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In any higher education institution, the discussions on admission-related stress have always focused on the interviewee. There are limited studies examining stress experienced by the academician while conducting the admission process. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining various aspects of stress and coping mechanisms adopted by faculty. An interpretive phenomenological analysis is chosen to understand the meaning ascribed by the faculty to their experience of stress. A total of 22 participants were interviewed for the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with the faculty using a semi-structured questionnaire; addressing the cause of stress, the consequence of stress, and coping mechanisms adopted by faculty to tackle stress. The study highlighted factors such as perceived competency, interpersonal dynamics, time management and brand management, which stressed academicians and caused physical and psychological discomfort. To deal with stress, faculty adopted measures ranging from seeking social support and creating mental boundaries. Findings from the study can be leveraged by higher education institutions to design measures to tackle the occupational stress of faculty arising out of non-academic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to include land as an input in the KLEMS-type production function and estimate agricultural total factor productivity growth (TFPG) for India. For doing so, land quality is accounted for by assigning weights to different land types: irrigated, rainfed and fallow. The estimates suggest that the rate of agricultural TFPG was 0.8 per cent per annum between 1980 and 2019 without accounting for land. However, it increased to 2.0 per cent and 1.8 per cent per annum with the inclusion of land and land quality, respectively. The growth accounting decomposition shows that the contribution of TFPG to agricultural output growth increased from 48 per cent in the 1980s to 78 per cent in the 2010s. Examination of the drivers of agricultural TFPG through an Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL) model suggests that public gross capital formation (GCF) stock, research and development, mechanisation in agriculture, and favourable terms of trade significantly improve agricultural productivity in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on Pakistani director, Sabiha Sumar's, debut film, Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters, 2003). The article argues that Sumar's film, by screening the never-ending impacts of politically motivated ethno-religious and ethno-national disasters, like 1947 partition of India and Pakistan, shows that female sufferers of one such disaster become more vulnerable to additional trauma caused by future disasters having similar roots. An examination of the film reveals that politically motivated ethno-religious and ethno-national calamitous events like the partition and Islamization program of Zia regime are gendered. These events solidify the sufferers' status as the inimical Other who need to be discarded/controlled for the wellbeing of the concerned community or nation to which they belong. Through a detailed analysis of the film, the article examines how women have to bear the maximum brunt of ethno-religious calamities that exploit their bodies as archives of violence by perennially damaging their sense of self. Instead of finding agency in voice, Sumar's film shows superficiality of words in communicating acute trauma caused by politically galvanized ethno-religious disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and Development (R&D) has been considered as a major driver of productivity to achieve higher economic growth. The low participation of the private corporate sector in R&D activities continues to pose a major challenge, despite significant government initiatives undertaken to strengthen India's innovation ecosystem. A panel data analysis covering ten emerging market economies and eleven advanced economies shows that a country's quality of institutions (intellectual property rights, addressing inefficiencies in the legal framework for settling disputes and challenging regulations, and easing of doing business conditions), physical and financial infrastructure, extent of downstream commercialisation (proxied by hightech exports) and the degree of openness can influence R&D expenditure. Going ahead, further improvements on business regulations, investment in human capital and addressing a range of bottlenecks affecting stalled projects could help to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve gender equality and women empowerment it is essential to have complete data on the multiple and intersecting ways in which women and girls experience poverty, discrimination and violence. Gender data is crucial: without it, it is extremely difficult to design policies and programs which respond to the differential needs and experiences of all categories of men and women. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) has pledged to tackle the gender gap by 2030. The transformative agenda of sustainable development is underpinned by a strong statement of inclusion - 'leave no one behind'. Despite increased attention towards improving gender statistics, in the last two decades, there exists a glaring data gap. This state of affairs presents a real test towards achieving the ambitious scope of Agenda 2030. This paper discusses the significance, achievements and gaps on the gender data front. Further the paper establishes the necessity to develop and budget for newer approaches to bridge the gender data gap by 2030. The paper enumerates an innovative method of data collection from Surguja, Chhattisgarh and highlights ways in which it helped the government to expand its services and effectively respond to the needs of all categories of single women in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the issues of pregnancy, sexuality and oppression in the 2003 novel "Shodh," translated as "Getting Even," by Taslima Nasrin. Particular focus is given on the issue of conception period and abortion in relation to women's pregnancy-related oppression. The author also argues that the book offers an insight of women's pregnancy as an occasion for social and familial exploitations initiated through men's conformity to and violations of cultural norms.

Child marriage is an age old practice which has both social and religious sanctions and is widely prevalent across various parts of India. Child marriage is a gross violation of a child's (boy's and girl's) right and adversely affects the performance of human development indicators such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, nutrition and education of children and young mothers. Although there has been a sharp decline in child marriage across the country in recent years, especially of girls under 15 years, the practice continues unabated. This paper narrates a successful government campaign from Madhya Pradesh - "Lado Abhiyan" which questioned entrenched patriarchal norms and aimed at attitudinal and behavioural change in communities through sensitisation, dialogue and active citizen participation. The campaign, which has already achieved several milestones, is lauded for its commendable effort. The campaign won the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2014 and the prestigious CAPAM International Innovations Award in 2016. The success of the campaign has inspired a few States to replicate the initiative by adapting it to its context. This paper describes one such process of replication currently in progress in the state of Assam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Hunger Index Report published in 2015 brings back the problem of malnutrition in India into sharp focus. Malnutrition continues to be a national problem but there have been positive developments in tackling it too. As per the India Health Report on Nutrition published in 2015, the rate of child undernutrition is declining in the country; initially it was at a slower pace between 1992 and 2005 but since 2006 at an accelerated pace which continues even today. Between 2006 and 2014, the rate of stunting among under five-yearold children declined from 48 percent to 39 percent. However, the Report states that the development in India is still below the rate needed to achieve World Health Assembly's global nutrition targets that our country is committed to. This paper enumerates two innovative initiatives "Surguja Fulwari" in Chhattisgarh and "Aman Persera" of Meghalaya which aim at reducing child undernutrition both as a maker and marker of development. The "Surguja Fulwari" initiative won the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013. Currently, the model of "Surguja Fulwari" is being replicated by the State of Meghalaya as "Aman Persera." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]