India & Cambridge - Cambridge University Press India

ECONOMICSDeepali Pant Joshi is presently Chief General Manager withthe Reserve Bank of India based at Mumbai9788175968004 292pp HB ` 695.00Policy Options to AchieveFood Security in SouthAsiaSurabhi Mittal &Deepti Sethi (eds)Agriculture in South Asia andmany other parts of the world isapparently caught in a lowequilibrium trap. The features ofthis trap are low productivity ofstaples, supply shortfalls, higherprices, low returns to farmers,product diversification, causingfurther shortage of staple food. The question of foodsecurity has a number of dimensions that go beyondproduction, availability and demand for food. Foodavailability does not ensure food security. Thus, distributionand access of population to food is equally important forfood security. Food availability can be achieved throughbetter distribution mechanisms and alternatively throughimports to ensure food security.This book identifies major issues of food security in theSouth Asian countries. Each chapter of the book throwslight on issues such as initiatives and policies taken up in aparticular country to achieve the goal of food security, andalso critically evaluates the effectiveness of these policies.Discussing the SAARC food bank to ensure food security inSouth Asia, the book also suggests measures to overcomethe identified current constraints and make the policiesmore effective.The book would be of interest to postgraduate students,academic researchers, SAARC offices, and organizationsdealing with agriculture research.Surabhi Mittal is a Senior Scientist at the InternationalMaize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Sheserved as a Senior Fellow at the Indian Council for Researchon International Economic Relations (ICRIER).Deepti Sethi is a Research Assistant at the Indian Councilfor Research on International Economic Relations.9788175968097 242pp HB ` 695.00Banking and FinancialSystemsV. Nityananda SarmaBanks are the most significantplayers in the Indian financialmarket. The Indian banking systemhas played a crucial role in thesocioeconomic development ofthe country. After 1990, theGovernment of India formulatedpolicies supporting liberalisation,privatisation and globalisation. Thebook keeps pace with thesechanges and captures the central themes and concerns ofcorporate financial management. The topics covered in thebook are discussed in a fairly self-contained manner. Itaddresses contemporary financial components such ascapital market, money market, banker and customerrelationship, cooperative banks, regional rural banks, RBI, SBI,development banking and banking technology. Besides, itexplains the assessment of working capital and theappraisal of term loans from a practitioner’s point of view.V. Nityananda Sarma was a Reader at the GovernmentCollege for Women, Begumpet, Hyderabad.9788175966376 552pp PB ` 395.00Food for Policy:Reforming AgricultureSurabhi Mittal &Arpita Mukherjee (eds)Food for Policy: ReformingAgriculture is the first book ofits kind to highlight thereforms needed to achieve a‘second Green Revolution’which will then make way foran ‘evergreen’ revolution inIndia. Although there has beenmuch discussion on reformingthe Indian agriculture sector and making it globallycompetitive, it continues to be plagued by variousconstraints and the reform process has been extremely slow.This book is a compilation of articles by experts whoprovide comprehensive solutions for the Indian agriculturesector. A unique feature of this book is that it builds on theexisting work on reforms and trade in agriculture whilefocusing on the gaps in the current literature. There are veryfew books today that try to address issues such as agribusinessand non-farm employment. Food for Policy:Reforming Agriculture fills this lacuna by covering a widerange of areas including agriculture trade policy, pricepolicy, infrastructure development and supply chainefficiency.Surabhi Mittal and Arpita Mukherjee are Senior Fellows atthe Indian Council for Research on International EconomicRelations (ICRIER).9788175966215 274pp HB ` 795.00Social Banking: Promise,Performance andPotentialDr Deepali Pant JoshiSocial Banking: Promise,Performance and Potentialprovides an overview of theIndian banking scenario fromboth a historical and a theoreticalperspective. It discusses thedevelopment of Social Banking,its working and its relevance forthe present and the future. Thebook presents the contribution of banking institutions in2 order online at www.cambridgeindia.org