Race, culture and identity ( social policy and criminology) Essay

Race, culture and identity ( social policy and criminology) - Essay Example As Song (2001, p.58) suggests, this kind of grouping not only designates racial groups to a specific role in the society, but it also puts the minor groups into the shadow and subordination to the so-called â€Å"major† ethnic groups. Relatively, this racial and ethnic positioning also puts the â€Å"other† race into confusion as they become burdened by the nature of their identity. Racism, as a social problem, needs to be remedied to help the marginalised race overcome the barriers of color (A. Smedely and B. Smedley, 2005, p.16). In this way, people will be able to understand ethnic and racial identities as well as appreciate the significance of cultural diversity today (Frable, 1997, pp.142-143). Considering these ideas, this paper draws on scholarly articles to discuss the intertwining concepts of race, ethnicity, and identity. Specifically, this paper aims to discuss those concepts in relation to the â€Å"Black† subject. The Black subject stems from issues related to race, ethnicity, and identity. As Blacks and those who are considered non-white continue to suffer from racial and ethnic tensions worldwide, issues on race, ethnicity, and identity will continue to prevail in the society. Considering this situation, it can be said that studying these concepts would enable people to understand the nature of the Black subject, and the reason why it came into being. Before discussing the origin of the Black subject, it is essential to understand the concepts of race, ethnicity, and identity. These three concepts interrelate in a way that people use those to identify and differentiate themselves. The concept of identity, in the words of Brubaker and Cooper (2000, p.7), refers to three things: 1) product of socio-political action, 2) self-hood, and 3) group category. All these three aspects apply in the context of the Black subject. Black, as a group category,

Literary Analysis of United States Conflict in Iraq Essay

Literary Analysis of United States Conflict in Iraq - Essay Example The continuation of the war in Iraq with no end in sight is producing a negative impact, not only upon individual soldiers, but also upon the average American citizen whose tax dollars are being diverted away to fund causes in another nation, which do not concern him/her. The film â€Å"Stop Loss† opens by focusing on the lives of U.S. soldiers and their combat encounters in Iraq. It then follows them home to Texas, where one of the protagonists Brandon discovers that he is the victim of a stop loss order that requires him to return to Iraq (www.en.wikipedia.org). The sense of relief and joy on his return home changes into a sense of helplessness and a feeling of being trapped, because he now has to return to the scene of suffering and strife. He soon discovers there is no way out from the stop loss order; others who had earlier contested these orders had failed to succeed. This aspect of the film represents the continual nature of the conflict in Iraq. It depicts the way soldiers are forced to keep returning to Iraq, to continue to languish in the needless violence and combat. The inability of the United States to bring about a decisive end to a war which was initially presented as an easy victory is underscored through the plight of individual soldiers as depicted in the film â€Å"Stop Loss†. These soldiers are forced to return again and again to combat regions, while the administration continues to pump billions of dollars into the war, without being able to bring about an effective end to the conflict. As pointed out by Shapiro (2006), the status quo has been preserved in the Iraq war and there is little that the President or his administration can offer in defense to justify the loss of life and the huge financial costs being borne by tax payers to support the United States action in Iraq. In 2007, the budget for its military units controlled by the Pentagon was $450 billion and the â€Å"War on

Open Loop Control Method For Conveyor Belt Transmission Engineering Essay

Open Loop Control Method For Conveyor Belt Transmission Engineering Essay Before the advent of modern automation techniques, factory workers often had to travel from project to project. The cumulative effect of all this physical motion was additional stress and inefficient use of the workers time. The development of conveyor belts allowed the project to come to the worker, instead of the worker to the project. Parts could then be transported by other conveyor belts to additional workers, and eventually to the shipping docks for delivery. Many conveyor belts work on the principle of variable speed control. If a particular belt moves too slowly, workers may find themselves waiting for parts. If a conveyor belt moves too quickly, parts may be damaged or workers may become overwhelmed. Much of a factory supervisors time is spent adjusting conveyor belts for maximum efficiency. This is especially important in food production factories, where conveyor belt speed and proper cooking time work hand in hand. Project objectives Modeling of a open-loop control method for conveyor belt transmission Modeling of a close-loop speed control method for conveyor belt transmission Research on the performance comparison for variable mass material input 1.2 Organization of thesis Chapter 2: This chapter thoroughly introduce what conveyor transmission system is and provides a brief history about it. Six categories of typical conveyor transmission system have been introduced. It also explains the sources and types of breakdowns in conveyor belt, as well as the effect of those breakdowns cause in the transmission line. Then, this chapter also discusses about the importance to have speed control for the conveyor belt transmission system. Chapter 3: This chapter mainly focus on different types of motors. It specifically explains about the AC asynchronous motor which is the most widely used in heavy industry. The different speed control methods of AC asynchronous motors have been compared in several aspects. Chapter 4: In this chapter, PID controller is discussed in details for process control, including its definition, history, applications, tuning method and implementation. Unlike other kinds of papers concerning PID control approach, the weakness and bad behaviour were brought about as well so that an objective picture of PID method could be completed. Chapter 5: At the outset, this chapter gives some key modeling process, and then provides the complete models for simulation both of open-loop control and close-loop speed control. With these models, simulation results can be get to make some comparisons. The close-loop results show the performance of different controller parameters on the transmission system with a variable mass material input on several discrete speed value, corresponding to the open-loop curves those seem not to be quite good. Chapter 6: This chapter summarizes discussion and conclusion about the performance of speed control on the transmission system, and then gives out some recommendations and future works that can be done in speed control for conveyor belt transmission system. 2.0 CONVEYOR BELT TRANSMISSION SYSTEM Conveyor belts are generally endless loops which move parts or materials from one location to another. Conveyor belts are often driven by variable speed electric motors or by other moving parts in a complex system. They are commonly found in factories, grocery stores, warehouses and public transportation centers. Further refinement of conveyor belts allowed factory managers to create automated or semi-automated production lines. Individual parts could be moved through automated machinery for routine processing, leaving workers free for quality control tasks or other higher responsibilities. Conveyor belts also proved useful for transporting heavy or hazardous products, reducing worker injuries. The use of conveyor belts is not restricted to factories. Bakeries and pizza shops often use a slow-moving wire conveyor belt to move their products through an oven. Grocery stores use conveyor belts in their check-out lines to bring items to the clerk and bagger. Airports and other public transportation systems use conveyor belts to deliver checked baggage to customers. Warehouses use long conveyor belts to offload products from incoming trucks or to load outgoing ones. Escalators found in department stores could also be considered conveyor belts, as are people movers in larger airports. 2.1 History Primitive conveyor belts were used since the 19th century. In 1892, Thomas Robins began a series of inventions which led to the development of a conveyor belt used for carrying coal, ores and other products.[6] In 1901, Sandvik invented and started the production of steel conveyor belts. In 1905 Richard Sutcliffe invented the first conveyor belts for use in coal mines which revolutionized the mining industry. In 1913, Henry Ford introduced conveyor-belt assembly lines at Ford Motor Companys Highland Park, Michigan factory.[7] In 1972, the French society REI created in New Caledonia the then longest straight-belt conveyor in the world, at a length of 13.8 km. Hyacynthe Marcel Bocchetti was the concept designer. In 1957, the B. F. Goodrich Company patented a conveyor belt that it went on to produce as the Turnover Conveyor Belt System. Incorporating a half-twist, it had the advantage over conventional belts of a longer life because it could expose all of its surface area to wear and te ar.Mà ¶bius strip belts are no longer manufactured because untwisted modern belts can be made more durable by constructing them from several layers of different materials.[8]. In 1970, Intralox, a Louisiana based company, registered the first patent for all plastic, modular belting. In 1963-64, First Indian Small Scale Industrial Unit with Japanese Plant for Rubber Belts for Conveyor / Elevator / Transmission was installed near National Capital Territory of Delhi and its MrBelts Conveyor Belting has been widely used in Steel, Cement, Fertilizer, Thermal Power, Sponge Iron Plants and Coal/Mineral establishments, Port Trusts and similar material handling applications of Industry for the last over 4 decades 2.2 Types of Conveyor System 2.2.1 Wheel Conveyor System A wheel conveyor systems setup consists of skate wheels that are mounted on an axle placed in a row. Depending on the weight of the material being transported, adjustment of both the wheel spacing and the slope for load movement is provided. Being simpler in construction, the system is flexible, scalable and more economical with light-duty applications as compared to a roller conveyor system. 2.2.2 Roller Conveyor System A roller conveyor system has two variants, but both utilize a minimum of three rollers that provide support to the smallest load all the time. Then there are tapered rollers that orient the load around a curved path. The gravity-type system is alternative to the wheel conveyor system that is used for heavy-duty applications. It utilizes a slope for load movement to facilitate the accumulation process. The powered variant utilizes a belt or chain drive for force-sensitive power transmission useful in merging and/or sorting applications. 2.2.3 Chain Conveyor System A chain conveyor system has one or more endless chains that directly carry the load. These chains are placed in a parallel chain manner that can be used in transporting pallets. One variant is the vertical chain conveyor that is used for transferring loads continuously in a vertical direction at high speeds. 2.2.4 Slat Conveyor System A slat conveyor system uses slats placed at discrete positions, and these slats are connected to a chain. Through drives that control orientation and positioning of the load, the transported unit is able to retain its position while being conveyed. The system is used in applications transporting heavy loads that might otherwise damage the belt as in bottling and canning plants. 2.2.5 Vibrating Conveyor System In vibrating conveyor systems, the main component is an elongated load-carrying structure called a trough, bed or tube, based on the application it is used for. A vibrating mechanism produces small amplitude vibrations at a high frequency. This conveys the individual product units and bulk materials. Due to its unique operational manner, it can be used to transport almost all kinds of granular as well as free-flowing materials. 2.2.6 Pneumatic Conveyor System A pneumatic conveyor system uses pipes or ducts known as transportation lines. These ducts carry material mixture along with an air stream. The load gets transported to various locations through pipe lines propelled by the high velocity air streams. 2.3 Components and Breakdowns The belt conveyor system (BCS) consists of (fig. 3): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ drive unit (electric motor, coupling multistage gearbox), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ pulleys (drive pulley and other), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ belts (textile or with steel cords) with their joints, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ idlers, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ other (belt cleaning systems, control system, etc.) Fig 2.3.1 Belt conveyor transmission system components In this section we will consider the type of faults that may appear in belt conveyor systems with reference to conveyor component s. The drive unit consist of electric motor, damping coupling, two or three stage gear-box and coupling that connect output shaft with pulley (fig. 8). A crucial object in this subsystem is gearbox. According to Matuszewski [5] in a considered lignite open cast mine even 14% of gearboxes may be replaced each year due to unexpected failures. These failures are related to the geared wheel wear or damages (broken tooth) and bearings (mainly over limit backlash due to environmental impact, also typical failures like outer/inner race, rolling element). The mining pulley consist of two bearings, shaft, shell and coating (special material in order to improve belt-pulley contact). The most frequent failures for pulleys are: bearings and shells. For gearboxes number of failures related to geared wheels is 50%. Other critical failure is the damage of input shafts (probably because of overloading) . It may be surprising that bearing faults are not so frequent in gearboxes. The failure analysis of idlers and belts are a bit different issue [7, 8, 11]. Idlers are used for supporting belts with transported materials. In some sense, idlers are similar to pulleys and consist of bearings and shells. One may expect similar types of failures. The support system for belt consists of three idlers. Because of different load for each idler usually side idlers are more subjected to damage. It needs to be added that in CM context of idlers change of condition is not the only one. Worn bearings in idlers will significantly increase external load for drive units so power consumption will increase. Damaged idlers and pulleys may be the reason of damage for belts. Depends on application, belts used in conveyor systems may be divided into two groups: textile belts and steel cords belts. In underground mines usually the textile belts are used. In lignite mines both types may be applied. Expected problems for belts are related to belt (tear, puncture, cut of belt and abrasion of bottom/top covers) and its joints (connected using glue, vulcanized or mechanical joint) [10, 11]. Because of dimension and weight of a belt it needs to be transported in rolls, pieces up to 100-400 m long, depends on a belt type. In order to replace damaged a gearbox or pulley heavy machinery is required. In some cases due to environmental impact (for example rain) it takes a few times longer time. If one consider the impact of damaged idlers it is another story. The idlers are quite small in comparison to pulleys; however, number of idlers is huge. Damaged idlers may cause failure of belt (the cut of a belt) or even may start fire (belt slipping on damaged idler may increase temperature up to 400 °C, 450 °C is the limit for so called difficult-to-burn belt) and as it was mentioned energy consumption is arising dramatically. Any of mentioned failure generates cost of breakdown of machines working in series. It as to be mentioned that a conveyor system, that with random material to be transferred the smoothness and stability of the conveyor belt transmisssion system should be guaranteed to extend all the components lifetime. 2.4 Significance of Research The belt conveyor is one of key components for most of manufacturing systems. Intelligent control of the conveyor leads to the feasibility of a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). For most of the assembly lines in manufacturing systems, different processing works applied to products mainly come from workers who is sitting along the conveyor. The products are conveyed by the belt conveyor from one working area to the next. If the average number of products entering one working area is greater than the average number leaving that area, the manufacturing process stagnates. It means that conveying speed is too fast so that more products are conveyed to workers in that working area than the quantity they can handle. Therefore, the conveying speed of belt conveyor needs to be adaptively changed based on the stagnation condition at each working area. On the other hand, if the defective rate of products monitored at outlet of conveyor is too large even though no stagnation has occurred at e ach working area, the conveyor still needs to be adaptively slowed down so that workers have more time to give their processing works with more cares In the long run, maximum number of manufactured products conveyed to the outlet of conveyor is hoped to be achieved if the speed of belt conveyor can be intelligently controlled Since the conveyor is driven by a servo motor, adaptive control algorithm can be designed to control the motor speed based on stagnation conditions at working areas or the defective rate monitored at the conveyor outlet. In addition, belt conveyor is one of main electromechanical systems in heavy industry, especially in the coal transport system, its safe operation plays an important role in the whole coal output systems.Safety is an important aspect in our life, and coal mine still is a high-risk industry in the world. As one of main components in the coal transport system, the safe operation of belt conveyor plays an important role in the whole coal output systems. As the belt conveyors get longer, quicker and bulkier, it is often occurred that the belt rupture, coal vibration, belt slip on the drive pulley, uncontrolled running of the belt conveyor, belt fire and other safety accidents, which bring huge economical losses and threat miner life. In order to insure the miner safety and the normal production, it is significant to carry on safety investigation of the belt conveyor. Higher productivity and reliability are common goals for conveyor systems in mining operations. Key objectives include opt imized mass flows, reduced energy costs and a well-coordinated workflow between the conveying and transport processes.And the key to this problem is to make sure that the transmission system should be operating at a smooth and steady speed. In a word, the steady speed of the conveyor belt transmission system is vitally important.[wiki] 3.0 MOTORS FOR CONVEYOR 3.1 General Motors An electric motor is an electromechanical device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Electric motors are found in applications as diverse as industrial fans, blowers and pumps, machine tools, household appliances, power tools, and disk drives. Electric motors may be classified by the source of electric power, by their internal construction, by their application, or by the type of motion they give. 3.1 Conveyor Motor Types For a conveyor transmission system, the drive unit develops with time. And the motors still using in this era come to the 4 main types: brushed DC motor; brushed DC motor; . The working mechanism of the 4 kinds are discussed as well as their merits and drawbacks. 3.2.1 Brushed DC motors A brushed DC motor has a set of rotating windings wound on an armature mounted on a rotating shaft. The shaft also carries the commutatora long-lasting rotary electrical switch that periodically reverses the flow of current in the rotor windings as the shaft rotates. The magnets field produced by the armature interacts with a stationary magnetic field produced by either permanent magnets or another winding a field coil, as part of the motor frame. The force between the two magnetic fields tends to rotate the motor shaft. Many of the limitations of the classic commutator DC motor are due to the need for brushes to press against the commutator. This creates friction. Sparks are created by the brushes making and breaking circuits through the rotor coils as the brushes cross the insulating gaps between commutator sections. Depending on the commutator design, this may include the brushes shorting together adjacent sections and hence coil ends momentarily while crossing the gaps. Furthermore, the inductance of the rotor coils causes the voltage across each to rise when its circuit is opened, increasing the sparking of the brushes. This sparking limits the maximum speed of the machine, as too-rapid sparking will overheat, erode, or even melt the commutator. The current density per unit area of the brushes, in combination with their resistivity, limits the output of the motor. The making and breaking of electric contact also generates electrical noise; sparking generates RFI. Brushes eventually wear out an d require replacement, and the commutator itself is subject to wear and maintenance (on larger motors) or replacement (on small motors). The commutator assembly on a large motor is a costly element, requiring precision assembly of many parts. On small motors, the commutator is usually permanently integrated into the rotor, so replacing it usually requires replacing the whole rotor. Therefore, DC motor brush design entails a trade-off between output power, speed, and efficiency/wear. 3.2.2 brushed DC motor In this motor, the mechanical rotating switch or commutator/brush gear assembly is replaced by an external electronic switch synchronized to the rotors position. Brushless motors are typically 85-90% efficient or more whereas DC motors with brush are typically 75-80% efficient. Brushless DC motors are commonly used where precise speed control is necessary. They have several advantages over conventional motors:they are very efficient, running much cooler than the other equivalent motors; without a commutator to wear out, the life of a DC brushless motor can be significantly longer compared to a DC motor using brushes and a commutator; brushless motors have no chance of sparking, unlike brushed motors, making them better suited to environments with volatile chemicals and fuels. Also, sparking generates ozone which can accumulate in poorly ventilated buildings risking harm to occupants health. Modern DC brushless motors range in power from a fraction of a watt to many kilowatts. Larger brushless motors up to about 100 kW rating are used in electric vehicles. There are numerous applications using a Brush DC Motor that could instead utilize the Brushless DC Motor. However a few factors might prevent the changeover. The first factor is start-up cost. Although the Brushless DC Motor is lower-maintenance than the Brush DC Motor, initial cost is more expensive, due to its advantageous construction. Second is complexity. A controller is required in order to operate a Brushless DC Motor, and is usually more convoluted than most controllers. A Brushless DC Motor also requires additional system wiring, in order to power the electronic commutation circuitry. 3.2.3 asynchronous AC motor An asynchronous AC motor is an induction motor where power is transferred to the rotor by electromagnetic induction, much like transformer action. . Polyphase induction motors are widely used in industry.The simple design of AC motor is simply a series of three windings in the exterior (stator) section with a simple rotating section (rotor). The changing field caused by the 50 or 60 Hertz AC line voltage causes the rotor to rotate around the axis of the ac motor. The AC motor has the advantage of being the lowest cost motor for applications which require more than about 1/2 hp (325 watts) of power. This is due to the simple design of ac motor. Meanwhile, the simple design of the AC motor results in extremely reliable, low maintenance operation. Unlike the DC motor, there are no brushes to replace for ac motors. If run in the appropriate environment for its enclosure, AC motor can expect to need new bearings after several years of operation. In fact if the application is well designed , an AC motor may not need new bearings for more than a decade. Although the most common and simple industrial motor is the three phase AC induction motor, there are still disadvantages of ac motor. Expensive speed control The electronics required to handle an AC inverter drive are considerably more expensive than those required to handle a DC motor. However, if performance requirements can be met meaning that the required speed range is over 1/3rd of base speed AC inverters and AC motors are usually more cost-effective than DC motors and DC drives for applications larger than about 10 horsepower, because of cost savings in the AC motor. Inability to operate at low speeds Standard AC motors should not be operated at speeds less than about 1/3rd of base speed. This is due to thermal considerations. In fact a DC motor should be considered for these applications. Poor positioning control Positioning control is also expensive and crude. Even a vector drive is very crude when controlling a standard AC motor. Servo motors are more appropriate for these applications. 3.2.4 Synchronous Electric Motor A synchronous electric motor is an AC motor distinguished by a rotor spinning with coils passing magnets at the same rate as the alternating current and resulting magnetic field which drives it. Another way of saying this is that it has zero slip under usual operating conditions. Contrast this with an induction motor, which must slip to produce torque. These motors can be made to operate at leading power factor and thereby improve the pf of an industrial plant from one that is normally lagging to one that is close to unity. And the key feature of a synchronous AC motor is it operates at a constant speed, irrespective of load, from no-load to full load. As well, electromagnetic power varies linearly with the applied voltage. These motors can be constructed with wider air gapes than induction motors making them mechanically better.Whats more, efficiency of operation is usually high, especially in the low speed and unity power factor ranges. However, the disadvantages are also quite obvious. These motors cannot be used for variable speed jobs as there is no possibility of speed adjustment. And it requires external source for supplying dc excitation, cannot be started under load, the starting torque being zero, may fall out of synchronism and stop when over-loaded and so on. In addition, for some applications these motors are not desirable as for driving shafts in small work-shops having no power available for starting and in cases where frequent starting or strong starting torque is required. 3.3 AC Motor for Conveyor Through the comparisons above, transmission system with AC motors are simple to make and can be reliable.And for the low cost, AC motors are overwhelmingly preferred for fixed speed applications in our industrial applications and for commercial and domestic applications where AC line power can be easily attached. In fact over 90% of all motors are AC induction motors. AC induction motors are found in air conditioners, washers, dryers, industrial machinery, fans, blowers, vacuum cleaners, and many, many other applications. Using an AC drive for conveyor control allows the speed to be adjusted to changing needs. A partly loaded conveyor with a higher speed than necessary wastes energy and causes unnecessary wear. In controlling conveyors, AC drives also improve process control by enabling the collection of measurement and supervision information. The soft start of the conveyor with AC drives reduces the stress on gearboxes when the conveyor is started. This paper mainly deals with the AC asynchronous motors, because for industry like coal mine, the asynchronous ones are the mainstream with many successful applications.In the design of the induction motor, operational characteristics can be determined through a series of calculations. Performing these calculations can help the engineer provide a motor that is best suited to a particular application. 3.3.1 SYNCHRONOUS SPEED The speed with which the stator magnetic field rotates, which will determine the speed of the rotor, is called the Synchronous Speed (SS). The SS is a function of the frequency of the power source and the number of poles (pole pairs) in the motor. The relationship to calculate the SS of an induction motor is: Where: SS = Synchronous Speed (RPM) f = frequency (cycles / second) = 60 P = number of poles (pole pairs) 3.3.2 MOTOR SLIP The rotor in an induction motor can not turn at the synchronous speed. In order to induce an EMF in the rotor, the rotor must move slower than the SS. If the rotor were to somehow turn at SS, the EMF could not be induced in the rotor and therefore the rotor would stop. However, if the rotor stopped or even if it slowed significantly, an EMF would once again be induced in the rotor bars and it would begin rotating at a speed less than the SS. The relationship between the rotor speed and the SS is called the Slip. Typically, the Slip is expressed as a percentage of the SS. The equation for the motor Slip is: Where: %S = Percent Slip SS = Synchronous Speed (RPM) RS = Rotor Speed (RPM) 3.3.3 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT To analyze the operating and performance characteristics of an induction motor, an Equivalent Circuit can be drawn. We will consider a 3-phase, Y connected machine, the Equivalent Circuit for the stator is as shown below: Fig 3.3.1 Equivalent Circuit Where: V1 = Stator Terminal Voltage I1 = Stator Current R1 = Stator Effective Resistance X1 = Stator Leakage Reactance Z1 = Stator Impedance (R1 + jX1) IX = Exciting Current (this is comprised of the core loss component = Ig, and a magnetizing current = Ib) E2 = Counter EMF (generated by the air gap flux) 3.4 Speed Control of AC Asynchronous Motor With respect to the use of AC asynchronous motor, when used with a load that has a torque curve that increases with speed, the motor will operate at the speed where the torque developed by the motor is equal to the load torque. Reducing the load will cause the motor to speed up, and increasing the load will cause the motor to slow down until the load and motor torque are equal. Operated in this manner, the slip losses are dissipated in the secondary resistors and can be very significant. So the speed control of an AC asynchronous motor in the industry world is quite important. From Equ.1 we can get the speed torque characteristic of the machine as Fig. 3.3.2. The curve is rather steep and goes from zero torque at synchronous speed to the stall torque at a value of %S. Normally Slip may be such that stall torque is about three times that of the rated operating torque of the machine, and hence may be about 0.3 or less. This means that in the entire loading range of the machine, the speed change is quite small. The machine speed is quite stiff with respect to load changes. The entire speed variation is only in the range SS to (1à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢%S)SS, SS being dependent on supply frequency and number of poles. Fig 3.3.2 Relationship between torque and speed of induction motor The coming discussion shows that the several speed control methods for induction machine, when operating from mains is essentially a constant speed machine. Many industrial drives, typically for conveyor in a belt transmission system, have typically constant speed requirements and hence the induction machine is ideally suited for these. However,the induction machine, especially the squirrel cage type, is quite rugged and has a simple construction. Therefore it is good candidate for variable speed applications if it can be achieved. 3.4.1 Applied voltage control One may note that if the applied voltage is reduced, the voltage across the magnetizing branch also comes down. This in turn means that the magnetizing current and hence flux level are reduced. Reduction in the flux level in the machine impairs torque production. If, however, the machine is running under lightly loaded conditions, then operating under rated flux levels is not required. Under such conditions, reduction in magnetizing current improves the power factor of operation. Some amount of energy saving may also be achieved.Voltage control may be achieved by adding series resistors (a lossy, inefficient proposition),or a series inductor/autotransformer (a bulky solution) ora more modern solution using semiconductor devices. A typical solid state circuit used for this purpose is the AC voltage controller or AC chopper. Another use of voltage control is in the so-called soft-start of the machine. 3.4.2 Rotor resistance control Clearly, the rotator speed is dependent on the rotor resistance. Further, the maximum value is independent of the rotor resistance. The slip at maximum torque is dependent on the rotor resistance. Therefore, we may expect that if the rotor resistance is changed, the maximum torque point shifts to higher slip values, while retaining a constant torque. Note that while the maximum torque and synchronous speed remain constant, the slip at which maximum torque occurs increases with increase in rotor resistance, and so does the starting torque. whether the load is of constant torque type or fan-type, it is evident that the speed control range is more with this method. Further, rotor resistance control could also be used as a means of generating high starting torque.For all its advantages, the scheme has two serious drawbacks. Firstly, in order to vary the rotor resistance, it is necessary to connect external variable resistors (winding resistance itself cannot be changed). This, therefore necessitates a slip-ring machine, since only in that case rotor terminals are available outside. For cage rotor machines, there are no rotor terminals. Secondly, the method is not very efficient since the additional resistance and operation at high slips entails dissipation.The resistors connected to the slip-ring brushes should have good power dissip ation capability. 3.4.3 Cascade control The power drawn from the rotor terminals could be spent more usefully. Apart from using the heat generated in meaning full ways, the slip ring output could be connected to another induction machine. The stator of the second machine would carry slip frequency currents of the first machine which would generate some useful mechanical power. A still better option would be to mechanically couple the shafts of the two machines together. This sort of a connection is called cascade connection and it gives some measure of speed control as shown below. Let the frequency of supply given to the first machine be f1, its number poles b

Android: Advanced Technology, Superior Quality Essay -- Technology

The Android operating system is well known among the masses, mostly known for its high tech phones that are released regularly. The mascot, a green alien for Android has also attracted a lot of attention. Android was founded by Andy Rubin and his partners Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White in 2003. In 2005, Google sought out the opportunity and bought Android. It was then developed by Google and Open Hands Alliance. As time progressed many improvements and updates were made since the initial release of the system. The operating system gets â€Å"sweeter† by the upgrade, literally; each operating system is named after a sweet treat. Some Examples are Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, and most recently, Honeycomb. Each operating system released alphabetically, each system greater than the last. Android is currently the most successful operating system, surpassing both Apple and Windows in sales (â€Å"History of Android†). Android appeals to customer s through the consumers’ need for innovative technology; this has created visual aesthetic advertising techniques and brand rivalries, which in turn leads to Androids growing brand. Jib Fowles analyzes advertisers’ methods to appeal to consumers. In his article, â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals,† Fowles addresses fifteen methods advertisers use in order to persuade consumers to purchase their products. Like most brands, Android uses these techniques among others to appeal to the masses. One technique in particular is the use of aesthetic sensations to appeal to consumers. Fowles states that â€Å"Advertisers know there is little chance of good communication occurring if an ad is not visually pleasing. Sometimes the aesthetic element is expanded and made into an advertiseme... ...ual for English 103 (2011): 73-91. Print. 15 March 2012. Lyons, Daniel. â€Å"Android Invasion.† Newsweek 156.15. 11 October 2010: 42-49. Web. 23 March 2012. Pogue, David. â€Å"Android Phones Take A Power Trip† The New York Times. 9 February 2012: 1-3 Web. 23 March 2012. Romaniuk, Jenny. â€Å"The Efficacy of Brand-Execution Tactics in TV Advertising, Brand Placements, and internet Advertising.† Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science (2009). Web. 23 March 2012. Rubinson, Joel. Just Asking Why You Should Make People Curious about Your Brand? The Advertising Research Foundation (2009). Web. 23 March 2012. Sprint Android 4G Cat Commercial. 1 June 2011. Youtube. Web. 23 March 2012. The History of Android Operating System. Android 3.0 Tablet vs IPad. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid (iDon’t Commercial) 17 Oct 2009. Youtube. Web. 23 March 2012.

Behaviour Assessment in HRM Why Is Behaviour Assessment A Perennially Troubled Aspect of Human Resource Management?

A better understanding of the topic can be achieved by incorporating into the analysis the idea that â€Å"behaviour assessment† is also similar to â€Å"performance appraisal† and this means that both concepts deal with the assessment of employee performance in terms of what is expected of them and also on its effect on the overall competitive advantage of the firm in relation to its position in the industry.On the issue that behaviour assessment as a standard company policy is giving problems for both the organization in general and Human Resource Management (HRM) in particular can be explained based on the following propositions:1. Behavior assessment and other performance appraisal tools/systems are not clearly understood both for its true meaning, goals, and purpose. 2. Behaviour assessment and other performance appraisal tools/systems do not deliver on its promises to improve overall efficiency and profitability both for the organization and the individual employe e. 3. Behaviour assessment and other performance appraisal tools/systems need to be accurate all the time – there is great pressure on management – very little margin of error for a system generated by subjective human observations/judgements.4. Behaviour assessment and other performance appraisal tools/systems are sometimes regarded as the silver bullet that will solve all problems related to human resources. 5. And finally, these assessment tools are troubling the organization simply because it emanates from a department (HRM) that has weak foundations. It is an understatement to say that behaviour assessment tools are very difficult to understand and are all too complex to be used effectively.This stems from the fact that even HR specialists do not agree on what constitutes a correct performance appraisal system. Confusion abounds in the HRM world on how to standardize systems. Each company has their own version on how to observe and verify employee performance. Wor se, each company devises their methodology based on their needs and uses appraisal systems for varying reasons. The use of HRM behaviour assessments has its advocates and its critics.This polarization adds to the problem as members of the organization would be in a tug-of-war on how to proceed if ever they will decide to use such tools. Advocates of Behaviour Assessment Systems Amy Delpo in The Performance Appraisal Handbook harps on the benefits behaviour assessment tools and she said, â€Å"If you’ve been told to conduct performance evaluations it’s because the people who run your company realize that a performance evaluation system can deliver important benefits and improve the success of each employee, each department, and ultimately, your entire company (2005).She then lists the expected outcomes as follows: †¢ motivate employees to perform better and produce more †¢ help employee identify the ways in which they can develop and grow †¢ increase emp loyee morale †¢ improve respect employees have for their managers and senior management †¢ foster good communication between your staff and you †¢ identify poor performers and help them get on track and †¢ lay the groundwork to fire poor performers lawfully and fairly when they don’t improve.One of the reasons for the implementation of performance appraisal system is the need for building a strong organizational culture and many managers feel that the said appraisal system will guarantee correct data on what and where adjustments must be made to help the company move closer into that place where every employee is aware and always striving to maintain that organizational culture. On this great need, Mathis and Jackson explains the motivation to put in place such a system and he said:Every organization has a culture, and that culture influences how executives, managers, and employees act in making organizational decisions [†¦] the financial scandals in many firms in recent year illustrate the consequences of an â€Å"anything goes† organizational culture. (1989) What ignited the revolution for the use of behavioural assessment tools according Armstrong came from the landmark works of McClelland in 1973 and Boyatzis in 1982.McClelland suggested that â€Å"Criterion referencing or validation is the process of anlysing the key aspects of behaviour that differentiates between effective and less effective performance† (cited in Armstrong, 2003). This was later developed by Boyatzis when he said that competency is, â€Å"A capacity that exists in person that leads to behaviour that meets the job demands within the parameters of the organizational environment and that , in turn, brings about desired results† (as cited in Armstrong, 2003 ). No self-respecting manager can resist the promise of behaviour assessment systems.Advocates of performance appraisal tools based their justification on a theory of change – Force Field Analysis – that was put forward by Kurt Lewin. Lewin’s idea as summarized by Sinclair-Hunt and Simms, is described below: The idea is that a situation stays the same only when the forces for change are equivalent to the forces resisting it. The organization is then in equilibrium. Change happens when the forces for change outweigh the forces for restraint. Conversely, where the forces for restraint outweigh the forces for change, things remain the same.If handled carefully, the driving forces can overcome resistance. (2005) Those who believe in this approach could not be blamed. A case study of British airways â€Å"forceful changes† made on the organization resulted in averting bankruptcy and amazing growth. Sinclair-Hunt and Simms reveal a portion of the revolution that occurred in the said UK company, â€Å"Between 1982 and 1987 British Airways went from a publicly owned company with bureaucratic command culture and huge losses and decreasing mar ket share to a privately owned company with a market and service driven culture and profits of over $400 million.† (2005) The authors (Sinclair-Hunt & Simms) then listed the cause of the change was attributed to the following: †¢ Massive reduction in the workforce from 59,000 to 37,000 people †¢ Training programmes to develop appreciation of the business as a service industry †¢ Profit sharing, a bottom-up budgeting system, a user friendly computer system and the CEO engaging in question and answer sessions – all served to emphasise the new participative management style Many organizations are banking on the above-mentioned statements about change.They are mobilizing their HR departments to apply enough pressure for positive change to occur. Critics of Behaviour Assessment Systems Critics on the use of ill-conceived behaviour assessments asserts that theses procedures contain generally held assumptions and fallacies that if there is an input then there wi ll be an output and if enough pressure is done then change will occur. This idea was debunked by Sinclair-Hunt and Simms using the work of Kanter and associates and they said:Kanter et al. (1992) suggest that Lewin’s model of change is too simplistic. They argue that Lewin’s model is based on the view that organizations are essentially stable and static. They disagree with the idea that change results only from concentrated effort and that it happens in one direction at a time. Kanter et al. (1992) argue that change is multi-directional and ubiquitous – in other words, it happens in all directions at once and at a more or less continuous process.This complexity can help to explain why Lewin’s model may not seem to have much relationship with real lie, where change seems a more confused process. (2005) Herein lays the problem with those relying so much on assessment to encourage change when they fail to include in their system the idea that every aspect of the organization must be considered and all the forces at work in the enterprise as well.On the aversion for the idea that aggressive action will bear immediate positive results, Campbell (1989) said, â€Å"We need reminding that trainees do not just fall out of some great trainee bin in the sky; they probably have rather long and varied organizational histories, which have created certain attitudes, values and behaviors relative to specific training experiences† (as cited in Baldwin & Magjuka, 1997). Baldwin and Magjuka supports the idea of deliberate planning and implementation of organization change and not a one shot fix all scheme as is evident in most HR list of suggested solutions and they said:An assumption common to most training guidebooks is that the learning context can be managed or designed in a way that will affect trainee cognitions and, ultimately, training effectiveness. However this assumption tends to oversimplify the complexity of managing contextual fac tors in organization. We contend that the complexity stems in large part from the difficulty of predicting how employees will attach meaning to management acts, and the reality that, for organization employees, training is not an isolated event or singular activity, but an episode that occurs among many other organizational episodes experienced by those employees.(1997) Problems Encountered in the Real World Clampitt in his book Communication for Managerial Effectiveness shows that behaviour assessment is very difficult to execute properly in the real world. This is because the frailty of human being in terms of their personal agenda and other self-serving interest hinders them from giving an objective assessment. Using the words of Sissela Bok, Clampitt showed what the ideal scenario should be and how far is reality from it:At its best, discretion is the intuitive ability to discern what is and is not intrusive and injurious, and to use this discernment in responding to the conflic ts everyone experiences as insider and outsider. It is an acquired capacity to navigate in and between the worlds of personal and shard experiences, coping with the moral questions about what is fair or unfair, truthful or deceptive, helpful or harmful, Inconceivable without an awareness of the boundaries surrounding people, discretion requires a sense for when to hold back I order not to bruise, and for when to reach out.(as cited in Clampitt, 2005) For his final analysis (Clampitt) on his reservation for performance appraisal systems and the like is partly seen in the following statements: Much ink has been spilled over the issue of performance appraisals, Business journals, periodicals, and books are filled with discussion on how to more effectively conduct the performance review. And with good reasons; there is probably no greater area of employee dissatisfaction. In fact, although most organization maintains a formal performance process, few achieve their objective [†¦] Ot her complaints abound.Unfair rating scales, lack of objectivity, and lack of specific examples to back up the evaluation†¦(2005) Using Baldwin and Magjuka’s insights on the slow learning process experienced by an employee. It is now clear why employees would view such behavioural assessment systems as unfair. Management can be designing an assessment procedure that will look for behavioural changes that are not present. Not because the employee is lazy or has no resolve to change but as pointed out by Baldwin and Magjuka, it is not there yet because the natural process of learning has not yet taken its course.Clampitt adds the following reasons for the infectivity of this HR system 1) managers resist the appraisal process because it is used to accomplish multiple goals that are sometimes incompatible; 2) many mangers feel compelled to inflate ratings in favor of their department; and 3) many managers resist the appraisal process because they feel that they are â€Å"pla ying God† (2005). Goals of Behaviour Assessment The following is the discussion of the generally accepted goals of behaviour assessment and will be used as a basis for understanding the failure of said assessment tools in achieving the following objectives.The first common reason for incorporating such practice of evaluating employees stems from the great need to ascertain how competent a worker/employee is in his/her given position. Background information can be gleaned from the works of Woodruffe (1990), â€Å"Competency is a person-based concept which refers to the dimensions of behavior lying behind competent performance. † Woodruffe (1990) added that competence is â€Å"A work-related concept which refers to areas of work at which the person is competent† (as cited in Armstrong, 2003).The Need for Accuracy This paper propose that one of the reasons that behaviour assessment is a very much troubled aspect of HRM practice is due to the fact that there is no ro om for error on its findings and recommendations. Consider the following documented events on UK’s experience with a failed assessment for correct pay costs as described in Armstrong and Brown’s book Paying for Contibution: Chancellor Gordon Brown (regarding the most publicized UK pay developments in a single month –May 1998- ), saw the UK private sector earnings growth of 5.6 percent as giving serious cause of concern, threatening the competitiveness of the UK economy and the maintenance of price stability; in June the Bank of England cited wage increases outstripping productivity growth as the prime justification for an increase in interest rates [†¦] that rising wages could, destroy the enormous prize of economic growth and stability. (1999) Amy Delpo on the need for accurate and fair appraisal issued the following warning, â€Å"As you may have been told, conducting a shoddy performance appraisal can get your company – and you – into lega l trouble.There is no point in sugarcoating it for you: Writing the wrong things on a performance appraisal or doing the appraisal unfairly or improperly can have devastating consequences if you are sued by an employee† (2005) Promises Are Made to be Broken There is an expectation amongst employees that if they did a fairly good job then management will notice. This is reinforced by the fact that a regular performance evaluation is being conducted by the people from HRM.This leads to the expectation that salary will be adjusted based on competency and the worker’s striving not only to achieve a higher level of performance but also on a higher degree of conforming to what is believed to be as admirable behaviour befitting a model employee. It will be such a disappointment for said employee to discover, or when he realizes after a few years of no wage increase, that the job performance evaluation was worth nothing. Armstrong and Brown explain why promises of performance r elated pay is most often a figment of imagination, and the authors said:The motor industry presents a good example of the competitive pressure which have forced similar changes in pay and working practices across many sectors. The threat in a ruthlessly competitive European market from Far East manufacturers, and the opportunities for an increasingly concentrated set of globally organized companies to shift production to lower cost locations (VW in Eastern Europe), or closer to new markets (Mercedes and BMW in the United States), means that the European firms simply cannot afford to have uncompetitive wage costs which are out of line with the productivity and performance of alternative location. (1999)If this is the case then HR specialist must stop deluding employees that the job performance will affect their pay grade. The truth is HRM needs the evaluation to enforce change and to make personnel related decisions but could not deliver on its promise to the employees for economic r easons; this has disheartened not a few employees. The Problem with HRM After all these things are said and done, the most unbelievable reason perhaps as to why behaviour assessment is such a troubling aspect of management in general and HRM in particular lies in the fact that the department tasked to design such evaluation systems is in trouble itself.Consider the following insights from David E. Guest, UK’s own expert on the study of human resource management, and he said: There has been a rash of studies demonstrating a positive association between human resource management (HRM) and performance, providing encouragement to those who have always advocated the case for a distinctive approach to the management of human resources. While these studies represent encouraging signs of progress, statistical sophistication appears to have been emphasized at the expense of theoretical rigour. (1999) In Australia the problem of HRM is a concern.Graham Andrewartha likes to believe that : [†¦] human resource management is a management specialty that has not yet achieved professional status. Further, because of its monopoly over the people management area, it has diverted other managers from taking responsibility for people issues and unintentionally contributed to the continuing decline in people skills in Australian organization [†¦] HRM has always been reshaping itself, continuously changing and innovating, et not really changing at all. It requires foundation – not innovation – to be effective. (1998) ConclusionThe reason why behaviour assessment has met a lot of controversy in organizations around the world and most especially in Australia is due to confusion on what a correct and beneficial employee-performance-evaluation-system should look like. This is exacerbated by the lack of positive results on the basis of the use of such system for corporate and personnel gain. The answer to the query can be found in all these and more important ly on HRM need to change first before it can expect change from the corporation it wishes to serve. References Andrewartha, Graham. (1998). The Future Role of Human Resource Management. In G. L. O’Neil & R.Kramar (Eds. ) Australian Human Resource Management: Current Trends in Management Practice. Australia: Woodslane Pty Limited. Armstrong, Michael. (2003). Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Ltd. Armstrong, M. & Brown, D. (1999). Paying for Contribution. London: Kogan Page Ltd. Baldwin, T. T. & Magjuka, R. (1997). Organizational Context and Training Effectiveness. In J. K. Ford et al. (Eds. ). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Berger, L. A. & Berger, D. R. (2000). The Compensation Handbook: A State-of-the-Art guide to Compensation Strategy and Design. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Clampitt, Phillip.(2005). Communication for Managerial Effectiveness 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd. DelPo, Amy. (2005). The Performance Appraisal Hand book: Legal and Practical Rules for Managers. 1st ed. CA: Consolidated Printers, Inc. Guest, D. E. () Human Resource Management and Performance: A Review and Research Agenda. In R. S. Schuler & S. E. Jackson (Eds. ) Strategic Human Resource Management. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Mathis, R. L. & Jackson, J. H. (1989). Human Resource Management. 11th ed. NE: South-Western. Sinclair-Hunt, M. & Simms, H. (2005). Organizational Behaviour and Change Management. UK: Select Knowledge Limited.

Importance of Agriculture in Economy Essay

The direct contribution of the agriculture sector to national economy is reflected by its share in total GDP, its foreign exchange earnings, and its role in supplying savings and labor to other sectors. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fishing accounted for 18.5 percent of total Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2005-06 (at 1999-2000 constant prices) and employed about 58 percent of the country’s workforce (CSO, 2007). It accounted for 10.95 percent of India’s exports in 2005-06 (GoI, 2007) and about 46 percent of India’s geographical area is used for agricultural activity. There has been a structural transformation in the Indian economy during the past few decades. The composition of Gross Domestic Product at 1993-94 constant prices reveals that the share of agriculture including forestry and fishing has declined as growth in industrial and services sectors far outpaced agricultural sector (Figure 1). The share of mining, manufacturing, electricity and construction sector has increased from 21.6 percent in 1970-71 to 27 percent in 2004-05 and services sector has increased significantly from 32 percent to 52.4 percent during the same period. Despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, agriculture is still an important sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of the country. Therefore, fostering rapid, sustained and broad-based growth in agriculture remains key priority for the government. Consistent with the trends of economic development at national level, role of agricultural sector in the state economies is also changing rapidly. The share of agriculture in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has declined significantly during the last two decades. In some States, such as Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Orissa, the sector today contributes more than one-quarter of GSDP, while in some states, such as Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, the sector contributes less than 20 percent to GSDP (Figure 2). However, contribution of agriculture to GSDP has declined in almost all States between 1993-94 and 2004-05. The decline was the highest in Karnataka (16%), followed by Haryana (14.2%), and Kerala (13.7%). In Karnataka, decline was mainly due to significant increase in the share of service sector (from 37.9% in 1993-94 to 54.7% in 2004-05) mainly driven by informational technology (IT) industry. Similar is the case with Haryana the decline is due to faster development of services sector in cities around the national capital, Delhi. Despite declining share of agriculture in the economy, majority of workforce continue to depend on agricultural sector for employment and in rural areas dependence on agriculture is more as nearly 75 percent of rural population is employed in agricultural sector. However, there is disguised employment in the sector due to limited opportunities for rural non-farm employment. This disguised employment leads to lower labor and resources productivity in the sector relative to other sectors of the economy. The low labor productivity leads to higher rates of poverty in rural areas (Figure 3). Agriculture in India is constitutionally the responsibility of the states rather than the central government. The central government’s role is in formulating policy and providing financial resources for agriculture to the states. Agriculture finance Meaning: Agricultural finance generally means studying, examining and analyzing the financial aspects pertaining to farm business, which is the core sector of India. The financial aspects include money matters relating to production of agricultural products and their disposal. Definition of Agricultural finance: Murray (1953) defined agricultural. finance as â€Å"an economic study of borrowing funds by farmers, the organization and operation of farm lending agencies and of society’s interest in credit for agriculture .† Tandon and Dhondyal (1962) defined agricultural. finance â€Å"as a branch of agricultural economics, which deals with and financial resources related to individual farm units.† What is Agriculture Finance â€Å"Agricultural finance is the study of financing and liquidity services credit provides to farm borrowers. It is also considered as the study of those financial intermediaries who provide loan funds to agriculture and the financial markets in which these intermediaries obtain their loanable funds.† John B. Penson, Jr. and David A. Lins (1980) Why Agriculture Finance India is mainly an agricultural country. Agriculture accounts for approximately 33 percent of India’s GDP and employs nearly 62 percent of the population. It accounts for 8.56 % of India’s exports. About 43 % of India’s geographical area is used for agricultural activity. Agricultural production in this country depends upon millions of small farmers. It is intensity of their effort and the efficiency of their technique that will help in raising yields per acre. Finance in agriculture is as important as development of technologies. Technical inputs can be purchased and used by farmer only if he has money (funds). But his own money is always inadequate and he needs outside finance or credit. Because of inadequate financial resources and absence of timely credit facilities at reasonable rates, many of the farmers, even though otherwise willing, are unable to go in for improved seeds and manures or to introduce better methods or techniques. The farming community must be kept informed about the various sources of agriculture finance. Agricultural finance possesses its usefulness to the farmers, lenders and extension workers. The knowledge of lending institutions, their legal and regulatory environment helps in selecting the appropriate lender who can adequately provide the credit with terms and related services needed to finance the farm business. Nature and Scope: Agricultural finance can be dealt at both micro level and macro level. Macrofinance deals with different sources of raising funds for agriculture as a whole in the economy. It is also concerned with the lending procedure, rules, regulations, monitoring and controlling of different agricultural credit institutions. Hence macro-finance is related to financing of agriculture at aggregate level. Micro-finance refers to financial management of the individual farm business units. And it is concerned with the study as to how the individual farmer considers various sources of credit, quantum of credit to be borrowed from each source and how he allocates the same among the alternative uses with in the farm. It is also concerned with the future use of funds. Therefore, macro-finance deals with the aspects relating to total credit needs of the agricultural sector, the terms and conditions under which the credit is available and the method of use of total credit for the development of agriculture, while micro-finance refers to the financial management of individual farm business. Significance of Agricultural Finance: 1) Agril finance assumes vital and significant importance in the agro – socio – economic development of the country both at macro and micro level. 2) It is playing a catalytic role in strengthening the farm business and augmenting the productivity of scarce resources. When newly developed potential seeds are combined with purchased inputs like fertilizers & plant protection chemicals in appropriate / requisite proportions will result in higher productivity. 3) Use of new technological inputs purchased through farm finance helps to increase the agricultural productivity. 4) Accretion to in farm assets and farm supporting infrastructure provided by large scale financial investment activities results in increased farm income levels leading to increased standard of living of rural masses. 5) Farm finance can also reduce the regional economic imbalances and is equally good at reducing the inter–farm asset and wealth variations. 6) Farm finance is like a lever with both forward and backward linkages to the economic development at micro and macro level. 7) As Indian agriculture is still traditional and subsistence in nature, agricultural finance is needed to create the supporting infrastructure for adoption of new technology.   8) Massive investment is needed to carry out major and minor irrigation projects, rural electrification, installation of fertilizer and pesticide plants, execution of agricultural promotional programmes and poverty alleviation programmes in the country .LECTURE -2 Credit needs in A Credit needs in Agriculture – meaning and definition of credit-classification of credit based on time, purpose, security, lender and borrower. _____________________________________________________________________ The word â€Å"credit† comes from the Latin word â€Å"Credo† which means â€Å"I believe†. Hence credit is based up on belief, confidence, trust and faith. Credit is other wise called as loan. Definition: Credit / loan is certain amount of money provided for certain purpose on certain conditions with some interest, which can be repaid sooner (or) later. According to Professor Galbraith credit is the â€Å"temporary transfer of asset from one who has to other who has not† Credit needs in Agriculture: Agricultural credit is one of the most crucial inputs in all agricultural development programmes. For a long time, the major source of agricultural credit was private moneylenders. But this source of credit was inadequate, highly expensive and exploitative. To curtail this, a multi-agency approach consisting of cooperatives, commercial banks ands regional rural banks credit has been adopted to provide cheaper, timely and adequate credit to farmers. The financial requirements of the Indian farmers are for, 1. Buying agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, feed and fodder for cattle etc. 2. Supporting their families in those years when the crops have not been good. 3. Buying additional land, to make improvements on the existing land, to clear old debt and purchase costly agricultural machinery. 4. Increasing the farm efficiency as against limiting resources i.e. hiring of irrigation water lifting devices, labor and machinery Credit can be classified on the basis of time, purpose, security, lender and borrower. (i)Time classification:- It classifies credit into three groups, i.e. short, medium and long term. (a) Short-Term (for periods up to 15 months): The â€Å"short-term loans† are generally advanced for meeting annual recurring purchases such as, seed, feed, fertilizers, hired labour expenses, pesticides, weedicides, hired machinery charges, etc., and termed as seasonal loans/crop loans/production loans. These are expected to be repaid after the harvest. It is expected that the loan plus interest would be repaid from the income received through the enterprise in which it was invested. The time limit to repay such loans is a year or at the most 18 months. (b) Medium-Term (from 15 months up to 5 years): â€Å"Medium-term loans† are advanced for comparatively longer lived assets such as machinery, diesel engine, wells, irrigation structure, threshers, shelters, crushers, draught and milch animals, dairy/poultry sheds, etc., where the returns accruing from increase in farm assets in spread over more than one production period. The usual repayment period for such type of loan is from fifteen months to five years. (c) Long-Term (above 5 Years): Loans repayable over a longer period (i.e. above 5 years) are classified as long-term loans. â€Å"Long-term loans† are related to the long lifed assets such as heavy machinery, land and its reclamation, errection of farm buildings, construction of permanent-drainage or irrigation system, etc. which require large sums of money for initial investment. The benefits generated through such assets are spread over the entire life of the asset. The normal repayment period for such loans range s from five to fifteen or even upto 20 years. (ii) Purpose classification:- Credit is also classified based on purpose of loans e.g. crop loan, poultry/dairy/piggery loan, irrigation loan, machinery and equipment loan, forestry loan, fishery loan etc. These loans signify the close relationship between time and use as well as rate of return (or profitability). Some times loans are also classified as production and consumption loans due to the fact that production loans are diverted for consumption purposes by the weaker sections. So, the banks have also started financing for consumption purposes (exclusively for home consumption expenditures) besides financing for the production purposes. The consumption loans are also to be repaid from the sale proceeds of the crop. (iii) Security classification:- Security offered/obtained provides another basis for classifying the loans. The secured loans are advanced as against the security of some tangible personal property such as land, livestock and other capital assets, i.e., medium and long term loans. The borrower’s credit worthiness may act much more than the security offered, which if doubtful may result willful default. Moreover, the secured loans are further classified on the basis of type of security e.g. mortgage loans, where legal mortgage of some property such as land is offered to the lender, i.e., loans for intangible property such as land improvement, irrigation infrastructures, etc. and hypothecated loans, where legal ownership of the asset financed remains with the lender though physical possession with the borrowers i.e. loans for tangible property such as tractor, machinery and equipments. The private money lenders, usually possess items such as gold ornaments / jewellery or land as security, which reminds the borrower about his obligations of loan repayments. On the contrary, unsecured loans are generally advanced without offering any security e.g. short-term crop loans. (iv) Lender classification:- Credit is also classified on the basis of lender such as (a) Institutional Credit e.g. co-operative loans, commercial bank loans and government loans; (b) Non-Institutional Credit e.g. professional and agricultural money lenders, traders and commission agents, relatives and friends etc. (v) Borrower classification:- The credit is also classified on the basis of type of borrowers (i.e., production or business activity as well as size of business) such as crop farmers, dairy farmers, poultry farmers, fisherman, rural artisans etc. or agricultural labourers, marginal/small/medium/large farmers, hill farmers or tribal farmers etc. Such classification has equity considerations. credit is broadly classified based on various criteria: 1. Based on time: This classification is based on the repayment period of the loan. It is sub-divided in to 3 types Short–term loans: These loans are to be repaid within a period of 6 to 18 months. All crop loans are said to be short–term loans, but the length of the repayment period varies according to the duration of crop. The farmers require this type of credit to meet the expenses of the ongoing agricultural operations on the farm like sowing, fertilizer application, plant protection measures, payment of wages to casual labourers etc. The borrower is supposed to repay the loan from the sale proceeds of the crops raised. Medium – term loans: Here the repayment period varies from 18 months to 5 years. These loans are required by the farmers for bringing about some improvements on his farm by way of purchasing implements, electric motors, milch cattle, sheep and goat, etc. The relatively longer period of repayment of these loans is due to their partially-liquidating nature. Long – term loans: These loans fall due for repayment over a long time ranging from 5 years to more than 20 years or even more. These loans together with medium terms loans are called investment loans or term loans. These loans are meant for permanent improvements like levelling and reclamation of land, construction of farm buildings, purchase of tractors, raising of orchards ,etc. Since these activities require large capital, a longer period is required to repay these loans due to their non – liquidating nature. 2. Based on Purpose: Based on purpose, credit is sub-divided in to 4 types.   Production loans: These loans refer to the credit given to the farmers for crop production and are intended to increase the production of crops. They are also called as seasonal agricultural operations (SAO) loans or short – term loans or crop loans. These loans are repayable with in a period ranging from 6 to 18 months in lumpsum .Investment loans: These are loans given for purchase of equipment the productivity of which is distributed over more than one year. Loans given for tractors, pumpsets, tube wells, etc. Marketing loans: These loans are meant to help the farmers in overcoming the distress sales and to market the produce in a better way. Regulated markets and commercial banks, based on the warehouse receipt are lending in the form of marketing loans by advancing 75 per cent of the value of the produce. These loans help the farmers to clear off their debts and dispose the produce at remunerative prices. Consumption loans: Any loan advanced for some purpose other than production is broadly categorized as consumption loan. These loans seem to be unproductive but indirectly assist in more productive use of the crop loans i.e. with out diverting then to other purposes. Consumption loans are not very widely advanced and restricted to the areas which are hit by natural calamities. These loams are extended based on group guarantee basis with a maximum of three members. The loan is to be repaid with in 5 crop seasons or 2.5 years whichever is less. The branch manager is vested with the discretionary power of sanctioning these loans up to Rs. 5000 in each individual case. The rate of interest is around 11 per cent. The scheme may be extended to 1) IRDP beneficiaries 2) Small and marginal farmers 3) Landless Agril. Laborers 4) Rural artisans 5) Other people with very small means of livelihood hood such as carpenters, barbers, washermen, etc. 3. Based on security: The loan transactions between lender and borrower are governed by confidence and this assumption is confined to private lending to some extent, but the institutional financial agencies do have their own procedural formalities on credit transactions. Therefore it is essential to classify the loans under this category into two sub-categories viz., secured and unsecured loans. Secured loans: Loans advanced against some security by the borrower are termed as secured loans. Various forms of securities are offered in obtaining the loans and they are of following types. I. Personal security: Under this, borrower himself stands as the guarantor. Loan is advanced on the farmer’s promissory note. Third party guarantee may or may not be insisted upon (i.e. based on the understanding between the lender and the borrower) II. Collateral Security: Here the property is pledged to secure a loan. The movable properties of the individuals like LIC bonds, fixed deposit bonds, warehouse receipts, machinery, livestock etc, are offered as security. III. Chattel loans: Here credit is obtained from pawn-brokers by pledging movable properties such as jewellery, utensils made of various metals, etc. IV. Mortgage: As against to collateral security, immovable properties are presented for security purpose For example, land, farm buildings, etc. The person who is creating the charge of mortgage is called mortgagor (borrower) and the person in whose favour it is created is known as the mortgagee (banker). Mortgages are of two types a) Simple mortgage: When the mortgaged property is ancestrally inherited property of borrower then simple mortgage holds good. Here, the farmer borrower has to register his property in the name of the banking institution as a security for the loan he obtains. The registration charges are to be borne by the borrower. b) Equitable mortgage: When the mortgaged property is self-acquired property of the borrower, then equitable mortgage is applicable. In this no such registration is required, because the ownership rights are clearly specified in the title deeds in the name of farmer-borrower. V. Hypothecated loans: Borrower has ownership right on his movable and the banker has legal right to take a possession of property to sale on default (or) a right to sue the owner to bring the property to sale and for realization of the amount due. The person who creates the charge of hypothecation is called as hypothecator (borrower) and the person in whose favor it is created is known as hypothecate (bank) and the property, which is denoted as hypothecated property. This happens in the case of tractor loans, machinery loans etc. Under such loans the borrower will not have any right to sell the equipment until the loan is cleared off. The borrower is allowed to use the purchased machinery or equipment so as to enable him pay the loan installment regularly. Hypothecated loans again are of two types viz., key loans and open loans. a) Key loans : The agricultural produce of the farmer – borrower will be kept under the control of lending institutions and the loan is advanced to the farmer . This helps the farmer from not resorting to distress sales. b) Open loans: Here only the physical possession of the purchased machinery rests with the borrower, but the legal ownership remains with the lending institution till the loan is repaid. Unsecured loans: Just based on the confidence between the borrower and lender, the loan transactions take place. No security is kept against the loan amount 4. Lender’s classification: Credit is also classified on the basis of lender such as Institutional credit: Here are loans are advanced by the institutional agencies like co-operatives, commercial banks. Ex: Co-operative loans and commercial bank loans. Non-institutional credit : Here the individual persons will lend the loans Ex: Loans given by professional and agricultural money lenders, traders, commission agents, relatives, friends, etc. 5. Borrower’s classification: The credit is also classified on the basis of type of borrower. This classification has equity considerations. Based on the business activity like farmers, dairy farmers, poultry farmers, pisiculture farmers, rural artisans etc. Based on size of the farm: agricultural labourers, marginal farmers, small farmers , medium farmers , large farmers , Based on location hill farmers (or) tribal farmers. 6. Based on liquidity: The credit can be classified into two types based on liquidity and they are Self-liquidating loans: They generate income immediately and are to be paid with in one year or after the completion of one crop season. Ex: crop loans. ï‚ · Partially -liquidating: They will take some time to generate income and can be repaid in 2-5 years or more, based on the economic activity for which the loan was taken. Ex: Dairy loans, tractor loans, orchard loans etc., 7. Based on approach: Individual approach: Loans advanced to individuals for different purposes will fall under this category Area based approach: Loans given to the persons falling under given area for specific purpose will be categorized under this. Ex: Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) loans, etc Differential Interest Rate (DIR) approach: Under this approach loans will be given to the weaker sections @ 4 per cent per annum. 8. Based on contact: Direct Loans: Loans extended to the farmers directly are called direct loans. Ex: Crop loans. Indirect loans: Loans given to the agro-based firms like fertilizer and pesticide industries, which are indirectly beneficial to the farmers aSource of Agricultural Credit are called iidirct loans. The sources of agricultural finance are broadly classified into two categories: (A) Noninstitutional Credit Agencies or informal sources, and (B) Institutional Credit Agencies or Formal Sources. A. Non-institutional Credit Agencies i) Traders and Commission Agents: Traders and commission agents advance loans to agriculturists for productive purposes against their crop without completing legal formalities. It often becomes obligatory for farmers to buy inputs and sell output through them. They charge a very heavy rate of interest on the loan and a commission on all the sales and purchases, making it exploitative in nature. ii) Landlords: Mostly small farmers and tenants depend on landlords for meeting their production and day to day financial requirements. iii) Money lenders: Despite rapid development in rural branches of different institutional credit agencies, village money lenders still dominate the scene. Money lenders are of two types- agriculturist money lenders who combine their money lending job with farming and professional money lenders whose sole job is money lending. A number of reasons have been attributed for the popularity of moneylenders such as: (a) they meet demand for productive as well as unproductive requirement; (b) they are easily approachable at odd hours; and (c) they require very low paper work and advances are given against promissory notes or land. Money lenders charge a very high rate of interest as they take advantage of the urgency of the situation. Over the years a need for regulation of money lending has been felt. But lack of institutional credit access to certain sections and areas had facilitated unhindered operation of money lending. B. Institutional Credit Agencies The evolution of institutional credit to agriculture could be broadly classified into four distinct phases – 1904-1969 (predominance of co-operatives and setting up of RBI), 1969-1975 [nationalisation of commercial banks and setting up of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)], 1975-1990 (setting up of NABARD) and from 1991 onwards (financial sector reforms). Institutional funding of the farm sector is mainly by commercial banks, regional rural banks and co-operative banks. Share of commercial banks in total institutional credit to agriculture is almost 48 percent followed by cooperative banks with a share of 46 per cent. Regional Rural Banks account for just about 6 per cent of total credit disbursement. i) Government: These are both short term as well as long-term loans. These loans are popularly known as â€Å"Taccavi loans† which are generally advanced in times of natural calamities. The rate of interest is low. But it is not a major source of agricultural finance. ii) Cooperative Credit Societies: The history of cooperative movement in India dates back to 1904 when first Cooperative Credit Societies Act was passed by the Government. The scope of the Act was restricted to establishment of primary credit societies and non-credit societies were left out of its purview. The shortcomings of the Act were rectified through passing another Act called Cooperative Societies Act 1912. The Act gave provision for registration of all types of Cooperative Societies. This made the emergence of rural cooperatives both in the credit and noncredit areas, though with uneven spatial growth. In subsequent years a number of Committees were appointed and recommendations implemented to improve the functioning of the cooperatives. Soon after the independence, the Government of India following the recommendations of All India Rural Credit Survey Committee (1951) felt that cooperatives were the only alternative to promote agricultural credit and development of rural areas. Accordingly, cooperatives received substantial help in the provision of credit from Reserve Bank of India as a part of loan policy and large scale assistance from Central and State Governments for their development and strengthening. Many schemes involving subsidies and concessions for the weaker sections were routed through cooperatives. As a result cooperative institutions registered a remarkable growth in the post-independence India. iii) Commercial Banks: Previously commercial banks (CBs) were confined only to urban areas serving mainly to trade, commerce and industry. Their role in rural credit was meagre i.e., 0.9 per cent in 1951- 52 and 0.7 per cent in 1961-61. The insignificant participation of CBs in rural lending was explained by the risky nature of agriculture due to its heavy dependence on monsoon, unorganized nature and subsistence approach. A major change took place in the form of nationalisation of CBs in 1969 and CBs were made to play an active role in agricultural credit. At present, they are the largest source of institutional credit to agriculture. iv) Regional Rural Banks (RRBs): RRBs were set up in those regions where availability of institutional credit was found to be inadequate but potential for agricultural development was very high. However, the main thrust of the RRBs is to provide loans to small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and village artisans. These loans are advanced for productive purposes. At present 196 RRBs are functioning in the country lending around Rs 9,000 crore to rural people, particularly to weaker sections. v) Microfinancing: Microfinancing through Self Help Groups (SHG) has assumed prominence in recent years. SHG is group of rural poor who volunteer to organise themselves into a group for eradication of poverty of the members. They agree to save regularly and convert their savings into a common fund known as the Group corpus. The members of the group agree to use this common fund and such other funds that they may receive as a group through a common management. Generally, a self-help group consists of 10 to 20 persons. However, in difficult areas like deserts, hills and areas with scattered and sparse population and in case of minor irrigation and disabled persons, this number may range from 5-20. As soon as the SHG is formed and a couple of group meetings are held, an SHG can open a Savings Bank account with the nearest Commercial or Regional Rural Bank or a Cooperative Bank. This is essential to keep the thrift and other earnings of the SHG safely and also to improve the transparency levels of SHG’s transactions. Opening of SB account, in fact, is the beginning of a relationship between the bank and the SHG. The Reserve Bank of India has issued instructions to all banks permitting them to open SB accounts in the name of registered or unregistered SHGs. Genesis and Historical Background The Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD) set up by the RBI under the Chairmanship of Shri B Sivaraman in its report submitted to Governor, Reserve Bank of India on November 28, 1979 recommended the establishment of NABARD. The Parliament through the Act 61 of 81, approved its setting up. The Committee after reviewing the arrangements came to the conclusion that a new arrangement would be necessary at the national level for achieving the desired focus and thrust towards integration of credit activities in the context of the strategy for Integrated Rural Development. Against the backdrop of the massive credit needs of rural development and the need to uplift the weaker sections in the rural areas within a given time horizon the arrangement called for a separate institutional set-up. Similarly. The Reserve Bank had onerous responsibilities to discharge in respect of its many basic functions of central banking in monetary and credit regulations and was not therefore in a position to devote undivided attention to the operational details of the emerging complex credit problems. Thispaved the way for the establishment of NABARD. CRAFICARD also found it prudent to integrate short term, medium term and long-term credit structure for the agriculture sector by establishing a new bank. NABARD is the result of this recommendation. It was set up with an initial capital of Rs 100 crore, which was enhanced to Rs 2,000 crore, fully subscribed Role and Functions †¢ NABARD is an apex institution accredited with all matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas. †¢ It is an apex refinancing agency for the institutions providing investment and production credit for promoting the various developmental activities in rural areas †¢ It takes measures towards institution building for improving absorptive capacity of the credit delivery system, including monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of credit institutions, training of personnel, etc. †¢ It co-ordinates the rural financing activities of all the institutions engaged in developmental work at the field level and maintains liaison with Government of India, State Governments, Reserve Bank of India and other national level institutions concerned with policy formulation. †¢ It prepares, on annual basis, rural credit plans for all districts in the country; these plans form the base for annual credit plans of all rural financial institutions †¢ It undertakes monitoring and evaluation of projects refinanced by it. †¢ It promotes research in the fields of rural banking, agriculture and rural developmentby the Government of India and the RBI. Mission Promoting sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development through effective credit support, related services, institution building and other innovative initiatives. In pursuing this mission, NABARD focuses its activities on: Credit functions, involving preparation of potential-linked credit plans annually for all districts of the country for identification of credit potential, monitoring the flow of ground level rural credit, issuing policy and operational guidelines to rural financing institutions and providing credit facilities to eligible institutions under various programmes Development functions, concerning reinforcement of the credit functions and making credit more productive Supervisory functions, ensuring the proper functioning of cooperative banks and regional rural banks Objectives NABARD was established in terms of the Preamble to the Act, â€Å"for providing credit for the promotion of agriculture, small scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts and other allied economic activities in rural areas with a view to promoting IRDP and securing prosperity of rural areas and for matters connected therewith in incidental thereto†. The main objectives of the NABARD as stated in the statement of objectives while placing the bill before the Lok Sabha were categorized as under : 1. The National Bank will be an apex organisation in respect of all matters relating to policy, planning operational aspects in the field of credit for promotion of Agriculture, Small Scale Industries, Cottage and Village Industries, Handicrafts and other rural crafts and other allied economic activities in rural areas. 2. The Bank will serve as a refinancing institution for institutional credit such as long-term, short-term for the promotion of activities in the rural areas. 3. The Bank will also provide direct lending to any institution as may approved by the Central Government. 4. The Bank will have organic links with the Reserve Bank and maintain a close link with in. sources of Funds Authorised share capital of NABARD is Rs 500 crores and issues and paid up capital is Rs 100 crores. NABARD accrues additional funds from borrowings from the Government of India and any institution approved by the Government of India, issue and sale of bonds i.e. Rural Infrastructural Development Bond, borrowings from RBI, deposits from State Governments and local authorities and gifts and grants received . NABARD have been providing financial assistance to various financial institutions engaged in Rural Credit Delivery System. These agencies include Co-operative Credit Institutions, Regional Rural Banks and Commercial Banks. The demand for funds for rural development has come up considerably in recent times. To meet the increasing demand of rural credit, NABARD raises funds from the following sources: (i) Capital: It went up from Rs.100 crore in March 1992 to Rs.1500 crore in March 1998 and further Rs. 2000 crore in 1999. The total Capital of NABARD is contributed by Government of India and RBI. The capital remained at Rs. 2000 crore in March 2002. (ii) Deposits: The deposits mainly come from Rural Infrastructural Development Fund (RIDF) introduced in Central Government Budget from the year 1995-96. Another source of deposits comes from banks which fall short of attaining priority sector target. The total outstanding RIDF deposits aggregated Rs. 9725 crore as on 31st March 2002. (iii) Borrowings: NABARD raises funds through market borrowings, Loans from Union Government and borrowings in Foreign Currency from abroad. Apart from these they also borrow funds from RBI. Their borrowings are mainly from three sources. They are by issue of bonds, borrowings from Government of India and borrowing abroad in foreign currency. The total outstanding borrowing amounted to Rs. 15,772 crore in March 2002. (iv) Reserves and: The excess of income over expenditures is generally accumu- Surplus lated as ‘Reserves and surplus’. As on March 2002, these reserves aggregated to Rs. 3626 crore. (v) Nation Rural Credit: These funds were earlier provided by RBI to NABARD in con- Funds (Long-term section with assistance under Agriculture Sector. These were Operation Fund & given out of profits earned by RBI. They stood at Rs.11064 crore Stabilization Fund) as on March ’99. However it has gone up to Rs. 13,975 crore as on March 2002. However, Reserve Bank stopped contributing large sums towards these two Funds from 1994. Presently, the RBI contributes only Rs.1.00 crore each to these funds as a symbolic gesture because the RBI Act provides for such contributions. The balance contribution now comes from NABARD’s own profit. (vi) Rural Infrastructural Development Fund (RIDF): The setting up of RIDF was announced in the Union Budget for 1995-96. The RIDF was set up with a contribution of Rs. 2000 crore mainly to provide assistance to State Governments to take up infrastructure projects pertaining to irrigation, rural roads, bridges and flood control measures. Contributions to this Fund came from Indian Scheduled Commercial Banks (other than RRBs) which failed to achieve the minimum agricultural lending target of 18 per cent of net bank credit. The shortfall of amounts in the target achievement was required to be kept in the RIDF with NABARD. Similarly RIDF II was set up in 1996-97 with contributions made by public sector banks which failed to achieve the minimum priority sector advances of 40 per cent. The shortfall in their target amount has to be kept in RIDF II. RIDF III was set up in 1997-98 with shortfall in priority sector landings of all private and public sector commercial banks. The contributions to these Funds were eligible for interest payment to be decided by Reserve Bank from time to time. The Funds are managed by NABARD. Loans out of these funds are mainly provided to State Governments to complete existing rural infrastructural projects and also for taking up new infrastructural projects in rural areas. Loans out of RIDF I was provided interest at the rate of 13.0 per cent and at 12.0 per cent out of RIDF II and III. The projects generally pertain to irrigation facilities and construction of Roads and Bridges in rural areas. Similarly RIDF IV and V were created in the Union Budget during 1998-99 and 1999- 2000. Further RIDF VI and VII were created in 2001 and 2002 with a corpus of Rs. 4,500 crore and Rs. 5,000 crore respectively. The scope of the fund has been extended to cover Gram Panchayats, Self Help Groups to develop rural infrastructural facilities like soil conservation, rural market yards, drainage improvement, etc. Students may observe the capital of NABARD has gone up by Rs. 1,500 crore to Rs. 2,000 crore during the year 2002. Similarly, the RIDF deposits which were only Rs. 3,608 crore in March 1999 were increased to Rs. 9,725 crore as on March 2002. The borrowing of NABARD has gone up substantially in the recent past from Rs. 9,000 crore in March 1999 to Rs. 15,772 crore in March 2002. The aggregate resources of NABARD were also substantially increased from Rs. 28,986 crore in March 1999 to Rs. 45,098 crore in March 2002. On the uses of funds while the loans and advances increased by about 25% between March 1999 and March 2002 loans out of RIDF funds went up substantially from Rs. 3,667 crore to Rs. 10,435 crore during the same period.

Of Mice and Men A review of the novel and information about the author, Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men A review of the novel and information about the author, Steinbeck OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck first takes place a few miles south ofSoledad. There were two men by the names of George and Lennie who became lifelong partners. George thought Lennie needed support because Lennie was mentallyretarded. Later, George and Lennie moved to a ranch nearby Soledad.George and Lennie got into trouble a few miles south of Soledad in a towncalled Weed. The men were hiding out along a river called Salinas, across from theGabililan mountains. Trouble occurred in Weed when Lennie grabbed a hold of aladies dress, because he was curious about the texture of the fabric. The womantook it the wrong way and became upset and frightened. Curdling screams causedsome men to come rushing to the aid of the woman.Lennie then became frightened and ran away. George was such a supportiveand understanding friend that he ran away with him.Lennie JamesRunning together, the twofrightened men hid out in the Salinas River waiting for dusk to come. When duskarrived, the two men gathe red wood and built a fire. Luckily, George had threecans of pork and beans with him in his backpack. They stayed there until morningto start walking again.George told Lennie that he heard of a ranch that was four miles ahead ofthem and they could get a job there. George told Lennie that if he would get intotrouble at the ranch, that he should come back and hide in the bush. Sunrise hadcame and the two men began their walk to the ranch. When George and Lenniearrived, they saw a huge long rectangular building where the bunks were inside, thewalls were white and the floor was wood. The old swamper showed Lennie andGeorge to their...