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Using data from a survey of farm households in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and employing a sequential logit model, this paper has investigated the impact of farmers' participation in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) subsidy scheme for micro-irrigation on crop performance. The findings show that over 91% of the farmers were aware of the scheme, 61% of them registered as potential beneficiaries and two-thirds of them actually benefitted from it. Registration is the critical transition stage for participation in the DBT scheme. Our findings show that conditional upon the ownership of tube-wells and water pumping devices, several personal and household-level factors such as age, education, access to information and membership of village-level organizations distinguish the beneficiaries of DBT from the non-beneficiaries. There appears no selection bias in the scheme as neither the farm size nor the social status of potential beneficiaries appeared significant in the sequential selection process. Further, the findings show that controlling for the farm and farmer characteristics, the DBT scheme has a positive and statistically significant impact on crop yield as well as net returns, but more on the latter implying its role in reduction in the cost of production. These findings imply the need to expand DBT scheme for its greater impact on farm income and inclusiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive research on waste management has primarily remained confined to metro cities and focused on economic and environmental issues. The present study explores waste management in smaller urban areas from an institutional standpoint, mapping formal and informal players onto a two‐dimensional framework: institutional type and institutional strength. The analysis is based on data accumulated through in‐depth interviews and focus group discussions in three towns of India. Despite the absence of formal acknowledgment, it establishes a continuum between formal and informal actors whose efforts to collect waste and provide public goods and services are mutually supportive. Although the informal sector is ranked lower, there is little variation in institutional strength between the formal and informal sectors. A formal‐informal hierarchy hinders informal waste collectors from moving up the value chain. The paper argues against separating the formal and informal actors in urban policy and planning. A waste management system that is formally integrated is required to extract greater economic value from waste and to strengthen the informal‐formal continuum. This should enhance both the wages and working conditions of waste workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent floods cause a lot of damage to life and livelihoods of people in India annually. Every year around 75 lakh hectares of land is affected by floods, around 1600 lives are lost and damage to crops, houses and public utilities are to the tune of Rs. 1805 crores. It has been estimated that over 40 million hectares or around 12 percent of land is prone to floods in India (DM policy, 2009). This prioritizes research in this area in the backdrop of the national mission to reduce risk due to disasters. Approximately 11 percent or 27 lakh hectares of area are inundated due to floods every year in Uttar Pradesh. The vulnerability of people to floods gets aggravated in the context of luke-warm response of the state to disasters like floods. Uttar Pradesh scores low on the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI value for UP is .380 which is below the all-India value of .467. This has important bearing on the capacity of the people in the context of disaster resilience. When disasters are seen within the larger context of development then a low HDI has direct bearing on the vulnerability of the people. In this context, the paper tries to understand that how disaster risk reduction can be achieved through community participation and other measures envisaged in the various national and global strategies for disaster risk reduction. The paper also recommends flood risk reduction from an emic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented adverse impact on women's health. Evidence from the literature suggests that violence against women has increased multifold. Gender-based violence in urban slums has worsened due to a lack of water and sanitation services, overcrowding, deteriorating conditions and a lack of institutional frameworks to address gender inequities. Methods: The SAMBHAV (Synchronized Action for Marginalized to Improve Behaviors and Vulnerabilities) initiative was launched between June 2020 to December 2020 by collaborating with the Uttar Pradesh state government, UNICEF and UNDP. The program intended to reach 6000 families in 30 UPS (Urban Poor settlements) of 13 city wards. These 30 UPS were divided into 5 clusters. The survey was conducted in 760 households, 397 taken from randomly selected 15 interventions and 363 households from 15 control UPS. This paper utilized data from a baseline assessment of gender and decision-making from a household survey conducted in the selected UPS during July 03-15, 2020. A sample size of 360 completed interviews was calculated for intervention and control areas to measure changes attributable to the SAMBHAV intervention in the behaviours and service utilization (pre- and post-intervention). Results: The data analysis showed a significant difference (p-value < 0.001) between respondents regarding women's freedom to move alone in the control and intervention area. It also reflected a significant difference between control and intervention areas as the respondents in the intervention area chose to work for the cause of gender-based violence. Conclusion: The SAMBHAV initiative brought an intersectional lens to gender issues. The community volunteers were trained to approach issues based on gender-based violence with the local public, and various conferences and meetings were organized to sensitize the community. The initiative 's overall impact was that it built momentum around the issue of applying the conc ept of intersectionality for gender issues and building resilience in the community. There is still a need to bring multi -layered and more aggressive approaches to reduce the prevalence of gender-based violence in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper evaluates the research problems of the Menthol Mint in Barabanki district Uttar Pradesh. In this research gap, we conclude by studying the major problem faced by the growers, processors, distillers and traders and throw a brief light on Menthol Mint oil cultivation, Exposing Menthol Mint's agricultural field to study the present condition of Menthol Mint cultivation and Menthol Mint formers. To illuminate the problems and present situation of the farmers engaged in Menthol Mint cultivation. The objectives of the research gaps are to evaluate the socio-economic, political and environmental sustainability of the Menthol Mint production through Uttar Pradesh up to the India level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines various features of energy and groundwater irrigation nexus in a highly irrigated ecosystem of north western India. The study is based both on primary and secondary sources of data. Electric tube-wells account for about 72 percent of the total tube-wells population and consume about 40 percent of the total electricity consumption. Power subsidies account approximately 46 percent of the total subsidies disbursed which stimulate the groundwater development. The area irrigated by means of tube-wells has enlarged from 22 to 58 percent. Rice and sugarcane crops are the key consumers of energy both in terms of average energy consumption as well as per hectare of cultivated land. The average use factor of tube-wells is about 7.5 times high during kharif than in rabi season. Farmers have yielded high economic productivity under all crops with the exception of rice than other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore intersections of social determinants of maternal healthcare utilization using the Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm which is a machine-learning method used to construct prediction models. Methods: Institutional review board approval for this study was granted from Public Health Service—Ethical Review Board (PHS-ERB) and from the Health Ministry Screening Committee (HMSC) facilitated by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). IRB review and approval for the current analyses was obtained from University of California, San Diego. Cross-sectional data were collected from women with children aged 0–11 months (n = 5,565) from rural households in 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Participants were surveyed on maternal healthcare utilization including registration of pregnancy (model-1), receipt of antenatal care (ANC) during pregnancy (model-2), and delivery at health facilities (model -3). Social determinants of health including wealth, social group, literacy, religion, and early age at marriage were captured during the survey. The Classification and Regression Tree (CART) algorithm was used to explore intersections of social determinants of healthcare utilization. Results: CART analyses highlight the intersections, particularly of wealth and literacy, in maternal healthcare utilization in Uttar Pradesh. Model-1 documents that women who are poorer, illiterate and Muslim are less likely to have their pregnancies registered (71.4% vs. 86.0% in the overall sample). Model-2 documents that poorer, illiterate women had the lowest ANC coverage (37.7% vs 45% in the overall sample). Model-3, developed for deliveries at health facilities, highlighted that illiterate and poor women have the lowest representation among facility deliveries (59.6% vs. 69% in the overall sample). Conclusion: This paper explores the interactions between determinants of maternal healthcare utilization indicators. The findings in this paper highlights that the interaction of wealth and literacy can play a very strong role in accentuating or diminishing healthcare utilization among women. The study also reveals that religion and women’s age at marriage also interact with wealth and literacy to create substantial disparities in utilization. The study provides insights into the effect of intersections of determinants, and highlights the importance of using a more nuanced understanding of the impact of co-occurring forms of marginalization to effectively tackle inequities in healthcare utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communal violence in India has become more frequent due to the unwanted interplay between religion and political manipulation, by which India has been affected many times. Communal violence has also been recognized as a significant social and public health problem, resulting in long-term human and economic costs. The dominant form of communal violence in India has involved the two communities, i.e. Hindus and Muslims. Post-violence studies worldwide have shown a short and long-term higher prevalence of mental health disorders. To the best of our knowledge, no earlier study has investigated the association between communal violence experience and self-rated psychological health in India. Thus, the current study was designed to provide valuable addition to the existing literature on mental stress among riot victims. This paper explores the association between mental health and socio-economic characteristics among riot victims based on a primary survey (N = 300 participants) conducted in two riots-affected districts of Uttar Pradesh in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neo-liberal model of development has facilitated the cross-border movements, thereby making both national and international migration one of the survival strategies to fight against persistent poverty, economic insecurity and deepening inequalities. It is known to all that Covid-19 and lockdown measures had a large impact on employment and labour market affecting human lives across the globe. This paper focuses on the experiences of women migrant workers situated within one of the most populous states of India, i.e., Uttar Pradesh. How did they make sense of their lived realities in the face of downsizing being done by the companies, which meant partial wages or losing the jobs permanently, and also the sudden transition that they had to opt for and negotiate with? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital is defined as the nature of the social relationship between individuals or groups and the embedded resources available through their social network. It is considered as a critical determinant of health and well-being. Thus, it is essential to assess the performance of any tool when meaningfully comparing social capital between specific groups. Using measurement invariance (MI) analysis, this paper explored the factor structure of the social capital of men and women measured by a modified Shortened Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool (SASCAT-I) in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. The study sample comprised 5,287 men (18–101 years) and 7,186 women (15–45 years) from 6,218 randomly selected households who responded to SASCAT-I during a community-level cross-sectional survey. Social capital factor structure was examined by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and MI across genders was investigated using multigroup CFA. While disregarding gender, four unique factors (Organizational Participation , Social Support , Trust , and Social Cohesion) represented the structure of social capital. The MI analysis presented a partial metric-invariance indicating factor loadings for Organizational Participation and Social Support were the same across genders. The gender-stratified analysis demonstrated that a four-factor solution was best fitted for both men and women. Men and women of rural UP interpreted social capital differently as the perception of Trust and Social Cohesion varied across genders. For any future applications of SASCAT-I, we recommend gender-stratified factor analysis to quantify social capital's measure, acknowledging its multidimensionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural sector continues to play a crucial role for economic development, especially in low-income countries like India where the sector is large both in terms of aggregate income and total labour force. This paper aims to identify the key sources and drivers of agriculture growth in Uttar Pradesh, the largest food producing state of India. The study is conducted as a quantitative time-series analysis for the period 1990-1991 to 2014-2015 using simple least square method (p = 05). Although, the volatility of agriculture represented in terms of coefficient of variation is low in Uttar Pradesh in comparison to the national average, yet the growth of gross domestic product from agriculture (GDPA) has been low. The agricultural economy of Uttar Pradesh continues to be dominated by cereals with around 60% of its gross cropped area under cereal crops. The results of regression analysis indicate that better rainfall, irrigation facilities, favourable terms of trade, road development and fertiliser use played an important role to improve agriculture growth in the state. The paper offers a perspective for policy formulation which may be of interest to development scholars and policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Sen’s entitlement thesis rooted in social contract theory has been used to explain access to food, and is used by states to design social protection programs as transfer entitlements to diffuse food insecurities. Social protection programs have now burgeoned in several countries as a strategy to enable the poor to overcome risks, vulnerabilities and poverty. These social protection programs have inclusion and exclusion errors, which current theorization attributes mainly to political clientalism, social vulnerability, elite capture, targeting inefficiency, leakages and corruption, lack of information transparency and improper designing of social protection programs. This paper argues that the errors are due to a more fundamental assumption made in application of social contract and entitlement-based approach to social protection programing. It identifies an uncritical application of Sen’s entitlement thesis to social protection programs, as leading to inclusion and exclusion errors. The main problematic, the paper shows is that the social contract-led entitlement thesis works within the domain of formal rights situated within the state-citizen relations, and as such, misses out on the non-formal entitlements and non-state influences that impact materialization of social protection programs in practice. Evidences from flood prone Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India indicate that non-state rules linked with clientele and patronage relations, moral and local political economies trump over formal rights to mediate social protection entitlement outcomes. Rather than abstract state-citizen social contract, it is the moral contracts of reciprocal exchanges with influential patrons embedded in the moral economy of the villages that ultimately ground the social protection entitlement claims of poor villagers. Conceptualizing this process of access as cultures of entitlement, the paper builds a framework for reinterpretation of entitlements and their outcomes, suggesting a recalibration of application of Sen’s entitlement thesis to social protection programs. In conclusion it argues that Sen’s entitlement thesis which is pitched at transfer of economic resources through social protection from the state to the poor is inadequate. Learning from social movements currently leading the transparency and accountability struggles in India, it calls for an instituting and recognition of accountability as new cultural resource and entitlement. In conclusion it argues that information, and accountability as new cultural entitlements, when mobilized through collective agency of the poor can potentially challenge the current cultures of entitlements evidenced in this paper that presently underlie social protection outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian farmers are vulnerable to changing climate with unpredictable rainfall distribution, rising temperature, and complex socioeconomic conditions. The present study aims to assess livelihood vulnerability of farmers in two regions of the most populous State of Uttar Pradesh namely Bundelkhand and Central region. By using multistage random sampling technique, a total of 480 samples from 16 villages, 8 development blocks, 4 districts, and 2 regions were selected to elicit grass-root information on farmers' perception of climate change, their sensitivity and adaptive capacity to changing climate, and determinants of livelihood vulnerability. Further, this study has adopted methodology mentioned in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's fourth Assessment Report for the development of climate vulnerability index. The results show that farmers in Jhansi district were highly vulnerable to changing climate, while farmers in Barabanki district were relatively less vulnerable. The elevated degree of vulnerability to livelihood in Jhansi district attributed to its comparatively higher exposure and sensitivity to climatic change. The Binary Logistic Regression results show that illiterate farmers are relatively more vulnerable than literate farmers. On the contrary, higher income, assured irrigation, the use of certified seeds, and crop insurance are negatively associated with the LVI. In other words, farmers who have income from non-farm sources, use certified and recommended seed varieties, and avail themselves of crop insurance are relatively less vulnerable to climate change than those who do not have the aforesaid facilities. Hence, the present study suggests that farmers, must adapt to climate change to reduce its negative impact and reap the benefits of adaptation which can be achieved through capacity building, skill development (i.e., use of ultra-modern techniques), and capacity to strengthen the farmers' ability to adapt. Further, there is also a need to sensitize government officials on the dangers of climate change and to provide appropriate technical support to farmers for their adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As the costs of solar PV continuously decrease and pollution legislation imposes less burning of agricultural residues, decentralized renewable energy is increasingly affordable for providing electricity to one billion people lacking access to a power grid. This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility case study of biomass gasification in off-grid and grid-connected mini-grids for community-scale energy application in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Energy demand data was collected through surveys in a village with irrigation and agro-processing loads and off-grid households and used to construct a seasonal load profile based on statistical methods. This was used to simulate single-source and hybrid mini-grids based on solar PV, biomass gasification and diesel generation using HOMER Pro. Hybrid PV-biomass or PV-diesel systems were found to offer the highest reliability for off-grid power at the lowest cost. Single-source PV was cheaper than biomass gasification, though the cost of electricity is highly sensitive to biomass supply and gasifier maintenance. Both renewable options were around half the cost of diesel generation. The findings held across grid-connected systems with weak, moderate and strong reliability of grid supply. This suggests that biomass gasification-based mini-grids are not cost-competitive with PV unless the two generation sources are combined in a hybrid system, though they require operational testing prior to implementation. Image 1 • Hybrid PV–biomass or PV–diesel systems offer higher reliability at lower cost. • PV is cheaper than biomass gasification mini-grids for productive energy provision. • Grid-connected PV offers lowest LCOE over 20 years for strong and weak grid supply. • LCOE of biomass systems is highly sensitive to biomass requirement and maintenance. • PV–biomass systems appear resilient to operating parameters but lack field testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reexamines the long-standing corridor topic of toilet facilities in anthropological fieldwork, arguing that their condition has stronger methodological implications than previously acknowledged. Drawing on personal experiences from three successive fieldworks in one of India's poorest states – Uttar Pradesh – it reflects on the importance of gender, age, and prior experience with unfamiliar sanitary facilities in shaping our adjustment to the conditions we meet in the field. It narrates the three 'toilet tests' to which the author has been exposed over a series of field visits: the transition to water, squatting, and ultimately the lack of privacy. Failing the latter, she had to shelve a promising fieldwork lead. Scaling up, the article suggests that, if field sites with 'difficult' toilet conditions attract fewer and differently positioned anthropologists, the result is likely to be a bias in coverage and theory-building that merits more reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental concerns are no longer unfamiliar in the over populated country like India. It is been decades, since when the government, firms and companies including stakeholders are making efforts for constant and sustainable development in the economy with minimum deterioration of environment. Environmental degradation, climate change and global warming are such issues that induced concern related to environment protection among the producers and consumers as well. The aim of this paper is to understand the purchasing behaviour of the consumers for eco-friendly products and what are the factors that affect the buying intention for such products. The study was conducted in Uttar Pradesh region of north-western part of India and data was collected using well-structured questionnaire among 230 respondents using convenient sampling out of which the results of 198 questionnaires were used for analysis. One-way ANOVA test has been used to test the significance level of the independent variable over dependent variable. The findings revealed that education level does not affect the concern for environment protection when buying the eco-friendly products. The analysis showed that the willingness to pay for green products was also influenced by income level of the consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Uttar Pradesh, many middle-class Muslims increasingly view local and transnational religious giving as a pragmatic way to create tangible socioeconomic improvements in the lives of underprivileged Muslims and mitigate their growing marginalization in India. How does their turn toward transnational religious giving influence their perception of the state's responsibilities regarding social welfare provision? Based on ethnographic fieldwork research with registered non-profit organizations collecting and distributing Islamic alms (zakat and sadaqa) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, this article examines how local and transnational religious giving affects the ways in which members of these Muslim philanthropic organizations imagine citizenship and welfare responsibilities in India. Distributive practices within these organizations show a dual focus on fostering Muslims' economic independence and self-sufficiency by mobilizing local and transnational charitable networks on the one hand and improving access to state welfare on the other. The co-existence of these somewhat divergent strategies suggests that while the state is considered partial and uncaring, it also remains viewed as an indispensable welfare provider. More generally, these observations bring forth a discussion on the extent and effects of the transnationalisation and privatisation of welfare in globally connected South-Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multisectoral collaboration has been identified as a critical component in a wide variety of health and development initiatives. For India's Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, which serves >100 million people annually across more than one million villages, a key point of multisectoral collaboration—or 'convergence', as it is often called in India—is between the three frontline worker cadres jointly responsible for delivering essential maternal and child health and nutritional services throughout the country: the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), Anganwadi worker (AWW) and auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) or 'AAA' workers. Despite the long-recognized importance of collaboration within this triad, there has been relatively little documentation of what this looks like in practice and what is needed in order to improve it. Informed by a conceptual framework of collaborative governance, this study applies inductive thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 AAA workers and 6 medical officers from 6 villages across three administrative blocks in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh state to identify the key elements of collaboration. These are grouped into three broad categories: 'organizational' (including interdependence, role clarity, guidance/support and resource availability); 'relational' (interpersonal and conflict resolution) and 'personal' (flexibility, diligence and locus of control). These findings underscore the importance of 'personal' and 'relational' collaboration features, which are underemphasized in India's ICDS, the largest of its kind globally, and in the multisectoral collaboration literature more broadly—both of which place greater emphasis on 'organizational' aspects of collaboration. These findings are largely consistent with prior studies but are notably different in that they highlight the importance of flexibility, locus of control and conflict resolution in collaborative relationships, all of which relate to one's ability to adapt to unexpected obstacles and find mutually workable solutions with colleagues. From a policy perspective, supporting these key elements of collaboration may involve giving frontline workers more autonomy in how they get the work done, which may in some cases be impeded by additional training to reinforce worker role delineation, closer monitoring or other top-down efforts to push greater convergence. Given the essential role that frontline workers play in multisectoral initiatives in India and around the world, there is a clear need for policymakers and managers to understand the elements affecting collaboration between these workers when designing and implementing programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Agency is a salient individual resource in attaining reproductive choice, yet it remains insufficiently characterized among adolescents. Methods: This study characterizes agency profiles among a state-representative sample of adolescents ages 15 to 19 in Uttar Pradesh, India, by sex and marital status using latent class analysis from a 2015–2016 cross-sectional survey. We identify agency profiles most at risk for loss of reproductive autonomy and explore predictors of agency group membership. Results: Distinct three-class profiles were identified for girls and boys. Among girls, the classes were as follows: high agency (41.0% married, 16.9% unmarried), motivational autonomy, low actualization (71.9% married, 22.1% unmarried), and low agency (11.1% married, 36.9% unmarried). Among boys, the classes were as follows: high agency (51.5%), gender-conforming actors (42.1%), and moderate agency (6.2%). Greater education and household wealth increased odds of membership to belong to the highest agency class; experience of physical violence increased odds of low agency class membership. Findings were not consistent among married girls. High agency married girls were most at risk of violence, to have unmet family planning need, unwanted/mistimed pregnancy, or a birth, relative to those in lower agency classes. Conclusions: Findings suggest that in some settings, high agency girls, are at greater risk for loss of reproductive choice, particularly in the context of marriage. Policy Implications: Segmented adolescent programming paired with activities to address unequal gender dynamics and provide conflict resolution information in marriage is needed. These strategies can optimize interventions which seek to empower adolescents as a mechanism to improve reproductive health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When on March 24, 2020 the Government of India ordered a complete lockdown of the country as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had serious unwanted implications for farmers and the supply chains for agricultural produce. This was magnified by the fact that, as typically in developing countries, India's economy is strongly based on farming, industrialization of its agricultural systems being only modest. This paper reports on the various consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown for farming systems in India, including the economy, taking into account the associated emergency responses of state and national governments. Combining quantitative and qualitative sources of information with a focus on the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, including expert elicitation and a survey of farmers, the paper identifies and analyzes the different factors that contributed to the severe disruption of farming systems and the agricultural sector as a whole following the lockdown. Among other issues, our study finds that the lack of migrant labor in some regions and a surplus of workers in others greatly affected the April harvest, leading to a decline in agricultural wages in some communities and an increase in others, as well as to critical losses of produce. Moreover, the partial closure of rural markets and procurement options, combined with the insufficient supply of products, led to shortages of food supplies and dramatically increased prices, which particularly affected urban dwellers and the poor. We argue that the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis could fuel the development of new sustainable agro-policies and decision-making in response not only to future pandemics but also to the sustainable development of agricultural systems in India and in developing countries in general. • The lockdown in response to COVID-19 has seriously disrupted Indian farms. • Farms have been less profitable amid rising food prices, putting pressure on food security. • A lack of migrant labor has led to a loss of produce and affected the spring harvest. • Experience and relief packages may help to develop Indian agriculture sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social norms can frame how typical and appropriate the choices available to individuals are, making some more difficult while others easier to make. Despite the important role of both descriptive and injunctive norms for intervention, few measures are available that distinguish these types of perceptions. Fewer still are tailored for settings where development challenges are present and behaviorally-informed interventions are implemented. To address gaps in measuring social norms that impact women's employment in India, this study was conducted with 399 adolescents aged 14-17 years to develop the Strength of Social Gender Norms (SSGN) scale. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a good two-factor structure. Psychometric analyses satisfied tests for internal consistency, differentiated it from attitudes, and found moderate test-retest reliability. Using this scale, we found that girls perceived more positive social norms overall but held more negative perceptions of what others in their communities think about women working (i.e. injunctive norms), relative to boys. Our results confirm the ability of the SSGN scale to distinguish different aspects of social norms among low-income Indian adolescents, a population that is neglected in psychology research at large. Future research should aim to replicate results in additional hard-to-reach samples and investigate the association between actual longer-term employment outcomes of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study examined the prevalence of self-reported menstrual irregularities during adolescence and explored the association of depressive symptoms with self-reported menstrual irregularities in adolescents in two major states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. Methods: This study is based on the data obtained from the first round of the "Understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults" (UDAYA, 2016) survey. The effective sample size for the study was 12,707 adolescent girls aged 10–19 years. A bivariate analysis with chi-square test was conducted to determine the self-reported menstrual irregularity by predictor variables. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to examine the associations between self-reported menstrual irregularity, depressive symptoms and other explanatory variables. Results: A proportion of 11.22% of adolescent girls reported menstrual irregularity and 11.40% of the participants had mild depressive symptoms. Adolescent girls with mild (AOR: 2.15, CI: 1.85–2.51), moderate (AOR: 2.64, CI: 2.03–3.42) and severe depressive symptoms (AOR: 2.99, CI: 2.19–4.10) were more likely to have menstrual irregularity as compared to those who had minimal depressive symptoms. Physically active adolescent girls were less likely to report menstrual irregularity (AOR: 0.82, CI: 0.73–0.93) than physically inactive girls. Adolescent girls who used piece of cloth for menstrual hygiene practices (AOR: 1.17; CI: 1.02–1.35) and those who used either napkin or cloth or other materials (AOR: 1.32; CI: 1.14–1.54) had higher likelihood of menstrual irregularity as compared to those who used only sanitary napkins. Conclusion: A significant association of depressive symptoms with self-reported menstrual irregularity among adolescent girls was observed. Therefore, while treating females with irregular menstrual cycles, clinicians may need to pay greater attention to thir mental health peoblems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India institutionalized school‐based management in 2009 by requiring all government schools to constitute school management committees, primarily staffed by parents, that would make decisions on school‐related issues. This article utilizes school‐level panel data from the state of Uttar Pradesh and uses a matched difference‐in‐difference estimation methodology to examine the effect of this policy on the provision of basic school infrastructure and services in government schools. It finds evidence that the policy resulted in improving the provision of libraries and medical checkups for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study identifies the prevalence, pattern & geographical distribution of pregnancy loss and its various determinants. The choropleth equal interval maps and local indicators of spatial association maps were used to investigate the locations requiring attention. Spatial regression techniques were used to investigate the factors associated with pregnancy losses across India using data derived from the fourth round of National Family Health Survey. A decision tree was constructed to investigate the interaction effect of the significant factors.The percentage of pregnancy loss in India is noted to be 14.3% (95% BCa confidence interval: 13.47, 14.79). The spatial autocorrelation coefficient ( ρ = 0.61 , p < 0.001 ) indicated the spatial dependence in the data. Hotspots of response variable were observed in districts of Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, and Odisha. Locations, with high percentage of women who have attained education upto high school and above, women who did not want the pregnancy, and women whose family did not want more child, were likely to have increased percentage of pregnancy loss. Struggles in a womens life, family's pressure and own desire to have child coupled with their education status are related to the pregnancy loss. Preventing the unplanned pregnancies will play a pivotal role in decreasing the pregnancy loss which further prevents maternal mortality and morbidity. Timely and adequate supplies of contraception in public health institutions particulary sub-centre, primary health centre should be ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Urban Health Initiative (UHI) was initiated in 2009 with the goal of increasing family planning (FP) use among the poor in urban areas of Uttar Pradesh, India. The Measurement, Learning & Evaluation project (MLE) was tasked with rigorous impact evaluation of the UHI. This paper presents the impact evaluation findings of the UHI program.Study Design: The MLE design includes a longitudinal sample of women and health facilities with baseline (2010) and endline (2014) data collection in six cities in Uttar Pradesh, India. At baseline, samples representative of women in each city were selected with oversampling of the poor. Eighty-four percent of women interviewed at baseline were reinterviewed 4 years later at endline. The longitudinal data support a within/fixed-effects approach to identification of program impact on changes in modern FP use.Results: Impact evaluation results show significant effects of exposure to both demand and supply side program activities. In particular, women exposed to brochures (marginal effect: 6.96, p<.001), billboards/posters/wall hangings (marginal effect: 2.09, p<.05), and FP on the television (marginal effect: 2.46, p<.001) were significantly more likely to be using a modern method at endline. In addition, we found borderline significance for being exposed to a community health worker (marginal effect: 1.66, p<.10) and living close to an improved public and private supply environment where UHI undertook activities (marginal effects and p values: 2.48, p<.05 and 1.56, p<.10, respectively).Conclusions: UHI program activities were designed to complement the Government of India's strategies aimed at ensuring access to and provision of FP to urban poor populations. The effective demand- and supply-side strategies of the UHI program are therefore likely to be sustainable and scalable to other urban areas in India.Implications Statement: Findings from this study are important for designing sustainable and scalable FP strategies for urban India where increases in FP use will be relevant for meeting international FP targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates poverty, wealth inequality and financial inclusion, for the first time, at the sub‐caste level in both Hindus and Muslims using a unique survey data collected from 7124 households in Uttar Pradesh, India, during 2014–2015. The results confirm the existing hypothesis that Brahmins, Thakurs and other Hindu general castes have higher wealth accumulation, lower poverty and lesser exclusion from formal financial services than Dalits. Exclusion from formal financial services forces Dalits to depend primarily on informal financial sources for borrowing—which leads to financial misfortune and further dragging them into a vicious cycle of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human development cannot occur without women's empowerment. Particularly in marginalized contexts lacking equal treatment between women and men, women's empowerment is conditioned upon their control of financial resources and activities outside their households' tasks, such as entrepreneurial activities. Such contexts have been experiencing the escalation of microfinance schemes of which women have been the main target group. While scholars generally agree on the opportunities that microcredit represents for microentrepreneurial activities, its effective impact on women entrepreneurship, and hence their empowerment, show contrasting results. We aim to contribute to this debate by conducting in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with female members of the group lending model of the microfinance institutions in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. The thematic questions of the interviews address, particularly, the social resources (social capital) and economic conditions underpinning the process of empowerment among women's members of peer‐group lending schemes. We find that social capital plays a crucial role for peer‐group lending to be successful in accessing financial resources and loan repayment. However, we detect the presence of empowerment only where a woman uses the outcome of these social capital resources to pursue her entrepreneurial activities and self‐determined goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present manuscript, the female genitalia of Phauda flammans (Walker, 1854), collected from Uttar Pradesh, India, are described, representing the first record of Phaudidae from the state of Uttar Pradesh as well as from the Gangetic Plain biogeographic zone of India. Additionally, a world checklist of Phauda Walker is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do states realize social reforms for marginalized groups in settings of entrenched inequality? This article argues that reform implementation is a conflict‐ridden process driven by the institutional activism of street‐level bureaucrats. Through an ethnographic case study of Mahila Samakhya, a novel government program for women's empowerment in Uttar Pradesh, India, I find that local fieldworkers committed to reform promoted girls' education by mobilizing marginalized citizens and mediating local conflicts. Organizational processes of gender‐based training and deliberation enabled fieldworkers to challenge village patriarchy and exclusion and forge programmatic ties with lower caste women. By altering rules to address the practical needs of households, fieldworkers effectively integrated disadvantaged girls into the education system. Institutional activism also engendered conflicts over rules within the bureaucracy, prompting senior officials to advocate for marginalized groups. The findings suggest that institutional commitment to activism is critical for agencies working on the front lines of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of intrapartum oxytocin use, assess associated perinatal and maternal outcomes, and evaluate the impact of a WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist intervention on oxytocin use at primary‐level facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India. Design: Secondary analysis of a cluster‐randomised controlled trial. Setting: Thirty Primary and Community public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India from 2014 to 2017. Population: Women admitted to a study facility for childbirth at baseline, 2, 6 or 12 months after intervention initiation. Methods: The BetterBirth intervention aimed to increase adherence to the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist. We used Rao‐Scott Chi‐square tests to compare (1) timing of oxytocin use between study arms and (2) perinatal mortality and resuscitation of infants whose mothers received intrapartum oxytocin versus who did not. Main outcome measures: Intrapartum and postpartum oxytocin administration, perinatal mortality, use of neonatal bag and mask. Results: We observed 5484 deliveries. At baseline, intrapartum oxytocin was administered to 78.2% of women. Two months after intervention initiation, intrapartum oxytocin (I) was administered to 32.1% of women compared with 70.6% in the control (C) (P < 0.01); this difference diminished after the end of the intervention (I = 48.2%, C = 74.7%, P = 0.03). Partograph use remained at <1% at all facilities. Resuscitation was performed on 7.5% of infants whose mother received intrapartum oxytocin versus 2.0% who did not (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: In this setting, intrapartum oxytocin use was high despite limited maternal/fetal monitoring or caesarean capability, and was associated with increased neonatal resuscitation. The BetterBirth intervention was successful at decreasing intrapartum oxytocin use. Ongoing support is needed to sustain these practices. Coaching + WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist reduces intrapartum oxytocin use and need for newborn resuscitation. Coaching + WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist reduces intrapartum oxytocin use and need for newborn resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of stocking the Gangetic carps, viz. Labeo catla, Labeo rohita, and Cirrhinus mrigala, in a large tropical reservoir, Uttar Pradesh, India. Time series data of 22 years (1998 to 2019) on fingerling stocking and fish harvest were collected from the State Department of Fisheries, Govt of Uttar Pradesh. The average annual stocking was 36 nos.ha−1 yr−1, and the fingerling stocking size was ranged between 10 and 90 mm total length (TL) with a mean of 30 mm TL. The average fish production potential of the reservoir was estimated at 77.15 kg ha−1 yr−1. The analysis revealed that fish yield from the reservoir progressively increased from 75.02 t to 297.39 t with a mean of 148.82 ± 69.45 t. The regression analysis between the stocking density and yield of stocked species showed an insignificant relation in the reservoir (R2 = 0.0873, p = 0.2495). The percentage change in the production of stocked species in comparison with the previous year was found to be negative for 12 years between 1998 and 2019 indicated an unstable trend. The finding indicated that low stocking density, very small size at stocking, the low conversion efficiency of the photosynthetic energy to fish (0.016%), and the dominance of catfishes were the major causes for the low fish productivity. We suggest greater stocking density of 500 fingerlings ha−1 yr−1, stocking of fingerlings (> 100 mm TL), in situ breeding and rearing in cages and pens, adoption of cage culture technology, and identification and conservation of the breeding ground of the Gangetic carps to optimize the management regime in utilizing the production potential of reservoirs vis-a-vis ensuring livelihood security and sustainability of the fishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's coronavirus lockdown forced low-wage migrant workers to return from the city to the home towns and villages from which they came. Pre-pandemic living and working conditions were already stressful and difficult for these migrants. The lockdown became an additional burden, since it shut down sources of income with no assurance about when, or if, work and earning to support families could be resumed. This article draws on the lens of the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA) to understand how workers engaged with and navigated these difficult times. A total of 54 migrant workers locked-down at home across the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal were interviewed for this qualitative study. Financial worries were found to be endemic, with rising debt a major source of stress, and educational qualifications becoming an obstacle to earning. Returning migrants were suspected of bringing the virus from the city, and so stigmatized in their home towns and villages. However, the pandemic lockdown also showed some unexpected healthful consequences. It provided these marginalized, and always busy workers the time and space to stop working for a while, to stay home, eat home food, and take walks in the comparatively green and clean spaces of their home environments. In this, the pandemic lockdown may be seen to have enabled a measure of agency and health in the lives of these workers, an oasis albeit temporary, and ultimately subject to the demands of the globalized cities of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, SWOT analysis has been used to understand the safety precautions, cost-benefit measures, farmers' skill, and few eco-friendly indicators. Generally, socio-economic characteristics of an agriculture farm community illustrate production, investment, educational status, farmers' skill, their lifestyle, and the overall development scenario and prospects. To understand the status of these indicators a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Sikhar block of Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India. Data was collected through face to face interviews with the help of a pre-structured schedule. This work has found farmers' awareness and application of herbicides are the major strengths in solving existing issues. Weaknesses include lack of latest information, skill in farms households, and inconsistencies in the application of a divergent range and scientific suggestions. Opportunities include alignment with farmers using strategies and existing tools with the application of herbicides as cost-effective and also helpful in reducing irrigation requirements. Threats consider that the application of herbicides to remove unwanted plants is one of the best and more effective but it should be applied in judicial form and farm households should have proper training and scientific recommendations about its application procedure. The present study will help in making strategies for farm households to improving decision-making to solve major issues, but also widely interpreting and communicating to select cost-effective methods. Policymakers should also be careful about weaknesses and it can be minimized by facilitating with proper infrastructure, awareness campaigns, interdisciplinary research, and institutional support to farm households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine unequal outcomes in the implementation of India's national rural electrification program in Uttar Pradesh. We ask two questions: (1) to what extent did Dalits, the lowest group in India's caste hierarchy, receive less attention when the state electrified rural communities? (2) Was BSP, the state's Dalit party, able to reduce this inequality? Using data from a hundred thousand villages, we provide robust evidence for unequal outcomes. Villages inhabited solely by Dalits were 20 percentage points less likely to be covered by the program than villages without any Dalits. Moreover, a regression discontinuity analysis shows that the electoral success of BSP failed to reduce such differences. These results highlight the magnitude and persistence of caste inequality in the implementation of democratic public policy, despite political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar lamps are a quick, affordable, and effective way to provide basic lighting for households in rural areas of developing countries. However, implementers and researchers argue that the market for solar products is hampered by a lack of awareness and willingness to pay (WTP) for solar technology. In this paper, we investigate awareness of solar products, household motivation to adopt solar technology, household perception of solar lamps when compared to kerosene-based lighting devices, and lastly, the availability of electricity after dark. We analyzed a repeated-measures (longitudinal) data of 1159 rural households in energy-poor villages in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, India. Longitudinal logistic regression analyses were performed to study how various factors influence users WTP for solar lamps at Indian market price (~8.61 US$) over time. We find that households awareness of various solar products and their motivation to adopt solar technology has increased over time but there is much room to grow awareness in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, especially for solar home systems and solar water pumps. Our model predicted that the households WTP for solar lamps at the market price increased with high income but it is significantly moderated by their level of awareness of solar products and their motivation to adopt solar technology. These findings suggest that increasing awareness of solar products through various dissemination programs leading to significant interest in solar products among people which in turn may enhance their WTP for solar products. • Repeated-measures (longitudinal) data of 1159 rural households in energy-poor villages in India were analyzed. • This study determines factors that influence the households willingness to pay (WTP) for solar lamps in rural India. • Awareness of solar products coupled with motivation to adopt solar technology significantly raise the probability of WTP. • WTP for solar lamps at the market price increases with income. • Awareness of solar products through various programs lead to significant interest in solar energy products among people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality in India. India has rolled out Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) reforms including population based screening for hypertension and diabetes, facilitated by frontline health workers. Our study assessed blood pressure and blood sugar coverage achieved by frontline workers using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS).Methods: LQAS Supervision Areas were defined as catchments covered by frontline workers in primary health centres in two districts each of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. In each Area, 19 households for each of four sampling universes (males, females, Above Poverty Line (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL)) were visited using probability proportional to size sampling. Following written informed consent procedures, a short questionnaire was administered to individuals aged 30 or older using tablets related to screening for diabetes and hypertension. Using the LQAS hand tally method, coverage across Supervision Areas was determined.Results: A sample of 2052 individuals was surveyed, median ages ranging from 42 to 45 years. Caste affiliation, education levels, and occupation varied by location; the sample was largely married and Hindu. Awareness of and interaction with frontline health workers was reported in Uttar Pradesh and mixed in Delhi. Greater coverage of CVD risk factor screening (especially blood pressure) was seen among females, as compared to males. No clear pattern of inequality was seen by poverty status; some SAs did not have adequate BPL samples. Overall, blood pressure and blood sugar screening coverage by frontline health workers fell short of targeted coverage levels at the aggregate level, but in all sites, at least one area was crossing this threshold level.Conclusion: CVD screening coverage levels at this early stage are low. More emphasis may be needed on reaching males. Sex and poverty related inequalities must be addressed by more closely studying the local context and models of service delivery where the threshold of screening is being met. LQAS is a pragmatic method for measuring program inequalities, in resource-constrained settings, although possibly not for spatially segregated population sub-groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]