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Pulp and paper mills generate varieties of pollutants depending upon type of the pulping process being used. This paper presents the characteristics of wastewater from South India Paper Mill, Karnataka, India which is using recycled waste paper as a raw material. The raw wastewater consists of 80-90 mg L suspended solid and 1,010-1,015 mg L dissolved solid. However, pH varied from 5.5-6.8. The biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand ranged from 200-210 and 1,120-1,160 mg L, respectively. Aerobic treatment of raw effluent attribute to significant reduction in suspended solid (range between 25 to 30 mg L) and total dissolved solid (range between 360 to 390 mg L). However, pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity were found superior after treatment. Copper, cadmium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc were found in less quantity in raw effluent and were almost completely removed after treatment. The dendrogram of the effluent quality parameters clearly indicate that South India Paper Mill does not meet Minimal National Standard set by central Pollution Control Board to discharge in agricultural field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to track the research output of the 'Universities with CPEPA status in Karnataka' during 2010-2019 as considering the Web of Science database. The Karnatak University, Dharwad, Bangalore University, Bangalore, and the University of Mysore, Mysore have been selected. A total of 8952 documents have been retrieved consisting of journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, so on. A steady increase in research output has been observed. The University of Mysore (UMM) has the largest number of publications. The study shows that multi-authored papers have greater research influence in receiving citations. The study found the most productive authors and their production impacts in terms of the number of citations (ACPP) and also identified the most occurred keywords and journals used to publishing the research results. For visualisation purposes, VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R Package were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Daijiworld News" forum, a well-known news website in coastal Karnataka, was the source of the comments for this paper's sentiment analysis study, which was done on about 15,000 reader comments. The comments were scraped using Beautiful Soup, a popular web scraping library and labelled as positive, negative, and neutral. Pre-processing of comments was made using techniques such as stop word removal, tokenization, stemming, lemmatization, and lowercase conversion. Logistic regression, support vector machine (SVM), naive Bayes, random forest, K-nearest neighbors (KNN), AdaBoost, gradient boosting and neural networks was used for classification. Performance metrics including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score were evaluated. Logistic regression achieved the highest precision (0.75), recall (0.74), accuracy (0.74), and F1 score (0.74), followed closely by the neural network classifier with a precision of 0.670, recall of 0.670, accuracy of 0.670, and F1 score of 0.669. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of logistic regression and neural networks in sentiment analysis of news forum comments, giving insightful information to grasp public opinion and improving user engagement. The findings contribute to the field of sentiment analysis, emphasising the significance of web scraping and pre-processing techniques in enhancing sentiment classification accuracy. The results serve as a reference for researchers and practitioners, assisting in the selection of appropriate classifiers for sentiment analysis in similar contexts. The study encourages further exploration of advanced techniques to enhance sentiment classification accuracy in regional news forums, paving the way for future research in sentiment analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dāsarapada-s are compositions of Haridāsa-s of Karnataka. The Haridāsa-s were mainly followers of Shri Madhwacharya, who considered themselves as servants of their Supreme Lord – Hari. They composed various compositions on subjects like devotion. Their teachings covered a wide spectrum of philosophy, religion, ritual, theology, social reformation, ethical conduct etc. The purpose of these songs was to teach the common man about devotion and philosophy. They are mainly composed in simple Kannada language and few in Sanskrit. Music was used as the medium to make these ideas reach people. These were set to music and people learnt it as songs. This paper attempts to study the adaptation of a Dāsarapada in Karnataka classical music and Sugama Saṅgīta version, and to examine the musical elements of the song in both these versions. This is a case study of the Dāsarapada “Nānēke baḍavanu, nānēke paradēśi”, which has two popular versions – the Karnataka classical music, sung by M. S. Subbulakshmi and Sugama Saṅgīta version, tuned by Mysore Anantaswamy and sung by Pushpa Jagadish which was released as part of MSIL geethegalu by Lahari Bhavageethegalu & Folk – T-Series. The scope of this paper is restricted to the study of the above-mentioned two versions and the other musical adaptations of this song are not considered for this study. Data for this study comprises of recordings of the two versions of this song. Analysis has been carried out based on the following parameters – structure, melodic features, rhythmic features, instruments, synchronization of music and meaning in Karnataka classical music and Sugama Saṅgīta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Education Policy promotes moving from the conventional content-heavy and memorization learning practice towards holistic learning/integrated learning. It imparts a creative and multidisciplinary curriculum that focuses equally on curriculum and assessment. All educational establishments assess students using written examinations, quizzes, seminars, term paper writing, and course projects. A semester typically includes 4-5 courses, and students must earn credits for these courses by scoring a good Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). As course projects offer depth knowledge/holistic learning/lifelong learning of a course for the student, many courses include course projects as one of the activities in the course. If all the courses are intended to include course projects as a mandatory pedagogy, it will be difficult for students to acquire in-depth knowledge and required skills while also dealing with stress. So we are proposing an integrated learning framework by applying the theory and practices of two core courses- Software Engineering and Web Technologies to develop a web application. This integrated learning focuses on developing software development and software testing skills in computer science for undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor of engineering degree. This framework alleviated the pressure on students during placement and created job opportunities in software development. The framework consists of three important phases- The first phase includes the identification of the problem as a need for customers, writing requirements and analyzing the same. Students apply modular design principles and break down the codebase into distinct modules. This technique enhances code organization, reusability, and maintainability. The second phase focused on developing the front end by harnessing the power of Angular, a leading web framework, to craft a sleek and interactive user interface. The backend is built using Node.js, which serves as the foundation, enabling the software system to cater to highperformance server environments. These modules communicated seamlessly through well-defined APIs, facilitating the integration of various components within the application, ultimately delivering a seamless and responsive user experience. An industry expert conducted a workshop on Angular This paper was submitted for review on Sept 10, 2023. It was accepted on Nov, 15, 2023. Corresponding author: Padmashree Desai, Department, K.L.E. Technological University, Karnataka India. Address: Hubblii-580031 (e-mail: padmashri@kletech.ac.in). Copyright © YYYY JEET. and React to get hands-on experience. The third phase focused on software testing using appropriate testing tools such as Selenium, Jmeter, TestComplete and Appium to test the web application. A software testing workshop was conducted for students by industry experts to expose the students to designing test cases, test plans, and testing strategies. The hands-on experience on testing tools was provided during the workshop. Faculty reviews are conducted on each phase, and rubrics-based assessment is done on each phase. Approximately sixty teams created web-based applications for real-world scenarios. Positive aspects of the framework in feedback indicated that more than 87% of the students agreed that they could apply Software engineering principles and practices such as requirements management. modular design and testing in web applications. Also, more than 85% of students acquire skills from code-to-web design mastery by developing web applications in Angular Node.js and backend implementation. This framework helped to improve teamwork, presentation and communication skills. Confidence in software development improved to a greater extent. The design and implementation of the framework met the stated outcome of the courses. The student's academic performance improved by 10% compared to the previous year when students were not involved in the integrated project development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has surpassed China as the world's third largest importer of crude oil, surpassing it in mid-2020, and imports more than 84% of its oil requirements. India, as one of the world's largest and fastest-growing energy importers, has relied significantly on crude oil for both energy production and consumption. Historically, rising fuel costs and rising demand for gasoline have been difficult for the general people. This explores activities to discover the sources and effects of escalating charges these days, which are harming the entire financial system, and to provide ways to deal with this externality. This paper attempts to find out the assertive analysis of the effect on fuel price rising in consumption Belagavi city of Karnataka state. The data for the study is collected through Questionnaire with 154 sample sizes of Belagavi people and SPSS is used for analysing the collected data. Finally this research paper which helps to analyse the impact on Rising Fuel Price in Belagavi City proves so and it gives the further researcher to analyse or study over comparison of fuel prices and electrical Vehicles or even public transport system. The analysis found that the increasing fuel price would have a devastating impact on the transportation sector. The government should preserve those sectors which exposed the largest impact from the increasing of the fuel price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This abstract delves into the pressing social challenge of limited access to affordable agricultural technologies among farmers in Navalur, Karnataka, India. Specifically, the study concentrates on the labour-intensive and time-consuming process of manual seed sowing, which not only hampers efficiency but also takes a toll on the physical well-being of farmers, especially those engaged in small-scale agricultural activities. To tackle these issues, this paper proposes the development and implementation of a novel solution -- a seed sowing bot. The primary objective of this technological innovation is to alleviate the laborious aspects of seed sowing, offering a potential respite to farmers. The significance of addressing the gap in accessible agricultural technologies cannot be overstated, as it holds the key to empowering farmers, augmenting agricultural productivity, and contributing to sustainable rural development in Karnataka. By automating the seed sowing process, the proposed bot not only reduces the physical burden on farmers but also promises to enhance overall productivity. The abstract highlights the trajectory of conceptualization, creation, and evaluation of the seed sowing bot, showcasing its capability to effectively minimize manual labour while optimizing agricultural outcomes. The results underscore the feasibility and advantages of introducing this cost-effective technological solution to the farming community in Karnataka. In conclusion, this paper advocates for the adoption of the seed sowing bot as a strategic step towards addressing the challenges faced by farmers and promoting agricultural sustainability in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kodagu is a distinctly recognizable bioregion in the southern region of Karnataka. It has three wildlife sanctuaries: the Brahmagiri, Talakaveri, and Pushpagiri, and one national park: the Nagarhole National Park. It is dominated by the coffee-forest landscapes and is home to Kodava speaking communities. Kodava cultural traditions and practices have been transmitted orally from generation to generation. The people of Kodagu (Coorg) worship Nature, their ancestors, river Kaveri and 'Devarakadu' (sacred groves). Talakaveri, Triveni Sangama, Iruppu falls, Rameshwara temple are principal heritage sites and focal points of various cultural practices and festivals. 'Kailpodh', 'Puthari', Kaveri Sankramana are distinctive festivals celebrated around the seasons for rice cultivation. Traditional attire and food practices are unique to the region and strongly tied to the mythological anecdotes with Kaveri River. To understand the human-environment relationship shaping the unique vernacular community of Kodavas, this study includes-understanding the changes in the cultural practices and social geography of Kodagu community. Mixed Method approach has been adopted to understand the intangible cultural practices, history and traditions of the people through literature study and interviews with members of Kodava community. For understanding the changing social geography-urban morphological changes have been reviewed that reveal the many drivers of change including-climate change, tourism, urbanization, policies and demography shifts. This paper concludes the different aspects where mitigation is required to support and manage the distinctive human-Nature relationship conserved in the vernacular community of Kodavas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total solar eclipses occur nearly every 18 months at some place on the Earth but for any given location, it is a rarest of the rare events. In our quest for the records of solar eclipses in Indian inscriptions, chronicles and literature since Antiquity until the close of the nineteenth century, we have come across only very few references where the eclipse is stated as total. In this paper we focus on one such reference, the so-called Kurtakoti Plates from Karnataka, where there is a Grant made on the occasion of a total eclipse of the Sun. The Grant was attributed to the seventh century Chalukyan king Vikramaditya I. Being a copper plate Grant, doubts were raised over its genuineness. The Kurtakoti copper plates may be a later reproduction of the original plates, which may have been damaged or lost. We find that there indeed was a total solar eclipse over Kurtakoti, on 21 April 627 CE, that can fit the Grant. However, it occurred in the times of the King's father, the great Chalukyan King Pulikesi II with whom the details as given in the Grant are more consistent. This eclipse is an independent corroboration of his date of ascension being 610-611 CE. There is no known Indian historical record mentioning an eclipse of the Sun as total but datable still earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are innumerable records on stone and metal found in India detailing grants of land and donations made by kings and chieftains to Brahman priests, many on the occasions of eclipses and on the cardinal days. In this paper we investigate one such grant, first written about by Henry Colebrooke in 1809. It is from Gauj, the modern Gowthamapura in Shivamogga district in Karnataka state. Spread over three copper plates, the inscription is in mixed Sanskrit and Kannada and records a charitable grant of several villages made to thirty-two thousand Brahmans on the occasion of a sarpa yagna (snake-sacrifice) and a solar eclipse by Janaméjaya, the Puranic monarch who reigned over Hastinapur at the commencement of Kaliyuga. The eclipse was in the lunar month of Chaitra, on a Sunday, in Asvini naksatra. The grant further specified the circumstances such as Vyatipata (pata – aspect), and that on the following day the naksatra was Bharani and the karana (the half-tithi) was Kimstughna. These specifications make it the rarest of the rare eclipses. However, there is no eclipse mentioned in Janaméjaya legends, so was the eclipse in the grant genuine or an invented one? There were attempts made in the 1860s to identify the eclipse and possibly date the grant, but the identifications are not valid. In this paper we examine all such eclipses that occurred between 601 and 1699 CE and were visible from India. There are six such eclipses, in 712, 739, 851, 1027, 1372 and 1548 CE. Of these, we find the eclipse of 1027 CE as historically the most suitable one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of systematic investigations on the gamma dose rates in air, natural radioactivity in soil and the dependence of radioactivity on the mineralogy of soils in the environs of the Belagavi, Karnataka, India. The gamma dose rates were measured using a portable survey metre and the activity in soils were measured using NaI(Tl) based gamma ray spectrometer and the mineral composition was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. The activity of 40K varies from 72.52 to 324.76 Bq kg−1 with an average of 153.17 Bq kg−1. The 226Ra activity varies from 16.53 to 70.53 Bq kg−1 with an average value of 23.88 Bq kg−1 and the activity of 232Th varies from 10.95 to 59.07 Bq kg−1 with an average value of 25.75 Bq kg−1. Elevated levels of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soils were observed in some part of Belagavi, which was traced to the mineralogy of the region. The higher activity of natural radionuclides poses radiological implications to the population of the region. The activity utilisation index was found to be is above the normal levels in some locations. The pattern of distribution of radionuclides in the region was studied using SPSS statistical software. The soil with clay minerals Haematite, Calcite, Kalonite, Albite and Feldspar showed higher radionuclide content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution and climate change have become a burning issue presently in the globe. The study was conducted to evaluate the environmental education, awareness, and environmental ethics among the pre-university students at various colleges in Mysore city. The questionnaires were prepared and circulated and presently a sample of 35 students (boys= 37% and girls = 63%) results have been analysed in the present research paper. To gauge the environmental awareness among the students. A set of questions was prepared and divided into three sections namely, attitude towards the environment, environmental awareness, and environmental education. The proposed prospective study's statistical analysis will focus on environmental awareness among pre university students. The sample size is calculated by using simple random sampling techniques. Once a set of questionnaire responses were analysed, it was found that approximately eighty percent of the students gave the questionnaire an excellent response. Their decisions had the goal for bettering the environment and reduce pollution. In conclusion, environmental awareness is an advantage for kids and can contribute to Mother Earth's sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) was used as a super food from ancient times. In recent days with increase in the health awareness throughout the world, it demands for healthy food, using chia seeds in daily diet may prevent many diseases (diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular). Chia was domesticated almost 4,500 years ago in Mesoamerica and it was used as food and medicine. Chia seed is composed of high dietary fibre (18-30%), ash (4-5%), protein (15-25%), fats (30-33%), lipids (31-35%), carbohydrates (26-41%), minerals, vitamins and a high amount of antioxidants. It is having higher concentration of PUFAs (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids) of omega-3 (58-64% of the total lipids) and omega-6 essential fatty acids. Notably, chia seeds are free of gluten. It may be added to other foods as topping materials. Nutritional composition and health benefits of chia are presented here to create awareness. In recent years, India is one of the major producers and exporters of chia. Karnataka alone occupies more than 50 per cent of area of our country. Research on chia is gaining momentum for increasing productivity, but crop improvement research is lacking because of limited germplasm in this crop. Chia seeds are among the majorly exported commodities as the production of the commodity is limited to a few geographies. However, the COVID pandemic has increased the health consciousness among consumers, which has opened an opportunity for super foods, including chia seeds. This factor is anticipated to propel the market during the 2020-26. The Global Chia Seeds Market is projected to grow at a significant rate of 8.86 per cent from 2019 to 2024 to reach a market value of USD 450 million by the end of 2024. Information contained in this review can be useful for health conscious people who want to be healthy through natural foods. This paper describes the huge nutritional and therapeutic potential of chia seed to make it the part of an average diet for better health and longevity. Present scenario in the country and future market potential in the country are also reviewed. Successful cultivation of chia crop in India will improve economic condition, living standards and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 56 groundwater samples were taken from diverse sources in Bangalore Urban district during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons to measure the uranium concentration and its correlation with different water-quality parameters. The uranium concentration varied from 0.94-98.79 µg/L during the pre-monsoon season and from 1.38-96.52 µg/L during the post-monsoon season. Except for a few readings, all were within the safe limit of 60 µg/L as prescribed by India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Owing to its slightly higher concentration, a study on the radiological and chemical risks that are caused due to the ingestion of uranium was assessed. Based on the radiological aspect, cancer mortality and its risks were assessed, wherein all of the samples were well within the acceptable limit of 10-4; therefore, consuming these water samples was radiologically safe. However, when the risk that was caused by chemical toxicity was assessed, a few samples exceeded the hazard quotient (HQ) value of more than 1, thus illustrating that individuals were vulnerable to chemical risk. This paper features assessments of uranium and its risks to public health in groundwater samples if it exceeded the safe limit. Additionally, it recognizes the value of periodically assessing and treating the area's drinking water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a systematic investigation of the natural radioactivity in rock samples of Davanagere locality, Karnataka, India. The radioactivity in rocks was measured using the NaI(TI) gamma-ray spectrometer. An effort was made to identify the minerals present in rock samples by FTIR spectroscopy. The activity of 232Th, 226Ra and 40K radionuclides in rocks vary from 27.96 ± 1.00 to 103.85 ± 1.90, 50.89 ± 1.98 to 135.28 ± 3.15 and 512.46 ± 4.86 to 974.31 ± 7.05 Bq kg−1with a mean value of 59.79 ± 1.45, 85.79 ± 2.54 and 787.03 ± 6.19 Bq kg−1, respectively. Radiological hazard parameters such as radium equivalent activity, external and internal hazard indices absorbed dose rate, ELCR for indoor exposure and annual effective doses for different body organs were estimated. The activity of natural radionuclides were found to be high compared to the national and world average values. However, the hazard indices were found to be within the recommended limits. The Quartz, Calcite and Kaolinite extinction coefficients in rocks ranged from 87.37 to 121.73, 31.43 to 119.14, and 33.10 to 63.97, respectively. The radionuclide activity concentration was found to depend on the kaolinite and calcite minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth in petrol and diesel-powered vehicles has resulted in significant increases in tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, both of which harm public health in Indian cities. Furthermore, India's dependence on imported fuel to transport people and goods threatens its fuel security. Therefore, electric mobility has been sought to deal with these issues. The governments have framed several plans and policies to promote electric vehicles (EVs) and achieve the target of EV30@30. However, EV adoption in Indian states has been slow. Therefore, this paper aims to estimate the number of EVs needed to be registered to achieve the desired target by 2030 by taking a case study of four states: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat. The vehicular registration data used in this paper has been obtained from the government database. The study looks at the EV adoption rates of passenger vehicles such as two-wheelers, cars, auto-rickshaws (including e-rickshaws), and buses. According to the findings, the average annual share of passenger EVs is less than 2% in Delhi, less than 1% in Uttar Pradesh, and less than 0.5% in Karnataka and Gujarat during the study period. According to the models' estimates, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka will need to register 0.31 million, 1.51 million, 0.88 million, and 0.79 million passenger EVs, respectively, in FY 2030–2031 to achieve a 30% EV share of total registrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to assess the growth of research publications and citations of engineering colleges affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi based on Scopus database. It is attempted to analyze parameters like the growth of research output among rural and city colleges i.e. geographical distribution of publications, pattern of research communication, share of national and international collaboration across Karnataka and high productivity institutions and top highly published journals and cited papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The fundamental principles of healthcare practices and policies are derived from good quality research. Doctors collectively are a source of vast sums of invaluable information. This information if effectively utilized can improve and strengthen the healthcare system. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem of an Indian medical researcher. Objectives: To understand (1) the obstacles faced by medical professionals (2) the challenges encountered at various steps (3) the gaps in research knowledge and (4) the means to rectify them. Method: Doctors from medical schools, hospitals, and in private practices were approached. Data were collected through online and physical questionnaire. Data were analyzed and studied. Results: The total number of participants in this study is 212. Case reports (51.9%) and case-control studies (51.14%) are the most frequently conducted types of research. Lack of access to research journals (43.9%) and absence of proper guidance or mentorship (37.39%) are the commonly faced challenges among individuals who have pursued research, whereas busy schedule is the top-cited reason for not pursuing research (34.24%) and discontinuing research (57.4%). Coordinating time schedule with mentees is a challenge for mentors (49.2%). Doctors also face the greatest difficulty (48.12%) and delay (47.4%) in the publication process. On the other hand, personal interest (60.15%) and job requirement (46.61%) are the top facilitators for research. A small percentage has or knows someone that has plagiarized (21.32%) or falsified data (33.49%). Most of the doctors agree that research experience should be a mandatory part of undergrad training (81.6%). Conclusion: We believe interest, impact and importance of research can be the best developed and emphasized in the training years. Institutional support, adequate mentorship and an uplifting research environment can go a long way in motivating the doctors and tackling the challenges they face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper intends to discuss the theoretical aspects of panchayat raj system in India in general and the growth of panchayat raj systems in Karnataka in particular. It also focuses on the provisions for weaker sections in 73rd Amendment Act, and in subsequent panchayat raj Acts passed in Karnataka. It analyses the status of weaker sections in Chickballapur District’s panchayat raj institutions. The objective of this paper is to discuss the status of representatives of weaker sections. In order to assess the effective functioning of weaker section’s representatives in panchayat raj institutions after 1993 Act of Karnataka, the case study and analytical methods have been employed in this study. In the study the collected sample is 200 in total, covering of three types of panchayat raj institutions. The caste wise distribution of sample included, 80 belonging to SC, 45 from ST and 75 from OBC. Based on the information collected from the field the findings have been made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the government of India provides for the creation of durable assets. The individual assets creation is helping the farmers in different ways. The current study's focus is on the role of individual asset creation through MGNREGA and how the programmes/schemes are helping the farmers. During 2019-2020, in India as a whole, a total of 18,60,419 individual assets were created. In the case of Karnataka state in particular, 66,259 individual assets were created. The total assets (individual) created in Karnataka thus formed a significant share. Based on the number of man-days generated by a district, this study divided the districts into high performance and low performance districts. In Karnataka, out of 30 districts, the study selected 10 high performance and 10 low performance districts and one high population district. In each district, one Gram Panchayat (GP) was selected and in each GP, 30 beneficiary households were selected through transit walks in our field visit during the three-year period identified for the study, i.e., 2016-2017, 2015-2016 and 2014-2015. The total sample size was 630. The main objective of the current paper is to investigate how the asset creation has helped the farmers in Karnataka. The main findings of the study are: Nearly half of the households benefited by assets creation during our study. Secondly, the total land cultivation increased. A small number of households benefited from horticulture assets creation and sericulture under the MGNREGA scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education system in India is fast developing; educational institutes and various government departments conduct different types of exams in India to select the ideal candidates. Millions of students attend these exams every year to get jobs. The aspirants are required to use essential information resources to prepare for competitive examinations. In recent years, public libraries have become the primary source of resources for students, job seekers, and the general public. As a result, the current study examines the use of public libraries in the preparation for competitive examinations through a comprehensive evaluation of academic research papers. This research article also emphasizes how Competitive Examination resources are used in public libraries. The main purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the use of public libraries in preparation for competitive exams. However, this manuscript provides a good understanding for new researchers who wish to conduct research in this field and facilitates effective data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most paddy plant diseases, the leaf is the primary source of information for image-based disease identification and classification. Image segmentation is an important step in the plant disease analysis process. It is used to separate the normal part of the leaf from the disease-affected part of the leaf. In this paper diseases like Bacterial leaf blight (BLB), Brown spot (BS), and Leaf smut (LS) are segmented using existing, K-means clustering, the Otsu thresholding method. Color space-based segmentation is newly proposed for paddy disease analysis. The intelligence of segmentation techniques is evaluated using the Error Rate (ER) and Overlap Rate (OR) across the three paddy diseases namely, BLB, BS, and LS. The results were compared among the Otsu, K-means and color thresholding segmentation techniques. The results revealed that the color thresholding method using the Lab model emerged as a novel segmentation method for all three paddy diseases with an average ER and OR of [0.36, 0.95]. The proposed work is carried out in the Department of Electronics and Communication research center at Ballari Institute of Technology and Management, Ballari, Karnataka during the period from August 2022 to February 2023 with the expert suggestions of the plant pathologist, from the University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad, Karnataka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several factors which are responsible for the overall development of an economy. Among all such sectors, the real estate sector is a significant one. In order to understand the exact contribution of this sector, it's important to get an idea of its earnings. This can be determined from the final prices of the housing properties through which the earnings can be identified at the sales point. Here in this paper we have highlighted the key variables which help to influence the final housing prices. This will also help to exactly determine the importance of each variable in the process of the contribution to the total earnings of the housing sector. The data collection of the study is based on a structured questionnaire which has been further associated with an interview process. The sample consists of 400 builders from 4 major real estate hubs of Karnataka. However, secondary data sources have also been included for certain information. The statistical tool used here comprises Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test (where it is found necessary). The results highlighted from the data analysis and interpretation section shows that the majority of the variables which influence the prices of properties belong to factors like project amenities and legal documents. However, few variables also belong to the eco-friendly amenity factor. The current paper is an initiative to identify the major or the key variables which ultimately influence the real estate housing prices. This will help to understand the importance of the significant variables and will be helpful for further statistical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word "displacement" is typically not associated with cultural heritage sites, but in this paper I draw on ethnographic vignettes to foreground the process at the Hampi World Heritage Site, Karnataka, India. I further argue that displacement onsite is not merely a singular event of the past but an ongoing everyday reality for the site's residents. I situate my critique within critical conservation studies scholarship and recognize two sociopolitical realities. One, heritage authorities, experts, and enthusiasts are for the most part caring and knowledgeable; and two, the relations of power among Hampi's resident communities are unequal. Not all resident groups are equally powerless; some do manage to exert considerable agency. However, such recognition does not exclude the everyday reality that, in the name of site conservation-management, UNESCO's World Heritage label has led to the constitution of a heritage regime that steadily (re)shapes the Hampi landscape and its residents as governable subjects through its everyday bureaucracy of care. Such an outcome is contrary to the conservation intent that residents as citizens would become part of UNESCO World Heritage Site conservation-management. I suggest this is partly due to the visual aesthetic gaze of expertise and partly due to how such landscapes are imagined by various social actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The horrifying and fast spreading COVID-19 pandemic has shocked India and in fact the entire world to its core. Indian Government has taken all the possible preventive steps to contain the wider spread of this highly contagious disease but the second wave in the month of April, 2021 has turned this strong country in a helpless position. In this paper, the effect of environmental factors like temperature and air quality index on the new confirmed cases along with recovered cases has been seen in Bengaluru Urban district of Karnataka State of India. Regression analysis has been carried out with the help of SPSS software. The outcomes from the paper will definitely give some valuable insights for the researchers around the world in their future combat measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern urban economies, in struggle to keep up with the pace of economic growth are suffering from issues of sustainability in transportation, imposing huge costs on the economy. Major reasons for the unsustainability in transportations can be listed as, a) issue of accessibility, b) lack of efficiency and c) diminishing air quality. This paper tries to evaluate these issues for megacities of India from dimensional principles of sustainability. The paper tried to evaluate the indicators of sustainability by adopting the famous three-dimensional principles to the major mega cities of the country. The findings from this paper are quite interesting to note that, the major mega cities are suffering from unsustainable transport system. To have a deeper look, Bengaluru, emerging mega city of Karnataka, is analysed by bringing new dimension called, institutional sustainability. By evaluating, economic, social, environmental and institutional sustainability with relevant benchmarks, the result showed that, in all respect mega cities of India and more specifically, Bengaluru city is experiencing unsustainable growth of transport sector which needs urgent attention of the policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing student migration for Higher Education to Karnataka, it is important to understand the reasons which influence the migrants. Studies have indicated various push and pull factors for migration. This paper identifies career opportunities, value for education, brand equity, living conditions and others as pull factors of student migration using exploratory factor analysis. Further, the paper develops a structural equation model using a partial least square technique based on the factors explored. The research is based on primary data collected from students who migrated to Karnataka for Higher Education. The partial least square structural equations model shows that job opportunities and academic progression are the main factors influencing the decision to migrate to Karnataka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the four specific dimensions, namely financial support, Government support, personal traits factors contributing to success, and challenges faced by rural women entrepreneurship. The focus was on the SME sector in Bengaluru, rural India. This paper uses a quantitative research methodology with a structured questionnaire. Data were collected using the face-face interview to study the fifty respondents of rural women entrepreneurs. The study highlights that Financial support, Government support, and personal traits play a significant role in encouraging rural women to engage in entrepreneurial activities and influence decisions. Each factor being interrelated, achieving the integration among them will considerably enhance entrepreneurial success. The main limitation is the narrow scope, emphasizing only four factors and their interrelations. There are implications for further work on other types of capital. The study being SMEs specific limits generalization. It contributes insights into the need for MSMEs examinations in the review of the literature. Rural women's entrepreneurship needs align with understanding government and institutional financial supporting factors and their interrelations. The role of Government and other institutions varies between prior and non-prior entrepreneurial experience. This study provides information on the role of Government and institutional financial support factors on rural women entrepreneurship. It contributes to a better understanding of how each variable is accumulated and utilized in rural women entrepreneurship development using SMEs' perspective in Bengaluru Rural, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bidri handicraft in India, patronised by Bahamani kings, dates back to the fifteenth century and is nowadays under operational and socio-economic threats. The craft is made of zinc alloy, which poses scientific challenges in the areas of metallurgy, metal oxidation, and surface science. In the present paper, the art, owing to its scientific enigma, is under scrutiny, wherein the handicraft mandates the use of Bidar Fort (in Karnataka, India) clay, which bestows the handicraft its characteristic matt-black patina. The fort is a heritage conservation site and thus poses a threat to the perennial practice of handicraft. Therefore, it is imperative to document the patina and fort clay. Thus, morphological and chemical characterization of Bidri artefact surfaces was accomplished using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF); besides, elemental characterization of Bidar fort clay was accomplished using SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). This study is significant, as it is one of the initial works to scientifically document Bidri handicraft surface and clay, besides laying the foundation for future studies; a step to conserve the handicraft; and a step to prevent the deterioration of the Bidar fort monument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at a case of rural‐to‐rural movement of agrarian capital in southern India and the ways in which capital–labour relations are reworked to maintain oppressive forms of exploitation. Faced with an agrarian crisis, capitalist farmers from affluent communities of Wayanad, Kerala, take large tracts of land for lease in the neighbouring state of Karnataka and grow ginger based on price speculation. Landless Adivasis from Wayanad have served as labourers on these ginger farmlands for the past three decades. Recently, farmers have shifted to employing labourers from a Scheduled Caste (SC) from Karnataka. The change happened not just because of the lower wages the SC labourers were willing to work for but also because of the farmers' inclination to move away from Adivasis who have been resisting the poor working conditions on the farm. The story resonates with the broader dynamics of agrarian–labour relations amidst capitalist expansion and highlights the centrality of socio‐political factors at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demand of the growing population, there exists pressure on food production. In this context, appropriate prediction of crop yield helps in agricultural production planning. Given the inability of the traditional linear models to provide satisfactory prediction performance, there is a need to develop a crop yield prediction model that is simple in complexity, accurate in prediction, and less time-consuming during training and validation phases. Keeping these objectives in view, the present paper focuses on building an adaptive, low complexity, and accurate nonlinear model for the prediction of crop yield. A time series dataset for the period 1991–2012 of Karnataka, a southwestern state of India, is used for yield prediction. An empirical nonlinear relation between crop yield and the four independent attributes has been obtained from the proposed ANN model. The independent attributes employed are total rainfall, the cumulative distribution of temperature, the proportion of irrigated land, and the average amount of fertilizer used. It is demonstrated that the developed model exhibits better prediction accuracy, less root mean square error in the range of 0.07–0.14, less mean square error in the range of 0.01–0.04, and mean absolute error in the range of 0.07–0.15 compared to its corresponding linear regression model. It is recommended that the proposed ANN model can also be applied to predict other agricultural products of the same or other geographical regions of the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of data analytics on large-scale government administrative data — that belong to various domains like education, transport, energy, and health — can be enhanced by retrieving pertinent documents from diverse data sources. Without a supporting framework of metadata, big data analytics can be daunting. Even though statistical algorithms can perform extensive analyses on a variety of data with little help from metadata, applying these techniques to heterogeneous data may not always result in reliable findings. Recently, semantics-aware (or semantic search) search techniques received much attention as they utilize implicit knowledge to enhance the search. Similarly, traditional search engines rely on the inherent linkages within the underlying data model to improve their search quality. In the case of general-purpose information retrieval systems, to gather information from the internet (open access data) or to access open government administrative data, a domain agnostic ontology shall be employed to supply background knowledge. This paper draws on research undertaken by the authors at IIIT Bangalore Center for Open Data Research (CODR) in developing a semantics-aware data lake framework to host and analyze government administrative data. In this study, we present an ontology-based document retrieval solution where an ontology serves as an intermediary to close the gap between what the user seeks and what the search retrieves. Although our study settings are based on the Government of Karnataka (GoK, India), we believe the findings have wider resonance. Our experimental results based on agricultural data from the GoK look promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nature and magnitude of environmental problems, causes and impacts on the drinking water supply. Drinking water is a basic requirement for life and a determinant of standard of living. However, besides government efforts, supply and demand side factors of both surface and ground water determine the level of drinking water available to people. The supply and demand factors increase with the natural and human factors like pollution. This limits drinking water supply provision and raises the delivery cost. Decline in groundwater table and availability of surface water, particularly in the summer months, has put large number of people in risk for drinking water. Poor water quality problem has also been observed in more number of habitations. Inadequate resource management and institutional system seems to be the major causes for the present problems. The study observes that activities like operation and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, water quality monitoring, ground water conservation and rain water harvesting measures have to be implemented for better provision of drinking water supply. Further, an integrated institutional system for water quality monitoring and ground water recharging seems to be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is based on the bibliometric analysis of 161 articles published in 09 volumes (24-32) of 18 issues of Indian Journal of Agricultural Library and Information Services (IJALIS) for the period of nine years (2008-2016). This article brings out the results of a bibliometric study carried on all the issues of the source journal (IJALIS) on various parameters such as authorship pattern, gender wise distribution of papers, length of papers, average number of references, volume & issue wise average papers, geographical distribution of articles, range of reference cited and most prolific authors of the journal. The study finds that on an average, 18 research articles were published per volume in a year during the period of study, whereas, maximum number (39.75%) of articles was two authored followed by single authored (32.36%). Karnataka begged the top rank among all the 20 contributed states of India from where maximum number of contribution in the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the concentration of uranium in 67 groundwater samples of Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India, estimated using an LED fluorimeter. The age-dependent ingestion dose to the population of the district is also studied. The concentration of uranium in groundwater varied from 0.20 to 57.50 μg L−1 with an average of 4.40 μg L−1. The annual ingestion dose due to uranium varies from 0.18 to 142.68 μSv y−1, with an average of 7.11 μSv y−1. The ingestion dose received by the population in the study area is less than the recommended level of 100 μSv y−1 by the World Health Organization (2011). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girls' education has for many decades been central to the global development agenda, due to its positive impact on girls' health and wellbeing. In this paper, the authors revisit boys' attitudes, behaviours and norms related to girls' education, following the Samata intervention to prevent girls' school dropouts in Northern-Karnataka, South India. Data were collected from 20 boys in intervention villages before and after the intervention, and analysis was undertaken using a thematic-framework approach. Findings suggest that while boys did hold some attitudes and beliefs that supported girls' education and delayed-marriage, these remained within the framework of gender-inequitable norms concerning girls' marriageability, respectability/family-honour. Participants criticised peers who sought to jeopardise girls' respectability by teasing and community gossip about girls-boys' communication in public. Boys who rejected prevailing norms of masculinity were subjected to gossip, ridicule and violence by the community. Boys' attitudes and beliefs supported girls' education but were conditional on the maintenance of gendered hierarchies at household and interpersonal levels. Social norms concerning girls' honour, respectability and the role of boys as protectors/aggressors appeared to influence boys' response to girls' school dropouts. Future interventions aiming to address girls' education and marriage must invest time and resources to ensure that intervention components targeting boys are relevant, appropriate and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nation's all over development and growth can be attained when women is treated equivalent to men in the progress of an economy. Rural poverty is the main drawback for women empowerment in rural area. Empowering women by providing financial assistance, awareness about self-employment and independence in making decision can alleviate rural poverty. For attaining women empowerment in rural areas Government and NGO's have taken initiation by forming Self-help groups since, from last four decades. The paper discusses about the schemes available in Government under the SHG's for promoting women empowerment. Secondary source was used in the study to know the performance of SHG's in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is home to many different cultures, traditions and customs articulated and represented by different ethnic groups, communities and castes. The cultures have emerged in India through the development of indigenous civilizations and the arrival of different cultural groups from different parts of the world at different times. Kapala is a distinct community living in Kodagu district in the state of Karnataka. They look like the mixed descendants of the Ethiopian Siddis (Siddhis) of the South African continent. Kunhi Boltu is a folk deity and immortal personality of the community who has attained god-like status. The Kapalas worshipped their ancestors and respected the forces of nature that governed their lives. The aim of the ethnographic study is to get to know the Kapala community and their way of life, beliefs and practises. To learn more about the Kapala society and their culture, anthropological research tools and techniques such as holistic, ethnographic, comparative and historical methods were used. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were used in the study. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data required for the study was collected in the field while the secondary data was obtained from the existing literature on the Kapala community. The research paper is organised as follows: The first part deals with detailed information about the Kapala community. The second part deals with the Kapala society and their way of life, beliefs and practises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycotoxins are poisonous secondary metabolites generated by filamentous fungus that grow on a variety of agricultural goods at different phases of production, from planting through shipping and storage. Mycotoxicoses are diseases produced by mycotoxins that can affect a variety of animals, including ruminants. Because certain mycotoxin metabolites, particularly aflatoxin M1, may be excreted in milk, mycotoxin contamination of dairy cow diets is a major problem for human health. This paper provides an overview of current information on the most common mycotoxicoses that affect dairy cows, particularly those caused by mycotoxins generated by Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss an approach that predicts the quantitative value of rainfall. The proposed algorithm uses a combination of data mining and neuro-fuzzy inference system for prediction. The model is demonstrated on north interior Karnataka (a state in India) rainfall data as a case study. This model is applicable to any geographical area provided apt predictors are included. For north interior Karnataka rainfall prediction predictors are derived from local and global climate conditions. The local condition variables are derived from the mean sea level pressure, temperature, and wind speed in south India. The global variables affecting the north interior Karnataka rainfall include, Darwin sea level pressure, the ENSO indices and southern oscillation. The data mining technique, association rule mining, is used to study the correlation among the predictors; clustering is used for predictor selection as well as membership function creation for fuzzyfication. Neuro-fuzzy inference system is further used for fine tuning the "If-then" rules and crisp value prediction of the rainfall. The prediction accuracy is observed to be good considering Tropical Meteorological Department data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Even though Mortality and Morbidity meetings (M&Ms) are incorporated into postgraduate training programs for imparting the attributes of self-appraisal, audit and quality control, they are not uniformly structured across institutes. This study describes the pattern of conducting M&M at a Medical College in North Karnataka in the context of the perceptions of faculty and residents of our medical college and proposes recommendations. Aim: To generate recommendations for conducting structured M&Ms meetings derived from the perceptions of faculty and residents, and prior feasibility experience at a medical college hospital. Materials and Methods: The present mixed method study was conducted in the Department of General medicine, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India, in the month of July 2022. The perceptions of faculty and residents of medicine were obtained by a paper survey. The results of the survey were compiled and analysed by the one of the authors. The responses were matched with the records of M&Ms as conducted in the Department of General Medicine from November 2017 to May 2019. The cases were thematically analysed as deviation from standard protocols of care, multidisciplinary consults, iatrogenic cause of death, unresolved diagnosis and system failure by other authors. Any recommendations recorded were noted. The attendance for such meetings were measured as a surrogate of importance attached. Data was entered in the Microsoft Excel spread sheet. Descriptive statistics were calculated by frequency and proportions for qualitative variables. Results: A total number of 150 participants (65 were faculty including senior residents and the remaining 85 were postgraduate residents) completed the survey. The participants of the survey preferred the presentation by 3rd year residents and junior faculty. While selecting the cases for M&Ms, they preferred systematic selection turn-wise. The participants of the survey considered that while analysing M&M cases; conflicts in multidisciplinary consults, iatrogenic cause of death, human error and deviation from standard protocols of care should be emphasised. During November 2017 to May 2019, a total of 38 M&Ms were held (19 mortality and 19 morbidity meetings). The criterion for mortality case selection was subjective. Five cases were presented during each meeting. Predominant case presentations included interdepartmental transfer issues and procedural lapses. The Department of General Medicine had 30 postgraduate residents and 25 faculty members. The average attendance of residents and faculty was 90% and 78%, respectively. Conclusion: Regularly conducted M&M in a medical college hospital are important in training medical students for audit of medical errors, quality control and appraisal in a safe environment. Prospective selection of cases by recognising potential incidents; and evidence based, structured, uniform conduct of M&Ms by participation of teams involved in healthcare can reduce errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examined the impact of employee job satisfaction on organizational performance in large and medium scale manufacturing industries. It notes that Employee job satisfaction is vital for improved organizational performances. The paper tells that an employee with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive attitudes towards his job. On the contrary, an employee who is dissatisfied with his job holds negative attitudes about the job. It also noted that improved organizational performances result from committed workforces who are satisfied with their work facets in the organizations. The usually judgment about employees is that "A satisfied worker is a productive worker". If employees are satisfied then it will create a pleasant atmosphere within the organization to perform in a better and efficient manner, therefore, job satisfaction and its relation with organizational performance has become a major topic for research studies. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of employees job satisfaction on organizational performance among the employees working in manufacturing sector in Karnataka and also to explore the link between job satisfaction and organizational performance and to determine if there is an empirically provable relationship between these two variables, and the direction and the intensity of this relationship. Empirical research was conducted on a research sample of ten companies consists of large and medium scale industries, with 155 employees surveyed. The results of this study show the existence of a clear link between employees' job satisfaction and organizational performance in both directions, but with pretty weak intensity. Detailed analysis showed that the connection between job satisfaction and organizational performance is stronger than the connection between organizational performance and job satisfaction. From the detailed analysis showed that there is a strong positive relationship between employee job satisfaction and organizational performance. At the same time, analysis showed that "remuneration" and "promotion" are the two crucial factors of job satisfaction these are closely related with job satisfaction. Consequently, based on overall research findings can say that there is a strong positive relationship between employee job satisfaction and organizational performance. It could be stated that job satisfaction determines organizational performance, rather than organizational performance determining job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research paper we have attempted to target IT sector employees and measured impact of compensation on job satisfaction during pandemic. The majority organizations look at how to retain skilled workers as information technology has gone from common to established. And employee turnover is very high in this industry so compensation is one of the important tools which may attract and retain the skilled and qualified employee in the organisation, retaining experienced information technology employees has turned into extra complication. Consequently, this study focused on the technology employees in Bangalore city in Karnataka state. The primary objective of this study is to determine the levels of job satisfaction amongst information technology employees in the context of compensation structure. The sample group (N = 45) We have included across the following occupational classes: Individual contributor, junior level management, Middle level management, senior level management. The Job Descriptive Index questionnaire (JDI) measures job satisfaction on five job facets, namely, salary, promotions, working conditions, co-workers and the work life balance itself. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A biographical questionnaire and the Job Descriptive Index questionnaire (JDI) were administered to gather the data. This paper reviewed presented literature to get what other researchers have done to make sure that IT employees obtain job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hospitality business is a major contributor to the growth of tourism, consuming a significant amount of energy and resources on the planet. Because the hospitality sector is such a big part of the tourism sector, more attention is paid to its environmental impact. The goal of this study is to look at power management and consciousness among stakeholders' perspectives of the extent to which heritage hotel practices contribute to attaining the environmentrelated SDGs. To do this, a questionnaire was created and sent to the person in control of environmental obligations in the hotels under investigation, which were chosen using a random sample approach. A sample of 49 people seeks heritage motels in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The survey included 70 percent of Karnataka's total Accredited Heritage motels. With the help of a research paper, information is gathered via case interviews and observations with hotel managers. The Casa Cottage Hotel of Karnataka has been effective in executing environment protection operations focused on improving feasible tourism actions and gaining competitive benefits as a result of implementing green hotel planning, which involves ecologically hotel implementation, property use, energy consumption, quality of air, water conservation, and wastewater treatment. The creation of hotels that are environment-friendly and sustainable has been focused on via the control of operational operations to limit the effects of external harm caused by present environmental circumstances. The hotels' dedication to sustainable development via energy was the driving force for the implementation of hotel industry criteria. To accomplish the environment-related SDGs, hoteliers should effectively include Heritage hotel practices into their operations plans, according to the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Green Revolution" (GR) technology-induced agricultural intensification has transformed India from food scarcity to a food surplus country. However, this has also resulted into several adverse repercussions. Increased application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with stagnating/declining crop productivity has dovetailed with uncertain market conditions and climate change effects which has resulted in un-remunerative agriculture. Consequently, farmers have fallen into the debt trap due to the rising cost of crop production apart from health hazards due to serious exposure to harmful chemical pesticides. Natural Farming (NF), an agro-ecological approach to farming is believed to be an effective way to counter some of these challenges. The present paper presents field-level farmers' experiences of NF adoption in three states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. The study was conducted during February–March 2019 by surveying 295 NF adopted and 170 non-NF adopted farmers. It was found that NF practice has been followed by some farmers for more than 10 years but others have adopted during the recent past. There is variation in the practice followed by the NF farmers. There are farmers who are using Farm Yard Manure (FYM). A solid form of jeevamritha (liquid concoction of microbial inoculants) called as ghanajeevamritha was also found to be used by farmers in Andhra Pradesh. It was observed that non-NF yields are superior to NF yield without FYM. In most crops, however, NF with FYM had a greater yield than NF without FYM and non-NF farms. There has been a decrease in the variable cost and a marginal increase in the market price of NF produce. The study suggests that natural farming may be seen as one of the alternative practices which has potential to rejuvenate the agro-ecosystem, besides cost saving for the individual farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops a Mixed Mode Solar Crop Dryer (MMSCD) using blackcoated pebbles. The experiments were conducted in Ujire, Karnataka, India. Potato slices were used for test sample with an air speed of 4 m/s. Open Sun Drying (OSD) was used and the working temperature range of MMSCD was 36-64 o C, which is suitable for drying a wide variety of fruits and vegetables like green peas, cauliflower, chillies, apples, sweet potatoes and grapes. The dryer was able to provide hot air from 9:00 to 19:00 hours in a day. The overall maximum efficiency of the dryer was 56%. To reduce the moisture content from initial (75%) to storable level (below 10%), MMSCD took 6 h. However, 24 h (3 days of sunshine) were taken under OSD to attain the safe moisture content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]