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The COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted the entire world economy unprecedentedly, and India is no exception. The informal sector was hit hard by the lockdown and saw an unprecedented fall in its economic activities. The pandemic turned out to be more disastrous for the migrants. As reported in various newspapers, most migrants and their families were left unattended by their employers. According to a survey conducted during the lockdown in April 2020 by the Stranded Workers Action Network, 90 per cent of migrant workers in the country did not get paid by their employers, 96 percent received no ration from the government, and 70 per cent did not get any cooked food, during the lockdown. These migrants' worker was primarily from eastern UP and Bihar. Even rural health infrastructure was not adequate to fight the pandemic in Bihar. With COVID came an array of misinformation which to some extent changed social norms in society. In this study, we use personal interviews done in Ahwarkudia village panchayat to study how rural institutions responded to the pandemic.

Although, interest rate charged by microfinance stimulate of lot of ethical debate. Very few studies in microfinance detail the cost components of interest rates paid by the borrowers. Setting the optimal interest rate with a dual goal of financial sustainability and fighting against poverty is a complex task for microfinance lending. In this backdrop, this paper examines the various cost components of interest rate changed by Indian Self-Help Groups (SHGs) that are financed by not-for profit Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). The study uses neo-classical framework for the analysis of interest rate determinants like cost of funds, administrative (operating) cost, opportunity cost, travel costs and some margin to sustain the business. The data have come from a survey of 106 women SHGs in ten villages in the state of Karnataka, India. The study finds that the cost of fund and other costs associated in microfinance significantly influence the rate of interest and the SHGs need to reduce efficiently other costs associated with writing and maintaining the accounts, auditing, and hospitality offered, through innovative cost management methods of lending. As a result, there would be a welfare gain for the borrowers through reduced interest rate on loans.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate board size and promoter ownership on firm value for selected Indian companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses the corporate governance structure of 176 Indian firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange using linear regression analysis.FindingsThe empirical findings show a negative relationship of board size with firm value and significant positive association of promoter ownership with corporate performance. The study suggests that only above a critical ownership level of 40 percent does promoter's interest become aligned with that of the company, resulting in positive effect on firm value.Research limitations/ implicationsThe research has been limited to some selected Indian companies, with focus only on board size and promoter ownership as predictor variables. The study suggests that corporate governance reforms in India and introduction of non‐executive independent directors to the board have resulted in diminishing effect of board size on the firm value.Practical implicationsThe study implies that for emerging economies like India, it is practical to have greater ownership control by promoters to enhance company value. Also, it is not advisable to have a board size above certain limit.Originality/valueThe paper adds to existing literature on corporate governance by establishing a relationship between firm performance and board size and promoter ownership.

This book gives a scientific and systematic approach to trading in emerging stock markets. As professional traders do not trade purely on the basis of the economic fundamentals, but also take into account market movements generated by other factors (noise trading), knowledge of technical analysis is important to anyone who would like to participate successfully in the stock market. Second, the existence of a skew towards reliance on fundamental analysis at longer horizons suggests that models based on economic considerations will be more important on the long run. Third, the existence of a skew towards reliance on technical analysis at shorter horizons suggests that models based on short term considerations (noise) will be more important in the short term. The present book gives a base for practitioners as well as students to learn the tricks of the trade through examples and case studies.--

Purpose
Today, the sustainability and outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are crucial to the success of microfinance and the sector's potential to make a lasting impact. The ability of MFIs to operate financially well without sacrificing their social goals has come under scrutiny. This study aims to identify the kind of relationships between the two objectives of MFIs in Ethiopia.


Design/methodology/approach
This study investigated the association between the outreach and financial sustainability of Ethiopian MFIs from the years 2012 to 2021 using a balanced set of panel data. The study used secondary data and employed a descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach. To this end, random and fixed effects estimation models, as well as three-stage least squares, with the model of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) are used.


Findings
According to the study, outreach performance enables MFIs to achieve sustainability/financial performance. On the other side, MFI that are financially sound improve social performance. There was therefore no trade-off between the two objectives.


Originality/value
As Ethiopia's microfinance sector shifts away from government and non-government backing and toward commercialization, such research is crucial. This aspect of the Ethiopian microfinance industry has gotten little consideration in research. The SUR model was used in the study together with random and fixed effect estimators, and the most reliable estimation result was chosen based on the necessary tests.