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Background: In South Asia, 89 million children under 5 are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. Household socioeconomic position (SEP) is a determinant of early child development (ECD). However, synthesised evidence for the association between ECD and SEP in young children in South Asia is not available. Therefore, this review synthesises evidence on the relationship of household SEP with ECD in children under 36 months of age in South Asia., Method: PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE and Scopus were systematically searched to identify studies from South Asian countries that reported evidence on the association between SEP and ECD. Search terms included items related to motor, cognitive, language and socioemotional development. Study quality was assessed using the QualSyst tool, with three quality levels (high/medium/low), and a narrative review for each ECD outcome was constructed (PROSPERO registration: CRD42019131533)., Results: Twelve of the 950 publications screened met the inclusion criteria (nine from India, two Nepal and one Bangladesh). The majority (n = 10, 83%) reported language development on its own or alongside another ECD outcome. Fewer articles assessed cognitive (n = 6, 50%), motor (n = 7, 58%) or socioemotional development (n = 3, 25%). Higher SEP was associated with better ECD for one third of the associations reported. One ECD outcome (socioemotional development) was negatively associated (with socioeconomic status) based on low quality evidence. Mother's education and family income were the major SEP constructs associated with ECD. One, four and seven studies were rated as having a low, medium and high risk of bias, respectively., Conclusion: This review reveals the scarcity of evidence exploring associations between household SEP and ECD in children under 36 months in South Asia, especially outside of India. Enhancing evidence for associations between ECD and SEP is needed for evidence-based policy making to reduce developmental delays associated with a disadvantaged SEP in the South Asian region., (© 2023 The Authors. Child: Care, Health and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Linguistic data from South Asia identified several language isolates in the subcontinent. The Vedda, an indigenous population of Sri Lanka, are the least studied amongst them. Therefore, to understand the initial peopling of Sri Lanka and the genetic affinity of the Vedda with other populations in Eurasia, we extensively studied the high-resolution autosomal and mitogenomes from the Vedda population of Sri Lanka. Our autosomal analyses suggest a close genetic link of Vedda with the tribal populations of India despite no evidence of close linguistic affinity, thus suggesting a deep genetic link of the Vedda with these populations. The mitogenomic analysis supports this association by pointing to an ancient link with Indian populations. We suggest that the Vedda population is a genetically drifted group with limited gene flow from neighbouring Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil populations. Interestingly, the genetic ancestry sharing of Vedda neglects the isolation-by-distance model. Collectively, the demography of Sri Lanka is unique, where Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil populations excessively admixed, whilst Vedda largely preserved their isolation and deep genetic association with India., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. and Mitochondria Research Society. All rights reserved.)

The share of solar energy in the energy mix has become a major concern, and the global effort is to increase its contribution. Photovoltaic technology is an environment-friendly way of electricity production compared to fossil fuels. Currently, third generation of solar cells with a maximum average conversion efficiency of 20% has been achieved. Asia is an emerging market for photovoltaic technology, and it has recorded the highest installation capacity for 2018 (280 MW), 2030 (1860 MW), and 2050 (4837 MW). Meanwhile, Asia is estimated to be the highest producer of PV waste by 2040, with 5,580,000 metric tons of waste volume. Solid waste management is already a big environmental issue in South Asian countries, and untested landfilling of solar cells can further increase the burden. This review emphasizes the end-of-life scenario of solar cells in developing South Asian countries. Solar cell waste is hazardous e-waste that can lead to environmental and health impacts if not managed properly. It consists of metals with market value, which can be waste or gold, depending on its management. The study finds that recycling is the economically and environmentally effective waste management option for solar cells in South Asia. This paper reviews the deficiencies in the existing solar cell waste management framework in South Asian countries. Moreover, practical implications are presented for designing an effective waste management plan for solar cells in South Asian countries. Strong legislation, sufficient recycling infrastructure, and high stakeholders' interests are required to resolve this environmental concern., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)