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During the nationwide lockdown as part of the state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the predicament of interstate migrant laborers in India, caught in crowded cities without means of livelihood and basic resources needed to sustain life, gained national and international attention. This article explores the context of the current migrant crisis through the historical trajectories and political roots of internal migration in India and its relationship with the urban informal labor market and the structural determinants of precarious employment. We argue that the both the response to the pandemic and the disproportionate impact on migrant laborers are reflections and consequences of an established pattern of neglect and poor accountability of the state toward the employment and living conditions of migrant workers who toil precariously in the informal labor market.

Objectives: Consequent to the drastic growth that has occurred over the past few decades in the dental education sector, dental profession in India, has also undergone changes. Hence, it is critical to inquire whether the current training that is being offered to dental students is successful in preparing them adequately to meet the challenges of the changing dental profession. We have aimed to assess the level of preparedness for independent dental practice among newly graduated dentists of Kerala and to explore the factors associated with their preparedness. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among a random sample of 400 recently graduated dentists from Kerala. We developed and validated a self-administered scale named Preparedness for Practice among Dental Graduates-Scale, PPDG-S, to assess the level of preparedness. The overall preparedness scores were categorized based on the median value of the total score (87) – score less than or equal to the median was considered “low preparedness” (0–87) and score greater than the median (>87) was considered “high preparedness.” The difference in proportion between high and low prepared participants across socio- demographic background, training characteristics, and employment characteristics was assessed and the significance was tested using the Chi-square test. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of preparedness among recent dental graduates. Results: The majority of the participants reported themselves to be in the “low preparedness” category (209, 52.3%) as compared to the “high preparedness” category (191, 47.8%). In the bivariate analysis, five variables were found to have significant differences in their proportions between the high and low preparedness categories – gender, caste, type of training institution, work experience, and frequent job changes. According to multivariate analysis, being trained in a private/cooperative college (as opposed to a public institution) and not possessing continuous work experience of even 1 year in a single job (as opposed to having a continuous work experience) were found to pose significant adjusted risk for the lower preparedness among graduates. Conclusion: The high proportion of our study participants reporting lower preparedness for independent practice, reflect poor self-rating of their employability. This is critical, when we consider the competitive, saturated private practice sector, and unemployment among young dentists. The relatively higher proportion of poor preparedness among the private sector trained graduates when compared to the government college trained graduates is another matter that raises concern.

Health professional education and careers have witnessed major changes across the world during the last two decades of the twentieth century, and India is no exception to this. This article examines the current situation of dental education in India and explores the processes which have led to its commercialization, despite the existence of policy initiatives specifically intended for its regulation. Using the health policy triangle framework of Walt and Gilson, we attempt to understand the contexts and processes of commercialization of dental education and the development of the major regulatory policy initiatives in the sector. Secondary data analysis (regarding the growth of dental education), document analysis (policy and legal) and literature review (about higher education in India specifically medical and dental) are the methods used. The analysis brings to light the failure of policy initiatives in the past three decades by the regulatory bodies of the country, to curb the uncontrolled growth and commercialization of dental education. The Indian experience brings home the critical lesson that drafting relevant policies will not guarantee results, especially when they are to be implemented in the absence of a favourable political climate.

Objective: This study aims to examine the current employment characteristics and financial situation of recent dental graduates of Kerala, India, in the context of a drastic rise in the number of dental graduates in the state over the past two decades, following a policy change in dental education at the dawn of the 21st century. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 recent dental graduates selected using circular systematic random sampling from a sampling frame of all dental graduates who graduated in any dental college in Kerala between April 2014 and February 2018 and who have registered at the Kerala State Dental Council. Results: More than two-thirds of the participants were females. Graduates trained from private dental colleges formed the majority. A significant proportion was currently unemployed (27%). The private sector was the predominant employment avenue for the dental graduates (90.9%). A notable proportion of the study participants did not have a regular income (32.1%). The current employment status of the graduates showed a statistically significant difference in proportions according to gender, type of educational institution, and the employment status of the graduates’ male parents. There were significant differences in the current financial situation according to gender, caste, and training background. Conclusion: The study reveals the existence of a high rate of unemployment among the recent dental graduates of Kerala. Their financial situation is indicative of vulnerability and dependent status. These findings have major policy implications for dental training and regulation of dental profession in the country.

Critical reflection is widely used in qualitative research (1). It helps us understand participants' internal dialogues and analyse their thought processes. The use of oral or written reflections is a well-documented data collection method, particularly in educational research.

Health policy and systems research (HPSR), a critical area of public health research, aims to enhance our understanding about how health systems function and how health policies are generated and implemented. HPSR predominantly operates in "real life contexts" of communities or institutions...

In this paper, we draw upon and build on three presentations which were part of the plenary session on ‘Structural Drivers of Health Inequities’ at the National Conference on Health Inequities in India: Transformative Research for Action, organised by the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies in Trivandrum, India. The three presentations discussed the influential role played by globalisation and neoliberalism in shaping economic, social and political relationships across developed and developing countries. The paper further argues that the twin process of globalisation and liberalisation have been important drivers of health inequities. The first segment of the paper attempts a broader conceptualisation of neoliberalism beyond the economic realm. Using Stephanie Lee Mudge’s conceptualisation (Soc Econ Rev 6:703–3, 2008) we have analysed how the political, bureaucratic and intellectual domains of neoliberalism have intersected and redefined the role of state and commercialised health services leading to inequities. Neoliberal ideas have reconfigured the role and changed the priorities of non-governmental organisations resulting in a fracture within this movement. n the second segment, we focus on the rise of American philanthro-capitalism, and how the two major foundations, the Rockefeller Foundation (early twentieth century) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (twenty-first century), have shaped the ideology of institutions engaged in international health and influenced the global health agenda. We discuss how the activities of philanthro-capitalists have transformed the architecture of health governance through their top-down organisational culture and deficit of structures to ensure accountability. The third and final segment of the paper focuses on how neoliberalism as a political project and cultural movement has forged alliances with conservative politics and religious fundamentalisms, resulting in negative consequences for women and other marginalised groups. These alliances have resulted in the control of women’s bodies and contributed to the reversal of hard-won rights for health and gender justice in many parts of the world.

In this paper, a compact size ultra wideband(UWB) circularly polarized antenna structure is proposed. Here a T shape with staircase structure having two rectangular strips at diagonally opposite corners are used. This antenna works in the frequency range of 3.6 GHz to 8.2 GHz and the axial ratio is less than 3 dB in the frequency range. Also the proposed antenna provides a compact size of 25×25 mm2. Ultra wideband(UWB), Circular Polarization (CP), Cognitive Radio(CR)

The lack of a comprehensive conceptual framework explaining the construct of "preparedness for dental practice" necessitates an in-depth exploration and synthesis of the literature. The aim of this systematic review of the literature was to develop a conceptual framework explaining the construct of "preparedness for practice" among dental graduates and to identify the factors influencing the construct through a synthesis of the literature. Articles identified for the review were selected from the databases PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and EBSCO Host. They were analyzed using the framework method of qualitative content analysis to understand the underlying conceptualization of preparedness. Thematic analysis using a grounded theory approach was performed to understand the pathways through which various factors influence preparedness. A conceptual framework explaining preparedness constituted by six domains emerged: academic and technical competence, communication and interpersonal skills, protective mechanisms and adaptive skills, professional attitude and ethical judgment, clinical entrepreneurship and financial solvency skills, and social and community orientation. The factors influencing preparedness were identified under the three themes of training-related factors, gender and experience of graduates, and opportunity of internship along with the nature of post-training work experience. The synthesis provides a conceptual framework explaining preparedness for dental practice and draws attention to the need for further research to understand the construct. The factors influencing preparedness suggest that dental training needs to be reflective of actual workplaces and situations that graduates will encounter as independent practitioners.

The proportion of older people is growing faster than that of any other age group. The interrelationship between oral health and general health is particularly pronounced among older people. Poor oral health exerts a negative impact on the quality of life of geriatric population. There is no sound database regarding the oral disease burden and treatment needs of the elderly in India and the extent to which oral diseases impact the general health and quality of lives of the Indian elderly. A survey conducted among 218 subjects above 60 years of age residing in seven old age homes across Bengaluru city to assess the impact of oral diseases on oral health related quality of life using OHIP-14 questionnaire tool. Independent t-test revealed that, presence or absence of grossly decayed teeth produced significant differences in the physical pain, physical discomfort and handicap domains while edentulism (partial or complete) produced significant impact in the psychological disability domain of elderly subjects. Females experienced greater impact of oral diseases than males in all the domains of OHIP. Oral health status of the institutionalized geriatric population of Bengaluru, India is poor, with edentulism, periodontitis and under utilization being major concerns. The impact of oral diseases on the lives of elderly is relatively lower and disproportionate compared to the disease