India’s financial inclusion has significantly improved during the last several years. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of Indians who have bank accounts, with this figure believed to be close to 80% at present. Fintech businesses in India are progressively becoming more noticeable as the Government of India (GoI) continues to strive for expanding financial services to the underbanked sector of the population. To reach the underbanked segments of the population and provide a stable operating environment for fintech businesses, India must seek to increase financial inclusion. In this study, regression and correlation were employed, together with secondary data gathered from the RBI, to analyze this influence. The aim was to determine the impact of fintech and digital financial services on financial inclusion in India. According to the results, fintech businesses have significantly aided financial inclusion in this nation, especially for the middle class. These findings will be helpful for policy-makers working hard to bring every individual in this country into an organized financial system.

Undoubtedly, throughout the past half-century, environmental quality has emerged as a significant obstacle to both economic and social endeavors. Recent local and international policy debates have focused on environmental deterioration and global warming, but how governments balance economic growth and environmental sustainability is still enigmatic. For this reason, we have examined the determinants of environmental quality in India from 1972 to 2021. More specifically, we have investigated whether the fiscal deficit is ‘curse’ or ‘haven’ for environmental quality (CO2) in India. Moreover, this study deliberated four other predictors, comprising technological development (TIN), fossil fuel consumption (FFC), urbanization (Ub), and human capital index (HCI). In order to attain this objective, a range of econometric estimation techniques are employed to ensure the validity and reliability of the outcomes. For instance, we have employed a battery of ARDL approaches, such as standard ARDL, nonlinear ARDL, and multiple threshold NARDL approaches. In light of our research findings, we will be focusing directly on the examination of the NARDL and MTNARDL outcomes. This is due to the empirical evidence indicating the existence of asymmetric effects resulting from FD on CO2 emissions in India. The NARDL approach reveals that the consequence of fiscal deterioration is more pronounced, and the influence of fiscal progress is mild in terms of CO2 emission growth. Further, the outcomes of the MTNARDL approach revealed that the size of the extremely low changes in FD is much higher than the extremely high changes in FD in both models. This implies that as the FD rises, CO2 ascends more significantly, and when the FD lowers, CO2 declines progressively. In a nutshell, FD has a long-run positive and asymmetric impact on CO2 in India; thus, we may conclude that FD is considered the ‘curse’ for CO2 in India. Furthermore, TIN, HCI, and Ub have detrimental effects on CO2, whereas FFC stimulates CO2 in India. This research work provides some important policy implications for environmentalists, economists and macroeconomic policymakers to promote a green and healthy environment.

The circular economy (CE), a paradigm that stresses the economical and efficient use of already-existing resources and goods through leasing, sharing, repairing, reusing, and recycling, has become more well-known in business and management literature. This chapter offers businesses a comprehensive assessment of the prospects that circular economies and sustainable performance management bring, with a particular emphasis on upcoming technical developments and management strategies like public-private partnerships. It looks at the methods that Industry 5.0’s new digital technologies can use to gather and evaluate lifetime data to evaluate how successful circular economies are. The review also covers creating methods to gauge the degree of circularity in systems and implementing design approaches to guarantee that product design is in line with particular performance criteria. It also suggests a maturity model to evaluate organizational preparedness for circularity and looks at developing performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of circularity. The study found important trends and research gaps using a comprehensive assessment of the literature and bibliometric analysis. It concluded that CE can improve resource efficiency, organizational performance, economic and environmental outcomes, and customer satisfaction. But in order to overcome obstacles like knowledge gaps, the need for infrastructure, budgetary limits, and legal requirements, firms must make infrastructure investments, research, new business model development, and comprehensive sustainability strategies.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity on luxury consumption in the skincare industry, considering the promising US$13.9 billion beauty and personal care market in India, as estimated by Euromonitor International. Data were collected from 200 male and female participants in the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, belonging to various geographic groups and income levels. Confirmatory factor analysis was utilized to assess the relationship between observed and latent variables, while regression analysis was employed to determine the impact of physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity on luxury consumption. The study reveals that physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity positively affect luxury product consumption, with brand equity having the most significant impact. The associations between luxury consumption and physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity were found to be statistically meaningful. The findings offer valuable insights for skincare market marketers, allowing them to identify opportunities and strategize to capture untapped markets in the country. Additionally, the results enable them to understand the relative influence of the three factors – physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity – on luxury consumption. This research contributes to the understanding of the positive effects of physical Vanity, achievement vanity, and brand equity on luxury product consumption. The survey-based approach offers a comprehensive yet succinct overview of the existing literature and its implications, benefiting both luxury brand managers and future researchers.