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Working Papers | 1992

Learning Relationships Among Classes Specified by Examples

Yegneshwar S

Learning by examples is a commonly used method of knowledge acquisition in expert systems. The learning examples are past cases whose classification is known. When the number of classes is high, learning relationships amongst classes aids in sequential classification and therefore results in better explanations. A methodology to learn relationships amongst a given set of classes aids in sequential classification and therefore results in better explanations. A methodology to learn relationships amongst a given set of classes using a distance measure is described in this paper. This distance which is shown to be a metric is evaluated on the descriptions of the classes. The description of a class is learnt from its examples. The relationship learnt using this distance metric is shown to converge in the limit. The methodology described learns meaningful relationships for two applications commonly used by machine learning research groups.

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Working Papers | 1992

Regionalizing A National Input-Output Table

Dholakia Bakul H

In the present paper it is argued that the most popular among the non-survey methods the RAS method is not a consistent and efficient method to regionalise the national input-output tables. An alternative non-survey method is, therefore, proposed as a solution to the problem when data on industry/commodity-specific value added as well as final demand are available besides the gross outputs at the regional level.

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Working Papers | 1992

Development of the Capital Market in India - A Regulatory Perspective

Gupta Ramesh

Capital Markets are an important mobilizer of resources for the corporate sector. Investors' confidence is key to the healthy developments of capital markets, it is necessary that comprehensive and adequate laws exists to regulate security industry to protect investors interests and rights. The laws should also provide for an effective nodal regulatory agency to ensure fair play, discipline and integrity in the investment business. The paper review the current problems in working of the Indian capital markets and implementation of the security regulations. It suggests measures to improve efficiency of the markets, proposes a comprehensive regulatory framework and outlines the nature of implementing authorities. Further, it recommends a nodal regulatory authority independent of government interference which would be responsible for implementing the legislation. This agency would need to develop itself as a viable entity with its own infrastructure, trained manpower and professional work culture. For investors' protection, some additional measures like frequent disclosure of reliable information, creation of Investors Protection Fund, setting up of Investors Protection Advisory Council and promotion of local Investors' Associations are suggested. For quick redressal of grievances, an independent quasi-judiciary machinery is proposed. Since an individual investor is unable to take action because of disproportionate expenses involved in initiating the action, the laws should also provide for public interest litigation by investors association and other agencies on behalf of investors.

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Working Papers | 1991

Spatial Optimisation of the Fuel Purchase Decision for Road Transport Undertakings

G. Raghuram

Road Transport Undertakings in India have been spending approximately between 15-20% of their total expenses on fuel. Given the fact that they visit different towns and sometimes even different states, the fuel which is available at different prices could be purchased in a way that the fuel cost is optimised. A network model, algorithms and linear programming formulations are presented for this problem in order to decide how much fuel should be purchased at the different towns that a bus visits as part of its vehicle duty schedule. The model presented minimises the fuel costs for a given amount of fuel to be consumed, taking advantage of spatial price differences.

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Working Papers | 1991

Dispatch Planning of Finished Steel: A Case Study in Modeling and Data Analysis

Kalro A H, G. Raghuram, P. R. Shukla, and Tripathy Arabinda

A steel plant has to dispatch products to forty four stockyards from a range of over hundred stock keeping units. The railways, who transport the steel, would like the steel plant to move the steel in a rake load since it is operationally beneficial. On the other hand, the steel plant prefers to move the steel with a shipment size as small as a wagon load. This paper attempts an analysis for the desirable shipment size between the rake load and the wagon load. This is done by first evaluating the requirements of the average finished goods inventory as a function of the percentage of dispatch by rake load, using a simulation model. A national perspective is then used for this decision since the railways are a crucial national resource. Having concluded that the rake load is the desirable shipment size, a decision support system is developed for the loading and production expected in the short term, take load (shipment size) requirements for various destinations, the rake formation constraints at the loading points etc. the paper also proposes longer term strategies to help increase the rake load dispatches.

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Working Papers | 1991

Role of Futures Trading in Facilitating Commodity Exports

Naik Gopal and Aneja Ajay

In India, since its beginning in 1921 futures trading has been subjected to frequent intervention by the government in terms of allowing, banning and restricting its operation. As the debate on their utility for the economy as a whole, especially in terms of price stabilization, continues, the government is hesitant to encourage futures trading. The usefulness of futures markets are being reexamined in the light of its positive effects on international trade. Futures market seems to help exporters by way of reducing the risk of dishonor of contracts in the domestic market, reducing transaction cost due to liquidity and standardization, better market information and so on. However, unless the exporters are assured that in the long run they do not incur losses by participating in the futures market, they will not participate in the trading on price stabilization should not be negative. This study examined the issues of exporters' profitability from trading in castor seed futures and price stabilization effect to assess whether futures trading should be encouraged for enhancing exports. The results indicate that the castor oil exporters would not have incurred losses if they had consistently participated in the futures market. In fact they would have benefited by following certain trading strategies. The price stabilization test results also indicated that price stabilization effect is stronger than the destabilization effect. This is more so during high price years. These results indicate that futures trading can be beneficially used for export promotion.

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Working Papers | 1991

Distributive Justice with Externalities and Public Goods

Lahiri Somdeb

We analyze in this paper the distribution of a fixed amount of perfectly devisable private goods among a fixed number of agents and with a certain portion of the private goods allocated for the creation of public goods. Each agent's preferences exhibit a type of consumption externality made precise in the paper, and we focus our attention on the existence of efficient and egalitarian allocations of the goods.

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Working Papers | 1991

Quasi-Social Products with Legal Implications: A Case of Insurance Marketing

Durgaprasad D and Moorthy Ravi C

Developing countries are characterised by an under informed public and low understanding of action-outcome relationships. As a result the society as a whole ends up sub optimising its welfare. In such an environment marketing of specific products/services takes on a special significance, i.e., it needs to have a developmental content. In the case of products with a legal content and of a quasi social nature, such as insurance, changing the existing 'mindset' of the target consumer may require unconventional organisational responses. The following case and notes attempt to illustrate on such instance in the Indian environment.

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Working Papers | 1991

Indian Convertible Bonds with Unspecified Terms: An Empirical Study

Samir K. Barua, T. Madhavan, and Jayanth R. Varma

Indian convertible bonds have two peculiar features that make them possibly unique in the world: a) the bonds are compulsorily converted into equity without any option, and b) the conversion terms are not specified at the time of issue but are left to be determined subsequently by the Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) who is the government functionary regulating capital issues in India. A naive model would say that the market simply forms an estimate of the likely conversion terms and then values the bond as if these terms were prespecified. This paper examines the market prices of one of the largest issues of Indian convertible bonds with unspecified terms. The empirical investigation convincingly rejects the naive model and demonstrates that changes in the markets expectation of the conversion terms are a significant factor affecting the pricing relationship. These changes are significantly correlated with the stock price itself. We do not, however, find any evidence that the market expects the CCI to adjust the conversion terms on the basis of the actual market price to protect the bondholder. But, there is strong evidence that changes in expected conversion terms affect the share price through the dilution effect. Since the unspecified terms have only added to the uncertainty of the bondholders without giving them any perceived benefits we recommend that this system should be abolished. In a companion paper, Barua and Varma (1991) present a theoretical valuation model for the Indian convertible bonds with unspecified terms. The empirical results in this paper confirm the predictions of that model.

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Working Papers | 1991

A Test for Strategic Planning Related to Management

Das P, Misra Sasi B, and Mishra Rama K

Ability to find parsimonious solutions to problems, make good judgments and decision relate to intelligent functioning of human. These are particularly significant functions of managerial work. However, standard intelligence tests and aptitudes tests of one sort or another predominantly measure the ability to code information, to store it, and retrieve it when necessary. Whereas these abilities are necessary for academic and scholastic success, what counts outside the scholastic environment of classrooms is the former (i.e. ability to make decisions etc.). This, in essence, is called “planning”. The research reported here includes the development of a test of “planning” that is contextually relevant for management and examines its psychometric properties.

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