Dr. Smriti Pathak

EDUCATION

PhD (Microfinance), MBA ( Finance and HR ), M.Com, PGDCA

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research interests are in the area of Microfinance, Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Social Responsibility.

Scopus Publications

Next-Generation Defect Detection in High Voltage Electrical Equipment via Deep Learning and Image Processing
Jaydeep Kale
Science Research Society
The paper presents a deep-learning-based, thermal image-analysis advanced defect detection method for high-voltage electrical equipment. Based on the features extracted from the variant AlexNet of the convolutional neural network (CNN), the classification model designed with the classifier Random Forest (RF) achieved 94.8% accuracy. The photographs used for investigation were obtained on an infrared thermal camera at several substations in Chongqing, China. They were taken under cold weather conditions. The electrical components' thermal conditions were classified into two defective and non-defective types based on the temperature differential. The proposed approach supersedes other methods in terms of precision: the precision values are high at 93.2% and the recall values at 95.6%. The combination of CNN and RF forms a computationally efficient solution for achieving the enhancement of defect detection reliability in high-voltage systems. The results outline the potential of this technique in enhancing maintenance practices, minimizing equipment failure probabilities, and ensuring safe electrical infrastructure usage. The scope of future work will be on optimization techniques along with their application within some different environments.


Learning and Development in Indian Corporates Due to WFH
Sameera Raees and Smriti Pathak
IEEE
The objective of the paper is to understand the impact on the workforce in Indian corporates due to the work-from-home (WFH) option. The paper is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from 275 corporates in July on which Regression tests and chi-square tests were done to understand the impact of workforce learning and development due to the WFH option. The WFH option given to the workforce shows both positive (productive family time, Learning & Development with family, Learning new things, following a hobby) and negative (distractions in work, difficulty to learn new things, too much work, and stress increased) impacts. The paper highlights factors that impact employees well-being due to the WFH option and a few suggestions to the corporates for implementing a viable learning and development environment for a positive WFH experience.


Examining factors influencing investment in Digital Gold and Gold ETF using the PCA technique
Arpita Gurbaxani, Jalpa Thakkar, Smriti Pathak, Ashutosh Mathur, and Sameera Raees
LLC CPC Business Perspectives
Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund have emerged as an electronic option for investment in gold in India. The purpose of this study is to determine influential factors forming the perception and level of awareness of individuals toward investing in Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund, and also analyze the relationship among these influential factors. Data for this quantitative analysis were obtained from a self-administered 5-point Likert questionnaire of 158 respondents who are individual investors investing in either Digital Gold or Gold Exchange Traded Fund to achieve the objectives of the study. Principal Component Analysis has been adapted as a dimension reduction technique to identify the factors impacting the decision of investing in Gold Exchange Traded Fund and Digital Gold. The factors that induce investors to invest in Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund as identified in this study are conduciveness, security, and ease of accessibility. The factors that compel investors not to invest in Digital Gold and Gold ETFs are lack of contentment, operational challenges, lack of awareness, brokerage expenses, and infeasibility. The results disclosed that variables such as lack of satisfaction and lack of knowledge have higher factor loadings of 0.997, which indicates that investors are required to be more educated about the Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund. Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India and other regulatory authorities in India may consider regulation of Digital Gold so that it can be accepted as a trustworthy source of investment.


Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Sustainable Development Goals: A Study through Indian Financial Market Perspective
Smriti Pathak, Jalpa Thakkar, Arpita Gurbaxani, Shreya Virani, and Prerak Thakkar
EconJournals
This study measures impact of geopolitical crisis concerning Russia Ukraine War with reference to Sustainable development Goal 8. The researchers have analyzed the variables such as Indian stock market performance, MCX crude oil and Indian GDP Indices to calculate the linear interdependencies among crude oil, Indian stock market performance and Gross Domestic Product using monthly data from January 2016 to May 2022 using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model. Time series stationarity is checked using Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. The time series used for the analysis are MCX iCOMDEX crude oil Index, Nifty 50 Index, and GDP Index. Correlation is measured using the Granger Causality Test and VAR model.  The outcome demonstrates that the lagged values of the Nifty and crude oil prices indexes are very effectively used to explain the GDP Index. Granger’s Causation Matrix shows that past value of NIFTY Index causes change in GDP Index similarly past value of Nifty Index causes change in MCX Crude oil Index, whereas MCX crude oil does not cause much change in GDP Index. Further research could be done using a detailed time series for a longer period to find any impact of crude oil prices on GDP.


Financial literacy for financial inclusion using mobile technology in India
Smriti Ashish Pathak and Shreya Virani
IGI Global
According to the RBI governor, technology-enabled financial information will spread financial literacy in an efficient and secure manner. India needs inclusive growth to pull millions out of poverty and mobile phone penetration can be a good opportunity. Consumers are exposed to a plethora of financial products but the knowledge is either not there or limited to make judicious choices. The successful implementation of financial literacy services would benefit rural people but it is a challenge to all stakeholders today. One-hundred twenty-five people all over India were selected for a survey and results point that rural poor accept mobile technology for banking related information but do not want to adopt the technology. There are various challenges for financial literacy in India discussed in the chapter. Also, opportunities are many for digital literacy and can be achieved if the challenges are overcome. All the stakeholders should put in concerted efforts at all levels to achieve financial inclusion through mobile technology disruption.


Emotional communication for brand appeal and acceptance: An Indian approach
Smriti Ashish Pathak
IGI Global
India is a land of diversity where we find varieties of culture at each step throughout the country. The various approaches discussed in this chapter have emotional connect so that the communication will be applicable to culturally diverse groups using a common creative theme. Communication such as the above requires skills like persuasion, comparison, response generation, image building etc. Many advertising methods and attempts suggest that the audience must derive meaning and use imagination to recreate cultural context and meaning. This chapter presents an emotional approach applied to various products to carry meaning in what is influenced by the cultural orientations across India. . The purpose of this paper is to discuss overall fundamental dimensions of Indian culture and its core values and resultant marketing implications. A few examples have been taken and primary research has been conducted to understand the connection between emotions and brand appeal in India.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS