilance Awareness Week circulated by CVC. The practice of observing the Vigilance Awareness Week was initiated by the CVC in 2000. 31st October was chosen as the commencement date for the Vigilance Awareness Week, because that was the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who represented the best tradition of integrity in Indian politics. CVC has recently-launched â€Å"Vig-Eye†, a user-friendly platform for citizens to complain against corrupt officials by an SMS, was aimed at participative vigilance and would be able to reach 50 million people in the country. Tools in the hands of citizen to curb Corruption At the individual level, there are adequate resources available for any concerned citizen to play a role in checking corruption. 1. Right to Information Act 2005. 2. Lokpal bill E-Governance is the use of various modern information and communication technologies such as internet, local area networks, mobile phones,etc., by the government to promote democracy and minimize the corruption level. Simply e-governance is electronic management and electronic controllership. Therefore vigilance and e-governance are required for ensuring corruptionless functioning of any private, public or government organisation. In order to achieve this purpose, govenment has implemented various online services under national e-governance plan like property registration, railway reservation, pensions, passport, visa , company affairs, land records, e-courts, etc.Here we will discuss some of the examples and we will see how they are proven to be effective, not only for fighting against corruption but also for improving the efficiency, effectiveness and comfortness of public. Following are the examples of online service under National E-Governance Plan Income Tax A. Central Excise B. Passport/VISA C. Road Transport D. Property Registration E. Pensions F. Gram Panchayats (Rural) G. Agriculture H. Municipalities I. Employment Exchange J. Land Records K. Company Affairs L. Police M. Railway Reservation N. E-Courts Here we will discuss some examples and we will see how they are proven effective tools of vigilance for not only fighting against corruption but also improving effectiveness, efficiency and comfortness of public. Online Delivery of Land Titles in Karnataka, India Previously(i.e. Before the computerization of The Department of Revenue in Karnataka), farmers had to seek out the Village Accountant to get a copy of the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) — a document needed for many tasks such as obtaining bank loans. There were delays and harassment. Bribes had to be paid. Land owners find it difficult to access the Village Accountant, as his duties entail traveling. The time taken by Village Accountants to provide RTCs has ranged from 3 to 30 days depending upon the importance of the record for the farmer and the size of the bribe. A typical bribe for a certificate could range from Rs.100 to Rs.2000. If some details were to be written in an ambiguous fashion, out of selfish motives, the bribe could go up to Rs.10,000. Land records in the custody of Village Accountant were not open for public scrutiny. But Now (i.e. after the computerization of The Department of Revenue in Karnataka) for a fee of Rs.15, a printed copy of the RTC can be obtained online at computerized land record kiosks (Bhoomi centers) in 140 taluk offices. Without delaying and any bribe. The Bhoomi software incorporates the bio-logon metrics system, which authenticates all users of the software using their fingerprint. A log is maintained of all transactions in a session. This makes an officer accountable for his decisions and actions. The government also has plans to web-enable the database to make available to the farmer a copy of the land record locally through an Internet kiosk — although without signature such a copy will only have an informative value. This scheme also useful for preventing lands-scam Due to availability of all the data related to land is at a common server. Computerized Interstate Check Posts in Gujarat Gujarat has an extensive road network, which carries a large volume of commercial traffic. Major highway systems link Dehli to Mumbai and provide the principal link to the Kandla sea port on Gujarat’s west coast. Gujarat’s 10 check posts are positioned at the border with three neighboring Indian states. Nearly 25,000 transport vehicles enter daily through these check posts. Trucking companies want to maximize their earnings from each vehicle. Often this has prompted transporters to load their trucks beyond permissible axle load, creating a serious safety hazard. Previously (i.e. before the computerization), a suspect vehicle is flagged to a stop, and then weighed on a weigh bridge located away from traffic. The legal penalty for overload is Rs 2,000 per ton. However, any fine often has been (illegally) negotiated The problem of corruption was particularly difficult to attack as the corrupt were backed by politicians. In the absence of any systematic inspection of vehicles, the transport companies also adopted various illegal practices. Duplicate copies of a single registration book from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) have been used for many different vehicles, using fake license plates. In the computerized process, all the check posts are monitored at a central location using video cameras installed at every check post cabin. The video camera captures the registration number of all trucks approaching the check post. (There are flood-lights and traffic lights which make the check posts appear like a runway at night.) Software converts the video image of the registration number to a digital form and the details of the truck are accessed from a central data base. An electronic weigh bridge captures the weight and the computer issues a demand note for fine, automatically. Through the use of computers and other electronic devices at 10 remote interstate border check posts in Gujarat, India, a team of savvy public officials have reduced corruption and significantly increased the state’s tax revenue. Online Indian Railway Train Status and reservation System: Before the computerization system it was very difficult to know the availability of seat and getting reservation without paying additional money. Passenger has to pay additional money inside the train also. But after computerization availability of seat are known to all also passenger can himself book ticket online, it reduces the money handling (dealing) in other words we can say its reducing the corruption. Also auto up gradation of passenger tickets increases the revenue to Indian railways and decreases the additional income (bribe) to TTC. Work Progress Monitoring System: This software is intensively used in all type of industry to monitor the work progress of company/ section/ individual. This is not directly relate with money corruption but it is dealing with monitoring corruption which include delaying of projects/works which leads to increase hidden cost of company also leads to inefficient work. Conclusion: Now we can say vigilance and e governance are complementary to each other. To prevent or minimize the corruption we have to have transparent system which can be achieve by deploying E-governance in all sector and everywhere. But the biggest challenge of deploying e-governance is not technology but change management. Change management is important not only in terms of cultural change but also in terms of changing operations and processes workflow that the automated environment will introduce. â€Å"E-governance, however, is not really the use of IT in governance but as a tool to ensure good governance. E-governance does not mean proliferation of computers and accessories; it is basically a political decision which calls for discipline, attitudinal change in officers and employees, and massive government process re-engineering

The Genetic Code

The Genetic Code Overview This module will examine how information is encoded in DNA, and how that information is interpreted to bring about changes in cells and tissues. Objectives 1. Understand the triplet nature of the genetic code, and know the meaning of the term codon. 2. Know that the code is degenerate, and what that means. 3. Know that the code is unambiguous, and what that means. 4. Know the identities of the start and stop codons, and understand how they work. The Genetic Code It has been mentioned in a variety of modules that DNA stores genetic information.That much was clear from the  experiments  of Avery, Macleod, and McCarty and Hershey and Chase. However, these experiments did not explain  how  DNA stores genetic information. Elucidation of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick did not offer an obvious explanation of how the information might be stored. DNA was constructed from nucleotides containing only four possible bases (A, G, C, and T). The big quest ion was: how do you code for all of the traits of an organism using only a four letter alphabet? Recall the  central dogma of molecular biology.The information stored in DNA is ultimately transferred to protein, which is what gives cells and tissues their particular properties. Proteins are linear chains of amino acids, and there are 20 amino acids found in proteins. So the real question becomes: how does a four letter alphabet code for all possible combinations of 20 amino acids? By constructing multi-letter â€Å"words† out of the four letters in the alphabet, it is possible to code for all of the amino acids. Specifically, it is possible to make 64 different three letter words from just the four letters of the genetic alphabet, which covers the 20 amino acids easily.This kind of reasoning led to the proposal of a triplet genetic code. Experiments involving  in vitro  translation of short synthetic RNAs eventually confirmed that the genetic code is indeed a triplet co de. The three-letter â€Å"words† of the genetic code are known as  codons. This experimental approach was also used to work out the relationship between individual codons and the various amino acids. After this â€Å"cracking† of the genetic code, several properties of the genetic code became apparent: * The genetic code is composed of nucleotide triplets.In other words, three nucleotides in mRNA (a codon) specify one amino acid in a protein. * The code is non-overlapping. This means that successive triplets are read in order. Each nucleotide is part of only one triplet codon. * The genetic code is unambiguous. Each codon specifies a particular amino acid, and only one amino acid. In other words, the codon ACG codes for the amino acid threonine, and  only  threonine. * The genetic code is degenerate. In contrast, each amino acid can be specified by  more  than one codon. * The code is nearly universal.Almost all organisms in nature (from bacteria to humans) use exactly the same genetic code. The rare exceptions include some changes in the code in mitochondria, and in a few protozoan species. * A Non-overlapping Code * The genetic code is read in groups (or â€Å"words†) of three nucleotides. After reading one triplet, the â€Å"reading frame† shifts over three letters, not just one or two. In the following example, the code would  not  be read GAC, ACU, CUG, UGA†¦ * * Rather, the code would be read GAC, UGA, CUG, ACU†¦ * * Degeneracy of the Genetic Code There are 64 different triplet codons, and only 20 amino acids. Unless some amino acids are specified by more than one codon, some codons would be completely meaningless. Therefore, some redundancy is built into the system: some amino acids are coded for by multiple codons. In some cases, the redundant codons are related to each other by sequence; for example, leucine is specified by the codons CUU, CUA, CUC, and CUG. Note how the codons are the same except f or the third nucleotide position. This third position is known as the â€Å"wobble† position of the codon.This is because in a number of cases, the identity of the base at the third position can wobble, and the same amino acid will still be specified. This property allows some protection against mutation – if a mutation occurs at the third position of a codon, there is a good chance that the amino acid specified in the encoded protein won't change. * Reading Frames * If you think about it, because the genetic code is triplet based, there are three possible ways a particular message can be read, as shown in the following figure: * * Clearly, each of these would yield completely different results.To illustrate the point using an analogy, consider the following set of letters: * theredfoxatethehotdog * If this string of letters is read three letters at a time, there is one reading frame that works: * the red fox ate the hot dog * and two reading frames that produce nonsen se: * t her edf oxa tet heh otd og * th ere dfo xat eth eho tdo g * Genetic messages work much the same way: there is one reading frame that makes sense, and two reading frames that are nonsense. * So how is the reading frame chosen for a particular  mRNA? The answer is found in the genetic code itself.The code contains signals for starting and stopping translation of the code. The  start codon  is  AUG. AUG also codes for the amino acid methionine, but the first AUG encountered signals for translation to begin. The start codon sets the reading frame: AUG is the first triplet, and subsequent triplets are read in the same reading frame. Translation continues until a  stop codon  is encountered. There are three stop codons:  UAA,  UAG, and  UGA. To be recognized as a stop codon, the triplet  must  be in the same reading frame as the start codon. A reading frame between a start codon and an in-frame stop codon is called an  open reading frame.Let's see how a seq uence would be translated by considering the following sequence: 5†²-GUCCCGUGAUGCCGAGUUGGAGUCGAUAACUCAGAAU-3†² First, the code is read in a  5†² to 3†² direction. The first AUG read in that direction sets the reading frame, and subsequent codons are read in frame, until the stop codon, UAA, is encountered. Note that there are three nucleotides, UAG (indicated by asterisks) that would otherwise constitute a stop codon, except that the codon is out of frame and is not recognized as a stop. In this sequence, there are nucleotides at either end that are outside of the open reading frame.Because they are outside of the open reading frame, these nucleotides are not used to code for amino acids. This is a common situation in mRNA molecules. The region at the 5†² end that is not translated is called the  5†² untranslated region, or  5†² UTR. The region at the 3†² end is called the  3†² UTR. These sequences, even though they do not encode any polypeptide sequence, are not wasted: in eukaryotes these regions typically contain regulatory sequences that can affect when a message gets translated, where in a cell an mRNA is localized, and how long an mRNA lasts in a cell before it is destroyed.A detailed examination of these sequences is beyond the scope of this course. The Genetic Code: Summary of Key Points * The genetic code is a triplet code, with codons of three bases coding for specific amino acids. Each triplet codon specifies only one amino acid, but an individual amino acid may be specified by more than one codon. * A start codon, AUG, sets the reading frame, and signals the start of translation of the genetic code. Translation continues in a non-overlapping fashion until a stop codon (UAA, UAG, or UGA) is encountered in frame. The nucleotides between the start and stop codons comprise an open reading frame.

Sumerian vs. Egyptian Civilizations Political Structure...

Describe the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations in terms of political structure, religion, society, and culture. Account for the similarities and differences between them. Despite the fact that ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations grew up rather close together, both civilizations evolved in vastly different ways. The influence of geography cannot be underestimated. Although both civilizations were located in what is now the Middle East, ancient Sumerians lived in a constant state of instability and fear, due to the threat of flooding. In contrast, the Egyptians enjoyed the fertility conveyed by the relatively controlled flooding by the nearby Nile. For the Mesopotamians, the natural world constantly threatened to flood their crops and their homes: floods and torrential rains were a significant theme in Mesopotamian literature as depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Kries, 2006, Lecture 2). In the Epic, the gods are depicted as angry, temperamental beings that callously give and take away life. Life was hard: because the land closest to the river was the most fertile, there was a variation in terms of the wealth of these early farmers, which led to distinct social classes (Kries, 2006, Lecture 2). Ancient Sumerian civilization was thus highly stratified and segmented. Slavery was practiced, and laws such as the Law of Hammurabi were administered harshly but impartially, although there were different punishments allocated for different members of societyShow MoreRelatedArt History7818 Words   |  32 Pagesstability and performance o Cornerstone of civilization • Domestic Architecture o Wigwam, Huts, Lean-tos o Native American Indians were considered Neolithic • Refined tools o Spears, Bows and Arrows • Domesticated Animals o Hallmark of luxury, stability, and permanence • Pottery Ââ€" clay art o Bowls and containers o Exquisite decoration • Aesthetics Ââ€" the love of beauty, the need for beauty o Separates man from the animals o Civilization #61607; Around 5,000BC #61607; Literacy Read MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages . . 95 Planning—The Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Environment—The Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Values and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Goals, Themes, and Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Objectives, Initiatives, Pathways,