In economics, ‘Pareto efficiency’ is a term which is used to describe allocation of resources which does not necessarily result in satisfying each individual’s wants. Pareto efficiency means socially required distribution of resources does not occur. Social equality and overall well-being is a rare phenomenon. The notion of Pareto efficiency can also be applied to the selection of alternatives in engineering and similar fields. Pareto’s efficiency is also called Pareto’s optimality. The term simply means that it is difficult to make any one individual better off without making at least one individual worse off. The theory is named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian engineer and economist, who used the concept in his studies of economies efficiency and income distribution.

The concept Pareto efficiency describes that in state’s economy resources are distributed in such manner that it is not possible to improve a single individual without also causing at least one other individual to become worse off than before the change. When evaluating proposed or existing policy measures, economists & government officials typically aim to improve the lives of others. The objective of any given tax, welfare, or law change is to improve the lives of many citizens while not worsening the lives of others. The most ideal policies improve the lives of others without making anyone else worse off. This is what we refer to as Pareto efficiency.

Let’s take example of the card game Rummy, in which two players put in their stake; one person earns both player’s stakes, his own and the others.  Pareto efficiency has applications in game theory, which is related to multi-criteria decision making. It has application in engineering, and many of the social sciences too.

The Game Theory in the branch of mathematics, which is concerned with the analysis of strategies for dealing with competitive situations, depends on the outcome of a participant’s choice of action depends. The decisions depend critically on the actions of other participants. Game theory has been applied to contexts in business strategies, war, science and biology. What economists call game theory psychologists call the theory of social situations, which is an accurate description of what game theory is about. Although game theory is relevant to parlor games such as poker or bridge, most research in game theory focuses on how groups of people interact.

In general, an economic allocation problem has several possible Pareto efficient outcomes. In the marketplace, the competitive equilibrium is typically included among them. A major drawback of Pareto efficiency, some ethicists (people who judge on the basis of ethics) claim, is that it does not suggest which of the Pareto efficient outcomes is best. Furthermore, the concept does not require an equitable distribution of wealth, nor does it necessarily suggest taking remedial steps to correct for existing inequality. The concept suggests that if the incomes of the wealthy increase while the incomes of everyone else remain stable, such a change is Pareto efficient. The simplest example to describe Pareto efficiency is: there are two persons. One has two mangoes and one has two bananas. Three of the allocations suggest Pareto efficient situations: (1) person 1 has all the mangoes and person 2 has all the bananas (2) person 1 has all mangoes and all bananas (3) person 2 has all mangoes and all bananas.

One more example is: imagine that you and your friend are walking down the street and find a $100 bill. You would likely share the money evenly, each taking $50, deeming this the fairest division. According to Pareto efficiency, however, any allocation of the $100 would be optimal, it could be that you would like to keep all $100 for yourself or you would give it all to your friend. I hope you understood that the fairest division doesn’t take place.

‘Pareto improvement’ is a concept that describes actions which benefits even a single person without harming anyone else. This is possible to implement by utilizing idle resources in the economy or by getting rid of burden losses that result of market failure. For example to build a new airport in a city may lead to a greater increase in social benefit than social cost. Therefore, there is a net gain to society. However, those people living near the new airport will lose out their peace of mind.  Therefore this is not a Pareto improvement. An outcome may be seen as a Pareto improvement, but, it doesn’t mean this is a satisfactory outcome for those living near the airport. Inequality exists even after a Pareto improvement. It cannot be said that perfect efficiency has been achieved if there is scope for even a single Pareto Improvement.

In real-world, in liberalized economies, where the rich will go on becoming richer and poor will remain poor Pareto efficiency exists. System of free markets will lead to a Pareto efficient outcome. Since the notion of Pareto efficiency is not connected with the notion of equity, this result does not imply that a competitive equilibrium is equitable. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, which states that the riches of a nation are distributed between 20% of its population and 80% still remain poor is indirectly related to Pareto efficiency.

It is always advisable to be ready for global financial crisis and for sound and comprehensive risk governance. Board members and senior executives of banks need to have an inclusive view of risk control and far-reaching value creation. They must be clear on how risk categories are interconnected to the economy, capital allocation and the value of the business.

A risk is defined as an unplanned event with financial consequences resulting in loss or reduced earnings. Therefore, a risky proposition is one with looming loss. Risk stems from uncertainty or unpredictability of the future. In a commercial venture risk generates profit or loss depending upon the way in which it is managed. Risk can be defined as the instability of the potential outcome.  Risk is the possibility of something adverse happening.

Risk management is the process of evaluating risk, taking steps to reduce risk to tolerable level. Thus, we can say that after the risks are identified, risk management attempts to lessen their effects.  For example, we buy insurance to lessen financial risks. Also, sometimes when people visualize too many hurdles in a project, they re-plan the whole project.

Following are some common risks occurring in the banking industry:

Credit Risk:  The main risk under this category is the risk of non recovery of loan and the risk of lessening in the value of asset.   Banks face credit risk when customers repay loans by making the pre-payment, thus resulting in loss of opportunity to the bank to earn higher interest income. When banks give huge amount of loans to a single borrower, or to a single industry or to a single city, state or country risk arises due excess exposure.  In regards to excess loans given in a country, the element of country risk arises due to losses in foreign exchange reserve or unfavorable political or economic situations in the country or its neighboring country.

While the definition of credit risk sounds simple and straight forward, measuring it is not so simple.  Some examples are poor or falling cash flow from operations which is often needed to make the interest and principal payments, rising interest rates, changes in the nature of the marketplace such as a change in technology, an increase in competitors, or regulatory changes. The credit risk associated with foreign bonds also includes the home country’s sociopolitical situation and the stability and regulatory practices of its government. Rating agencies like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s analyze credit risks on various securities.

Interest Rate Risk: This risk arises due to fluctuations in the interest rates.   It can result in reduction in the revenues of the bank due to fluctuations in the interest rates which are dynamic and which change differently for assets and liabilities.   Interest rates are market determined and banks have to fall in line with the market trends even though it may suppress their Net Interest margins. Interest rates depend of economic growth (demand and supply of money) fiscal policy (in a booming economy, many firms need to borrow funds to expand their plants, finance inventories and even acquire other firms). Consumers might be buying cars and houses. That need keeps the demand for capital at a high level and interest rates higher than they otherwise might be) monetary policy (Central banks modify the money supply to try to manage the economy and control inflation. If a government loosens monetary policy, this means that it has “created more money”) another key factor for rate fluctuation is inflation. Investors try to preserve their “purchasing power,” during period of high inflation as they get higher interest rate on their investments in the shortest period of time.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity is the ability to meet commitments as and when they are due and ability to undertake new transactions when they are profitable. Liquidity risk may derive due to net outflow of funds arising out of withdrawals, non renewal of deposits, non-recovery of cash receipts from recovery of loans, conversion of contingent liabilities into fund based commitment and increased sanctioned limits.

Foreign Exchange Risk: Banks face risk which arises due to foreign exchange. Foreign Exchange risk arises when a bank holds assets or liabilities in foreign currencies and impacts the earnings and capital of bank due to the fluctuations in the exchange rates. No one can predict what the exchange rate will be in the next period, it can move in either upward or downward direction regardless of what the estimates and predictions were. This uncertain movement poses a threat to the earnings and capital of bank, if such a movement is in undesired and unforeseen direction. Foreign Exchange Risk can be either Transactional or it can be Translational. When the exchange rate changes unfavorably it give rise to Transactional Risk, as the name implies because of transactions in Foreign Currencies, can be evaded
using different techniques. Other one Translational Risk is an accounting risk
arising because of the translation of the assets held in foreign currency or abroad.

Regulatory Risks:   Regulatory risk is the risk of a change in regulations and law that might affect the banking industry/ a particular sector. Such changes in regulations can make significant changes in the framework of an industry, changes in some clause regarding lending etc. Change in laws and regulations materially impact a security, business, sector or market. When a change is made in law or regulations made by the government or a regulatory body it can increase the costs of operating by banks; it immediately affects the depositor’s and borrower’s behavior. It reduces attractiveness of investments and also changes the competitive landscape.

Technology Risk:  This risk is associated with computers and the communication technology which is being increasingly introduced in the banks.  Banks face risk of obsolescence and   the risk of losing business to technologically strong financial institutions. A global survey conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) confirms that there are big challenges on the operational risk and technology side such as cyber threats. The acceleration of speed in the capital markets and overall risk management issues, are bothering the financial institutions such as banks. Technology or operations risk software; technology risk is often lumped under the label “operational risk.”

Market Risk: This is the risk of losses in off and on balance sheet positions arising from movements in market prices.

Strategic Risk: This is the risk arising out of certain strategic decisions taken by a bank for sustaining itself in the present day scenario  for example decision to open a subsidiary may run the risk of losses if the subsidiary does not do good business.

“Basel III” is a comprehensive set of reform measures in banking prudential regulation developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. The measures aim at improving the banking sector’s ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, whatever the source may be, to improve risk management and governance and to strengthen banks’ transparency and disclosures. Basel III has provided a framework for stricter and better capital quality, risk coverage, measures to promote the build-up of capital that is unseen in periods of crisis or boom. Secondly, it introduced the ratio of leverage (>=3%) and reconsider the raking system. These changes aim to raise banks’ capability of facing systemic shocks due to economic crisis.

 Today e-commerce is become part of our life. The arrival of e-commerce and m-commerce (mobile) has transformed the entire retail sector.  Retailers are tapping multiple channels for selling their merchandise; from traditional stores, using catalogue, through the internet and more and more via smart phones and tablets, no stone is left unturned. Technological advancement means that the store is omnipresent! It’s now everywhere, in consumers’ pockets, at their homes and at the mall too. For surviving the competition in the e-commerce world distribution has become key component of the business. Supply chain and logistics experts have become key players and the other important element being real estate – strategic locations for Distribution Centres (DC).

While retailers are developing their multichannel strategy multichannel marketing which refers to the practice by which companies interact with customers via multiple channels, both direct and indirect, distribution strategies also need to be worked at a faster pace especially when the bar has been raised with delivery models like same-day and next-day delivery at the customer’s doorstep.

Retail supply chain executives go for locating fulfilment facilities closer to their customer base in order to meet service commitment goals such as aggressive delivery schedules.

Retail chains are therefore finding online logistics more cost-effective. They rather opt for this than open more traditional stores that require an entirely different kind of distribution model. Therefore, retailers are evolving their regional distribution networks with the addition of e-commerce distribution centres. Traditional warehouses which act as stores require lesser investment and machinery and fewer staff.  The new e-commerce distribution centres, which involve direct order fulfilment, can cost three times as much and involve three times as many employees.

Retailers need to consider points such as proximity to key customers, tax incentives, sales tax and the availability of local labour which are vital for business when searching for the right location for their e-commerce distribution centres. Also, the global spread of technology into multichannel retailing has also opened up new markets in both developed and developing countries. While online sales are growing in the United States and UK, China and Hong Kong are following the trend. China’s consumers are fast embracing e- and m-commerce and are spending most of their money online. And as technology and commerce is expanding faster, retailers are finding it difficult to keep pace with logistics and infrastructure because these two fields are still emerging with newer software and newer gadgets.

In most cases domestic logistics service providers are unable to provide services to fulfil high volumes of customer parcel shipping at low costs and within a realistic delivery time frame, this noticeably impacts the direct-to-customer channel. Retailers have to thus establish their own distribution networks or rely on outsourced express shippers.  This leads to an opportunistic gap in the market for third-party (3PL) and forth-party (4PL) logistics companies and investment in industrial real estate infrastructure.

In the US for the past two decades, U.S. companies have been shifting production to markets with lower labour costs. However, as energy costs rise and labor becomes more expensive in Asian markets, companies are increasing near-shoring and on-shoring. Firms which opt for all-water options but cannot tolerate the lengthy shipping times from Asia are shifting some operations to near-shoring destinations such as Mexico or Central and South America and even back to the United States.  With production and demand closer to home, retailers can respond more quickly to trends and changes in buying patterns.

Nearly 80 percent of retailers say that online sales have increased in the past five years with some reporting increase of 25 percent or more. This has forced retailers to change the traditional distribution network for their e-commerce model. 3PL and 4 PL providers have gained a huge role to play in the e-commerce business model.

Generally, 3PL provider’s main business is to provide logistical services as its core activities. The logistics services offered are based on the range of its logistics’ function. They include freight forwarders, courier companies and other companies integrating & offering subcontracted logistics and transportation services. 4 PL differs from third party logistics in some of these ways: 4PL organization is often a separate entity established as a joint venture or long-term contract between a primary client and one or more partners; 4PL organization acts as a single interface between the client and multiple logistics service providers; ideally all aspects of the client’s supply chain are managed by the 4PL organization; and it is possible for a major third-party logistics provider to form a 4PL organization within its existing structure.

4PL was originally defined by Accenture as a trademark in 1996 and defined as “A supply chain integrator that assembles and manages the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization with those of complementary service providers to deliver a comprehensive supply chain solution.” but the concept has almost changed at present.

4PLs have also been referred to as “Lead Logistics Providers”. In the present scenario, new crop of companies have emerged who are actual transportation companies too. While a 4PL is sometimes described as non-asset-owning service provider, their role is to provide broader scope managing of the entire supply chain. The 4PL model offers a platform to get companies thinking about long-term strategy; developing an idea of what they want their future supply chain scene to look like.

If you look closer, the 4PL model actually drives 3PL outsourcing. The difference between the two activities ultimately comes down to scope. In a traditional transactional role, the 3PL will hold on to scope—managing a warehouse, for example. With a 4PL model, the scope recedes and flows. The service provider scales resources depending on different skill set requirements that turn upwards.

If e-commerce brings the logistics industry closer to the point of consumption, it has boosted the demand in the logistics industry. Would it be wrong if we call Amazon and Wal-Mart logistics companies? At heart, these companies are retailers; but, actually on the basis of the economics of these two companies, Amazon and Wal-Mart are far, far better at handling the logistics of their trade than their competitors and hence they are the leaders. Distribution is their core competence.

If you read the case of Amazon.com one understands how important firm’s logistics is in e-commerce. Amazon.com has come a long way since its founder and chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos, stopped imagining the company as a virtual bookstore. It has evolved into an online retail giant that generated US $74.45 billion in revenues in 2013. It is worth mentioning that much of that came from its support of more than two million companies that used Amazon to sell their products online and distribute them to customers. Under the company’s various programs, Amazon not only provides its customers with a means of advertising and selling their products, but also offers to store those products in its fulfilment centres; pick, pack, and ship them; and provide customer service which includes handling returns.

In the process of developing its network to support those services, Amazon has built out an infrastructure which by recent account includes 145 warehouses around the world! 84 in the United States, four in Canada, 29 in Europe, 15 in China, 10 in Japan, and seven in India. This collectively accounts for more than 40 million square feet of space. Amazon has also made substantial investments in material handling systems, including the acquisition of Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012.  Kiva is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, which designs robots, software, workstations, and other hardware that has been used in the distribution facilities of companies such as Staples, Office Depot, and The Gap. The systems produced by Kiva are expected to be an integral part of the distribution network now being developed by Amazon. Amazon has also made major investments in cloud computing. At the same time, the company has been developing transportation capabilities to support its Amazon Fresh same-day grocery business. That’s called might of an e-commerce company!

Consumerism promotes both social as well as economic conditions which encourages the buying of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. And, consumerism implies better economy of a nation. The term refers to the consumer protection which seeks to defend and inform consumers to be informed of practices as honest advertising and packaging, product guarantees, fair price, and enhanced standards of safety. In this regard it is a movement or an array of policies having a mission of regulating the products, methods, services, and standards of sellers, manufacturers and advertisers in the buyers’ interests. As per economics definition, consumerism means economic policies of laying importance on consumption. In a sense, it is believed that the consumers are free to make choice and should dictate the society’s economic structure. The term “consumerism” had been first used in the year 1915 and referred to “advocacy of the rights and interests of consumers” defined in Oxford English Dictionary. Consumer protection plays a crucial role in building a fairer, safer world.

In the developing countries, consumers are yet to grow to be mature in their decision making. Consumers need to think seriously regarding their requirements. Most of the products are purchased by the consumers based on herd mentality; if neighbors buy something, or friends buy then even I want to buy. Also, there are many products in the market that signifies the status symbol like food processor, microwave, home theatre, dining tables etc and the consumers are ready to purchase these products even without having much demand. Some life-events influence consumer behavior; these life events which otherwise can be rationally handled; need, arousal, information, search need to be evaluated while looking at alternatives which does not happen.

In India there are strong and clear laws to defend consumer rights. Out of the various laws that have been enforced to protect the consumer rights in India, the most important is the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. According to this law, everybody, including individuals, a firm, a Hindu undivided family and a company, have the right to exercise their consumer rights for the purchase of goods and services made by them. It is noteworthy that, as consumer, one knows the basic rights as well as about the courts and procedures that follow with the infringement of one’s rights.

In general, the consumer rights in India are listed below:

• The right to be protected from all kind of hazardous goods and services: Goods or services that can be proved hazardous to the safety or life of a person offered for sale, unknowingly or knowingly, that cause injury to health, safety or life. According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the consumer right is referred to as ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property’. It is applicable to specific areas like healthcare, pharmaceuticals and food processing; this right is spread across the domain having a serious effect on the health of the consumers or their well being viz. Automobiles, Housing, Domestic Appliances, and Travel etc. When there is violation of the right then there occur medical malpractice lawsuits in the country. It is estimated every year that thousands or millions of citizens of India are killed or seriously injured by immoral practices by doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and the automobile industry. Still the government of India, known for its callousness, does not succeed in acknowledging this fact or making a feeble effort for maintaining statistics of the mishaps
• The right to be fully informed about the performance and quality of all goods and services: The right to information is defined as ‘the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. In the market place of India, consumers get information by two ways namely advertising and word of mouth however these sources are considered to be unreliable but still this word of mouth is quite common here. Because of this, the Indian consumers hardly have precise and complete information for assessing the true value, safety, suitability, reliability of any product. Usually the hidden costs can be found, lack of suitability, quality problems and safety hazards only after the purchase of the product.
• The right to free choice of goods and services.
• The right to be heard in all decision-making processes related to consumer interests.
• The right to seek redressal, whenever consumer rights have been infringed.
• The right to complete consumer education.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and several other laws like the Weights, Standards & Measures Act need be formulated further to make sure that there is fair competition in the market and free flow of correct information from goods and services providers to the ones who consume them. In fact, the degree of consumer protection in any country is regarded as the rightly gauged which accelerates progress of the country. There is high level of sophistication gained by the goods and services providers in their marketing and selling practices and different types of promotional tasks viz. advertising resulted in an increasing requirement for more consumer awareness and protection. The government of India has realized the condition of Indian consumers therefore the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has incorporated the Department of Consumer Affairs as the nodal organization to protect the consumer rights, redress the consumer grievances and promote the standards governing goods and services provided in India.

If there is infringement of rights of consumer then a complaint can be made under the following circumstances and reported to the close by designated consumer court:

• The goods or services purchased by a person or agreed to be purchased by a person has one or more defects or deficiencies in any respect.
• A trader or a service provider resorts to unfair or restrictive practices of trade.
• A trader or a service provider if charges a price more than the price displayed on the goods or the price that was agreed upon between the parties or the price that was stipulated under any law that exist.

Consumers International (CI), the global federation of consumer organisations, set out to consider the state of consumer protection around the world through a global survey of its member organisations. Seventy consumer groups from 58 countries participated in this research, which covers a wide range of consumer protection issues. The results provide an discerning global snapshot of consumer protection across a wide spectrum of countries, and an invaluable contribution to CI’s work on consumer justice and protection. The results of this survey also come at an important time in the ongoing international development of consumer protection. The key principles of consumer safety were initially being protected at an international level in the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP). Since being established in 1985, the UNGCP now forms the basis of consumer protection legislation in many countries around the world. CI and its member organisations are contributing to this process to ensure that the guidelines are revised to reflect the reality faced by consumers in the 21st Century.

Conclusion: While the business world is experiencing the how consumerism is changing the way the world shops because of the consumer’s ability to get information about whatever he wants, whenever he wants and this power has given the consumer an unprecedented strength. In markets with highly transparent prices, they are kings. And we see highly transparent markets only in developed countries. The implications for business are colossal; threatening for some and welcoming for others. For instance, the huge increase in choice makes certain brands more valuable, while some lose their value. And as old business divisions crumble, a strong brand in one sector can kill other brand’s potential. Look at how Apple has used its iPod to take away business for portable music players from Sony; Starbucks is aiming to become a big noise in the music business by installing CD-burners in its cafés; and Dell is moving from computers into consumer electronics.

Green economy is defined as an economy which sustains development by reducing environmental risks and ecological paucities. It grows without degrading environment. The 2011 UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) says that to be Green Economy, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level fairness dimensions, particularly in assuring a just transition to an economy that is low on carbon emission, resource efficient, and socially inclusive. In green economy, overall economic growth and employment is driven by public and private investments that aim at reducing carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to be catalyzed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes. This development path should maintain, enhance and, wherever necessary, rebuild natural capital as a critical economic asset and source of public benefits. This is especially for poor people whose livelihoods and security depend strongly on nature. Germany, Brazil, Singapore, South Africa, France and Ukraine are among those countries that follow the Green Economy norms strictly.

“Rio+20” is the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012, twenty years after the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. On the way to Rio+20, the Pacific Small Island Developing States (Pacific SIDS) started promoting “Blue Economy” which focuses on the marine environment. For the Pacific SIDS, “green economy” is a “blue economy” that prominently features oceans, which account for almost 71 percent of the earth’s surface. Some concerns of the Pacific SIDS are increasing their share of benefits from the use of their marine living resources and building the flexibility of marine ecosystems to the impact of climate change and ocean acidification.

The Pacific is a diverse region made up of countries and territories with varying land sizes, populations, natural resources, economies and cultures. The main economic sectors in the region are tourism, fisheries, forestry and agriculture. Income from ocean plays an increasingly important role in the economies of Pacific SIDS, contributing towards economic growth and sustaining livelihoods, including meeting education and basic needs.

Geographic isolation and the small land area and population sizes of SIDS result in unique challenges for sustainable development. Pacific SIDS suffers from diseconomies of scale in production and exchange of goods and services: mainly because of remoteness from export markets and high vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change. Despite these challenges, the environment, culture and uniqueness produced by isolation has created a strong tourism industry with prospects for continued growth for SIDS. Isolation has also produced flexible communities with strong traditions, cultures and coping capacity.

The sustainable development agenda is a broad one, aiming to ensure inclusive economic growth for current and future generations. Economic, social and environmental dimensions comprise the pillars of a holistic and integrated approach. The single most important area where international and regional cooperation has become most urgent is climate change. Reducing the risks associated with the impacts of climate change including extreme weather and climate variability and accelerated sea level rise is a fundamental developmental challenge faced by Pacific SIDS. This must be urgently addressed in order to contribute to improving livelihoods, economic wellbeing and health, as well as maintaining biodiversity, culture and security.

Like “green economy,” which is not limited to the green ecosystem, the “blue economy” is not limited to the marine ecosystem. It is the economy that responds to the basic needs of all with what we have. As such, it stands for a new way of designing business: using the resources available in flowing systems, where the waste of one product becomes the input to create a new cash flow. Dr. Catia Bastioli, Chief Executive Officer at Novamont S.p.A which produces bioplastics in Italy, and European Inventor of the Year 2007, sums up Blue Economy: “The blue economy fosters our transition from a product-based economy to a system-based economy.”

Gunter Pauli is a Belgian entrepreneur who started a project to find the best nature-inspired technologies that could affect the economies of the world. The result is his Report which states “Blue Economy: 100 Innovations – 10 years – 100 million jobs.” His project started the transformation of the “green economy” to “blue economy,” which is now attracting the interest of creative entrepreneurs in various countries.

Some of the basic principles of “blue economy” are: substitute something with nothing; challenge a resource regarding its necessity for production; natural systems pour nutrients, matter and energy; waste does not exist; any by-product is the source for a new product; and sustainable business evolves with reverence, not only for local resources, but also for culture and tradition.

For flourishing the Blue Economy a beginning needs to be made from educating and motivating our youth to go into the study of the marine environment. Most of them have a limited view of opportunities in marine business which is far beyond only fishing. Youngsters think that with traditional fishing most fishermen remain poor; therefore this field does not interest them. Hence most high school students prefer courses in criminology, medicine, nursing, and engineering computer technology. Today, developing marine technology is need of the hour for protecting our oceans. Many young people need to take up careers in marine sciences and technology to begin with.

Developing a blue economy in our coastal and aquatic areas, as well as in our entire country, requires public and private sector partnership. The World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) has started project ‘The coral triangle’ for the global centre for marine biodiversity. It’s a 6 million square kilometers area spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands. Within this area of the sea, world’s 76% coral species which include 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species and 2,228 reef fish species live. WWF is doing its best to protect this marine wealth. It is engaging entrepreneurs and innovators to help display the blue economy approach through the “adoption of new technology and finance schemes and facilitating Public-Private Partnerships” in the Coral Triangle.

One example of a blue economy initiative focused on the blue ecosystem is aquaponics which is the combination of fish farming and vegetable farming. Gunter Pauli’s case study reports that aquaponics represents the highest growth in the aqua culture business, which is now the world’s fastest growing farming sector with an average worldwide growth rate of 6 to 8 percent and a worldwide value of $86 billion in 2009. Aquaponics produces cultured fish in a controlled environment. Hence, it does not deplete natural aquatic resources but only taps them for the initial stock. As per Pauli’s project report, the leading producers of cultured fish are produced 70 percent by China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Australia leads in providing technologies for backyard aqua or hydroponics. Another blue economy initiative in Pauli’s project is the design of ecological sound fishing boat that does not use fossil fuel. Actually, every step of the whole value chain of fishing which starts from the fishing vessel to the processing and delivering of products offers opportunities for blue economy initiatives.

In his recent trip to Bangladesh on 6^th June 2015, India’s Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi expressed his happiness that India and Bagladesh are working together in the area of cosmography at academic levels. In his speech Mr. Modi spoke about Blue Economy and its relevance for developing nations such as India and Bangladesh.  He said that according to the UN, the ocean is the heart of our planet. Like our heart pumps blood to every part of our body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where we live. The ocean regulates the climate, feeds millions of people every year, produces oxygen and is the home to an incredible assortment of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more. In order to ensure the health and safety of our communities and future generations, it’s imperative that we take the responsibility to care for the ocean as it cares for us. Indeed the world is moving from Green Economy to Blue Economy.

Cartography or mapmaking has been an important part of the human history for a long time; possibly from past 8,000 years. It seems in ancient Babylon, Greece and Asia cave paining was used for exploration of newer terrains. In those days also people used to create and use maps as an essential tool to help them define, explain, and navigate their way through the world. Tough we have learnt map reading in our high schools; I am presenting here some vital details of map reading which I have found very useful in recent years.

Why do we use Maps?

Maps are one of the most important tools researchers, cartographers, tourists, students and others can use to examine the entire earth or a specific part of it. In simple words maps are pictures of the earth’s surface. They can be used as general reference to show landforms, political boundaries, water bodies, and the positions of cities.

What are the uses of Maps?

A map gives a minute depiction of a very large space. It acts as a guide in places which we have never visited before. They give us the distance in two places, mountains, rivers, railway station, airport, and shapes of places or destinations.

Purpose of a map
With a map, one does not have to depend on anybody for local directions. It acts as direction finder for a very small price.

The IT revolution has given way to GIS (Geographic Information Systems) it has become large domain within the broader academic discipline of Geoinformatics. The fact is – Geoinformatics due to spatial data infrastructure has no restrictive boundaries.

Different types of maps can show us a plethora of information existing on earth. Twenty years ago, we used paper maps and printed guides to help us navigate the world.

Today, the most advanced digital mapping technologies—satellite imagery, GPS devices, location data and of course Google Maps are much more accessible. This sea change in mapping technology is improving our lives and helping businesses realize untold competences and destinations. I today’s age it is essential for every business organization to have its online presence for its existence needs to be known to the world. Its presence needs to be found. And where do people go when they need to find something? It’s Google, and when we look out for something Google maps are most useful. They present the minutest detail to find out a location.

What are the different types of maps.

Definition of Political Map: A political map does not show any topographic features. It instead focuses solely on the state and national boundaries of a place. They also include the locations of cities – both large and small, depending on the detail of the map. A common type of political map would be World Atlas.

Definition of Physical Map: Physical maps often include much of the same data found on a political map, but their primary purpose is to show landforms like deserts, mountains and plains. Their topography style presents an overall better picture of the local terrain.

Uses of Physical Maps
Physical maps use color connotations to show physical landscape features of a place. They show rivers and lakes and water bodies with blue color. Mountains and elevation changes are usually shown with different colors and shades to show relief. Normally on physical maps green shows lower elevations while browns show high elevations.

What is a Topographic Map: In modern mapping, a topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of break, using contour lines (outline) by using different methods.

Conventional definition of  topographic map require a it to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic map is published as a map series which is made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a combination of two line segments that connect but do not intersect; these represent elevation on a topographic map. Contour lines on topographic maps are normally spaced at regular intervals to show elevation changes. For example. each line represent a 100 foot (30 m) elevation change usually. When lines are close together the terrain is steep and when lines are little distanced they represent a reasonable terrain.

Definition of Climate Map: They symbolize aspects of climate. They show the geographic distribution of the monthly or annual average values of climatic variables such as temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, percentage of possible sunshine, isolation, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure over regions ranging in area from a few tens of square kilometers to global breadth. The climate map minimizes the bias in the data by averaging 30 years data; this it does to take into account one or two periods with abnormally high or low values.

Definition of Economic Map: An economic or resource map shows the specific type of economic activity or natural resources present in an area. This is shown through the use of different symbols or colors depending on what is being shown on the map. Economic Map shows branches of various production spheres. These maps are concerned with the trade, commerce, transport of goods, economic conditions etc of a country, a state or a city. These maps also show unemployment, energy resource usage, banking and commerce, and world trade.

Definition of Road Map: A road map is one of the most widely used map types. These maps show major and minor highways and roads in details, as well as spots like railway station, airports, city locations and points of interest like parks, campgrounds, temples, churches and monuments. Major highways on a road map are generally red and larger than other roads. Minor roads are a lighter color and a narrower line. A road map primarily displays roads and transport links. It also shows political boundaries and labels, making it also a type of political map. The earliest road map was drawn around 1160 BC in ancient Egypt.

Definition of Thematic Map: An early contributor to thematic mapping was in England by the English Astronomer Edmond Halley. His first significant cartographic contribution was of a Star Chart of the constellation of the Southern Hemisphere, made during his stay at St. Helena and published in 1686. In that same year he also published his first terrestrial map in an article about trade winds, and this map is called the first meteorological chart. Another example of early thematic mapping was by London physician John Snow. In this map cholera disease had been mapped thematically. Snow’s cholera map in 1854 is the best known example of using thematic maps for analysis. Essentially, his technique and methodology anticipate principles of a geographic information system (GIS).

 What does a Thematic map do?

A thematic map focuses on a particular theme or special topic.  They do not just show natural features like rivers, cities, political subdivisions, elevation and highways. If these items are on a thematic map, they are background information and are used as reference points to enhance the map’s theme.

How to read Maps and develop map reading skills?

And, finally we all need to learn the map reading skills that is required to read and interpret maps. They fall under visual literacy because one needs to get habituated to read images. Visual literacy means not just decoding an image but also to comprehend it; grasping the image and its intentional meaning, evaluating it, and integrating it into other knowledge. Though it seems easy, map reading requires patience and a sharp approach to comprehend it.

The idea of an industrial cluster is that a large number of small manufacturing units located at one place and are together able to produce a final product; while each of them might be involved in only one or a few steps in a complex chain of production. Thus this kind of production system may be seen as a substitute for a large scale corporate production system. Today such clusters are found in various parts of Asia, Europe, Latin America and other parts of the world. In India we hear about dedicated clusters manufacturing textiles in Varanasi, Tirupur, Jaipur, etc., as well as locks & keys in Aligarh, brassware in Moradabad, pumps in Rajkot, bicycles in Ludhiana, leather in Kanpur so on. The author wishes to give hereby an analysis of how Kanpur leather cluster grew.

Sectored clusters: When a cluster is formed for businesses operating in the same sector it is called sectored cluster. In India, the Kerala government emphasized that SMEs face multi-dimensional problems in their upward movement, the joint director of industries in Kearala saw the need for strengthening the key issue in helping the small and medium scale businesses in achieving the economies of scale and improving their negotiation power, specialization, access to credit, strategic information, technology, raw material availability and marketing capability. Some of these problems are caused mainly due to isolation of SMEs and hence they decided to form sectoral clusters. Further, the Kerala government has decided to set up an international skill academy to boost the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). This was announced recently by the state Labour Minister.

Firms engaged in clustering typically show competitive advantage in four key areas:

Increased productivity in business: Companies operating in a cluster operate more efficiently by taking better advantage of economies of scale and shared resources with other businesses.

Innovation: With help of educational establishments in the cluster, by gathering information from other businesses, sources of more knowledge and experience innovation in technology and business processes becomes very easy.

Knowledge transfer: Due to easy connectivity with other businesses, government’s initiatives in training and development knowledge is easily transferable. New businesses are more benefited.

Market awareness: Clustering allows companies to serve existing markets better and to respond to future market changes, through the establishment of closer links with local clients and markets. Companies in a cluster can also act co-operatively in sourcing market data.

Kanpur leather cluster:

Kanpur is well known global hub of leather industries. There are saddler and equestrian goods exporters, shoe and shoe components manufacturers and exporters as well as producers of finished leather, leather garments and leather accessories. The leather units of Kanpur are renowned for high quality leather products and realistic pricing.

History of this cluster dates back to 150 years ago, when the British set up factories for production of shoes and saddler items to meet military requirements. During World War I, the existing capacity was inadequate to meet the increasing demands. Local entrepreneurs were encouraged to set up manufacturing facilities for these items. World War II further motivated the growth of these industries, and in due course of time Kanpur became a prominent centre of production of leather & leather products.

There are organizations catering specifically to the needs of Indian leather industries viz. Central Leather Research Institute of India, Footwear Design and Development Institute of India and Council of Leather Exports, India etc. and many others. In India, the Kanpur leather cluster has grown substantially over the years.  It includes geographical boundaries of district Kanpur (urban) and Unnao town and Banthar leather complex situated in Unnao district. This was necessitated as majority of units are situated in Kanpur city but a few units are also at Unnao and Banthar leather complex.

BDS (Business Development Service) market though fragmented, offers subsidized services which are fixed and packaged. The category of fee based services is in areas of testing, tax & audit, ISO certification & social audit. There are not too many service providers barring CAs. Associations are mainly engaged in advocacy work. In spite of presence of large no of government institutions, linkages with industry are very weak. Dependence of such institutes on subsidy for provision of services has also led to limited outreach. There is also lack of awareness about efficacy of using such services and culture of dependency and availing subsidized and free services prevail.

Facilitating Business Development Service (BDS) market is one of the components of a multi donor assisted project for improving performance and competitiveness of SMEs in India leading to generation of employment and reduction of poverty. SIDBI is its implementing agency and the Department of Banking, Ministry of Finance, GOI is its nodal agency. In the initial phase, SIDBI has selected 3 clusters for such interventions and Kanpur leather cluster is one of such selected clusters.

BDS services in the cluster are being provided by three categories of providers i.e. I) government support institutions, ii) industries associations and iii) private agencies/individuals. There are very few fee based services and mostly are subsidized or embedded/bundled services.

There is plethora of government support institutions providing free/subsidized services. (A) Council of Leather Exports (CLE) CLE is an outfit of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI having regional office at Kanpur. It is a member based organization and its mandate is to provide support to its members for increasing export. At present CLE Kanpur has 349 members and annual membership fee collected by them is Rs 40 lakh. The membership fee is being charged on the basis of export turnover. Major services provided by them are: Dissemination of information regarding exports, organizing trade fares, organizing buyers and sellers meet, marketing assistance, advocacy support regarding concerned ministries

IIT, Kanpur has a separate consultancy department catering to needs of SMEs created for providing services in the areas of energy conservation methods, marketing & finance, innovative product design, packaging, IT applications and application of multimedia.  It has also set up an incubation centre with the financial support of SIDBI. This centre provides enabling conditions like provision of incubation space, access to library and venture capitalists and technical assistance to budding entrepreneurs and starts ups undertaking innovative projects. The services are subsidized and in lieu of its services IIT go for equity participation in assisted companies on mutually agreed terms.

International Institute of Saddlery Technology & Export Management (IISTEM):

IISTEM was set up with the assistance of UNDP under its National Leather Development Programme and is functional since 2000. It runs three year Diploma Course in Saddlery Technology and one year courses in footwear manufacturing and design. It also conducts short term courses for operators catering to needs of footwear and saddlery sub sectors. All courses are fee based and IISTEM is getting no grants from the government. In a year they are training about 150 persons at different level needed by saddlery and footwear sub sectors. It has also created one common facilities centre widely used by small manufacturers by paying charges based on time usage of machines. IISTEM with support of IIT, Kanpur has developed design and prototype of polymer tree used by saddlery sub –sector and has also commercialized it and identified one local unit for its manufacturing & marketing. They are receiving royalty to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh every year.

National Productivity Council (NPC)

NPC is having its regional office at Kanpur. It provides consultancy in major areas like productivity improvement, energy savings and human resources development. It provides all services are fee based. At Kanpur their major clients are PSUs and big units in sugar and manufacturing sector. Due to reluctance of SMEs to pay fees, they are not targeting SMEs and also their presence in leather sector is marginal.

There are many engineering colleges and management institutes running different courses. Though they have wherewithal to provide services to SMEs in various fields but presently providing no such services to SMEs.

SIDBI and private infrastructure development firm, IL&FS, have jointly taken the initiative to impart training to financial accountants engaged in the local leather industry. The move is aimed at enabling entrepreneurs to make the most of various government sops and schemes by maintaining their financial records proficiently. This is how the Kanpur Leather Cluster has grown in leaps and bounds in India with the initiatives from Government and private players.

In some places, nations, regions, cities, the governments or local governments provided tax incentives and other concessions to enable cluster growth. Clusters have created attractive business districts which in turn brought in investments, created more jobs and promoted lesser developed areas. Cluster formations have made lesser developed areas more attractive; they have brought in broader tax bases. Hence many state and central governments in the world have recognized that it is worthwhile, and indeed more economical providing an infrastructure base to a cluster than to provide similar services and infrastructure to disparate firms located far from each other.

At present this cluster has a concentration of units producing semi finished/finished leather/footwear/and saddlery & harness items. In recent times a few units have come up for making leather garments and leather goods also. In addition, Kanpur Cluster also situates many units involved in tanning of leather. In all there are about 1600 units engaged in production of leather & leather products and total volume of business of this cluster is about Rs. 2900 crores.

Existing and Emerging Strengths of Kanpur Cluster

• Design development initiatives by institutions and individuals
• Continuous modernization and technology upgradation
• Economic size of manufacturing units
• Constant human resource development program to enhance productivity
• Increasing use of quality components
• Shorter prototype development time
• Delivery compliance
• Growing domestic market and international demand for footwear and leather articles

Businesses in a cluster provide high levels of support to each other. Clusters may form as large companies attract suppliers and other providers. Kanpur leather cluster is growing steadily and becoming one of the well acclaimed clusters in the world.