The region covered by the present district of Etawah had flourishing trade with the adjoining regions, represented by the present districts of Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Agra, Gwalior and Kanpur, since early times. Trade was huge when law and order prevailed and tended to decrease sharply in chaotic conditions. Although there was a lack of means of communications trade was carried on horses, ponies, and boats which sailed on the rivers Yamuna and Chambal. Chambal was mostly used by the trader to cross over to Bhind and Gwalior in the south of the district, while Yamuna was extensively used for trade with Delhi and Agra in the west and Kalpi and Allahabad in the east. There was also a flourishing internal trade and the transactions were financed by traders and money-lenders known as lalajis and sahukars. The general practice of payment for the purchase of different commodities through hundis (bills of exchange) continued to be in vogue here. Details about indigenous banking in the district are not available, but it may be presumed that general trade practices which prevailed in the trade centres of northern India also obtained in this district. The giving and taking of loans was in vogue even in ancient times, the word rina (debt) is mentioned repeatedly from Rigvedic times onwards.

As far back as the fifth and sixth centuries B. C., wealth was hoarded in brazen jars or in houses. Usury was frowned upon even when indulged in by members of traditional high castes though the Vaishyas charged more than the prescribed rates of interest. In the mediaeval period particularly in the reign of Akbar and his two successors, trade was flourishing and the money was available with the rich and affluent, Etawah being situated between Agra and Allahabad was an important centre of trade for agricultural commodities, ghi and handloom cloth. Etawah, Auraiya, Ekdil and Phaphund were the main centres of trade and where indigenous bankers operated. There was a government treasury at Etawah and a few subtreasuries at important places like Phaphund and Auraiya. The treasuries served as government banking institution for the collection of government dues, and for incurring expenditure on behalf of the government. The British established their own treasury at Etawah after 1801, on taking over the administration of the district. Subsequently subtreasuries were established at the four tahsil headquarters. For more than a century the treasuries were the main centres for the collection and expenditure of money in the district. The district magistrate was ex officio officer in charge of the treasury. He was assisted by a treasury officer and other staff.

In the beginning of the twentieth century there were a number of firms that advanced money. In large transactions, when valuables such as jewellery were deposited with the lender as security, the rate of interest varied from 6 to 12 per cent per annum, according to the proportion that the value of the property deposited bore to the sum advanced to the debtor. For loans advanced on personal security only, the interest charged was higher, the average being 18 per cent per annum.

The Allahabad Bank was the first bank to establish a branch at Etawah in 1921. In the following year the Etawah District Cooperative Bank.Ltd, was established at Etawah. In 1924 the Stale Bank of India (then known as Imperial Bank of India) opened a branch at Etawah, and the bank established another branch at Auraiya in 1943. The Punjab National Bank opened a branch at Etawah in 1949. However banking was mainly confined to urban centres and in 1960, there were only 3,889 depositors in the banks, who had deposited a total sum of Rs 3,19,01,741. A sum of Rs 2,59,85,568 was withdrawn by the depositors in the same year.

Since 1969, the commercial banks have opened a number of branches in the district, and at present there are eight branches of the Central Bank of India, eight branches of the State Bank of India, and 2 branches, each of the Allahabad Bank and the Punjab National Bank. The Etawah District Co-operative Bank, Ltd., has ten branches and the Uttar Pradesh State Co-operative Land Development Bank, Ltd. has four branches in the district.

Rural Indebtedness

The general condition of the people was satisfactory in 1874 and there was considerable improvement in the condition of the tenants since 1844. Zamindars themselves agreed that their tenants were better clothed and better fed, than they were in 1840. The improvements continued slowly but, steadily as the law and order situation improved. The extension of canal irrigation that took place in the thirty years since 1840, the construction of roads, railways and bridges, and the increase in the area under better variety of crops, all went a long way to enable the people to fight famines and scarcity. The Brahmanas and Rajputs who formed the large proportion of the cultivators of the district, as petty proprietors or as tenants, were said to be all comfortable, and in some cases very well off.

The high caste had a greater power of resistance to their landlords, and the expansion of the area held under statutory rights indicated that the tenants as a whole had not suffered from the pressure of population on the soil. The lower castes, on the other hand, had. probably, fared worse. They had inferior land, or in the case of Kachhis and Lodhas, good land could be obtained at high rents, and they were usually hampered by want of capital to cultivate it to the best advantage. The unskilled and general labourers had fared somewhat better. There was normally no lack of work and wages rose in the two chief towns of the district. In the first decade of the twentieth century when small cash advances were made to cultivators on the security of a crop, the ordinary rate of interest demanded was 24 per cent. Besides, it was customary for the lender to give the borrower one seer (ser) in the rupee less than the number of sers at which the grain borrowed was selling at the time when the loan was made, and to take, at the time of repayment, one ser more than the rate then current. Thus if the borrower required 80 sers of a grain, which was selling 20 sers to the rupee, he received 76 sers. only. He repaid 84 sers if the selling price of the grain was 20 tiers to the rupee at harvest time, in addition to 24 per cent of interest on the money value of the loan.

A large number of residents of the district joined the army in the wake of the First World War (1914-18), and substantive amount of money from the salaries of these men was diverted to their relatives in the villages.

The economic depression of the years 1928-32, led to the fall in the incomes of the agriculturists as prices declined sharply. The prices became stable and rose after 1933. and they increased further in the wake of the Second World War (1939 to 1945). The high prices of the Agricultural commodities gave Agriculturist good returns in terms of money and some of them were able to repay many old debts. The prices have continued to rise ever since the fifties and agriculturists have been assured of good returns. But the prices of items like cloth, fertilizers, implements etc.. have also increased, adding to the expenditure. There has also been considerable increase in the population of the district, 21.7 per cent in the decade 1051-61, and 22,' per cent in the decade 1961-71. In 1961 there were 17.995 agricultural labourers in the district and after a decade there were 51,672 agricultural labourers in the district in 1971 This category of persons is generally indebted as they find seasonal employment, and on the average for about three months in a year they are unemployed. On the average the cultivator of the district produces enough grains to feed and cloth his family, and money is available from co-operative and commercial banks as well as from the government for investment in agriculture. However the agriculturists who have less than one hectare to cultivate are generally indebted. The money-lenders in the rural areas charge at the rate of 25 per cent per annum to 30 per cent per annum as interest.

Urban Indebtedness—Industrial and office workers, residing at Etawah and other urban centres find it difficult to make the two ends meet. However the prices have shown a tendency to fall since July. 1975, and if the trend continues the urban worker will be relieved to a great extent. The rate of interest charged by urban money-lenders varies from 24 to 30 per cent per annum.

The skilled artisans of the district earn about Rs 7.50 to Rs 10 per day and they appear to be satisfied. There are a large number of handloom workers in the district and a few years back in 1970, most of them w«re heavily indebted. As cotton yarn was not available to them, the production of handloom cloth and consequently their earnings decreased. With the help of the government, cotton yarn is -available in plenty. Loans on easy terms are also available to them from co-operative and commercial banks.

The government made attempts to regulate the terms and conditions of money-lending through legislation in 1918, when the Usurious Loans Act, 1918 authorised the courts to reopen transactions between the parties and relieve the debtor of all liability where the interest was 'excessive' and the transaction 'unfair'. By an amendment in 1926, the Act was made applicable to all parties seeking relief from mortgage, but it did not define the words 'excessive' and 'unfair', and the courts could not take effective decisions. By another amendment affected in 1934, the Act was made applicable to all debtors and debts, and it also provided definite limits beyond which the rate of interest should be deemed to be excessive.

The other enactments that followed the economic depression of the thirties were the United Provinces Agriculturists, Relief Act, 1934; the U. P. Temporary Postponement of Execution of Decrees Act, 1937, and the United Provinces Debt Redumption Act 1949. They enabled a considerable reduction of rates of interest and fixed easy installments for the payment of debts. They also protected the person and property of debtors, from being proceeded against in execution of decrees.

The Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Money-lending Act, 1976 provides for the compulsory registration of money-lenders The responsibility of issuing receipts for payments is entirely of the money-lender and he cannot charge interest at rates which exceed the rates prescribed by the government. Molesting a debtor is punishable with three months imprisonment or fine which may extend to Rs 500.

It has been a tradition of the rulers of this country to provide relief to the agriculturists in distress, and British Government also followed suit since 1886. These loans are known as taqavi. However, with the attainment of independence in 1947, it has been the policy of the government to advance loans not only for distress, but also for the development of the agricultural economy. The loans for development are made available by the revenue and agriculture departments of the State Government and by the U. P. State Co-operative Land Development Bank, Ltd.

The following statement gives the amount of loans advanced by the revenue department of the U. P. Government to agriculturists in the district :

There are 20 branches of the commercial banks in the district. The following statement gives the location of the banks:

Deposits of the commercial banks have been increasing steadily as the fguros for 1972 and 1975 indicate. On the last day of June, 1972. the total deposits of the commercial banks was Rs 5,60,00,000 which increased to Rs 10,40,82,000 on March 31, 1975. Inspite of the fact that efforts have been made to mobilise savings of the agriculturists, the bulk of the deposits comes from the urban community. In 1972, out of the total deposits of Rs 5,60,00,000, the deposits at Etawah amounted to Rs 3,84,00,000 and only Rs 1,76,00,000 were deposited in the offices of the commercial banks situated in other places of the district.

The advances have also been increasing, which increased from Rs 1,85,00,000 in June, 1972 to Rs 2.24,86,000 in March, 1975. In the past the bulk of the advances were made to the trading merchants in the urban centres. Since 1969, the emphasis is to advance loans on a priority basis to agriculturists, small-scale industries, export trade, transport operators and for education. In 1975 as much as 56.1 per cent of total advances were diverted to the priority sector and only 43.9 per cent to the retail traders and merchants. The credit-deposit ratio on March 31. 1975 was 21.6.

The amount of loans outstanding against the priority sectors of the district economy, is given in the following statement :

Co-operative Movement

The co-operatives were first Introduced in the district in 1920. However the co-operative movement gathered real momentum after 1950. In 1974 there were 460 primary agricultural co-operative societies with a total membership of 1,65,534. The societies had advanced a sum of Rs 1,44,28,174 by the end of 1960, and this figure increased to Rs 1,74,62,464 by December 31, 1974.

Other Co-operative Institutions

The district co-operative development federation, Ltd, was established at Etawah in 1948.-Its total investment was Rs 1,25,634 in 1974. It is the central institution for consumer's and other goods. It sold food-grains and goods worth Rs 23,42,618 in 1970, and worth Rs 3,66,059 in 1974. It earned a profit of Rs 43,887 in 1970 and Rs 12,203 in 1974.

Six co-operative marketing societies have been established at Etawah Auraiya and Bharthana. Food-grains and consumer goods are sold from the shops kept by these societies. The following statement gives functional aspect of the societies in 1974:

A number of societies have been formed in the industrial sector of the economy of the district on co-operative basis. There are 44 handloom co-operative societies, 67 khadi and village industries societies, 7 sericulture co-operative societies and six small-scale industrial co-operative societies, whose members pool their resources lo organise production and sale of goods.

Co-operative Banks

The Etawah District Co-operative Bank Ltd. finances the co-operative institutions of (he district and also provides banking facilities to its members. It has 10 branches in the district and its total capital investment is Rs 37,22,000, share capital Rs 52,25,000 and a total membership of 596 in June 1975. The following statement gives the other relevant information about the bank :

The Uttar Pradesh State Co-operative Land Development Bank, Ltd. has four branches located at Etawah, Auraiya, Bharthana and Achhalda. The bank provides long term loans for the development of agriculture. The bank had advanced Rs 39,59,006 by the end of June, 1972 By the 30th of June 1975, the bank had advanced Rs 2,90,00,000 to the agriculturists mainly for minor irrigation.

The post-office savings bank scheme has been in operation in the district since the last decade of the nineteenth century. This and other subsequent small savings schemes have been formulated to tap the savings of those who generally do not subscribe to government loans and to inculcate the habit of thrift in people, in order to make funds available for investment in development schemes.

The scheme of premium prize bonds was introduced in the district on January 1. 1963. Braid? were available in the denominations of Rs 5 and Rs 100. They were encashable five years after the date of sale with premium of 10 per cent, each holder being eligible to participate in two draws for prizes.

The Government of India introduced a 15-year public provident fund scheme in 1974-75 for the benefit of people who have no regular savings schemes for old age like pension or provident fund. Any individual can subscribe to the fund either on his own behalf or on behalf of a minor of whom he is the guardian. The subscriber can save up to Rs 20,000 in a year and is able to make annual or monthly deposits in his account.

The net value of various national savings securities in the district was Rs 59,32,800 at the end of the financial year 1974-75. Rs 2,95,32,600 was deposited and Rs 2,35,99,800 was withdrawn in the period. There were 11,922 accounts in 1971-72, which increased to 21,446 in 1974-75. The per capita national savings was only Rs. 2.09 in 1974-75.

The following statement gives the net value of national savings securities on March 31, 1975 :

The life insurance business was taken over by the Life Insurance Corporation of India in 1956, and a branch office of the corporation was opened at Etawah on August 15, 1958. The office is manned by two class I officers, 12 class II officers and 23 others. The following statement gives the business procured by the Life Insurance Corporation of India in the district in the last five years :

Aid to Industries

Financial assistance is provided to the industrial units of the district by the U. P. Financial Corporation Ltd. A total sum of Rs 35,59,000 was advanced to 22 industrial units in 1973-74.

Currency and Coinage

The actual coins, i.e., pieces of metal of regular shapes, whose weight and fineness was guaranteed by a recognised authority, are said to have been in circulation as far back as the sixth century B. C. These coins were issued by merchants, guilds, and corporations besides the government of the day. These were known as punch-marked coins, because one or more figures were marked as symbols of the issuing authority. The imperial Guptas issued a series of fine old coins, which are considered to be of high artistic standard.¹ The weight of the earliest coins was based on the system laid down m Manu-Samhita. Generally coins of single metal, copper or silver were in circulation. The silver pur ana or dhurana of 32 ratis and their various multiples and subdivisions have been discovered all over India.

In the mediaeval period there were mainly three types of coins-the dam, the rupee and the mohar. A rupee comprised 40 dams and 10 rupees were computed as equal to a sold mohar.Farrukhabad rupe_e was in value in the district. This coin was of 169.2 grains and was minted at Farrukhabad

The British issued their own rupee of 180 grains. A rupee comprised 16 arras and an anna divided into 12 pies or four paisa (old).

The decimal system of coinage was introduced on October 1, 1958. The rupee has been divided into 100 paise. There are coins of one paisa, two paise, three paise, five paise, 10 paise, 20 paise, 25 paise and 50 paise. However old coins of four annas (25 paise) and eight annas (50 paise) are still in vogue.

The currency consists of one-rupee notes and coins issued by the Government of India and bank notes issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank of India has issued notes of denominations of rupee two, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred. Currency and coins are made available to the district through branches of the State Bank of India, located at Etawah, Bharthana, Jaswantnacar Auraiya, Bidhnna. Basrehar end Mahewa. Each bank is provided with a currency chest, which is receptacle in which stocks of new or reissuable not3s are stored along with rupee coins. The branches of the State Bank of India in the district receive their supply of currency notes and coins from the currency office of the Reserve Bank of India, Kanpur

In the last 35 years of the nineteenth century, the railway was the main artery of communication. East Indian Railway was easily accessible to every portion of the district. The chief exports were cotton, ghi, oil-seeds and imports-piece goods, metals, rice, salt and sugar. In 1872. 75,984 maunds of cotton. 41.823 maunds of ghi, 56.224 maunds of oil-seeds were exported from the railway stations of the district. In 1900 these figures had risen to 89,723 maunds for cotton, 1,07,495 maunds for ghi, and 1,41,789 maunds for oil-seeds. Even ghi and wheat from adjacent areas of Gwalior- were diverted to the railway stations in the district for export. Further east an extensive traffic plied along the road from Jalaun to Auraiya over Shergarh ghat, and this road and the metalled road to Bhind from Etawah were the main trade routes of the district The other road-borne traffic followed the route Farrukhabad to Etawah, and then proceeded to Agra via Karhaura ghat and yet another from Bidhuna to Kannauj and Makanpur.

The pattern of trade in the twentieth century was the same-export of ghi. cotton and other agricultural goods and import of cloth, general merchandise, cotton-yarn and machinery. However by the thirties, the growing of cotton declined sharply and by fifties there was no cultivation of cotton in the district.

With the development of roads, the pace of trade has increased, and besides the railway a large number of trucks operate in the district. The road to Bhind and Madhya Pradesh has been bridged and now there is a continuous flow of goods and passenger traffic on this road.

Ghi and food-grains are the main commodities of trade. Ghi is transported to as far as Punjab in the west, Bengal, in the east and Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu and Bombay in south and south-west. Wheat is the main food-grain which is transported to the adjoining districts from the wholesale markets of the district.

The other important commodities of internal and external trade are gram, paddy, pulses and oil-seeds. The production of handloom cloth has also increased since 1972-73. and it is finding its way to markets in the district and elsewhere. Etawah and Jaswantnagar are the main trade centres of handloom cloth. Fish is available in the rivers and lakes of the district in large quantities. Fish is sent to Delhi, Bihar and Bengal.

In 1974, there were 590 km. of metalled roads in the district, which connect the various trade centres in the district and also link them with the adjoining districts and states There are 11 railway stations and the Northern Railway runs for a total length of about 90 km. in the district. The infra structure of the district thus adds to the increasing trade. As many as 15,523 persons were employed in trade and commerce in 1961. and 16,355 persons were engaged in this profession in 1971. There were 537 licensed traders in the district in 1970-71, and about 260 commission agents also earned their livelihood from trade and commerce.

Exports

Food-grains, jaggery, oil-seeds, ghi, fish and hand-loom cloth are the main items of export of the district. The other items of export are Ayurvedic medicines, bones and skins, and cotton-yarn. Peas and pulses are exported to Madhya Pradesh Bombav and Madras, rice and fish to Bihar and Bengal, wheat, oil-seeds, jaggery and paddy to Mainpuri. Kanpur, Lucknow and Agra. while handloom cloth is mainly sent to Delhi. Kanour and Lucknow; bedspreads were exported to the United States of Arrerica, Britain and Germany in 1974. Avurvedic medicines are exported to the adjoining districts, skins to Kanpur and bones to Magarwara. The goods are carried by trucks or by rail. The following statement gives the exports of certain goods from the district in 1974 :

Imports

The main imports of the district are consumer goods, medicines and drugs, cotton. diesal and Mobil oil, spirit, petrol, mineral oils and machinery. They are generally transported to Etawah from Lucknow, Delhi, Kanpur, Calcutta, Agra, Mirzapur, and Varanasi.

In 1911, Humeganj formed the centre of Etawah town, and it was also the main market of the district. As the name suggests, the locality was founded and erected, when Mr. A. O. Hume was the district collector. It formed the site of imposing public buildings and a handsome market place. The northern and southern sides of Humeganj formed the principal grain and cotton market, and were lined with shops remarkable for their brickwork arches. To the west of the grain market was Hume's serai, adjoining a fine well. To the east of Humeganj lies another market place called Brounganj, after Broun, a later collector of the district, built on land drained at considerable expense in 1894-95. The present wholesale market of Etawah comprises the markets located at Humeganj, Brounganj and Ramganj.

Etawah is the main assembling and distribution centre for ghi, oil-seeds, paddy, grains, peas and arkar (a kind of pulse). It is the largest regulated wholesale market (mandi) for ghi and oilseeds in the district. Ghi is tested and graded in a laboratory located in the mandi. Oil extracted from oil-seeds (mustard, lahi, etc.) is also sold in the mandi. The following statement gives the quantities of. oil-seeds and food-grains, that arrived in the market in 1970 :

The town has also a flourishing market for the sale of non-agricultural goods like, cloth, general merchandise, machinery, etc.

The other important wholesale markets of the district are situated at Auraiya. Jaswantnagar. Achhalda and Bharthana -all being regulated markets. Auraiya is the largest wholesale market for paddy in the district Ghi is also sold in this wholesale market. where it is tested and graded in a laboratory. Auraiya is situated at a distance of about I9 km. from Phaphund railway station and it is served mainly by trucks Bharthana Jaswnntnaffar and Aebhalda are the other important wholesale markets, which mainly deal in ghi and food-grains. The following statement gives the quantities of food-grains that were assembled in the four wholesale markets situated at Auraiya, Bharthana, Jaswantnagar and Achhalda 1970:

The requirement of the people residing in the rural areas of the district are generally supplied by small local bazars, known as hots. The markets are scattered all over the district. The dealers of the neighbouring villages exhibit their wares in the markets, which are held twice or thrice a week. The markets are the focal points for trade in country produce. When country produce is not available retail traders operating in these markets bring agricultural commodities, salt, and spices from the nearby wholesale market on horses, mules, bullock-carts and camels. The camels are used in the ravines between the rivers Yamuna and Chambal. There were as many as 2,073 horses, ponies and mules and 2,030 camels in the district in 1973. In the markets which are located on metalled roads or near a railway station, consumer goods, handloom cloth and even patent medicines are sold. The markets at Aheripur, Usrahar. Kudar Kot. Phaphund, Lakhna, Dibiyapur, Har-chandpur Baburpur, and Muradganj are important markets, where agricultural and non-agricultural goods are available. The following statement gives the number of major markets held in each tehsil of the district :

The retail trader gains from the difference in wholesale and retail prices and also receives some commission on sales.

These facilities have not developed in tune with the development of transport facilities and trade. About 190 warehouses are available in the district, majority numbering 110 belong to the Warehousing Corporation. Ltd. The agriculture department of the U. P. government has 44 warehouses and the co-operative department operates 36 warehouses in the district. Greater portion of the agricultural commodities are stored in khattis, an indigenous arrangement for storing grains in pits in the ground, the base and walls of the pit are covered by bhusa (straw) as also its top.

The Second World War saw the increase in prices of all commodities, and in order to arrest their further rise, and to give relief to the consumers, chiefly residing in the urban areas, the prices of a large number of commodities were controlled and the supply of many of them to consumers was rationed. The more important commodities were food-grains, cloth, matches, drugs and petrol. Dealers in these commodities had to take licences from government officers. Various schemes for the rationing of food-prains chiefly wheat, and its products, gram, rice, sugar and kerosene oil have however persisted ever since, with varying spheres of applicability, and at present there are 1,215 fair-price shops in the district. Of these 85 are located in the urban centres and the rest operate in the rural areas. Wheat, sugar and rice are sold from these shops. Kerosene oil is distributed by 16 wholesale dealers to P41 retail shops for sale. Coal is made available in 72 depots in the district.

There are a large number of fairs, held in the district, but few are of any commercial importance. The majority are mere gatherings of people around some temple or shrine to celebrate some festival of a purely religious character. However in a number of the fairs, traders sell cloth, toys, footwear, utensils, (sweetmeats and cattle.

The largest of these fairs known as Etawah cattle fair and exhibition takes place in Etawah city in the month of November every, year. Handloom cloth, phi, utensils, plastic goods, sweetmeats, fruits rind toys of clay arc sold in the fair besides several thousands heads of cattle. The Dasahra fair is held in the month of October and the Muharram is held subject to the visibility of moon. More than 10,000 persons assemble in each of these fairs.

The weights employed in the past were the -man (maund) of 40 .s2r,s. the half maund (adhman), the dahsera or adhan of ten seers, the arhaiya of two and half seers, and the peer of 16 ch&taks. or 80 tolas. The most popular subdivisions of the seer were the ndhsera (half-seer), paua (quarter-seer), and adhpaua (one-eighth of a seer). The pakka seer was used for articles other than ghi and cotton in many markets. The panseri (five seers) weighed 400 tolas in government weight, while it weighed 480 tolas in Lakhna, Aheripur, and Paraoh. 500 tolas in Etawah, 510 tolas in Harchandpur, 520 tolas in Auraiya, Muradpur and Baburpur, 532 tolas in Bharthana. and 535 totals in Barhadana, Nagaria. and some other markets. The panseri was also known as dhara, and the difference in weight between market and standard weights was only observable in the case of dhara and arhaiya.

Gold and silver were sold by rattis, mashas and tolas. Eight rice grains made one ratti, 8 rattis made one masha, and 12 mashas made one tola, which was 3 rattis less than the government rupee in 1911. The linear measure was the yard of three feet. The pakka bigha, was equivalent to 2.756.25 square yards or 2 roods, 11 poles, and 24 yards. One acre was equivalent to one pakka bigha, 15 biswas, 2 bis-wansis and eight kachwansis. The kutcha bigha varied from village to village and with every class of land, but the system appeared to be dying out in the second decade of this century.

The metric system of weights and measures was introduced in the district with effect from October 1, 1960. For the proper enforcement of the new system, the U. P. Government established an office under the district supply officer, Etawah, who is also know as the assistant controller of weights and measures. He is assisted by a senior inspector, an inspector and five others.

Each trader in the district has to submit his weights and measures for periodical inspection, and every such unit is stamped after being found accurate. Camps are also held in the wholesale markets and the traders are able to buy accurate weights and measures. Once in a year publicity week is organised in the major markets of the district where new measures are publicised through films, placards, hoardings and pamphlets. Traders are advised to seek the co-operation and guidance of the officials of the department of weights and measures. Those who refuse to adopt the new weights and measures are brought to book and punished.

The following statement shows the number of persons punished and fines realised from them in the last three years :