Journal Press India^®

The field of commerce and management has various dimensions relating to business environment and business practice. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management is an attempt to refine and advance the understanding of business systems and management practices by bringing together the perspectives of scholars and practitioners on related areas. It is my pleasure to introduce the inaugural issue of MANTHAN to our readers.

The lead article of this issue takes up the topical area of corporate social responsibility and its impact on the Indian stock market. The authors find that social responsible companies are performing better than other companies. Another paper attempts to study the trend of major subsidies given by the Government of India, and then examines whether all the forms of subsidies are uniformly responsible for fiscal deficit or otherwise. Two of the articles relate to rural India; one focusing on the demand and targeting of Kisan Credit Card scheme in India, and second on the impact of Self Help Groups on women empowerment. Another paper of contemporary significance critically evaluates the present form of Companies Act and its implications for corporate governance. The paper analyses certain provisions in the Companies Act 2013 that will improve corporate governance by reducing conflicts at various levels. This issue also includes papers focusing on environment and its impact for the economy and for business sustainability.

Overall, we have tried to put together diverse dimensions of commerce and management in this inaugural issue. We welcome suggestions and feedback from all our readers to contribute towards the betterment of the journal and help us in making it a successful endeavour.

Dr. Himanshu Sekhar Rout

Editor-in-chief