SRM University-AP takes pride in the achievements of its students and faculty. Dr Ghanshyam Pandey, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Dr Deep Raj, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering were sanctioned a project by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi (ICSSR). The research project titled, “PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana- A Step Ahead to Achieve Sustainable Development Goal: A Study of Select Areas of AP, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra” was sanctioned a total outlay of 16.5 Lakhs for a period of 6 months.

Abstract

Agriculture in India is dominated by smallholders. Yet only about 55% of India’s agricultural land is irrigated. The frequent occurrence of extreme climate events such as drought and heat are some of the main reasons for low agricultural productivity, food insecurity, and persistent poverty in developing nations. In this respect, irrigation plays a significant role in addressing climate change. However, irrigation costs are also very high for small-scale farmers because of their low incomes. Therefore, they do not have the resources to irrigate 100% of their land. In this context, PMKSY is a step towards resolving this problem in India and was introduced by the NDA government in 2015 by Har Khet Ko Pani. Therefore, the present study will examine the coverage, impact, adaptation and constraints of PMKSY in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Congratulations on this remarkable achievement!

Getting into one of the global universities of great repute is an impactful motivation for every aspiring student to accomplish even greater things. It opens the gateway to a promising career they have been passionately dreaming of. Two exceptional students from the Department of Economics have been offered admission to highly esteemed international higher education institutions. Gayatri and Sruti, the final year Economics students of SRM University-AP, have been accepted into the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the Russell Group Universities.

Ms Gayatri Jonnala was ecstatic while reading the offer letter to study MSc at a leading global university. She has been accepted into the Erasmus School of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, an institution among the QS top 50 universities.

‘‘The curriculum at SRM University-AP is very similar to the requirements of a Master’s in Economics abroad. Taking part in co-curricular and extracurricular activities helps build a holistic statement of purpose. The reading material in the library for the English proficiency tests was adequate for good preparation’’, said Gayathri while elaborating on her learning experiences at the campus.

Ms Sruti Poolla was shocked and delighted to receive her offer letters from the world-renowned Russell Group Universities. She chose the University of Birmingham from the list of universities she has gotten accepted into. The Russell Group universities are known to be research intensive and very hard to get into because of their competitiveness. It is among the world’s top 100 universities, according to QS Ranking.

‘‘There was not much preparation I did. I had to write an English proficiency exam for which I prepared. The other aspects for admission were a statement of purpose, a letter of reference from my professors and my college transcripts. I can say that I have had good grades since my first semester, and my professors encouraged and trusted me enough to say good things in my LOR. The experience I’ve gained in my three years at SRM University-AP formed a good SOP for me to get accepted,” said Sruti while asked about her preparation strategy.

Sruti and Gayatri shared how the faculty of SRM University-AP have been very enthusiastic to know about their future plans and constantly encouraged all students to choose the right career option. The varsity’s curriculum has improved the students’ knowledge in various subjects, which will only be an advantage for them while pursuing further education. Sruti extended her gratitude to the Dean-Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and all the faculty at the Department of Economics.

‘‘My dissertation supervisor, Dr Manzoor Hassan Malik and Prof. Bandi Kamaiah, provided continuous guidance and support to receive the offer letter from a prestigious university, for which I’m very thankful,’’ added Gayatri.

Both look forward to a bright future after completing their master’s at reputed global universities.

Dr Ghanshyam Kumar Pandey, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics has published a paper titled “Market Integration of Chickpea Crop: An Evidence of India”, in the esteemed Q1 Journal, Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies having an impact factor of 3.50. Through this paper, Dr Pandey analyses the integration and direction of causality of prices of chickpea produce in the markets of India.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the market integration and direction of causality of wholesale and retail prices for chickpea legumes in major chickpea markets in India.

Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors have employed the Johansen co-integration test, Granger causality test, vector autoregression (VAR), and vector error correction model (VECM) to examine the integration of markets. The authors use monthly wholesale and retail price data of the chickpea crop from select markets in India spanning January 2003–December 2020.

Findings – The results of this study strongly confirm the co-integration and interdependency of the selected chickpea markets in India. However, the speed of adjustment of prices in the wholesale market is weakest in Bikaner, followed by Daryapur and Narsinghpur; it is relatively moderate in Gulbarga. In contrast, the speed of adjustment is negative for Bhopal and Delhi, weak for Nasik, and moderate for retail market prices in Bangalore. The results of the causality test show that the Narsinghpur, Daryapur, and Gulbarga markets are the most influential, with bidirectional relations in the case of wholesale market prices. Meanwhile, the Bangalore market is the most connected and effective retail market among the selected retail markets. It has bidirectional price transmission with two other markets, i.e., Bhopal and Nasik.

Research limitations/implications – This paper calls for forthcoming studies to investigate the impact of external and internal factors, such as market infrastructure; government policy regarding self-reliant production; product physical characteristics; and rate of utilisation indicating market integration. They should also focus on strengthening information technology for the regular flow of market information to help farmers increase their incomes. Very few studies have explored market efficiency and direction of causality using both linear and nonlinear techniques for wholesale and retail prices of chickpeas in India.

Researchers of the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences have worked on India’s comparative advantage in information technology exports with competing developing nations, including China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brazil. The latest paper published by Assistant Professor Dr Manzoor Hassan Malik, Department of Economics and Assistant Professor Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Department of Psychology, has implications for attaining sustainability in IT export growth. It is suggested that policies are directed at enhancing the overall performance of the IT sector. The novelty of the present study lies in the estimation of India’s competitiveness in IT exports in relation to the group of reference countries, namely China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brazil. With its policy recommendations, this research is helping to shape the sustainability of the IT sector.

The paper titled An appraisal of India’s comparative advantage in information technology exports was published in the Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies with an impact factor of 1.560.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to estimate revealed comparative advantage and Normalised Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) indices of India’s Computer and Information Services (CIS) export competitiveness about Information Technology (IT) competing developing nations, such as China, Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil. Using annual data of total exports for CIS, transportation (TNS), travel (TVL) and insurance (INS) services under service categories of the balance of payment, the present study estimates the pattern of Comparative Advantage (CA) in India’s CIS exports with respect to IT competing developing nations such as China, Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil from 2000 to 2018. The choice of the study period is determined by the availability of consistent data on IT service exports of these nations. The study also estimates the export position of CIS export in comparison to India’s traditionally strong commercial services export of TNS, TVL and INS during the study period. Both indices showed that India had a strong CA in CIS compared to the selected nations, indicating India’s relative export performance to be stronger than that of China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brazil. The cross-service index showed that India’s relative specialisation level in CIS with respect to the world’s average specialisation level was stronger than its relative specialisation level in TNS, TVL and INS services. Furthermore, The NRCA cross-nation index showed that India’s NRCA index score has been declining since 2010 with respect to these nations, which implied a decline in the competitiveness of CIS. On the other hand, NRCA has increased in the case of the Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil for most of the period post-2010.

The Faculty of Psychology and Economics have jointly published a paper titled “Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among young adults of Kashmir” in the Q1 Journal Child Abuse & Neglect, having an impact factor of 4.863. Dr Aehsan Ahmad Dar, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology; Dr Manzoor Hassan Malik, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics; Dr Ayesha Parveen Haroon, Lecturer, Department of Psychology; Dr Dhamodharan M, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology have worked on interpreting the emotional constraints that are harboured among the young adults experiencing the adversities in turbulent Kashmir.

Abstract

The present study estimated the prevalence of ACEs among young adults studying in the colleges and universities of Kashmir, India. Findings disclosed that 15.4 % of the students reported high exposure to ACEs, 13.4% of the participants reported high exposure to ACEs, 26.3 % of the sample reported moderate exposure to ACEs, 33.0 % of the youth reported low exposure to ACEs and 11.8 % of the respondents reported no exposure to ACEs. The prevalence of ACEs was found to be 88.2 % (females: 82.7 % and males: 90.8 %) with a mean of 4.72 adverse events during childhood. The ACEs with the highest level of prevalence were “often or very often insulted or put down” (49.8 %), followed by “often or very often hurt physically” (47.6 %), “often or very often pushed, grabbed, or slapped” (41.6 %), “lived with a mentally ill household member” (28.3%), “touched or sexually fondled” (25.3 %),” household member being into the prison” (25.0%) and “witnessed father or mother being pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at them” (24.0%).

Practical Implementation of the Research

The findings of the study will serve as a reliable source for healthcare professionals, policymakers and NGOs to better understand the impact of ACEs on the health and well-being of individuals. Since ACEs are associated with several immediate and long-term health hazards, therefore, necessary efforts in this direction are suggested to advocate the early targeted intervention to reduce ACEs and their impact as well as design effective measures to improve the health and well-being of young adults, thereby reducing the development of physical and mental disorders.

Collaborations

1. Prof. Sibnath Deb, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India.
2. Dr Manzoor Hassan Mali, Department of Economics, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
3. Prof. Waheeda khan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India.
4. Dr Ayesha Parveen Haroon, Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
5. Dr Amra Ahsan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India
6. Dr Farhat Jahan, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India
7. Dr Bushra Sumaiya, Faculty of Education, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India.
8. Shaheen Yawar Bhat, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
9. Dr Dhamodharan M, Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
10. Mohamad Qasim, Independent Researcher

The research cohort plans to study youth’s mental health and ascertain its risk and protective factors. About 19% of the world’s children live in India, which constitutes 42% of the total Indian population, and nearly half of these children are vulnerable and need care and protection. Due to various traumatic experiences, stress has increased among young people resulting in various physical and mental disorders.

The research will focus on the pathogenic (post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, somatisation) and salutogenic (post-traumatic growth and resilience) consequences of trauma to help the youth withstand adverse experiences and develop psychological competence. The research will provide insights into the mental health of youth that would be helpful for the administration, policymakers, and other voluntary organisations to understand effective ways to devise and implement the best intervention programs for maximising mental health protective factors and minimising its risk factors.