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It is important to evaluate the performance of industries in a growing economy like India through responsible resource use assessments. The article estimates ecological footprint (EF) to communicate the environmental effects of a paperboard and paper production unit in India based on information collected through face-to-face interview method. EF has been calculated by adopting component or bottom-up approach taking into consideration all the components of EF (land, energy, freight and employees transport, water, materials and wastes). Results show that the total EF for production and allied activities of the case study unit varies between 5,62,845 and 2,15,564 ha and EF per tonne of production varying between 23.61 and 9.03 ha. This is based on the production of 23,828 Mt of output of specialty and tissues paper, and the variation occurs due to higher and lower conversion factor for materials and water. The hotspots of EF are energy, materials and wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to examine India's orthopaedic research output during 2002-2021 to analyze the research characteristics and publication performances of leading organizations, authors, and cities, the core journals publishing research, broad subject areas, sub-specialties, and the classification by anatomical location, the subject areas of research using major keywords and the sources of funding and the extent of international collaboration.Methods: India's orthopaedic publications data was identified and downloaded from the Scopus database ( https://www.scopus.com ) using a well-defined search strategy and keywords.Results: India's 4606 publications grew at a 20.8% annual growth rate and averaged 11.3 citations per paper. The 10.4% and 16.3% share of India's papers received external funded support and were involved in international collaboration. The USA and UK (31.8% and 21.3%) represent the highest collaborative share in India's international collaborative publications. AIIMS-New Delhi and PGIMER-Chandigarh produced a larger proportion of articles (5.2% and 4.3%) among contributing organizations. In terms of authors, R. Vaishya and S. Rajasekaran are the most productive ones, contributing 1.6% and 1.1% share respectively. Clinical studies, paediatric sub-specialty, and knee & leg anatomical location accounted for the largest share of papers (32.2%, 10.8%, and 7.5%).The most frequent keywords co-occurrences were "Orthopaedic Surgery," "Hydroxyapatite," "Biocompatibility," "Orthopaedic Procedures," "Bone," "Surgical Techniques," "Biomaterials," and "Osteosynthesis."Conclusion: This study revealed the characteristics and trends of research and core publications from Indian authors and organizations identified in the last two decades. This research should provide useful insights into the research hotspots of India in the present, past, and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research is challenging when studying informal spaces like urban slums, where extant scholarship is limited, government data are sparse or absent, and populations change rapidly due to eviction, environmental shocks, and the everyday churn of migration. Moreover, written materials and political ephemera generated within slums are rarely preserved in accessible state archives, limiting the usefulness of conventional archival research. In such contexts, the discovery of informal archives—unmapped, non-systematized collections of materials kept by individuals and groups in the spaces under study—can contribute to the reconstruction of local histories. This article draws on 20 months of fieldwork in India’s urban slums to offer insights on the collection and use of informal archival materials. These materials afford an intimate look at how the urban poor organize and make claims on the state. Their analysis, however, involves inferential challenges. Researchers must consider how processes of production, preservation, and provision shape the content of gathered historical materials and thus the inferences that can be drawn from them. Beyond urban slums, informal archives are likely to be useful sources of historical data for a range of studies in comparative politics, especially those that focus on informal institutions and local quotidian politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, several studies have noted adaptation measures undertaken by farmers in India to mitigate potential crop loss, however, there is limited studies with reference to systematically review these papers. The mapping of these measures is imperative as it furnishes evidence for opted adaptation options and states. Further, it assists to design state-specific policies to achieve goals of sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, and maintain food security. This study aims to do it by limiting India as the boundary of analysis. Adopting a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, a total of 44 studies were identified. Our major findings are: (i) evidence is found for eighteen states, and these studies, either individually or in sum, represent negligible percentage of state's total number of villages and households, and hence, findings may not stand for the whole state; (ii) a major focus so far has been given to farm management and technology; (iii) state-wise mapping indicates scanty of papers among options, and thus, we urge for studies with representative sample, either for state or nation, and also map several adaptation mechanisms rather than concentrating around farm-management and technology; and (iv) the widely studied options are water management (55%), crop-diversification (52%), crop choice (50%), diversification of livelihood and income (43%), altering agricultural practices/systems (36%), and changing crop-calendar and land holiday (34%). Such type of assessment supplies state-specific maps on studied adaptation mechanisms, and in doing so, it renders future direction in the field of adaptation research, and hence, we advocate to carry out systematic reviews for other vulnerable sectors to climate change in India and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical progress has a tremendous potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing energy consumption, a major concern across production units. However, the existing empirical literature concerning technical efficiency and carbon intensity is scanty. Thus, this paper examines the relationship between technical efficiency and carbon intensity for the organized manufacturing sector of two states, Maharashtra and Odisha, and the all-India level from 2001 to 2018. The paper uses data envelopment analysis to estimate technical efficiency scores. It applies the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 1 methodology for estimating carbon intensity for each 3-digit manufacturing industry in all three sample cases. The study has used static panel regression and fractional logit regression techniques to examine the deterministic relationship between technical efficiency and carbon intensity. The result shows that technical efficiency is highly sensitive to carbon intensity in the Indian manufacturing industries. The findings also addressed that the size of the industries also reduces the technical performance of manufacturing units. This paper also confirmed that increased profit could boost the Indian manufacturing industries' technical efficiency. Thus, this study addresses that carbon intensity as a proxy for the manufacturing sector's potential to affect climate change plays a crucial role in explaining the technical efficiency variations across industries. Thus, it calls for better policies aimed at reducing the emissions of industries specifically to achieve sustainable growth for the Indian manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating and quantifying the scientific output of a researcher is a complex problem that may not benefit from standardized or uniformly accepted solutions. Over the past few decades, various indices, including the most popular h-index, have been introduced for assessing the output and quality of research publications. The uniform application of a single index to researchers with varying age, tenure, gender, economies, funding opportunities, nature of tasks performed, etc., can introduce significant bias, eventually leading to inappropriate assessment results for promotion and tenure. Further, no indices explicitly account for the time spent on teaching-related tasks, advising students for their projects not necessarily resulting in publications, and administration work leading to a situation that favors colleagues who are focused only on research. A new metric, called GG-index, for internal use by institutions of higher education, is proposed to evaluate researchers who have spent a minimum of five continuous years at the academic/research institution. This GG-index is calculated from the h-index, the logarithm of the scientific tenure, citations/paper over the recent 5-year period, and a correction factor that considers the relative dedication to research and the researcher's field. A survey was conducted of some top researchers in various fields, and their publication parameters and responses are used to illustrate the robustness and characteristics of the GG-index. We further demonstrate how the GG-index complements the h-index and helps mitigate the bias against researchers with long-term breaks for maternity, childcare, and other personal reasons. Further, young researchers with good recent publication impact (reflected by high citations per paper) and those working in fields with low citations would also be benefited. It is, however, to be noted that the GG index strongly relies on data available with the institutions, thus making it suitable for the internal assessment of faculty/researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) known as the pulse of economy for any country depends on multiple factors like export–import, inflation rate and unemployment rate etc. Statistical assessment of GDP demands fresh concepts to explain GDP through its covariates in order to improve and strengthen the estimation process. In the present paper, a linear regression model is proposed for modelling GDP of India. Descriptive analysis for the considered data on GDP and its covariates obtained from the World Bank archives is presented through Heatmap. Identification and relevance of the possible set of covariates is established by using step-wise regression (SR). The use of SR reflects its credibility vis-à-vis Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression by registering a decline in Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) from − 18.30 to − 13.63, from a full model to only a few significant factor models. We propose an alternative statistical algorithm implemented under Bayesian paradigm through Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation which bridges the gap of accuracy in estimates as opposed to the frequentist OLS regression for explaining GDP of the country India. Model selection is decided from a battery of normal priors through DIC. Comparison of Bayesian and frequentist modelling results is done using several criteria such as Mean Absolute Deviation, Root Mean Square Error, and Mean Absolute Percent Error. India is one of the emerging economies, the economy of India is the 5th largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product in the world, and the 3rd largest in the terms of purchasing power parity as recorded by World Bank (2022). GDP of India for 2022 is recorded as $3.38 trillion World Bank (2022) which is in close agreement to GDP of $3.361 trillion predicted by the model proposed in the present paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scenario of developed and developing countries nowadays is disturbed due to modern living style which affects environment, wildlife and natural habitat. Environmental quality has become or is a subject of major concern as it is responsible for health hazard of mankind and animals. Measurements and prediction of hazardous parameters in different fields of environment is a recent research topic for safety and betterment of people as well as nature. Pollution in nature is an after-effect of civilization. To combat the damage already happened, some processes should be evolved for measurement and prediction of pollution in various fields. Researchers of all over the world are active to find out ways of predicting such hazard. In this paper, application of neural network and deep learning algorithms is chosen for air pollution and water pollution cases. The purpose of this review is to reveal how family of neural network algorithms has applied on these two pollution parameters. In this paper, importance is given on algorithm, and datasets used for air and water pollution as well as the predicted parameters have also been noted for ease of future development. One major concern of this paper is Indian context of air and water pollution research, and the research potential presents in this area using Indian dataset. Another aspect for including both air and water pollutions in one review paper is to generate an idea of artificial neural network and deep learning techniques which can be cross applicable for future purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) is virtually nonexistent in India. Suboptimally organized prehospital services substantially hinder the evaluation, management, and subsequent transport of the acutely ill and/or injured child to an appropriate facility. Furthermore, the management of the ill child at the hospital level is often provided by overburdened providers who, by virtue of their training, lack experience in the skills required to effectively manage pediatric emergencies. Finally, the care of the traumatized child often requires the involvement of providers trained in different specialities, which further impedes timely access to appropriate care. The recent recognition of Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Emergency Medicine (EM) as an approved discipline of study as per the Indian Medical Council Act provides an unprecedented opportunity to introduce PEM as a formal academic program in India. PEM has to be developed as a 3- year superspeciality course (in PEM) after completion of MD/Diplomate of National Board (DNB) Pediatrics or MD/DNB in EM. The National Board of Examinations (NBE) that accredits and administers postgraduate and postdoctoral programs in India also needs to develop an academic program-DNB in PEM. The goals of such a program would be to impart theoretical knowledge, training in the appropriate skills and procedures, development of communication and counseling techniques, and research. In this paper, the Joint Working Group of the Academic College of Emergency Experts in India (JWG-ACEE-India) gives its recommendations for starting 3-year DM/DNB in PEM, including the curriculum, infrastructure, staffing, and training in India. This is an attempt to provide an uniform framework and a set of guiding principles to start PEM as a structured superspeciality to enhance emergency care for Indian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has a large population with the prevalence of many mental health concerns but faces a shortage of mental health professionals. This paper deals with this mental health crisis in India and how Mental Health First Aid and developing a first aid kit for mental health would help to address the issue. Mental health and mental illness in India additionally face stigma and backlash from the society. Due to this, very few people with mental ailments come forward to seek professional help. While we are aware of and trained in first aid for physical health, the concept of first aid for mental health is in its infancy. Hence, a review of literature was done to find the benefits of Mental Health First Aid and how it could benefit in solving the crisis in India. Creating a Mental Health First Aid Kit on a similar basis to its physical counterpart can also come in handy while administering mental health first aid. Results show that an individual trained in mental health first aid might act as a bridge between people with mental ailments and mental health professionals and assist in providing timely help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining is an important enterprise that will supply essential minerals for the country's infrastructural development. Mining is a key industry and a development engine in the Indian economy. The epidemic has had both immediate and long-term effects on the labour and industries in India. Short-term effects include the cessation of mineral production, salary loss due to absenteeism and pandemic limitations, unemployment, and the selling of minerals on the market. The reputation and economic health of industries, fresh mineral deposit exploration, and new mining complex development have all been impacted in long-term. Aside from the mining industry-specific impact of COVID-19, the social fabric of the mining workers has been impacted since they are living in an environment of fear and uncertainty. This paper attempts to analyse the effect of COVID-19 on extractive industries in India. It also focuses the steps which taken by the Indian government. The paper concluded with the negative effect of COVID-19 which disrupts the mining sector and the contribution declined during COVID-19. However, for instance from mineral rich-Odisha, the mining sector takes up by its growth in post COVID-19 period with remarkable increment from negative growth to high positive rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of poverty has bothered Indian economists, policymakers, and politicians alike. The rapid economic growth was unable to trickle down to the poorest which has led to the persistence of poverty both in urban and rural India even after 75 years of independence. Keeping this in view this paper has tried to examine the regional variations in the spatial pattern of incidence of urban poverty in India across 17 major states using data from the 28th and 68th NSS rounds. It also attempts to isolate the key determinants responsible for these variations. The objective of this paper is twofold; one is to bring out changes in the pattern of regional variations in urban poverty across 17 major states of India from 1973 to 74 to 2011–12 and the second is to identify the determinants responsible for these variations. The selection of regional units is based on the availability of comparable data as well as on theoretical considerations. For this study, therefore, we have considered each state as a single regional unit as they are home to largely homogeneous populations with common history and language, topography, institutions, and laws and at the same time each state is different from the other on account of unique factors. Therefore, interstate variations in this paper imply regional variations across 17 major Indian states. The results obtained through an instrumental variable estimation suggest that this effect is causal and is largely attributable to the positive spillovers of urbanization on the rural economy rather than to the movement of the rural poor to urban areas. Concerning the growth process, both urban–rural and sectoral (output) growth poverty relationships are suggestive of stronger intersectoral linkages in the economy, whereby growth in one sector transmits its gains elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with an account of the update species list of aphid parasitoids (Aphidiinae: Braconidae) in India with examples of their biocontrol successes. Altogether, 157 aphidiine species under 23 genera are recognized as valid in India. Names of the available host aphids and associated plants are provided in this paper. These aphidiine species attack 180 aphid species infesting 225 plants; however, some of the aphidiines were recorded from sweeping without mentioning any plant hostname. Available data on the distribution of each species in different states and territories of India is also provided. Information on the success stories of biological control of 8 aphidiine species in relation to India, viz., Aphidius colemani (Viereck), Aphidius ervi Haliday, Aphidius matricariae Haliday, Aphidius smithi Sharma and Rao, Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, Binodoxys indicus (Subba Rao and Sharma), Diaereteilla rapae (M'Intosh), Kashmiria aphidis Starý and Bhagat are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical anthropologists have not paid enough attention to the variation at the level of the individual practitioners of biomedicine, and anthropological critiques of biomedical psychiatry as it is practiced in settings outside the Global North have tended to depict psychiatrists in monolithic terms. In this article, we attempt to demonstrate that, at least in the case of India, some psychiatrists perceive limitations in the biomedical model and the cultural assumptions behind biomedical practices and ideologies. This paper focuses on three practitioners who supplement their own practices with local and alternative healing modalities derived from South Asian psychologies, philosophies, systems of medicine and religious and ritual practices. The diverging psychiatric practices in this paper represent a rough continuum. They range from a bold and confident psychiatrist who uses various techniques including ritual healing to another who yearns to incorporate more Indian philosophy and psychology in psychiatric practice and encourages students of ayurvedic medicine to more fully embrace the science they are learning to a less proactive psychiatrist who does not describe a desire to change his practice but who is respectful and accepting of ayurvedic treatments that some patients also undergo. Rather than simply applying a hegemonic biomedical psychiatry, these psychiatrists offer the possibility of a more locally-attuned, context sensitive psychiatric practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted a greater burden and loss to farmers in India in view of number of restrictions on movement as well as social interactions, during which scenario the "artificial intelligence (AI)" could act as a catalyst in accelerating their progress in agriculture. This paper provided an evaluation of application and benefits of AI in agriculture and the challenging parameters for implementing AI in Indian agricultural sectors against COVID-19 crisis period. A survey based data was collected from 523 farmers, and interpreted using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and MICMAC. The associated challenging parameters to implement AI were identified as "responsive time and accuracy levels; the absence of standardisation; a need for huge data; big data costs; method of implementation; versatility; insufficient awareness of context; and loss of employment;" respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to capture the missing 'distance' puzzle in the globalization process driven by trade flows. It is widely recognized that the growing global economic integration process play a major role in the spatial restructuring of many countries at varying geographical scales. The paper illustrates a model of international trade flows that builds upon existing research on the geographies of global trade. Empirical results of the current study indicate that the basic and augmented gravity model provides a useful framework for understanding international trade. The evidence of map pattern in residuals across temporal scale is noted. The results further indicate the importance of distance in the Indian context. An identification of the patterns and determinants of India's international trade with 87 countries suggests that potentially important differences in regional demands and country specific factors may impact the trade interaction over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We trace the evolution of Indian physics community from 1919 to 2013 by analyzing the co-authorship network constructed from papers published by authors in India in American Physical Society (APS) journals. We make inferences on India's contribution to different branches of Physics and identify the most influential Indian physicists at different time periods. The relative contribution of India to global physics publication (research) and its variation across subfields of physics is assessed. We extract the changing collaboration pattern of authors between Indian physicists through various network measures. We study the evolution of Indian physics communities and trace the mean life and stationarity of communities by size in different APS journals. We map the transition of authors between communities of different sizes from 1970 to 2013, capturing their birth, growth, merger and collapse. We find that Indian-Foreign collaborations are increasing at a faster pace compared to the Indian-Indian. We observe that the degree distribution of Indian collaboration networks follows the power law, with distinct patterns between Physical Review A, B and E, and high energy physics journals Physical Review C and D, and Physical Review Letters. In almost every measure, we observe strong structural differences between low-energy and high-energy physics journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional sources of energy like fossil fuels are available in limited quantities and harm environment. So, for sustainable growth, renewable energy is the only way forward. Biomass-based energy has untapped potential and is one of the most economical and best-proven options among the various alternative energy sources available. To fully utilize the biomass, the estimation of the possible potential is much needed. A state-wise biomass database is valuable for localized bioenergy policy. However, in India, a state-level biomass resource database is inadequate. This paper assessed the state-wise potential of biogas from various of sources including crop residues, livestock and poultry wastes, municipal solid wastes, and wastewater (sewage and industrial). The overall estimated biogas potential from organic waste in India is 74.795 billion m3/year. Also, the state-wise current generation capacity of digesters installed under various schemes is assessed in this paper. Currently, digesters with a generation capacity of 3.635 billion m3/year are achieved in India. The results show that there is a massive gap between the potential and its utilization. Among all the states, Uttar Pradesh (14.73 billion m3/year) has the highest biogas potential, and Maharashtra (671.40 million m3/year) has the highest installed achievement. The statistics generated in this research is expected to be beneficial for decentralized biogas planning and management in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To meet the national development goals in India on poverty alleviation and to trail the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), policy makers need to have adequate information on poverty in the country. To this end the aim of this paper is to analyse the trends in multidimensional poverty at the all-India level, across geographic locations, castes and religious groups. We have used Alkire–Foster methodology to measure multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and utilized National Family Health Survey unit level data of the latest three rounds 2005–06, 2015–16 and 2019–21. To the best of our understanding this is the first paper that utilizes the latest data sets to analyse the trends of MPI in India. We have also made a comparative assessment of trends of poverty in India measured by Global MPI approach and India's MPI approach. Over the period 2005–2006 to 2019–2021 the absolute decline in MPI was larger in rural areas of India. However, the contribution to MPI in rural areas is relatively high and that increased over time. There was no evidence of reduction of inter-caste and inter-religious based disparities. There are larger doses of decline in MPI in the sub period 2015–2016 to 2019–2021 but the decline across the states of India continues to be non-regressive. The states which were worst performing in 2005–2006 continue to be the same in 2019–2021. The paper concludes that by exploring the MPI over time one can decipher the urgencies in policy development to move towards the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The university is a highly politicized and fractious realm for students and academics. Amidst trade-offs between the processes of massification, democratization, commodification, and globalization, the question of transformation for sustainability has become crucial to the social good(s) of higher education. This paper considers academic citizenry within Indian public higher education — a context where the increase in the enrollment of first-generation students and female students, due to affirmative action policies, has not substantially translated into altering the composition of academic staff. Informed by a mixed-method study conducted in 2019 with the participation of academics and those in leadership positions at four higher education institutions, we found that the enactment of such policies was operationalized for the production of the "New Middle Class" by universities. Of concern is that neither the representation nor the participation of academics who are women, "lower" castes, or minorities meets the mark of just, inclusive institutions. Despite the rhetoric of inclusiveness and development, the implementation of related policies clothe subalterns with the veneer of the intellectual class, permitting access on condition that sociocultural identities are concealed, and the hegemonic status quo maintained. Terms such as "quality" and "equality" function as tools for social control rather than serving social justice, where assertions of caste identity and resistance are simultaneously repudiated and misrecognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to provide an insight on effect of stringency in Covid-19 spread in India especially in Chennai, a city were more lockdown, and restrictions was imposed to control the infection. Even though the restriction was imposed in the country by the end of March 2020, the growth reduction was seen in the mid of June as the awareness was increased. The average Covid-19 case growth was got reduce from 3.43 to 2.62% by July mid. To analysis the impact of stringency, a detailed analysis was done on Chennai city which was imposed with more repeated lockdowns to flatten the curve. We tried to fit a regression line with three difference scenario of data. The results show a promising R-squared and p value, with a right skewed distribution normal probability plot. The impact of lockdown in people's lives in different sectors were also discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exit is not an easy task for a sex worker. Academic investigations of the reasons and barriers to exit from the sex industry are lacking heavily. Sex work is a stigmatised profession, even though the workers find it difficult to exit the same. The current study attempted to understand the barriers faced by female sex workers in Puducherry, a union territory in the southeast part of India, to exit from sex work. The participants comprise 19 female sex workers (FSW) who work in Puducherry. The data were collected through in-depth interviews. All of the participants had thoughts about quitting. The barriers to exit were identified. The barriers were recognised at the individual, interpersonal (microsystem), and structural (macro system) levels within the framework of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, which are discussed in detail in the paper. The study also identified a lack of support systems for the targeted population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While developing a child health index is of interest, it is particularly important in the Indian context, because of a high burden of poor child health, the disparities in child health between different social, economic, and geographical regions and the absence of such a comprehensive index. This paper focuses on the development and validation of a Child Health Index (CHI) for India. Using publicly available data at the district level and principal component analysis, this index is composed of 16 variables representing six domains namely socio-cultural, child health status, determinants of child health (both risk and protective factors), household environment and health system and policy. Several statistical tests were conducted to provide internal and external validation. The application to predict child mortality confirmed its validation. This study thus provides a new tool for characterising child health and detecting child health inequalities at a district level in India. Consequently, it can be used by policymakers, health service providers and other stakeholders involved in child welfare to monitor and improve child health over time and space. Highlights: • The existing Indian health indices need a social determinant framework and inclusion of different stages of life. • Proposed Child Health Index (CHI) is based on 16 indicators measuring parameters impacting birth, infancy, and childhood. • CHI has a strong theory-base, uses reliable indicators representing various complexity of child health, at small geographical level, it is computed using a robust statistical methodology. • CHI provides ranking for all districts of India. Based on the ranking policy makers can prioritize geographical areas for action and focus on indicators that falter in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the pattern of diabetes symptoms and to estimate the association between diabetes symptom severity (level of discomfort perceived by a patient due to diabetes symptoms) among different socio-demographic variables for both women and men. Methods: Primary cross-sectional data of 583 diagnosed patients (51.3% and 48.7%, women and men, respectively) were collected from Punjab, India. Frequency percentage distribution and negative binomial regressions (NBR) were used for analysis. Results: More men were asymptomatic compared to women. Both genders perceived increased hunger, thirst, and frequent urination in their early stages of diabetes. More women than men have experienced hormonal change as their first symptom with a higher severity level. NBR analyzed the association between discomfort perceived by both genders due to symptoms among different socio-demographic categories. Urban patients (incidence rate ratio—IRR: 0.90) were significantly (p = 0.056) less likely to perceive discomfort than their rural counterparts, whereas men (IRR: 0.93) reported more significant discomfort than women (IRR: 0.88) in the urban area. Literate patients [Up to class 10 (IRR: 0.87), (p = 0.013) and 11–above (IRR: 0.85), (p = 0.022) categories] were significantly less likely to perceive discomfort. In all education categories, women professed more significant discomfort than men. Conclusion: Given the differences in symptoms between the two genders, this paper will help comprehend the disease development process and limit the possibilities of misdiagnosis. This study will assist in identifying the order of the symptoms among both genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When will members of a diaspora lend to the government in their country of origin? Diasporans make important contributions to developing countries by sending remittances and investment home. However, little is known about when and why diaspora communities are willing to invest in the governments of their country of origin. Diasporans may invest at home because of their affinity with their country of origin, whether in the form of national pride, stake in economic development, or political support. This paper investigates whether these different affinity-based motivations explain the interest of diaspora members in purchasing home country government bonds. We use a survey experiment fielded to members of the Pakistani diaspora living in the United States to investigate diaspora members' willingness to invest in home government bonds. We randomly manipulate the framing of the bond to measure heterogeneity in willingness to buy the home country government bond. We find that national pride and a stake in economic development are the strongest drivers for an individual's choice to invest in a home country bond. We corroborate these findings with follow-up interviews that reveal the resonance of appeals to national identity and developmental support. The findings have implications for the design and marketing of diaspora bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macro-level studies on intergenerational mobility among women in India suggests that, there is a need to further probe certain excluded communities that have a higher likelihood of persistence of educational status among women through micro-level studies. The present study investigates the extent and drivers of high/low intergenerational educational mobility among young women (vis-à-vis their mothers) belonging to the weavers' community of Varanasi, India. Using transition/mobility matrices and mobility measures, along with qualitative methods, the paper builds on a mixed-methods study conducted among 364 households of weavers' community from Varanasi. The qualitative data includes a total of 8 respondents with 5 KIIs and 3 IDIs. The study shows that the overall intergenerational educational mobility among women (vis-à-vis their mothers) from the weavers' community of Varanasi is 0.30 and there is no downward mobility. The qualitative findings further highlight various reasons enabling or preventing high educational mobility in the given context. In conclusion, the paper illustrates several micro-level issues and disparities in intergenerational educational mobility that are not clearly evident through the macro-level studies and further helps in making informed policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and its associated impacts are more severely felt in Madhya Pradesh than in other Indian states, mainly because of acute poverty and social vulnerability in the state. This paper attempts to assess inter-spatial and inter-temporal vulnerability to climate change using a Climate Vulnerability Index, an aggregate of the Climate Index and the Composite Social Vulnerability Index. The Climate Index represents the exposure to climate change, and the social vulnerability represented by the Composite Social Vulnerability Index consists of two subindices: Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index and Infrastructural Vulnerability Index. The indices are computed using Principal Component Analysis for three rounds of census data (1991, 2001, and 2011). The study found a significant decrease in composite social vulnerability and subindices over the decades. At the same time, the Climate Index shows a significant increase over the decades, leading to a nonsignificant increase in climate vulnerability in the recent decade. The study advocates for targeted interventions to reduce social vulnerability further to cope with the increasing exposure to climate change; hence, overall vulnerability can be reduced. Targeted interventions for livelihood diversification, education, inclusive growth, and infrastructural facilities in tribal-dominated districts will be crucial, given the likelihood of climatic variation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) are the environmental institutions in India for the management and regulation of environmental laws. The purpose of this paper is to study the causality between income and expenditure of the CPCB. The data was collected from 1983 to 2020 from the annual reports of the CPCB. A unit root test has been applied in this study to test the stationarity of data. Johansen cointegration test is applied to determine the long-run relationship among variables. For determining optimum lag, the VAR lag order selection criterion has been applied. The VECM has been applied to study the direction of the causal relationship between income and expenditure of the CPCB. The result suggested stationarity of total income and expenditure at the first difference and second difference. There is a unidirectional causal relationship among variables that is found from total income to total expenditure in the long run. No short-run causal relationships among variables are found in this study. Thus, findings suggest that any change in the total income of the CPCB will induce a change in its total expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome of economic growth is visualised as the well-being of citizens or human well-being (HWB). However, it has been a great challenge to measure HWB. Though there are known reasons for considering GDP and its growth as a measure of overall development and progress of nations, yet mostly it is being used as a gospel indicator to compare nations and design appropriate policies. This paper is an effort to develop a comprehensive adjusted GDP to measure HWB through secondary data for thirty years (1990–91 to 2019–20) in India. We make thirty-five adjustments to net national income (NNI) to compute the adjusted national income (ANI) index based on the system analysis approach. The empirical findings show that the gap between NNI and ANI has been growing over time, and the ANI index shows an increasing trend. Through the analysis it is suggested that economic growth should be focused only if it improves HWB (full or partial). The paper attempts to make intervention into policy shift for improving HWB vis-à-vis happiness of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian sugar industry's growth and residual lignocellulosic sugarcane bagasse (RSB) generation rate are complementary to each other. It is estimated that over 75–90 million tonnes of wet RSB are produced annually from 600 operational sugar mills in India. Therefore, the efficient utilization of residual bagasse needs immediate attention from sugar industries and the scientific community worldwide. Albeit recently developed technologies have shown promising prospects for the sustainable conversion of RSB into fuels and value-added chemicals, there is an apparent lack of consensus among the scientific community on technical understanding and commercial applicability of current RSB conversion technologies. This review discusses applications of RSB in Indian industries for electricity generation, concrete manufacturing from RSB ash, nanocomposite production, as well as pulp and paper, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, bioethanol, and value-added chemical production. Besides, the conversion of RSB major component lignin to fuel and high-value specialty chemicals has been discussed. Moreover, the government of India policies and subsequent revisions in 2018 to promote biomass and RSB conversion technologies has been presented. Subsequently, major challenges associated with the implementation of different conversion technologies have been explored. Overall, it is observed that there is a huge opportunity in India to utilize the RSB for value-added chemicals production, pulp, and paper production, electricity generation, and other applications. Nevertheless, the Government of India current policies directed towards promoting the RSB uses primarily for electricity production via cogenerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the number of research papers from India and China in the fields of sciences and engineering between the years 1975 and 2012 is presented. The results show that while Indian research output has increased steadily, the Chinese research output has been increasing at a rate far outpacing that of India. The research output of China has been increasing with distinct inflection points that show an acceleration in output growth. The research output for India shows periodic inflection points that show either an acceleration or deceleration in output growth. The possible reasons for the inflection points are discussed. Simple statistical analyses are used to analyze the trends in output. Although multiple factors affect a nation's research output, this paper highlights that the government programs targeted to increase the research output from universities may create inflection points resulting in a rapid increase in the research output. The article also highlights that India has fallen far behind China in terms of scientific and engineering research output, providing important clues for the future growth of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, India's government instituted a severe nationwide lockdown in late March 2020. In this paper, we analyze household survey data on income from an Indian state, Punjab. We analyze the impacts of the pandemic and lockdown on total household income, as well as its components, including wages, business income and transfers. This paper innovates in this area by using Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood estimation to deal with the skewed distributions of various income components, as well as quantile regressions to examine differential impacts across the income distribution. We examine the differences between rural and urban households, differential impacts on female-headed and laborer households, and the time pattern of impacts. We find that rural households experienced more persistent income declines than urban households, and their wages suffered relatively more. Households with daily laborers were most badly affected, and this was especially true at the bottom of the income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the fragmented discourses in the Indian digital public sphere in a post-truth world. The normative concept of the public sphere by Jürgen Habermas has been brought under critical scrutiny in the era of emotional communication online. The digital world opened democratic and inclusive spaces that are desirable for a picture-perfect public sphere as imagined by Habermas. The low entry barriers and inclusivity of the digital public sphere changed the patterns of political communication worldwide. However, such a change is not an isolated event and must be located within the historical context of a changing political environment. Contemporary society has entered the post-truth era where opinionated, emotional outbursts downplay objective reality. The paper explores explicitly the public comments recorded under an infotainment video on the YouTube platform of a private channel in Kerala, the southernmost state of India. A case study method was adopted to analyze the theme, subtext, and visible structure of the discourse in the digital public sphere, which is a subset of the larger public sphere. Disconcertingly, the findings revealed fragmented discourses in a public sphere, characterized by unidimensional historical narratives, fallacious arguments, political apathy, and emotional or romanticized appeals, all of which are classic symptoms of a post-truth era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of structural change, economic growth, hydro energy consumption, and coal energy consumption on ecological footprint, in the case of India. We employ a novel dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DYNARDL) method to improve the existing studies' limitations and weaknesses. Thus, the current research contributes empirically and methodological to the literature. The study used the newly proposed DYNARDL simulation method and frequency domain causality using data from 1970–2017 to inspect the impact of structural change, economic growth, hydro energy consumption, and coal energy consumption on ecological footprint in the case of India. Empirical results reveal that institutional structural change decreases ecological footprint in the short and long term, whereas hydropower usage decreases ecological footprint only in the long term. Conversely, economic growth positively affects ecological footprint in both the short and long term. Likewise, coal energy usage increases ecological footprint in the long term. In addition, the findings confirm the validity of the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India. Furthermore, the results of the frequency domain causality test revealed that structural change, hydro-energy usage, and coal consumption could predict ecological footprint in the long term. In contrast, economic growth can predict the medium- and long-term ecological footprint. We observed that as India's production level continues to surge, so does environmental deterioration, which is associated with the scale effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper aims to examine the spatial heterogeneity of malnutrition across districts in India and identify the contributing factors. Previous studies have focused on individual and household determinants of malnutrition, but limited research has explored the spatial distribution of malnutrition and its association with diverse factors at the district level. This study utilizes data from the National Family Health Survey round five (NFHS-5) and creates a district-level dataset with relevant socio-demographic, economic, and nutritional indicators. The analysis employs descriptive statistics, spatial autocorrelation measures, bivariate analyses, and regression models to assess the spatial patterns and determinants of malnutrition. The results reveal significant spatial variations in the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight across districts in India. Economically disadvantaged states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh have higher rates of malnutrition, but certain districts in relatively affluent states also exhibit elevated malnutrition rates. The analysis identifies factors such as asset ownership, BMI, women's education, institutional birth, and access to basic amenities as important determinants of malnutrition. The study highlights the spatial clustering of malnutrition indicators and provides insights for targeted interventions and policy formulation to address malnutrition at the district level in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reductions in infant, child and maternal mortality rates, lengthening of life expectancy and decrease in fertility rates during the second half of the twentieth century have resulted in the numerical growth of older population around the world and also in India—the second most populated country in the world. The rapidly swelling older population—defined here as persons aged 60 years and above—has far-reaching socio-economic ramifications for a country like India. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out a proper analysis of the older population for policy-making. In this backdrop, the present paper attempts to analyse ageing and age structural transition occurring as a result of a fall in both fertility and mortality rates from 1961 to 2011 in India and its selected 15 major states. Using the data of Indian Censuses from 1961 to 2011, this study examines the trends and levels of ageing as well as different age indices, including old age dependency ratio, oldest old age dependency ratio, ageing index, and sex ratio by age groups in India as a whole, and separately for the selected 15 major states. The study also highlights the age structural transition that has been taking place among the population of India and its major states throughout the study period. The results reveal that there has been a remarkable increase in the number and share of the older population in India during the study period. However, significant differentials have emerged in the levels of ageing and different age indices as well as age structural transition across the major states, with the ageing taking place faster in the southern states and slower in the northern states of India. This study suggests for effective policy intervention in education, skill development, employment, migration and health care facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numenes grisa Chao, 1983, previously recorded only from China, Laos and Thailand, is recorded from India for the first time. Comments on the other two species, N. flagrans Tams, and N. siletti Walker, that are known from India are provided with live habitus images. N. flagrans Tams, 1928 has been rediscovered from India after 95 years since its original description. A provisional checklist of Numenes species that are described so far is also provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we contend that urban middle-class older Indians engaged in "serious leisure" as a way to reimagine and reconfigure the structure of everyday life during the pandemic-led epochal downtime. In particular, we heuristically show that leisure activity patterns and constraint negotiation strategies among older Indians followed conceptual semblances with the dominant leisure-based typology of Serious Leisure Perspective. By thematically analysing household surveys (n = 71), time-use diaries and in-depth interviews (n = 15) of middle to upper middle-class individuals (55–80 years), we show how both men and women distinguished between serious leisure that is marked by motivation, agency and perseverance with that of unstructured, routinized free-time (or causal leisure). Time-use diaries suggested that despite the changed realities of heightened domestic time available to both genders due to the pandemic, women recorded higher proportion of their daily hours in household management and caregiving. Although women were governed by moral-cultural self-descriptions in their engagement with leisure, it was often associated with an enhanced sense of self-actualisation, self-management and identity. Overall, we show how the social codes of age and gender were inextricably linked with the practice of leisure during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and multiple rounds of the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the paper summarises evidence on changes in the employment–unemployment scenario since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related curbs on economic activity since April 2020. The paper presents evidence on how the pandemic affected pre-existing gender, caste gaps and patterns of employment by sector of production (agricultural, manufacturing, and services). The paper situates these shifts in a longer arc, comparing them to the pre-COVID employment scenario, to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on the Indian labour market. The data show that the pandemic reinforced and deepened many of the pre-existing schisms. As economic activity is recovering, employment is increasing, but is yet to return to the pre-pandemic levels. The employment challenge is bigger than just achieving the pre-pandemic levels: there is an urgent need to boost job creation and rectify pre-pandemic deep-rooted inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the relationship between fertility and financial development using the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data for the year 2015–2016. We examine the old-age security hypothesis to explain fertility rates amongst Indian women using bank access as a proxy for financial development. As far as we know this paper is the first to look at this relationship the case of India using a quantile count regression. We find that there is a differential effect of access to a bank account on fertility rates amongst Indian women. We find that access to bank accounts increase fertility for the lower conditional quantiles but decreases fertility at the higher conditional quantiles. This study also reiterates that fertility decreases with an increase in education, wealthindex, urbanization and labour participation of women. Financial access has a We also find that infant mortality and age increase fertility rates. The results have some important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of India has recognized the use of ethanol to be beneficial for the country's environment and energy security. So, ethanol blending has been mandated in India to harvest the benefits of using it as fuel. However, the ethanol blending target can never be fulfilled as the average ethanol production (2068.5 Million Liters) for the last 10 years (2010–19) is far less than the average consumption (3370 Million Liters), and the demand for ethanol is even higher than the present consumption. Hence, the import of ethanol is increasing. This indicates the necessity of improvement of the Indian ethanol sector to meet the desired targets. So, it is required to develop proper strategies based on the sector's extensive assessment for its improvement. In this context, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of the ethanol sector in India, including the production, consumption, feedstocks, trades, and policy for ethanol in India. Further, a social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) analysis of the Indian ethanol sector has been performed to identify the important factors associated with the growth of this sector. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is also carried out in this paper to categorize the STEEP factors into barriers and drivers associated with this sector. Finally, strategies have been formulated and recommended based on the SWOT factors to mitigate the barriers with the help of the drivers. These strategies are expected to help policymakers improve the overall scenario of the Indian ethanol sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the degree of persistence of financial efficiency for the hospitality and tourism industry in India. The paper deploys the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to generate overall technical efficiency scores as well as pure technical efficiency scores. Furthermore, a dynamic panel technique proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991), is employed to test the degree of persistence of financial efficiency and its key determinants. The results confirm positive and significant persistence of efficiency for the sample firms from the hospitality industry in India. The overall results indicate that hospitality firms in India can create entry and exit barriers to generate positive persistence of financial efficiency. The study suggests regulators specifically focus on policies that can enhance the competitive dynamics of the industry. Such measures may make it imperative for the management of the firms in the sector to streamline their financial management policies to control costs and devise methods for the enhancement of revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-management is increasingly seen as a way forward in natural resource management and collective goods provisioning, especially in the management of urban commons. Co-management entails sharing of power between actors, including elements such as exchange of information and resources as well as changes in regulations favouring the development of common goals among actors. In this paper, we try to understand if and how preconditions of legitimacy, shared understanding and exchange of resources combine to facilitate the co-management of lakes in Greater Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (GBMR), India. To understand these issues, we undertook an exploratory, qualitative analysis of the governance of three lakes located within a single watershed placed along an urban-rural gradient. We provide an exploratory assessment of co-management across the cases situated in diverse contexts, highlighting the importance of heterogeneity of socio-economic settings for co-management of lakes. Community involvement in co-management varies with heterogeneity, correspondingly increasing transaction costs. In urbanising contexts, state actors have started to recognise the political efficacy of non-state actors mobilising knowledge and financial resources for lake management. Involvement of the state custodian and third-sector organisations (NGOs) was found to be crucial in developing and facilitating shared understanding. Deliberation between mutually dependent state and non-state actors was key to overcoming scepticism in order to realign actor perspectives. We highlight that increased acceptance of community participation based on the development of a collective identity and understanding of mutual dependence observed in our urban and rural cases reduced transaction costs and thus enabled co-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that the existing building environmental assessment methods and sustainability assessment methods are intended to foster detailed design stage while there is a need to support early design stages. This research intends to develop a framework that actively supports design development at the formative design stages. The paper reviews the well-established building environmental assessment methods: CASBEE, LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA, and the existing sustainability assessment methods: iiSBE's Sustainable Building Tool (SB Tool), German Sustainable Building Council's Certificate Program (DGNB), Living Building Challenge (LBC) and ARUP's Sustainable Project Assessment Routine SPeAR®. Further, well-known theories of ecological Sustainability are reviewed. The critical points of convergence and divergence of anthropocentric and biocentric approaches are identified to articulate the parameters of sustainability assessment. Specialists in the sustainable built environment assigned weights for assessment parameters (criteria) by applying the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Their specialist opinions manifest the particular features of the Indian context. The paper delineates the Biocenosis, a novel framework for sustainability assessment of the built environment rooted in the concept of the synergy of nature with social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits for the context of India. It is intended to aid building professionals in the formative design phases as it enables an integrated and comprehensive assessment of the level to which the requirement of a sustainable built environment is satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, where there is no centralized medical records system, biomedical care providers rely on families to explain their child's illness and to carry records of any previous treatment the child may have received. Drawing on discussions of documentation, I argue that in the context of medical treatment for pediatric seizures, (1) families collect medical records to enable and shape their child's medical treatment, and (2) such a merging of medical and familial care is necessitated by the nature of their child's illness and the structure of the Indian healthcare system. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Meerut and New Delhi, this paper attends to practices of record keeping to understand the demands biomedical institutions place on families for the treatment of their child's seizures. I examine the creation, maintenance, and movement of medical records to suggest that documents are a point of intersection between medical and kinship practices. They are artifacts of care that can narrate parallel histories of a patient's illness and family-clinician efforts to alleviate a child's suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a debate surrounding the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. While the predominant school of thought argues that poverty is directly responsible for environmental degradation, another school of thought argues that poor do not have the resources which would force them cause environmental degradation. Empirical support for both the arguments, however, is based mostly on macro data. Using micro level data, this paper makes an attempt to examine whether poverty is a factor determining forest degradation in the state of Odisha in India. The study is carried out in two districts, divergent from each other in incidence of poverty, forest coverage and percentage of Scheduled Tribe population. The study finds no empirical evidence that poverty affects degradation of forest. On the other hand, there is evidence of forest degradation with the increase in income, though region specific. Hence, it is non-poor households than poor one who could be responsible for forest degradation. This result therefore does not support the downward spiral hypothesis and questions the assumption that poverty alleviation is an essential part of avoiding forest degradation. However, importance of poverty reduction cannot be overlooked, and effective forest management can be a way to address poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic recession and global health crisis have surged the public debt levels across nations to an unsustainable level. Debt can be productive provided nation-states utilize it for rapid growth and servicing the cost of loans. It can be unproductive if spent on wasteful expenditure. Thus, a relevant question is—does public debt hinder or promote growth? Reinhart and Rogoff's (American Economic Review, 100: 573–578, 2010) empirical analysis observed a non-linear relation between debt and growth in developed countries. Kaur and Mukherjee's (Reserve Bank of India, Occasional Papers, 33:1–37, 2014) analysis of the Indian economy determined a statistically significant non-linear relationship between debt and growth at state levels. Given this overview, this research examines the temporal and spatial patterns of state debt in India utilizing a statistical analysis. Geographical data are utilized to study state liability in India for 29 states and 2 union territories i.e. National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry. The following three questions are addressed in this paper: (1) what is the relationship between public debt, regional inequality, and development? (2) what are the trends of public debt and regional inequality in India? (3) what are the determinants of outstanding center and state liabilities in India during 1980–81 and 2019–20? Descriptive statistics (dispersion, Gini coefficient, moving averages, and Theil entropy) reveal a declining inequality during each decade as well as considerable inter-state inequality for the period. A time series regression analysis suggests lending rate, GDP growth and trade balance are negatively related to total liability at the center and state levels; net FDI flows, GDP, trade balance, and foreign exchange reserves, are positively related. Prediction maps suggest both the lagging and developed states would incur high public debts, wherein the former would utilize debt for servicing interest cost and non-plan expenditure, and the latter will utilize debt for servicing interest cost and planned expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir are a nomadic pastoral group, notified as a Scheduled Tribe (ST), under the Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Tribes Act, 1991. Ensuing from ethnographic fieldwork conducted with the Bakarwals in the Jammu and Kashmir region, this paper argues that the traditional marriage practices of the Bakarwals have transformed in the contemporary times with respect to the various processes associated with globalization and the increasing access to the new facilities of mobility. The cultural transactions resulting as a part of liberalization and globalization have led the Bakarwals to associate with modern traditions, rituals and customs, which are essentially non-Bakarwal patterns of life. This paper highlights the new patterns and meanings adopted by the Bakarwals of Kashmir as a mode of their new existence. The exposure to new variants of contemporary culture and shrinking pastures have made many Bakarwals to give up their traditional occupation of rearing livestock —an occupation once seen as sacred. Many of the Bakarwals have started practising agricultural farming, while few have started working as labourers and others have started taking "modern" occupations like driving. In marriages too, the Bakarwals are seen to follow the traditions and rituals followed by the non-Bakarwal groups. The Bakarwals used to have their own traditions, customs and rituals in marriages which were not seen in other non-Bakarwal groups. However, in contemporary times, the Bakarwals are avoiding these ancestral traditions, rituals and customs. This paper is an attempt to document the changes in the marriage practices and rituals, which were once cherished by the Bakarwals but now seem on the verge of extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the contribution of gendered social norms in explaining the gender gap in productivity of unorganised manufacturing firms. Restrictions on mobility and burden of household work mean that female firm-owners primarily operate from their household premises. Using data from unorganised firms operating in the manufacturing sector in India, this paper finds gender gap in firm productivity. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition at mean show that despite controlling for size of the firm, assets and other conventional factors, the location of a female proprietary firm within the household premises of the owner explains 19% of the observed gender gap in productivity. The RIF decomposition results show that at the different quartiles, this contribution varies from 19 to 36% of the composition effect. The evidence suggests that the persistence of the gender gap in firm productivity is associated with the persistence of gendered social norms. Plain English Summary: Almost 95% of female owned firms in the unorganised manufacturing sector in India operate from within the household premises, due to prevalent gendered social norms. These norms put the responsibility of unpaid household work solely on women and impose mobility restrictions. This paper examines whether restrictive social norms contribute towards the gender gap in firm productivity. I find that that the location of these firms within the household restricts them from expanding, as well as contribute to prevalent the gender gap in productivity and incomes generated from proprietary firms operating in the unorganised manufacturing sector. Newer policies supporting women's mobility and paid work that supplement conventional policies to improve entrepreneurship are required. However, as social norms involve coordinated actions and fear of sanction in case of noncompliance, these policies would work effectively if they are targeted towards both genders and entire neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]