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Background and Aims: Highly cited papers (HCPs) can influence both research and clinical practice. They help to identify core literature and important advances in a field. This study aimed to assess the current status and prospects of South Asia COVID-19 research from the HCPs using bibliometric indicators. Methodology: COVID-19 literature from South Asia published between December 2019 and 29 November 2023 in the Scopus database was analysed. The top HCPs, having more than 200 citations, were evaluated. Information about citation counts, authors and organisations and their affiliations, year of publication, source journal, geographical origin, subject, article type, funding details, etc. were retrieved and analysed. Data and visualisation analysis was undertaken using Microsoft Excel and other bibliometric software. Results: The 298 South Asia HCPs were published from 2020 to 2023 and were cited 200–3,596 times, with a mean average of 413.9 citations per paper (CPP). Around 24.5% and 51.3% of HCPs received external funding support and were involved in international collaboration, respectively. The most productive organisations were the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, while the most impactful organisations were Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai, and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Mumbai. The most productive journals were Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. Conclusions: This study has identified core and significant authors, organisations, journals, subject fields and significant keywords, collaborators and funding agencies involved in South Asia's COVID-19 research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farhat Hasan, Paper, Performance, and the State: Social Change and Political Culture in Mughal India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, xv+155 pp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reserve Bank of India, not to be left behind, played its part in this transformational journey, by issuing regulations and recommendations on banking mechanization and computerization. Financial sector in general and banking industry in Particular is the largest spender and beneficiary from information technology. According to John Finnerty, "Financial Innovation involves the design, the development, and the implementation of innovative financial instruments and processes, and the formulation of creative solutions to problems in finance". The various innovations in banking and financial sector are ECS, RTGS, EFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ donation following circulatory determination of death (DCDD) has contributed significantly to the donor pool in several countries, without compromising the outcomes of transplantation or the number of donations following brain death (BD). In India, majority of deceased donations happen following BD. While existing legislation allows for DCDD, there have been only a few reports of kidney transplantation following DCDD from the country. This document, prepared by a multi-disciplinary group of experts, reviews the international best practices in DCDD and outlines the path for furthering the same in India. The ethical, medical, legal, economic, procedural, and logistic challenges unique to India for all types of DCDD based on the Modified Maastricht Criteria have been addressed. India follows an opt-in system for organ donation that does not allow much scope for uncontrolled DCDD categories I and II. The practice of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) in India is in its infancy. The process of WLST, laid down by the Supreme Court of India, is considered time-consuming, possible only in patients in a permanent vegetative state, and considered too cumbersome for day-to-day practice. In patients where continued medical care is determined to be futile following detailed and repeated assessment, the procedure for WLST, as laid down and published by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in conjunction with leading medical experts is described. In controlled DCDD (category-III), the decision for WLST is independent of and delinked from the subsequent possibility of organ donation. Once families are inclined toward organ donation, they are explained the procedure including the timing and location of WLST, consent for antemortem measures, no-touch period, and the possibility of stand down and return to the intensive care unit without donation. While donation following neurologic determination of death (DNDD) is being increasingly practiced in the country, there are instances where the cardiac arrest occurs during the process of declaration of BD, before organ retrieval has been done. Protocol for DCDD category-IV deals with such situations and is described in detail. In DCDD category V, organ donation may be possible following unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation of cardiac arrest in the intensive care. An outline of organ-specific requisites for kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantation following DCDD and the use of techniques such as normothermic regional perfusion and ex vivo machine perfusion has been provided. With increasing experience, the outcomes of transplantation following DCDD are comparable to those following DBDD or living donor transplantation. Documents and checklists necessary for the successful execution of DCDD in India are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Indian pulp and paper industry is one of the fastest emerging business sector of the country which has shown tremendous growth in last few years. Governments policies are creating sustain pressure on paper industries to preserve the clean and pollution free environment at any price. As a result industries are pondering to replace the chemical bleaching processes with facile bio-based cost effective technologies. Eco-friendly bleaching enzymes like xylanases and laccases have the potential for biobleaching of wood and agro-based pulps at industrial scale. In India, enzymatic prebleaching of pulp is widely being investigated and has achieved favorable outcomes but at laboratory scales only and commercial application of enzymes for the delignification of pulp is still at budding stage. This article tends to draw the attention on significant efforts which have been continually attributed by indigenous research laboratories and industries to replace the chemical bleaching with enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a quantitative and qualitative description of machine learning research in India using measures such as growth rate, global publication share, national-level share of international collaborative papers, citations per paper, and highly cited papers. The data for the study was sourced from Scopus database covering 12-year period 2006-17. The study finds that the United States is the world leader in the machine learning research, followed by China, United Kingdom, Germany, and India. India registered 52.46% annual growth in the subject, more than twice that of the world (22.03%). India's citation impact was 5.34 citations per paper and its national share of highly cited papers was 0.68% (27 papers). The leading Indian research organizations in machine learning research include Vellore Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore, and so on. The top 15 journals that accounted for 31.46% of India's output include International Journal of Machine Learning and Cybernetics (with 82 papers), International Journal of Applied Engineering Research (77 papers), Journal of Machine Learning Research (46 papers), Neurocomputing (44 papers), and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous communities and their way of life are facing significant challenges due to globalisation, industrialisation and urbanisation, which have forced them to gradually adopt the architecture, lifestyle, and culture of mainstream society. This paper proposes a Smart Vernacular Architecture (SVA) framework and applies it to the indigenous dwellings of the Todas, a tribal community living in India's Nilgiri mountains. The architecture and indoor space quality of these dwellings are investigated in this paper based on specific thermal comfort parameters like the interior temperature and airflow. The indoor temperatures of Toda dwellings are simulated for the predicted climate of 2100 to evaluate their climate resilience. Finally, the paper illustrates the usage of virtual reality (VR) to explore and visualise the Toda settlement and the interior environment parameters of a Toda dwelling to effectively convey and preserve the knowledge of vernacular architecture. In a nutshell, this paper elucidates the advantages of vernacular architecture and construction methods to arouse the interest of academics, policymakers, students, and professionals in preserving architecture, culture, and indigenous knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of highly cited papers from India in Web of Science from 1989-2015 are analyzed. The papers that have been cited at least 100 times till the 31st December 2015 are examined. Scientometric analysis of paper that have been cited at least 2000 times, their citation counts in 2015 and average citations per year and subject category are computed. Major contributing institutions, total papers and citation counts per paper are identified. The major collaborating countries, their total papers and their citation counts were also investigated. The most productive journals and their citation counts and the most prolific authors with at least 50 papers are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal diseases are a serious threat to Eucalyptus spp., which are cultivated worldwide for pulp and paper. Robust and timely detection of Eucalyptus pathogens is thus a crucial step in disease prevention and control. In 2022 , leaf spots were observed on Eucalyptus trees in Karnal, northern India. Fungal isolates displaying morphological characteristics similar to Neofusicoccum mangiferae were consistently recovered from the infected leaves. The morphological identification was validated by phylogenetic analysis employing internal transcribed spacer (ITS), partial translation elongation factor-1α (tef1) and partial β-tubulin (tub2) regions. Finally, Koch's postulates for N. mangiferae as a foliar pathogen of Eucalyptus were fulfilled. This is the first confirmed report of N. mangiferae affecting Eucalyptus trees in India. [Display omitted] • This study first time reports Neofusicoccum mangiferae as a foliar pathogen of Eucalyptus in India. • The pathogen was identified based on microscopic features, multilocus phylogenetic analysis and pathogenicity tests. • This is a new taxonomic addition to the diversity of Botryosphaeriaceae affecting Eucalyptus in India. • This study provides future directions to decipher the diversity of Neofusicoccum spp., their host range and testing of Eucalyptus germplasm for disease-resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objectives of the present study is to determine the, growth of literature in the field of sociology and the related authorship pattern; value of group co-efficient for collaborative research and geographical distribution of papers during 1999-21003. The study shows that the highest number of papers (86) were published in 2001 and 2003. The number of single author papers is higher at 84% out of a total of 475. The value of group co-efficient (gp) was only 0.16. The degree of collaboration among the co-authors was minimum (0.02) in articles written by five authors and maximum (0.12) in two- author papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a brief profile of Doctor Sripati Chandrasekhar, founding editor of "Population Review," as well as an introduction to his papers that were organized by the staff at the Ward M. Canaday Center at the University of Toledo in Ohio. It chronicles Chandrasekhar's personal and educational background, his role in promoting India's independence, and his contributions to his country's population control efforts as an economist, scholar, legislator and government official. The categories of papers accumulated by Chandrasekhar are considered.

India's relations with the Latin American countries have been traditionally friendly and interaction with them is close both at bilateral and multilateral level. India's collaboration with Latin American countries has resulted in different kinds of outputs, including joint publications, technology development, technology transfer, improvised products and processes. The joint research output emanating out of research collaboration is an important source of information for mapping India's collaboration with Latin America, and its impact on different fields. This paper attempts to study the research collaboration of India with Latin America, with the following objectives: (i) To study the nature of Indian collaboration with Latin American countries in S&T, as reflected in co-authored research papers, (ii) To identify the specific subject areas of Indian collaboration with Latin America, (iii) To study the impact of Indian collaborative research with Latin America in different fields, and (iv) To identify the major Indian institutions involved in this collaborative research with institutions in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explains the criteria that scholars must consider in their papers to be submitted to "Language India's" volume of analysis of selected novels. He lists the 11 novels shortlisted by the jury for the Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 for Indian Writing in English. He mentions the members of the jury for the competition, including novelist Shashi Deshpande and essayist Mukul Kesavan. He also reveals the objective of the journal in bringing out a volume of analysis of the selected novels.

This paper describes the monitoring and evaluation of three improved cookstove dissemination projects implemented between 2004 and 2006 by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India and Mexico. The projects assessed stove performance using lab-based water boiling tests (WBTs), which yield a number of performance indicators including time to boil water, specific fuel consumption, and energy efficiency when the stove is operated at both high and low power output. They also conducted field-based kitchen performance tests (KPTs), which yield daily per capita fuel consumption in real cooking conditions. In addition, one NGO utilized a controlled cooking test, which combined elements of lab- and field-based tests. In all cases, improved cookstoves (ICSs) were compared to local traditional cookstoves (TCSs). The results of the WBTs were mixed. Although the improved stoves generally showed some improvement in efficiency for the low-power simmering phases, the stoves were less efficient than traditional stoves in high-power water-boiling phases. The results from the KPTs were much less ambiguous. Three ICS models were tested for fuel consumption during real household use. All ICSs showed statistically significant reductions (p < 0.05) in average daily per capita fuel use ranging from 19 to 67%. We also explore the correlations between the outcomes in lab-based tests and field-based tests in order to understand the relationships between the two assessment methods. Only fuel consumption in the low-power phase of the WBT showed a strong correlation with fuel consumption in the field (r2 = 0.83, p = 0.01). We discuss the implications of this association as well as the other outcomes and present some policy recommendations for monitoring and evaluation of large-scale stove interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents an analysis of the socio-linguistic origins of British espionage in India. The author argues that the classics offered an intellectual meeting ground where the imperial elites could reaffirm their shared experiences and knowledge in order to hold feelings of isolation and alienation. The speeches of Sir R. C. Temple provided examples of how the classics maintain a sense of collective identity among civilians and soldiers in the imperial service.

Summary: Objective: Aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) in a central Kerala south Indian population and to evaluate its correlations with diabetes, obesity, insulin levels and other factors. Methods: A cross-sectional community survey including physical examination and biochemical evaluation was conducted among adults above the age of 18 years in central Kerala In the first phase of the study 3069 participants were surveyed using questionnaires regarding socioeconomic status and medical details. Among them 986 subjects were evaluated in the second phase of the study which included anthropometric measurements, examination for blood pressure and Acanthosis Nigricans, blood tests such as blood glucose, fasting lipids. Fasting serum insulin level was measured for all non-diabetic subjects. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 11.0 version software. Results: Results of the study showed that 16.1% of population had AN and it was significantly higher among females (19.6%) than males (11.4%). Prevalence of AN was highest in 30–40 year age group and it decreased with the age. Prevalence of AN correlated positively with female gender, obesity, high triglyceride levels and presence of diabetes. Presence of AN was significantly associated with higher fasting insulin levels. Males with AN had significantly higher insulin values than females with AN. Conclusion: AN has stronger clinical relevance among males than females and it can be used as a marker of insulin resistance in south Indian population especially if obesity and family history of diabetes are also present. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using a discounted cash flow methodology, we have performed a detailed analysis of the current costs of electricity from two Indian nuclear reactors. We compare these costs to that from a recently constructed coal-based thermal power plant of similar size. Our results show that for realistic values of the discount rate, electricity from coal-based thermal power stations is cheaper than nuclear energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The women-energy nexus involves the challenge of engendering energy and the challenge of empowering women through energy. The first challenge arises from the gender disaggregation of energy consumption patterns. A quantitative account of the share of women in these patterns is presented through a description of the rural energy consumption pattern of the village of Pura in South India. The results indicate that women work more hours than men. Women also perform the back-breaking tasks and are displaced by agricultural mechanisation. The energy output-input imbalance is aggravated by the fact that, in developing countries, women traditionally eat last and least in a family – women therefore take in less food energy than men. The gender distribution of labour results in negative health impacts. The scarcity of energy services in rural areas has serious social and gender impacts. Tackling them requires energy interventions to improve the quality of life for women. Examples of such energy interventions are the community biogas plant at the village of Pura and the multi-purpose platforms of the Mali project. Since technological opportunities exist for such energy interventions, attention is turned to the second challenge of empowering women through energy entrepreneur ship. This requires a change of mind-set on the part of energy planners and activists – they must promote the notion of women as managers and entrepreneurs, and not just beneficiaries, of improved energy services. The idea is to push the following sequence: women as deprived in energy consumption patterns → women as beneficiaries of energy interventions → women as managers of enterprises → women as energy entrepreneurs. This is nothing short of a paradigm shift – but once achieved and implemented, the results will speak for themselves. Such an approach will engender energy by converting it into a force for improving the quality of life as well as enhancing productive capacities – a virtuous circle of energy for women and women for energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) affecting populations is considered a public health issue in South/Southeast Asia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the scientometric characteristics and research trends of OSF. All the papers on OSF were comprehensively retrieved from the Scopus database. Regional comparison (India versus outside of India) and chronological comparison (before 2015 versus after 2015) were performed. Among all the 1357 papers on OSF, 930 (68.5%) were from India. In India, biology research on antioxidant, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix were distinctive keywords. Risk factors of smokeless tobacco and gutkha and the roles of saliva and blood sampling were also distinctive keywords in India. In outside of India, biology research on myofibroblast, alpha smooth muscle actin, microRNA, long untranslated RNA, and protein p53 were distinctive keywords. The trend of biology research on connective tissue, genotype, genetic predisposition, messenger RNA, and cytology before 2015 has changed to research on myofibroblast, biological marker, microRNA, epithelial mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix, and oxidative stress after 2015. The trend of clinical aspects of surgery and mouth hygiene before 2015 has changed to the aspects of adverse event/effects, complication, and quality of life after 2015. This scientometric study elucidated the current scenario and research trends of OSF, and would help in improving in reciprocal collaboration and communication for this disease control in South/Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper foregrounds the work of the labourer in infrastructural projects. It draws upon over 6 years of ethnographic study with road construction labourers in the upper Himalayas positioning them as subaltern subjects within discourses of national development. While the subaltern studies project of the 1980s emphasized the 'writing back into history' of the non-elite, primarily peasants, tribal populations and women who too contributed to the imagination of the nation; at the contemporary moment where infrastructure defines national development we need to revisit the subaltern project to draw attention to the forgotten labourers who literally construct the nation and its infrastructure. After arguing for recognition of the labour as intrinsic to infrastructural and national constructions, I discuss possibilities for a dialogic engagement with the subaltern. Pushing the debates within subaltern geographies on the politics of representation, I argue that perhaps the way forward is not about giving voice but about making space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the concept of language varieties concerning their influence on social norms, prestige, and social class. It highlights the different varieties of language, including dialects, registers, and standard languages, and their relationship with the concept of a speech community. The paper also delves into the spread of English across the globe, its historical and political factors, and its impact on linguistic diversity and cultural identity in countries like India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The efficiency and reliability of Kachru's Three Circle Model of English are also examined, and recommendations are provided for further research into World Englishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education (HE) in India has seen an exponential growth phase over the last two decades. Challenges of meeting expansion demands along with goals of equity and quality have underpinned discussions on educational reforms as well. The dynamics of market-supported increased access have compromised on goals of equity, whereas the role of technology in assisting growth has been fraught with similar and greater social challenges. A new normal seems to have emerged into the HE landscape across the world in the form of legitimising and rationalising 'digital' as an equal alternative to the face to face. In the context of a developing postcolonial economy like India, this development has further highlighted the contradictory pulls within the emerging aims/purposes of HE. The digital divide even as it impacts or reflects the existing asymmetries in access to resources, also engenders a dilemma with respect to the desired aims of higher education. There appears to be a contingent shift in approach appropriating the discourse of democratisation of knowledge/educational institutions and materially undermining prospects for enhancing social capital of graduates essential for a critical participation in the social, political and economic realm. In this context, the paper aims to problematize the idea of inclusion of the marginalised through digitalisation of education with focus on the pedagogic space and the possibilities for a participatory, mediated, empathetic and empowering pedagogy. The paper begins by contextualising the digital emphasis in the neo-liberal imagination of higher education in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been various Tax reforms from time to time in the Indian taxation system. The introduction and implementation of Goods and Services Tax happen to be one of the revolutionary steps in this regard. In its introductory part, the paper attempts to discuss the structure of and rationale for GST. To analyse the revenue performance of GST on a quarterly basis data has been collected from the website of the Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue which is available on a monthly basis. This paper also addresses the design of GST implemented in India. Future prospects of GST have also been discussed in the light of empirical evidence from other countries. Finally, it may be concluded that if implemented efficiently and properly with the rationality of rates GST may prove a game-changer for the Indian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research paper is to reflect briefly on the contribution of Indian Music, be it, Classical, film song or temple singing and its contribution towards the cultural development it has brought to the benefit of the population in Mauritius, an Indian diaspora nation. It begins by situating Mauritius as a Multicultural country. It then sees the new trends which pave the way through intercultural exchanges between different ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large number of people from villages in the India–Bangladesh borderlands are migrants to Indian cities, particularly to the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. Migration from Cooch Behar, an industrially backward district in the northern part of the state of West Bengal in India sharing border with Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam, has been a regular practice as subsistence agriculture fail to provide the landless agricultural labourers continuous employment and competitive wages. This paper is based on ethnographic study in Delhi NCR and the former 'Chhit Mahals' (as the former border enclaves of Bangladesh and India were called in Bengali) in Cooch Behar district, in the period immediately following their exchange, of historically marginal migrant households whose members work in the construction industry. With the implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh and the finalisation of the India-Bangladesh land boundary, the former Chhit Mahals, that is border enclaves of Bangladesh and India, were exchanged between the two states in August 2015. The former Bangladeshi Chhit Mahals in Cooch Behar are now Indian villages, whose residents had opted for Indian citizenship. This paper explores migration from these former Chhit Mahals with a relational political economy perspective. It analyses both broader socio-cultural, economic, and political processes and interests and the migrants' own feelings which interact with migration to demonstrate how the migrant's labour value is determined at the intersection of identity, affect and the international border, with marginalisation of the migrants from the India–Bangladesh borderlands emerging as a product of layered struggles and a dynamic of continuous cultural reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials adaptation is relatively a recent field of study in ELT, commencing in the late 1980's. Materials adaptation in ELT refers to the modification of materials by bringing the materials closer to a particular context of language teaching. The purpose of materials adaptation is to make language teaching more effective. This paper discusses the process of materials adaptation in ELT focusing on the various techniques. Through a comprehensive literature review and description of existing practices the paper elucidates various techniques employed in materials adaptation. Moreover, the paper investigates diverse issues that hinder the adaptation of ELT materials in Indian context. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the materials adaptation as a significant process in ELT. Moreover, the paper also aims to highlight various issues in Indian context that need to be addressed to include materials development as a crucial element in English language teaching classrooms in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the understanding of collectivism and sisterhood among Oraon tribal women in the Netarhat Field Firing Range movement. Further, this study discusses tribal women's consciousness of repressive operations of the state and of their experiences of triple oppression as a tribal group, as women, and as activists. Tribal women's goals, however, are much more than women's liberation; they demand tribal autonomy and the right to forest resources so that tribal people can live peacefully in their regions. This study also looks at how a group of women shared their gender-based grievances as well as their everyday struggle under militarized control of their villages. Often, women's groups are at the forefront of rallies and marches, mobilizing the villagers and attending village meetings, but the male-dominated society rarely views women's revolutionary accomplishments as an effort of sisterhood. The state government agreed to the tribal demand not to re-notify the Netarhat Field Firing Range Project, not only because of the efforts of the men of the society but also due to women's willpower, solidarity, and bravery within the movement. Using the narrative approach, this research aims to explore tribal women's lived experiences and everyday struggle during the Netarhat field firing range project with reference to fieldwork conducted in the villages of Mahuadanr, Banari, Navatoli, and Sakhuapani where tribal women activists played a key role. Until now, tribal women's lived experiences, narratives, and consciousness during the different contemporary movements of Jharkhand have been ignored by most scholars. Studying this site is very relevant to understanding tribal women's questions, issues, and feminist standpoints. The fieldwork for this paper was conducted as part of the author's PhD research in Chotanagpur and the Kolhan regions of Jharkhand state, India. The study found that the Netarhat Field Firing Range movement was based on truth claims and followed the Gandhian ideology of non-violence to achieve rights. Further, this paper explores the sisterhood and solidarity amongst tribal women activists, and how non-tribal activists helped strengthen the tribal movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper discusses Muslim parents' attitudes about their daughters' desire to pursue higher education in India. The method used in this study is the use of secondary data gathered from publicly accessible platforms, including reliable articles retrieved using online platforms, including Science Direct, Research Gate, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Initially, 186 papers were screened, and 105 met the requirements to move on to the assessment step. For the 72 papers that made it through the final round of examination, the paper maintains strict standards of accuracy, external validity, citation conventions, and review methods. The results of this review article shed light on the many factors that contribute to the educational crises that Muslim girls in India experience and the crucial role that parental attitudes play in determining their daughters' academic success. The study emphasizes how socioeconomic factors influence Muslim females' access to higher education. The report finishes with suggestions on dealing with these problems and encouraging females in India's Muslim population to pursue higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the relevance of film texts in Indian social studies classrooms for students at the upper primary level. It examines how different types of visual texts can facilitate awareness, critical thinking, discussion and action. Design/methodology/approach: Using multimodal discourse analysis (MDA), this paper critically evaluates five selective films from regional cinemas in India and explores their teaching implications for social studies. The study argues that films are vital multimodal resources that can challenge the prevailing narratives in social studies pedagogy. It conveys how the suggestive revised taxonomy could benefit the students. It proposes a classification system for film analysis with discussion and states how films can bring out interrelated themes and encourage deeper, critical inquiry within the curriculum. The study finds discourse around the films and qualitatively stresses dialogue exchange with sentiment analysis using MAXQDA software. Developed by VERBI software, MAXQDA is a product whose name is inspired by the German Sociologist Max Weber, while the 'QDA' stands for Qualitative Data Analysis. Findings: The films act as multimodal texts, navigators, metaphors, communicative circuits and catalysts. The paper concludes that films can improve and expand multimodal learning of social studies in three ways: films help learners connect emotionally with the concepts, films make the learning process more appealing and extend it beyond classroom boundaries and films offer a unique insight into the socio-cultural subtleties that are often limited in textbooks. Originality/value: This research pioneers an intersectionality-driven framework for film analysis in the curriculum for Indian upper primary social studies, offering innovative pedagogical tools to enrich Indian curriculum insights and bridge existing knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowerment is a process of the powerless gaining power to exercise greater control over the circumstances of their lives. It refers broadly to the expansion of freedom and choices and actions by way of bargaining or negotiation to shape one's life. Empowerment per se results in substantial outcomes in the form of achievements for those having to choose. Empowerment is not only an end but also a strategy to achieve gender equity in human development and to better education and health outcomes for children. Much of the discourse on measuring women's empowerment focuses on various dimensions and their respective indicators. The present paper attempts to understand the conceptual framework for women's empowerment, the measurement of women's empowerment, and its linkages with children's and women's outcomes. The first section delineates the debate on women's empowerment, while the second section deals with the measurement of women's empowerment in India across states, economic classes, religions, and social groups. The paper makes use of NFHS (three rounds) to assess the WEI (Women Empowerment Index) across different categories and analyses the WE and its outcomes from an intersectional perspective. Findings throw light that poor women across all social groups rank low in women empowerment and also have low children's education & and health and women's health outcomes. Strengthening the human and economic resources dimension of women's empowerment through quality employment, and altering gender norms hold the key to realise better outcomes for women and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, agriculture represents the primary occupation of more than 60% of the population. In terms of GDP, economic growth, traditional aspects, and social aspects, agriculture is essential for the country's development. The Indian farmers experienced numerous issues that have an impact on their way of life because the expansion in the agronomy business has not been as expected during the past two decades. Price fluctuation is one of the major issues faced by farmers, and as a result, they cannot get a reasonable price for their commodity. Also, it is very problematic to decide today without knowing the future price. So, this paper focused on finding a solution to the uncertainty problem in price faced by farmers that helps them take appropriate decisions during the farming process. The paper mainly concerns predictive data analytics using the ARIMA model, which predicts the price of areca nut products for the next 4 years using the past ten-year price dataset. The ARIMA model is a time series approach and a very appropriate framework for predicting future prices compared to other models. This paper includes a step-by-step procedure for the ARIMA techniques for forecasting price of agriculture commodity, and the outcomes are represented in the form of tables and graphical representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the airway pressure for infants with meconium aspiration syndrome which includes mechanical ventilation and medical care .

Electric scooters are increasingly gaining popularity in India owing to rising global crude oil prices and rising levels of vehicular pollution. Most of them are currently powered by expensive in-wheel (IW) permanent magnet (PM) brushless DC motors. Owing to their simplicity, and ruggedness while being cost-effective (since they do not employ PMs), switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are a viable alternative. Despite these benefits, SRMs possess drawbacks such as low torque density and inferior efficiency. Recently, a multi-teeth (MT) SRM with an improved performance was reported. However, the design of MTSRM topologies and their electromagnetic performance have not been explored sufficiently. In this paper, a design formula governing the selection of the number of MT and rotor poles for MTSRMs has been proposed. Using this, a novel four-phase 8/18 IW-MTSRM is derived and proposed for an E-scooter. The characteristics of the proposed SRM are numerically compared with a conventional 8/10 SRM based on magnetic characteristics, efficiencies and steady-state operation for the complete torque-speed range. Results indicate that the proposed 8/18 MTSRM has a higher peak torque capacity, torque density, superior drive cycle efficiency and reduced torque ripple. Further, the FEA model is validated experimentally on a downsized 8/18 MTSRM prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blueprint provides a base for assessment by assigning proportionate weightage to various content areas and helps the paper setter to construct a uniform and valid assessment. This study aimed to design and validate a blueprint for theory in Community Medicine as per the new curriculum for Medical Undergraduates in India. Blueprint in community medicine was designed by assigning impact score (I) and frequency score (F) for the competencies. Blueprint was validated using the Content Validity Index (CVI), and inter-rater agreement for subject experts using Fleiss' kappa statistics was calculated. Feedback from faculty and students was obtained afterward to assess the postimplementation response. Blueprint was designed by an expert group where impact score and frequency score were assigned to 146 competencies in the theory of Community Medicine. In Delphi survey I, 63.2% of subject experts responded, while in Delphi survey II, a response rate of 58.3% was achieved. Value of the Fleiss' Kappa test for an inter-rater agreement was 0.68, i.e. "substantial agreement," while CVI among the raters came out to be 0.86, i.e. overall valid assessment. Feedback of faculty (n = 11) suggested that the blueprint was helpful and standardized the paper setting, whereas feedback from students (n = 138) depicted that it helped in preparing for exams, and they would recommend it to other students. Validated blueprint by consensus of subject experts has impact score and frequency score along with topic-wise distribution of marks for the convenience of faculty and its utility is well proven among learners too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluating the making of the language provisions of the Indian Constitution, this paper tries to argue that the idea of Constitutional parity of languages in the Indian polity of a secular nation was overlooked, in contrast to the Constitution's ethos of recognizing and respecting the diverse religions of the land. The Constitution has failed to consider languages as yet another cultural artefact, like religion. By proposing a mono-linguistic model of 'official language', the provisions actually gave way for a 'national' language in disguise, while also valuing and promoting Hindi's Sanskritic roots, thereby assuring Sanskrit a role and visibility in the future of the modern, new-born nation. Finally, the paper tries to propose that the lack of linguistic parity in the legal realm, in terms of state's recognition and patronage, impact the growth and expansion of languages negatively, by exploring the specific case of Bhojpuri language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores the significance of historic urban landscapes (HUL) in the context of Indian heritage management policies. It investigates the challenges faced in preserving and managing historic urban areas and provides recommendations to enhance the integration of HUL approaches within the existing policy framework. The study draws upon a comprehensive review of scholarly articles, reports, and policy documents related to heritage management in India. The findings emphasise the need for a holistic and inclusive approach that recognises the multifaceted nature of urban heritage and fosters sustainable development while preserving historical significance. The paper offers practical recommendations for policymakers and urban planners to incorporate HUL principles into Indian heritage management policies effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and multiple rounds of the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the paper summarises evidence on changes in the employment–unemployment scenario since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related curbs on economic activity since April 2020. The paper presents evidence on how the pandemic affected pre-existing gender, caste gaps and patterns of employment by sector of production (agricultural, manufacturing, and services). The paper situates these shifts in a longer arc, comparing them to the pre-COVID employment scenario, to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on the Indian labour market. The data show that the pandemic reinforced and deepened many of the pre-existing schisms. As economic activity is recovering, employment is increasing, but is yet to return to the pre-pandemic levels. The employment challenge is bigger than just achieving the pre-pandemic levels: there is an urgent need to boost job creation and rectify pre-pandemic deep-rooted inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the work of early Indian professional economists in the field of labour. They undertook wide-ranging studies of labour in factories, mines, and plantations as well as of the condition of rural and agricultural labour and of urban labour outside of industry. Between 1918 and 1930, a major body of work had emerged on Indian labour, with contributions by both Indian and foreign scholars. This work was mostly based on government data, but, in addition, and with telling effect, some scholars also conducted field investigations and came up with disquieting findings. The latter part of the paper examines the contributions of a British statistician-economist, George Findlay-Shirras, and of an Indian labour economist, Rajani Kanta Das. The former, despite some excellent work, was probably responsible for giving a misleading picture of rising agricultural wages, perhaps to suit the views of the colonial government. R.K. Das, through his extensive work on labour economics, before and during his service with the International Labour Organization (ILO), contributed much to the work of the Royal Commission on Labour (1931), but this went unacknowledged. Also, his work on plantation labour in India earned the ire of a British official in the department of industries and labour probably, for highlighting the negative role played by foreign (British) capital. Given his numerous substantive contributions to Indian labour economics, the paper concludes that R.K. Das should be given due recognition for his pioneering role in the development of labour economics in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most speedy and substantial social shifts in human history has been the evolution of gender relations since the turn of the 20th century. Even though female health, literacy and women participation in workforce have significantly improved, the status of women in Indian society is not very satisfactory leading to gender disparities. It is in this background that this paper attempts to analyse the role of education, labour market and health in reducing gender disparities across the states over the period of time. To analyse the impact of these variables, Gender Disparity Index (GDI) has been constructed utilising the data from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) to measure gender disparities in 20 major states and union territories (UTs) of India. For the construction of GDI, we have used three dimensions, namely health, empowerment and labour market participation. The index is prepared to make a decadal comparative study for the years 2011–12 and 2020–21. The statistical results indicate that there is a significant difference in mean of the GDI scores for 2020–21 and 2011–12. The paper concludes with certain policy implications suggesting that there is a need to put more effort into creating infrastructure and cutting-edge policies to improve the health and education systems. The focus should also be to create more employment opportunities for females, helping them to raise their standard of living so as to enhance their contribution towards economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite much impetus on economic growth, educational expansion, health and infrastructural development, women participation in labour force market is not improving. Women participation in politics, leadership positions, national parliaments and local government, judiciary and police force is very essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The said target is clearly mentioned as SDG 5.5 which entails—"Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life". In India, percentage of female elected representatives in parliament rose from 9.0% in 1999 (13th Lok Sabha general elections) to 14.4% in 2019 (17th Lok Sabha general elections) as per the statistical reports published by the Election Commission of India. Thus, the paper tries to study the relationship between women in parliament (MP) and female labour force participation rates (FLPR) using panel data across Indian states for the period 1999 to 2019. The objective of the paper is to empirically examine the relationship between female (elected) political representation and FLPR, using fixed effect panel data model across 15 Indian states excluding Union Territories (UTs), North-Eastern States (NEs), Delhi, Goa, and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The panel data is created by taking data of female elected candidates of different states from the statistical reports of general elections published by Election Commission of India and that of FLPR is extracted from various rounds of National Statistical Office (NSO) and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports, respectively. The empirical results suggest that higher political representation of women is associated with favourable female labour outcomes. Our result implies that Female Political Representation (FPR) has a positive and significant effect on FLPR under fixed effect model. However, the random effect model suggests net state domestic product (NSDP) per capita has a negative and significant effect on FLPR, while, Fixed effect model suggests that female literacy rate has a negative and significant effect on FLPR which are consistent with the established literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist scholarship has devoted significant time and space to critiquing court judgments that make patriarchal-normative assumptions about consent, resistance to sex, ‘provocation’ of dress, habituation to sex, etc. in rape cases. Hence, this paper asks whether rape and sexual abuse trials would be devoid of patriarchy were it not for these routinely repeated patriarchal-normative scripts. It does this by looking at cases where allegations of consent to sex, blame for initiating sex, previous sexual encounter, clothing, and so on are not raised. To that end, this paper looks at Indian trial court judgments of child sexual abuse in which the child is a female and the accused is her father/step-father (CSAF). Judgments on CSAF, nevertheless, raise questions about sexual history, what establishes credibility, character, hostility, easy acquittal, etc. However, it would be reductive to view these questions as a simple reiteration of what emerges in most other rape cases. This is because what most significantly unfolds in CSAF cases are points of divergence from other cases of child sexual abuse and sexual abuse generally. These divergences lead to new questions: Whose sexual history is raked up? Whose character is assessed? How is rape disbelieved when consent becomes immaterial? What peculiarities lead to an acquittal? These divergences appear because the survivor of sexual abuse in all these cases was not simply a female, but a daughter. Interpreting these divergences, this paper articulates that concerns of ‘honour’ run through the process of legal adjudication in CSAF cases. The honour concerned is not only of the child who suffers abuse, but also her mother’s; the honour concerned is not only a person’s, but also the nation’s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide explosion of social welfare has been described as the "quiet revolution" of our time. This paper analyses the expansion of social welfare in India during the early part of the 2000s. What explains this expansion of encompassing social welfare in India, following a history of disparate and fragmented social policies? The answer, I argue, lies in recognizing the importance of the "politics of the poor," the ensemble of negotiations that encompass both electoral participation and contentious politics vis-à-vis the political institutions in India. The paper develops this argument by drawing together insights from discursive institutionalism, Indian politics, and the politics of welfare literature. Doing so enables me to examine the ways in which poor people's political practices were interpreted by India's parliamentarians to justify the legislation of India's flagship social welfare program the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. I analyze the discourses communicated through 78 parliamentary debates in English and Hindi to enact the law. I blend this analysis with process tracing of electoral behavior of India's poor and the Maoist insurrection that exploded in the country's poorest districts at the turn of the century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning English was popular in 18th- and 19th-century colonial India because, as Chaudhary (2012) depicts, the East India company's offer of employment for Indians who knew English made English learning and thereby bilingualism much sought after. Citing examples of bilingual grammars and textbooks from the early 18th century, Chaudhary (2012, 10) notes how, despite demand, it was difficult to obtain these books until the early 19th century. By sourcing facts from scholarly work like this and looking at some available bilingual teaching material, this paper argues that although history weaves a narrative of colonial education as a monolithic, spearheaded imperialist endeavour, colonial education, specifically BELT, was a sporadic, heterogeneous, most times inclusive rivulet of colonial pedagogy which cannot be summarised as a uniform teaching method as specified in the later methods era. Specifically, the paper looks at English-Telugu bilingual teaching/learning material used in the Madras Presidency and English-Odiya bilingual learning material used in parts of Odisha in the Bengal Presidency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to the under-researched domain of standard setting for bottled water quality in India. The paper opens-up the 'black box' of regulation-making by analysing the mandatory bottled water quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The regulation-making exercise is dominated by bureaucrats and technocrats representing government departments, publicly funded institutions and representatives of big industries. In the standard-setting committees, representation of NGOs, small firms, technology suppliers, independent experts, consumers and citizens are either missing or limited. The kind of experts enrolled by the technical committee and the practice and principles employed by BIS for decision-making have a strong bearing on the regulatory standards. The standard setting for bottled water was the outcome of a complex process that was significantly shaped by the views and values of the dominant regulatory actors, especially what was perceived as valid and superior 'regulatory knowledge'. Discrete actors, such as bureaucrats, technocrats, big firms and NGOs, supported the wider adoption of international standards, but they had different rationales for advocating the adoption. However, the uncritical adoption of international standards has resulted in a disregard for incorporating environmental, epidemiological, dietary and diverse socio-economic factors into setting standards. Inclusion of socio-economic and other contextual factors could increase the validity and effectiveness of regulatory standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic shed light on the already glaring shortcomings of our elongated conventional food system. Some seek to address the complexity and distance introduced into the food system between production and consumption by developing and participating in alternative food networks. Among them are organic farmers exploring direct selling initiatives to reduce the degree of separation from the end consumer, especially urban consumers. This paper is focused on this section of organic food producers located in Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) in India who are actively seeking participation in short food supply chains. Drawing on data collected through interviews with organic food producers, the paper highlights how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows the advantages and challenges of relying on direct selling against the backdrop of a pandemic and government-mandated social distancing. The discussion is situated at the intersection of literature on alternative food networks (AFNs), short food supply chains (SFSCs), and proximity. The paper examines the critical role of geographical and relational proximity within short food supply chains of valueladen AFN products as the pandemic revealed its own set of challenges to the agri-food supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The institutional credit has been devised to play a crucial role in the rural development of India. The public policy on rural credit in India has been focused on institutionalization as a means of providing cheaper credit to farmers. However, the persistence of moneylenders in the rural credit market is still a major concern. This paper is based on a primary field survey and deal with the nature and extent of peasant class differentiation and the nature of access of rural households to rural finance alternatives in West Bengal. Accessibility and distribution of credit will be our major concerns of investigation. We shall try to also explore the role of institutional credit in the process of differentiation. This helps us to understand whether there exists any biased socio-economic framework to access rural finance facilities. In an attempt to study and analyse the ground situation, this study undertook a detailed analysis of all relevant variables to examine the structure of investment and production taking place in West Bengal. The other objective of this paper is to enquire whether there exists any contradiction in objective and principle, the practice of Microfinance run by Government or private or panchayat or cooperative leading to creation of obstacles in the realization of rural development goals. The sample households collected from relatively advanced and backward areas are distributed according to economic classes defined by Patnaik (1976) side by side with the standard acreage groupings. Subsequently, we explored the degree of association between the two criteria and found that the two criteria of households are associated with each other but they are not identical. The analysis in this paper would help us to know first of all, to highlight the agrarian relation and peasant class differentiation in West Bengal on a sample of diversely developed regions. Second, to what extent households are dependent on private sources of credit vis-à-vis the institutional sources, Third, whether credit absorption has something to do with the intensity of class differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]