As there is growing trend of crisis in lives of the poor, a new kind of reaction is being shown that the poor can also be efficient and effective under varying socio-economic and political circumstances through their own participatory organizations. In fact, they are able to save, invest, create assets and attain an extreme level of human development as they begin to assert their own rights for which they are entitled.

"Today, we are living in the heightened era of globalisation. There are widespread movements of capital, humans, goods, and ideas across the globe resulting in transformations in the quality of socio-cultural life of the common men and women of all societies. As a concept and an empirical process, globalisation has been attracting much social scientific attention in recent years, so much so that the word has attained the notoriety of being a buzzword. There is a tendency to look at such overarching and divergent processes of globalisation from the narrower perspective of capital flow from the North to the South. Though this volume does not aim to be a corrective to such perspective, it is surely different from it. ``Most contributions to this volume closely examine the nature of `globalisation' as a very ancient historical phenomenon and how its structures and processes have changed in the present avatar of globalisation. There are convincing arguments on the reverse direction of the global flow which otherwise goes unnoticed by many: e.g., globalisation may originate from below'' (quoted from Prof. Yogendra Singh's foreword). Through contributions from researchers from divergent disciplinary backgrounds, this volume adds hitherto unexplored dimensions to the discourse of globalisation. As it contains articles written in lucid and jargon-free language, the volume makes an understandable reading for teachers, students and all those who are interested in knowing the socio-cultural reality of present-day world. "

Banking on Self-help Groups reviews the existing state of affairs in respect of the SHG (Self-help Group) movement and addresses the question of what should be the next phase of development of the SHGs. It identifies the policy gaps and opportunities that exist for the SHGs to be mainstreamed further into the formal financial system. The author examines elements of strategy and design being adopted by the National Rural Livelihoods Mission as also the potential role of NABARD in the development of SHGs in the future. The study focuses on three core issues pertaining to SHGs. These relate to (i) cost-effectiveness, (ii) sustainability, and (iii) impact, i.e., the development cost of SHGs and SHG-based institutions, the sustainability of SHG models and community institutions fostered by them, and the economic and social impact on SHG members. The book concludes with a discussion of proposals and institutional arrangements that provide the way forward for the continued and uninterrupted growth of SHGs as an agency for change in the rural sector of India.

This is an edited book that contains the chapters contributed by budding researchers. The works reported by these researchers are mostly outcome of their research dissertation submitted for award of higher research qualifications. Dynamics in the business environment warrants managers to be abreast of latest changes happening around it that has potential to impact the business. Some of the forces in the environment put detrimental impact where as others bring new opportunities. Being aware of these opportunities is essential to be competitive and develop sound strategy. Further being knowledgeable of potential threats in the environment allows taking proactive steps to mitigate the risks. Scanning the environment and collecting relevant information are important steps to understand the environment. Academic researches provide much needed information to industry through their research outputs. Though academic research is fundamental by nature, yet managers could get deep insights about changes happening in the business environment, expectations of consumers and stakeholders etc. This book presents compilation in form of chapters of some latest research conducted by young academic researchers in field of business and management studies. These researches can prove to be vital for practicing managers by simplifying decision making. The researches presented in this book are from diverse areas and cover wide range of contemporary issues. The book is intended to serve both academic as well as industrial application.