A

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

UNDER TAKEN AT

KRISHAK BHARTI CO-OPERATIVE

Ltd.

Submitted By

DHARMENDRA C. KARELIYA
(044)

Guided By

BBA PROGRAMME
YAER 2010-11)

SREE SWAMI ATMANAND SARASWATI COLLEGE OF

MANAGEMENT &INFORMATION SCIENCES

Declaration

1
I hereby declare that this summer project report submitted
to shree swami atmanand saraswati college of management
and information sciencies, surat, in the fulfillment of
requirement of bba degree. The project is result of my own
work carried out during april-june 2010.

This project report is entirely an outcome of my own efforts

and has not been previously submitted to any other
university or institute for any other examination and for any
other purpose by any other person.

Date : Kareliya dharmendra c.

Place: Surat Id no: 044

Acknowledgement

2
I am thankful to Principal of SHREE SWAMI ATMANAND SARASWATI COLLEGE
OF MANAGEMENT &INFORMATION SCIENCIES for giving an opportunity to come
on this stage to complete for the summer training of B.B.A.

I am also thankful to prof.swetlana patel for constant support and encouragement as

well as the valuable guidance & direction he had provided to me during the preparation of
entire my project report.

My harmful thank to general manager of kribhco for allowing me in their company and
giving me opportunity to learn getting the best experience & for giving me the guidance
& help whenever required. I also thankful to Mr. N.K SHAHU (Manager-HR) who gives
excellent guideline to us during the Project.

I find my project very useful and educative, It was very good experience for me in the
organization, to me and discuss with the valuable information of MARKETING,
FINANCE, PRODUCTION, HUMAN RESOURCES FOR KRIBHCO. I thank for them
for being so helpful in my project.

-DHARMENDRA
KARELIYA

3
 Executive summery

Kribhco is one of the biggest co-operative sectors of asia

which manufacture fertilizer. Kribhco has setup a fertilizer
complex to manufacture urea, ammonia& bio-fertilizer at
hazira in the state of gujrat, on the bank of river tapti,near
kawas villege, 15 kms from surat railway station on surat
hazira state highway.

During the training period from 17th april to 20 june, we have

studied different departments at kribhco.i observed different
activities of them. I have studied hrd, finance&accounting,
production, marketing and personnel&administration.
Activities of hrd department are mainly concerned with
training activities, hr planning & other hr activities. Main
activities of f&a department are financial planning, capital &
revenue budgeting, ratio analysis. Marketing department is
mainly concerned with pricing policies, sales
promotion,sales&demand forecasting activities of personnel
& administration department are to do recruitment &
selection. Performance appraisal, promotion & all
administration activities of kribhco township.

In short, kribhco handles its all functions efficiently. It

operates at its effective level by performing the sequence of
operations, and acquires the maximum profits among
leading manufactures of fertilizers-urea.

4
 Index

SR. PARTICULAR PAGE

No. No.

1 INTRODUCTION 6

2 INDUSTRY PROFILE 7

3 Company profile 13

4 Theoretical frme work 24

5 Literature review 30

6 Research methodology 35

7 Data analysis 55

8 Findings&recommendation 59

9 conclusion 61

INTRODUCTION

5
KRIBHCO has setup a Fertilizer Complex to manufacture Urea, Ammonia &
Bio-fertilizers at Hazira in the State of Gujarat, on the bank of river Tapti, 15
Kms from Surat city on Surat – Hazira State Highway.

Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India laid the Foundation
Stone on February 5, 1982.

Hazira Fertiliser Complex has 2 Streams of Ammonia Plant and 4 Streams of

Urea Plant. Annual re-assessed capacity for Urea and Ammonia is 1.729
million MT and 1.003 million MT resepctively, the total Project cost was Rs.
890 crores as against the estimated cost of Rs. 957 crores. This shows a
saving of Rs. 67 crores (approximately 7%) in Capital Cost of the Project.

The trial production commenced from November, 1985 and within a very
short time of 3 months, the commercial production commenced from March
01, 1986. Since then, it has excelled in performance in all areas of its
operations.

Biofertilizer plant of 100 MT per year capacity was commissioned at Hazira

in August, 1995. KRIBHCO has also completed the installation of an
expansion of the Bio-Fertiliser plant with an additional capacity of 150 MT
and the same was commissioned in December, 1998.

Ten Seed Processing Plants are also in operation in various states.

Introduction to Fertilizer Industry

6
 India lives in villages” said
Mahatma Gandhi decades ago. It is
true even today. Like every
developing economy, the economy
of India is also agro-based.
Agriculture accounts for nearly 1/4th
of India's GDP and more
importantly, about 2/3rd of the
country's population is dependent
on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood. As per statistics
nearly 175 lakh MT of fertilizer nutrients are required every year in this
country. The demand of fertilizers was so high that India had to import
almost 30% of its requirement from other countries. Therefore, to
achieve the economic growth, agriculture base of the country must be
strengthened. To attain this objective, agriculture practices have to be
improved from their traditional pattern to a higher technological track
involving better irrigation and use of better quality seeds, fertilizers,
insecticides & pesticides. Therefore, chemical fertilizers are key player
in this process and fertilizer industries plays quite a major role in
increasing food production in the country and also helps to modernize
the out look of the common farmers and make them innovative and
respective to the new technology change.

A fertilizer is any material, organic, inorganic, natural or

synthetic, that is placed on or incorporated into the soil to supply
plants with one or more of the chemicals elements necessary for
normal growth. Fertilizer is the material, which supplies the chemicals
elements required for plant growth. Primary nutrients like nitrogen,
phosphates and potassium (required for fertilizer land) are supplied
through chemical fertilizer. Fertilizer response studies have proved that
one kg. of fertilizer nutrient application can the food grain production
by 8-10 kg.

7
 Fertilizer production is of permanent importance for this country
because fertilizer increases agriculture productivity. One hand
population increasing but on the other the supply of land is totally
fixed. So we have to produce more without any increase in arable land
area. This can be done if productivity goes up. And fertilizer plays a
major role in productivity escalation.

As this is a vital commodity it is in the interest of nation that

farmers get fertilizers at reasonable rate and in adequate quantity.
Looking to the poor economic condition of Indian farmers Government
of India framed fertilizer policy in 1977 based on Maratha committee
report. The purpose behind introducing this policy was to supply
fertilizer to resource poor at a price they could afford, so as to increase
the consumption of fertilizer, to increase food production, and ensure
fair return to fertilizer producers.

With this twin objective, Retention Price Scheme (RPS) for

fertilizers came into picture. In this scheme government has brought
the fertilizer under the preview of Essential Commodities Act (ECA) in
which the retail price of fertilizer to the farmer is notified by the
Government of India from time to time. This retail price to the farmer is
uniform throughout the country and is subject to local taxes applicable
under the respective States.

Further under ECA, the government also operates a system of

distribution control in which the manufacturers including the handling
agents for the imported fertilizers are directed to sell specified
quantities of fertilizers in given states/union territories. While doing so,

8
the logistics of fertilizer distribution including storage, transportation,
handling etc. are also suitably regulated conforming to overall supply
plans of the government to meet the requirement in all the parts of the
Country.

Now manufacturers also should get reasonable rate of return as

all incentive for producing fertilizers. Manufacturers should get at least
that much, which call enable them to remain in the industry.

Government of India fixes the price of fertilizers in such a way

that manufacturer's cost of production including cost of marketing is
covered and the manufacturer gets a 12% post tax return on net worth
of the unit at a pre-defined capacity utilization. Norms are fixed for
consumption of raw material, utilities, services, capacity utilization,
depreciation etc. The price so fixed is called Retention Price (RP). This
price is reviewed every three years.

In a nutshell fertilizers can not be sold in open markets and

producing unit has almost nil say in fixing fertilizer price. Then how to
increase profits? By operating plant efficiently only.

The work of administering the Retention Price Scheme (RPS) is

entrusted to Fertilizer Industry Co-ordination Committee (FICC) which
works under the control of department of chemicals and fertilizers.

Growth of Fertilizer Industry

9
 One of the most significant achievement of the post
Independence period of our Country has been the ability to achieve
self-sufficiency in food grain production. This achievement is due to the
rapid growth and improvement of Fertilizer industry. The Fertilizer
industry is growing at the rate of 4% for the last 10 years and has been
contributing a significant part of G.D.P.

The growth and importance of Fertilizer industry in India can be

divided in to three distinct phases, these are given below.

1. Pro Green Revolution Period:

This period is described in 1952-1953 era where increased

growth of food grains took place however this increased production in
food grains took place due to increased irrigation methods. In this
phase the land under agriculture was made more, during this period
about 80% of the country's population was involved in Agriculture
either directly or indirectly. During this period the fertilizer's which
were manufactured were Super Phosphate & Ammonium Sulphate.
Irrigation was thought to be heart of Agriculture.

2. Green Revolution Period:

During this phase Government stated the programme

aimed at making our country self sufficient in Food Products. This was
the period between the years 1959-1960. This plan laid the emphasis
on production of High Yielding Varieties. To make this plan a success
there was a high need to make soil fertile by providing it with nutrients
like Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Potassium.

During this phase Fertilizer industry tried to play a vital

role, became one of the most important, and inherits part of our
economy.

10
3. The Post Green Revolution Period:

The world's population along with Indian population has kept on

growing at a alarming rate, the fertilizer companies all over India are
trying to expand their scale of operations in order to increase the
production rate. The demand for fertilizers per year is increasing. The
current demand of fertilizers in India is 18 million tones.

- According to Fertilizer Association of India.

Fertilizer Industry Scenario in India

In India, First of all in 1906, A Single Super Phosphate (SSP)

manufacturing unit was set up at Ranipat near Chennai (Madras) with
annual capacity of 6000 tones per annum.

1. Public Sector

• The Fertilizer And Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT)

• Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. (HFC)
• Madras Fertilizer Ltd. (MFL)
• Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL)
• Naively Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC)
• Pyrites, Phosphates And Chemicals Ltd. (PPCL)
• Pradeep Phosphates Ltd. (PPL)
• Rashtriya Chemicals And Fertilizers Ltd. (RCFL)
• National Fertilizer Ltd. (NFL)

2. Co-Operative Sector

There are only two fertilizer manufacturing societies in Co-operative

sector.

11
 • Indian Farmers Fertilizers Co-Operative Ltd. (IFFCO)
• Krishak Bharati Co-Operative Ltd. (KRIBHCO)

3. Private Sector

There are 17 companies in private sector, which are producing

fertilizer.

• Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Ltd. (GNFC)

• Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)
• Hari Fertilizer
• ICI India Ltd.
• Indo Gulf Fertilizers & Chemicals Corporation Ltd.
• Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (MCFL)
• Southern Petro Chemicals Industries Corporations Ltd.
• Nagarjuna Fertilizer & Chemical Ltd. (NFCL)
• Shri Ram Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd.
• Tuticorian Alkali Chemicals & Fertilizer Ltd.

12
 Krishak Bharti Co-operative Limited

“KRIBHCO” the world’s premier fertilizer producing co-

operative has an outstanding track record to its credit in all spheres of
its act ivies. Since 17th April 1980 as a rational level Co-operative
society to manufacturing and distribute. Chemical fertilizer and allied
farm imputes “KRIBHCO” imbibed the co-operative philosophy fulfilling
its commitment to strengthening and promoting the cause of
agriculture development and co-operative movements in the country.

Krishak Bharti co-operative limited popularly known as

“KRIBHCO” has been registered as national level co-operative society
under the provision of the multi-state co-operative societies act, 1984.

The”KRIBHCO” hazira unit is located around 15 kms, west

of Surat and lies on the north of river Tapti. An all weather road from
Surat to hazira connects the plant site with the city. The cannel
belonging to irrigation department is running on the plant site and is
feeding water from ukai. A railway feeder line apporx.. 55 kms. Long
has connected the site with Bombay –Ahmedabad main line.

13
 KRIBHCO Network: -

A. Head office: - fertilizer plant, Noida, Delhi

B. (i) Plant: - Surat Gujarat
(ii) Bio fertilizer plant: - Surat (Gujarat)
(iii) Seed processing plant: - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, haryana,
M.P. Punjab, Rajasthan,
U.P. (For Punjab&Haryana)
C. Zonal offices: - Bhopal, Bangalore, Lucknow and Chndigarh.
D. State mktg. offices: - Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai,
Banglore, Patna, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Hyderabad,
Guwahati, Dehurdun, Kolkota

Besides marketing its products “KRIBHCO” carries out

various other programmed like farmers benefit programmed, sanket
Haran bima yojana, marketing of BVFCL (Brahmputra valley fertilizer
corporation limited) vred seed multiplication programmer, gramin
vikas trust (rural development trust)

14
MEMBERSHIP: -

Kribhco Memebership

6200 6044
6000
5732 5790
5800
5624
5600
5400
5188
5200
5000
4800
4600
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
Years

A cooperative thrives on the trust of, its members. Membership

of “KRIBHCO” is open to government of India, national state and
district and village level cooperative society. At the initial stage, way
back in june, 1981 the total membership in”KRIBHCO”was only 221
cooperative societies which rose significantly to 6044 cooperative
societies as on march 31,2005 as against 5790 as on march 31
2004. Phenomenal progress made by the society becomes a
testimony to the ever-increasing membership over the years.

The total paid up share capital as on March 31, 2005 was

rs.39, 354.15 lakh as against rs.49, 170.72lakh in the previous year.
During the current financial year, the society has refunded share
capital of rs.9700 lakh to “IFFCO”and government of India
respectively .the state –wise membership with share capital
contribution as on March 31,2005 vis-à-vis march 31 2004.

15
MISSION: -
A) To contribute to agriculture &rural development in
the regins.
B) Services to members of cooperatives society by
selecting financing
C) Managing society desirable and commercial
profitable investment opportunity preferable at
multiple locations.

VISION:-

They want to be a world class organization that

represents the farmer community and maximizes returns to
them through specialization in agricultural inputs and
products and other diversified businesses that maximize
stakeholder value.

16
 OBJECTIVES: -

a) To undertake the activities for he rural upliftment and agriculture development.

b) To promote economic interest of its members by undertaking manufacturing of

chemical fertilizer & allied product.

In furtherance of these objectives “KRIBHCO”may undertake one or more of the

following activities: -

(I) To undertake production processing, manufacture, sale distribution,

marketing, import export and to otherwise deal in agriculture production
requisites.

(II) To set up storage units for storing fertilizer and other goods by itself or in
collaboration with other agency.

(III) To act as warehousing agency under the warehousing act and own godowns or
hire godowns for the storage of fertilizers and other goods.

17
HISTORY OF KRIBHCO: -

Encourage with the successful operation of fertilizer plant of kalul, kandla

and phulpur in the co-operative Limited. (IFFCO) higher to the one and the only co-
operative in the fertilizer industry has promoted another co-operative namely
“KRIBHCO” Ltd to made the new giant plant of hazira.

MILE STONES: -
(I) Project zero Date : 31/03/1981
(II) Foundation stone laid by smt.Indira Gandhi : 5/02/1982
(III) Project completion : 31/03/1985
(IV) Plan completion : 26/11/1985
(V) Commercial production : 1/3/1986
(VI)Percent capacity utilization : Urea 99%
Ammonia95%
(VII) Plant ready of production : January/September 1985
(VIII) Gas available by ONGC : PHASE 1 & PHASE 2
18-9-85 6-11-85
(IX) Trial production Ammonia : PHASE 1 & PHASE 2
14-11-85 30-11-85
Urea (stream 11/31) 26-11-85 13-12-85
Ammonia (stream 21/41) 31-12-85 01-12-85
(X) ISO certificate (I) KRIBHCO plant
ISO 9001-2000
(II) KRIBHCO plant
ISO 14001
(III) KRIBHCO Mktg office
ISO 9001-2000

18
DEPARTMENT AND MANPOWERS AT “KRIBHCO”

Financing & Accounting 62

Personnel & administration 82
HRD 09
Security 101
Material 55
Medical 32
Mechanical 210
Transportation 29
Fire safety 45
Purchase & store 56
Instrument 90
Electrical & civil 101
Ms System 13
Laboratory 54
Production (HEAP Plant) 440
Total 1379
Contract labor 1600
Total manpower 2979

AWARDS: -

19
 The excellence performance of the society has brought a number
of laurels from various organizations .The awards received during
year were as follows: -

(I) National productivity council has awarded productivity award

the society for bio fertilizer product for the year 1999-2000,
2001-2002 in the year 2003-2004.

(II) Certificate of merit by public relations society of India,

Hyderabad chapter for house journal of “KRIBHCO”

(III) Best technical innovative award for the year 2003 by fertilizer
association of India.

(IV) Certificate of merit Gujarat safety council for relining 30 lakh

accident free man-hours.

(V) Hazira ammonia extension project (HAEP) rotating shield

winner and certificate for lowest disabling injury index in
group-c industries.

(VI) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Agriculture and Technical University,

Meerut – All India Farmers Fair And agro Industrial Exhibition –
First Prize To Kribhco on 10-03-2005.

(VII) Kribhco has won first prize for Bio-Fertilizer Production,

Marketing And Promotion Award For the year 2003 And 2004
by National Productivity Council (NPC). Award Has been given
formal function held on 10th May,.2005 by Honble Minister For
Agriculture Shri Shard Pawar Ji.

(VIII) Special Participation Award in Corporate Sector Event “

Vyapar 2005” Event Organized By Southern Gujarat Chamber
OF Commerce And Industries From February 11 – 16, 2005,
the theme of pavilion was “ Development OF Bio-Technology
In Kribhco “

20
 ACHIEVMENTS
•

The Society considers vigilance to be an integral part of the

management function. The Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)
posted at Corporate Office provides direction, guidance and
supervision over the vigilance efforts of the Society. He has
been accorded the status, rank and perquisites of a
Functional Director. Vigilance Officers have been posted at
Head Office, Plant and Zonal Offices.

Vigilance department has adopted pro-active approach to

create incorruptibility in the administration. The strategy of
preventive vigilance was drawn and implemented to evolve
an environment of integrity and to add values to the system
for increasing transparency and accountability in the working.
Steps have been taken to empower the general public to
approach the concerned authorities for redressal of their
complaints, if any.

The Vigilance department works for systems improvement

and simplification and codification of rules and procedures for
the smooth functioning of the Society towards achievement
of its mission. The culture of taking independent initiatives
and decision-making at all levels is constantly strengthened.
A system of six-monthly review of vigilance activities by
Board of Directors has been implemented by the Society.

21
To improve the intellectual capital base of the Society,
vigilance seminars are organised and the Executives were
exposed to the views of the leading vigilance functionaries of
thecountry.

It is the endeavors of the Vigilance Department to create an

ethos of "Organisational Citizenship" among all the
employees so that there is voluntary compliance of rules and
procedures to achieve the organizational goals.

For the irregularities detected, punitive vigilance is used as a

management tool to provide positive discipline in the Society.

To contribute towards the achievement of the vision of the

society, a strategic action plan is being implemented.

2. THREE PRONGED VIGILANCE STRATEGY

a) AWARENESS PROGRAMMES:

• Conduct Seminars, Workshops, Lectures and Debates.

• Circulate CVC / Government's Instructions.
• Issue In-house Special Journals on Vigilance Awareness.

• Typical case studies are brought to the notice of

employees.

b) PREVENTIVE VIGILANCE

• Simplification of Rules and procedures.

• Reducing the areas of misuse of discretion.

22
• Plugging the loopholes of systems /procedures for
reducing points of corruption.

• Increasing Transparency & Accountability in working.

• Effective machinery to deal promptly with complaints.

• Regular and Surprise Inspections.

• Monitoring disposal of matters in the organisation to

detect delays induced by corrupt motives.

• Effective surveillance of public contact points.

• Steps to provide highest standards of integrity among

the employees.

c) PUNITIVE VIGILANCE:

• Speedy disposal of vigilance cases and disciplinary

inquiries.

• Steps to maintain positive discipline.

23
 • Close liaison with other agencies to ensure quick action
in vigilance matters.

Theoretical freme work

A theoretical framework is a collection of interrelated concepts,

like a theory but not necessarily so well worked-out. A
theoretical framework guides your research, determining what
things you will measure, and what statistical relationships you
will look for.

Theoretical frameworks are obviously critical in deductive,

theory-testing sorts of studies (see Kinds of Research for more
information). In those kinds of studies, the theoretical
framework must be very specific and well-thought out.

Surprisingly, theoretical frameworks are also important in

exploratory studies, where you really don't know much about
what is going on, and are trying to learn more. There are two
reasons why theoretical frameworks are important here. First,
no matter how little you think you know about a topic, and how
unbiased you think you are, it is impossible for a human being
not to have preconceived notions, even if they are of a very
general nature. For example, some people fundamentally
believe that people are basically lazy and untrustworthy, and
you have keep your wits about you to avoid being conned.
These fundamental beliefs about human nature affect how you
look things when doing personnel research. In this sense, you
are always being guided by a theoretical framework, but you
don't know it. Not knowing what your real framework is can be
a problem. The framework tends to guide what you notice in an

24
organization, and what you don't notice. In other words, you
don't even notice things that don't fit your framework! We can
never completely get around this problem, but we can reduce
the problem considerably by simply making our implicit
framework explicit. Once it is explicit, we can deliberately
consider other frameworks, and try to see the organizational
situation through different lenses.

Cases and Variables

Cases are objects whose behavior or characteristics we study.

Usually, the cases are persons. But they can also be groups,
departments, organizations, etc. They can also be more
esoteric things like events (e.g., meetings), utterances, pairs of
people, etc.

Variables are characteristics of cases. They are attributes.

Qualities of the cases that we measure or record. For example,
if the cases are persons, the variables could be sex, age,
height, weight, feeling of empowerment, math ability, etc.
Variables are called what they are because it is assumed that
the cases will vary in their scores on these attributes. For
example, if the variable is age, we obviously recognize that
people can be different ages. Of course, sometimes, for a given
sample of people, there might not be any variation on some
attribute. For example, the variable 'number of children' might
be zero for all members of this class. It's still a variable,
though, because in principle it could have variation.

In any particular study, variables can play different roles. Two

key roles are independent variables and dependent variables.
Usually there is only one dependent variable, and it is the
outcome variable, the one you are trying to predict. Variation
in the dependent variable is what you are trying to explain. For
example, if we do a study to determine why some people are
more satisfied in their jobs than others, job satisfaction is the
dependent variable.

25
The independent variables, also known as the predictor or
explanatory variables, are the factors that you think explain
variation in the dependent variable. In other words, these are
the causes. For example, you may think that people are more
satisfied with their jobs if they are given a lot of freedom to do
what they want, and if they are well-paid. So 'job freedom' and
'salary' are the independent variables, and 'job satisfaction' is
the dependent variable. This is diagrammed as follows:

(yes, I know. It looks like the Enterprise)

There are actually two other kinds of variables, which are

basically independent variables, but work a little differently.
These are moderator and intervening variables. A moderator
variable is one that modifies the relationship between two
other variables.

For example, suppose that the cases are whole organizations,

and you believe that diversity in the organization can help
make them more profitable (because diversity leads to fresh
outlooks on old problems), but only if managers are specially
trained in diversity management (otherwise all that diversity
causes conflicts and miscommunication). Here, diversity is
clearly an independent variable, and profitability is clearly a
dependent variable. But what is diversity training? Its main
function seems to be adjust the strength of relation between
diversity and profitability

26
For example, suppose you are studying job applications to
various departments within a large organization. You believe
that in overall, women applicants are more likely to get the job
than men applicants, but that this varies by the number of
women already in the department the person applied to.
Specifically, departments that already have a lot of women will
favor female applicants, while departments with few women
will favor male applicants. We can diagram this as follows:

Actually, if that model is true, then this one is as well, though

it's harder to think about:

Whether sex of applicant is the independent and % women in

dept is the moderator, or the other around, is not something
we can ever decide. Another way to talk about moderating and
independent variables is in terms of interaction. Interacting
variables affect the dependent variable only when both are
acting in concert. We could diagram that this way:

27
An intervening or intermediary variable is one that is affected
by the independent variable and in turn affects the dependent
variable. For example, we said that diversity is good for
profitability because diversity leads to innovation (fresh looks)
which in turn leads to profitability. Here, innovation is an
intervening variable. We diagram it this way:

Note that in the diagram, there is no arrow from diversity

directly to profitability. This means that if we control for
innovativeness, diversity is unrelated to profitability. To control
for a variable means to hold its values constant. For example,
suppose we measure the diversity, innovativeness and
profitability of a several thousand companies. If we look at the
relationship between diversity and profitability, we might find
that the more diverse companies have, on average, higher
profitability than the less diverse companies. But suppose we
divide the sample into two groups: innovative companies and
non-innovative. Now, within just the innovative group, we again
look at the relationship between diversity and profitability. We
might find that there is no relationship. Similarly, if we just look
at the non-innovative group, we might find no relationship
between diversity and profitability there either. That's because
the only reason diversity affects profitability is because
diversity tends to affect a company's innovativeness, and that
in turn affects profitability.

Here's another example. Consider the relationship between

education and health. In general, the more a educated a
person is, the healthier they are. Do diplomas have magic

28
powers? Do the cells in educated people's bodies know how to
fight cancer? I doubt it. It might be because educated people
are more likely to eat nutritionally sensible food and this in turn
contributes to their health. But of course, there are many
reasons why you might eat nutritionally sensible food, even if
you are not educated. So if we were to look at the relationship
between education and health among only people who eat
nutritionally sensible food, we might find no relationship. That
would support the idea that nutrition is an intervening variable.

It should be noted, however, if you control for a variable, and

the relationship between two variables disappears, that doesn't
necessarily mean that the variable you controlled for was an
intervening variable. Here is an example. Look at the
relationship between the amount of ice cream sold on a given
day, and the number of drownings on those days. This is not
hypothetical: this is real. There is a strong correlation: the
more you sell, the more people drown. What's going on? Are
people forgetting the 'no swimming within an hour of eating'
rule? Ice cream screws up your coordination? No. There is a
third variable that is causing both ice cream sales and
drownings. The variable is temperature. On hot days, people
are more likely to buy ice cream. They are also more likely to
go to the beach, where a certain proportion will drown. If we
control for temperature (i.e., we only consider days that are
cold, or days that are warm), we find that there is no
relationship between ice cream sales and drownings. But
temperature is not an intervening variable, since it ice cream
sales do not cause temperature changes. Nor is ice cream
sales an intervening variable, since ice cream sales do not
cause drownings.

29
 Literature review

Preface

This review is focused on soil fertility management in semi-arid India. It

aims to span issues relating to the role of soil fertility management in
agricultural production (part 1) with an emphasis on rainfed cropping, and
in the livelihoods of rural families (part 2) who may not have access to
land, but are nevertheless involved in aspects of soil fertility management
as producers, processors or traders of inputs. Although part 1 is focused
on rainfed agriculture, it is recognised that in many areas there is a
complex mosaic of irrigated and dryland land which are part of the same
system and with important impacts on flows of nutrients. The second part
of the review focuses on organic inputs, the use of which is less well
understood and documented than inorganic fertilsers. Consequently this
part of the review also relies more heavily upon field experiences and the
views of field workers, rather than published sources.

The review is a contribution to the project ‘Human and social capital

aspects of soil nutrient management, India’. This project is supported by
the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through the
Natural Resources Systems Programme (Project R7974). The review is an
interim project document and is intended to be superseded by other
project outputs. It concentrates on Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, two
states with large semi-arid areas but both located in southern India, and
which form the study areas for the project. However, information from
other semi-arid areas in India is also utilised.

30
The authors objective was to produce a brief and accessible review, rather
than to be comprehensive. Readers are directed to other reviews and
literature for further information.

31
 Background

The focus on rainfed agriculture, and key challenges

Rainfed agriculture remains high on the development agenda in India.

Its contribution is vital to help avoid projected food gaps as a result of
increasing populations (typically around 2%) and in supporting the
livelihoods of the poorest farming families who do not have access to
irrigated land.

Green revolution gains in agricultural productivity, food security and

reduced poverty were widely associated with irrigated areas where the
benefits of improved seeds and increased use of inorganic fertilisers
could be realised. However, the potential for expansion of irrigated
agriculture is decreasing as it is increasingly expensive to bring new
land under irrigation (largely because water resources are limited) and
there are widespread problems associated with overexploitation of
groundwater. Groundwater is the most important source for irrigation.
As a consequence rainfed agriculture will continue on over 50% of land
in most Indian states (for example, irrigated areas were 21.6 and
38.4% in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states respectively in 1993-
94), and it will remain the focus of much effort to increase productivity
and avoid food gaps.

In addition to rising populations and projected food gaps (see for

example Bhalla et al., 1999), major concerns associated with the future
of rainfed agriculture in semi-arid India include decreasing yield growth
and yields, negative nutrient balances, and sustainability.
Sustainability concerns reflect both the need to increase returns to
land and labour while maintaining soil productivity over the long-term,
and concerns about negative impacts of inorganic fertilisers on soil
quality and pollution. Further concerns at macro-economic level include
the ineffective targeting of the governments vast expenditure on
agriculture (Bhalla et al., 1999). Most government expenditure goes to
subsidies for farm inputs, particularly fertilisers, credit, water and
electricity.
The policy responses to these challenges include: ‘modernisation’ of
agriculture such as encapsulated in Andhra Pradesh’s 2020 vision
(including commercialisation, new varieties and GMOs, and continued
irrigation development), watershed development programmes to
improve the potential of land and develop water resources (some of
these programmes are also becoming more poverty and livelihoods
focused and include non-land based activities), and subsidies such as
the fertiliser subsidy.

32
Other key reviews that have addressed soil fertility issues from a
livelihoods perspective include NRSP project R7458 reviews focused on
semi-arid India and global experiences (NRSP, undated; Tanner et al.,
2000).

Livelihood systems and strategies

Conroy et al. (2001) identified the following key livelihood

systems in rural semi-arid India:

• medium/large farmers, primarily dependent on agriculture

(mixed but crops usually more important than animals);

• small/marginal farmers, who are primarily dependent on a

combination of agriculture (in some cases land may be
leased rather than owned) and wage-labour;

• livestock-specialists, for whom animal husbandry is the

principal livelihood activity; and

• landless labourers, who are primarily dependent on wage

labour, which may be agricultural or not.

Although agriculture continues to be the backbone of the

rural economy and rural livelihoods (see Box 1), there is
increasing recognition of the role of non-farm (and non-NR)
livelihood contributions. Supplementing agricultural income
with casual wage labour is increasingly common as the
relevant returns from such employment compared to
agriculture improve. The poorest people are likely to be
wage labourers and small/ marginal farmers - especially
given recent price shocks - resulting in high levels of
indebtedness and high suicide rates.
Livelihood strategies can be categorised in different ways.
On approach is into intensification and extensification,
diversification and migration. Intensification may involve
increasing the number of crops and livestock per hectare per
year e.g. a second (rabi) crop perhaps through access to
irrigation, and/ or increasing the yield of crops and livestock

33
products per hectare . Strategies to improve productivity
include soil and water conservation (SWC), the use of high-
yielding varieties (HYVs), irrigation, or use of animal feeds
(Tanner, 1997). Extensification includes the extension of
agricultural areas for example into CPR lands, often
wastelands or forest lands. Other farmers have extended
their cropping into tank beds. Intensification (see for
example Tanner et al., 2000) may be driven by population
pressure and declining land area, or by markets reflecting
increased demand. In reality, a combination of these forces
is often at work. At the household level intensification
requires more capital (to buy inputs) or labour to be invested
(for example in crop rotations, cut and carry feeding etc).
These strategies are also likely to be combined, but the poor
are typically expected to intensify through greater use of
labour (Tanner et al., 2000).

Box 1 The rural economy in Karnataka and Andhra

Pradesh (after James & Robinson, 2001)

Agriculture is the mainstay of the rural economy in Andhra

Pradesh and Karnataka, and agriculture-related activities
support the largest proportion of people and provide the
largest share of total income to the people. But rice mills,
flour mills, and oil presses sit side by side with motor repair
shops, provision stores, drug stores and small hotels in the
small rural towns. There are also granite and limestone
mines in these parts, which provide employment to local
labour but export the produce. By and large, private
enterprise is dynamic in these rural towns. Transport
industries are therefore important, but road links are not
always good.
Local produce markets in district towns and tehsil towns are
often controlled by market operators, and there are
established codes of conduct which ensure the exploitation
of those who either don’t know or do not have the ‘clout’ to
get a good deal. Commission agents buy produce on auction,
and small farmers who venture to sell directly here have
little negotiating power and have to take the offered price.
Larger farmers have the leverage to negotiate good price
with commission agents, often withholding their produce

34
from the market till they get the right price (most usually
done in cotton). Others may be able to market in other towns
for better prices (for example, Bangalore farmers sold their
tomatoes in Kurnool market during the cyclone of 1999
which destroyed a large part of the local crop).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Objective of the study:

There are three main objectives of the study as follows:

35
 1. To study the status of KM in the organization and to check the
competencyoftheemployees.

2. To study the perception of employees on the basis of job

profile towards KM

3. To practice research methodology as a student

Research design: Exploratory as well as descriptive

Universe: Universe belongs to E, F and G grade employees belonging to

KRIBHCO, out

of which 50 samples is selected.

Sampling design: Stratified random sampling design

Research method : Surveymethod

Research tool: Questionnaire and informal personal interview

Sources of data collection: Primary data and secondary data

Sample size:50

Research area: KRIBHCO, SURAT(Hazira)

The Problem Statement in the Research Paper

The First Substantial Step
The problem provides the context for the research study and
typically generates questions which the research hopes to answer. In
considering whether or not to move forward with a research project,
you will generally spend some time considering the problem.

In your paper, the statement of the problem is the first part of the
paper to be read [we are ignoring the title and the abstract]. The

36
problem statement should "hook" the reader and establish a
persuasive context for what follows.

You need to be able to clearly answer the question: "what is the

problem"? and "why is this problem worth my attention"? At the same
time, the problem statement limits scope by focusing on some
variables and not others. It also provides an opportunity for you to
demonstrate why these variables are important.

Problem Importance
The importance of the problem should receive considerable and
persuasive attention [note that importance is inevitably subjective and
will vary from person to person and agency to agency]. Clearly indicate
why your problem is an important one by answering questions such as
these:

 Is the problem of current interest? Is it topical?

 Is the problem likely to continue into the future?
 Will more information about the problem have practical
application?
 Will more information about the problem have theoretical
importance?
 How large is the population affected by the problem?
 How important, influential, or popular is this population?
 Would this study substantially revise or extend existing
knowledge?
 Would this study create or improve an instrument of some utility?
 Would research findings lead to some useful change in best
practice?
 Is there evidence or authoritative opinion from others to support
the need for this research?

The problem statement should persuasively indicate that major

variables can be measured in some meaningful way. If you can identify
likely objections to the study, identify and respond to them here.

37
 Problem Statement Question
The problem statement should close with a question. Typically, the
question contains two variables, a measurable relationship, and some
indication of population. The purpose of the literature search that
follows is to answer the research problem question. If the literature
cannot answer the question, the research is needed to do so. An
example question might be: "What is the relationship between the
grade point average of UTK juniors and their use of the library"? The
information needed is (1) grade point average and (2) some measure
of library use. A bad example might be: "What is the best way to teach
bibliographic instruction"? This is insufficient because:

1. What are the variables?

2. What will be measured?
3. What relationships will be examined?
4. What is the population?

The title and the problem statement question are often nearly
identical. For example, in the good example above, the title of this
research project would be something like this: "Library Circulation Use
by University of Tennessee Juniors and Their Grade Point Average"

Research need

A theoretical framework is a collection of interrelated

concepts, like a theory but not necessarily so well worked-out.
A theoretical framework guides your research, determining
what things you will measure, and what statistical relationships
you will look for.

Theoretical frameworks are obviously critical in deductive,

theory-testing sorts of studies (see Kinds of Research for more

38
information). In those kinds of studies, the theoretical
framework must be very specific and well-thought out.

Surprisingly, theoretical frameworks are also important in

exploratory studies, where you really don't know much about
what is going on, and are trying to learn more. There are two
reasons why theoretical frameworks are important here. First,
no matter how little you think you know about a topic, and how
unbiased you think you are, it is impossible for a human being
not to have preconceived notions, even if they are of a very
general nature. For example, some people fundamentally
believe that people are basically lazy and untrustworthy, and
you have keep your wits about you to avoid being conned.
These fundamental beliefs about human nature affect how you
look things when doing personnel research. In this sense, you
are always being guided by a theoretical framework, but you
don't know it. Not knowing what your real framework is can be
a problem. The framework tends to guide what you notice in an
organization, and what you don't notice. In other words, you
don't even notice things that don't fit your framework! We can
never completely get around this problem, but we can reduce
the problem considerably by simply making our implicit
framework explicit. Once it is explicit, we can deliberately
consider other frameworks, and try to see the organizational
situation through different lenses.

Cases and Variables

Cases are objects whose behavior or characteristics we study.

Usually, the cases are persons. But they can also be groups,
departments, organizations, etc. They can also be more
esoteric things like events (e.g., meetings), utterances, pairs of
people, etc.

Variables are characteristics of cases. They are attributes.

Qualities of the cases that we measure or record. For example,
if the cases are persons, the variables could be sex, age,
height, weight, feeling of empowerment, math ability, etc.

39
Variables are called what they are because it is assumed that
the cases will vary in their scores on these attributes. For
example, if the variable is age, we obviously recognize that
people can be different ages. Of course, sometimes, for a given
sample of people, there might not be any variation on some
attribute. For example, the variable 'number of children' might
be zero for all members of this class. It's still a variable,
though, because in principle it could have variation.

In any particular study, variables can play different roles. Two

key roles are independent variables and dependent variables.
Usually there is only one dependent variable, and it is the
outcome variable, the one you are trying to predict. Variation
in the dependent variable is what you are trying to explain. For
example, if we do a study to determine why some people are
more satisfied in their jobs than others, job satisfaction is the
dependent variable.

The independent variables, also known as the predictor or

explanatory variables, are the factors that you think explain
variation in the dependent variable. In other words, these are
the causes. For example, you may think that people are more
satisfied with their jobs if they are given a lot of freedom to do
what they want, and if they are well-paid. So 'job freedom' and
'salary' are the independent variables, and 'job satisfaction' is
the dependent variable. This is diagrammed as follows:

(yes, I know. It looks like the Enterprise)

40
There are actually two other kinds of variables, which are
basically independent variables, but work a little differently.
These are moderator and intervening variables. A moderator
variable is one that modifies the relationship between two
other variables.

For example, suppose that the cases are whole organizations,

and you believe that diversity in the organization can help
make them more profitable (because diversity leads to fresh
outlooks on old problems), but only if managers are specially
trained in diversity management (otherwise all that diversity
causes conflicts and miscommunication). Here, diversity is
clearly an independent variable, and profitability is clearly a
dependent variable. But what is diversity training? Its main
function seems to be adjust the strength of relation between
diversity and profitability

For example, suppose you are studying job applications to

various departments within a large organization. You believe
that in overall, women applicants are more likely to get the job
than men applicants, but that this varies by the number of
women already in the department the person applied to.
Specifically, departments that already have a lot of women will
favor female applicants, while departments with few women
will favor male applicants. We can diagram this as follows:

41
Actually, if that model is true, then this one is as well, though
it's harder to think about:

Whether sex of applicant is the independent and % women in

dept is the moderator, or the other around, is not something
we can ever decide. Another way to talk about moderating and
independent variables is in terms of interaction. Interacting
variables affect the dependent variable only when both are
acting in concert. We could diagram that this way:

An intervening or intermediary variable is one that is affected

by the independent variable and in turn affects the dependent
variable. For example, we said that diversity is good for
profitability because diversity leads to innovation (fresh looks)
which in turn leads to profitability. Here, innovation is an
intervening variable. We diagram it this way:

42
Note that in the diagram, there is no arrow from diversity
directly to profitability. This means that if we control for
innovativeness, diversity is unrelated to profitability. To control
for a variable means to hold its values constant. For example,
suppose we measure the diversity, innovativeness and
profitability of a several thousand companies. If we look at the
relationship between diversity and profitability, we might find
that the more diverse companies have, on average, higher
profitability than the less diverse companies. But suppose we
divide the sample into two groups: innovative companies and
non-innovative. Now, within just the innovative group, we again
look at the relationship between diversity and profitability. We
might find that there is no relationship. Similarly, if we just look
at the non-innovative group, we might find no relationship
between diversity and profitability there either. That's because
the only reason diversity affects profitability is because
diversity tends to affect a company's innovativeness, and that
in turn affects profitability.

Here's another example. Consider the relationship between

education and health. In general, the more a educated a
person is, the healthier they are. Do diplomas have magic
powers? Do the cells in educated people's bodies know how to
fight cancer? I doubt it. It might be because educated people
are more likely to eat nutritionally sensible food and this in turn
contributes to their health. But of course, there are many
reasons why you might eat nutritionally sensible food, even if
you are not educated. So if we were to look at the relationship
between education and health among only people who eat
nutritionally sensible food, we might find no relationship. That
would support the idea that nutrition is an intervening variable.

It should be noted, however, if you control for a variable, and

the relationship between two variables disappears, that doesn't
necessarily mean that the variable you controlled for was an
intervening variable. Here is an example. Look at the

43
relationship between the amount of ice cream sold on a given
day, and the number of drownings on those days. This is not
hypothetical: this is real. There is a strong correlation: the
more you sell, the more people drown. What's going on? Are
people forgetting the 'no swimming within an hour of eating'
rule? Ice cream screws up your coordination? No. There is a
third variable that is causing both ice cream sales and
drownings. The variable is temperature. On hot days, people
are more likely to buy ice cream. They are also more likely to
go to the beach, where a certain proportion will drown. If we
control for temperature (i.e., we only consider days that are
cold, or days that are warm), we find that there is no
relationship between ice cream sales and drownings. But
temperature is not an intervening variable, since it ice cream
sales do not cause temperature changes. Nor is ice cream
sales an intervening variable, since ice cream sales do not
cause drownings.

Research problem statement

Fertilizers
Long Term Fertilizer Policy

At the initiative of the minister, a new long term fertilizer policy has
been drafted which, while looking after the interests of the farmers,
aims to remove all the aberrations which have come in the RPS
Scheme. While this scheme played a very notable role in increasing
production and consumption of fertilizers in the country, several
aberrations have crept into it over a period of time. It has resulted in a
lack of competitive environment and is also out of tune with the
current philosophy of economic liberalization.

The draft long term Fertilizer Policy has been placed on the internet
and all stockholders like industries, farmers associations, other Central

44
Government Departments, State Government Departments., State
Government Departments, NGOs etc. are being consulted through road
shows. The new fertilizer sector in a phased manner. The draft long
term fertilizer sector in a phased manner. The draft long term fertilizer
Policy has the following salient features:

Removal of aberrations and deficiencies in the existing pricing

policy of urea.
Increase in price of urea at regular intervals.
Improvement in the implementation of the concession scheme.
Feedstock Policy-Switch over to LNG and feasibility of coal-based
technology.
Joint venture policy;
New Pricing policy for urea Units.
Policy towards creation of new capacity;
WTO Related Matters.
Removal of distribution controls on Urea.
New Role of the Regulator.
Correction in Retention Price-cum-Subsidy Scheme

The Retention Price-cum-Subsidy Scheme (RPS) has been the mainstay

of growth of the fertilizer sector from 1977 onwards when it was first
notified following the recommendations of the Marathe Committee and
this has contributed to a sharp growth in the production of nitrogenous
fertilizer in the country. From 12.83 million MTs of urea production in
1991-92, the actual production went up to 19.87 million MTs in 1999-
2000. It is significant to note that the production level of 19.87 million
tonnes though in itself a creditable achievement was achieved with a
declared installed capacity of 18.66 million MTs. There was palpably
understatement of this capacity by some of the urea manufacturing
units leading to higher subsidy outgo and unintended gains. This
aberration in the Retention Price-cum-Subsidy Scheme which is
commonly referred to as gold plating has been critically commenced
upon in successive reports of the Standing Committee of the
Parliament. The Government was about to recover excess subsidies
and also to initiate penal action if so required after due examination.
This problem had remained unresolved for over eight years. It was first
mentioned in the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on
Fertilizer Prices submitted in 1992. Thereafter, Government had set up
two Expert Committees in succession to recommend the course of
action with regards to reassessment of capacities of urea
manufacturing units which were receiving undue benefit under the RPS
by understatement of capacities. The report of the latest Expert
Committee headed by Dr. Purohit, could not give a unanimous
recommendation even after detailed examination and analysis of unit-
to-unit production data for past over five years. To find a final solution
to this, the Government has now set up a Committee headed by Dr.

45
Y.K. Alagh, who is an eminent Economist and has held senior positions
in the Government. The Committee headed by Dr.Y.K. Alagh will has
Dr. Arvind Virmani, Additional Chief Economic Advisor in the
Department of Expenditure, as the other Member. Committee is going
into the entire issue of reassessment of capacity and quantifying the
amount of recoveries that shall be effected without seriously impinging
on the health of urea industry. This Committee is expected to submit
its report soon.

As a concurrent action, the matter has been referred to Central Bureau

of Investigation (CBI) for assessing the evidence available on record
with regard to understatement of capacity and drawal of excess
subsidy to see whether penal action can be initiated against the
defaulting units as per provisions of Indian Penal Code.
Notwithstanding this as an interim measure, Department of Fertilizers
has accepted reassessment of capacity of urea producing units under
method IV of expert committee and given effect to it from 1.4.2000.
The interim reassessment of capacity has resulted in correction of the
installed capacity from 186 Lakhs MTs to 207 :akhs MTs with
corresponding subsidy savings of over Rs,500 Crore of this Rs,367
crore will accrue only from the recent gas based units alone which
have been a cause of high capacity action is directed against units
which had reportedly understated their production capacities.

RESEARCH OF OBJECTIVE
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Krishak Bharati Coopertive Limited (KRIBHCO) is the world’s premier

fertilizer producing cooperative having outstanding track record to its
credit in all spheres of its activities. KRIBHCO has fully imbibed the
cooperative philosophy and has made sustained efforts towards
promoting the cause of modern agriculture and agriculture
cooperatives in the country.

Having its genesis in farmers’ cooperatives, social development and

humane facets have always been of prime focus in its growth and

46
philosophy – an organisation which owes its existence to the farmers,
by the farmers and for the farmers of this great country.

SERVICES TO COOPERATIVES AND FARMERS

 The Society since inception has made vigorous efforts towards

the development of farm technologies and other welfare schemes
for upliftment of the farming community. Over 1600 programmes
on crop seminars, farmers meetings, block demonstration, field
days, Kisan Melas, farmers visit, agriculture campaigns health
checkup campaigns, veterinary health check up camps and income
generation programmes etc. have been conducted which have
benefitted about 2.5 lac farmers across the country.

 Around 400 programmes on cooperative conference, workshops

and state consultative committee meetings have been organized
with a view to strengthen the cooperative system.

 A variety of facilities like farm implements, furniture, technical

assistance towards improvement in godown facilities etc. are being
provided to the economically weaker societies.

 Around 50,000 soil and water samples have been tested and
recommendations made available to the farmers to improve and
enhance their produce.

 Krishak Parivar Sangams have been organized in 14 states on the

theme dry land farming and farm technology.

 KRIBHCO has established Krishi Paramarsh Kendra at its

corporate office for facilitating farmers in providing information and
advise on micro nutrients soil testing, soil improvement, latest farm
technology through internet and also KRIBHCO Kisan Helpline.

47
SEED MULTIPLICATION PROGRAMME

With a view to provide quality certified seeds of main crops to the

farmers, KRIBHCO has established most modern seed processing plants
situated in 9 states. From a modest production of 2,982 Qtls of quality
seeds in 1991-92, KRIBHCO today provides 1.54 lakh Qtls of the quality
seeds to the farmers annually.

GRAMIN VIKAS TRUST (GVT)

 KRIBHCO established Gramin Vikas Trust which is managing

Rural Development Rainfed Farming Projects which are jointly
funded by DFID and KRIBHCO. The primary objective of GVT is to
enhance livelihood and elevate poverty of the tribal and rural
population in the rainfed regions of the country through facilitating
farming systems, development and research, institution building
and beneficiary participation.
 The GVT projects have successfully developed JANKAR system
whereby village volunteers are trained and equipped to take
forward the project intervention and dissemination of project
approaches and technologies so that they can act as animator for
the development programmes.

BIO-FERTILISERS

 Continuous promotional and educative programmes are being

conducted to increasingly make farmers aware of benefits derived
through use of bio-fertilisers.
 KRIBHCO has established Bio-fertiliser Plants in order to provide
eco-friendly and cost effective fertilizers. The tremendous efforts
putforth by KRIBHCO in this direction has been acknowledged for
three consecutive years by National Productivity Council by

48
 awarding first position to KRIBHCO for production, marketing and
promotion of bio-fertilisers in the Nation.

variable under study

Controlled experiments
Main article: Experimental control
An experiment or test or show can be carried out by using the scientific method. The
steps are make an observation, ask a question, form a hypothesis, test the
hypothesis, analyze the results, draw a conclusion, and communicate results. The
reason a hypothesis is tested is so that it can be confirmed, denied, or refined, with
the knowledge currently available. The test has one variable. The control is the
regular group and experimental is the group with the variable added to it.

To demonstrate a cause and effect hypothesis, an experiment must often show that,
for example, a phenomenon occurs after a certain treatment is given to a subject,
and that the phenomenon does not occur in the absence of the treatment.
(See Baconian method.)

Standard curve

A controlled experiment generally compares the results obtained from an

experimental sample against a control sample, which is practically identical to the
experimental sample except for the one aspect whose effect is being tested (the
independent variable). A good example would be a drug trial. The sample or group

49
receiving the drug would be the experimental one; and the one receiving
the placebo would be the control one. In many laboratory experiments it is good
practice to have several replicate samples for the test being performed and have
both a positive control and a negative control. The results from replicate samples can
often be averaged, or if one of the replicates is obviously inconsistent with the results
from the other samples, it can be discarded as being the result of an experimental
error (some step of the test procedure may have been mistakenly omitted for that
sample). Most often, tests are done in duplicate or triplicate. A positive control is a
procedure that is very similar to the actual experimental test but which is known from
previous experience to give a positive result. A negative control is known to give a
negative result. The positive control confirms that the basic conditions of the
experiment were able to produce a positive result, even if none of the actual
experimental samples produce a positive result. The negative control demonstrates
the base-line result obtained when a test does not produce a measurable positive
result; often the value of the negative control is treated as a "background" value to be
subtracted from the test sample results. Sometimes the positive control takes the
quadrant of a standard curve.

An example that is often used in teaching laboratories is a controlled protein assay.

Students might be given a fluid sample containing an unknown (to the student)
amount of protein. It is their job to correctly perform a controlled experiment in which
they determine the concentration of protein in fluid sample (usually called the
"unknown sample"). The teaching lab would be equipped with a protein standard
solution with a known protein concentration. Students could make several positive
control samples containing various dilutions of the protein standard. Negative control
samples would contain all of the reagents for the protein assay but no protein. In this
example, all samples are performed in duplicate. The assay is a colorimetric assay in
which a spectrophotometer can measure the amount of protein in samples by
detecting a colored complex formed by the interaction of protein molecules and
molecules of an added dye. In the illustration, the results for the diluted test samples
can be compared to the results of the standard curve (the blue line in the illustration)
in order to determine an estimate of the amount of protein in the unknown sample.

Controlled experiments can be performed when it is difficult to exactly control all the
conditions in an experiment. In this case, the experiment begins by creating two or
more sample groups that are probabilistically equivalent, which means that
measurements of traits should be similar among the groups and that the groups
should respond in the same manner if given the same treatment. This equivalency is
determined by statistical methods that take into account the amount of variation
between individuals and the number of individuals in each group. In fields such

50
as microbiology and chemistry, where there is very little variation between individuals
and the group size is easily in the millions, these statistical methods are often
bypassed and simply splitting a solution into equal parts is assumed to produce
identical sample groups.

Once equivalent groups have been formed, the experimenter tries to treat them
identically except for the one variable that he or she wishes to isolate. Human
experimentation requires special safeguards against outside variables such as
theplacebo effect. Such experiments are generally double blind, meaning that neither
the volunteer nor the researcher knows which individuals are in the control group or
the experimental group until after all of the data have been collected. This ensures
that any effects on the volunteer are due to the treatment itself and are not a
response to the knowledge that he is being treated.

In human experiments, a subject (person) may be given a stimulus to which he or

she should respond. The goal of the experiment is to measure the response to a
given stimulus by a test method.

Rational of research
Some of the poorest people in India live in the upland Eastern Plateau
region located in the states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. The
majority are tribal people; others belong to scheduled castes. Both
groups are poor, socially disadvantaged and marginalised. They farm
small areas of upland which, at best, provide food for households of 5-
6 persons for three months of the year. Faced with acute food
insecurity, many households rely on poorly paid local labouring for
better-endowed farmers. Such work is highly seasonal and gives rise
to high and socially disruptive rates of migration. Men or whole
families migrate in pursuit of other labouring jobs. While they may find
work with higher pay rates than agricultural labour, exploitation and
underpayment of migrant labourers can occur.

Since the early nineteen nineties, with the support of various donor
agencies, projects involving both government and non-government
organisations have focused on the development of these deprived
areas. One such example is the DFID-supported Eastern Indian Rainfed
Farming Project (EIRFP) that was implemented during the 1990’s. A
major activity of EIRFP was to promote and support the building of
social capital amongst poor men and women farmers towards assisting

51
them to improve their livelihoods. The formation of self help groups
(SHGs) was central to this endeavour for which an organisation that
was a partner in the project, the Krishak Bharati Co-operative Ltd
(KRIBHCO), took a leading role. The development of village-based
livelihood enterprises was emphasised with the aim of overcoming the
necessity for migration and its adverse social consequences.

One feature of the Eastern Plateau is the frequent occurrence of

relatively small natural or artificially developed ponds (tanks). Water
levels in these tanks fluctuate over time, linked with the seasonality of
rainfall, and many contain water for only part of the year (some 5-9
months). This feature contrasts sharply with tanks in lowland areas
that commonly are large and well supplied with water throughout the
year (i.e., perennial tanks). In spite of the seasonal nature of the
upland tanks, a consultancy input to EIRFP in the early 1990’s
recommended that they could be used for fish culture. Several
features of eastern India added weight to this recommendation:

• Fish is an important part of people’s diets and ready markets

exist for fresh fish.
• Because fish is a preferred food, fishing is a familiar livelihood
activity for many people and so local knowledge is available that
can provide a basis for adopting new fish culture techniques.
• Livelihood activities that involve food production are attractive
because they can improve household food security as well as
being a source of income.

Although several factors favoured fish culture as a livelihood

enterprise, a serious obstacle to its adoption by poor people in the
EIRFP target area was that the extension services, and also the
research that technically supported these services, were geared to fish
culture in perennial tanks. Whereas seasonal tanks have multiple uses,
perennial tanks are used solely for fish culture. A capital intensive
poly-culture system is used to exploit all depths of the water
body. Such a system was not readily transferable to seasonal tanks,
nor was the system a feasible option for poor people in the area
covered by the EIRFP.

This situation of definite potential that could not readily be pursued

because of the combination of certain technical knowledge gaps and
people’s circumstances was the rationale for the first project in this
suite. The others then logically followed.

Tools used for data analysis

52
Tools for Developmentdraws together a range of
techniques designed to help DFID officers and others undertake
development activities and interventions of any size and kind. This is a
manual from which to pick and choose: you may
need to employ different skills at different times or several skills at the
same time. Some are more likely to be employed at the outset, or in the
design stage. Some skills may be employed once; others will need to be
revisited and may be revised as the activity or intervention continues. And
the skills and techniques you start out with may need to be added to as you
progress. This document began life as an attempt to draw together many
people s years of experience undertaking development activity. However,
many of the skills outlined here, such as those relating to teamworking,
facilitating group activity, influencing and negotiating, or conflict reduction,
are ones that you will need in everyday life, whether within DFID or outside
it. They will prove particularly useful when engaged in team-based and
multi-disciplinary work that is becoming increasingly the means by which
development activity is delivered. Some skills and techniques, such as
Situational Analysis, Risk Assessment, and the ability to complete a
logframe, should be regarded as essential professional tools if you are to
participate fully in delivering the Millennium
Development Goals.

Limitations OF THE STUDY

No research is without limitations; this survey study is no exception.
The most apparent limitation in the phase 2 portion of the survey is the
low response rate for some stakeholder groups. However, in survey
research, no single response rate is considered a standard (Fink,
1995; Fowler, 1993). For some surveys, a response rate of 90 percent
is desired; in others, 65 percent is deemed adequate. Mail surveys
typically have lower response rates than other types of surveys and
because nonresponse may introduce error, researchers should take
steps designed to promote responses. Some of these steps include
personally contacting potential respondents and asking them to
participate, sending a reminder to nonrespondents, assuring

53
respondents of confidentiality, and making the survey short and easy
to complete. For this study, all these measures were adopted.

More critical than response rate is the degree to which nonrespondents

are similar to respondents. For example, Legislators/Aides had the
lowest response rate, and therefore the largest percentage of
nonrespondents of the stakeholder groups sampled. This raises the
question: Are nonrespondents similar to respondents? If the answer is
no, then conclusions may be biased. Unfortunately, this question is
difficult to answer. Therefore, caution should be taken with drawing
conclusions from the results for the stakeholder groups with the lowest
response rates (i.e., RESNA, CEPD, and LEG).

Another limitation is the variable sample sizes as well as response

rates within groups. Ideally, the sample would be chosen randomly,
stratifying on stakeholder group and with every group having the same
response rate. If this were the case, a mean percentage could be
calculated for the 'All Stakeholders' category and each stakeholder
group would be equally represented. Unfortunately, several of the
stakeholder groups were difficult to define (e.g., MEDIA), and others
were difficult to personally contact (e.g., LEG). Others were so large or
so varied that it would be impossible to identify an inclusive list for the
entire group (e.g., CEPD represented different ways local communities
choose to address the concerns of people with disabilities, and are not
comparable across the country).

Data analysise

Qualitative data analysis

Qualitative research uses qualitative data analysis (QDA) to analyze text, interview
transcripts, photographs, art, field notes of (ethnographic) observations, et cetera.

The process of data analysis

Data analysis is a process, within which several phases can be distinguished:[1]

 Data cleaning
 Initial data analysis (assessment of data quality)

54
  Main data analysis (answer the original research question)
 Final data analysis (necessary additional analyses and report)


Data cleaning

Data cleaning is an important procedure during which the data are

inspected, and erroneous data are -if necessary, preferable, and possible-
corrected. Data cleaning can be done during the stage of data entry. If
this is done, it is important that no subjective decisions are made. The
guiding principle provided by Adèr (ref) is: during subsequent
manipulations of the data, information should always be cumulatively
retrievable. In other words, it should always be possible to undo any data
set alterations. Therefore, it is important not to throw information away at
any stage in the data cleaning phase. All information should be saved (i.e.,
when altering variables, both the original values and the new values
should be kept, either in a duplicate dataset or under a different variable
name), and all alterations to the data set should carefully and clearly
documented, for instance in a syntax or a log.

[Initial data analysis

The most important distinction between the initial data analysis phase and
the main analysis phase, is that during initial data analysis one refrains
from any analysis that are aimed at answering the original research
question. The initial data analysis phase is guided by the following four
questions:
Quality of data
The quality of the data should be checked as early as possible. Data
quality can be assessed in several ways, using different types of analyses:

55
frequency counts, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation,
median), normality (skewness, kurtosis, frequency histograms, normal
probability plots), associations (correlations, scatter plots).
Other initial data quality checks are:

 Checks on data cleaning: have decisions influenced the distribution

of the variables? The distribution of the variables before data cleaning
is compared to the distribution of the variables after data cleaning to
see whether data cleaning has had unwanted effects on the data.
 Analysis of missing observations: are there many missing values,
and are the values missing at random? The missing observations in the
data are analyzed to see whether more than 25% of the values are
missing, whether they are missing at random (MAR), and whether
some form of imputation (statistics) is needed.
 Analysis of extreme observations: outlying observations in the data
are analyzed to see if they seem to disturb the distribution.
 Comparison and correction of differences in coding schemes:
variables are compared with coding schemes of variables external to
the data set, and possibly corrected if coding schemes are not
comparable.

The choice of analyses to assess the data quality during the initial data
analysis phase depends on the analyses that will be conducted in the
main analysis phase.[4] by philip kotler
Quality of measurements
The quality of the measurement instruments should only be checked
during the initial data analysis phase when this is not the focus or
research question of the study. One should check whether structure of
measurement instruments corresponds to structure reported in the
literature.
There are two ways to assess measurement quality:

 Confirmatory factor analysis

 Analysis of homogeneity (internal consistency), which gives an
indication of the reliability of a measurement instrument, i.e., whether
all items fit into a unidimensional scale. During this analysis, one
inspects the variances of the items and the scales, the Cronbach's α of

56
 the scales, and the change in the Cronbach's alpha when an item
would be deleted from a scale.

Initial transformations
After assessing the quality of the data and of the measurements, one
might decide to impute missing data, or to perform initial transformations
of one or more variables, although this can also be done during the main analysis
phase.[6]
Possible transformations of variables are:

 Square root transformation (if the distribution differs moderately from normal)
 Log-transformation (if the distribution differs substantially from normal)
 Inverse transformation (if the distribution differs severely from normal)
 Make categorical (ordinal / dichotomous) (if the distribution differs severely
from normal, and no transformations help)

Did the implementation of the study fulfill the intentions of the research
design?
One should check the success of the randomization procedure, for instance by
checking whether background and substantive variables are equally distributed
within and across groups.
If the study did not need and/or use a randomization procedure, one should check
the success of the non-random sampling, for instance by checking whether all
subgroups of the population of interest are represented in sample.
Other possible data distortions that should be checked are:

 dropout (this should be identified during the initial data analysis phase)
 Item nonresponse (whether this is random or not should be assessed during
the initial data analysis phase)
 Treatment quality (using manipulation checks).

Characteristics of data sample

In any report or article, the structure of the sample must be accurately
described. It is especially important to exactly determine the structure of
the sample (and specifically the size of the subgroups) when subgroup
analyses will be performed during the main analysis phase.
The characteristics of the data sample can be assessed by looking at:

 Basic statistics of important variables

57
  Scatter plots
 Correlations
 Cross-tabulations[9]

Final stage of the initial data analysis

During the final stage, the findings of the initial data analysis are
documented, and necessary, preferable, and possible corrective actions
are taken.
Also, the original plan for the main data analyses can and should be
specified in more detail and/or rewritten.
In order to do this, several decisions about the main data analyses can
and should be made:

 In the case of non-normals: should one transform variables; make

variables categorical (ordinal/dichotomous); adapt the analysis
method?
 In the case of missing data: should one neglect or impute the
missing data; which imputation technique should be used?
 In the case of outliers: should one use robust analysis
techniques?
 In case items do not fit the scale: should one adapt the
measurement instrument by omitting items, or rather ensure
comparability with other (uses of the) measurement instrument(s)?
 In the case of (too) small subgroups: should one drop the
hypothesis about inter-group differences, or use small sample
techniques, like exact tests or bootstrapping?
 In case the randomization procedure seems to be defective: can
and should one calculate propensity scores and include them as
covariates in the main analyses?

Analyses
Several analyses can be used during the initial data analysis phase:

 Univariate statistics
 Bivariate associations (correlations)
 Graphical techniques (scatter plots)

58
It is important to take the measurement levels of the variables into account for the
analyses, as special statistical techniques are available for each level:

 Nominal and ordinal variables

 Frequency counts (numbers and percentages)
 Associations
 circumambulations (crosstabulations)
 hierarchical loglinear analysis (restricted to a maximum of 8
variables)
 loglinear analysis (to identify relevant/important variables and
possible confounders)


Finding&recommendation

Finding:

It may become necessary for the States of California and Nevada to provide
supplemental funding to the TRPA for the current fiscal period to meet additional
obligations imposed upon it if the Commission’s various recommendations are
implemented by the Governors.
Background and Supporting Evidence:
There will be additional duties and responsibilities imposed upon the TRPA if
many of the recommendations of the California Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire
Commission are adopted by the Governors of California and Nevada. These
additional duties will relate to forest fuels programs, coordination efforts with fire
agencies and other entities in matters relating to fire prevention, and other tasks
that may have to be undertaken in the current budgetary cycle in order for the
TRPA to respond to the recommendations. The expenses of these additional
duties were could not have been anticipated when the TRPA’s budget for the
current fiscal year was approved and funded by the two States. Therefore, it may
be necessary for the Commission to recommend supplemental funding of the
TRPA for the current fiscal year on an emergency basis in order to get some of
the Commission’s recommendations moving forward if implemented by the
respective Governors.

1 It is therefore recommended that the Governors of the States of

Nevada and California request the TRPA to submit a supplemental
budget request as quickly as possible addressing the potential
additional budgetary needs of the TRPA to comply with any
recommendations of the Commission that may be adopted by the
Governors so that the Governors and their respective States can

59
 commence the funding process necessary to address any reasonable
increased budget request of the TRPA for the current funding cycle.

2 It is further recommended that the States of California and Nevada provide

reasonable supplemental funding to the TRPA for the purposes set forth in this
Finding and Recommendation.

Impacts of Implementation: (The implementation of any Recommendation is

likely to have specific impacts. Consider potential consequences related to each of
the following areas):
Analysis of impacts on the following factors is REQUIRED (Best Estimate):

�Cost
 ./ The costs of this F&R are not available at this time, and will depend upon
the recommendations ultimately made by the Commission, and the decisions of the
respective Governors with regard to the recommendations.

�Funding source / Nevada and California

�Staffing/ NA

�Existing regulations and/or laws /NA

Analysis of impacts on the following factors is OPTIONAL:

�Operational

�Social

�Political

�Policy

�Health and Safety

�Environmental

�Interagency

60
Conclusion

THE PROMOTIONAL AND AGRICULTURAL activities of KRIBHCO do not

limit itself towards increased use of fertilisers only but also aim at
overall improvement in the
socio-economic standard of the farming community. The society has
taken upon
itself the responsibility to carry out different programmes for rural
upliftment
to fulfill its social obligations. KRIBHCO has also extended help in
construction of class rooms, distribution of study materials, supply of
safe drinking water
facilities in the villages apart from regular social and community
development activities. The basic philosophy is that having gauged
their major issues, society aim is to work out programmes that are
sustained by the farming community over

Bibliography
1. Bylaws Book
2. Annual Report of KRIBHCO
3. KRIBHCO at Glance
4. KRIBHCO Pragati

Annexure: -
Product and services of the company:-
1. Urea
2. Seeds
3. Bio-Fertilizers
4. Services
Production of ammonia, urea, & bio-fertilizers:-
The society produced 10.60 lakh MT of ammonia and 17.40
lakh MT of urea during the year 2007-08, thereby Achieve a

61
capacity utilization of 106% and 101% respectively, during that year.
Society has significantly contributed to the agrarian economy of the
country, with a cumulative urea production of 364.00 lakh MT, since
inception. KRIBHCO has invested US$ 80 million (Rs 37,667 lakh)
towards equity capital in Oman India Fertilizer Company SAOC
(OMIFCO) and is handling and marketing 50% of urea produced by
OMIFCO on behalf of government of India. KRIBHCO has acquired
Shahjahanpur Fertilizer Complex of Oswal Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd.
in a joint venture of the company known as Kribhco Shyam Fertilizers
Limited (KSFL). KRIBHCO holds the management and entire marketing
rights of the company.
KRIBHCO produced 950 MT of bio-fertilizers during the year 2007-08.
The increasing in
sales is 17% in comparison to previous year and is a record.
Bio-fertilizers:-
KRIBHCO has been producing and marketing five bacterial
strains of bio-
fertilizers
viz.
RHIZOBIUM,
AZOTOBACTOR,
ACETOBACTOR,
AZOSPIRRILLIUMa n d PSM. Bio-fertilize r have become
important
component of integrated plant nutrient management system
as they keep the soil healthy. KRIBHCO has 3 ISO certified
Bio- Fertilizer plant located at Hazira(Gujarat), Varanasi(UP),
and Lanjha(M aha ras htra ). During 2007- 2008,
K RIBHC O has re c e iv e d FAI & NPC awards for e x c e lle nt p e r f
o r m a n c e a nd FAI
pre v ious ly has awa rde d it for 2006-2007 for Bio-fertilize r
production,
promotion, & marketing.

Farmers Services:-
kribhco contributes positively to the social and economic
development of the community in which it operates. it
provides useful services to the farmers by carrying out a
number of promotional, elementary educations, cooperative
and rural development activities, village adoption, health
check up, drinking water facilities to uplift the socio-
economic status of the farmers. The major activities
include technology transfer and input services to
small farmers through its 60 Krishak Bharti Sewa
Kendras(KBSK’s). Significant improvement in the
working of KBSK’s was observed during the year

62
(2007- 2008). The KBSK turnover of Rs.53.64 crores
was achieved.
•
Agriculture Development Programmes
a) Krishak Seminars
b) Tree Plantation Campaign
c) Farmers Meeting
d) Plant Protection Campaign
e) Block Demonstrations
f) Mini Kit
g) Farm Implement Distribution
h) Technical Wall Painting
•
Rural Development Programmes
a) Drinking water facility
b) Educational and Health check up
c) Construction of storage cum community centres
d) Veterinary health check up
•
Cooperative Development Programmes
a) Cooperative Conference
b) Cooperative study visit
c) Cooperative society adoption
d) Group Discussion
e) RGB members visit
f) State consultative meetings
[ii]

ISO-certification:
iso - 9002 quality system certification for hazira plant
iso - 14001 environment management certification for hazira
plant
iso - 9001: 2000 for marketing

63