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T
he paper, "Real Options Analysis in Valuation of Commercial Project: A Case
Study", by Ketty Vijay Parthasarathy and R Madhumathi examines the application
of real options in valuing a commercial project. The real estate sector has
grown at 35% in 2008 and is estimated to be worth Rs. 675 bn and is expected to grow at
30% annually till 2018, attracting foreign investments worth Rs. 1.35 tn. The growth has
been mainly attributed to the off-shoring business, including high-end technology, consulting
call centers and software businesses. The IT and ITES sectors are estimated to require 150
million sq ft office space across urban India by 2010. The authors opine that the evaluation of
cash flows as well as a quantitative and qualitative assessment of costs and benefits from
the real estate projects help the developers to view project proposals from a broader
perspective. Further, the determination of specific real estate project risks and computation of
opportunity cost of capital will help developers to set their return targets and proper evaluation of
their decision to implement the projects.
The paper, "Urban Infrastructure Development in India: Resource Requirements
and Mobilization Methods", by Ramakrishna Nallathiga focuses on the emerging challenge
of resource requirement for creation and maintenance of urban infrastructure. Against
the backdrop of low allocation of capital expenditure for the provision of basic
infrastructure services, the author has suggested exploiting the potential non-conventional means of
resource mobilization, apart from reforming and strengthening the conventional means of
resource mobilization.
The paper, "An Evaluation of Infrastructure Development in the Hilly Areas", by
Vijay Kumar Sharma and Roshan Lal Vashist makes an attempt to study the trends in the
growth of socioeconomic infrastructural facilities and interdistricts infrastructural disparity
in Himachal Pradesh for the period 1993-94 to 2007-08. By selecting 15 indicators related
to economic and social infrastructure, the study has used various statistical tools and
techniques to draw appropriate inferences and conclusions. It concludes that even though
the socioeconomic and infrastructural facilities in the state have achieved remarkable
progress during the study period, the growth and development is uneven in various districts of
the state.
The paper "Modeling the Nexus Between Energy Consumption and Economic
Growth in India", by Rudra Prakash Pradhan investigates the causality between energy
consumption (oil and electricity) and economic growth in India over the period 1970-2006. By
using cointegration and error correction model, the study reveals the existence of a
unidirectional short-run and long-run causality from economic growth to per capita oil consumption
and electricity consumption. Finally, the author suggests designing a suitable energy policy
for a sustainable economic growth.
Human resources plays a significant role in the transportation industry. With the
advent of scientific management and emphasis on quantitative methodology for
optimum utilization of available resources, attempts have been made in the recent years to
develop models for evaluating the usefulness of the resources for the organizations. The
paper, "Labor Productivity of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation", by S Mohan
evaluates the labor productivity of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation by using crew
approach and real value added approach.
The Indian telecom sector has registered an unprecedented growth during the
last decade making it one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world. The
paper, "Telecom Growth and the Emerging Challenges: A Critical Analysis", by Vijay Kumar
Mishra explores the emerging challenges for the growth of telecom sector in India. The
author stresses the inequality in the availability of telecom services in the country and
argues for bridging the digital divide.
Tourism has proved to be a growth engine for many developing countries.
However, in most of the cases, it is driven by foreign tourists. The post-global recessionary
scenario warrants a need for self-sustaining growth driven by domestic demand. Rural tourism,
targeted towards the urban population of the same country, could prove to be a substitute. The
rich tradition of the rural areas can become a source of attraction for the urban population.
The paper, "Fair-Based Rural Tourism: A Potential Growth Engine for Rural Economy
in Gujarat", by Mohit A Parekh presents the various aspects of rural tourism in general
and fairs and festival-based rural tourism with the case study of Gujarat in particular.
-- Pradeepta Kumar Samanta
Consulting Editor
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