Yes / This study proposes an optimisation-based “benefit-of-the-doubt” (BoD) methodological framework for developing a new multidimensional index of bank stability. The proposed index has the ability to serve as a potent policy tool that overcomes the downsides of accounting- and market-based measures of bank stability. This data-driven approach generates endogenous weights for aggregating bank stability indicators and dimensions. Further, we integrate the BoD framework with a metafrontier approach, which we call a “meta-BoD framework”. The final outcomes of the suggested framework go beyond a scalar measure of bank stability and provide the unique weighting matrix that offers valuable policy-relevant insights about the most precarious areas of stability that require the attention of management and regulators for both micro- and macro-level policy interventions. In addition, it draws insightful information about the instability gaps across heterogenous bank groups. The study presents an illustrative example of the proposed framework to obtain a bank stability index using the dataset of 76 Indian banks operating between 2014 and 2018. The bank stability index is made up of 14 financial ratio indicators covering five dimensions of stability: asset quality, management efficiency, capital adequacy, profitability and liquidity. The findings offer the detailed information required for comprehending the evolution of bank stability and assessing instability gaps across bank groups.

The main objective of this research is to evaluate the socio economic impact of the development programs like MGNREGA, JnNURM and development of Roads project, on the intended target area. The entire thesis can be divided in to two parts; (1) developing method to evaluate the socio economic impact assessment and (2) case studies. Two different techniques were used to evaluate the change in the productivity. Initially the change is measure by calculating the difference in the efficiencies between two time period using base period and current period production technologies. To illustrate this method a case study of MGNREGA has been considered to evaluate the impact of seventeen districts of the country. From the results it is found that there is difficult in comparing the two efficiencies due to the scaling issue of two production technologies. Further Data Envelopment Analysis is used to evaluate the distance function in the calculation of Malmquist index (MI). MI gives the productivity change between two time periods and is calculated as the geometric mean of two ratios measured with reference to the time period and time period respectively. A new approach is presented by interpreting the two ratios of MI separately using the distance functions to identify the productivity change between two time periods. Three different regions were identified to determine the productivity change; improvement region which observe improvement in the productivity between two time periods, deterioration region which indicate deterioration in the productivity and status quo region suggesting the stagnation region. Two case studies i.e. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and development of roads under the name “5054-Decongestion of Roads project” were considered. The impact of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) funds on the performance of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is studied using the proposed method. The results suggest that for 50 percent of the overall productivity have improved due to the intervention. The deterioration is mainly because of the addition input surplus in terms of number of buses and output slack in terms of reduced load factor, effective distance travelled, operational costs and increase in number of breakdown and accident rates for these DMU’s. The socio economic impact of the roads developed by Government of Karnataka under the name of “5054-Decongestion of Roads project” in and around Bangalore was also studied using this method and the results shows that out of five DMU’s four DMU’s show improvement in the productivity.

Today, with various technology and business standards, organizations face rapid changes in both internal and external environments. To be able to rapidly respond to such changing environments, integration of software systems has entered among the top priorities of many organizations. However, despite extended use of software integration, methods for estimating the business value of implementing such integration are still missing. Besides presenting a conceptual model to define the benefits of systems integration and related causal relationships, this study proposes a method for measuring such benefits in monetary terms. In particular, we  demonstrate how a mathematical programming technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) can be used to evaluate the business value of software integration. Our method is illustrated using data from 12 organizations. The results indicate significant productivity gains by integrating software systems, which represent the value of software integration in organizations.