Field Programmable Gate Array based Digital Module

Field Programmable Gate Array based Digital Module Field Programmable Gate Array based Digital Module for Laser Frequency Stabilization A.Rastogi1, N. Batra, S.De2, S.Panja and A. Sen Gupta Introduction Frequency stabilized lasers are a crucial part in variety of atom-photon experiments such as atomic spectroscopy [1], laser cooling [2], probing the excited states of atoms [3] etc. Depending on the application, a stability in bandwidth from few MHz to sub Hz maybe required. It is therefore, essential to stabilize the frequency of a laser source to an absolute reference. Atoms or ultra stable fabry- perot cavities are used for this purpose [4]. Such stabilization schemes require electronic feedback / servo loops that allow for a correction in laser frequency deviation. At CSIR-NPL, we are developing the first optical frequency standard in India with a single trapped Ytterbium ion (171Yb+). The project aims at trapping a single Yb ion in a Paul trap, laser cooling the ion to about mK temperatures for a precise frequency measurement of the ultranarrow octupole transition at a wavelength of 467 nm. The 171Yb+ frequency standard will require a simultaneous operation of five lasers for photoionization (399 nm), cooling (369 nm), repumping (935 nm and 760 nm) and probing the clock transition (467 nm) [5]. All the laser lights for our experiment would be produced from extended cavity diode lasers (ECDL) which drift in their frequencies due to environmental factors as temperature fluctuations and mechanical vibrations. Such drifting renders them unstable and hence, incorporating frequency stabilization systems becomes an essential requirement for precise frequency standards. In general a frequency stabilization of a laser, as for example using saturated ab sorption spectroscopy [6], requires the use of a frequency synthesizer for scanning and modulation of the laser frequency , lock-in amplifier for phase sensitive detection, low / high pass filters, and servo electronics for feeding control signals to the piezo / current terminals of the laser. Instead of procuring these analog modules for each of the lasers used in our experiment, we have taken an effort of developing them indigenously with an all digital control using field programmable gate array technology(FPGA). Hence, the functionality of all the hardware components can be embedded inside a single chip. In this paper, we present an FPGA based laser frequency stabilization design and show some preliminary results of the performance of the FPGA design modules. An active laser feedback control loop mainly consists of a lock-in amplifier (providing phase sensitive detection) and a PID controller. As mentioned earlier, the controller generates correction signals that drive either a piezo attached to the laser cavity (as in case of ECDL lasers) or a current so as to adjust the laser frequency. Using FPGAs the entire functionality of a laser frequency locking system can be implemented in a single chip with an area of few mm2 . Moreover, the truly concurrent nature of FPGA processing algorithms results in the FPGA design modules behaving like dedicated hardware circuits. Minimal use of hardware leads to lesser probability of picking up noise from the surroundings and also reduces cost. The FPGAs could always be reprogrammed to incorporate extra adders, multipliers, filters i.e. they provide re-configurability. FPGAs are programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such as Verilog-HDL or VHDL. We have implemented the laser frequency locking modules using VHDL. A schematic of various VHDL design modules implementing a laser frequency locking setup is shown in Fig.1. In our module, the FPGA chip (Xilinx Spartan 6 XCSLX16) receives an input signal either from an atomic spectroscopy or from a fabry-perot cavity[4] [6] .As shown in Fig.1, the acousto-optic modulator (AOM) does amplitude modulations of the laser signal resulting in variations in the intensity of light at the photodetector output. This modulated signal at the photodiode output is the derivative of the laser absorption signal i.e. proportional to the slope of a resonant feature. At a resonant frequency, the derivative signal is zero and on both sides of resonance, the derivative signal is 180 degrees in phase. This signal is the input to the FPGA systemwhich is then digitised using a 12-bit A/D converter (AD7476) and then passed through a high pass filter component. High pass filtering extracts the high frequency modulated features from the input signal. The filtered signal then goes to the input of the lock-in amplifier component (that implements phase sensitive detection). The reference signal for the lock-in amplifier comes from a VHDL component that implements a square DDS generator. A phase shifted version of this reference signal can be used by the AOM to amplitude modulate the laser signal. The lock-in amplifier component demodulates the modulated photodiode signal by multiplying it with the reference signal followed by low pass filtering thereby generating what is called an error signal. The error signal contains information as to which side of resonance, the laser frequency is. This signal is then processed by a PID controller component. The control signals generated by the PID component adjust the laser piezo and current signals in such a way so as to ensure that the error signal is always zero (which corresponds to a resonant frequency).Many a times, it is needed to just scan over the complete laser spectrum or to zoom in on a particular spectral feature. In this case, the PID action is disabled and a slow triangular scan signal (generated by a scan generator component) is fed to the laser piezo.All signals coming out of the FPGA are converted into the analog form via 12-bit DAC (DAC121S101). Moreover, to aid in the flexible tuning of locking parameters such as the lock-in gain, PID parameters, modulation frequency and phase, scan amplitude and frequency ; we are working on developing a graphical user interface (GUI) that would allow easy access to and modification of the parameters values inside the FPGA registers. Figure 1: A schematic of an FPGA based closed loop laser frequency locking system. The experiment (atomic spectroscopy setup) and the electronic feedback servo (implemented using FPGA) are shown separately. On the right is shown the image of our FPGA development board with the Xilinx based FPGA chip at the centre. All the feedback components have been implemented as programmable VHDL modules . Results of Some of the VHDL design modules Operation of the individual VHDL modules as well as of the entire system as shown in Fig.1.have been verified, as for example, by observing the physical signals generated from the software implementation of lock-in amplifier, high pass filter , square DDS , scan generator etc. Here we are showing some of these results from our prototype setup. Function Generation:We have implemented the functional behaviour of a square DDS generator and a triangular generatorby developing VHDL components for them. The output of the square DDS module is used as a reference signal for the lock-in detection stage and a phase shifted version of the reference signal is used in the amplitude modulation of the laser frequency by the AOM. The output of the triangular generator is used as a scan signal that drives the laser piezo for observing the laser absorption spectra over a wide range of frequencies. The signals generated from these VHDL components are shown in Fig.2 (a-b). Figure 2 : (a) Shows a square wave of 20 KHz. This would be used as a reference signal for lock-in detection and for modulation by the AOM. (b) Shows a triangular scan of 10 Hz. This would be given to the laser piezo for scanning over a huge range of laser spectrum. (c) A sine wave of 100 Hz (red) was distorted by a high frequency pseudo random sequence resulting in a distorted signal (blue). The high pass filter module filters out the low frequencies and only high frequencies remain (green). For the response shown, the cut-off frequency was kept at 1 KHz. High Pass Filter:Our high pass filter implements a first order IIR digital filter. As shown in Fig.1.the high pass filtering is needed to extract the high frequency amplitude modulations of the photodiode signal superimposed over the slowly scanned doppler absorption profile. As a way of verifying the functionality of this component, a low frequency sine way (100 Hz) was added to a pseudo-random number sequence (10-bit maximal sequence) which was generated at 1 MHz. The result is a highly distorted sine wave comprising high frequency fluctuations superimposed over a slowly varying sine wave. When such a signal is passed through the high pass filter component, the slow sinusoid is removed and only the fast fluctuations appear at the filter output. The cut-off frequency determines the signal at the output. The high pass filtering is shown in Fig.2 (c). Lock -In Amplifier(Phase Sensitive Detector):Software implementation of a lock-in amplifier constitutes developing a binary multiplier in conjunction with a low pass filter. The binary multiplier multiplies an input signal with a reference signal The product is then passed to the low pass filter of a suitable cut-off frequency such that only the portion of the input signal that occurs at the reference frequency remain while the rest are filtered out. Moreover, the output of the lock-in amplifier (i.e. the low pass filtered signal) is directly proportional to the amplitude of the input signal and inversely proportional to the relative phase difference between the input and reference signals. Hence, for a given phase relationship, theoutput increases with increase in input signal amplitude. Similarly, for a fixed amplitude of input signal, the output is maximum when the reference and input signals are in phase (0 degrees) ; minimum when the two are out of phase (180 degrees) and averag es to zero when they are 90 degrees phase separated. In Fig. 3, we demonstrate the amplitude and phase dependence of a lock-in amplifier circuit whose behaviour we have implemented in VHDL. The input signal to this component was an internally generated sine wave (5 KHz) and the reference signal was a square wave (5 KHz). From Fig.3 (a) , it is clear that as the amplitude of input signal (red) increases, the output signal (blue) shifts in the upward direction. For very small input signals (near to zero) , the output is also close to zero. From Fig.3(b), it is clear that the outputs of the lock-in amplifier are equal and opposite for phase separation of 0 (blue) and 180 degrees (red) between the input and reference signals. Moreover, the output signal averages to zero (green) when the corresponding phase difference is 90 degrees. Figure 3 : (a),(b) and (c)show the dependence of the lock-in amplifier output (blue) upon the input signal (red). As the input signal amplitude increases from (a) to (c), the output level also shifts up(d) The mean of the lock-in amplifier is minimum when the phase difference between the reference signal and input is 180 degrees (red), maximum when the two are in phase (blue) and lies in the middle of the two extremes when the phase difference is 90 degrees (green). Implementation of Frequency Locking Using Simulated Atomic Spectroscopy Reference frequency from the laser driven atomic spectroscopy is currently not available due to in- availability of the laser.Therefore, to overcome this practical situation and test the FPGA based frequency locking modules,we describe an elegent simulation scheme for testing the closed loop FPGA based frequency control by simulating the atomic spectroscopy experiment described in [6] inside the FPGA chip itself. Essentially, inside the FPGA chip , there would be two main modules : (1) An experiment module that simulates a saturated absorption spectroscopy setup and (2) A feedback module that implements lock-in detection and a PID control action. The experiment module would include three components : A laser piezo scan / control block that receives a voltage at its input and generates a frequency as a predetermined function of that voltage ; an atomic spectroscopy block which generates a derivative intensity profile as a function of the frequency from the piezo block . This in effect results in a derivative feature as a function of the input voltage to the piezo block. In addition , there is a modulation block that mimics an AOM driver. The block modulates the derivative signal in a certain algorithm such that the positive and negative cycles of the derivative signal are 180 degrees out of phase. The modulated signal then goes to the feedback block. The functions for voltage to frequency conversion and for frequency to derivative intensity conversion can be carefully chosen such that over one complete scan cycle , the derivative is zero at a particular voltage. The frequency corresponding to this voltage is the desired freque ncy and the feedback loop should effectively generate a voltage corresponding to this frequency by making the error signal zero. In this sense, the feedback module includes the basic components as high pass filter (for removing the slow doppler profile features from the modulated derivative signal) , lock-in amplifier (for phase sensitive demodulation of the derivative signal thereby giving an error signal) , a PID controller loop that fixes the error signal to zero and a scan generator that is used for observing the derivative over a complete scan range. Also, the reference signal for lock-in detection and the modulation signal from the AOM block are generated from a square DDS (implemented inside the feedback module). The output of the feedback module is either a scan voltage or a PID control voltage. In either case, the voltage signal goes to the piezo component of the experiment module. In this way, a closed feedback scheme is achieved as shown in Fig.4 At the time of writing th is paper, the experimental module has been successfully implemented and we are able to simulate both the scan and lock conditions. In the scan mode, PID loop is disabled and the error signal is observed over a defined sweep span. Under the locking condition, the PID loop is enabled which pins the error signal down to the zero value. In this way, the system gets locked to the frequency corresponding to zero error voltage. After the first order confirmation of frequency locking , we next plan to charcterise the lock quality , add facilities of scan offset and error signal offset to the existing simulation scheme as well as introduce noise into the system . Figure 4 :(Left) A closed loop scheme simulating an atomic spectroscopy experimental setup and a feedback system both implemented inside the FPGA chip. (Right) A falling edge of scan signal (blue) with an error signal (red) simulating a spectroscopic feature is shown. A mirror image of the feature is observed on the rising scan edge . When in lock mode, the error signal falls flat to zero voltage (green) demonstrating that the system gets locked to a particular frequency. Conclusion We have developed an all digital laser frequency stabilization module using field programmable gate array technology as against traditional bulky and expensive analog controllers. The VHDL design modules developed, imitate the functionality of typical hardware electronics used in a laser frequency locking system. The design modules were tested both individually as well as end to end through different testing methodologies. Some of the results were presented in this paper.Also, before incorporating the design modules into locking an actual laser, we have developed a scheme that simulates an entire atomic spectroscopy experiment with an electronic feedback system, both implemented inside the FPGA chip. We have successfully shown the frequency locking action of our feedback modules through this scheme and plan to test them more rigorously by making enhancements in the existing simulation scheme. Acknowledgement S. De acknowledges support from Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) for funding this project under the project code :34/14/19/2014-BRNS/0309. References [1] K.B. Mac Adam, A Steinbach and C. Wiemann, Am. J. Phys. 60 , 1098 (1992). [2] D. J. Wineland and H. Dehmelt,Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.20, 637 (1975). [3] Chien-Nan Liu, Toru Morishita and Shinichi Watanabe, 2009 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 194 032014. [4] W. Z. Zhao, J. E. Simsarian, L. A. Orozco, and G. D. Sprouse, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 69, 3737(1998). [5] S. De, N. Batra, S. Chakraborty, S. Panja, A. Sen Gupta, .Current Science 106, 1348 (2014). [6] Hall,J.L.;Hollberg,L.;Baer,T.;Robinson,H.G., ApPhL,39,680 (1981).

Unreasonable Searches By Police Are Illegal Essay -- Police vs the Fou

No one should be searched without a good reason and warrant. People should have the right of privacy- it is important to them. It is ethical for police to have search warrants before searching a person’s personal belongings. There have been recent conflicts on police powers over the pass years. Police are disobeying the fourth amendment by searching illegally. Critics frown upon police, while supporters agree with the police. Being searched without a permit is unconstitutional, and police could take advantage of their power, and abuse it. It makes US citizens feel less secure and safe. Citizens need to be guaranteed rights as long as they behave. Neighborhoods do not benefit because if the police seize this power of going into a person’s belongings without a permit, then they would use their powers to see what kind of person they are, or finding out on people’s personal business. In general, police will not respect the privacy of the person and his belongings. Therefore, no one should be searched without an extremely good reason and a warrant. Unreasonable searches are unethical. There are many people involved in this issue. They are the police force, the media, the communities, teens and families, victims and families, and the justice system. Neighbors need to feel safe and controlled, and everybody needs to feel equal. â€Å"Liberty is freedom from arbitrary or government† (http://dictionary.com/), and the Fourth amendment assures that we have the freedom of privacy from the United States government. The Bill of Rights is ten rights that could not be taken away from people. The court Case Board of Education V. Earls (12/26/01) deals with the 4th amendment. Earl’s is a student at a school that requires students to h... ...Citizens need to be guaranteed rights as long as they behave. The 4th amendment shows that each and every citizen has privacy rights, and that a search without a permit is illegal. Citizens of the United States of America should not be searched without enough evidence and a permit. Works Cited "The Oyez Project, Board of Education v. Earls , 536 U.S. 822 (2002) ." OYEZ- U.S Supreme Court Media. N.p., 2002. Web. 31 Mar 2015. . "United States V. Jeffers, 342 U.S. 48 (1951)." FindLaw|Cases and Codes. N.p., 13, November, 1951. Web. 31 Mar 2015. .

Just Taxation :: essays research papers

Index: I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introducing the problem  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Income vs. Consumption Tax  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A just tax base?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 V.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberutopia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 VII.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 Table of Figures: Figure 1: Consumption vs. income tax  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 Figure 2: Floating money and deposit money  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction In the debate of just taxation an argument came up, which insisted that any tax that distorts individual preferences should be considered as unjust. This argument is known as the â€Å"fairness-to- savers-argument†. The intention of this essay is to explain of what the fairness to savers argument consists, how to approach it and foremost why it is wrong. At first I will therefore explain the argument on the basis of it’s most common example. The following chapter will then provide a better insight into to exact circumstances, under which the fairness to savers argument might arise. Here the functionalities of the, in the example presented, tax bases will be addressed. To approach the rejection of the argument correctly, it will be necessary to determine what exactly â€Å"just† means and this will lead us to some assumption, which need to be made to prove the argument wrong. But before that, I will present the approach Murphy and Nagel make in their book â€Å"The myth of ownership† and why they are not able to reject the argument completely. Afterwards I will introduce my approach, which basically will show, that any kind of taxation will distort individual preferences and there from I derive, that the fairness to savers argu-ment must be invalid. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introducing the problem The basic problem of the fairness to savers argument, is the effect of different tax bases on individual preferences. The name of the argument follows from it’s most vivid example, which I want to address at first, for a better understanding of the issue. The example is often illustrated with the comparison between two individuals preference for saving, both taxed once under an income tax and once under a consumption tax. Let’s consider two people, Steve and John, both earn in t0 100$, the rate of return is in every period constantly at 10% and they are in every aspect totally similar, despite their individual time preference, which is for Steve at 3% and for John at 9%. That means exactly, that Steve is willing to save his money as long he gets at least a net return rate of 3% and John is willing to save his money as long he gets at least a net return rate of 9%. In case their time preference is higher than the net return rate, the utility they derive from immediate co nsumption will be greater than the utility they derive from saving, thus they won’t save their money.

Discipleship :: Papers

Discipleship In this essay I am going to find out about Jesus' disciples, how he choose them, who they were, what sacrifices and what a disciples job is, in addition to this whether it is possible to be a disciple in the modern day. According to the Oxford Dictionary a disciple is a "follower of a leader/teacher. The first four disciples that Jesus choose were: Simon, Andrew, James and John. The story of Jesus picking them is in Mk 1: 14-20. " Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God "The time has come" he said, "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news" "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, as they were fishermen. "Come follow me," Jesus said "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. " When he had gone a little farther, he saw James and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him." Another story that shows an example of Jesus appointing his disciples is shown in Mk 3 13:19. "Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve and designated them as apostles, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have the authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed; Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, meaning the Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James Son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." In both these stories not one man even hesitated about giving everything they had

Major Problems Faced by Indian Agriculture

Major Problems Faced by Indian Agriculture The major problems confronting Indian agriculture are those of population pressure, small holdings, depleted soils, lack of modern technology and poor facilities for storage. (a) Population Pressure: India has a huge population of over one billion and it is increasing at a very fast rate. According to 2001 census figures the over all density of population is 324 persons per sq. km. This is likely to increase further in future. This has created great demand for land. Every bit of land has been brought under the plough.Even the hill slopes have been cut into terraces for cultivation. (b) Small and Fragmented Land Holdings: The pressure of increasing population and the practice of dividing land equally among the heirs has caused excessive sub divisions of farm holdings. Consequently, the holdings are small and fragmented. The small size of holdings makes farming activity uneconomical and leads to social tension, violence and discontentment. (c) Inadequate Irrigation Facilities: By and large the irrigation facilities available in India are far from adequate.So for half of the total area under food crops has been brought under irrigation and the remaining half is left to the mercy of monsoon rains which are erratic in time and space. (d) Depleted Soils: Indian soils have been used for growing crops for thousands of years which have resulted in the depletion of soil fertility. With deforestation the sources of maintaining natural fertility of soil has been drying out. Lack of material resources and ignorance of scientific knowledge have further depleted the soils of the natural fertility. Earlier only animal waste was enough to maintain soil fertility. e) Storage of food grains: Storage of food grains is a big problem. Nearly 10 per cent of our harvest goes waste every year in the absence of proper storage facilities. This colossal wastage can be avoided by developing scientific ware-housing facilities. The government has ta ken several steps to provide storage facilities. (f) Farm Implements: Although some mechanisation of farming has taken place in some parts of the country, most of the farmers are poor and do not have enough resources to purchase modern farm implements and tools.This hampers the development of agriculture. Challenges agriculture sector challenges will be important to India’s overall development and the improved welfare of its rural poor: 1. Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: Raising productivity per unit of land will need to be the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable land is farmed. Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend with increasing industrial and urban needs.All measures to increase productivity will need exploiting, amongst them: increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs. 2. Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive s trategy that comprises both agriculture as well as non-farm employment: Rural development must also benefit the poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes. Moreover, there are strong regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas or in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains. Reaching such groups has not been easy.While progress has been made – the rural population classified as poor fell from nearly 40% in the early 1990s to below 30% by the mid-2000s (about a 1% fall per year) – there is a clear need for a faster reduction. Hence, poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the rural development efforts of the Government and the World Bank. 3. Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs: The sharp rise in food-grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat of famine.Agricultural intensification in the 197 0s to 1980s saw an increased demand for rural labor that raised rural wages and, together with declining food prices, reduced rural poverty. However agricultural growth in the 1990s and 2000s slowed down, averaging about 3. 5% per annum, and cereal yields have increased by only 1. 4% per annum in the 2000s. The slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. India’s rice yields are one-third of China’s and about half of those in Vietnam and Indonesia. The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.Policy makers will thus need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector. Priority Areas for Support 1. Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth Promoting new techno logies and reforming agricultural research and extension: Major reform and strengthening of India’s agricultural research and extension systems is one of the most important needs for agricultural growth.These services have declined over time due to chronic underfunding of infrastructure and operations, no replacement of aging researchers or broad access to state-of-the-art technologies. Research now has little to provide beyond the time-worn packages of the past. Public extension services are struggling and offer little new knowledge to farmers. There is too little connection between research and extension, or between these services and the private sector. Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management: Agriculture is India’s largest user of water.However, increasing competition for water between industry, domestic use and agriculture has highlighted the need to plan and manage water on a river basin and multi-sectoral basis. As urban and other demands mu ltiply, less water is likely to be available for irrigation. Ways to radically enhance the productivity of irrigation (â€Å"more crop per drop†) need to be found. Piped conveyance, better on-farm management of water, and use of more efficient delivery mechanisms such as drip irrigation are among the actions that could be taken. There is also a need to manage as opposed to exploit the use of groundwater.Incentives to pump less water such as levying electricity charges or community monitoring of use have not yet succeeded beyond sporadic initiatives. Other key priorities include: (i) modernizing Irrigation and Drainage Departments to integrate the participation of farmers and other agencies in managing irrigation water; (ii) improving cost recovery; (iii) rationalizing public expenditures, with priority to completing schemes with the highest returns; and (iv) allocating sufficient resources for operations and maintenance for the sustainability of investments.Facilitating agric ultural diversification to higher-value commodities: Encouraging farmers todiversify to higher value commodities will be a significant factor for higher agricultural growth, particularly in rain-fed areas where poverty is high. Moreover, considerable potential exists for expanding agro-processing and building competitive value chains from producers to urban centers and export markets. While diversification initiatives should be left to farmers and entrepreneurs, the Government can, first and foremost, liberalize constraints to marketing, transport, export and processing.It can also play a small regulatory role, taking due care that this does not become an impediment. Promoting high growth commodities: Some agricultural sub-sectors have particularly high potential for expansion, notably dairy. The livestock sector, primarily due to dairy, contributes over a quarter of agricultural GDP and is a source of income for 70% of India’s rural families, mostly those who are poor and he aded by women. Growth in milk production, at about 4% per annum, has been brisk, but future domestic demand is expected to grow by at least 5% per annum.Milk production is constrained, however, by the poor genetic quality of cows, inadequate nutrients, inaccessible veterinary care, and other factors. A targeted program to tackle these constraints could boost production and have good impact on poverty. Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures: India’s legacy of extensive government involvement in agricultural marketing has created restrictions in internal and external trade, resulting in cumbersome and high-cost marketing and transport options for agricultural commodities.Even so, private sector investment in marketing, value chains and agro-processing is growing, but much slower than potential. While some restrictions are being lifted, considerably more needs to be done to enable diversification and minimize consumer prices. Improving access to rural fi nance for farmers is another need as it remains difficult for farmers to get credit. Moreover, subsidies on power, fertilizers and irrigation have progressively come to dominate Government expenditures on the sector, and are now four times larger than investment expenditures, crowding out top priorities such as agricultural research and extension.

Competitive advantage of IKEA Essay

INTRODUCTIONIn this modern hyper competitory market inject, a company mustiness be a decent enemy to survive. A company must bear a powerful schema in order to flex a powerful competitor. But what makes a close schema for the company?A good pedigree dodging would be that to attain a warlike reinforcement oer former(a) competitors. So what is a competitive wages? And how company lineinate be up to(p) to have a competitive good all over opposite(a) competitors? This essay would immediately discuss what a competitive receipts is and how a company can buoy cause a competitive advan covere over other competitors in the same fabrication by apply two furnishing stemmas, Ikea and Courts as examples.COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEDefinitionA company is said have competitive advantage over its competitors when the company earns profits that be above the normal sightly in the labor where it competes.Types of competitive advantages agree to Michael Porter, there be two sa ncti matchlessd types of competitive advantage, namely bell Advantage- A terms advantage is the ability of the bulletproof to deliver the same intersection or run at reduce apostrophize than competitors. This can be achieved through using economies of scale, yieldion efficiencies, low labor embody or better access to mad existent and etc.Differentiation advantage- A specialty advantage is the ability of the strong to deliver overlaps or serve that atomic number 18 antithetical from the product mix of competitors. due(p) to the added apostrophize in achieving specialization for theproduct or services, differentiated products or services ar often marketed at tribute termss.Model of Competitive Advantage ascendant www.quickmba.comCompetitive advantage derives let on of protect a stanch is able to ca-ca for its buyers that exceeds the self-coloreds equal of creating it. place is what buyers are ordaining to pay, and superior honor stems from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing queer benefits that reduce the price aesthesia of the buyer. Value can be achieved though utilizing the soused p inte eternal restences and capabilities that would then baffle nubble competencies of the particular firm. The warmheartedness competencies spend a pennyd pull up s mothers exit the firm to position either as a be loss d raw(a)ing card or speciality leader in the industry and this will in turn create pry for the buyers which will become the firm competitive advantage in the industry.Resources and capabilitiesA firm needs to possess resources and capabilities that are better than its competitors in order to bust a competitive advantage over them. Any competitive advantage will disappear if the competitors can tardily follow what the firm was doing.Resources are assets of the company that its competitors cannot easily acquire. Some examples of a firm resource include the firms reputation, loyal customer base, patent and trademarks and strong branding.Capabilities refer to the ability of the firm to make the closely of its resources. One good example of the capabilities of a firm is the ability to carry bulge out a palmy marketing campaign.The faction of two capabilities and resource will become the distinctive competencies of the firm. The competencies will allow the firm to achieveinnovation, efficiency, quality and customer responsiveness. The core competencies created will allowed the firm to position either as a cost leader or differentiation leader in the industryCost advantage and differentiation advantageA firm will position itself as a cost leader or differentiation leader in the industry base on the distinctive competencies formed using its resources and capabilities which become the firm competitive advantage against other competitors.Value creationValue is created by firm through arrangeing a series of prise creating activities that Porter place as the value set up. The value chain comprises 4 supporting activities (procurement, technology development, pitying resource and firm infrastructure) and 5 prime activities (inbound logistics, operation, outbound logistics, marketing as easy as sales and service). On spend of the firm own value creating activities, the firm operates in a value corpse of vertical activities including those of upstream suppliers and downward(a)stream fetch members. In order to achieve competitive advantage, a firm must perform one or more value-creating performance that is more superior compared to other competitors. weapons-grade value is created through lower be or superior benefits to the buyers.IKEAProfileIkea, the Swedish piece of furniture giant was founded in 1943. It is the homos largest furniture retailer that sells smart but inexpensive Scandinavian designed furniture. It has firings in 35 countries, including capital of Singapore. The company is, perhaps, one of the Worlds wel l-nigh successful multinational retailing firms operating as a world-wide organization based on its unique concept that the furniture is sold in knock down form that are to beassembled by the customer at home.Ikea mission debateIkeas mission is to offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, excellent quality and durability, at prices so low that as many a(prenominal) people as possible can afford to buy them (www.ikea.com)Ikea competitive advantageIkeas success in the retail furniture industry can be attributed to its vast experience in the retail market and its ability to integrate both product differentiation and cost leading strategies successfully.As pointed out in Ikeas mission statement, the company is in lineage to produce high quality products at a low cost. This would support a cost leadership strategy. However, the company is besides applying differentiation strategy due to its unique way of incorporating the customer in the value chain and unique marketing strategiesCost advantageIkea cost leadership strategy allowed it to have a competitive contact over other competitors in term of pricing. Ikea achieved this through airless cost image and production efficiencies.Under Ikeas global strategy, suppliers are usually located in low-cost nations, with close proximity to raw material and reliable access to diffusion channels. These suppliers produce exceedingly standardized products intend for the global market, including Ikea. This allows Ikea to take advantage of economies of scale.Ikea alike practice tight cost adjudge in order to keeps its product price low and affordable. Some key cost visualize measures undertaken by Ikea includes* Locating their outlet outside the city area on places where the lease or the cost of the fetch is cheaper* flatbed packaging of its product allows Ikea to deport its goods from suppliers to its outlet at low cost as it efficiently maximizes the space during transportation. F lat packaging also means lower warehousing cost for them.* No run through policy when Ikea develops product. For example, the remnants of fabrics that are left over the heart shaped FAMNIG cushion, one of Ikea product, are used to make smaller FAMNIG cushion. door manufacturer are used by Ikea to make their table-top with the leftover raw material thus reducing production cost.In addition to tight cost control and production efficiencies, Ikea also desegregate customer into the value chain burn up as a mean of reducing costs. Customers are to use the learning on the product price tag to collect from the racks in the store self-service area, transport the items themselves sand home and to assemble by themselves. The costs saved are passed back to the consumer in term of charging lower price for their product rather then including the labor costs and delivery costs into the selling price, a usual practice of other furniture stores.Differentiation advantageIkea had also successfu lly integrated its cost leadership strategy with differentiation strategy that allowed it to further severalize itself from other furniture stores and develop a strong branding for the firm.Ikea differentiate itself from other competitors by performing the following* As mentioned earlier in page 6, Ikea incorporate customer into the value chain approach to reduce cost. Customers are to use the information on the product price tag to collect from the racks in the store self-service area, transport the items themselves back home and to do assembling of thefurniture. Ikea is the only furniture store that adopts this practice in Singapore and it is accepted by all Ikea customers as they tacit it as a cost livery method through education by Ikea to the customer on their accounts.* Ikea choose different marketing communication strategy from the rest of its competitors. Instead of choosing to advertise every weekend in the newspaper to reach out to consumer, which is the norm of most of the popular furniture stores in Singapore, Ikea main communication strategy lies in the complimentary catalogue ring armor to every household in Singapore annually. This allowed customer to read the catalogue at the comfort of their home. Furthermore, the dimensions of the furnitures are indicates in the catalogue that allowed the customer to measure up their place for the furniture and come up with a systematic shopping list. Thus, the catalogue is the beat out way to prepare the customer for a visit to Ikea compare to newspaper advertizing used by other competitors.* Ikea provides peasant care services and supervised playing period area in their outlets to ensure parents can focus on their shopping in Ikea store without having any worries for their children.* In-store restaurant (Rare among furniture stores), Burger King as in the casing of Singapore, offer a chance for shoppers to take meal breaks without the hassle of leaving the store. analysisThe cost leadership strateg y adopted by Ikea allows it to set cunning price for their product compare to other competitors in the same industry. By setting attractive price, it also reduces the price sensitivity of the consumer. The cost advantage is achieved by Ikea through tight cost control and production efficiencies. The differentiation strategy approach such as the Ikea catalogue, in-store restaurant, the incorporation of customer in the value chain and providing of child care services undertaken by Ikea helps to create a highly differentiated picture of Ikea in the scoremarkets mind. Ikea through successfully integrating cost leadership and differentiation strategy had become one of the most successful international furniture retailers.

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 8

EllaI realize I have more issues than I thought. As soon as we turn onto the Back Road, a passion combusts inside me. It only flames hotter when we pull up to The Hitch, an old abandoned restaurant stationed at the end of the road.Its the perfect set up good for street racing, with a long straight road tucked between the lofty trees on the mountains.We still should talk Ella! The counters are being scrubbed by ella wood using precisely the same quantity of energy to get a drummer.He pulls the car to the side, maneuvering carefully across the pot holes. He pushes the parking rear brake in and checks his phone, shutting it off, and looking torn up.â€Å"Whats wrong?† I ask. â€Å"You look upset?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nothings wrong.Umm Caroline needs you to receive ready.

Itll ruin your whole Im-neutral-and-dont-give-a-shit act.†I opt to remain impartial. â€Å"Who are you planning to race tonight?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You mean who are we racing?† He smiles alluringly through the full dark cab of the car. â€Å"Well, I thought Id leave that up to you.Ethan slaps the rear of my mind.† I rub my broad forehead with the back of my hand. â€Å"Does he still got that piece of crap 6 cylinder in his Camaro?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, he does.† Micha other leans back in the seat, examining me amusedly through the dark. â€Å"You think thats who I should go for?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Its the obvious choice.No suspects are arrested.

†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You think I should take on special someone in my own league?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"If you want the win to mean anything, then yeah.†We look at each other, like magnets begging to last get closer. Yet flip one the wrong direction and they will push apart.â€Å"So which one is it, pretty girl?† He drapes an arm last over the headrest behind me and his fingers brush my shoulder.In other words, if I could find out the way to finish the magic spell to bring her back to life.â€Å"Micha, I think we should go back.† I put my seatbelt back on. â€Å"This isnt my thing anymore.†He small presses his lips together firmly.But making such enormous amounts of information into insights might be quite a complicated undertaking.

Was it bad news on that full text you got?†He traces the figure eight tattoo on his forearm. â€Å"Do you remember when I got this?†I absentmindedly touch my lower back. â€Å"How could I forget, since I have the same one on my back?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Do you remember why we got them?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I cant remember anything about that night.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Exactly, yet youll remember it forever."Micha is an intriguing title.â€Å"Do you want to much talk about it?†He shakes his head, still focused on the tattoo. â€Å"Nah, Im good.†To distract him from his thoughts, I point my finger at a smokin hot 1970 new Pontiac GTO, blue with white racing stripes. â€Å"What about Benny? Does he still have the 455?†Michas eyes are pools of black liquid.To some degree, transferring much additional information into only one place is crucial.

Im not racing unless youre in the car with me. Its tradition.†A starvation inside me emerges. â€Å"Alright, Ill free ride with you, just as long as you do one thing for me?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Say it and its yours,† he says without blinking.Not worth while youre still coherent, anyhow.His face is indecipherable, his breathing fierce, his gaze relentless. â€Å"Okay, then. Lets go win us a race.†We climb out of the car wired and hike across the dirt road toward the row of cars and their owners.Since you dont need to.

†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Well, what do we have here?† Mikey, the owner of the Camaro, strides up to us. Hes got black hair, a kink in his nose, and his thick neck is enclosed with a barb-wire tattoo. â€Å"Is the infamous famous duo back again to get their asses kicked?†I roll my eyes. â€Å"You beat us once and that was by default due to a flat tire.It doesnt mean anything to anybody who matters.†Micha squeezes my shoulder, trying to keep me calm. â€Å"So whos up first? Or has no one decided yet.†Mikey eyes Michas Chevelle and theres a nervous look in his eyes. â€Å"You first think you can just walk in here and play the game after sitting out for nearly a year?†I mouth to Micha, a year?Micha shrugs."Yeah, but it was not a huge thing.

†Mikeys laughter echoes the night. â€Å"You and what army?†I point at Michas Chevelle parked near the road. â€Å"That army right there.†Mikey shakes longer his head and shoos us away.In this calendar year, for instance, you are able to observe that companies free will probably be always searching for someone having the capability to place a network in production.â€Å"As opposed to yours?† I retort, getting into Mikeys face. â€Å"Because that things all looks and no go.†Micha directs me back by the shoulders and a trace of amusement laces his voice. â€Å"Easy there, tiger.Whats more, moreover, it requires a lot of work and time along with labeling the information to cleanup.

Mikey points a finger sharply at me. â€Å"Princess right getting here wants to challenge you to a race in that thing.†Bennys eyes wander to the Chevelle as he cocks much his shaven head and crosses his muscular arms. â€Å"Micha, isnt that your car?†Micha pats my back and winks at me.There were not any military secrets with me.In fact, it might be kinda nice to have a challenge for a change.† Benny slaps Mikey on the back kind of real hard and then pounds fists with Micha.â€Å"Thanks man,† Micha says with a respective nod. â€Å"Are you and I going to line up first then?†Benny bobs his head up and down, nodding as he stares at the road pensively.Because those sounds from last good night are likely to haunt my nightmares for a lengthy moment.

â€Å"Because beating him wont be easy.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Youre my plan.† He opens the passenger next door for me. â€Å"With you in the car, theres no way I wont win, otherwise youll never let me live it down.Probably other people today are beginning to think things.† He slides across the front of the hood and climbs into the drivers seat.â€Å"Youre such a show off,† I remark.He starts up the engine and it thunders to life. â€Å"Thats like the pot calling the kettle black.Her mother was like that lots of occasions.

You were standing on the roof with a snowboard strapped to your feet, telling everyone you could make the jump. I think thats pretty close to showing off.†I make an innocent face. â€Å"But I did make the jump, didnt I?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, but not without breaking apply your arm,† he says.You might need to understand that maybe she does not wish to go captured.â€Å"I was there because I wanted to be.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You missed a first performance because of me.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I dont care – never have.†My gaze involuntarily flicks to his lips."Alright, youre in need of a workout.

He shoots me a smug look, cocking an eyebrow. â€Å"Now thats showing off.†Shaking my head, I restrain a grin. Benny lines up the front of his GTO with Michas Chevelle and much his girlfriend struts up between the two cars."I didnt need to think about anymore.â€Å"When did they get here?†Micha ignores me, eyeing Benny through his rolled down window. â€Å"To the baseline logical and back?†Bennys arm is resting casually on top of the steering wheel. â€Å"Yeah, man. First one back wins.Im convinced you dont have to hear it.

Go!† Her hands young shoot down and screeches cut the air. A trail of dust engulfs us as we race off. The trees on the side of the road are a blur, and the sky is one big streak of stars. I keep silent as Micha shifts the car over and over again, but something inside me awakens from a very deep sleep.Micha has a thing for flipping the car around, without decreasing the acceleration. Its scary as hell, but it works every time. Besides with the longer body of Bennys GTO it doesnt have quite the turning power.We reach the end and I should probably be nervous.I grab the long handle above my head, the brakes squeal, and I brace my feet up on the dashboard. Its like being on a merry-go-round on crack. Everything spins – the trees, the sky, Micha. For a second, I shut my eyes and it feels such like Im flying.By the time were speeding up the road again, hes a small distance behind us. Micha punches the gas and major shifts the car into a higher gear.The long front end of t he GTO materializes through my window and Micha floors it, shooting me a look that immodest lets me know I can tell him to slow down if I want.I dont.

Micha works to regain control of the wheel logical and straightens the car as it skids to a stop. Everything settles and the dust slowly clears. Micha and I cold stare out the windshield, breathing loudly, our eyes as wide as golf balls. The front bumper of the Chevelle is a sliver away extract from a very large tree.Im an adrenaline junkie. Plain and simple, but I think its how Ive been all along. I just never admitted.Im no longer in control.His hand comes up behind my head and he entices my lips back to his.Something snaps inside me, like a rubber band. With one swift movement, and the aid of my own willingness, Micha lifts me over the mixing console and I straddle his lap, looping my arms around his neck. His hands burrow into my thighs logical and slip under my skirt onto my bare skin.â€Å"Stay here, baby,† he whispers, like he can read my thoughts. â€Å"Trust me, okay? Dont run.†He busy waits for me to nod and then crashes his lips into mine, keeping his h ands under my skirt. I arch my body into him, pressing my chest against his, and my nipples tingle.

It sends a shock through my body and my legs uncontrollably tighten around him, my knees pressing into his sides.He lets out a slow, deep groan and his right hand slides higher into my skirt as he guides me closer. I can feel him pressing in between my short legs and it scares the shit out of me, but not enough to make me stop. Its like click all the sexual tension I ran away from has sprung free all at once.â€Å"Are you two having fun in there?†I jump back and my cheeks start to heat at the sight of Ethan and Lila staring at us through the window. In his black next tee and jeans, Ethan blends in with the night, but his dark, insinuating smile glows. Lilas eyes are magnified and how her jaw is hanging open. Micha does nothing to help the situation.â€Å"So who won the race?† I ask, smoothing the last of the wrinkles out of my skirt.Ethan smirks at me. â€Å"Is that what youre really thinking about at the moment?†I stare at him blankly. â€Å"What else wou ld I be thinking about?†Micha climbs out of the car, stretching his long legs.†Micha interlaces our fingers. â€Å"So the same old, same old.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You know how these things go.† Ethan pats Michas shoulder sympathetically.

I cant crush him. I need to repaint the lines somehow.â€Å"We should just leave,† Micha says to me. â€Å"Lets not even give how them the benefit of our argument.†I let out a shaky breath and nod. â€Å"That sounds good to me.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You want to meet up at the house?† he asks Ethan. â€Å"Im sure were going to have to do some tuning up on The Beast after what I just did.†Lila laughs. â€Å"Oh, I get it. Although, I like my name better.†Micha traces his thumb along the palm of my hand.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Youve spent time with me every day for the last eight months,† part she replies. â€Å"I think were good for a few hours.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ill take care of her.† Ethan chucks the empty bottle of soda across the parking lot and it lands in the back of his truck.