Barter system

'Communication Technology' has been the single most important economic force shaping all societies over the past half-century with geography, national borders and time zones becoming irrelevant with 'the new communication revolution'. In today's changing world, global electronic commerce is growing so fast and creating new opportunities for trade that no country can afford to miss it. Such explosive innovations and developments in science and technology have deeply influenced the direction and trends in international trade. The role of international trade in the process of economic development is widely recognized. International trade brings a variety of static and dynamic gains and thus increases the capacity for development. Larger the volume of trade, greater is the potential for development. Economic history finds success stories of various countries, which were relatively underdeveloped at one time but were converted to the category of developed countries through foreign trade. Trade is as old as human society itself, as no man, and more so, no society, can ever be self-sufficient. In ancient times trade was in the form of barter, but afterwards, not only did trade change from barter to money, but from a stroke of a computer keyboard, people could enter into a transaction not only in goods and services but also in stocks and bonds, financial lending and national and international currency dealing from one corner to another corner of the world. Export promotion being one of the main facets of fast and steady growth, considerable attention has been given to export incentives since the nineteen sixties. It has been realized that "export growth is not a luxury" for India. It is a prerequisite for adequate foreign exchange earnings, to maintain the tempo of economic development without sacrificing the country's self-reliance. However, exports can play an effective role "as an engine of economic growth" in Indian conditions. Export trade is a vital variable in the Indian economic situation. It plays a paramount role in Indian economic development. It is indeed exports that activate the use of unexploited natural and human resources, break the limitations of the domestic market, strengthen and organize the stagnant economy and minimize the dependence on foreign aid, which, since long is believed to accelerate the pace of economic transformation. Exports are a key factor in the development process of any economy. The logical grounds can be considered in terms of both, the direct and indirect gains of exports in a developing economy like India.

Following the microlith groupings along the hill, one conclusion is unavoidable. These tools represent the pre-metal and pre-pottery stage when the valley bottom was not cleared of jungle. With herds of animals, considerable food-gathering, sporadic cultivation to eke out and some hunting, they may be called Mesolithic cultures. Such a population had to shift constantly from place to place. Permanent settlement could not come before the advent of cheap metal like iron. It is difficult to imagine the use of iron anywhere in the Deccan, earlier to the Mauryan conquest. The deposits of copper in this region are uncommon. Even the Arthashastra does not speak of iron in this area. The natural route of the savages before the swampy or forested valleys were opened for cultivation, must have been along the hillocks. The groups that moved along these tracks could not have been numerous. There was no question of their possessing land, for land-ownership is not a primitive concept. Fixed plots were meaningless till the plough had conquered the soil. For this, the fertile bottom lands had to be cleared of forest, which was not possible in our monsoon country without iron tools in plenty. Land to the savage is territory, not property. In my opinion the still revered Maharashtrian custom of 'gamva-sai' dates back to the presettlement days. This used to be the propitiation (at such date as the Bhagat might set) of all local deities, spirits and goblins. The characteristic feature was that villages used to get deserted as every human being had to leave the village for seven or nine days. After living in the fields or under trees for the period, and performing the required worship and blood sacrifices, the inhabitants would return with the hope of better crops, eradication of diseases and general well-being. The ceremonial return must be being conceived as resettlement. The fixed cult-spots for pre-agricultural people would necessarily be where their regular paths crossed, places where they met for barter, where the communities performed ceremonies or where they celebrated their periodic fertility cults together. Thus, the crossways were logically the sites for the mother-goddess cults.