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Climate change is one of the most critical socio-economic and environmental problems in India. Although India's per capita emission is very low compared to other developed nations, the economic impacts are very high as millions depend on climate sensitive sectors for instance, agriculture and forestry etc. Given the above context, this paper discusses the status of climate change, its economic impacts, especially for agriculture and forestry, climate change and financial gaps and other climate policy initiatives in India. In addition, this paper also discusses the four aspects such as climate change and macro-economic impacts, distributional aspects, social cost of carbon, and finally finance and technological aspects. There arises an urgent requirement to conduct a vulnerability assessment for reducing future poverty and inequality associate to climate change in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The labor force participation rate of women in India has decreased despite economic growth, which has limited the advancement of their rights unlike in most other countries. This paper examines the determinants of labor force participation by gender in rural and urban areas using a probit model with data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) for 2011–2012 to analyze the factors that restrict workforce participation. The estimation results are presented below. First, the marital status of males, both rural and urban, has a significant impact on their participation in the workforce due to family support. In contrast, females face multiple restrictions based on marital, caste and religion, demonstrating that sociocultural factors have limited their participation regardless of regional factors. Second, in rural areas, the educational years of female workers negatively affect labor participation, but the constraints of marriage are weaker than in urban areas. Women in lower castes participate more in the rural labor force, which is interpreted as a result of their livelihood in the industrial structure consisting of agriculture. On the other hand, the caste system negatively affects female participation in urban areas. Finally, these results indicate that the low-labor participation of females is the result of a complicated process influenced by various factors, including regional effects and patriarchal cultural values in India. Therefore, it is necessary to provide employment opportunities and encourage economic incentives for more women to enter the labor market spontaneously, considering regional effects in policies, in order for women to emerge as one group of social leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the understanding of the professional code of ethics of Indian Professional Management Accountants in Business (PMAIBs). It further delves into their individual, job and organizational characteristics as determinants of their understanding of the code. Design/methodology/approach: This study relies on data from 247 responses to a survey-based questionnaire. Overall scores and sub-scores of the level of understanding of the code were calculated based on questions grounded in IESBA Code and ethical dilemmas. The drivers of these scores were then examined using one-way ANOVA, OLS, Probit and ordered probit regressions. Findings: This study found considerable heterogeneity in Indian PMAIBs' understanding of their professional code of ethics and substantial scope for improvements. PMAIBs were stronger in Application, Resolution and Threats but weaker in Theory and Principles. Further, PMAIBs who had ranked themselves higher on code-familiarity, had higher moral maturity, hailed from western India and worked for foreign-listed, foreign-owned firms were found to have a higher level of understanding of the code. Highly educated elderly professionals and professionals with more responsibility areas exhibited a lower level of understanding of the code. Research limitations/implications: Insights from the study can help professional bodies, employers and academics identify and segment PMAIBs based on their ethics-training needs and customize interventions, which can benefit businesses and society through reduced corporate ethical failures. Considering the risk implications of Indian PMAIBs' inadequacies in understanding their code of ethics, the Indian professional accounting organization (ICAI-CMA) should mandate ethics in continuing professional development and expedite its long pending convergence with the IESBA code, a global benchmark for professional accountants. Originality/value: This paper assesses the understanding of the professional code of ethics of PMAIBs, which is crucial yet amiss in the accounting ethics literature. While ethical decision-making is extensively researched, how well the professionals understand their code is yet unexplored. Research on PMAIBs, despite their unique ethical vulnerabilities and increasingly vital role in organizations, is still dormant. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining PMAIBs from India, an emerging economy under-represented in accounting ethics literature. India offers an important and rich setting for the study due to its large size, fast growth, deep integration with the global economy, high perceived corruption levels and poor ethical behavior of its firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on positive organizational scholarship, this study aims to examine the role of faculty engagement in mediating the relationship between quality of work-life (QWL) and organizational commitment. The paper also analyses how spiritual leadership moderates the relationship between QWL and faculty engagement. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected through structured questionnaires from undergraduate and postgraduate teachers working in various business schools across major cities in India. The sample was selected through the snowball sampling technique. The sample size was 486, and analysis was done through the structural equation modelling approach using the bootstrapping method. Findings: Findings indicate that faculty engagement mediates the relationship between QWL and organizational commitment among teachers. Furthermore, results show that educational institutions that practice spiritual leadership support higher positive psychological and emotional states of engagement. Research limitations/implications: The paper provides an integrated model of engagement, commitment and QWL through a study of mediation and moderation effects and adds value to the psychology and workplace spirituality literature. There is the future scope for further generalizations of the model in different geographical contexts to analyse the influence of other leadership styles. Practical implications: Furthermore, it would help educational institutions to design QWL strategies for engaging teachers psychologically, emotionally and cognitively by accelerating employees' positive emotions and behaviours. Finally, the paper shows implications for developing the QWL strategies to create a committed and engaged workforce through spiritual leadership. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the academic literature by investigating interrelationships among variables from a positive organizational scholarship perspective. The paper would help practitioners to comprehend the importance of spiritual leadership in educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniaturization of electro-mechanical sensors and actuators has benefited from an advancement in CMOS technology over the years. However, miniaturization of audio speakers has seen considerable development only in the recent times. This paper reviews the developments in micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) audio speaker research and the initial commercial products available in the market. At first glance, it appears that the relatively slow development of MEMS speakers can be attributed to the fact that the principle of actuation has remained unchanged for several decades. Unfortunately, the physics behind audible sound production holds us back from exclusively adopting miniaturized speakers—sound pressure level is directly proportional to the area of the sound radiating surface. Nevertheless, researchers are continuing to explore new avenues for designing and developing MEMS speakers, without limiting themselves to the existing actuation principles. With newly discovered materials and improving technology, the research in MEMS speakers is gaining attention and new products are emerging. A speaker design based on piezoelectric actuation or electrostatics actuation is favorable at MEMS scale. Indian research community is also contributing to advances in MEMS speakers and near-ultrasonic devices. This paper reviews the development in MEMS audio speakers in India and in the world. The tabulated review findings aim to offer readers an overview of the development of micro-speakers and to provide guidance for designing new micro-speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. Bandgap reference circuits (BGR) are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper aims to provide a detailed insight of design of a folded cascode operational amplifier (FC op amp) and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm semiconductor laboratory (SCL) process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. This study work has been supported by MeitY, Govt. of India, through Special Manpower Development Project Chip to System Design. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the two circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. Section 2 shows the design of FC op amp, beta-multiplier circuit and their simulation results. Section 3 describes the comparison of design of conventional BGR and the proposed BGR with other state-of-art BGR circuits. Section 4 gives the comparison of their performance. The conclusion is given in Section 5. Findings: The post-layout simulation of FC op amp show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3-dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5µW. Among the two BGR designs, the conventional BGR generated 693 mV of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 16 ppm/°C the other BGR, with curvature correction generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperate coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C , both results in temperature ranging from −40°C to 125°C. The chip layout of the circuits designed on 180 nm SCL process ensures design rule check (DRC), Antenna and layout versus schematic (LVS) clean with metal fill. Research limitations/implications: Slew rate, stability analysis, power are important parameters which should be taken care while designing an op amp for a BGR. Direct current gain should be kept higher to reduce offset errors. Input common mode range is decided by the operating temperature range. A higher power supply rejection ratio will reduce BGR sensitivity to supply voltage variations. Input offset should be kept low to reduce BGR error in reference voltage. However, this paper emphasis on the flow from schematic to layout using simulation tools. As part of the study, the bonding diagram for tape-out of BGR and FC design in the given SCL frame size with seal ring is also explored, for possible tape-out. Practical implications: Reference voltage or current generators are an important requirement for an analog or digital circuit design. BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper provides a detailed insight in design of a FC op amp and a BGR circuit. The complete study flow from design to layout of the circuits on 180 nm SCL process leading to bonding diagram for possible tape-out is discussed. The chip layout of the circuits was designed on 180 nm SCL process ensuring DRC, antenna and LVS clean with metal fill using Cadence virtuoso and Mentor Graphics Calibre simulation tools. Social implications: BGR are most common way of generating the reference voltage. This paper gives a detailed insight of a BGR design using a folded-cascode operational amplifier. The FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror circuit. The paper discuss FC circuit design flow from schematic to layout. Originality/value: FC op amp is biased using a beta multiplier circuit and high-swing cascode current mirror. The paper discusses FC design flow from schematic to layout. The circuits were designed on 180 nm SCL technology with 1.8 V of power supply. The post-layout simulation show an open-loop gain of 64.5 dB, 3 dB frequency of 5.5 KHz, unity-gain bandwidth of 8.7 MHz, slew rate of 8.4 V/µs, CMRR of 111 dB and power of 25.5 µW. BGR were designed using FC op amp. The proposed BGR generated 1.3 V of reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of 6.3 ppm/°C in the range from −40°C to 125°C in schematic simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous requirement for pre-bleaching processes on kraft pulp, employing a range of compatible enzymes, aims to mitigate the pollution caused by chemical bleaching agents. In the present study, the laccase-producing bacterium Bacillus licheniformis BK-1 was isolated from the Bakreshwar hot spring in India and tested for laccase production using different lignocellulosic substrates. The isolate was found to produce maximum laccase (8.25 IU/mL) in the presence of rice bran as a substrate, followed by 5.14 IU/mL using sawdust over a 48 h period. Laccase production doubled when medium parameters were optimized using a central composite design. The bleaching of rice straw pulp was accomplished using a laccase, xylanase (previously extracted from the same bacteria), and laccase–xylanase mixture. The mix-wood kraft pulp treated with the enzyme mixture at pH 7.0 and 50 °C temperature for up to 180 min reduced the chlorine amount by 50% compared to the control. The results also revealed that the enzyme mixture improved the pulp's optical (brightness 10.39%) and physical (tear index 39.77%, burst index 22.82%, and tensile strength 14.28%) properties with 50% chlorine dose. These exceptional properties underscore the enzyme mixture's suitability for pulp pre-bleaching in paper manufacturing, offering a safer and more environmentally friendly process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper seeks to add a historical perspective to the contemporary debate concerning women's entrepreneurship in India. This study aims to explore the quantitative and qualitative research map of the research field of women's entrepreneurship. Through this exploration, the authors aim to portray the historical and contemporary factors related to women's entrepreneurship development in India, the problems and the opportunities. Future research opportunities are also identified based on the keyword analysis. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a systematic literature review to analyze the historical and theoretical perspectives of women's entrepreneurship in India. The bibliometric analysis portrays the publication landscape, including the most popular journals, authors and countries, citation analysis and keyword analysis. The content analysis reveals the thematic clusters of the research field. Findings: The content analysis of the management literature on women's entrepreneurship reveals four primary clusters from the research: contextual embeddedness in women's entrepreneurship, reasons for starting a business, microfinance interventions and empowerment of women entrepreneurs and marginalization dynamics for women entrepreneurs in India's informal sector. The study also presents implications for policymakers and a women entrepreneurs' development framework. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first to comprehensively analyze the management literature on women's entrepreneurship in India from a historical perspective. The study combines bibliometric mapping and content analysis for a holistic presentation of the research field of women's entrepreneurship in India and future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing migration, the labour migration process and the status of migrant laborers in the informal sector, particularly those working in brick kiln factories. It will shed light on the precarious nature of their work, often characterized by informal and verbal contracts. The paper examines occupational and environmental health hazards affecting the labourers and their impact on their well-being, the vulnerability of women in the precarious work environment and the associated health risks in brick kiln factories in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies primarily on primary data collection, supplemented by secondary literature and documents. Balangir district was chosen as the research region due to its historical deprivation, underdevelopment and the historical prevalence of environmental distress, leading to distress-driven migration. To gather primary data, 40 respondents were selected from five selected blocks in Balangir district, resulting in a total of 200 respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 35 individuals across the selected blocks, with approximately seven participants from each block. In addition, interviews of 10 kids were taken and around 10 key informants including the trade union leaders, intellectuals and civil society activists. Findings: Migrant labourers, including men, women and children, face significant health issues and are exposed to similar occupational health hazards. Internal migrant women workers are more vulnerable as they face critical health risks during pregnancy in host areas due to unfavourable working conditions and limited access to health-care services. Factors such as strenuous work, long working hours, poor nutrition and inadequate maternal care contribute to adverse outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, premature delivery and abnormal postnatal development. Research limitations/implications: The brick kiln industry presents a distressing reality for men who are highly vulnerable to occupational accidents, and women workers are exposed to sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. The prevalence of physical harassment, ranging from leering to rape, is alarmingly high among women. These incidents not only inflict physical harm but also cause severe psychological trauma and increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the existence of laws aimed at protecting women's rights and addressing sexual offences, the workers often remain unaware of their rights. This lack of awareness further compounds the vulnerability of women workers and perpetuates their exploitation in the workplace. Practical implications: To address health issues comprehensively, interventions should encompass the entire migrant population, including men and children. Strategies should focus on improving access to health-care services, promoting occupational health and safety measures, ensuring proper immunization and nutrition for children and addressing the broader social determinants of health. Empowering women with knowledge about reproductive health and rights, raising awareness about available health-care services and strengthening health-care providers' capacity to cater to migrant populations are crucial steps towards addressing health disparities. Social implications: Urgent interventions and policies are needed to address the health vulnerabilities of internal migrant workers and women workers. It is required to ensure health-care accessibility, improving working conditions, ensuring access to maternal care and essential supplements and providing health-care services for both pregnant women and their children, regardless of migration status. Originality/value: The study focused on precarious health and occupational hazards and accidents faced by migrant workers. It highlights women migrant labourer's and children's vulnerability in the Brick Klin sector, which is a value addition to the existing knowledge in social science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrespective of the branch of study, practical/laboratory courses are integral parts of engineering curriculum. These courses develop the knowledge, skill and attitude of the graduates. It is thus necessary to frame the laboratory experiments, to create a student centric learning environment and to have suitable assessment methodologies to enhance the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the engineering students. This paper proposes a framework of the above three from the authors' perspective for a software laboratory. The proposed framework can be extended to the laboratory/practical with suitable modifications in the Course Outcomes. Also in this paper, a methodology is proposed for converting the scales into marks and also the formula for calculating the marks under various heads (record, viva voce and experiment) is given. Rubrics are defined for the Performance Indicators (PIs) as specified in the Examination Reform Policy of AICTE for the Program Outcomes (POs defined by National Board of Accreditation (NBA), India). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]