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Industrial sector is the largest user of energy in India and many parts of the world. More than half of the total energy is used in industries to operate various energy-using machineries. Energy conservation is a cost-effective approach in any energy optimization program that can be implemented in industrial activities. Energy-intensive industries in developing economies offer significant energy-saving potential owing to the technology gap as well as lower operating efficiency. A detailed energy flow analysis was conducted in a paper carton manufacturing unit in India to quantify the energy-saving potential. The study revealed that the compressed air leakage is responsible for about 50% of the total energy loss. The specific electrical and thermal energy consumption was estimated and found to be 91.85 kWh/ton and 1,619 MJ/ton of biomass, respectively. Annual energy saving potential was found to be 5.9% of the total annual energy consumption. The cost of DG power is found to be 389% higher than the grid power. The share of self-generated DG power is estimated to be 41% of the total power consumed. Electrical energy intensity of the plant could be reduced by 6.36% implementing energy conservation measures proposed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public disclosure programs that collect and disseminate information about firms' environmental performance are increasingly popular in both developed and developing countries. Yet little is known about whether they actually improve environmental performance, particularly in the latter setting. We use detailed plant-level survey data to evaluate the impact of India's Green Rating Project (GRP) on the environmental performance of the country's largest pulp and paper plants. We find that the GRP drove significant reductions in pollution loadings among dirty plants but not among cleaner ones. This result comports with statistical and anecdotal evaluations of similar disclosure programs. We also find that plants located in wealthier communities were more responsive to GRP ratings, as were single-plant firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All over the world, waste and its disposal are becoming a more prominent issue, as landfills swell up and growing evidence points to its contribution to climate change and environmental degradation. In the developing world, waste pickers sort through solid waste and sell it to vendors, who will recycle the product into something consumable. The work they do is vital to climate change mitigation, as well as urban cleanliness. In a way, waste pickers, especially in India, are vehicles of environmental justice, but they are often discriminated against and subjected to inhumane working conditions. In this environment, the pandemic hit, making waste pickers' already precarious life even worse. This paper attempts to fill the gap in the academic literature by compiling a systemized literature review of the impacts of COVID-19 on waste-pickers' lives using an environmental justice perspective. The review also uses a Feminist Political Ecology perspective to illuminate the double jeopardy that female waste pickers face in the era of COVID-19, which academia often ignores. Ultimately, this paper shows that COVID-19 exacerbated the preexisting injustices that the waste picker community face and created an immense burden on women. This paper will show that it is important to notice the differentiation between female and male waste picker challenges, especially at the crux of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper has important policy implications as well as research considerations for both environmental justice and feminist political ecology scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it in the interest of a developing country to promote strong local linkages for domestic industries or to participate in global value chains (GVCs) wherein linkages are globally dispersed? This paper informs this debate by empirically analyzing which one of these strategies would result in higher levels of domestic value added (DVA) and employment in India. Using a unique panel data on DVA and jobs tied to Indian exports from 112 sectors for the period 1999–2000 to 2012–2013, we show that greater backward GVC participation—use of imported inputs to produce for exports—leads to higher absolute levels of gross exports, DVA and employment. This result implies that labor abundant countries can reap dividends by adopting policies aimed at strengthening their backward participation in GVCs. Our findings are robust to various estimation techniques and instrumental variable approaches to address potential endogeneity concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out some findings of a research project carried out in private unaided schools in low-income areas of Hyderabad, India. The part of the research project documented here was designed to examine the question: ‘Is the regulatory regime conducive to entrepreneurial action and market discovery’ with particular reference to the low-income schools in Hyderabad. This paper is narrowly focused, setting out the results of pattern matching empirical data with the Austrian economic concepts of entrepreneurship, rivalry, and market discovery. The research discovered that two regulatory regimes exist, one that is set out ‘on paper’ in the Education Acts and associated rules, and another that operates ‘in practice’. That is, there is a combination of regulations ‘on paper’ and regulations existing in an ‘extra-legal’ sector. Generally it was found that the regulations ‘in practice’ are consistent with market principles. Conversely the regulations set out ‘on paper’ are not conducive to entrepreneurial innovation and market discovery. Recommendations for potential policy initiatives include the possibility of legitimising the ‘extra-legal’ sector by introducing self-regulation possibly via self-evaluation systems for the private unaided schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper goes beyond critique to read institutional approaches, specifically institutional logics of CSR in India and their management by Indian firms, from a post-colonial location, to explore decolonising possibilities. Drawing on post-colonial approach of catachrestic reading, it reads institutional logics of CSR literature to argue against a linear hierarchical travel of western CSR logic into India, which is then adapted/adopted/translated or decoupled, along with the secondary status this implies for India; and suggests that Indian and western CSR logics are competing logics. It argues that these competing logics are non-core, but significant and need to be managed by Indian firms. An exploratory survey supports this argument. It also suggests a few testable propositions for CSR institutional logics using "deferment of routine development" and "strategic ambiguity in meanings" as mechanisms. In addition, it shows that decolonising purpose can also be realised by having cross-paradigmatic engagements with mainstream management and organisation studies scholarship such as institutional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) has emerged as a major development paradigm that works to diversify crops and diets throughout the Global South in order to improve nutritional outcomes. Drawing on a conceptual framework from political ecologies of health that looks at political economic factors, social discourse, and embodied, material experiences of food, I analyze qualitative and ethnographic data from an integrated NSA intervention in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, India. The analysis shows that while embodied experiences of differing rice varieties (either indigenous or improved) were central to research participants' conceptions of bodily health, mainstream NSA metrics had trouble 'seeing' these relations in meaningful ways. Moreover, although material experiences of rice cultivation and consumption anchored participants' rice preferences, structural economic realities along with notions of social identity were always interwoven. Yet, while villagers expressed divergent perceptions around how the different rice cultivars shaped their bodily health, agricultural officers tended to view rice experiences as a product of culture, rather than as material and socio-ecological food-body interactions. In sum, this paper argues more deeply engaging with the political economic, socially symbolic, and embodied ways that communities relate to food production and consumption would allow NSA research to develop more grounded and inclusive understandings of agriculture-nutrition linkages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current discourse on urbanization calls for new approaches to capture the peculiarities of growth in the global South. This paper takes the National Capital Territory of Delhi as a case study and adopts a mix of methods (field survey, ordinary least squares regression and geographically weighted regression) to highlight the emerging gradient of urbanization within official rural areas. The results show a certain catching-up effect in which the settlements with low population and employment rate grow faster than more urbanized settlements. Settlements with low basic infrastructure provision (such as schools and medical facilities), which are mainly census towns, tend to grow more slowly than villages with better infrastructure provision. Additionally, local characteristics of growth vary spatially depending on the distribution of socio-economic, demographic, and infrastructure variables. To avoid the unplanned transformation of villages into urban areas in Delhi and similar regions of the global South, this paper recommends moving from master planning towards strategic spatial planning, implementing integrated planning and governance of non-municipal peri-urban areas, and reforming spatial plans and development policies based on scientific methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast-growing developing countries have emerged as an important destination and source of trade, investments and technology. Furthermore, trade between developing countries has grown rapidly over the last decades, and is becoming more diversified, where exchange includes from primary commodities to manufactures and high-end services. The aim of the special issue is to look at these dynamics and how the leading developing countries have turn into growth engines and technology drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In instances where the "youth bulge" in developing nations is aggravating the unemployment crisis and contributing to a detrimental cycle of events, inclusive growth (IG) has emerged as a cutting-edge development model. The academic interest in inclusive growth and unemployment-related research is plentiful, but the exclusive search into youth employment for inclusive growth is sparse. Based on a conceptual framework that offers an overview of the topic, this paper examines studies on youth unemployment concerning inclusive growth. It specifically explores the concept of inclusive growth, the financial and socio-psychological aspects of youth unemployment, and ways of tackling unemployment, such as youth entrepreneurship and skill development in pursuit of inclusive growth. By addressing these challenges, the assessment reveals ways to achieve SDGs such as SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 10 (reduced disparities). The relevant literature was extracted using qualitative content analysis and recursive content abstraction approaches. The study adds to the multidisciplinary literature on youth studies, entrepreneurship, and development economics. This study summarises the current level of knowledge on these topics, identifies research gaps, and offers interesting future research directions that will benefit academics and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urban growth in mid-sized cities of developing nations has induced conflict between development and the environment, often leading to urban sprawl. However, studies focusing on the assessment of urban sprawl in mid-sized cities are comparatively rare. Therefore, this paper assesses the spatio-temporal urban sprawl characteristics of three typical mid-sized Indian cities, such as Patna Urban Agglomeration (UA), Ranchi UA, and Srinagar UA, from 1991 to 2018 using Landsat images. The population density, landscape metrics, and urban expansion index were employed to detect and assess urban sprawl characteristics. A multivariable integrated urban sprawl index was computed using Z-score to examine the intensity of urban sprawl. The results revealed robust evidence of the built-up growth in all three cities. The rise in built-up was observed due to the conversion of fallow and agriculture land covers in Patna UA and Ranchi UA, while water body and fallow land covers in Srinagar UA. Despite an increase in the total population and built-up, population density declined in all three cities. The analysis using landscape metrics exhibited continuous outward expansion with an increase in shape irregularity of built-up patches. The urban expansion index indicated the prevalence of edge expansion typology of urban sprawl. Patna UA exhibited the highest intensity of urban sprawl as per the multivariable integrated urban sprawl index. The obtained results will benefit the urban planners and officials to promote urban sustenance by preparing relevant strategies under the Smart City Mission. This study demonstrated an effective utilization of scientific approaches to assess urban sprawl characteristics in mid-sized cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides large scale evidence on the determinants of international competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms, focusing in particular on the role of technology, costs and imported intermediate inputs. Our evidence suggests that innovation, in particular R&D investment, is positively related to both firms' probability to export and firms' export volumes. We also find that imported intermediate inputs, incorporating foreign technology is strongly associated with expanding export activities of firms. Finally, and in contrast to much of previous evidence on developed economies, we find that higher productivity or lower unit labour costs are not systematically associated with the probability to enter export markets, but they are positively related to higher export volumes. Overall our results point to the existence of a pattern of involvement in international trade for firms in developing countries that is not relying as a main driver on cost competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking at our knowledge of the risks associated with nanotechnology, one wonders to what degree should its products and applications be regulated? Do we need any governing body to regulate nanotechnology research and development? Do individuals have a right to know to make informed decisions through labelling mechanism? The question of regulation and responsibility in the interaction between science, technology and society is one of the most pressing issues. Risks and regulations regarding nanoscience and nanotechnology are mostly debated amongst policy-makers and not amongst the nanoscientists, who actually produce the new science. Thus, the paper makes an attempt to contribute significantly to an increased body of knowledge regarding how scientists think and talk about science. Little has been documented about perceptions of nanotechnology regulation and responsibility in developing countries. Given the importance of perceptions in the genetically-modified foods debate, the way nanotechnology is perceived holds serious repercussions for the framing of its ethical, legal and social implications. Through a field-survey that records the opinions of leading Indian nanoscientists, the paper examines scientists' perceptions about nanotech-regulation. Such discussion is imperative to address technological risks and uncertainties. The paper further explores whether scientists have different views on what responsibility amounts to and under what conditions one is responsible. Though the study has considered Indian nanoscientists due to access issues, the research questions raised and addressed in this study are universal in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ratio-based prevalence and absolute headcounts are the two most commonly accepted metrics to measure the burden of various socioeconomic phenomenon. However, ratio-based prevalence, calculated as the number of cases with certain conditions relative to the total population, is by far the most widely used to rank burden and consequently for targeting, across different populations, often defined in terms of geographical areas. In this regard, targeting areas exclusively based on prevalence-based metric poses certain fundamental difficulties with some serious policy implications. Drawing the data from the National Family Health Survey 2015–2016, and Census 2011, this paper takes four indicators of child undernutrition in India as an example to examine two contextual questions: first, does the choice of metric matter for targeting areas for reducing child undernutrition in India? and second; which metric should be used to facilitate comparisons and targeting across variable populations? Our findings suggest a moderate correlation between prevalence estimates and absolute headcounts implying that choice of metric does matter when targeting child undernutrition. Huge variations were observed between prevalence-based and absolute count-based ranking of the districts. In fact, in various cases, districts with the highest absolute number of undernourished children were ranked as relatively lower-burden districts based on prevalence. A simple comparison between the two approaches—when applied to targeting undernourished children in India—indicates that prevalence-based prioritization may miss high-burden areas where substantially higher number of undernourished children are concentrated. For developing populous countries like India, which is already grappling with high levels of maternal and child malnutrition and poor health infrastructure along with intrinsic socioeconomic inequalities, it is critical to adopt an appropriate metric for effective targeting and prioritization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hundred years from the Bolshevik Revolution that shook the world, workers around the globe are facing new challenges. Throughout a long stretch of the global South, job creation is sluggish, real wages are stagnant, and working conditions are getting harsher and there is a growing disjoint between work and wealth. Against this backdrop, in this paper we flag the employment challenges facing India at present. Using a novel 4-quadrant compartmentalisation, we observe that the three major challenges are—absolute lack of employment opportunities; chronic unemployment and intermittent employment; and substantial underemployment and loss of person days. Two further related challenges are low returns from work and skill mismatch. All these markers have worsened in the last decade which also witnessed massive job loss for casual workers. This is perhaps a natural sequel to the economic boom built on mass casualisation of workforce over the previous two decades. At first sight of slowdown, the axe has fallen on these casual workers. Mismatch between sectoral shares in output and employment also causes wage disparity and aggravates inequality. With production increasingly set to become machine and AI driven, labour redundancy and skill mismatch is expected to worsen in coming years. We must press for a separate employment–incomes policy rather than continue with the false hope that economic growth will solve the employment conundrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Global) value chains have contributed to agricultural technology adoption in transition countries and food export commodities in developing countries through various forms of vertical coordination, often associated with FDI. Adoption of modern technologies in agriculture is crucial for improving the productivity and welfare of poor farmers. Much less is known about how (global) value chains do (not) affect technology transfer and/or adoption in staple food chains in developing countries, and the role that FDI plays. Our paper analyses the role of value chains and FDI in farm-level technology adoption with the use of panel data from representative farm surveys in 2008 and 2015 (a period of rapid growth) in the dairy sector in India (Punjab). We find important increases in the adoption of some technologies among traditional and poor dairy farms. However, the role of vertical coordination in value chains in stimulating technology adoption among these traditional dairy farmers seems to be minor, both for domestic and for FDI companies. At the same time a sub-sector of dynamic modern dairy farms has emerged. These farms are much larger, use only modern technology, and are fully integrated in vertically coordinated value chains that support these modern farms' management and investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the longer-term viability of the internationalization and success of Indian multinational enterprises (MNEs). We apply the 'dual economy' concept (Lewis, Manch Sch 22(2):139-191, ) to reconcile the contradictions of the typical emerging economy, where a 'modern' knowledge-intensive economy exists alongside a 'traditional' resource-intensive economy. Each type of economy generates firms with different types of ownership advantages, and hence different types of MNEs and internationalisation patterns. We also highlight the vulnerabilities of a growth-by-acquisitions approach. The potential for Indian MNEs to grow requires an understanding of India's dual economy and the constraints from the home country's location advantages, particularly those in its knowledge infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical experience suggests that a sustained rise in per capita incomes and improvement in employment conditions is not attainable without a structural transformation that moves surplus labour from agriculture and other informal economic activities to higher productivity activities in the non-farm economy. In this paper, I analyse India's performance from a cross-country comparative perspective, estimating the growth semi-elasticity of structural change. Using a cross-country panel regression, I estimate the effectiveness of growth in moving workers away from agricultural and informal activities as compared to other developing countries at similar levels of per capita income. I show that the performance in pulling workers out of agriculture is as expected given its level and growth of GDP per capita, but the same is not true for pulling workers out of the informal sector. I also propose the following five indicators that need to be kept track of when evaluating the growth process: the growth elasticity of employment, the growth semi-elasticity of structural change, the growth of labour productivity in the subsistence sector, the share of the organised sector in total employment and the workforce participation rate. Comparing these indicators across periods, states, regions or countries, allows us to understand which sets of policies have worked better than others to effective improvements in employment conditions. And taken together the indicators allow us to set structural change targets as well as to say whether the current pattern of growth is going to be sufficient to meet those targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of drug launch has been an under-researched area, especially in the context of developing countries, which have diverse disease profiles and weaker forms of regulation compared to developed countries. A limited set of studies, undertaken in recent years, on the diffusion of new drugs in developing countries indeed conjectures the importance of these factors in shaping drug launch dynamics. Taking a survival analysis approach, we investigate the delay of new drug launch in India for drugs launched in the German market during 1990-2004, when, due to weak intellectual property rights (IPR), not only the innovators but also domestic firms could launch new drug molecules in the country. The paper makes an attempt to distinguish between the commercial success of a new drug and its innovativeness. We find little association between these two characteristics of a drug. Also, the influence of global commercial success in shortening delay is much stronger than that of innovativeness. The study also finds interesting results for the threat of imposition of a strong IPR system, market structure and first mover advantages. Policy implications are discussed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Revolution is often seen as epitomising the dawn of scientific and technological advancement and modernity in the agricultural sector across developing countries, a process that unfolded from the 1940s through to the 1980s. Despite the time that has elapsed, this episode of the past continues to resonate today, and still shapes the institutions and practices of agricultural science and technology. In Brazil, China, and India, narratives of science-led agricultural transformations portray that period in glorifying terms—entailing pressing national imperatives, unprecedented achievements, and heroic individuals or organizations. These "epic narratives" draw on the past to produce meaning and empower the actors that deploy them. Epic narratives are reproduced over time and perpetuate a conviction about the heroic power of science and technology in agricultural development. By crafting history and cultivating a sense of scientific nationalism, exceptionalism, and heritage, these epic narratives sustain power-knowledge relations in agricultural science and technology, which are underpinned by a hegemonic modernization paradigm. Unravelling the processes of assemblage and reproduction of epic narratives helps us make sense of how science and technology actors draw on their subjective representations of the past to assert their position in the field at present. This includes making claims about their credentials to envision and deliver sustainable solutions for agriculture into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many developing countries, including India, governments have implemented programs for improvement of environment and health in rural settlements through the provision of a subsidized household toilet with specifications selected and benchmarked from the experts' perspective with only partial consideration of users' perception. Provision of household toilets with specifications or service quality as perceived by users is a requirement for the sustainability and sustained use of toilet infrastructure. Users do not judge only the overall quality of a service but also base their judgment on a few attributes which are either perceived to be relatively more important or where there is a wider gap between expectation and perception . This paper presents a review of the service quality attributes of the household toilet as found in the relevant literature and provides a step-by-step approach for identifying appropriate attributes based on users' perspective. While an initial list of attributes was developed based on literature review, initial selection and modifications of the attributes' definition and units were carried out as per our judgment. This list was further modified through focus groups discussions and incorporating expert opinions. The final list of attributes is selected based on the stated importance level of attributes as perceived by users. The study finds that the attributes prioritized by the users are different from the experts. While government policies emphasize on the construction of toilet, maintenance of toilet is found an important issue for the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies face a plethora of social, economic and environmental issues. On the one hand, these have adverse effects that negatively impact the overall development of such economies; and on the other, they offer challenges which when addressed, help these economies to chart a course of integrated and inclusive growth, thus providing them with an opportunity for national development. India is no different. It has rural Bharat on one side that is steeped in illiteracy, poverty on the one hand and, a literate, rich, glitzy, corporate, urban India on the other; thereby fortifying the predicaments of an emerging nation. This paper, through an analysis of the socio-economic dilemmas and challenges of an emerging nation like that of India and scrutinizing the roles and responsibilities of Corporations to combat such a quandary through CSR, introduces the 'Chatterjee Model,' that urges, from a policy-maker's point of view, that CSR should contribute to the national agenda of a country, helping it to accelerate its transition from an emerging to a developed nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of low fertility and early age at sterilisation on women's formal education and skill development in South India. Multilevel ordered-logit modelling of pseudo-cohort data re-organised from the three rounds of National Family Health Survey, and thematic analysis of qualitative data collected from Tamil Nadu and Kerala states showed no evidence of women's resumption of formal education or uptake of skill development training in the post-sterilisation and post-childcare period. While resuming formal education in the post-sterilisation and post-childcare period is harder to achieve for various individual, household, community and policy reasons, there is greater preparedness and support for women to undertake skill development training. As low fertility and early age at sterilisation are widely regarded as the emerging reproductive norm in India, post-sterilisation and -childcare women will be a significant population group both in number and in proportional terms. No government policies or programs have so far recognised this group. India's new government should consider targeted skill development programs for post-sterilisation and -childcare women appropriate to their social, economic and educational levels. An important contribution of the family planning program, particularly female sterilisation, for the economic and social development of the family and the wider society will otherwise be lost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Energy is a critical input for socio-economic development, and its strategy aims at efficiency and security. To provide access to environmentally friendly energy resources, the national biofuel policy targets cellulosic feedstocks which necessitates analysing feedstocks using holistic approaches. This paper studies the life cycle impact of ethanol production from cellulosic agricultural feedstocks. Methods: The difficulty of finding appropriate life cycle inventory data for the analysed biofuels in the Indian context is overcome by combining data from diverse sources such as journal articles, government reports and personal contact with farmers. Variation in these numbers across studies is captured by means of error bars. These data are used to calculate environmental sustainability metrics such as energy return on investment, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and life cycle water use for each fuel. Biomass sources considered in this work include cellulose from wheat stalk, rice husk, sorghum stalk, sugarcane bagasse and cotton stalk. These results are compared with ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice, which are the conventional approaches. Results and discussion: Results of the analysis indicate that sorghum stalk is most attractive due to its high energy return on investment, low greenhouse gas emissions, and low water and land use. Ethanol from rice husk has relatively high water use and greenhouse gas emissions, but these are within the margin of variability of other fuels. Despite the attractiveness of sorghum stalk from the current analysis, it is not likely that this will become a major feedstock for cellulosic ethanol in India. This is because farmers value sorghum as an animal feed and may not be willing to convert it into ethanol. Conclusions: This is the first life cycle study of Indian cellulosic biofuel pathways. The inventory data collected in this work is a novel contribution that should be useful for other studies. Findings from the analysis can help guide the decision-making process in the biofuel sector for India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 in compliance with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements which concluded in 1995. Article 22 of the TRIPs Agreement defines Geographical Indication as 'the indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin'. Many developing countries like India has enacted legislation for greater and stronger protection of GI in order to uplift the economic condition of the poor people those who contribute to many key products of export. Since the Act has been passed 15 years back and India registered its first GI, Darjeeling tea in 2004, the total registrations now have reached to 227 in number. The present paper re-examines the challenges ahead in implementation of the Act and to suggest further amendments to the Act for better protection to Indian indigenous knowledge and reputation of products originating from India. It also tries to identify what is further required to reap the benefits of registration and problematic areas like who can be a right applicant of a GI application, Part-B registration of beneficiaries, marketing of GI products, maintaining quality of the product and counterfeiting and enforcement mechanism. It is argued that India requires a coordinated effort of Central and State Governments, proprietors of GI and beneficiaries to protect and promote Indian GIs in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the conceptual development of a multi-domain, psychosocial model of 'Inner Wellbeing' (IWB) and assesses the construct validity of the scale designed to measure it. IWB expresses what people think and feel they are able to be and do. Drawing together scholarship in wellbeing and international development it is grounded in field research in marginalised, rural communities in the global South. Results from research in India at two points in time (2011 and 2013) are reported. At Time 1 (n = 287), we were unable to confirm an eight-factor, correlated model as distinct yet interrelated domains. However, at Time 2 (n = 335), we were able to confirm a revised, seven-factor correlated model with economic confidence, agency and participation, social connections, close relationships, physical and mental health, competence and self-worth, and values and meaning (five items per domain) as distinct yet interrelated domains. In particular, at Time 2, a seven-factor, correlated model provided a significantly better fit to the data than did a one-factor model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to conventional economic theory, countries tend to converge in economic and technological terms towards the leader. More recently, empirical approaches by economic historians (Abramovitz, Landes, Madison, Reinert) have found that while some countries are catching up, others are falling increasingly behind. Several theories compete to explain the precise mechanisms that explain how technological diffusion takes place. The paper reviews them and draws testable hypotheses for the study of international biotechnology diffusion. Biotechnologies are one of the leading sets of technologies developed in the late 20th century. They encompass applications in agriculture, chemicals, environment and pharmaceuticals. The United States has led the way in both scientific and industrial development of biotechnologies and these have quickly spread to Canada, Japan and Western Europe. Are the main developing countries adopting biotechnology? A study of the adoption of human health biotechnology in eight developing countries in Asia (China, India, Korea, and Singapore) and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico) was conducted, based on the analysis of in situ interviews, patents and scientific publication. The study shows a marked process of adoption and learning in science: each of the above-mentioned developing countries is increasing its share of world publication between 1996 and 2008. However, their share of biotechnology patents for the same period has barely increased. There are also regional differences in terms of sectoral concentration; Latin America, Argentina and Brazil are eager adopters of agricultural biotechnology and are moving up in the pharmaceutical records. Several Argentinean, Chinese, Indian, and South Korean pharmaceutical companies have been particularly active in the development of biogenerics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates transitions in monetary and multidimensional poverty using the 2006 and 2009 Young Lives surveys in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. While the headcount ratio in both measures of poverty decreases over time, there is only a small overlap between the groups in monetary and multidimensional poverty in either or both waves. Children remaining in monetary poverty are more likely to stay in multidimensional poverty. However, children escaping from monetary poverty do not always exit from multidimensional poverty. The results suggest the need to go beyond traditional monetary poverty indicators to understand and monitor poverty dynamics among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss a range of issues concerning developing country participation in current global climate change mitigation negotiations, especially India and China. We argue that the problem of redefining 'common yet differentiated responsibilities' in a way which allows developing countries room to pursue their individual development goals while still achieving the necessary level of carbon mitigation is central to the debate. The choice of negotiating instruments, effective technology transfer and financial support, and other related issues have been raised principally by China and India, and may also be raised by several other countries. Kyoto non-compliance by Annex 1 countries will also greatly impact the negotiating power of China and India and other developing countries. We conclude that, once basic principles are clearly defined, the greatest incentive for China and India to participate in climate change negotiations is the prospect of future negotiating rounds that can be linked to a large number of climate change related issues, such as intellectual property, the potential for financial transfers and trade/market access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Majority of global biodiversity databases lack sufficient coverage from the developing world and thus severely limiting their worldwide applicability. Bridging these knowledge gaps in global databases merits urgent research priority in biodiversity science. Here, we present Trees of India (ToI), Version-I, a comprehensive database assembled from an extensive literature synthesis of 313 studies published from 1872 to 2022. Based on the ToI database, we aimed to investigate the patterns of diversity, distribution, endemic and threat status of the tree flora of India. We recorded 3708 tree species across India, which raises the number by more than one-third (1199 species) previously reported for this mega-biodiverse country in GlobalTreeSearch (GTS). We found 93 species erroneously included for India as tree lifeform in the GTS. The distribution of the tree flora considerably varied across the states in India, with southern and eastern parts harbouring the highest tree diversity. We found evidence of distance decay in compositional similarity among the states in India. Our results reveal that 609 tree species are endemic to the country and 347 species are currently threatened. We also found a linear positive correlation between the endemic and threatened tree species pool of the country. Our data synthesis on the trees of India has huge policy and management implications in guiding biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation in this most populous country of the world. Looking ahead, our study showcases a model with learnings for other countries/regions/taxa to bridge the existing knowledge gaps in global biodiversity databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on unemployment in India has not given adequate attention to the analysis of unemployment spells. This paper attempts to fill this gap by focusing on the trends in the incidence and distribution of unemployment spells from 1993 to 2012. It was found that shorter unemployment spells of up to two months are more prevalent in rural areas, primarily for casual labour who experience a break in their employment due to lack of work. On the other hand, longer spells of more than 6 months are predominant in urban areas, experienced predominantly by young, well-educated population, who do not come from the poorest households, and do not have any previous job market experience. Further, the incidence as well as the contribution to longer durations of unemployment is higher in the eastern region and females are more likely than males to experience them. The author discusses the findings, their policy implications, and suggests ways to improve upon the available data so that it can help in developing a better understanding of the factors contributing to unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing nations aim to industrialize and grow sustainably often ignoring the environmental consequences. However, few empirical studies have looked at the influence of industrialization-driven economic transition on carbon footprint in developing nations using a non-parametric approach. In this milieu, on the ground of Kaya's identity and the novel multivariate quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) (extension of Sim and Zhou's (2015) bivariate QQR model), the present research studies the impact of industrial value-added (IGVA), population, energy intensity, and carbon intensity on CO2 emissions in India. This study is one of the first in the literature to evaluate the industrialization-carbonization nexus in the context of Kaya's identity for the Indian economy utilizing an innovative multivariate QQR approach, which makes a methodological and empirical addition to the literature. The outcomes of the multivariate QQR technique demonstrate that economic and environmental development requires continual long-run strategies. The empirical findings revealed that there is no authentication that India's carbon emissions increased due to its industrialization, which exhibited that IGVA has a negative and significant connection with CO2 emissions. In some quantiles, population size positively impacts CO2 emissions. On the other hand, carbonization in the Indian economy is asymmetrically affected by GDP per capita and energy and carbon intensity. The quantile Granger causality study further supported the aforementioned results. The current analysis also offers policy suggestions for environmentally friendly sustainable economic growth and to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, S50–S67; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.14 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement is a fundamental building and construction material for societies around the world. However, its manufacturing process is exceptionally energy intensive and has a substantial contribution to the man-made global warming potential which calls for immediate reduction. In this context, the implementation of green production practices and technologies in the Indian cement sector is of particular interest and global impact given that the country is the second biggest producer worldwide. Furthermore, the literature reveals that although the implementation of green practices in the cement manufacturing sector faces barriers across a variety of aspects, there is only limited research focussing on developing countries. This research covers this gap by concentrating on the barriers encountered by the cement sector of India and proposes strategies for their alleviation based on input from five experts and the use of the multi-criteria decision making method (MCDM) best–worst method (BWM). The results show that the lack of conducive corporate environment is the most important barrier, inadequate skills and attitudes are the second, while capital-related limitations come third. The experts highlight the need for mechanisms promoting cost effective environmental research and training as well as appropriate funding instruments and procurement rules from the government. Furthermore, a clear vision and plan from the management's part are fundamental for the effective incorporation of green practices in the organisational identity and the required employee engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the developing nations are moving towards attaining the sustainable energy future, the reliance on renewable energy solutions is rising. Therefore, the dependence on traditional fossil fuel-based solutions is getting reduced, and this might have an impact on the energy market commodities. Analyzing this impact might divulge several insights regarding the portfolio decisions, in presence of the transformations in developmental trajectory. In this study, we analyze the cross-quantile dependence of the returns on the energy market commodities and the market returns for Indian financial market over July 31, 2008 to March 31, 2020. For this purpose, we adopt a novel three-stage methodology comprising Dynamic Conditional Correlation GARCH, Cross-quantilogram, and Wavelet Coherence-based models. We find that the market returns have negative effect on returns on the energy market commodities. This impact has been found to be asymmetric in nature. Moreover, the moderating impact of policy uncertainty has been analyzed has been analyzed through partial cross-quantilogram approach, and the outcome shows that the impact remains same under extreme market conditions. The findings have significant portfolio decisions in an energy transition context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrates on the academic publishing sector within India, promoting three sites of resistance to historical (colonial) publishing processes identified as deficiencies for India's growing academic publishing market. For a framework, the research draws on postcolonial theory, particularly the body of work assessing the means by which large academic publishers tightly control access to scientific output in many developing countries. It argues that although the historical constraints to academic publishing in India are diminishing, careful socioeconomic planning, recognising the development of a unique digital culture in India, are pivotal for a revitalised, local academic publishing program to grow and succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is being identified in an ever-increasing number of countries, including many that are low or middle income (LMIC). Research conducted in these countries requires awareness of unique ethical issues. Drawing on the experience of two organizations that have been involved in conducting and collaborating in ASD research in India, we describe specific considerations in conducting epidemiological, genetic and treatment studies as well as general principles from the field of multinational clinical research as they apply to the conduct of ASD research. We argue that greater attention to ethical concerns will result in quality studies conducted in LMICs that are also of greatest relevance for families and children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the patterns of export productivity and trade specialization profiles in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and in other economic groupings and regions. Various measures of trade specialization and a time varying export productivity indicator are estimated using highly disaggregated export data. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the export productivity and specialisation patterns across countries and regions. Export productivity—and export sophistication—are in line to that of wealthier and more advance economies. The results further confirm the importance of not just the volume of exports, but the type of specialisation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developing countries have allocated significant amounts of funding for nanoscience and nanotechnology research, yet compared to developed countries, there has been little study, discussion, or debate over social and ethical issues. Using in-depth interviews, this study focuses on the perceptions of practitioners, that is, scientists and engineers, in one developing country: India. The disciplinary background, departmental affiliation, types of institutions, age, and sex of the practitioners varied but did not appear to affect their responses. The results show that 95% of the Indian practitioners working in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology research recognized ethical issues in this research area, and 60% of them could offer specific examples, which included possible ill effects on environment and human, use as a weapon, hype, professional ethics, laboratory testing on animals, cyborgs, widening the gap between rich and poor, self-replication, and longevity of human life. The results may offer opportunities for future cross-cultural research, as well as offer examples that can be used to raise the awareness of other practitioners in India and elsewhere regarding the importance of ethical issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quality improvement (QI) methods represent a vehicle for fostering locally initiated innovation cycles. We partnered with palliative care services from seven diverse practice settings in India to foster locally initiated improvement projects. Objective: To evaluate the implementation experiences of locally initiated palliative care improvement projects at seven diverse sites and understand the barriers and facilitators of using QI to improve palliative care in India. Participants: We use a quota sampling approach to capture the perspectives of 44 local stakeholders in each of the following three categories (organizational leaders, clinic leaders, and clinical team members) through a semi-structured interview guide informed by the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR). We use standard qualitative methods to identify facilitators and barriers to using QI methods in seven diverse palliative care contexts. Results: Across all sites, respondents emphasized the following factors important in the success of quality improvement initiative: leveraging clinic level data, QI methods training, provider buy-in, engaged mentors, committed leadership, team support, interdepartmental coordination, collaborations with other providers, local champions, and having a structure for accountability. Barriers to using QI methods to improve palliative care services included lack of designated staff, high patient volume, resources, patient population geographic constraints, general awareness and acceptance of palliative care, and culture. Conclusions: Empowering local leaders and medical personnel to champion, design, and iterate using QI methods represents a promising powerful tool to spread palliative care services in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service quality of household toilets is an important determinant of toilet adoption and sustained use in rural India. In many instances, household toilets constructed using subsidies provided under sanitation programs remain unused or used for other purposes because they fail to meet the users' expectations and preferences. The present study aims to analyze the service quality of household toilets based on expectations and preferences of households practicing open defecation in rural settlements of Gaya district of Bihar. This would contribute to improving the existing sanitation programs in India and other developing countries. The service quality of household toilets and preferences of attributes is analyzed using the stated importance, service quality gap analysis and willingness to pay for toilets with expected service quality. The results show that varying proportion of households expects improvement in many of the service quality of household toilet attributes specified under sanitation programs. The improvement in the capacity of disposal systems is considered as the most important attribute by most of the respondents. The households are even willing to pay for expected improvement in attributes of household toilets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-related uncertainty refers to the inability to predict the scale, intensity, and impact of climate change on human and natural environments. Debates of uncertainty in climate change have emerged as a 'super wicked' problem for scientists and policy makers alike. The article draws on ongoing research in different socio-ecological and cultural settings in India (Kutch, the Sundarbans and Mumbai) and introduces the heuristic of the 'above', 'middle' and 'below' to explore how climate change and uncertainty are understood and experienced by diverse actors. Responses from 'above' (especially by planners and policy makers) tend to be directed towards controlling uncertainty through top-down, techno-managerial solutions whereas scientists tend to rely on quantitative assessments and models based on probabilistic scenarios. These may have little to do with the experiences and lived realities of local people, especially in the global South, who are often at the frontline of climate change. Also at the local level, climate-related uncertainties seldom stand alone, rather they closely interact with other socio-economic drivers of change that create new uncertainties and vulnerabilities, especially for poor and powerless people constraining their adaptation choices. This article demonstrates deep differences in ways different actors understand and experience climate change and uncertainty. It argues that diverse knowledge and approaches need to be deployed to understand and embrace climate related uncertainties in order to facilitate socially just adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In developing countries such as India, inadequate importance and consideration given to assessment of health care facilities negatively affects progress towards achieving health targets. India has focused on developing Primary Health Centres (PHCs) for rural basic laboratory and curative services. The local decision-makers do not have any national-level framework to evaluate the vulnerability of PHCs which are not meeting national PHC standards, nor do they have resources to meet national PHC standards.Aim: The study proposed a framework to assess the public health care facilities for vulnerability.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed. The study used PHC laboratory services of 42 PHCs of Osmanabad District, India as a case study for proposed framework. The data assessment was carried out at district level, block level, PHC cluster level, and PHC level to provide flexibility to local decision-makers in taking remedial measures.Results: Staff workload (73.17%), physician’s need (51.22%), and organization structure (36.59%) are the most prevalent challenges across PHCs. Multiple challenges are prevalent in the PHCs across districts. The PHCs with poor medical doctor (MD) capability or many challenges have shown poor laboratory performance.Conclusion: Governance need to be strengthened in PHCs, followed by sustained support in resources and financing. Poor health status in developing nations necessitates a public health response based on health systems. Therefore, an assessment of health facility vulnerability in the form of laboratory services is essential in primary health care facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damages due to climatic extremes have gone up over the years, particularly in developing nations like India. Disaster-specific risk reduction measures have been adopted at both individual and policy levels to reduce potential impacts. At the same time, a variety of generic adaptation activities have also been undertaken. However, there is inconclusive empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing damages from climatic extremes, especially for the developing nations. This study, therefore, examines the influence of disaster-specific and generic adaptation measures in reducing the damages resulting from the climate extremes like cyclones and floods in India. A district-level analysis was carried out for the state of Odisha, India from 1999 to 2008 using fixed effects for OLS and negative binomial models. Controlling for the influence of exposure and population, three major findings emerge: (1) households and policy makers have learned from the previous disaster experiences, i.e. there is a 'learning effect', (2) the disaster risk management programme undertaken by the government has reduced the damages from climate extremes, and (3) generic adaptation interventions are helpful. Since the frequency and intensity of these events are likely to increase because of climate change, these results have policy implications in the context of reducing potential impacts now and in the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In developing countries, where traditional publishing faces enormous challenges, digital may work as an accelerator that could help local actors to skip a stage and position themselves at a much more advanced level. However, for domestic players to really benefit from the electronic era, it will be essential for them not to adopt systems implanted from outside on an as is basis, but rather to invest in new models better suited for the local people's expectations and requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and India are touted as new entrepreneurship powerhouses. The two countries' different institutional history and characteristics have led to differences in environments related to entrepreneurship. There are some well-founded rationales as well as a number of misinformed and ill-guided viewpoints about the friendliness of the environment to support entrepreneurship in each country as well as the China-India differences concerning entrepreneurial environment. This article contributes to this debate by offering theoretical and empirical evidence regarding the differences in regulative institutions in the two economies. Specifically, we compare the state's regulative, participative, and supportive roles from the standpoint of entrepreneurship in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant levels of prenatal depression are reported from the Indian subcontinent (25-45%). A wide variety of measures have been used to screen for prenatal depression in western research. However, little evidence exists on the use of such measures in the context of the developing world. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Kessler 10 Scale of Psychological Distress (K10) as screening measures for prenatal depression in rural South India. One hundred ninety-four women in their third trimester of pregnancy were assessed at a rural prenatal clinic in Karnataka, South India, using the EPDS, the K10 (scored 0-40) and a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview to establish a DSM-IV diagnosis of depression. Depressed women scored significantly higher on the EPDS and K-10 than controls. A receiver-operating characteristic analyses showed both scales to be good screening instruments for prenatal depression in rural South India at a cut-off of ≥13 on the EPDS (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 84.90%, and area under the curve = 0.95) and ≥6 on the K10 (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 81.30%, and area under the curve = 0.95). The EPDS and K10 have thus been shown to have equally good sensitivity and specificity in rural settings in the developing world at a cut-off score of ≥13 and ≥6, respectively. This study demonstrates the validity of the EPDS and K10 in screening pregnant women for depression during their prenatal check-ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment refusal and abandonment is the principal cause of therapy failure in children with cancer in the developing world. A complex interplay of biological, socio-economic and treatment-related factors underlies this problem. Interventions are likely to succeed when they try and address all of these issues simultaneously, as exemplified by the success of twinning programs linking resource-rich and resource-limited countries. Hitherto, there has been no systematic attempt to understand and address this problem in India. Based on the knowledge gained from research in other parts of the developing world, we offer suggestions for dealing with this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the densely populated semi-arid territory around Delhi, the water demand is rising continuously, while the surface- and groundwater resources are threatened by contamination and overexploitation. This is a typical scenario in many newly industrialising and developing countries, where new approaches for a responsible resources management have to be found. Bank filtration holds a great potential, thus being a low tech method and benefiting from the storage and contaminant attenuation capacity of the natural soil/rock. For this study, three field sites have been constructed to investigate bank filtration in different environments in and around the megacity with a main focus on inorganic contaminants. Hydraulic heads, temperature gradients and hydrochemistry of surface water and groundwater were analysed in three different seasons. Depending on site-specific conditions, distinct hydrogeological conditions were observed and both positive and negative effects on water quality were identified. Most concerning issues are the impact of anthropogenic ammonia, the mixing with ambient saline groundwater and the mobilisation of arsenic during the reductive dissolution of manganese- and iron-(hydr)oxides. Positive aspects are the dilution of contaminants during the mixing of waters from different sources, the sorption of arsenic, denitrification, and the precipitation of fluoride under favourable conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]