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The paper examines how Hindu nationalist social service organizations, specifically the Deseeya Seva Bharathi (DSB), reconfigured the religious conception of 'Seva' to advance the project of constructing a Hindu social identity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Kerala. The southern Indian state of Kerala has remained an exception in the story of the rise of the Hindu nationalist movement in contemporary India, which has repeatedly failed to make any considerable political inroads in the state. However, the disastrous economic consequences and livelihood challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, which was heavily dependent on foreign remittance and service industries, have opened up new spaces of engagement for Hindu nationalists. Drawing on the fieldwork conducted in central Kerala during the pandemic, this paper will elaborate on how the DSB used the crisis moment of the pandemic to reach out to economically and socially disadvantaged communities using the language of 'Seva' to build a Hindu social identity, which imbues the influence of majoritarian Hindu nationalist politics. The paper argues that the DSB's articulation of 'Seva' as a distinct and superior form of social service that is 'self-less', 'non-instrumental' and 'non-reciprocal' is significant in understanding the growing appeal of Hindu nationalist social service in the contested political sphere of Kerala, which is marked by competing social provisions by the state as well as other secular and religious groups. The paper notes that the reconfiguration of 'Seva' as a continuous religious concept enables Hindu nationalists to attain greater acceptance and legitimacy that even the secular state welfare could not achieve, while also concealing the inherent instrumental nature of its social service towards the construction of a Hindu social identity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent stock market fall and rise sequel by COVID-19, rising global inflation, increase in Fed interest rates, the unprecedented meltdown of technology stocks, fear of trade wars, tightening of governments' fiscal policies call for a new trend in international investing. It is time for the investors to rethink, rebalance and reset their investment strategies to position and protect their portfolios during and post-pandemic period. This paper attempts to forecast the gold prices for the post-pandemic era and explores whether gold will serve as a decisive hedge during this transition period. The techniques of ARCH, GARCH, E-GARCH, A-PARCH, and GARCH-M is employed in forecasting the conditional volatility of gold spot price from Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India. A total of 3631 observations were collected from the daily spot prices of gold from January 2009 to December 2022. The findings show that the gold prices in India are highly persistent similar to other emerging markets and that gold will remain a safe haven for investors and institutional investors in the post-pandemic period. This paper is the first of its kind to forecast gold prices for the post-pandemic period. The forecast price of 10-gram gold is expected to trade for 65,948 ₹ in the Indian MCX by 2026 if the gold prices behold its previous momentum. This forecast will help the investors to plan their portfolio diversification for the post-pandemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Triage is a dynamic and complex decision-making process to determine fair access to medical care in mass casualty situations. Triage takes place through healthcare settings including Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Triage governing principles have been subject to ethical debates for a long time specifically with the recent global pandemic of COVID-19. This study aims to revisit the ethical principles guiding patient prioritisation during recent COVID-19 disaster triage in the Indian subcontinent and attempts to look for principles with consideration of social justice. Methods: Key electronic databases such as WHO, EMBASE, and DOAJ were used to access published literature relating to ICU triage in the Indian subcontinent. Literature on and from 2015–2022 were included in this study. The SPICE framework was used to identify the literature. The Inclusion criteria were as follows: Literature with ethical connotations focusing on India and neighbouring countries, and in an ICU setting during pandemics. The Exclusion criteria were as follows: Literature focusing on other countries, without ethical foundations, hospital admissions, and non-COVID-19 ICU admissions. The PRISMA standard was applied to screen the appropriate literature. The BOOLEAN operator "OR" was used to enhance the literature search. Finally, six papers were found suitable for this study and thus were included in the literature review. Additionally, for the second time, the frequency of certain ethical phrases was reassessed in the plans and guidelines to check the changed awareness of ethical pandemic planning, if any. A thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data and generate findings and new knowledge. Results: The findings highlight gaps in knowledge around ICU triaging in the region which indicates the scope of better ethical pandemic preparation at the regional level. The findings show that there is a debate between researchers on prioritisation from available resources and ethical perspectives and principles associated with fair access to healthcare even during pandemic times. The literature also highlights enhancing the regional capacity and building equitable approaches to reduce existing health inequities and the need of the social justice framework for ICU triaging during a pandemic. Conclusions: ICU triaging in five South Asian neighbour nations was studied for the presence of a guided ethical framework. Additionally, for the second time, certain ethical phrases were reassessed in the plans and guidelines; however, usage of those terms was found to be significantly low. The discussion shows that the plans and guidelines have the scope to improve ethical ICU triaging in these countries and in the specific region. After analysing different ethical guidelines, this study emphasises that there is a need for a just and fair framework, specifically a social justice framework in ICU triage in the subcontinent to address the underlying health inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the cervical cancer screening rate dropped by 84% soon after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges facing cervical cancer screening were largely attributed to the required in-person nature of the screening process and the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening is well-documented in high-income countries, less is known about the low- and middle-income countries that bear 90% of the global burden of cervical cancer deaths. In this paper, we aim to offer a comprehensive view of the impact of COVID-19 on cervical cancer screening in LMICs. Using our study, "Prevention of Cervical Cancer in India through Self-Sampling" (PCCIS), as a case example, we present the challenges COVID-19 has exerted on patients, healthcare practitioners, and health systems, as well as potential opportunities to mitigate these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As India faced multiple waves of the pandemic, religious responses arose to accommodate and make sense of the situation. In the face of uncertainty, disease and death, people turn not just towards the medical sciences but also religion. The emergence of a new Hindu goddess, Corona Mātā/Coronavirus Mardhinī encapsulates people's fear, faith, and devotion. Although the goddess is new, the tradition of disease goddesses is ancient. The Indian Subcontinent has a long history of mother goddesses who have been protecting their devotees from diseases such as smallpox, fever, plague, etc. This paper attempts to examine the emergence of Corona Mātā in the historical context of these 'protective mothers'. On one hand, historically, these goddesses have emerged as a result of interaction between Brahmanical religion and regional practices. On the other hand, these disease-centred goddesses can also be seen as the result of fear and faith. This paper will analyse the location of Corona Mātā in the ever-evolving pantheon of Hindu deities in the context of a 21st-century pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents several novel findings from a comprehensive analysis of about 50,000 Tweets about online learning during COVID-19, posted on Twitter between 9 November 2021 and 13 July 2022. First, the results of sentiment analysis from VADER, Afinn, and TextBlob show that a higher percentage of these Tweets were positive. The results of gender-specific sentiment analysis indicate that for positive Tweets, negative Tweets, and neutral Tweets, between males and females, males posted a higher percentage of the Tweets. Second, the results from subjectivity analysis show that the percentage of least opinionated, neutral opinionated, and highly opinionated Tweets were 56.568%, 30.898%, and 12.534%, respectively. The gender-specific results for subjectivity analysis indicate that females posted a higher percentage of highly opinionated Tweets as compared to males. However, males posted a higher percentage of least opinionated and neutral opinionated Tweets as compared to females. Third, toxicity detection was performed on the Tweets to detect different categories of toxic content—toxicity, obscene, identity attack, insult, threat, and sexually explicit. The gender-specific analysis of the percentage of Tweets posted by each gender for each of these categories of toxic content revealed several novel insights related to the degree, type, variations, and trends of toxic content posted by males and females related to online learning. Fourth, the average activity of males and females per month in this context was calculated. The findings indicate that the average activity of females was higher in all months as compared to males other than March 2022. Finally, country-specific tweeting patterns of males and females were also performed which presented multiple novel insights, for instance, in India, a higher percentage of the Tweets about online learning during COVID-19 were posted by males as compared to females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering is traditionally considered a male domain with lower female participation despite various affirmative actions taken in recent decades. There is evidence of greater gender equality as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and precautionary lockdown measures. With this in mind, this paper investigates whether women engineers in India were more adversely affected than their male counterparts by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an impact may be explained by 'intersectional stigma', expanded upon in the literature on discrimination. The impact of such stigma varies in different countries based on socio-cultural factors. Through the use of ethnographic and statistical research methods on secondary and primary data from a sample of 384 engineers, this paper shows that the impact of COVID-19 is not significantly different between genders in engineering education and employment. This may be due to the high demand for digital engineering skills, and strong family support in Indian society. Engineering branch may play a relatively more important role than gender in terms of impact. This finding has repercussions for continuing engineering education (CEE) programs and regulatory bodies in India in terms of enhancing course content and the results may be used in developing affirmative programs in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates India's first officially approved self-administered rapid antigen test kit against COVID-19, a device called CoviSelf. The context is rural India. Rapid antigen tests (RATs) are currently popular in situations where vaccination rates are low, where sections of the community remain unvaccinated, where the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow and where easy or timely access to RTPCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing is not an option. Given that rural residents make up 66% of the Indian population, our evaluation focuses on the question of whether this self-administered RAT could help protect villagers and contain the Indian pandemic. CoviSelf has two components: the test and IT (information technology) parts. Using discourse analysis, a qualitative methodology, we evaluate the practicality of the kit on the basis of data in its instructional leaflet, reports about India's 'digital divide' and our published research on the constraints of daily life in Indian villages. This paper does not provide a scientific assessment of the effectiveness of CoviSelf in detecting infection. As social scientists, our contribution sits within the field of qualitative studies of medical and health problems. Self-administered RATs are cheap, quick and reasonably reliable. Hence, point-of-care testing at the doorsteps of villagers has much potential, but realising the benefits of innovative, diagnostic medical technologies requires a realistic understanding of the conditions in Indian villages and designing devices that work in rural situations. This paper forms part of a larger project regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in rural India. A follow-up study based on fieldwork is planned for 2022–2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global pharma sector is fast shifting from generics to biologics and biosimilars with the first approval in Europe in 2006 followed by US approval in 2015. In the form of Hepatitis B vaccine, India saw its first recombinant biologics approval in 2000. Around 20% of generic medications and 62% of vaccines are now supplied by the Indian pharmaceutical industry. It is this good position in biologics and biosimilars production that could potentially improve healthcare via decreased treatment cost. India has witnessed large investments in biosimilars over the years. Numerous India-bred new players, e.g., Enzene Biosciences Ltd., are keen on biosimilars and have joined the race alongside the emerging giants, e.g., Biocon and Dr. Reddy's. A very positive sign was the remarkable disposition during the COVID-19 pandemic by Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India. India's biopharmaceutical industry has been instrumental in producing and supplying preventives and therapeutics to fight COVID-19. Despite a weak supply chain and workforce pressure, the production was augmented to provide reasonably priced high-quality medications to more than 133 nations. Biosimilars could cost-effectively treat chronic diseases involving expensive conventional therapies, including diabetes, respiratory ailments, cancer, and connective tissue diseases. Biologics and biosimilars have been and are being tested to treat and manage COVID-19 symptoms characterized by inflammation and respiratory distress. Purpose of review: Although India boasts many universities, research centers, and a relatively skilled workforce, its global University–Industry collaboration ranking is 24, IPR ranking remains 47 and innovation ranking 39. This reveals a wide industry-academia gap to bridge. There are gaps in effective translational research in India that must be promptly and appropriately addressed. Innovation demands strong and effective collaborations among universities, techno-incubators, and industries. Methodology: Many successful research findings in academia do not get translation opportunities supposedly due to low industrial collaboration, low IP knowledge, and publication pressure with stringent timelines. In light of this, a detailed review of literature, including policy papers, government initiatives, and corporate reviews, was carried out, and the compilation and synthesis of the secondary data were meticulously summarized for the easy comprehension of the facts and roadmap ahead. For easy comprehension, charts, figures, and compiled tables are presented. Results: This review assesses India's situation in the biosimilar space, the gaps and areas to improve for Indian investment strategies, development, and innovation, addressing need for a more skilled workforce, industrial collaboration, and business models. Conclusions: This review also proposes forward an approach to empowering technopreneurs to develop MSMEs for large-scale operations to support India in taking innovative thoughts to the global level to ultimately realize a self-reliant India. The limitations of the compilation are also highlighted towards the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores beneficiary targeting of government programmes in a village in India. The analysis is based on all 228 households of the village and focus group discussions. The results show that there is a large exclusion error in targeted programmes, which have mostly excluded the poor and the needy. Most schemes have a prerequisite of asset ownership, such as agricultural land, which benefits resource-rich farmers with large landholdings. The relationship between benefits received and income of households is best represented by an inverted 'u'-shape curve, indicating the middle-income category benefits more than the poorest. The scope and scale of welfare programmes, especially Direct Benefit Transfers, increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. For inclusion of the poorest of the poor, welfare and development schemes need to be decoupled from landownership in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interconnectedness among banks is a key distinguishing feature of the banking system. It helps mitigate liquidity problems but on the other hand, acts as a curse in propagating systemic risk at times of distress. Thus, as banks cannot function in isolation, this study uses the Contemporary Theory of Networks to examine banking competition in India for five distinct economic phases, emphasizing upon the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This paper proposes a Market Power Network Index (MPNI), which uses network parameters to measure banks' market power. This network structure shows a formation of bank clusters that are involved in competition. Specifically, network properties, such as centroid, average path length, the distance of a node from the centroid, the total number of connections in the inter-bank market, and network density, do go on to explain banking competition. It is interesting to note that crisis periods witness a lower level of competition, with GFC bearing the least competition. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shows a lower trend, but it is of a higher magnitude than GFC. It was also found that big-sized, profitable, capital adequate, and public banks dominate the banking system. Notably, this study was conducted on a sample of 33 listed Indian banks from April 2008 to December 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stock markets around the world experienced a massive collapse during the first wave of COVID-19. Roughly in the month of January 2021, the second wave of COVID-19 struck in India, reaching its peak in May, and by the end of May, the active cases started to decline. A third wave is again predicted by the end of 2021, and as such, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have become a periodic phenomenon over the last couple of years. Therefore, the study of the behavior of the stock market as well as that of the investors becomes very interesting and crucial in this highly volatile and vulnerable market trend. Motivated by these facts, in the present paper, the researcher develops a model for portfolio management, using curve-fitting techniques and shows that this model can encounter the market volatility efficiently in the context of the Indian stock market. The portfolio is designed based on data taken from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India, during 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. The performance of the portfolio in real-life situation during 1 January 2021 to 21 May 2021 is examined, assuming investments are made according to the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is often regarded as a preferred employment location for Indian migrant workers seeking improved financial stability and enhanced career opportunities. The spread of COVID-19 has led to a decline in international migration rates and an increase in the number of individuals returning to their home countries. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the challenges and perspectives of migrant labour. The assessment was based on a sample size of 416 Indian migrant workers who were present in the UAE during the lockdown period of the pandemic. Statistical techniques were employed to assess the research objective and examine the formulated hypothesis. The study confirms that the employment status of the migrant population has transformed, leading to a decline in both income and remittance flows. There is a significant difference in remittances by Indian migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical analysis reveals a significant finding in the chi-square test regarding the perception of migrants towards health facilities and other amenities offered by the Government of the UAE. The facilities provided by the Government of the UAE were perceived to be considerably more favourable in comparison to those offered by the Government of India. The favourable view of the UAE authorities led to the choice of several migrant workers to remain there rather than return to India throughout the pandemic. The logistic regression analysis reveals that demographic information such as age, duration of stay, level of education, sources of income, and earnings were the significant determinants of fear of COVID-19. The report also encompasses a few constraints and offers policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the mathematical modeling of the second wave of COVID-19 and verifies the current Omicron variant pandemic data in India. We also we discussed such as uniformly bounded of the system, Equilibrium analysis and basic reproduction number R 0 . We calculated the analytic solutions by HPM (homotopy perturbation method) and used Mathematica 12 software for numerical analysis up to 8th order approximation. It checked the error values of the approximation while the system has residual error, absolute error and h curve initial derivation of square error at up to 8th order approximation. The basic reproduction number ranges between 0.8454 and 2.0317 to form numerical simulation, it helps to identify the whole system fluctuations. Finally, our proposed model validated (from real life data) the highly affected five states of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The algorithm guidelines are used for international arrivals, with Omicron variant cases updated by the Union Health Ministry in January 2022. Right now, the third wave is underway in India, and we conclude that it may peak by the end of May 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit the agriculture sector hard around the world. A study was conducted to assess the impact of the pandemic on cropping patterns, crop management, usage of chemical inputs and their organic alternatives, harvesting, and marketing avenues through a survey approach in the two states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. A total of 250 farmers participated in the study, the data was analyzed by Chi-square test and Kruskal–Wallis test. The assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on some aspects was undertaken by dividing the study period into three phases. Though a smaller number of people were infected with COVID-19 in the initial phase of the pandemic compared to the later phases, farm operations and the procurement of inputs were significantly affected at this phase as there was a sudden disruption in transportation due to COVID-19-induced movement restrictions. During the entire study period, commodities such as rice, bananas, vegetables, coconuts, and flowers suffered maximum crop loss compared to pulses, groundnuts, cotton, and rubber. Among fertilizers, the maximum shortage was observed for chemical fertilizers (46%) and biofertilizers (30%) compared to cow dung (18%) and poultry manure (6%), indicating that farmers tended to use more local materials that could be easily procured and accessed compared to shop-based inputs. A rise in the cost of cultivation, scarcity of farm workforce, and difficulty in hiring farm machinery all have contributed to the loss of profit during the pandemic period. As a response to COVID-19, growers initiated post-harvest processing of commodities, and cropping systems remained the same during the period. The paper also discusses some remedial measures to be adopted by households in the future, to minimize the impacts of such pandemics in the agrarian sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of COVID-19 on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continues to be researched. Initial signals warn of significant setbacks in achieving SDG targets by 2030. The achievement of SDGs could abet improved protection from future pandemics. This article suggests reprioritizing SDGs to facilitate a more robust global response to future pandemics. Specifically, we recommend that SDGs 3, 6, 5 and 4 (in that order) are prioritized in order to optimize efforts at a more inclusive and resilient socio-economic recovery post-pandemic. This paper suggests that mandatory CSR regimes enable governments, in combination with corporate fiscal resources, to influence the selection and progress of these SDGs. The case of India's mandatory CSR regime is employed to illustrate our position. This study extends the debate on SDGs by raising the possibility of universal concentration on a few critical SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 challenged the sustainability of global agri-food markets. Through this research, the authors have made sincere efforts to recognize and remove/improve the potential factors that contribute towards an inefficient agro-based supply chain. COVID-19 has created much urgency to evaluate the existing supply chain and to propose a valid solution. In this particular research, the involvement of intermediaries is the point of focus. In addition, the profit margins for the farmer are hugely affected due to intermediaries. The current supply chain must be optimized, and this will lead to easier flows between each phase of the supply chain. Surveys were conducted and the farmers' problems and expected solutions are highlighted in this research. Farmers in the northern states of India experienced more significant disruptions than those in other states because of a decreased availability of foods due to lack of diversity in crops. This research examines the existing supply chain for wheat crops and presents an optimization of the respective supply chain to save farmers more revenue. Through this research, the authors have attempted to observe and explore the problems faced by farmers and consumers due to the inefficient supply chain infrastructure prevalent in India because of the onslaught of COVID-19 and find an efficient solution. Due to the lack of adequate infrastructure, storage facilities, and old food-processing and supply chain technology almost 30–35% of the agricultural produce in India is wasted. A scientific solution to the existing problems is also presented after analyzing the existing supply chain and crop selection of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been extremely severe, with both economic and health crises experienced worldwide. Based on the panel regression model, this study examined the trends and correlations in the number of COVID-19-related deaths and the number of COVID-19-infected cases in all 37 regions of the Tamil Nadu state in India, in August 2020. The fixed effects model had the greatest R2 value of 78% and exhibited significant results. The slope coefficient was also highly significant, showing a considerable variation in the relationship between new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Additionally, for every unit increase in COVID-19-infected cases, the death rate increased by 0.02%. Dataset:  https://stopcorona.tn.gov.in/ Dataset License: National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research describes a detailed analysis of the enactment of a lean Tool, the Last Planner System during pandemic period which helps in optimizing resources for better coordination among all stakeholders in a pandemic period. The LPS, as it is known, focusses on minimizing factors such as uncertainties, barriers, and variability to make construction projects more flexible for better project management. These include variations and deviations, supervision, delays in approvals, change resistance, and subcontractor dedication, which are all related to various stakeholders in the project. Following that, a Design Science Research technique is used to evaluate the effect of applying the LPS in buildings to address and achieve the objective of reducing the impact of setbacks created by the stakeholders such as architects, consultants, clients, project management team, etc., during the implementation of the LPS during any pandemic so as not to reduce the progress of execution. An action strategy is being used to attain this goal, and four case studies are documented which concern the implementation of the LPS in the building of the Boy's Hostel, Research Scholar Quarters, Faculty Housing, and Girls' Hostel at Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Data was gathered by observation of site activities, interviews, documentation analysis, and a questionnaire survey and grouped into various factors. While adopting the LPS tool in research, the factors affecting the implementation in the COVID-19 pandemic period were found. Further, these factors were analysed, measured, ranked, and validated for adopting in projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economy and the financial sector have suffered due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The banking industry has seen an increase in digital channels and payments, consumer behavior changes, regulatory and supervisory relief, and new operational resilience challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, seniors have had to adopt new channels and technologies instead of traditional cash and traditional channels. However, older people in India are not tech-savvy and avoid e-banking. Thus, stakeholders (e.g., bank authorities, governments) must focus on variables affecting the older population's use of e-banking to reduce financial isolation. Thus, this study uses an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework to examine senior citizens' intentions to use e-banking. Data from "456" senior citizens from central India were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques. The study identified different significant predictors (e.g., performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived risk, self-efficacy, perceived trust, and anxiety) of older users' intention to use e-banking post-COVID-19. This is the first study from central India to determine elderly people's intention to use online banking during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings will help bank authorities and other stakeholders increase senior citizens' financial inclusion in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed critical rhetorical analysis and corpus-assisted discourse analysis in analyzing the news coverage of India's transition from Wave I to Wave II Focusing on news coverage from the Times of India, we examined how COVID-19 was constructed in the public and technical spheres and how India's COVID-19 risk communication was shaped by unique geopolitical, cultural, infrastructural, and material factors. Our analysis highlights the tendency to datify COVID as statistics and case numbers, which both dehumanizes the patients and caretakers while erasing human suffering. It also reveals the critical roles played by the geopolitical, socioeconomic, infrastructural, and material conditions in shaping the national and regional capacities to respond to such far-reaching crises. Last but not least, affect and trust play prominent roles in the public coping with emerging pandemics given the uncertainties on all fronts, and thus should be centrally highlighted and addressed in public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 infection caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 virus has been linked to a broad spectrum of symptoms, from a mild cough to life-threatening pneumonia. As we learn more about this unusual COVID-19 epidemic, new issues are emerging and being reported daily. Mucormycosis, also known as zygomycosis or phycomycosis, causes severe fungal illness to individuals with a weakened immune system. It is a devastating fungal infection, and the most frequent kind is the rhino cerebral type. As a devastating second wave of COVID-19 sweeps India, doctors report several instances involving a strange illness—sometimes known as the "black fungus"—among returning and recovered COVID-19 patients. This paper analyzes the existing statistical data to address the severity of prevalence and further notes the nano-based diagnostic parameters, clinical presentations, its connection with other conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and GI disorders, and the importance of anti-fungal therapy in treating the same. Anti-fungal therapies, as well as surgical interventions, are currently used for the treatment of the disease. Proper and timely diagnosis is necessary, along with the reduction in the spread of COVID-19. From the review, it was found that timely pharmacologic interventions and early diagnosis by using a nano-based diagnostic kit can help control the disease. Additionally, this paper provides novel information about the nanotechnology approaches such as fungal detection biosensors, nucleic acids-based testing, point-of-care tests, and galactomannans detection, in the diagnosis of mucormycosis, and thereby reinforces the need for further research on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Maharashtra, India, remained a hotspot during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the initial complete lockdown, the state slowly relaxed restrictions. We aim to estimate the lockdown's impact on COVID-19 cases and associated healthcare costs. Methods: Using daily case data for 84 days (9 March–31 May 2020), we modeled the epidemic's trajectory and predicted new cases for different phases of lockdown. We fitted log-linear models to estimate the growth rate, basic (R0), daily reproduction number (Re), and case doubling time. Based on pre-restriction and Phase 1 R0, we predicted new cases for the rest of the restriction phases, and we compared them with the actual number of cases during each phase. Furthermore, using the published and gray literature, we estimated the costs and savings of implementing these restrictions for the projected period, and we performed a sensitivity analysis. Results: The estimated median R0 during the different phases was 1.14 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.45) for pre-lockdown, 1.67 (95% CI: 1.50, 1.82) for phase 1 (strict mobility restrictions), 1.24 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.35) for phase 2 (extension of phase 1 with no restrictions on agricultural and essential services), 1.12 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.23) for phase 3 (extension of phase 2 with mobility relaxations in areas with few infections), and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.123) for phase 4 (implementation of localized lockdowns in high-case-load areas with fewer restrictions on other areas), respectively. The corresponding doubling time rate for cases (in days) was 17.78 (95% CI: 5.61, −15.19), 3.87 (95% CI: 3.15, 5.00), 10.37 (95% CI: 7.10, 19.30), 20.31 (95% CI: 10.70, 212.50), and 45.56 (95% CI: 20.50, –204.52). For the projected period, the cases could have reached 631,819 without the lockdown, as the actual reported number of cases was 64,975. From a healthcare perspective, the estimated total value of averted cases was INR 194.73 billion (USD 2.60 billion), resulting in net cost savings of 84.05%. The Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) for implementing the lockdown, rather than observing the natural course of the pandemic, was INR 33,812.15 (USD 450.83). Conclusion: Maharashtra's early public health response delayed the pandemic and averted new cases and deaths during the first wave of the pandemic. However, we recommend that such restrictions be carefully used while considering the local socio-economic realities in countries like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dreadful influence on both economic activities and human life, in view of which management has to play a strategic role to focus on effective board leadership in order to optimize firm performance. The present study analyses the role of corporate governance practices in determining firm performance during the pandemic. A total of 151 non-financial companies from 11 diversified industries representing the NIFTY200 index for two years, 2019–2020 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020–2021 (duringCOVID-19), were selected. Paired sample t-tests, panel data regression, and one-way ANOVA were used for the analysis. The findings confirm that there is a significant difference between some corporate governance practices (board size, board independence, board's female proportion, board attendance, and audit committee size) as well as financial performance (Tobin's Q) before and during the COVID-19 period. The regression results of the full sample show that only board busyness has a positive and significant impact on ROA and Tobin's Q. However, after splitting the sample year-wise, board size and audit committee meetings positively affected ROA during COVID-19. On the other hand, board independence had a negative influence. Female directors and audit committee meetings positively affected ROA in the pre-COVID-19 period, while board busyness had a negative influence. The results of one-way ANOVA show a substantial difference in the financial performance among industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates how the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected digital banking usage in India. The study is made by utilizing a panel of data consisting of 108 firm-month observations during covid period from 2020 to 2022, with data mainly collected to analyze the impact of COVID-19 uncertainty. Most of the determinants were collected from the RBI data website. The main emphasis of this study is on the utilization of digital banking services in the context of the pandemic, and the research assesses the factors that have influenced this trend, including the number of physical bank branches, the utilization of debit and credit cards at automated teller machines (ATMs) and points of sale (PoS), as well as the level of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). The analysis was conducted using panel regression analysis, a suitable method for handling the error components in the model that are either fixed or random. The findings indicate that the uncertainty caused by the pandemic has had a negative impact on the use of digital banking services. Additionally, the study highlights that the usage of debit and credit cards at PoS has significantly contributed to promoting the progress of digital banking services during the pandemic. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into how digital banking services have evolved during a period of significant uncertainty and disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is aimed to escalate Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) functioning in order to ensure the veracity of existing time-series modeling. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global threat for the past three years. Therefore, advanced forecasting of confirmed infection cases is extremely essential to alleviate the crisis brought out by COVID-19. An adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-reptile search algorithm (ANFIS-RSA) is developed to effectively anticipate COVID-19 cases. The proposed model integrates a machine-learning model (ANFIS) with a nature-inspired Reptile Search Algorithm (RSA). The RSA technique is used to modulate the parameters in order to improve the ANFIS modeling. Since the performance of the ANFIS model is dependent on optimizing parameters, the statistics of infected cases in China and India were employed through data obtained from WHO reports. To ensure the accuracy of our estimations, corresponding error indicators such as RMSE, RMSRE, MAE, and MAPE were evaluated using the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ). The recommended approach employed on the China dataset was compared with other upgraded ANFIS methods to identify the best error metrics, resulting in an R 2 value of 0.9775. ANFIS-CEBAS and Flower Pollination Algorithm and Salp Swarm Algorithm (FPASSA-ANFIS) attained values of 0.9645 and 0.9763, respectively. Furthermore, the ANFIS-RSA technique was used on the India dataset to examine its efficiency and acquired the best R 2 value (0.98). Consequently, the suggested technique was found to be more beneficial for high-precision forecasting of COVID-19 on time-series data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in many countries worldwide, including India, imposed several restriction measures, including lockdowns, to prevent the spread of the infection. COVID-19 lockdowns led to a reduction in gaseous and particulate pollutants in ambient air. In the present study, we investigated the substantial changes in selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and associations with health risk assessments in industrial areas. VOC data from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 were collected from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website, to identify percentage changes in VOC levels before, during, and after COVID-19. The mean TVOC levels at all monitoring stations were 47.22 ± 30.15, 37.19 ± 37.19, and 32.81 ± 32.81 µg/m3 for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. As a result, the TVOC levels gradually declined in consecutive years due to the pandemic in India. The mean TVOC levels at all monitoring stations declined from 9 to 61% during the pandemic period as compared with the pre-pandemic period. In the current study, the T/B ratio values ranged from 2.16 (PG) to 26.38 (NL), which indicated that the major pollutant contributors were traffic and non-traffic sources during the pre-pandemic period. The present findings indicated that TVOC levels had positive but low correlations with SR, BP, RF, and WD, with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.034, 0.118, 0.012, and 0.007, respectively, whereas negative correlations were observed with AT and WS, with correlation coefficients (r) of −0.168 and −0.150, respectively. The lifetime cancer risk (LCR) value for benzene was reported to be higher in children, followed by females and males, for the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. A nationwide scale-up of this study's findings might be useful in formulating future air pollution reduction policies associated with a reduction in health risk factors. Furthermore, the present study provides baseline data for future studies on the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the air quality of a region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the majority of rising economies since 2020. The economic effects of the majority of countries were mixed as a result of the lockdown measure they enacted. Economic conditions have a significant impact on the spread of pandemics, as history has proved. This article concentrates on India in order to ascertain the relationship between migration, FDI, and COVID-19. We undertake this study to determine whether labour movement (in/out) inside COVID-19 has an effect on FDI influx. Our research—based on qualitative secondary sources—reveals that multinational corporations prefer native workers over imported personnel in India due to the country's abundant skilled manpower. This implies that multinational corporations can replace foreign workers with locally employed workers if they can find suitable candidates among the local labour force. According to our findings, FDI and skilled migration to India appear to be linked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluates the impacts of India's COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking periods on the country's ambient air quality. India experienced three strictly enforced lockdowns followed by unlocking periods where economic and social restrictions were gradually lifted. We have examined the in situ and satellite data of NO2 emissions for several Indian cities to assess the impacts of the lockdowns in India. Additionally, we analyzed NO2 data acquired from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI sensor over a few districts of the Punjab state, as well as the National Capital Region. The comparisons between the in situ and satellite NO2 emissions were performed for the years 2019, 2020 and up to July 2021. Further analysis was conducted on the satellite data to map the NO2 emissions over India during March to July for the years of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Based on the in situ and satellite observations, we observed that the NO2 emissions significantly decreased by 45–55% in the first wave and 30% in the second wave, especially over the Northern Indian cities during the lockdown periods. The improved air quality over India is indicative of reduced pollution in the atmosphere due to the lockdown process, which slowed down the industrial and commercial activities, including the migration of humans from one place to another. Overall, the present study contributes to the understanding of the trends of the ambient air quality over large geographical areas using the Sentinel-5P satellite data and provides valuable information for regulatory bodies to design a better decision support system to improve air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian retail industry has registered tremendous growth recently. The sudden emergence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the related measures that were taken by the authorities to curb the pandemic have compelled retailers and their consumers to transact using digital platforms. This study investigates the critical precursors to retailers' behavioral intention to use mobile platforms for their business transactions in the post-pandemic era. This study adopted a framework that combined the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and self-determination theory (SDT) to predict behavioral intentions. A hybrid approach combining partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques was used to test and validate the proposed framework. Four hundred and ninety-six participants from different central Indian cities participated in the study. PLS-SEM results confirmed that the motivational factors (need satisfaction [NS] and need frustration [NF]) significantly influence the attitude (AT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), and behavioral intention (BI). Furthermore, the findings also established the partial mediating effect of AT, SN, and PBC on the relationship between motivational construct (NS and NF) and BI. Finally, the relationship established by SEM was successfully validated by ANN in the existence of a nonlinear relationship in the data. The findings may help retail stakeholders to support retail owners in their pursuit to continue using mobile payment systems in the post-COVID-19 world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broad objective of the present study is to assess the levels of anxiety and depression of school students during the COVID-19 lockdown phase and their association with students' background, stress, concerns and social support. In this regard, the present study follows a novel two stage approach. In the first phase, an empirical survey was carried out, based on multivariate statistical analysis, wherein a group of 273 school students participated in the study voluntarily. In the second phase, a novel Picture Fuzzy FFA (PF-FFA) method was applied for understanding the dynamics of facilitating and prohibiting factors for three categories of focus groups (FG), formulated on the basis of attendance in online classes. Findings revealed a significant impact of anxiety and depression on mental health. Further, PF-FFA examinedthe impact of the driving forces that steered children to attend class as contrasted to the the impact of the restricting forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, including India, especially in the construction sector. The study aims to identify, compare, and analyze the critical pandemic impacts (CPI) on construction projects in India. To achieve this, 40 interviews with industry professionals, are followed by a systematic review to identify the CPI. The data collected was used to develop a survey, sent to industry professionals all over India, with a return of 92 valid responses. The data were analyzed using reliability analysis, mean score ranking, overlap analysis, agreement analysis, and correlation analysis. The overall critical pandemic impact includes 'labor scarcity,' 'supply chain disruption,' 'decreased construction productivity,' 'increased project financing rejection rate,' and 'reduced foreign investment in the construction industry.' The findings could aid authorities and policymakers in taking suitable actions toward solving the current CPI in India. Project managers and owners could consider the current CPI in order to formulate better plans. Overcoming CPI could lead to an economic leap in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mucormycosis is a potentially fatal infection that presents in different clinical forms and occurs in patients with various risk factors. Recently, the COVID-19 epidemic has been responsible for an increase in the incidence of mucormycosis, particularly in India. As with other invasive filamentous fungal infections, there are no specific clinical or radiological signs, and we have fewer diagnostic tools available than for other invasive fungal infections. Therefore, the diagnosis of Mucormycosis remains difficult. Nevertheless, for optimal management, early and accurate diagnosis is important. According to the latest recommendations, diagnosis is based on direct examination of clinical specimens, and/or histopathology, and culture. There are also molecular tools for direct detection from clinical specimens, but these techniques are moderately recommended. The main problems with these molecular techniques are that, until now, they were not very well standardized; there was a great heterogeneity of DNA targets and methods, which resulted in variable sensitivity. It is in this field that most advances have been made in the last two years. Indeed, recent studies have evaluated the performance and kinetics of Mucorales qPCR in serum and have shown good sensitivity and specificity. Large inter-laboratory evaluations of qPCR in serum have also been performed and have demonstrated good qualitative and quantitative reproducibility. These new results suggest the use of Mucorales qPCR as part of the diagnostic strategy for mucormycosis. One way to achieve better reproducibility could be to use commercial methods. Currently, there are at least three commercial qPCRs for Mucorales (MucorGenius from PathoNostics, MycoGenie from Ademtech, and Fungiplex from Bruker) that can be used to test serum, respiratory samples, or biopsies. However, to date, there has been little evaluation of these methods. Overall, Mucorales PCR in tissue samples, in respiratory samples, and in serum is promising and its addition as a diagnostic tool in the definitions of invasive mucormycosis should be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a deep dive into several recent cases of majoritarian hate speech and violence perpetrated against Muslims in India. We first provide an introduction to Hindutva as a social movement in India, followed by an examination of three case studies in which Islamophobic hate speech circulated on social media, as well as several instances of anti-Muslim violence. These case studies—the Delhi riots, the Love Jihad conspiracy theory, and anti-Muslim disinformation related to the COVID pandemic—show that Hindu nationalism in India codes the Muslim minority in the country as particularly dangerous and untrustworthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been considerable losses in terms of human and economic resources due to the current coronavirus pandemic. This work, which contributes to the prevention and control of COVID-19, proposes a novel modified epidemiological model that predicts the epidemic's evolution over time in India. A mathematical model was proposed to analyze the spread of COVID-19 in India during the lockdowns implemented by the government of India during the first and second waves. What makes this study unique, however, is that it develops a conceptual model with time-dependent characteristics, which is peculiar to India's diverse and homogeneous societies. The results demonstrate that governmental control policies and suitable public perception of risk in terms of social distancing and public health safety measures are required to control the spread of COVID-19 in India. The results also show that India's two strict consecutive lockdowns (21 days and 19 days, respectively) successfully helped delay the spread of the disease, buying time to pump up healthcare capacities and management skills during the first wave of COVID-19 in India. In addition, the second wave's severe lockdown put a lot of pressure on the sustainability of many Indian cities. Therefore, the data show that timely implementation of government control laws combined with a high risk perception among the Indian population will help to ensure sustainability. The proposed model is an effective strategy for constructing healthy cities and sustainable societies in India, which will help prevent such a crisis in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is a severe environmental problem in the Indian subcontinent. Largely caused by the rapid growth of the population, industrialization, and urbanization, air pollution can adversely affect human health and environment. To mitigate such adverse impacts, the Indian government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January 2019. Meanwhile, the unexpected city-lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 in India greatly reduced human activities and thus anthropogenic emissions of gaseous and aerosol pollutants. The NCAP and the lockdown could provide an ideal field experiment for quantifying the extent to which various levels of human activity reduction impact air quality in the Indian subcontinent. Here, we study the improvement in air quality due to COVID-19 and the NCAP in the India subcontinent by employing multiple satellite products and surface observations. Satellite data shows significant reductions in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by 17% and aerosol optical depth (AOD) by 20% during the 2020 lockdown with reference to the mean levels between 2005–2019. No persistent reduction in NO2 nor AOD is detectable during the NCAP period (2019). Surface observations show consistent reductions in PM2.5 and NO2 during the 2020 lockdown in seven cities across the Indian subcontinent, except Mumbai in Central India. The increase in relative humidity and the decrease in the planetary boundary layer also play an important role in influencing air quality during the 2020 lockdown. With the decrease in aerosols during the lockdown, net radiation fluxes show positive anomalies at the surface and negative anomalies at the top of the atmosphere over most parts of the Indian subcontinent. The results of this study could provide valuable information for policymakers in South Asia to adjust the scientific measures proposed in the NCAP for efficient air pollution mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown announcements by governments have created uncertainty in business operations globally. For the first time, a health shock has impacted the stock markets forcefully. India, one of the major emerging markets, has witnessed a massive fall of around 40% in its major stock indices' value. Therefore, we examined the short-term impact of the pandemic on the Indian stock market's major index (NIFTY50) and its constituent sectors. For our analysis, we used three different models (constant return model, market model, and market-adjusted model) of event study methodology. Our results are heterogeneous and largely depend on the sectors. All the sectors were impacted temporarily, yet the financial sector faced the worst. Sectors like pharma, consumer goods, and IT had positive or limited impacts. We discuss the potential explanations for the same. These results may be useful for investors in safeguarding equity portfolios from unforeseen shocks and making better investment decisions to avoid large, unexpected losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The largest pandemic in history, the COVID-19 pandemic, has been declared a doomsday globally. The second wave spreading worldwide has devastating consequences in every sector of life. Several measures to contain and curb its infection have forged significant challenges for the education community. With an estimated 1.6 billion learners, the closure of schools and other educational institutions has impacted more than 90% of students worldwide from the elementary to tertiary level. Methods: In a view to studying impacts on student’s fraternity, this article aims at addressing alternative ways of educating—more specifically, online education—through the analysis of Google trends for the past year. The study analyzed the platforms of online teaching and learning systems that have been enabling remote learning, thereby limiting the impact on the education system. Thorough text analysis is performed on an existing dataset from Kaggle to retrieve insight on the clustering of words that are more often looked at during this pandemic to find the general patterns of their occurrence. Findings: The results show that the coronavirus patients are the most trending patterns in word search clustering, with the education system being at the control and preventive measures to bring equilibrium in the system of education. There has been significant growth in online platforms in the last year. Existing assets of educational establishments have effectively converted conventional education into new-age online education with the help of virtual classes and other key online tools in this continually fluctuating scholastic setting. The effective usage of teaching tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and WebEx are the most used online platforms for the conduction of classes, and whiteboard software tools and learning apps such as Vedantu, Udemy, Byju’s, and Whitehat Junior have been big market players in the education system over the pandemic year, especially in India. Conclusions: The article helps to draw a holistic approach of ongoing online teaching-learning methods during the lockdown and also highlights changes that took place in the conventional education system amid the COVID pandemic to overcome the persisting disruption in academic activities and to ensure correct perception towards the online procedure as a normal course of action in the new educational system. To fill in the void of classroom learning and to minimize the virus spread over the last year, digital learning in various schools and colleges has been emphasized, leading to a significant increase in the usage of whiteboard software platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed digital manufacturing offers a solution to medical supply and technology shortages during pandemics. To prepare for the next pandemic, this study reviews the state-of-the-art of open hardware designs needed in a COVID-19-like pandemic. It evaluates the readiness of the top twenty technologies requested by the Government of India. The results show that the majority of the actual medical products have some open source development, however, only 15% of the supporting technologies required to produce them are freely available. The results show there is still considerable research needed to provide open source paths for the development of all the medical hardware needed during pandemics. Five core areas of future research are discussed, which include (i) technical development of a wide-range of open source solutions for all medical supplies and devices, (ii) policies that protect the productivity of laboratories, makerspaces, and fabrication facilities during a pandemic, as well as (iii) streamlining the regulatory process, (iv) developing Good-Samaritan laws to protect makers and designers of open medical hardware, as well as to compel those with knowledge that will save lives to share it, and (v) requiring all citizen-funded research to be released with free and open source licenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifteen cities across the world have been selected to investigate the public health co-benefits of PM2.5 reduction, during a period when various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were adopted in the COVID-19 pandemic. Through applying a public health model, AirQ+, substantial spatial variations of global public health co-benefits were identified. Differences in seasonal air quality and population baselines were key underlying factors. For cities in North America, NPIs were introduced during the low pollution season, generating no co-benefits. On the other hand, tremendous health co-benefits were observed for cities in India and China, due to the high PM2.5 background with a large population. Among all, New Delhi has received the largest co-benefits, which saved over 14,700 premature deaths. As the pollution level (i.e., 45 μg m−3) with NPIs still exceeded the air quality standard, more rigorous emission controls are urgently needed to protect the public′s health in India. At last, a novel and practical tool for co-benefit screening was developed using data from one of the global measurement networks (i.e., IQAir). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current pandemic has modified how education, learning, and technology interact with one another inside universities. The usage of technology for instructional purposes raises the question of whether learning that happens in an online environment is as effective as traditional classroom models. Within this context, this study explores the psychological well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an online cross-sectional survey. Data were collected from 246 university students currently studying at a private university in India. Hierarchical regression analysis and structural equation modelling were used to study the mediating effects between communication apprehension, perceived learning, and psychological well-being under the moderating effects of intention to use social media and psychological stress. Results show that higher intentions to use social media alleviated the negative effects of communication apprehension on perceived learning. Interestingly, it was also found that perceived learning had a significant positive relationship with psychological well-being when students experienced higher levels of psychological stress (eustress). Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the transactional theory of stress and coping, we attempt to integrate the findings related to these theories, which can be considered distinct to previous studies. Implications, limitations, and future directions for research and practice have also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is considered an important tool for the overall development of any country, and it holds true in the context of Afghanistan as well. At the same time, a good eco-environment in terms of political will, leaders' farsighted vision, a fair budget, good infrastructure, and a good teaching community are some of the basic requirements for higher education to move in the direction of new and higher horizons. However, due to the ongoing war during the last couple of decades, the country's education system has become out of reach for a substantial part of the population due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, refugees and internally displaced, digital division, etc., critically affecting the education equity. This systematic review examines India's education diplomacy in addressing the inequities in Afghanistan's education system and making them more equitable. Education was further dilapidated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Afghanistan is caught between a war and a pandemic and suffers from a double whammy in losses. Subsequently, given their chilling effects, higher education becomes devoid of multiples equities, including education. However, because of their historical and geo-civilizational ties, India has focused on development diplomacy in general and education diplomacy (E.D) in particular to improve educational infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recession in India and the UK peaked in 2017 due to the implications of new policy initiatives. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 intensified the crisis, causing a drastic decline in aggregate demand and output. India and the UK have resorted to monetary and fiscal stimulus packages to face the economic crisis. This study investigated the inflation–unemployment dynamics during the recession and COVID-19 times in India and the UK. Using a generalized additive model (GAM), the results of this study revealed that the recession had given way to stagflation in India. In contrast, in the UK, it has led to a more severe recession in the short-run. During the downturn, policy initiatives aggravate the recession and eventually turn to stagflation in India due to inflation caused by the weak supply side. However, in the UK, the policy initiatives during this downturn pushed the economy into a deeper recession due to reduced demand. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a similar recessionary impact on both economies. A time horizon based recovery plan is suggested to help the economies recover from stagflation and even deeper recession. This framework could enable policymakers to choose the right path of recovery within the shortest possible time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is spreading rapidly and threatening lives all over the globe. Due to the pandemic, economies all over the world are in deep distress due to disruption in work and operations across all sectors. The present case study was performed for a private Indian manufacturing company that has been affected to a great extent due to this pandemic, as India has the second highest number of SARS-CoV-2 cases after the USA. The deeply troubled company's current predicament is very complex, as various factors are responsible for the crisis. In order to restore the company back to normal functioning, these factors were studied and evaluated. A diagnostic survey was conducted to obtain data about current working conditions of company. Data from the survey were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to identify and evaluate the disruptive factors. Based on this analysis, problems in operational activities were identified and appropriate improvement actions (best practices) were proposed. Furthermore, the proposed improvement actions were assessed from a sustainability perspective to check their feasibility. The best practices framework was generalized to a three-step continuous improvement framework oriented around preparedness for future pandemic-like disruptions. The proposed framework may constitute an indication and set of best practices for consideration by other manufacturing companies that find themselves in a similar situation to the analyzed case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monthly Suomi National Polar-orbiting (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day–Night Band (DNB) composite reveals the dimming of lights as an effect of the lockdown enforced by the government of India in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes in lighting are examined by creating difference maps of a pre-pandemic pair and comparing it with two pandemic pairs. The visual raster difference maps are substantiated with quantitative analysis showing the proportion of population affected by the changes in the lighting brightness levels. In the pre-pandemic images of February and March 2019, 60% of the population lived in administrative units that became brighter in March 2019. However, in the first pandemic pair, 87% of the population lived in administrative units that became dimmer in March 2020 after the lockdown in comparison to February 2020. The nightly DNB profile at the airport in Delhi illustrate how the dimming of lights coincide with the date of the onset of the lockdown (in March 2020). The study shows the usefulness of the DNB nightly and monthly composites in examining economic impacts of the pandemic as countries throughout the world go through economic declines and move towards recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocular surgery is one of the most performed medical procedures in the world. Its limitation or suspension, recursively extended over time, could be associated with a significant increase in the number of blind people worldwide. Indeed, cataract causes more than half of all cases of visual impairment in those countries with limited availability of means for performing eye operations (e.g., Africa or India). In this scenario, the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly resulted in the suspension or sharp reduction of various ophthalmic activities considered non-urgent, including lens replacement surgery or some intraocular injections. Despite the imperative need to continuously practice eye operations to avoid the abovementioned problems, there are currently little-shared and vague recommendations among the various countries on safety in operating rooms (for health care workers and patients) and poor legal protection for surgeons (potentially transmitting the COVID-19 infectious agent). Herein, we individuated and discussed some critical points in safety recommendations and medical liability. A paradigm shift for ocular surgery during the COVID-19 era is now mandatory. While telemedicine has been able to solve some problems in clinical ophthalmology, the lack of adequate health and legal protection for surgeons and patients may result in an excessive reduction in the volume of surgical interventions during a pandemic era and the immediately following period, thus determining inability to ensure health care to all patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]