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With growing internationalism, there is a shift in research patterns in developing countries, especially China and India, generating vital and contemporary research areas that are beginning to challenge the existing Western‐dominated research literature in social sciences. Yet, many of the new ideas within conceptual papers by the social sciences are not empirically validated, let alone operationalized. This is where the group concept mapping method can play a role in bridging the gap between phenomenal conceptualization and having an empirically valid model that can then be operationalized. The group concept mapping process involves five steps: create statements, sort statements, run multidimensional scaling (MDS) of sorted units, run cluster analysis, and label the clusters. This approach allows for the collective thoughts of a pre‐defined group to be collected and organized into a tangible output with academic rigor. This paper offers an overview of the group concept mapping methodology, discussing the processes of the method, how the method can be utilized fully within the business and broader social science context, and the strengths, weaknesses, and practical implications of group concept mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retracted articles by Indian scholars have received significant attention in recent times. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to analyse the citations of retracted papers authored by Indian researchers. This study aimed to assess the citations to retracted works published between 2001 and 2020 pre‐ and post‐retraction. The study found that there was an increase in retractions over time, with empirical data suggesting that the number of retractions has increased significantly, from 72 papers between 2001 and 2010 to 365 papers between 2011 and 2020. Duplication (n = 128) and plagiarism (n = 119) were the primary reasons for retraction. Notably, 90% of the retracted articles continued to receive citations after retraction. Among the retracted papers, eight received more than 50 post‐retraction citations, 39 received 20 to 50 citations, 347 received one to 19 citations, and 43 were not cited at all post‐retraction. There was an overall 8% decrease in citations after retraction. Retractions were observed across journals of varying impact factor, with a higher number of retractions observed in journals with an impact factor of less than 5 (n = 286; 65%). Furthermore, smaller research teams of two to five authors accounted for 72% of the total retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the first record of wilt and gummosis disease in subabul trees caused by Fusarium equiseti in India. Subabul trees are economically important for the paper and pulp industry in India. The affected trees exhibited symptoms of yellowing, wilting, and gummosis. Isolates of Fusarium equiseti were obtained from the diseased tissue and were found to be identical in their genetic sequences. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the Fusarium isolates caused similar symptoms in healthy subabul plants. The rapid spread of this disease poses a threat to subabul plantations, and the development of management strategies is necessary. [Extracted from the article]

Eucalyptus spp. and their hybrids are frequently cloned and mass planted across farmland tracts and commercial plantations in northern India. It is a viable feeder species to the paper and pulp industries in this region. In 2018 and 2019, during field surveys conducted in northern India, a serious leaf blight disease was frequently observed in E. tereticornis plantations. Isolation from the blighted leaf samples consistently yielded fungal isolates having Calonectria‐like morphology. Morphological features coupled with sequence analysis of partial β‐tubulin (TUB2) and partial translation elongation factor‐alpha (TEF1) gene regions of two fungal isolates confirmed the species as Ca. cerciana. In detached leaf assays and glasshouse inoculation experiments, both isolates produced symptoms similar to those observed on the naturally infected leaves. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re‐isolating Ca. cerciana from the inoculated leaves. This work is the first to confirm that Ca. cerciana is associated with a serious leaf blight disease of Eucalyptus in northern India and is an important addition to the taxonomy of Calonectria fungi in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of Arthur I. Bloomfield's research paper on a survey of central banking in developing countries. The reviewer said that his research was lucid and comprehensive and the author is in general agreement with Bloomfield on the various issues he discusses. The author adds to Bloomfield's paper by describing the various steps taken by the monetary authorities in India in the late 1940s and throughout most of the 1950s. The steps were taken to strengthen the banking and credit system.

The article discusses a study which examined how farmers viewed the use of treated paper mill effluent for irrigation in Tamil Nadu, India using a well-structured interview. The study revealed that about 54% of respondents considered the effluent was appropriate for sugarcane cultivation. It was noted that most water intensive industries have applied treated effluent irrigation technology to the disposal of wastewater. Factors linked to such perception are cited including farmers' characteristics such as educational status and mass media exposure.

The first documented meteorological research in India was carried out by the British in the eighteenth century. Who, then, was the first native Indian to publish a paper on meteorology in an Indian journal? A paper entitled Note on a whirlwind at Pundooah by Chunder Sikur Chatterjee, included in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1865, was probably the first paper published by a native Indian in an Indian journal, indicating that meteorology, as a subject of academic study, has deep roots in India. The paper was in the form of note reporting a tornado at Pundooah to the Surveyor General's Office of India. The note was unique in that it was supported by a sketch that meticulously depicted the path of a tornado and its direction of rotation, and detailed the horizontal extent of the suction vortex and tornado cyclone, which were determined from observations of the trail of destruction. The spatial and temporal scales of the tornado recorded in the note matched those given in papers published more than 100 years later by Orlansky and Fujita, and it is possible that it constitutes the first meteorological record in which the horizontal scale of a tornado and its suction spot were accurately evaluated. The paper was the first of its kind in which tornado dynamics were ascertained via observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We thank Patil Pillai et al. for preparing a critique on our article (Joy et al., 2018). Patil Pillai et al. contest the analytical procedure utilized for the carbonates and "geological information" documented in our research article and raise concerns on our conclusions. We hereby provide our reply to each of their comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's primary science funding agencies, the Department of Science & Technology, and the Department of Biotechnology (DST & DBT) together formulated an open access (OA) policy in 2014. This policy mandates immediate self‐archival of research articles generated from publicly funded research across all the institutions in suitable repositories. But with inadequate infrastructure and awareness, the OA mandate did not flourish as expected. This paper aims to understand whether journal policies impede the prospect of DST‐DBT OA policy and the possible routes to achieve policy compliance. The analysis presented in this paper tracks down the journal self‐archiving policies of the top 50 popular journals (among Indian authors) from each of the six STEM fields—Biology, Chemistry, Clinical‐Medicine, Engineering, Materials science, and Physics. The results show that most journals have an embargo of 12–24 months on self‐archiving of the post‐print (final author version after peer‐review), which contradicts the DST‐DBT OA mandate. The study also reveals that hybrid journals dominate, and article processing charges craft a new form of inequity for Indian STEM researchers. We expect that these findings will be helpful for the funding agencies to restructure their policies, and negotiate with journal publishers to resolve the contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the motivations and actions of Indian Americans who actively oppose Hindutva, that is, a Hindu nationalist vision for India. Diaspora activists who advocate in favour of progressive values for India tend to be underreported in the media and underanalysed in scholarship. The following study addresses this gap. Based on public records, interviews with activist leaders, and participant‐observation, the paper demonstrates how anti‐Hindutva diaspora actors identify and leverage political opportunities in order to engage in moral signalling in local, national and global spaces. By shining a light on ongoing counternarratives to Hindutva, this study highlights contestations within Indian‐origin communities and challenges monolithic portrayals of diaspora politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are fast evolving and their technological advancement is taking at a rapid pace. The performance usually depends upon two basic parameters for an EV, the range of the vehicle and energy consumption per kilometre for the vehicle. Drive cycles (DCs) play a major role in designing EVs. Many DCs are currently used such as the Indian drive cycle (IDC), New European Drive Cycle (NEDC), Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) to check the performance of vehicle in term of their emissions and working standards. This paper compares an electric two‐wheeler scooter with these standard DCs for range and energy consumption estimation and found out that the range obtained using NEDC drive cycle was 130 km in comparison with the IDC which was about 95 km. The paper also highlights the importance of good infrastructure of roads in India to optimize the driving range of the electric vehicle and also stresses the use of good cooling techniques of batteries for range enhancement of EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of the available literature on women street vendors in the Global South, and then specifically in India, this paper identifies several knowledge gaps and future directions for research. The paper makes three broad claims: (1) street vending spaces are fundamentally gendered spaces; (2) the intersectional identities and caste‐based locations of women street vendors shape their spatial experiences, material realities and access to power; and (3) gender and caste are co‐constituted categories that produce a spatiality unique to the Indian subcontinent. While the geographical approach towards street vending recognises the importance of space and considers vendors as spatial practitioners, vendors are often assumed to belong to a homogenous (male) category with differentials such as gender, race, age, ethnicity and caste invisibilised. This research gap is of even more critical importance in India where caste intersects with gender to produce space. Examining the literature on gender and street vending reveals three broad analytical themes—socio‐spatial disparities, politics of space, and strategies of control. What seems to be missing is a critical, qualitative focus on the experiences of women street vendors, the gendering of vending spaces, the recognition of caste as a dynamic factor, and a spatial analysis grounded in the Southern urban context. Ultimately, this paper makes the case for a situated and postcolonial feminist geography approach to street vending in India, and calls for an intersectional research agenda that is attentive to the co‐constitution of caste and gender in the production of urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the source process of the 1819 M 7.7 Kachchh Indian earthquake using physics‐based dynamic rupture modeling and strong ground motion simulations. We successfully simulated the spontaneous dynamic rupture along a curved non‐planar fault using the 3‐D curved‐grid finite‐difference method (CGFDM). The estimated earthquake magnitude is around 7.6, consistent with previous estimations. Our simulations accurately replicated macroscopic rupture patterns and surface deformation, showing agreement with observed data along the Allah Bund fault (ABF) with a maximum displacement ∼5.5 m at the Earth's surface. The maximum modeled coseismic slip on the fault was approximately 7.5 m. Notably, the ABF exhibited characteristics of a weak barrier (leaky barrier) at the bending part, allowing the rupture to propagate further. Despite limitations in surface deformation calculations, the modeled values aligned with the trend of surface fault slip, with a slight deviation in the epicenter toward the east compared to earlier studies. We observed a homogeneous principal stress oriented N25°E, consistent with the present day Indian plate motion. The estimated horizontal peak ground velocities (PGVh) and the maximum value of Intensity X+ aligns well with observations. Furthermore, conducting thorough case studies on significant earthquakes and potential seismic scenarios in stable continental regions is crucial. Such studies play a vital role in validating and improving dynamic rupture models. When combined with statistical methods, this research holds great promise for advancing seismic hazard assessments, earthquake engineering, and strategies for disaster management. Plain Language Summary: This paper is centered around the simulation of the dynamic rupture of the 1819 M 7.7 Kachchh earthquake in India. We have successfully replicated the earthquake's behavior using a three‐dimensional simulation method. The study's results demonstrate the significant influence of the local tectonic setting and non‐planar fault structure on earthquake generation and rupture progression. Although slight discrepancies exist between the simulation results and actual observations, the simulations capture significant trends and reproduce macroscopic rupture patterns. The estimated magnitude of the earthquake aligns well with previous studies. The study highlights the role of fault bending and its impact on surface deformation, contributing to a better understanding of seismic hazards and providing insights for seismic hazard assessments and earthquake source characterization. This work is valuable for comprehending earthquake sources, particularly from earthquake perspectives in the SCR region and other areas. Key Points: Dynamic rupture simulations of the 1819 Kachchh M 7.7 earthquake replicate co‐seismic fault slip, enhance our knowledge of the earthquake sourceWeak barrier characteristics observed at the bending part of the fault enabled further rupturing, influenced by SH and the nucleation pointContributes to understanding earthquake hazards, enhancing seismic assessment, engineering, and disaster management strategies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme has been the central focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan to combat maternal and child malnutrition under the national nutrition mission in India. This paper examined the linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6–59 months. The study utilized data from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS‐4 [2015–2016] and NFHS‐5 [2019–2021]). Descriptive analyses were used to assess the change in utilization of ICDS and the prevalence of underweight at the national and state levels. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to examine factors associated with the utilization of ICDS and underweight. Linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight were examined using the difference‐in‐differences (DID) approach. Utilization of ICDS increased from 58% in 2015–2016 to 71% in 2019–2021. The prevalence of underweight decreased from 37% to 32% in the same period. Changes in ICDS utilization and underweight prevalence varied considerably across states, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results from decomposition of DID models suggest that improvements in ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight children between 2016 and 2021, suggesting that ICDS made a modest but meaningful contribution in addressing undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months in this period. Key messages: Utilization of ICDS services among children aged 6–59 months increased from 58% (2015–2016) to 71% (2019–2021) nationally. The programme's expansion was prominent in urban areas, showcasing progress across states.The prevalence of underweight among children in India declined by 5 percentage points from 2016 to 2021, but almost one‐third of children are still underweight.Increase in coverage and service delivery strengthening of ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight between 2016 and 2021.The findings suggest that optimizing quality of interventions under ICDS can have a modest but meaningful contribution in reducing childhood underweight in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid‐19 lockdown in India in March 2020 revealed the presence of Adivasi communities in the marine fishing industry of Goa, a coastal state in India. While the migration for work of Adivasi communities from the central regions of the country is well recorded, their movement across geographies of the forest and the coast is relatively unknown. Working with initial data collected during the lockdown, interviews conducted after the pandemic and using secondary materials, the paper sought to understand the social and material conditions in the forest and the coastal regions that shape this movement. Centring the waged relation of Adivasi workers opened the door to thinking about the marine fishing sector in India as a capitalist industry, while paying attention to social reproduction highlighted how the coastal and forest regions are spatially linked through their movement and labour. This highlights that the coasts and forests are going through distinct processes of capitalist intensification and expansion. Making connections between ecological appropriation, historical processes of resource extraction and marginalization, the paper finds that the extraction of fish resources in Goa is made productive through the hierarchization and differentiation of Adivasi workers. It reveals how the social relations of identity and caste mediate access to and define conditions of work at sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the link between a mother's autonomy—the freedom and ability to think, express, make decisions and act independently—and the nutritional status of her children. We treat 'autonomy' as a latent variable, and design a novel statistical framework to measure this. This method allows us to separate the direct associations of maternal and family characteristics in our model for nutrition, from their indirect associations that work through maternal autonomy. Using data from India, we explore the sensitivity of our estimates to endogeneity caused by sample selection in the presence of son preference. We find: (i) a one standard deviation (SD) higher autonomy score is associated with a 0.16 SD higher height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ score); and (ii) a 10% lower prevalence of stunting (HAZ < −2 SD). The latter is equivalent to the prevention of approximately 300,000 children stunting, indicating the important role of maternal autonomy. This paper is part of the Economica 100 Series. Economica, the LSE "house journal" is now 100 years old. To commemorate this achievement, we are publishing 100 papers by former students, as well as current and former faculty. Wiji Arulampalam obtained her PhD from the LSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the timing of one‐time fluctuations in births subsequent to the 1918 influenza pandemic in Madras (now Chennai), India. After seasonally decomposing key demographic aggregates, we identified abrupt one‐time fluctuations in excess births, deaths, and infant deaths. We found a contemporaneous spike in excess deaths and infant deaths and a 40‐week lag between the spike in deaths and a subsequent deficit in births. The results suggest that India experienced the same kind of short‐term postpandemic "baby bust" that was observed in the United States and other countries. Identifying the mechanisms underlying this widespread phenomenon remains an open question and an important topic for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically explores the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdown on adolescent girls' and women's access to sanitary pads in India. We have used the National Health Mission's Health Management Information System (NHM‐HMIS) data for the study, which provides data on pads' distribution on a district level. The empirical strategy used in the study exploits the variation of districts into red, orange, and green zones as announced by the Indian Government. To understand how lockdown severity impacts access to sanitary pads, we used a difference‐in‐difference (DID) empirical strategy to study sanitary pads' access in red and orange zones compared to green zones. We find clear evidence of the impact of lockdown intensity on the provision of sanitary pads, with districts with the strictest lockdown restrictions suffering the most. Our study highlights how sanitary pads distribution was overlooked during the pandemic, leaving girls and women vulnerable to managing their menstrual needs. Thus, there is a requirement for strong policy to focus on the need to keep sanitary pads as part of the essential goods to ensure the needs of the girls and women are met even in the midst of a pandemic, central to an inclusive response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delineates the characteristics of an emerging Southern multilateralism to argue against pessimistic narratives of anarchy and disorder as well as optimistic narratives that celebrate the resilience of the Liberal International Order (LIO). It does this by staging a conversation between a top‐down International Relations literature that explores the contours of global order and a bottom‐up international development literature that investigates the changing role of the Global South in world politics. By highlighting the continuities and discontinuities of Southern multilateralism with it, the paper illustrates the ways in which Southern Multilateralism both challenges the LIO and supports it. The perspective of Southern Multilateralism suggests that countries in the Global South insist on sharing global responsibility with prevailing institutions of liberal multilateralism, neither seeking to overthrow it nor to be co‐opted within it. A subsidiary argument of the paper is that Southern Multilateralism is not homogenous: To that end, it attends to the richness of Southern Multilateralism by directing attention to variations within it. In line with the theme of the Special Issue, this paper focuses on two cases that involve India's presence on the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Madhya Pradesh, India, rural migrant workers hired in flyover's construction yards experiment a space of work where the social practices relating to caste separation and hierarchy are temporally softened. This paper shows that these processes of conviviality, through mixing between castes and trans‐communitarian work identities based on the hierarchies of labour, are taking part in the lower classes' long quest for less oppressive labour relations. Starting from the construction yard, and then going to the village, this paper shows that the labour relations involved in the circulation of rural migrants to the flyover construction yards are contributing to shaping their complex and flexible social consciousness in a context of slow reconfiguration of oppressive rural labour relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is concerned with the contemporary relevance of caste to agrarian capitalism and the relations of dependency and allegiance it fosters in a village of Andhra Pradesh. It deploys the method of village study to examine the two‐way interaction between agrarian class and caste relations and the emerging rural‐based informal nonfarm economy. It elaborates the continuation of relations of debt, dependency, and political allegiance fostered by landlordism despite significant diversification to nonfarm by landlords and labour and identifies the crucial role of land inequality and the working of ritual hierarchy in locking Dalit caste in land‐based relations of dependency. The paper highlights the importance of expanding the definition of landlordism as the use of social power for accumulation by embedding it in the motives and values generated by the Hindu social order. While the new wave of literature focuses attention on global capital and commodity chains to understand differentiation of rural population and ruralities, the paper emphasizes the persistent significance of landholding provincial capital in shaping class/caste relations and rural politics and argues for a course correction in thinking about the processes of globalization and new forms of labour control and stresses the continuing significance of the agrarian question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the special section on "Ecosystem Restoration in India: Status Quo and the Way Forward to Achieve Land Degradation Neutrality" and provides an overview of the four papers that constitute this section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infrastructure sector is one of the major pillars for economic growth and development of a country. The responsibility to develop this crucial sector is shifting away from the public to the private sector. After the economic liberalization in 1991, India opened the infrastructure sector, among many others, to private domestic and foreign investment. The shortage of electricity, the poor state of roads, and limited telecom access necessitated a stream of persistent reforms, which were expected to play a significant role in the infrastructure sector's growth. Although some subsectors witnessed success, others continued to face hurdles. The paper highlights the role of infrastructure in socio‐economic development through global literature. It also presents a story of infrastructure development in India since the inception of economic liberalization. It highlights various challenges that discourage private sector investments, thus providing a rationale for policy initiatives by the government. The paper also presents critical issues highlighted by multiple government committees over nearly three decades and identifies residual issues that merit attention. The outcomes of the paper are relevant in the context of developing and emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to a special section brings together three papers first presented at a panel, 'Medical Professions in South Asia: Historical and Contemporary Analyses', at the 26th European Conference on South Asian Studies, held in Vienna, Austria and online, in July 2021. All three papers deal with aspects of the professionalisation of biomedical doctors in India since its independence in 1947. The authors bring together historical and sociological approaches to illuminate the growth of specialisms, patterns of practitioner–patient interactions and efforts to maintain occupational closure and maintain status in the face of growing challenges. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these papers for the sociology of health and illness in India and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews and synthesizes the articles published in a virtual special issue (VSI) "Land Degradation and Development in India: Status quo, challenges, and opportunities." A total of 31 studies (28 research papers and three reviews) are published in this VSI covering various agroclimatic zones of India. These articles provide insights on how different natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect the diversity, and functioning of forests, grasslands, agriculture, agroforestry, and physicochemical and biological composition of the soil. Twelve of these articles also investigate the effectiveness of different restoration methods to restore various degraded ecosystems through agroforestry, afforestation and reforestation, organic amendments, and agroecological interventions. The historical journey of forest restoration, behavioral pattern of local communities for conservation and restoration, and policy framework for restoration in India are discussed in three independent articles. Overall, there is convergence in learnings from these papers for structural and non-structural land degradation, soil salinization, and agroforestry but results from papers on plantations and organic inputs into farming highlight the need for more research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) are prevalent all across in India. TB‐DM comorbidity has emerged as a syndemic and needs more attention in India considering gaps in screening, clinical care, and research. This paper is intended to review published literature on TB and DM in India to understand the burden of the dual epidemic and its trajectory and to obtain perspectives on the gaps, constraints, and challenges in care and treatment of this dual epidemic. A literature search was carried out on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, using the key words 'Tuberculosis' OR 'TB' AND 'Diabetes' OR 'Diabetes Mellitus' AND 'India', focusing on the research published between the year 2000 to 2022. The prevalence of DM is high in patients with TB. Quantitative data on the epidemiological situation of TB/DM in India such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, and management are lacking. During the last 2 years convergence of TB‐DM syndemic with the COVID‐19 pandemic has increased cases with uncontrolled DM but also made coordinated control of TB‐DM operationally difficult and of low effectiveness. Research regarding TB‐DM comorbidity is required in the context of epidemiology and management. Detection and bidirectional screening are aggressively warranted. Management of DM in those with TB‐DM comorbidity needs more efforts, including training and supervision of frontline workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: An umbrella review is a systematic review of systematic reviews, which provides a tertiary level of evidence. This umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta‐analysis (SR‐MA) aimed to determine the proportion of oral cancer (OC) development in oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) patients. Materials and Methods: We searched electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and assessed for eligible papers. The methodological quality of SR‐MA was evaluated using AMSTAR2, and we also checked the quality of evidence of the included papers. Results: Out of 454 papers identified in the primary search, 105 underwent eligibility screening. Inclusion criteria were met by four SR‐MA. OC ratios ranged between 4.2% and 6% for OSF. Substantial heterogeneity was observed for this outcome in all four MA (I2 = 71.31% to 86.37%). None of the SRs assessed the quality of evidence, and half of them were judged to be of critically low methodological quality. Conclusion: There is lack of quality of evidences and critically low methodological quality among SRs and MA leading to substantial heterogeneity. However, due to potentially malignant nature, OSF patients should be monitored carefully for early detection of OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how research advisory groups can be a vehicle for youth activism. It draws on our experiences with young activists, aged 15–26 years, in India and Brazil, who were advisors on a research project focused on youth livelihoods in cities. These young people played a vital role in supporting youth researchers, identifying research themes and developing engagement and advocacy strategies. Through this paper, we explore how the Youth Expert Group advisory model evolved differently in each location and examine how these were shaped by the context, the 'adult' research team and the youth activists themselves. A critically reflexive response in intergenerational partnership is essential to support youth activists in research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Multicriteria mathematical modeling is an analytical framework for formally describing real‐life problems involving multiple and conflicting objectives. In the past decade, multicriteria decision‐making techniques have been applied in almost every area of the decision‐making including energy‐economic planning and sustainable development. Various mathematical and analytical models have been presented for the sustainable development planning and their assessment. In this paper, we discuss an approach related to multicriteria decision‐making and apply it for the assessment of the sustainable development goals of India by the year 2030. In the INDC report submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2015, http://www..unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documents/India/1/INDIA%20INDC%20TO%20UNFCCC.pdf), India has identified many goals related to the sustainable development like energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, GVA growth, and an increase in the employment by the year 2030. This paper overcomes the energy resource allocation problem in related literature due to the lack of sectorial data for the same year by calculating the estimates for each sector for the year 2030. We presented a multicriteria decision‐making model which allocates public labor force in the key economic sectors of India. The presented model is validated with the data of the key economic sectors and their contribution in the identified goals. The paper provides a decision support for the better management of future sustainable policies by assessing the efficiencies of the current policies toward future sustainable goals. We evaluated the identified goals using the multicriteria decision‐making approaches so that the strategic planning can be implemented by the policy makers and to present a quantitative justification of planning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist economists have long questioned the dichotomy between the "private" versus "public" spheres of women's work and have argued for a more nuanced understanding of the marketable paid work and the unpaid work of household caregiving. This paper focuses on women street food vendors' (SFVs) experiences before and during Covid‐19 pandemic to understand how street food vending as a livelihood activity interacts with social dimensions like gender and division of labor. Through multiple in‐depth interviews with 23 women street vendors in Bengaluru, India, before and during the pandemic, we show that there is a blurring of the dichotomy between the work done in the private and public spaces before the pandemic, which is disrupted by Covid‐19 crisis. The first half of the paper explores the household labor dynamics in the context of paid and unpaid work of women and explains how the women SFVs, capitalizing on their existing skills of "cooking," were able to gain agency and recognition for themselves within the households. The second half of the paper focuses on the narratives of the same women SFVs during the first wave of the Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. We find that the Covid crisis brought back the dichotomy between private and public spheres, making it more pronounced, with women losing their control over the public sphere and their work being restricted only to the private sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to first, understand the existing status of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind‐AS) and its convergence from the perspective of accounting practitioners in India; and second, to elucidate the benefits and challenges while implementing Ind‐AS. The paper exemplifies the Ind‐AS convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) thereon cited as Ind‐AS. The study considers exploratory research design and uses an in‐depth interview approach, a qualitative research method of 32 practitioners in India from a heterogeneous group of 6 regulating institutions, 8 conglomerate companies and 18 audit firms including the Big four. The preparedness of the Ind‐AS transition was studied from the perspective of accounting practitioners interviewed revealing three critical perspectives. First, the respondents believed that a greater understanding of the benefits of IFRS convergence can be built by professional education and proper training. Second, the main challenges reflected by the respondents on the implementation of Ind‐AS can be summarised in two key areas: the complexity and interpretation of the accounting standards, since there are fundamental differences between IFRS and the converged Ind‐AS. Third, by strengthening the regulatory framework for monitoring, enforcing accounting and auditing requirements concerning listed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of the horizontal and vertical network in aiding eligible individuals to receive Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. A vertical network refers to a household's political connection, and a horizontal network denotes the interconnectedness with others in the society. We have used data from all India representative individual level (2004–2005 and 2011–2012) panel data released by the India Human Development Survey. Our estimated results from the individual level fixed effects model suggest that programme eligible individuals with vertical networks have a higher probability of receiving the programme. Sub‐sample heterogeneities are detailed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Via a multiple case study of work in microfinance institutions in India, this paper reports on the experiences of field officers and branch managers following work digitalisation. It identifies and explains an intriguing post‐digitalisation paradox of reported increased job satisfaction and tighter technological control diminishing branch managers' work‐life balance. The paradox draws attention to the significance of context in workers' experiences of mobile digital technologies (MDTs) and contradicts previous studies on workers' positive experiences of adopting MDTs: the workers in this study did not experience greater autonomy or flexibility but reported enhanced employment security and status. The paper also adds to literature on employment relations following work digitalisation by revealing powerful enforcement of technological control, with 'WhatsApp' identified as a key managerial tool used for surveillance and discipline, and worker resistance at the margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of institutions indicates the level of economic development in the country. Institutions are a part of a system that is based on human interactions and that leads to the generation of incentives. These incentives can deal with uncertainties and foster economic, social, political growth, provided the human interactions are moderated well. This paper reflects on the strength of the interventionalist institutions like cooperatives in India and promotes institution building for a better future. The base of the paper focuses on the lessons learnt from dairy cooperatives in Gujarat state and discusses the current situation of the cooperatives and challenges faced by them. The cooperatives in India have been old institutions with a great history of success as also failures. Though there are various types of cooperatives in India, the dairy cooperatives have been able to gain more attention in the international market due to the Operation Floods I, II, and III. India has secured its position as one of the largest milk producers in the world. At present, India produces 20% of the total milk production in the world. This paper is a blend and analysis of theoretical perspectives and ground realities of the dairy cooperative sector in India. The paper follows theoretical perspectives from institutional theory to analyse the present scenario of dairy cooperatives in India. It addresses the gaps in the dairy cooperative development sector with an in‐depth analysis of ground realities and contributes to future policy formulation and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides is the main vector control intervention for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in India. After a change in IRS policy in 2015 due to widespread resistance of Phlebotomus argentipes to DDT, IRS with DDT was replaced with alpha‐cypermethrin IRS in 2016. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the susceptibility of P. argentipes to DDT and its alternatives, namely malathion and pirimiphos‐methyl (organophosphates); alpha‐cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda‐cyhalothrin and permethrin (pyrethroids), and bendiocarb and propoxur (carbamates), in support of visceral leishmaniasis elimination in India. Methods: Phlebotomus argentipes sandflies were collected from the visceral‐leishmaniasis endemic states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In the WHO tube tests, the phenotypic susceptibility of F1, 2‐day old, non‐blood fed females were determined against filter papers impregnated with DDT 4%, malathion 5%, pirimiphos‐methyl 0.25%, alpha‐cypermethrin 0.05%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambda‐cyhalothrin 0.05%, permethrin 0.75%, bendiocarb 0.1% and propoxur 0.1%, which were sourced from Universiti Sains Malaysia. The knockdown of sandflies after 1‐h exposure and mortality at 24 h after the 1‐h exposure period were scored. Results: Mean mortality of P. argentipes 24 h after exposure in tube tests was 22.6% for DDT and ≥ 98% for other insecticide‐impregnated papers tested. Conclusion: Phlebotomus argentipes continues to be highly resistant to DDT with no reversal of resistance after DDT's withdrawal from IRS. P. argentipes was fully susceptible to pyrethroid, organophosphate and carbamate insecticides tested. Regular monitoring is warranted for insecticide resistance management in sandfly vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land registration is a process of keeping track of landowners of existing land. Registration of land helps maintain proof of ownership and prevents illegal land possession. Land‐related conflicts are common in developing countries like India due to inconsistent data and transparency. The land ownership transfers also take a longer time than expected. This article presents a land registry system using blockchain and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) technology to overcome the mentioned problems. The land records will be immutable using blockchain, and nobody will forge them illegally. The system will be more transparent as all the users in the blockchain network can view the land and the owner's details before getting into ownership transfer. For maintaining the integrity of land and owner details, it will get stored in IPFS. The land transaction will be carried out via a smart contract. The smart contract checks whether all the entities agree with the transaction, and the money will get transferred within the described time limit. This proposed system will strengthen the land administration process by providing immutable and transparent land records. It will also speed up the registration process by a significant amount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how uncertainty has become a central constitutive feature under the ongoing attempts at rapid extension of highway corridors across India. Contrary to the terra nullius assumption that India's highway programmes operate under, the pathways to accumulation they seek to open present a palimpsest of pre‐existing claims, occupancies and forms of dwelling that come into conflict with the attempts to extend urban space. The paper specifically follows the prolonged uncertainty surrounding a regional highway corridor between the cities of Delhi and Gurgaon, the Dwarka Expressway, which underwent multiple legal contestations over evictions and land disputes. In doing so, it analyses how managing uncertainty in the production of highway corridors becomes profitable for the state, powerful corporate actors and middle‐class homebuyer‐investors, presenting a form of value that can be commodified and exchanged. However, on the other hand, owing to its double‐edged nature, uncertainty also becomes productive for the urban majority in laying claims to urban space. As rapid extended urbanisation increasingly disrupts the lifeworlds of marginal communities, this paper calls for embracing the politics and practices of uncertainty in the continued efforts to push ex‐centric urban analysis beyond the narrow focus on state processes and commodification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many minoritised and marginalised populations, including young people, are debating what constitutes a 'survivable life' and, in turn, how life can be arranged so that it is more than just survival. Notwithstanding these trends, however, there is little scholarly work on local discourses and practices of life and viability. This paper addresses this gap by examining the spatial and temporal process through which young people imagine and build viable lives in an area of the Indian Himalayas. We highlight the importance for these young people of building life as 'jeevan', an idea particularly associated with survival. We also highlight the significance they attach to protecting a wider, 'puri life' ('whole life'), a process that affords opportunities for enjoyment and ethical fulfilment beyond survival. This account of life thought 'on the ground' provides a basis for reflecting on Agamben's (Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press; 1998) arguments about the prevalence of 'bare life' in the contemporary world. This paper examines how young people develop ideas of life in contemporary rural north India. It highlights their tendency to imagine life in terms of the relationship between 'jeevan' (core, human life) and 'puri life': the wider social, environmental and spiritual/cultural milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of the goals and targets specified by the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 3, often referred to as "30 × 30," has garnered widespread attention globally. In this paper, we critique India's potential to meet this target. We find that with its vast network of ecosystems that are under some form of protection and through the recognition of other effective area‐based conservation measures sites, India has the potential to meet the quantitative target of conserving and managing at least 30% of its area by 2030. However, the qualitative attributes of the target might be more difficult to realize owing to several challenges, such as inadequate landscape connectivity, insufficient representation of habitats in the current protected area model, and the exacerbation of socioeconomic vulnerabilities of resource‐dependent communities. To achieve strategic, inclusive, and equitable conservation, we suggest a four‐pronged approach involving landscape‐level biodiversity conservation, socially just and collaborative safeguarding of biodiversity, and relevant policy (re)formulation, informed and underlain by long‐term research and impact monitoring. Although we focus on India, the issues we discuss are of broader relevance, especially for countries across the Global South that are also likely to be significantly impacted by the implementation of the target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education has the potential to help reduce negative human–wildlife interactions by increasing positive attitudes toward wildlife and providing participants with knowledge and skills that can help mitigate conflict situations and promote safety. To promote positive human–wildlife relationships, effective programs could be implemented widely in areas near remote wildlife reserves and protected areas. We created and evaluated a new environmental education program for 10‐ to 13‐year‐old students in rural schools in India where human–wildlife conflicts with large mammals frequently occur. Between July 2019 and March 2020, we tested the program at 129 schools, reaching 4331 students. The program, which was iteratively designed to fit the local context, is both cost‐effective and scalable. We found that participation in the program resulted in a significant positive increase in local environmental knowledge, in knowledge of safe behaviors, and in some measures of environmental attitudes. This paper reports on the lessons learned while creating this program that may help other organizations interested in using environmental education in regions where negative human–wildlife interactions frequently occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cornerstone of conservation policy for endangered species subject to illegal harvest involves estimating their population and offtake numbers. Census enumerations are expensive to conduct on nationwide scales, especially in resource‐constrained countries housing such species. Resource and data limitations necessitate the estimation of population counts. The effect of poaching on species recruitment is often ignored in scientific population projections. Estimation of population counts should account for the interactive feedback between harvest and recruitment. Data on tiger population sizes and poaching from 51 reserves in India between 1994 and 2022 were obtained to calibrate a coupled ecological‐economic model of tiger population dynamics and poaching. Cobb–Douglas harvest functions with differing degrees of concavity and scale economies are used to characterize the economics of poaching. Population dynamics are evaluated using exponential and critical depensation growth functions. The predictive abilities of linked models and their parameter parsimony are evaluated using information criteria. Poaching is shown to substantially affect recruitment dynamics and is best characterized by a Schaefer function coupled with critical depensation growth. This paper provides a novel perspective of the interaction between tiger poaching and population dynamics in India. A systematic understanding of coupled ecological‐economic processes would improve the management of high‐value endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tiger conservation in India has been driven for the most part by a philosophy that prioritizes the need for inviolate tiger reserves free of human beings. Such reserves, it is argued, provide much needed territory to 'care' for the tiger. In this paper, we examine the biopolitics of tiger conservation in India and argue that the current approach to tiger conservation amplifies the nature‐culture divide and ignores other imaginations of tiger conservation that are more cognizant of human—non‐human entanglements in protected area landscapes. The paper argues that tiger conservation has been a mix of sovereign, disciplinary and neoliberal environmentalities, all built on a certain 'truth' about tigers. The paper raises questions and concerns about the 'truth' discourse that underlies tiger conservation and also argues that tiger conservation has marginalized the environmentalism of the poor. It makes the case for more debate and discussion about tiger truths and suggests the need for a more than human approach to tiger conservation that recognizes the adverse consequences of fortress conservation as well as its limits in caring for the tiger in more than human geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the long‐term effects of population and GDP changes requires a multisectoral and regional understanding of the coupled human‐Earth system, as the long‐term evolution of this coupled system is influenced by human decisions and the Earth system. This study investigates the impact of compounding economic and population growth uncertainties on long‐term multisectoral outcomes. We use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to explore the influence of compounding and feedback between future GDP and population growth on four key sectors: final energy consumption, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and CO2 emissions. The results show that uncertainties in GDP and population compound, resulting in a magnification of tail risks for outcomes across sectors and regions. Compounding uncertainties significantly impact metrics such as CO2 emissions and final energy consumption, particularly at the upper tail at both global and regional levels. However, the impact of staple food prices and water withdrawal depends on regional factors. Additionally, an alternative low‐carbon transition scenario could compound uncertainties and increase tail risk, particularly in staple food prices, highlighting the influence of emergent constraints on land availability and food‐energy competition for land use. The findings underscore the importance of considering and adequately accounting for compounding uncertainties in key drivers of multisectoral systems to enhance our comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of multisectoral systems. The paper provides valuable insights into the potential implications of compounding uncertainties. Plain Language Summary: Understanding how future population and economic growth changes could impact our energy, water, food, and environment requires looking across multiple sectors and regions. This is because these systems are all connected. For example, increasing population drives higher food demand but requires more energy and water to grow food. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy through increased biofuel consumption can compete with food production for land resources. This study explored how uncertainties in future population and GDP growth could compound and interact to affect future energy use, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and carbon dioxide emissions. Using a model that connects all these systems, the study found that combined uncertainties in population and GDP lead to more significant risks of extreme outcomes than individually looking at those uncertainties. There are substantial regional differences in future outcomes, like higher uncertainty in food prices for India and West Africa compared to other regions. We highlight the need to consider multisector and multisystem interactions between uncertainties across different regions. Accounting for these compounding uncertainties provides valuable insights into potential risks, like higher extreme projections for food prices or water use. These insights are essential for long‐term planning in our connected human‐Earth system. Key Points: Long‐term implications of population and GDP changes on the coupled human‐Earth system focusing on multisectoral and regional understandingUncertainties in GDP and population growth can compound, resulting in more extreme outcomes for multisectoral systemsCompounding uncertainties differ by region and metrics; staple food prices and water withdrawal show significant regional variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the different models of disablement in different religions and cultures around the world, social and aesthetic representations of intellectually disabled people are diverse in various societies. Disability is perceived in a different way in India than in the West. There are very few studies on the complex role of Indian mainstream Hindi cinema in the representation of intellectual and developmental disabilities in India. This paper explores the potential of shifting representations of intellectual and developmental disability in the late twentieth and early twenty‐first century Bollywood films in the context of multiple aesthetic challenges they pose. The shift in screen image of intellectual impairment is strongly related to the shifting and ambiguous sociocultural model of personhood in India. In earlier Indian Hindi films, characters with intellectual disabilities were depicted in terms of good/bad moralistic labels, compromised body image, leading to aesthetic undesirability. In later Hindi films, they were instead represented as enduring human beings. In short, in earlier Hindi films, there was a discriminatory hegemonic bias in the depiction of intellectually disabled characters, in contrast to that in later Hindi films, where they were depicted in richly diverse perspectives. The changing artistic parlance becomes even more interesting in the context of major developments in Indian governmental policies and rights for the disabled in the last two decades. Thus, the paper highlights that contemporary Hindi films urge the audience to consider intellectual and developmental disability as a multilayered issue and rather than merely as a disease. Accessible summary: Our ideas about disability are linked with those of family, religion and tradition in a particular society.Cinema also reflects our perceptions and concepts of disability.This paper is about the how people with intellectual disabilities have been shown in Hindi cinema in the last 30 years, and how intellectual disability is understood in India.In Hindi cinema, intellectually disabled characters are represented in a way that is slightly different from those in Western literature and films.Research on representations of intellectual disability in cinema is important as it can stimulate healthy discussions on a more empathetic society with a better understanding of the various facts related to intellectual disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility and utilization of banking services are the key elements of financial inclusion. Accessibility is the gateway, whereas utilization actually matters in deriving the positive impact of financial inclusion. Plethora of studies have covered the accessibility dimension; however, we found a lack of empirical analysis of the utilization of it. This paper analyses the utilization dimension of financial inclusion using empirical evidence from the rural and tribal regions of an eastern Indian State, that is, the State of Odisha, which is among the low financially included regions of India. The paper explores the purpose/pattern, depth and frequency of utilization of formal financial services using primary data and develops empirical models explaining the demand and supply‐side determinants. The findings include, the utilization of account for saving and borrowing is not satisfactory. Similarly, the depth of account use is limited due to lack of ICT knowledge. The use of bank accounts for the financial transaction is mainly performed to receive direct benefit transfers and NREGS payments rather than savings, credit and insurance purposes. The policymakers can be benefited from this research by understanding the determinants of financial utilization at the grassroots level and could take corrective measures to promote utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional thermal processing technologies are widely used to extend the shelf life of fruit juices. However, its detrimental effect on the nutritional and sensory properties of fruit juices paved the way for alternative food processing technologies. Non‐thermal processing methods can be a substitute for thermal methods because they have no/minimal effect on the nutritive and sensory qualities of fruit juices and improve their storage quality by deactivating enzymes and eliminating microorganisms. In this review article, combined use of thermosonication (TS) with other non‐thermal processing technologies in fruit juice processing has been detailed. Additionally, the impact of TS on the various qualities of fruit juices as well as the TS mechanism have been covered. TS, one of the emerging non‐thermal technologies have been preferred in fruit juice and beverage processing industries over the past few years, due to consumer's preference towards high quality and nutritious food products. When TS is employed in combination with other non‐thermal processing methods, it reduces processing time, improves process efficiency, and reduces power consumption. The content of this review paper might be beneficial for upcoming research and the commercialization of this hurdle‐based approach. Practical Applications: Generally, fruit juices were treated using thermal methods (e.g., pasteurization) for extending the shelf life by inactivating microbial and enzymatic activities. But it shows negative impact on the nutritional and sensorial attributes of fruit juices. Non‐thermal technologies like, TS has been preferred as an alternative method for the processing of juices due to their less/no effect on the quality parameters of juices. The benefits of TS as compared with thermal treatments include less flavor loss, significant energy savings, and increased homogeneity. TS reduces the processing temperature and time required for pasteurization of juices and it can be used to make high‐quality fruit juices that are additive‐ and preservative‐free. In the review, the effect of TS on fruit juice quality as well as its combined effect with high pressure processing and pulse electric field processing has been summarized. The finding of this review paper might be helpful for the further exploration of these technologies in the large‐scale food industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great deal of work argues that the entry of women into public spaces can promote political and institutional change. The COVID‐19 provides an opportunity to investigate whether and under what conditions women's political representation in rural local governments deliver effective local governance? Drawing from two rounds of data collected in 174 local governments and 1051 households in three Indian states, the paper shows that women Pradhans in the Gram Panchayats had no differential impact on the governance response to COVID‐19 compared to the unreserved ones. Analyzing the heterogeneity in these responses suggests that institutional factors like the proportion of women in village council and local entrepreneurship diversity can enhance women Pradhan's capacity to respond to the pandemic. We explore two channels that enable women Pradhan to govern effectively during the pandemic: improving women's participation in the labor force and reducing household's vulnerability to poverty in the pre‐COVID period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Learning to read is a complex process that involves phonological and orthographic processing abilities, broader language skills and cognitive processes across all writing systems. Although these components remain common, the pace of acquisition of phonological and orthographic processing and reading abilities differ across writing systems. Methods: This study aimed to understand the developmental pattern of reading and phonological processing, assess their interrelationship and study the predictors of reading ability among 175 children, learning to read Malayalam and attending Grades 1–3. They completed various reading (akshara reading, word and nonword reading) and phonological processing (rhyme recognition, syllable deletion, syllable segmentation, phoneme deletion, phoneme substitution, rapid naming and nonword repetition) tasks. Results: Grade and reading level‐based analysis was performed to collate the results. Results revealed a significant overlap of phonological processing and reading abilities among children in Grades 2 and 3. Reading scores demonstrated a weak‐to‐moderate significant correlation with the phonological processing tasks. Although skilled readers performed significantly better on all phonological processing tasks, their scores did not reach ceiling. Syllable‐level tasks were easier compared to phoneme‐level tasks, and they significantly predicted the reading abilities of children. Conclusions: The findings contribute to the existing body of evidence for akshara writing systems, specifically in Malayalam alpha‐syllabary. The development of phonological processing and reading in Malayalam extends beyond the third grade, and syllable processing contributed to increased variance in reading accuracy among inexperienced readers. Highlights: What is already known about this topic Crosslinguistic research evidence suggests a difference in reading acquisition patterns among different writing systems.Studies in akshara writing systems have demonstrated that akshara knowledge develops over time and a reciprocal relationship exists between phonological processing and reading abilities.Syllable‐level processing emerges earlier than phoneme‐level processing and predicts reading accuracy. The architecture of the akshara explains this pattern of development and the importance of phoneme processing to become more skilled with akshara reading. What this paper adds This paper adds to the existing evidence on reading acquisition in an akshara writing system, Malayalam, with the power of an explanatory model. A model of syllable and phoneme processing and akshara knowledge explains 87.8% of the variance in reading accuracy scores of Malayalam readers in early grades.The mastery of reading acquisition in Malayalam continues to develop beyond Grade 3. Phoneme manipulations are difficult compared to syllable manipulations, and mastery of these extends well beyond Grade 3. Phoneme processing remains low among unskilled readers and syllable processing accounts for the variance in reading performance. Implications for theory, policy or practice The study adds to the body of evidence concerning the theoretical underpinnings of learning to read, against the backdrop of Malayalam alphasyllabary.The interrelationships between phonological processing and reading accuracy imply that intervention strategies to improve reading should address both domains.Policy‐related implication is that the strategies to teach reading to young readers should consider a phoneme level instruction strategy alongside akshara teaching across different akshara types considering the complexity and nature of the Malayalam orthography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]