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This paper tries to investigate the question of whether the poverty ratio across Indian states is converging in the post-2000s. We addressed this question of spatial convergence of the poverty ratio using unconditional convergence over the period 2004–05 to 2018–19 for 18 major states of India, considering both rural and urban regions. We used the unit-level data of NSSO’s Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CES) for the 61st, 68th and PLFS 2018–19 rounds for the analysis. Besides, we try to assess the driving factors of poverty through a panel regression model. The results reveal that in the first period from 2004–05 to 2011–12, Indian states experienced a divergence in the overall poverty ratio and rural poverty. However, the second period, 2011–12 to 2018–19, witnessed no specific trend of convergence or divergence across states. Again, in the case of urban poverty, there is no particular pattern of poverty convergence or divergence during both periods. The study shows that the Gini coefficient, educational expenditure, household size, infant mortality, literacy rate, MPCE, primary-sector income and per capita power availability are the significant determinants of poverty in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conducting and alignment layers are critical for industrial scale manufacture of quality liquid crystal (LC) devices. To date, the conventional approaches utilize ITO-based electrodes as the conducting layer and rubbed polyimide as the aligning layer. However, usage of ITO has issues like scarcity of indium reserves, high cost, and toxicity, whereas employing rubbed polyimide demands high-temperature baking and mechanical rubbing that causes debris generation and electrostatic charges. Although offering a new outlook, CVD-based 2D materials provided a non-traditional route for fabricating the alignment layers. Furthermore, the previous studies are restricted to ITO-based conducting substrates and also calamitic molecules. However, from the utility point of view, the uniform alignment realized over only small areas necessitates alternative approaches to fabricate interfacial layers on non-ITO-based substrates utilizing solution-processed routes and deploying non-calamitic LCs also. Here, a generalized approach is presented to address the above-mentioned issues by considering an aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) conducting layer and a hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) alignment layer deposited via the electrophoretic deposition technique. Upon fabrication of LC devices using h-BN/AZO, large-area (>3 cm2) unidirectional alignment of LC molecules is observed. The method works equally effectively for bent-core molecules also. The alignment quality is established by azimuthal angle dependence of transmission and birefringence intensity analysis. Several critical parameters were found to be comparable between h-BN/AZO and PI/ITO devices; like operating voltage (∼1 V), switching response (in ms), image retention aspect, and ionic parameters (e.g., ionic concentration on the order of 1019 m−3). This study underscores the potential of h-BN/AZO as a promising candidate for display technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The airplane structure is often made up using carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) stacking with a metallic sheet to improve excessive load carrying and shock-absorbing capability with reduced fuel economy. It is a challenging task to drill dissimilar CFRP-Al metallic stack because the hot continuous metallic chip mutilates the hole surface in addition to drilling-induced delamination. The present work addresses the parametric effect on delamination, roughness, and circularity error of the drilled hole along with chip morphology using different drill geometry on the fabricated CFRP [0°/-45°/90°/45°]2s stack over an aluminum 7075 sheet. A drill tool dynamometer was used to capture axial thrust with associated torque variations during drilling which were further used in process monitoring. The most critical unlike interface drilling has been scrutinized using instantaneous force-torque slopes along with scanning electron micrographs. The machining time loss during CFRP→Al interface drilling has also been processed. Finally, a comparative assessment has been made on the predictability of hole quality features among various sensor-based strategies using response surface methodology. The drilled-hole surface quality was significantly improved at high spindle speed (2250 rpm), and low feed rate (0.025 mm/rev) using a low drill point angle (110°). The thrust force was found to be a prime indicator of drilled hole integrity than torque whereas peak torque and its slope in the initial stages of the drilling cycle strongly correlated with surface delamination. The top surface delamination was somewhat severe (≥ 1.6) at high drill thrust (≥ 40 N) with high torque (≥ 0.45 Nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are attractive for chemical sensing applications because their structures contain delocalized π electrons and active sites that are evenly distributed. COF-based chemical sensors are largely restricted to luminescence and absorption-based mechanisms of sensing. The present study demonstrates the potentiality of exfoliated COF nanosheets hybridized with palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) for effective chemiresistive H2 sensing, for the first time. The hybridization of Pd NPs with the nanosheets of an imine-based covalent organic framework (ePd@TpPa-SO3H COF) has turned an innocent bulk COF into an effective chemiresistive H2 sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1991, India embarked on economic reform. This research asked if post-reform growth in the two newly formed states of Undivided Andhra Pradesh was or was not pro-poor. In both states, real monthly per capita expenditure increased, but poverty declined faster in 2004–05 to 2011–12 than in 1993–94 to 2004–05. Even though Telangana's economic growth was lower than that of Andhra Pradesh, its growth elasticity of poverty was high enough to cause a more rapid decline in poverty. In the second period, growth in both states was found to be pro-poor because of high-growth elasticities of poverty and lower income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether the economic growth in Odisha is pro-poor since the 1990s by applying, Pro-poor Growth Index (PGI), Poverty Equivalent Growth (PEG), Growth Incidence Curve (GIC) methods and using the NSSO 1993-1994, 2004-2005 and 2011-2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The change in poverty has been decomposed into growth in income (MPCE) and redistribution to look into the pro-poorness effect of growth. The results show that the slower rise in MPCE and faster increase in inequality, which offset the poverty reduction in the 1st period, causes a slow reduction in poverty. The faster reduction in inequality in the 2nd period with an increase in real MPCE has resulted in more rapid reduction in poverty in the state. Throughout the analysis, the growth effect of poverty reduction outweighs the inequality effect, causing a reduction in poverty in Odisha. The PGI, PEG and GIC show that the 2nd period in Odisha is pro-poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]