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Many nations have implemented policies to improve drinking water quality, but challenges arise from overexploited or contaminated groundwater-based sources. This paper aims at examining the aspects of water scarcity, security, and sustainability within an Indian village context. We attempt to compare two rural water supply sources in Nagla Chandi village in Uttar Pradesh, India: (a) untreated groundwater sourced from bore wells and (b) treated water from a reverse osmosis (RO) plant. We observed that subterranean minerals are the primary pollutants of unprocessed water drawn from borewells, which form the main source of drinking water. Even though water from the RO plant meets all the quality parameters of potability, frequent breakdowns of the plant due to improper management force the villagers to drink untreated water from the dug wells fitted with hand pumps, affecting their health. We also found a high incidence of water-borne diseases. The case analysis suggests enhancing village water treatment projects by training local artisans in system repair and increasing Panchayat staff to include trained engineers for technical advice and maintenance. The paper proposes reducing water testing cost in rural areas to make it possible Q4 for local organizations to regularly assess water quality and implement corrective actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Being the final end of the logistic distribution, attended home delivery (AHD) plays an important role in the distribution network. AHD typically refers to the service provided by the distribution service provider to the recipient's doorstep. Researchers have always identified AHD as a bottleneck for last-mile delivery. This paper addresses a real-life stochastic multi-objective AHD problem in the context of the Indian public distribution system (PDS). Design/methodology/approach: Two multi-objective models are proposed. Initially, the problem is formulated in a deterministic environment, and later on, it is extended to a multi-objective AHD model with stochastic travel and response time. This stochastic AHD model is used to extensively analyze the impact of stochastic travel time and customer response time on the total expected cost and time-window violation. Due to the NP-hard nature of the problem, an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm, tuned via response surface methodology (RSM), is proposed to solve the problem. Findings: Experimental results show that a change in travel time and response time does not significantly alter the service level of an AHD problem. However, it is strongly correlated with the planning horizon and an increase in the planning horizon reduces the time-window violation drastically. It is also observed that a relatively longer planning horizon has a lower expected cost per delivery associated. Research limitations/implications: The paper does not consider the uncertainty of supply from the warehouse. Also, stochastic delivery failure probabilities and randomness in customer behavior have not been taken into consideration in this study. Practical implications: In this paper, the role of uncertainty in an AHD problem is extensively studied through a case of the Indian PDS. The paper analyzes the role of uncertain travel time and response time over different planning horizons in an AHD system. Further, the impact of the delivery planning horizon, travel time and response time on the overall cost and service level of an AHD system is also investigated. Social implications: This paper investigates a unique and practical AHD problem in the context of Indian PDS. In the present context of AHD, this study is highly relevant for real-world applications and can help build a more efficient delivery system. The findings of this study will be of particular interest to the policy-makers to build a more robust PDS in India. Originality/value: The most challenging part of an AHD problem is the requirement of the presence of customers during the time of delivery, due to which the probability of failed delivery drastically increases if the delivery deviates from the customer's preferred time slot. The paper modelled an AHD system to incorporate uncertainties to attain higher overall performance and explore the role of uncertainty in travel and response time with respect to the planning horizon in an AHD, which has not been considered by any other literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performers play a crucial role in the creative process by bringing various copyrightable subject matters, such as songs, dances, dramatic performances, and films (cinematographic works), to life. However, unlike other stakeholders, including lyricists, music composers, and production companies, performers often do not receive equivalent property rights. This paper contends that despite certain protections granted to performers under copyright laws in many countries, including India and Australia, there remain gaps and limitations that hinder the full recognition and protection of performers’ rights. This situation leads to questions regarding the nature of performers’ rights and how the law distinguishes neighbouring rights within the copyright law framework. The primary aim of this paper is to assess whether the existing framework of performers’ rights principally benefits the performers themselves or leans more towards a market-centred approach favouring producers. This analysis, particularly focused on the contexts of India and Australia, builds a case for the recognition of coauthorship rights for performers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the building of a bridge with a reference to the book of Roelof Schuiling, an engineer. A geochemist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Schuiling has spent 15 years developing an extraordinary construction technique that could see rock bridges, walls and dams sprout from the seabed, driven by the power of chemistry on an unprecedented scale. The project could even help to dispose of millions of tonnes of waste acid from India's chemical industry by locking it up in the fabric of the bridge. Earlier this year, Schuiling read a scientific paper that suggested placing wind turbines on the string of reefs and islands between Sri Lanka and India called Adam's Bridge.

In the present paper farmers’ resilience index (FRI) was constructed considering the natural disaster using five dimensions including physical, social, economic, human and natural. The scale is administered to the 240 paddy farmers in two coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Principal component analysis was performed in order to fix the weightage for each variable. About (39.58%) of farmers are resilient to natural disasters with the highest resilience score for financial capital (0.641) and natural capital with less resilience score (0.401). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine how well the generated model of the scale fits the data. The structural equation modelling (SEM) path diagram was developed based on the conceptual model, which uses resilience as a latent variable. The SEM analysis revealed that four dimensions of capital positively affect farmers’ resilience except for the human capital which negatively affects resilience. To reduce the effects of natural catastrophes in the upcoming years, the adaptation strategies from the highly resilient places can be examined and put into practice in the less resilient areas. It is imperative that development programmes at all levels incorporate climate awareness and stakeholder capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swachh Bharat Mission-Rural (SBM-R) is a flagship programme aimed at ending open defecation in rural India. In this paper, we study institutions and processes using Amartya Sen's conception of justice. We review the outcomes by assessing agencies, actions and processes involved in the implementation of the SBM-R programme. The findings are analysed using the Sanitation Well-being Framework. Sanitation well-being is achieved when an individual is able to experience the sanitation life cycle stages of acceptance, construction, utilisation and maintenance of safe disposal, which are part of the framework. The capability factors grouped under personal, cultural, structural, environmental and service elements of the framework determine the sanitation environment facilitated by the state. Failure in experiencing one of the life stages leads to slippage in sanitation, where people resume open defecation, despite possessing toilets. The paper presents a review of literature on the political, technological and structural issues in programme implementation, followed by an analysis of 42 interviews and 12 focused group discussions of state and non-state actors conducted in rural Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh, India. We found that slippage is prevalent in the field site and identified 26 capability factors (expansion and constraints) that led to slippage in sanitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers feedback from "New Scientist" readers on miscellaneous topics in the news as of May 3, 2014. Topics discussed include a report in the March 29, 2014 issue of "New Scientist" on the amount of toilet paper U.S. residents each use during their lifetime, a March 22, 2014 report by the news organization, the Associated Press, on the amount of human waste produced each day in India, and comments on the end of security support for computer company Microsoft's Windows XP system.

The article reports on the stock market performance of India. It mentions that country's Nifty so and Sensex indices reached record highs at the end of November, and as to many fund managers desperate for diversification, India looks the most promising alternative. It also mentions that the central bank has been forced to raise interest rates in defence of the rupee impacting its domestic monetary policy.

Access to improved drinking water and sanitation has been declared a fundamental right by the UN General Assembly. However, around 25 and 50% of the global population lacked access to safely managed drinking water and improved sanitation in 2020, respectively. India, the second most populous country in the world, has around 3.7 and 31% of its population without access to improved drinking water and sanitation, respectively. This paper explores the factors determining a household’s access to improved drinking water and sanitation in India, using India Human Development Survey (IHDS) II data. The results indicate that urban households with bigger family sizes, with fewer rooms, married but uneducated household heads, belonging to forward castes, were more likely to have access to improved drinking water. Similarly, households with married female heads, belonging to forward castes, small household sizes, older aged heads with primary education, from Non-EAG (Empowered Action Group) states, located in urban areas, earning higher incomes and having more rooms were more likely to have access to improved sanitation. Findings suggest subsidized improved water and sanitation services and an increase in public investment to make these facilities affordable for poor rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to examine the previously unexplored relationship between positive reframing as a mediator between gratitude and technostress in Indian students. By examining this relationship, the authors aim to expand the theoretical domain of gratitude research by examining its potential influence on technology-induced stress. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was used to collect and analyze data from 552 Indian college students who participated in graduate and postgraduate programs across various educational institutions in India. Regression and mediation analyses were performed with both IBM SPSS 25 and AMOS. Findings: This study's data suggest that positive reframing plays an important mediating role between gratitude and technostress. Gratitude also encourages positive reframing, which reduced technostress among the students. Taken together, our data showed that gratitude induces positive reframing, which in turn reduces techno-stress among Indian students in the current study. Research limitations/implications: The sample size in this study is relatively small in relation to the student population in India. The current study relied primarily on quantitative data and analysis and further research could use a mixed-method approach to better understand the underlying mechanisms between positive reframing, gratitude and technostress. The results are derived under an extreme coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic situation; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to normal times. Practical implications: The paper includes implications for teachers, academic leaders, parents and civil society. Originality/value: Overall, the relationship between positive reframing, gratitude and technostress has not been thoroughly explored. To the best of the authors' understanding, this is the first study to examine the influence of gratitude on technology-induced stress and the role of reframing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a deterministic fractional-order epidemic model (FOEM) for studying the transmission dynamics of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The model highlights the substantial role of unaware and undetected HIV-infected individuals in spreading the disease. Control strategies, such as wielding condoms, level of preventive measures to avoid infection, and self-strictness of susceptibles in sexual contact, have been incorporated into the study. The basic reproduction number ℛ 0 α has been derived, which suggests the conditions for ensuring the persistence and elimination of the disease. Further, to validate the model, actual HIV data taken from Mexico and India separately have been used. The disease dynamics and its control in both countries are analyzed broadly. The values of biological parameters are estimated at which numerical solutions better match the actual data of HIV patients in the case of fractional-order (FO) instead of integer-order (IO). Moreover, in the light of ℛ 0 α , our findings forecast that the disease will abide in the population in Mexico, and at the same time, it will die out from India after a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a survey of selected Water Users' Associations (WUA) and their members in West Bengal, India, this paper examines the nature and determinants of member participation in irrigation management. WUA meetings were held on a regular basis with higher member participation under Tube Well, Check Dam and River Lift Irrigation schemes. Their physical characteristics (e.g., high sub-surface storage and flowing rivers with large catchment areas) and system features (e.g., centralized pump house and defined distribution infrastructure) contribute to better water availability, incentivizing the members to participate. Our regression analysis suggests that along with these factors, the socioeconomic attributes of members and their perception about the functioning and decision making of the WUA influence participation in the collective management of schemes. The more the members perceive the functioning of WUAs as democratic and transparent, the greater is their incentive to participate. Greater participatory involvement of the members in the form of donating land for irrigation construction and in training programs is also found to be crucial. So, this paper argues for making the decision-making processes within WUAs democratic and transparent, along with greater efforts toward capacity building of the members, including training for skill enhancement, management and provision of agricultural support practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ocimum genus is one of Indiaʼs prominent botanical classes of traditional medicinal culture comprising medicinally and agronomically important plants. Morphological resemblances, overlapping geographical distribution, and history of traditional nomenclature have necessitated a comprehensive qualitative report for effective quality control and removing the species ambiguity pertaining to this genus. This paper provides detailed morpho-micrometric characteristics used to differentiate between six indigenous Ocimum species of India. Among them, O. gratissimum was distinguished as the only shrub with a fleshy petiole. In green and purple forms, O. tenuiflorum leaves had serrate margins and showed no particular anatomical differences except for the anthocyanins containing epidermal cells of the latter. O. basilicum had glabrous leaves except for the veins, which were puberulous. O. filamentosum had tenuous anther filaments and was the least aromatic while O. africanum had a citrusy odour, which along with the number of xylary rows, size of mesophyll cells, and epidermal cell wall architecture, distinguished it from O. americanum. An HPTLC method was developed using experimental design and validated for quantification of multi-class compounds from terpenoic, phenolic acids, and flavonoids in Ocimum leaves. It was found linear (r 2 > 0.99) with recoveries between 95 – 100% for all compounds. The eluted bands of marker compounds were subjected to HPTLC-MS analysis as a confirmative tool. This is the first anatomical and analytical report of O. filamentosum Forssk. The obtained results could be effectively used for species identification using vegetative characters alone with the anatomical-HPTLC data backing up the former as a rapid and economical tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to accurately estimate harmonics/interharmonics in modern power system. There are several high spectral resolution techniques that have been in use for several years like Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Technique (ESPRIT), Prony methods, etc. but these techniques require prior knowledge of number of modes present in the signal. Model Order (MO) estimation techniques have to make a trade-off between accuracy and their speed i.e., computational burden. Therefore, there is always a requirement of a technique that is fast as well as accurate. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed standard deviation (SD) method eliminates the requirement of energy validation test and analyses the distribution pattern, i.e. standard deviation of eigenvalues to identify the number of modes present in the signal. Signal is reconstructed using estimated modes and reconstruction error is obtained to show accuracy of the proposed estimation. Findings: Six test synthetic signals as well as one practical signal have been taken for validating the proposed method. The paper shows that proposed methodology has a better accuracy compared to modified exact model order (MEMO) method in high noise environment and takes very less computation time compared to the exact model order (EMO) method. Practical implications: The proposed method has been practically implemented for harmonic/interharmonic analysis at a sewage treatment plant at GIFT City, Gujarat, India. Apart from this the proposed method is modeled in python-based tool and is run into low-cost Raspberry Pi like hardware to create an onsite as well as remote monitoring device. Originality/value: SD-based approach for model order estimation is novel to this area. Further, the proposed method is compared with EMO and MEMO under varying noise conditions to check for accuracy and estimation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper focuses on reviewing and theorizing the factors that affect the adoption of cloud computing in the education sector narrowing the focus to developing countries such as India. Design/methodology/approach: Through an extensive literature survey, critical factors of cloud computing for education were identified. Further, the fuzzy DEMATEL approach was used to define their interrelationship and its cause and effect. Findings: A total of 17 factors were identified for the study based on the literature survey and experts' input. These factors were classified as causes and effects and ranked and interrelated. "Required Learning Skills and Attitude," "Lack of Infrastructure," "Learners' Ability" and "Increased Investment" are found to be the most influential factors. Practical implications: The resultant ranking factors can be used as a basis for managing the process of cloud adoption in several institutions. The study could guide academicians, policymakers and government authorities for the effective adoption of cloud computing in education. Originality/value: The study investigates interdependency amongst the factors of cloud computing for education in context with developing economy. This is one of first study in higher education institutes of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes a specific attempt of locating Kanara in the Indo-Jewish historiography. It finds the need to distinguish between Kanara and Malabar as two distinct entities of south western India to achieve clarity while interpreting the nature of the cultural milieu, which the Jews encountered when they visited this multicultural complex in the twelfth-century. While accepting the role of Malabar in Jewish trade, this paper analyzes the role of Kanara in this enterprise. It will use the indigenous sources of Kanara apart from the Geniza records to prove this argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the New Delhi, India-based nongovernmental organization Center for Science and Environment's development of an ecological rating system for the country's pulp and paper industries. Details of the rating project; Environmental problems faced by the industries.

Provisioning of water and sanitation services has become one of the key determinants of SDGs. This review focuses on the trends in water and sanitation services and reforms in India and Ghana over the last two decades. The findings reveal that access to water has improved in India and Ghana at 81.5 and 92.7%, respectively. However, access to sanitation continues to be a challenge in both countries, with the currently reported coverage being 59.5% and 18.5%, respectively. The index of sustainable development goal (SDG) performance of Ghana and India stands at 65.4 and 61.9 with global rankings of 100 and 117, respectively. The adverse impacts of poor access to sanitation increasingly reflect on rising numbers of population suffering from water-borne diseases. From the policy perspective, the paper highlights the need for framing pro-poor water and sanitation policies; focusing on women and girls' education; promoting affordable water and sanitation services; promoting collaboration of stakeholders involved in the rural water and sanitation sectors; and increasing budgetary allocations by local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India has the largest public distribution system (PDS) in the world, working through over five million fair price shops (FPS) to distribute food grains among its beneficiaries at a subsidized rate. In this paper, the authors study the inventory system of Indian FPS. The system involves a distributor, who is solely responsible for the replenishment of the FPS. In a real-world scenario, the distributor is subjected to random supply and transportation disruptions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and minimize the impacts of such disruptions. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the authors adopt a simulation-based technique to explore the impacts of various traits of disruptions like frequency and duration on the FPS inventory system. A simulation model for the Indian FPS is developed and the impacts of disruptions are investigated by a case study. Findings: The authors use a simulation-based optimization technique to suggest a simple managerial change that can lead to a minimization of inventory shortage up to 60 per cent and system cost up to 21 per cent over the existing practice. Originality/value: The present study addresses the FPS inventory system of Indian PDS, which is by its nature unique and has not been considered by any other previous literature. The findings of this study will be of particular interest to the policy-makers to build a more robust PDS in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the increasing number of students in the U.S. who want to visit India to study the country's economic and business sectors. American students are not new to India. It has long been a popular destination for nonprofit work and students of public policy. But now U.S. business schools are realizing the opportunities available in Southeast Asia. INSET: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK.

Frequent droughts, growing water demand, and the ease of accessing groundwater, particularly through boreholes, have led to an over-dependence on groundwater to meet notably agricultural demands in India. This has led the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) to motivate and capacitate rural communities for 'water stewardship' in which the village as a whole comes together to learn about its resources to manage them better. However, improving the management of the water resource is challenging as the general perception is that the water found below one's farm belongs to the landowner. Moreover, what is below the surface is not visible, therefore not well understood. Thus, WOTR designed a water stewardship initiative (WSI) with the Community-Driven Visual Integrator (CoDriVE-VI or CDVI) as one of the important tools; it produces an operational 3D map of the local aquifer. WOTR implemented the WSI in villages in Maharashtra, India. This paper evaluates the impacts and potential of the WSI and CDVI. We observed that the visual effect of these 3D models of aquifers helps local communities and farmers better understand and appreciate groundwater as a shared resource. This tool is effective in promoting water stewardship, achieving behavioural change in water users, and helping implement groundwater laws and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based framework for estimating the flood vulnerabilities in river basins. The methodology has been exemplified for the 21 districts of the Narmada river basin in central India. Sensitivity and adaptive capacity indicators have been identified and used for the development of the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI). DEA-based study was employed to assess the Scale Efficiencies and the Returns to Scale and insights drawn from the analysis have been discussed in the context of policy and planning related to reduction of flood vulnerabilities. Cluster analysis has also been deployed to classify districts in terms of flood vulnerabilities. Results from the flood vulnerability assessment model case study indicate that 76% of the districts in the Narmada river basin remain highly vulnerable to flood-risk, while the socio-economic parameters and physical sizes of districts and their resources play a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to study the export knowledge to be the determinant of export strategy, export commitment and export performance in carpet Industry. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative–quantitative approach, the unit of analysis is the individual export venturing firm in India. More in detail, a qualitative analysis was conducted through a focus group interview to explore the challenges of carpet exports. A quantitative analysis was performed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and, because of covariate nature of the proposed research model, structural equation modeling to evaluate the research hypotheses. Findings: The results emphasized that Indian carpet exports face major challenges, namely, issues of raw material that is wool, shortage of labor for weaving carpets and a lack of organization which has a negative impact on productivity and quality. Furthermore, this study shows that export knowledge directly influences the export strategy, export commitment and export performance. Originality/value: Building on the results, this paper suggests corrective measures, as well as required knowledge, to formulate a strategy and boost the export performance of the carpet sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the crackdown on undocumented immigrants in India in 2019. The government has identified millions of people they consider foreigners who have no right to live in the country. Home minister Amit Shah announced plans to deport undocumented immigrants to Bangladesh. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised to act on the influx of undocumented immigrants.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid algorithm, which is a blend of auto-regressive integral moving average (ARIMA) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) for addressing the non-linearity of the load time series. Design/methodology/approach: Short-term load forecasting is a complex process as the nature of the load-time series data is highly nonlinear. So, only ARIMA-based load forecasting will not provide accurate results. Hence, ARIMA is combined with MLP, a deep learning approach that models the resultant data from ARIMA and processes them further for Modelling the non-linearity. Findings: The proposed hybrid approach detects the residuals of the ARIMA, a linear statistical technique and models these residuals with MLP neural network. As the non-linearity of the load time series is approximated in this error modeling process, the proposed approach produces accurate forecasting results of the hourly loads. Originality/value: The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested in the laboratory with the real load data of a metropolitan city from South India. The performance of the proposed hybrid approach is compared with the conventional methods based on the metrics such as mean absolute percentage error and root mean square error. The comparative results show that the proposed prediction strategy outperforms the other hybrid methods in terms of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes scenarios to achieve more crop per drop and irrigation for all in water-scarce irrigation systems, with a particular reference to India. It uses economic water productivity (EWP) and water cost curve for EWP as tools to reallocate irrigation consumptive water use (CWU) and identify economically viable cropping patterns. Assessed in the water-scarce Sina irrigation system in Maharashtra, India, the method shows that drought-tolerant annual crops such as fruits and/or fodder should be the preferred option in irrigated cropping patterns. Cropping patterns with orchard or fodder as permanent fixtures will provide sustainable income in low rainfall years. Orchards in combination with other crops will increase EWP and value of output in moderate to good rainfall years. Governments should create an enabling environment for conjunctive water use and allocation of CWU to achieve a gradual shift to high-value annual/perennial crops as permanent fixtures in cropping patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents statistics on a variety of topics including the estimated sales and consumption of toilet paper in the U.S. compared to India and Canada. Statistics comparing the population of the U.S. with India and Canada are presented along with a comparison of the number of people who have access to adequate sanitary toilets in the U.S., India, Canada and Ethiopia.

Reports on the Delhi, India-based environmental group Center for Science and Environment's evaluation of the production processes of paper mills in India as of August 18, 2000. Background on the impact of the paper production industry on the environment.

The paper aims to understand how the public perceives river water quality and related risks and behaviour. Using the stratified semi-purposive sampling process, the study explores the perception of people residing along the river Yamuna in India. The method applied involved a structured questionnaire survey of 2706 respondents and four focused group discussions with people residing within two kilometres of the river bank. Nonparametric tests such as Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U-test and One-Sample Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test were used to analyse the data. The findings suggest that the majority of the respondents formulate their perceptions using non-scientific methods like sensorial and heuristics. Perception on sources of pollution is shaped by personal experiences and people do not perceive diffused sources of pollution that affect river water quality. Respondents attributed the pollution in the river to anthropogenic activities and their risk perception was found to be linked to their direct dependence on the river for their daily needs. The paper suggests behavioural change strategies to focus on social, governance, and technological drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general perception of canal irrigation systems in India is one of built infrastructure with low service performance. This paper presents an analytical framework, applied to the Sina medium irrigation system in Maharashtra state of India, to study the performance of an expandedwater influence zone (WIZ) including a buffer zone outside the canal command area (CCA) influenced by the irrigation system'swater resources. The framework used satellite-based estimates of land-use and cropping patterns. The results indicate that there is hardly any gap between the irrigation potential created (IPC) and the irrigation potential utilized (IPU) in the CCA. The fraction of consumptive water use (CWU) of irrigation is low in the CCA, but almost one in theWIZ, due to the reuse of return flows in the WIZ. Future investments should focus on increasing economic water productivity ($/m³) in order to enhance the resilience of the farming community in theWIZ, which is frequently affected by water scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As water is a state subject in India, an enormous variation of irrigation water pricing across the states is noticed. Revenue collection under irrigation water charges of the states is not encouraging. The present paper reviews the structures of water pricing mechanism in different states of India and suggests a way to achieve sustainable water resources management in India. Various reports, water policy documents, and major recommendations of the irrigation commission were reviewed and analyzed. It was observed that low revenue collection is mainly due to the low rate of water taxes, no periodic revision, and flaws in the current revenue collection mechanism across the states. The water regulatory authority should be made a statutory body to manage various water uses and their fair pricing. A volumetric pricing system can be implemented in wells and tube-well-irrigated areas and for surface irrigation, and this requires considerable investment in irrigation water supply infrastructure and development of operational plans. Until a well-developed volumetric system comes into practice, the current system of revenue assessment and collection must be rationalized and simplified. An appropriate power tariff policy for rural areas and inclusion of the irrigation sector in a ground water conservation fee is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drip method of irrigation (DMI) has the potential to save substantial water and electrical energy as well as increase the productivity of crops. Studies conducted on different high value crops have confirmed the various benefits of DMI. However, not many studies have researched the income and resource impact of drip irrigation including its benefit-cost pattern using survey data in crops like groundnut, which is an important oilseed crop in India. In this paper, an attempt has been made to fill this gap by using survey data collected from a waterscarce district from Tamil Nadu State in India. The results show that DMI can save about 34% of cultivation cost, 36% of water and electrical energy and increase about 79% of productivity over the same crop cultivated under conventional flood method of irrigation. The drip adopters are also able to generate an additional farm business income of Rs 25,911/acre (1 USD = INR 74.92, 1 acre = 4,047 m²) over the non-drip adopters. The net present worth and benefit-cost ratio estimated using discounted cash flow technique shows that investment in drip irrigation is economically highly viable for groundnut cultivating farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This synthesis paper explores the reasons hindering water cooperation between India and Pakistan on the Indus River Basin. It argues that both domestic and international-level elements narrow the size of the 'win-sets' which make water cooperation between the two states highly challenging. Not only state actors but also the domestic actors in both India and Pakistan have repeatedly played 'water games'. Further, due to long-standing geopolitical and territorial conflicts between India and Pakistan, the strategies pursued so far by these states including 'securitization', 'issue-linkage' and 'alliance strategies' as leverage mechanisms, have also contributed to the lack of cooperation in their water realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the move by the government of India to spend too much on defense but wasted much of it. India's armed forces have become among the world's top five after importing more firearms, ships and airplanes. The armed forces are criticized for failing to reform, restructure or revise doctrine. The effort of the defense ministry to address questions about procurement and promotions is also discussed.

This paper studies the effect of habitat complexity on Greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and tiger (Panthera tigris) population model in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Assam, India. Based on the analysis of the data collected from PCCF, Wildlife, Assam, three mathematical models are formulated and studied. In view of ecology, the main objective of the study is to increase the size of rhino population in aforesaid park. The mathematical stability and the complex dynamical behavior of systems are analyzed here. In KNP, the immature rhinos are killed by tiger, so the first system describes a stage structured prey–predator interaction , where the rhino is the prey and is divided into immature (horn not developed) and mature (horn developed) category and the tiger is the predator. The immature rhino is killed by the tiger following Holling type-II functional response, while the mature rhino falls prey to human induced poaching activities [Source: PCCF Wildlife, Assam, India]. Though Kaziranga is famous all over the world for the Greater one-horned rhinoceros, many other herbivores are also present in really good number and the tiger preys on them too. Thus, the previous system is modified by modifying the Holling type-II functional response incorporating the effect of additional food availability. To increase the number of rhino and to maintain the ecological balance of KNP, the second system is further extended by introducing habitat complexity in the Holling type-II functional response. In each system, equilibrium points have been obtained and their stability are discussed. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the analytical results. Based on the simulation results, it can be stated that the size of the rhino population increases in the presence of additional food and habitat complexity in spite of the poaching activities to a certain extent. The system shows complex dynamical behavior like Hopf bifurcation with respect to Poaching activity. Sensitivity analysis with respect to four important parameters viz., poaching effect, quality and quantity of the additional food and habitat complexity is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how progress towards meeting the sustainable development goal of providing universal and equitable access to drinkingwater for all is distributed across the spectrumof urban settlements. The studymeasures how urban local governments (N= 3,547) in a rapidly urbanizing country, India, have increased their coverage of water supply to households between 2001 and 2011. I use theories on multilevel governance of urban services to develop a multilevel linear regression to model the city- and state-level factors associated with growth in water supply coverage. The results show that 68% of cities and towns have recorded water coverage growth, but the extent of this progress is unequally distributed across cities in different states and between cities of different sizes. Small cities and towns, which house over two-thirds of India's urban population, have recorded significantly lowerwater coverage growth rates as have cities in low-income states. These findings suggest that policies for urban water infrastructure development should focus on smaller cities and towns if we are to achieve spatial equity in access to water for all in an increasingly urban world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motivation behind this paper is to understand the status of water resources management education provided in higher education institutions (HEIs) in India and decipher gaps between what is taught and what is needed in the field. The assessment has been carried out based on the information available on the respective websites of the HEIs using keywords. The authors have also reached out to faculty members and final-year students in universities/HEIs in India. There are a good number of HEIs in India, which offer educational programmes in waterrelated subjects, though their distribution is skewed and there seems to be a clear bias in favour of the technological aspects of water. Relatively fewer HEIs engage themselves in social, economic and gender-related issues. It is imperative to popularise research in the social, economic and regulatory aspects of water management. Not all HEIs have provided information about the areas of research they engage in, on their websites. Further, a limited number of faculty members and students have responded to the questionnaires. The preparedness of any country in addressing its current challenges can be gauged from the incorporation and subsequent entrenchment of these roles into the fabric of HEIs. This article can be looked upon as reference documents which will go a long way to enabling the identification of synergies, interlinkages and collaboration opportunities to find solutions for a plethora of challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many towns in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) are experiencing permanent water crises due to increasing population pressure, urbanization, and poor management of existing water sources. This paper focuses on two towns - Mussoorie and Devprayag in the western IHR - to understand various aspects of the growing water scarcity and urban water management. In the current scenario of a changing climate, natural springs, their main water resource, are drying up. Mussoorie experiences an acute shortage of water in summer, precisely when the town hosts numerous tourists. In Devprayag, religious tourism and in-migration from rural areas contribute to rising demand. The reduced discharge in nearby streams has widened the demand-supply gap. An integrated management of water sources is crucial to solving water problems in Mussoorie and Devprayag. In both towns, little effort has been made towards recharging existing water sources. Detailed planning of the water supply system while being mindful of the floating population, a proper sewage and storm water management system, and rainwater harvesting schemes, are absent. There is an urgent need to adopt a comprehensive approach to solving urban water issues, covering aspects of demand, supply and water resources management in these hill towns for adaptive water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between personality, motivating factors and herding behaviour of individual investors. Investors' personality has been classified consonant to the personality traits (compliant, aggressive and detached) encapsulated in Horney's tripartite model. Design/methodology/approach: To carry out this study, the author surveyed 363 individual investors of the Indian stock market using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling is used to empirically test the relationships between personality, three motivating factors (cognitive capability, emotional factors and social factors) and herding behaviour. Findings: The result reveals that, expect compliant personality, none shows proclivity towards herding behaviour. Investors possessing compliant personality are more influenced by social motivating factors; however, cognitive factor motivates aggressive personality, inhibiting herding behaviour. Furthermore, investors having detached personality are not influenced by any motivating factors of herding. Research limitations/implications: The limitation is the difficulty in generalizing the results to overall country populations as the Indian stock market has a huge turnover every day, and the author's survey consisted of only small sample of individual investors. Practical implications: The outcomes of this study could possibly unveil a new insight to discern the behaviour of individual investors in the Indian stock market. Originality/value: The influences of personality on investment choices have been investigated before, but the influence of personality specifically on herding behaviour has not being adequately investigated in an emerging economy like India, as very scanty literature is available on the influence of personality on herding behaviour. The study addresses this gap and further explores the association of personality with different motivating factors that cause herding bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks at the development of the identity of Indian animation in relation to the growth and identity of the Indian nation. It covers the period marked by socialist context in which two government-funded organizations, the Cartoon Film Unit (CFU) at the Films Division of India (FDI) and the National Institute of Design (NID) produced a total of 266 animated films. In the first decades it is an era characterized by broad international influences in animation and design, works of producer Jehangir Bhownagary and the rise of Indian animators such as Ishu Patel, R. L. Mistry, Ram Mohan, Binita Desai and Pramod Pati, as well as by making of the first independent Indian animated film The Banyan Deer (1957). Then the paper examines more closely two films that illustrate how the filmmakers in the following decades tried to integrate indigenous narrative traditions, sound and visuals to create films to deliver essential messages that were relevant to the growth of the Indian socialist nation: Vijaya Mulay's and Bhimsain Khurana’s Ek Anek Aur Ekta (One, Many and Unity, 1974) and R. L. Mistry's National Highway (1984). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses India's monetary reforms and their impact on the country's economy and institutions. Topics discussed include Prime Minister Narendra Modi's withdrawal of several rupee notes from the market, the objective of Modi's demonetisation policy, the option for the Reserve Bank of India to create new currency liabilities.

Purpose: Increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education has, along with other consequences, shifted the context from teacher-centric to student-centric. These changes pose fresh challenges to the prevalent education systems all over the world, which already have fallen short of the expectations. The purpose of this study is to show that e-learning is not only about ICT following a holistic approach to learning which embeds systemic approach and learning loops but also about students and teacher's actions in ICT-enabled learning environment. This study investigates the importance of engagement of students and teachers in blended learning with a focus on factors which affect this engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Based on systems theory and socio-technological approach to e-learning, the paper documents an experiment which was carried out in a higher education institution. Postgraduate students of one course were divided into two groups. Instructor of the first group was not required to engage with the online content and had to deliver his course in a traditional face-to-face format. Instructor of the second group continuously spent time on the learning management system (LMS), developing more content, participating in online discussions and responding to students. LMS tracked the online activity of both the instructors, and semi-structured interviews of students were conducted. Findings: Based on behaviour of 152 students of a postgraduate programme, students' time spent online is directly proportional to the instructor's online time, promptness of instructor's response to online activities queries of students increased student engagement, the students' engagement increases if the online content is related to the syllabus but engagement is not the same as the face-to-face lectures in the class. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted in India and is based on the behaviour of instructors and students in India. It was focussed on engagement issues of blended learning, while other issues of blended learning have not been in the focus of the research. Practical implications: The research is important for the practice of higher education, and the result of the study can be taken into consideration while developing online courses for students enrolled in higher education. Social implications: If higher education institutions take a strategic decision to use ICT in e-learning, engagements of participants and factors affecting engagement are crucial for the better quality of education. In such a way, blended learning fulfils requirements of a holistic approach to learning. Originality/value: Despite the fact that e-learning as a way to deliver academic content has been extensively researched, there are not many studies focussed on engagement issues in blended learning, and even fewer studies have been conducted in an experimental way which allow in-depth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is persuading telecommunication companies for WiFi Based Internet Access called Pan-India in urban locations of India, with recommendation of the its cost. It states that TRAI has released a consultation paper for receiving public opinion on the same. It mentions that TRAI has addressed issues related to cost of data plans in the consultation paper.

Water scarcity is a serious concern in emerging economies, as it impacts human development, livelihoods, environment and economic growth. Policies should be formulated in a way that reflects the problem of water scarcity and is oriented towards providing solutions. The science-policy interface can play a key role in translating scientific knowledge into policy action and in mitigating water scarcity of emerging economies like that of India. Hence, the paper aims to review scientific knowledge on water scarcity in India, and analyze the extent to which this knowledge is reflected in the water policies - to understand the science-policy interface. This has been done by extensive review of various scientific approaches used to assess water scarcity at the national and state level. The analysis indicates that Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the north-west, and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the south experience high water scarcity. To analyze whether this scientific knowledge has been translated into policy, existing water policies were critically reviewed. The paper, by identifying key policy areas, discusses challenges and opportunities for strengthening the science-policy interface, in the context of water scarcity mitigation. The paper argues that translating scientific knowledge into policy action continues to be a major challenge in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a policy comparison tool for Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) so that they can choose the best policy for implementation. It provides for turnaround of a troubled MFI by analyzing the performance of different policies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper has done a web survey to identify the need of a strategic tool for MFI. It has built a Decision Support System (DSS) using system dynamics. A corporate model of MFI has been constructed using iThink 10.0.2 software. A quantitative validity test has been done to find the robustness of the model. Finally four policies are tested and the performance indicators have been used to suggest the best policy. Apart from this DSS is used to test the implementation range of a policy. Findings – “Integration of Microfinance with country’s mainstream financial system along with provisioning 1 percent of outstanding loans” is recommended for the MFI as this will increase the financial performance. Research limitations/implications – In its present form the corporate model developed for MFI is not applicable for judging social performance. Therefore MFIs might be sceptic toward it. However, incorporation of certain performance indicators such as financial-self-sufficiency ratio might help in overcoming this reluctance. Practical implications – “Integration of Microfinance with country’s mainstream financial system along with restricting provision” will generate better performance for the MFI. Therefore this policy should be implemented by the MFI. There are other considerations which need to be taken into account while implementing this policy. The integration may require outsourcing of certain operations to banks, utilization of bank branches to disseminate knowledge related to the conduct of transactions, usage of customized bank software to handle the day-to-day business, development of new softwares for mobile messaging to help poor customers avail of schemes run by the banks, fill loan application forms online, send reminders for loan recovery; provide incentives such as upgradation of poor customers to become regular customers of banks. Social implications – By improving the health of the MFI a bigger goal to reach the poor will be achieved in the long run. The MFI has around five million clients at present and if the company becomes insolvent then the future of these clients is going to be impacted. The organization has interacted closely with these clients and therefore knows how to upgrade their financial state. Originality/value – The tool is first of its kind in the microfinance industry. So far the microfinance technology providers have dealt with Management Information System and Information and Communication Technology. The tool has been built to present a quantitative model for overall operations of the MFI. The simulation of this model helps in predicting future scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of the Mullaperiyar Dam dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu with specific reference to the two judgments delivered by the Supreme Court of India on the matter. This paper attempts to examine the arguments, facts, and the judgment of the Court on each of the primary issues raised during the course of the dispute. The first case was filed by the Mullaperiyar Environmental Protection Forum in 2001, wherein the Court adjudged the case in favour of the respondents, the State of Tamil Nadu. Consequently, due to certain developments, examined in the course of the second case, the State of Tamil Nadu filed a petition before the Supreme Court against Kerala in 2006 seeking relief for the actions on the part of the latter after the judgment in the first case. A Constitution Bench was constituted to adjudicate this case, which re-examined certain issues raised during the first case and conclusively laid down its decision in favour of Tamil Nadu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on retraction of scientific papers from India. It makes reference to papers submitted by M. Sivasubramanian published in 2009 issue of the Elsevier journal "Computers & Mathematics with Applications" and another paper on science and in the 2010 issue of the journal "Applied Mathematics Letters." It discusses findings of the mathematics community on these papers.

Purpose -- Although many cases where viable system model (VSM) was successfully applied exist, hardly any literature advises the novice VSM user regarding the accomplishment of a VSM diagnosis. The purpose of this paper is to show practitioners and researchers how to conduct a VSM diagnosis. The paper further seeks to encourage others to apply VSM and to share their experience with using VSM. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper provides detailed guidelines on how to conduct a VSM diagnosis in conjunction with qualitative research methods. It outlines the data collection, analysis and presentation of results. Findings -- VSM is an outstanding diagnostic tool. Qualitative research methods provide access to the essential information for the VSM diagnosis and should be used in iteration with VSM. They can enhance the VSM diagnosis by focusing on the soft aspects in the investigated system. The VSM language needs to be adapted to the specific context in which VSM is used and VSM can be applied in a participatory manner. Further research needs to explore possibilities to strengthen the handling of detected shortcomings that were revealed during the VSM diagnosis. Research limitations/implications -- This paper is based on one experience with the VSM application and other VSM users might provide different insights. Originality/value -- There is little practical advice in existing literature regarding the accomplishment of a VSM diagnosis. This paper addresses that gap. In addition, VSM has not been applied to a sugarcane production and supply system before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first few disease generations of an infectious disease outbreak is the most critical phase to implement control interventions. The lack of accurate data and information during the early transmission phase hinders the application of complex compartmental models to make predictions and forecasts about important epidemic quantities. Thus, simpler models are often times better tools to understand the early dynamics of an outbreak particularly in the context of limited data. In this paper we mechanistically derive and fit a family of logistic models to spatial-temporal data of the 1905 plague epidemic in Bombay, India. We systematically compare parameter estimates, reproduction numbers, model fit, and short-term forecasts across models at different spatial resolutions. At the same time, we also assess the presence of sub-exponential growth dynamics at different spatial scales and investigate the role of spatial structure and data resolution (district level data and city level data) using simple structured models. Our results for the 1905 plague epidemic in Bombay indicates that it is possible for the growth of an epidemic in the early phase to be sub-exponential at sub-city level, while maintaining near exponential growth at an aggregated city level. We also show that the rate of movement between districts can have a significant effect on the final epidemic size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]