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Retracted articles by Indian scholars have received significant attention in recent times. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to analyse the citations of retracted papers authored by Indian researchers. This study aimed to assess the citations to retracted works published between 2001 and 2020 pre‐ and post‐retraction. The study found that there was an increase in retractions over time, with empirical data suggesting that the number of retractions has increased significantly, from 72 papers between 2001 and 2010 to 365 papers between 2011 and 2020. Duplication (n = 128) and plagiarism (n = 119) were the primary reasons for retraction. Notably, 90% of the retracted articles continued to receive citations after retraction. Among the retracted papers, eight received more than 50 post‐retraction citations, 39 received 20 to 50 citations, 347 received one to 19 citations, and 43 were not cited at all post‐retraction. There was an overall 8% decrease in citations after retraction. Retractions were observed across journals of varying impact factor, with a higher number of retractions observed in journals with an impact factor of less than 5 (n = 286; 65%). Furthermore, smaller research teams of two to five authors accounted for 72% of the total retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing internationalism, there is a shift in research patterns in developing countries, especially China and India, generating vital and contemporary research areas that are beginning to challenge the existing Western‐dominated research literature in social sciences. Yet, many of the new ideas within conceptual papers by the social sciences are not empirically validated, let alone operationalized. This is where the group concept mapping method can play a role in bridging the gap between phenomenal conceptualization and having an empirically valid model that can then be operationalized. The group concept mapping process involves five steps: create statements, sort statements, run multidimensional scaling (MDS) of sorted units, run cluster analysis, and label the clusters. This approach allows for the collective thoughts of a pre‐defined group to be collected and organized into a tangible output with academic rigor. This paper offers an overview of the group concept mapping methodology, discussing the processes of the method, how the method can be utilized fully within the business and broader social science context, and the strengths, weaknesses, and practical implications of group concept mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the first record of wilt and gummosis disease in subabul trees caused by Fusarium equiseti in India. Subabul trees are economically important for the paper and pulp industry in India. The affected trees exhibited symptoms of yellowing, wilting, and gummosis. Isolates of Fusarium equiseti were obtained from the diseased tissue and were found to be identical in their genetic sequences. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the Fusarium isolates caused similar symptoms in healthy subabul plants. The rapid spread of this disease poses a threat to subabul plantations, and the development of management strategies is necessary. [Extracted from the article]

We thank Patil Pillai et al. for preparing a critique on our article (Joy et al., 2018). Patil Pillai et al. contest the analytical procedure utilized for the carbonates and "geological information" documented in our research article and raise concerns on our conclusions. We hereby provide our reply to each of their comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Neonatal hypothermia is a preventable cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, and wrapping neonates in newspaper sandwiched between cotton sheets is a simple intervention. This 2017 Indian pilot study tested the heat insulating property of sandwiched sheets., Methods: At birth, we randomised 100 neonates who were more than 32 weeks of gestation and needed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) observation or care without a ventilator or bilevel positive airway pressure support into two groups of 50. The intervention and control groups were wrapped in two prewarmed sheets at birth that did or did not contain a layer of newspaper. Their axillary temperatures on arrival at the NICU and one hour after arrival were measured. Other environmental factors were similar., Results: The neonates wrapped in the sandwiched sheets showed significantly higher temperatures on arrival at the NICU than the control group (35.9°C versus 35.4°C, p < 0.01) and after one hour (36.5°C versus 36.3°C, p < 0.01). No change in behaviour or training was required for the healthcare staff to implement this initiative., Conclusion: Wrapping newborn infants in two cloth sheets with a newspaper layer resulted in a higher body temperature on arrival at the NICU and after one hour., (©2018 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Eucalyptus spp. and their hybrids are frequently cloned and mass planted across farmland tracts and commercial plantations in northern India. It is a viable feeder species to the paper and pulp industries in this region. In 2018 and 2019, during field surveys conducted in northern India, a serious leaf blight disease was frequently observed in E. tereticornis plantations. Isolation from the blighted leaf samples consistently yielded fungal isolates having Calonectria‐like morphology. Morphological features coupled with sequence analysis of partial β‐tubulin (TUB2) and partial translation elongation factor‐alpha (TEF1) gene regions of two fungal isolates confirmed the species as Ca. cerciana. In detached leaf assays and glasshouse inoculation experiments, both isolates produced symptoms similar to those observed on the naturally infected leaves. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re‐isolating Ca. cerciana from the inoculated leaves. This work is the first to confirm that Ca. cerciana is associated with a serious leaf blight disease of Eucalyptus in northern India and is an important addition to the taxonomy of Calonectria fungi in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of Arthur I. Bloomfield's research paper on a survey of central banking in developing countries. The reviewer said that his research was lucid and comprehensive and the author is in general agreement with Bloomfield on the various issues he discusses. The author adds to Bloomfield's paper by describing the various steps taken by the monetary authorities in India in the late 1940s and throughout most of the 1950s. The steps were taken to strengthen the banking and credit system.

The article discusses a study which examined how farmers viewed the use of treated paper mill effluent for irrigation in Tamil Nadu, India using a well-structured interview. The study revealed that about 54% of respondents considered the effluent was appropriate for sugarcane cultivation. It was noted that most water intensive industries have applied treated effluent irrigation technology to the disposal of wastewater. Factors linked to such perception are cited including farmers' characteristics such as educational status and mass media exposure.

The first documented meteorological research in India was carried out by the British in the eighteenth century. Who, then, was the first native Indian to publish a paper on meteorology in an Indian journal? A paper entitled Note on a whirlwind at Pundooah by Chunder Sikur Chatterjee, included in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1865, was probably the first paper published by a native Indian in an Indian journal, indicating that meteorology, as a subject of academic study, has deep roots in India. The paper was in the form of note reporting a tornado at Pundooah to the Surveyor General's Office of India. The note was unique in that it was supported by a sketch that meticulously depicted the path of a tornado and its direction of rotation, and detailed the horizontal extent of the suction vortex and tornado cyclone, which were determined from observations of the trail of destruction. The spatial and temporal scales of the tornado recorded in the note matched those given in papers published more than 100 years later by Orlansky and Fujita, and it is possible that it constitutes the first meteorological record in which the horizontal scale of a tornado and its suction spot were accurately evaluated. The paper was the first of its kind in which tornado dynamics were ascertained via observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's primary science funding agencies, the Department of Science & Technology, and the Department of Biotechnology (DST & DBT) together formulated an open access (OA) policy in 2014. This policy mandates immediate self‐archival of research articles generated from publicly funded research across all the institutions in suitable repositories. But with inadequate infrastructure and awareness, the OA mandate did not flourish as expected. This paper aims to understand whether journal policies impede the prospect of DST‐DBT OA policy and the possible routes to achieve policy compliance. The analysis presented in this paper tracks down the journal self‐archiving policies of the top 50 popular journals (among Indian authors) from each of the six STEM fields—Biology, Chemistry, Clinical‐Medicine, Engineering, Materials science, and Physics. The results show that most journals have an embargo of 12–24 months on self‐archiving of the post‐print (final author version after peer‐review), which contradicts the DST‐DBT OA mandate. The study also reveals that hybrid journals dominate, and article processing charges craft a new form of inequity for Indian STEM researchers. We expect that these findings will be helpful for the funding agencies to restructure their policies, and negotiate with journal publishers to resolve the contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the motivations and actions of Indian Americans who actively oppose Hindutva, that is, a Hindu nationalist vision for India. Diaspora activists who advocate in favour of progressive values for India tend to be underreported in the media and underanalysed in scholarship. The following study addresses this gap. Based on public records, interviews with activist leaders, and participant‐observation, the paper demonstrates how anti‐Hindutva diaspora actors identify and leverage political opportunities in order to engage in moral signalling in local, national and global spaces. By shining a light on ongoing counternarratives to Hindutva, this study highlights contestations within Indian‐origin communities and challenges monolithic portrayals of diaspora politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are fast evolving and their technological advancement is taking at a rapid pace. The performance usually depends upon two basic parameters for an EV, the range of the vehicle and energy consumption per kilometre for the vehicle. Drive cycles (DCs) play a major role in designing EVs. Many DCs are currently used such as the Indian drive cycle (IDC), New European Drive Cycle (NEDC), Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) to check the performance of vehicle in term of their emissions and working standards. This paper compares an electric two‐wheeler scooter with these standard DCs for range and energy consumption estimation and found out that the range obtained using NEDC drive cycle was 130 km in comparison with the IDC which was about 95 km. The paper also highlights the importance of good infrastructure of roads in India to optimize the driving range of the electric vehicle and also stresses the use of good cooling techniques of batteries for range enhancement of EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of the available literature on women street vendors in the Global South, and then specifically in India, this paper identifies several knowledge gaps and future directions for research. The paper makes three broad claims: (1) street vending spaces are fundamentally gendered spaces; (2) the intersectional identities and caste‐based locations of women street vendors shape their spatial experiences, material realities and access to power; and (3) gender and caste are co‐constituted categories that produce a spatiality unique to the Indian subcontinent. While the geographical approach towards street vending recognises the importance of space and considers vendors as spatial practitioners, vendors are often assumed to belong to a homogenous (male) category with differentials such as gender, race, age, ethnicity and caste invisibilised. This research gap is of even more critical importance in India where caste intersects with gender to produce space. Examining the literature on gender and street vending reveals three broad analytical themes—socio‐spatial disparities, politics of space, and strategies of control. What seems to be missing is a critical, qualitative focus on the experiences of women street vendors, the gendering of vending spaces, the recognition of caste as a dynamic factor, and a spatial analysis grounded in the Southern urban context. Ultimately, this paper makes the case for a situated and postcolonial feminist geography approach to street vending in India, and calls for an intersectional research agenda that is attentive to the co‐constitution of caste and gender in the production of urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper examines the transnational and translocal experiences of the Rohingya in India, a stateless, refugee community forcibly displaced from Myanmar, onward migrants from Bangladesh, who currently occupy a legally precarious space in India. Drawing on approximately 90 interviews conducted with refugees, community leaders and NGOs across three Indian cities, along with informal group discussions and field notes, this paper makes two arguments that shed light on the complex, multi‐factorial ways in which networks are rebuilt in displacement as well as the emerging characteristics of Rohingya onward migration in Asia. First, that early generations of Rohingya in India leveraged translocal network building spaces and encounters to rebuild their networks with others in the community and create translocal networks of care and support with local civil society actors, cementing the notion of a ‘Rohingya refugee community’ in India. Second, that the gradual internationalisation of the Rohingya crisis as well as the transnationalisation of the Rohingya diaspora in the last decade through multiple waves of displacement, onward migration and resettlement schemes has prompted a shift towards multi‐sited transnationalism, particularly reflected in the emergence of multi‐sited transnational families, digital transnational spaces among younger refugees and extended diasporic networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid‐19 lockdown in India in March 2020 revealed the presence of Adivasi communities in the marine fishing industry of Goa, a coastal state in India. While the migration for work of Adivasi communities from the central regions of the country is well recorded, their movement across geographies of the forest and the coast is relatively unknown. Working with initial data collected during the lockdown, interviews conducted after the pandemic and using secondary materials, the paper sought to understand the social and material conditions in the forest and the coastal regions that shape this movement. Centring the waged relation of Adivasi workers opened the door to thinking about the marine fishing sector in India as a capitalist industry, while paying attention to social reproduction highlighted how the coastal and forest regions are spatially linked through their movement and labour. This highlights that the coasts and forests are going through distinct processes of capitalist intensification and expansion. Making connections between ecological appropriation, historical processes of resource extraction and marginalization, the paper finds that the extraction of fish resources in Goa is made productive through the hierarchization and differentiation of Adivasi workers. It reveals how the social relations of identity and caste mediate access to and define conditions of work at sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic conflicts have proved to be inherently dangerous and repressive across the globe. While this signification cannot be negated, a deeper articulation of liminal existences in the conflict‐prone areas requires more attention. Using case studies with a qualitative research design, the paper emphasizes on conflict as a social force, facilitating the (re)structuration of communities entangled within it. The paper explores the mundane lived experiences of the Adivasis and the Bodos, two of the ethnic communities living in Assam, a Northeastern state of India, by making a few claims. First, ethnic conflicts reorient social relations, intercommunity interactions and economic exchanges between the Adivasis and Bodos. Second, ethnic conflicts recourse varied negotiations and emotions in their being(ness), aspirational values, and embodied meanings in mundane life‐processes. The complex realization of identities for the Adivasis and the Bodos is fostered by the exposure of fear, past loss of life, and the varied interactions between victims and perpetrators in everyday social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the timing of one‐time fluctuations in births subsequent to the 1918 influenza pandemic in Madras (now Chennai), India. After seasonally decomposing key demographic aggregates, we identified abrupt one‐time fluctuations in excess births, deaths, and infant deaths. We found a contemporaneous spike in excess deaths and infant deaths and a 40‐week lag between the spike in deaths and a subsequent deficit in births. The results suggest that India experienced the same kind of short‐term postpandemic "baby bust" that was observed in the United States and other countries. Identifying the mechanisms underlying this widespread phenomenon remains an open question and an important topic for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the link between a mother's autonomy—the freedom and ability to think, express, make decisions and act independently—and the nutritional status of her children. We treat 'autonomy' as a latent variable, and design a novel statistical framework to measure this. This method allows us to separate the direct associations of maternal and family characteristics in our model for nutrition, from their indirect associations that work through maternal autonomy. Using data from India, we explore the sensitivity of our estimates to endogeneity caused by sample selection in the presence of son preference. We find: (i) a one standard deviation (SD) higher autonomy score is associated with a 0.16 SD higher height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ score); and (ii) a 10% lower prevalence of stunting (HAZ < −2 SD). The latter is equivalent to the prevention of approximately 300,000 children stunting, indicating the important role of maternal autonomy. This paper is part of the Economica 100 Series. Economica, the LSE "house journal" is now 100 years old. To commemorate this achievement, we are publishing 100 papers by former students, as well as current and former faculty. Wiji Arulampalam obtained her PhD from the LSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme has been the central focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan to combat maternal and child malnutrition under the national nutrition mission in India. This paper examined the linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight among children aged 6–59 months. The study utilized data from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS‐4 [2015–2016] and NFHS‐5 [2019–2021]). Descriptive analyses were used to assess the change in utilization of ICDS and the prevalence of underweight at the national and state levels. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to examine factors associated with the utilization of ICDS and underweight. Linkages between utilization of ICDS and underweight were examined using the difference‐in‐differences (DID) approach. Utilization of ICDS increased from 58% in 2015–2016 to 71% in 2019–2021. The prevalence of underweight decreased from 37% to 32% in the same period. Changes in ICDS utilization and underweight prevalence varied considerably across states, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results from decomposition of DID models suggest that improvements in ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight children between 2016 and 2021, suggesting that ICDS made a modest but meaningful contribution in addressing undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months in this period. Key messages: Utilization of ICDS services among children aged 6–59 months increased from 58% (2015–2016) to 71% (2019–2021) nationally. The programme's expansion was prominent in urban areas, showcasing progress across states.The prevalence of underweight among children in India declined by 5 percentage points from 2016 to 2021, but almost one‐third of children are still underweight.Increase in coverage and service delivery strengthening of ICDS explained 9%–12% of the observed reduction in underweight between 2016 and 2021.The findings suggest that optimizing quality of interventions under ICDS can have a modest but meaningful contribution in reducing childhood underweight in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically explores the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdown on adolescent girls' and women's access to sanitary pads in India. We have used the National Health Mission's Health Management Information System (NHM‐HMIS) data for the study, which provides data on pads' distribution on a district level. The empirical strategy used in the study exploits the variation of districts into red, orange, and green zones as announced by the Indian Government. To understand how lockdown severity impacts access to sanitary pads, we used a difference‐in‐difference (DID) empirical strategy to study sanitary pads' access in red and orange zones compared to green zones. We find clear evidence of the impact of lockdown intensity on the provision of sanitary pads, with districts with the strictest lockdown restrictions suffering the most. Our study highlights how sanitary pads distribution was overlooked during the pandemic, leaving girls and women vulnerable to managing their menstrual needs. Thus, there is a requirement for strong policy to focus on the need to keep sanitary pads as part of the essential goods to ensure the needs of the girls and women are met even in the midst of a pandemic, central to an inclusive response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delineates the characteristics of an emerging Southern multilateralism to argue against pessimistic narratives of anarchy and disorder as well as optimistic narratives that celebrate the resilience of the Liberal International Order (LIO). It does this by staging a conversation between a top‐down International Relations literature that explores the contours of global order and a bottom‐up international development literature that investigates the changing role of the Global South in world politics. By highlighting the continuities and discontinuities of Southern multilateralism with it, the paper illustrates the ways in which Southern Multilateralism both challenges the LIO and supports it. The perspective of Southern Multilateralism suggests that countries in the Global South insist on sharing global responsibility with prevailing institutions of liberal multilateralism, neither seeking to overthrow it nor to be co‐opted within it. A subsidiary argument of the paper is that Southern Multilateralism is not homogenous: To that end, it attends to the richness of Southern Multilateralism by directing attention to variations within it. In line with the theme of the Special Issue, this paper focuses on two cases that involve India's presence on the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Madhya Pradesh, India, rural migrant workers hired in flyover's construction yards experiment a space of work where the social practices relating to caste separation and hierarchy are temporally softened. This paper shows that these processes of conviviality, through mixing between castes and trans‐communitarian work identities based on the hierarchies of labour, are taking part in the lower classes' long quest for less oppressive labour relations. Starting from the construction yard, and then going to the village, this paper shows that the labour relations involved in the circulation of rural migrants to the flyover construction yards are contributing to shaping their complex and flexible social consciousness in a context of slow reconfiguration of oppressive rural labour relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is concerned with the contemporary relevance of caste to agrarian capitalism and the relations of dependency and allegiance it fosters in a village of Andhra Pradesh. It deploys the method of village study to examine the two‐way interaction between agrarian class and caste relations and the emerging rural‐based informal nonfarm economy. It elaborates the continuation of relations of debt, dependency, and political allegiance fostered by landlordism despite significant diversification to nonfarm by landlords and labour and identifies the crucial role of land inequality and the working of ritual hierarchy in locking Dalit caste in land‐based relations of dependency. The paper highlights the importance of expanding the definition of landlordism as the use of social power for accumulation by embedding it in the motives and values generated by the Hindu social order. While the new wave of literature focuses attention on global capital and commodity chains to understand differentiation of rural population and ruralities, the paper emphasizes the persistent significance of landholding provincial capital in shaping class/caste relations and rural politics and argues for a course correction in thinking about the processes of globalization and new forms of labour control and stresses the continuing significance of the agrarian question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the special section on "Ecosystem Restoration in India: Status Quo and the Way Forward to Achieve Land Degradation Neutrality" and provides an overview of the four papers that constitute this section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevalence and Patterns of Epilepsy in India.Purpose:To estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in India by meta-analysis of previously published and unpublished studies and determine the pattern of epilepsy by using community-based studies.Methods:As many as possible previously published and unpublished studies were identified on the prevalence of epilepsy from various parts of India by using multiple search strategies. The studies were assessed regarding the methods and definitions (population structure, method of case ascertainment, sensitivity and specificity of screening instrument, whether validation resurvey was done, definitions of epilepsy and active epilepsy, and inclusion of febrile fits/single seizures). The prevalence rates for rural and urban populations, as well as male and female ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The studies, which provided details on the age structure, age-specific rates, and patterns of epilepsy, were chosen for meta-analysis. The crude and age-standardized prevalence rates after accounting for heterogeneity, as well as pooled estimates of standardized prevalence, were calculated. Theχ2 test was used for homogeneity testing. Heterogeneity correction was done by using a simple random-effects model.Results:We identified 21 studies conducted over the last 38 years (10 on urban and 14 on rural populations covering 11 states and two union territories) involving a population sample of 837,039, among whom 4,220 had epilepsy, giving a crude prevalence of 5.04/1,000. The nonstandardized crude prevalence per thousand (95% confidence interval) after correction for heterogeneity was 5.44 (3.79–7.09). Age-standardized rates (seven studies from seven states involving a population sample of 448,109), after correction for the variability in estimates of heterogeneity, revealed that the prevalence rate per 1,000 (95% confidence interval) was overall, 5.39 (3.78–7.01); males, 5.76 (4.23–7.28); females, 4.68 (2.94–6.42); urban, 6.02 (3.98–8.05); and rural, 4.77 (2.36–7.18). Although urban male and female subjects had higher prevalence compared with rural male and female subjects, the difference was not statistically significant. Age-specific prevalence rates were higher in the younger age group. The onset of epilepsy was mostly in the first three decades. The treatment gap was>70% in the rural areas. Generalized seizures constituted 45.45–86%, and partial seizures, 11.45–54.54%; 5.2–24.4% had a family history of epilepsy. The frequency of mental retardation ranged from 4.4 to 22.9%.Conclusions:The heterogeneity found among the various studies may be partly due to methodologic differences referred to earlier. The heterogeneity also may be due to prevalence of local types of epilepsy (hot-water epilepsy); differences in prevalence of cysticercosis, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and head injuries; or due to denial of epilepsy on account of social stigma. The prevalence rates (crude and age-standardized) found in this meta-analysis are comparable to those in the Western countries and China. The estimated number of persons with epilepsy in India as per the census population for 2001 (1,025 million) would be 5.5 million. Because the rural population constitutes 72% of the Indian population, the number of persons with epilepsy in rural areas will be∼3.6 million, among whom three fourths will not be receiving any specific treatment as per the present standards. The model used in this study is useful for estimating disease burden in large countries. Epilepsy in an Indigenous Population: Experiences of Epilepsy Reported by New Zealand Maori.Purpose:To explore New Zealand Maori (14% of population) understanding of the causes, nature, effects, and treatment of epilepsy. Maori are highly westernized, owning their own homes, with 83% urban, and of all socioeconomic status (SES) levels. Their collectivist society has been remarkably revitalized since 1970, with 3% of schools teaching in Maori, 17% of children studying Maori, and 20% of Maori-fluent speakers. A life expectancy of 69 years and median age of 22 years (cf. 78 and 37 for non-Maori) suggest a higher epilepsy prevalence. Their health concept includes self, spiritual, family, and environmental aspects, with epilepsy traditionally seen as demonic possession resulting from breaking of sacred laws. New Zealand epilepsy treatment is by general practitioner after referral to a neurologist; no epilepsy centers or specialists exist. Drugs are heavily subsidized. Information and support is provided by Epilepsy New Zealand Field Officers, who report disproportionately few Maori clients, whereas hospitals report excessive Maori hospitalizations for seizures. Hills and Simonsen (1999: Epilepsy in an Indigenous Community. Poster paper at the Annual Conference of the American Epilepsy Society, Orlando, FL, U.S.A.) found some belief in supernatural causes, that epilepsy reduced personal and family status, poor compliance, alternative medicine use, and poor access to informed support.Methods:A Maori interviewer (L.E.M.) administered a structured interview in their own homes to 16 adult Maori with either tonic–clonic or complex partial epilepsy and thematically analyzed responses.Results:Perceived causes of epilepsy included heredity, injury, puberty, spiritual experience, and medical misadventure. Supernatural causes cited included a devil inside, a curse, being God-given, and stigma carried from ancestral sacred law breaking. Many were ignorant of seizure type. Most families reacted with acceptance and support, explanation in terms of spiritual beliefs, some victim-blaming, and little desire to know more. Reported were childhood teasing, shame and feeling outcast, with adults feeling unloved and restricted and wanting to know more. Coping strategies included calm acceptance, music, art, education, weather-watching, prayer, and herbal alternative medication. Collectivist Maori society emphasizes familial world-view and decision-making influence. Familial shame about epilepsy triggers sheltering and secrecy. However, the extended family, assisted by friends, social workers, and Maori Health Provider organizations provides psychological support, assisting with medication compliance and societal reactions. Treatment must involve the family and may include externally applied herbal medicine, head-to-toe massage, and developing a positive attitude by using art, music, etc. Maori regarded epilepsy with tolerance, humor, and little desire to know more, although friends might fear epilepsy as insanity. Costs described included deteriorating friendships and marital relations. Important socialization difficulties included not being able to drive a car or drink alcohol, and acquaintance avoidance. The financial costs of medication, doctors' fees, and travel to a clinic for small-town dwellers and nondrivers were cited, as were employment and education difficulties. Doctors were described as providing little information or discussion, using incomprehensible jargon, and being ignorant of cultural specifics. Participants wanted Maori-oriented health workers and field officers to advocate with medical experts and provide culturally sensitive information and support, information on state financial support, contact with other Maori with epilepsy, and education of their extended family about epilepsy. Alternative treatments should be recognized as effective and in harmony with the body, nature, and the spiritual world.Conclusions:Maori people with epilepsy demonstrated ignorance of medical explanations of the cause, nature, and treatment of epilepsy; belief in supernatural and ancestral causes; and emphasis on the family role, acceptance and resignation, a need for culturally sensitive treatment, advice and support, and a holistic approach to health.Acknowledgment:New Zealand Health Research Council, Waikato University Maori and Psychology Research Unit and Psychology Department, participants and their families. A Demonstration Project of the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy in the People's Republic of China.Purpose:A Global Campaign Against Epilepsy project has begun in the People's Republic of China among a population of∼2.5 million. The project included three parts: (a) epidemiologic survey to estimate the prevalence of active epilepsy and the treatment gap in seven counties of five provinces in China; (b) treatment of convulsive forms of epilepsy at a primary care level; and (c) education, social, and community interventions to reduce stigmatization of people with epilepsy. The main results of epidemiologic survey are reported here.Methods:A door-to-door epidemiologic survey was carried out in demonstration areas. The total number of people who could have been included in this survey was 58,806. The screening questionnaires were based on the World Health Organization (WHO) screening questionnaires previously used in China and on the ICBERG screening instrument and were validated at the Beijing Neurosurgical Institute for specificity (78.5%) and sensitivity (100%). Participating physicians and health workers were trained to use the questionnaire and to use a standardized technique so that the same questions could be asked in the same manner. After physicians had completed the questionnaire, any question that elicited a positive response led to a neurologist visiting that person to determine whether he or she actually had epilepsy.Results:The 55,616 (94.6%) people were interviewed in the five study areas. In total, 869 (1.6%) persons screened positive and identified as possible cases. After the review process by neurologists, however, only 387 (0.7%) persons were confirmed as having a definitive history of epilepsy. This gives a minimum lifetime prevalence rate of 7/1,000. The number of people with active epilepsy in the last year was 257, an active epilepsy prevalence of 4.6/1,000. It is estimated that nearly 9 million people have epilepsy and∼6 million people have active epilepsy in China. Of the 387 people identified with epilepsy, 157 (41%) were found not to have received any treatment; 35% had received irregular treatment, and only 96 (25%) had received antiepileptic drug treatment in the week before the survey; 257 patients had active epilepsy, 161 (63%) of whom did not receive any treatment in the week before the survey.Conclusions:This study is important for several reasons. It has provided baseline data for the demonstration project. Not only does this mean that the project's future effectiveness can be measured, but it also should lead to a better targeting of resources within the project. At a national level, the data provide further weight to the argument that epilepsy should have a higher priority in the PRC. Both the higher numbers of people with epilepsy and the higher percentage of untreated epilepsy should encourage policy makers to push epilepsy higher up the health agenda and confirm the Global Campaign's message that epilepsy must be“brought out of the shadows.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infrastructure sector is one of the major pillars for economic growth and development of a country. The responsibility to develop this crucial sector is shifting away from the public to the private sector. After the economic liberalization in 1991, India opened the infrastructure sector, among many others, to private domestic and foreign investment. The shortage of electricity, the poor state of roads, and limited telecom access necessitated a stream of persistent reforms, which were expected to play a significant role in the infrastructure sector's growth. Although some subsectors witnessed success, others continued to face hurdles. The paper highlights the role of infrastructure in socio‐economic development through global literature. It also presents a story of infrastructure development in India since the inception of economic liberalization. It highlights various challenges that discourage private sector investments, thus providing a rationale for policy initiatives by the government. The paper also presents critical issues highlighted by multiple government committees over nearly three decades and identifies residual issues that merit attention. The outcomes of the paper are relevant in the context of developing and emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Gang Canal region of Rajasthan, the cropping pattern changed from a labour intensive crop, cotton, to a mechanized crop, cluster beans. The shift in cropping pattern not only displaced workers from farm wage work but also brought changes in labour hiring contracts with large scale conversion of daily wage rate contracts to piece‐rate contracts. Drawing on a primary survey in a village from Gang Canal region, the paper examines the change in the agrarian relations in rural Rajasthan by analysing the emerging development in the rural labour relations. For piece‐rate work in farm wage work in some parts of Rajasthan, the wage rate is unilaterally decided by the landlords and large capitalist farmers and is denoted as the ‘village rate’. The manual workers have negligible bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the village rate. The conversion of daily wage rate contracts to piece‐rate contracts has enhanced the duration of working day that involves a rise in the rate of surplus value. Access and availability of low wage labour facilitates the accumulation of capital. With the limited availability of employment in the non‐farm sector (in both public and private sectors), workers are compelled to sell their labour power at wages that do not exceed the level of subsistence. The paper concludes with a brief examination of continuum of coercion and varied degree of unfreedom among worker in the village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to a special section brings together three papers first presented at a panel, 'Medical Professions in South Asia: Historical and Contemporary Analyses', at the 26th European Conference on South Asian Studies, held in Vienna, Austria and online, in July 2021. All three papers deal with aspects of the professionalisation of biomedical doctors in India since its independence in 1947. The authors bring together historical and sociological approaches to illuminate the growth of specialisms, patterns of practitioner–patient interactions and efforts to maintain occupational closure and maintain status in the face of growing challenges. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these papers for the sociology of health and illness in India and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews and synthesizes the articles published in a virtual special issue (VSI) "Land Degradation and Development in India: Status quo, challenges, and opportunities." A total of 31 studies (28 research papers and three reviews) are published in this VSI covering various agroclimatic zones of India. These articles provide insights on how different natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect the diversity, and functioning of forests, grasslands, agriculture, agroforestry, and physicochemical and biological composition of the soil. Twelve of these articles also investigate the effectiveness of different restoration methods to restore various degraded ecosystems through agroforestry, afforestation and reforestation, organic amendments, and agroecological interventions. The historical journey of forest restoration, behavioral pattern of local communities for conservation and restoration, and policy framework for restoration in India are discussed in three independent articles. Overall, there is convergence in learnings from these papers for structural and non-structural land degradation, soil salinization, and agroforestry but results from papers on plantations and organic inputs into farming highlight the need for more research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how research advisory groups can be a vehicle for youth activism. It draws on our experiences with young activists, aged 15–26 years, in India and Brazil, who were advisors on a research project focused on youth livelihoods in cities. These young people played a vital role in supporting youth researchers, identifying research themes and developing engagement and advocacy strategies. Through this paper, we explore how the Youth Expert Group advisory model evolved differently in each location and examine how these were shaped by the context, the 'adult' research team and the youth activists themselves. A critically reflexive response in intergenerational partnership is essential to support youth activists in research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: An umbrella review is a systematic review of systematic reviews, which provides a tertiary level of evidence. This umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta‐analysis (SR‐MA) aimed to determine the proportion of oral cancer (OC) development in oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) patients. Materials and Methods: We searched electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and assessed for eligible papers. The methodological quality of SR‐MA was evaluated using AMSTAR2, and we also checked the quality of evidence of the included papers. Results: Out of 454 papers identified in the primary search, 105 underwent eligibility screening. Inclusion criteria were met by four SR‐MA. OC ratios ranged between 4.2% and 6% for OSF. Substantial heterogeneity was observed for this outcome in all four MA (I2 = 71.31% to 86.37%). None of the SRs assessed the quality of evidence, and half of them were judged to be of critically low methodological quality. Conclusion: There is lack of quality of evidences and critically low methodological quality among SRs and MA leading to substantial heterogeneity. However, due to potentially malignant nature, OSF patients should be monitored carefully for early detection of OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) are prevalent all across in India. TB‐DM comorbidity has emerged as a syndemic and needs more attention in India considering gaps in screening, clinical care, and research. This paper is intended to review published literature on TB and DM in India to understand the burden of the dual epidemic and its trajectory and to obtain perspectives on the gaps, constraints, and challenges in care and treatment of this dual epidemic. A literature search was carried out on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, using the key words 'Tuberculosis' OR 'TB' AND 'Diabetes' OR 'Diabetes Mellitus' AND 'India', focusing on the research published between the year 2000 to 2022. The prevalence of DM is high in patients with TB. Quantitative data on the epidemiological situation of TB/DM in India such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, and management are lacking. During the last 2 years convergence of TB‐DM syndemic with the COVID‐19 pandemic has increased cases with uncontrolled DM but also made coordinated control of TB‐DM operationally difficult and of low effectiveness. Research regarding TB‐DM comorbidity is required in the context of epidemiology and management. Detection and bidirectional screening are aggressively warranted. Management of DM in those with TB‐DM comorbidity needs more efforts, including training and supervision of frontline workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses findings of the 'PROWELLMIGRANTS'2 project, which qualitatively investigated COVID‐19 impacts on migrants' well‐being and mental health in Kerala, India. It draws on a novel conceptual framework that combines assemblage‐thinking with theories of social contracts in disasters. The paper first explores how past development processes and contemporary migration policies in Kerala, and India more widely, generated conditions of vulnerability for migrant workers in Kerala prior to the pandemic. Next it shows that Government of Kerala interventions, in some cases supported by the central Government of India, temporarily addressed these vulnerabilities during the pandemic. In acknowledging the helpful response of the Kerala government, we problematise its stance on migrant workers during 'normal' times and speculate that permanently addressing these conditions of vulnerability would be a more logical approach. We acknowledge this involves overcoming many wider barriers. Thus, the paper also contains national‐level policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicriteria mathematical modeling is an analytical framework for formally describing real‐life problems involving multiple and conflicting objectives. In the past decade, multicriteria decision‐making techniques have been applied in almost every area of the decision‐making including energy‐economic planning and sustainable development. Various mathematical and analytical models have been presented for the sustainable development planning and their assessment. In this paper, we discuss an approach related to multicriteria decision‐making and apply it for the assessment of the sustainable development goals of India by the year 2030. In the INDC report submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2015, http://www..unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documents/India/1/INDIA%20INDC%20TO%20UNFCCC.pdf), India has identified many goals related to the sustainable development like energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, GVA growth, and an increase in the employment by the year 2030. This paper overcomes the energy resource allocation problem in related literature due to the lack of sectorial data for the same year by calculating the estimates for each sector for the year 2030. We presented a multicriteria decision‐making model which allocates public labor force in the key economic sectors of India. The presented model is validated with the data of the key economic sectors and their contribution in the identified goals. The paper provides a decision support for the better management of future sustainable policies by assessing the efficiencies of the current policies toward future sustainable goals. We evaluated the identified goals using the multicriteria decision‐making approaches so that the strategic planning can be implemented by the policy makers and to present a quantitative justification of planning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist economists have long questioned the dichotomy between the "private" versus "public" spheres of women's work and have argued for a more nuanced understanding of the marketable paid work and the unpaid work of household caregiving. This paper focuses on women street food vendors' (SFVs) experiences before and during Covid‐19 pandemic to understand how street food vending as a livelihood activity interacts with social dimensions like gender and division of labor. Through multiple in‐depth interviews with 23 women street vendors in Bengaluru, India, before and during the pandemic, we show that there is a blurring of the dichotomy between the work done in the private and public spaces before the pandemic, which is disrupted by Covid‐19 crisis. The first half of the paper explores the household labor dynamics in the context of paid and unpaid work of women and explains how the women SFVs, capitalizing on their existing skills of "cooking," were able to gain agency and recognition for themselves within the households. The second half of the paper focuses on the narratives of the same women SFVs during the first wave of the Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. We find that the Covid crisis brought back the dichotomy between private and public spheres, making it more pronounced, with women losing their control over the public sphere and their work being restricted only to the private sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of the horizontal and vertical network in aiding eligible individuals to receive Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. A vertical network refers to a household's political connection, and a horizontal network denotes the interconnectedness with others in the society. We have used data from all India representative individual level (2004–2005 and 2011–2012) panel data released by the India Human Development Survey. Our estimated results from the individual level fixed effects model suggest that programme eligible individuals with vertical networks have a higher probability of receiving the programme. Sub‐sample heterogeneities are detailed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to first, understand the existing status of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind‐AS) and its convergence from the perspective of accounting practitioners in India; and second, to elucidate the benefits and challenges while implementing Ind‐AS. The paper exemplifies the Ind‐AS convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) thereon cited as Ind‐AS. The study considers exploratory research design and uses an in‐depth interview approach, a qualitative research method of 32 practitioners in India from a heterogeneous group of 6 regulating institutions, 8 conglomerate companies and 18 audit firms including the Big four. The preparedness of the Ind‐AS transition was studied from the perspective of accounting practitioners interviewed revealing three critical perspectives. First, the respondents believed that a greater understanding of the benefits of IFRS convergence can be built by professional education and proper training. Second, the main challenges reflected by the respondents on the implementation of Ind‐AS can be summarised in two key areas: the complexity and interpretation of the accounting standards, since there are fundamental differences between IFRS and the converged Ind‐AS. Third, by strengthening the regulatory framework for monitoring, enforcing accounting and auditing requirements concerning listed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Via a multiple case study of work in microfinance institutions in India, this paper reports on the experiences of field officers and branch managers following work digitalisation. It identifies and explains an intriguing post‐digitalisation paradox of reported increased job satisfaction and tighter technological control diminishing branch managers' work‐life balance. The paradox draws attention to the significance of context in workers' experiences of mobile digital technologies (MDTs) and contradicts previous studies on workers' positive experiences of adopting MDTs: the workers in this study did not experience greater autonomy or flexibility but reported enhanced employment security and status. The paper also adds to literature on employment relations following work digitalisation by revealing powerful enforcement of technological control, with 'WhatsApp' identified as a key managerial tool used for surveillance and discipline, and worker resistance at the margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of institutions indicates the level of economic development in the country. Institutions are a part of a system that is based on human interactions and that leads to the generation of incentives. These incentives can deal with uncertainties and foster economic, social, political growth, provided the human interactions are moderated well. This paper reflects on the strength of the interventionalist institutions like cooperatives in India and promotes institution building for a better future. The base of the paper focuses on the lessons learnt from dairy cooperatives in Gujarat state and discusses the current situation of the cooperatives and challenges faced by them. The cooperatives in India have been old institutions with a great history of success as also failures. Though there are various types of cooperatives in India, the dairy cooperatives have been able to gain more attention in the international market due to the Operation Floods I, II, and III. India has secured its position as one of the largest milk producers in the world. At present, India produces 20% of the total milk production in the world. This paper is a blend and analysis of theoretical perspectives and ground realities of the dairy cooperative sector in India. The paper follows theoretical perspectives from institutional theory to analyse the present scenario of dairy cooperatives in India. It addresses the gaps in the dairy cooperative development sector with an in‐depth analysis of ground realities and contributes to future policy formulation and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides is the main vector control intervention for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in India. After a change in IRS policy in 2015 due to widespread resistance of Phlebotomus argentipes to DDT, IRS with DDT was replaced with alpha‐cypermethrin IRS in 2016. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the susceptibility of P. argentipes to DDT and its alternatives, namely malathion and pirimiphos‐methyl (organophosphates); alpha‐cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda‐cyhalothrin and permethrin (pyrethroids), and bendiocarb and propoxur (carbamates), in support of visceral leishmaniasis elimination in India. Methods: Phlebotomus argentipes sandflies were collected from the visceral‐leishmaniasis endemic states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In the WHO tube tests, the phenotypic susceptibility of F1, 2‐day old, non‐blood fed females were determined against filter papers impregnated with DDT 4%, malathion 5%, pirimiphos‐methyl 0.25%, alpha‐cypermethrin 0.05%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambda‐cyhalothrin 0.05%, permethrin 0.75%, bendiocarb 0.1% and propoxur 0.1%, which were sourced from Universiti Sains Malaysia. The knockdown of sandflies after 1‐h exposure and mortality at 24 h after the 1‐h exposure period were scored. Results: Mean mortality of P. argentipes 24 h after exposure in tube tests was 22.6% for DDT and ≥ 98% for other insecticide‐impregnated papers tested. Conclusion: Phlebotomus argentipes continues to be highly resistant to DDT with no reversal of resistance after DDT's withdrawal from IRS. P. argentipes was fully susceptible to pyrethroid, organophosphate and carbamate insecticides tested. Regular monitoring is warranted for insecticide resistance management in sandfly vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land registration is a process of keeping track of landowners of existing land. Registration of land helps maintain proof of ownership and prevents illegal land possession. Land‐related conflicts are common in developing countries like India due to inconsistent data and transparency. The land ownership transfers also take a longer time than expected. This article presents a land registry system using blockchain and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) technology to overcome the mentioned problems. The land records will be immutable using blockchain, and nobody will forge them illegally. The system will be more transparent as all the users in the blockchain network can view the land and the owner's details before getting into ownership transfer. For maintaining the integrity of land and owner details, it will get stored in IPFS. The land transaction will be carried out via a smart contract. The smart contract checks whether all the entities agree with the transaction, and the money will get transferred within the described time limit. This proposed system will strengthen the land administration process by providing immutable and transparent land records. It will also speed up the registration process by a significant amount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many minoritised and marginalised populations, including young people, are debating what constitutes a 'survivable life' and, in turn, how life can be arranged so that it is more than just survival. Notwithstanding these trends, however, there is little scholarly work on local discourses and practices of life and viability. This paper addresses this gap by examining the spatial and temporal process through which young people imagine and build viable lives in an area of the Indian Himalayas. We highlight the importance for these young people of building life as 'jeevan', an idea particularly associated with survival. We also highlight the significance they attach to protecting a wider, 'puri life' ('whole life'), a process that affords opportunities for enjoyment and ethical fulfilment beyond survival. This account of life thought 'on the ground' provides a basis for reflecting on Agamben's (Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press; 1998) arguments about the prevalence of 'bare life' in the contemporary world. This paper examines how young people develop ideas of life in contemporary rural north India. It highlights their tendency to imagine life in terms of the relationship between 'jeevan' (core, human life) and 'puri life': the wider social, environmental and spiritual/cultural milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how uncertainty has become a central constitutive feature under the ongoing attempts at rapid extension of highway corridors across India. Contrary to the terra nullius assumption that India's highway programmes operate under, the pathways to accumulation they seek to open present a palimpsest of pre‐existing claims, occupancies and forms of dwelling that come into conflict with the attempts to extend urban space. The paper specifically follows the prolonged uncertainty surrounding a regional highway corridor between the cities of Delhi and Gurgaon, the Dwarka Expressway, which underwent multiple legal contestations over evictions and land disputes. In doing so, it analyses how managing uncertainty in the production of highway corridors becomes profitable for the state, powerful corporate actors and middle‐class homebuyer‐investors, presenting a form of value that can be commodified and exchanged. However, on the other hand, owing to its double‐edged nature, uncertainty also becomes productive for the urban majority in laying claims to urban space. As rapid extended urbanisation increasingly disrupts the lifeworlds of marginal communities, this paper calls for embracing the politics and practices of uncertainty in the continued efforts to push ex‐centric urban analysis beyond the narrow focus on state processes and commodification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of the goals and targets specified by the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 3, often referred to as "30 × 30," has garnered widespread attention globally. In this paper, we critique India's potential to meet this target. We find that with its vast network of ecosystems that are under some form of protection and through the recognition of other effective area‐based conservation measures sites, India has the potential to meet the quantitative target of conserving and managing at least 30% of its area by 2030. However, the qualitative attributes of the target might be more difficult to realize owing to several challenges, such as inadequate landscape connectivity, insufficient representation of habitats in the current protected area model, and the exacerbation of socioeconomic vulnerabilities of resource‐dependent communities. To achieve strategic, inclusive, and equitable conservation, we suggest a four‐pronged approach involving landscape‐level biodiversity conservation, socially just and collaborative safeguarding of biodiversity, and relevant policy (re)formulation, informed and underlain by long‐term research and impact monitoring. Although we focus on India, the issues we discuss are of broader relevance, especially for countries across the Global South that are also likely to be significantly impacted by the implementation of the target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education has the potential to help reduce negative human–wildlife interactions by increasing positive attitudes toward wildlife and providing participants with knowledge and skills that can help mitigate conflict situations and promote safety. To promote positive human–wildlife relationships, effective programs could be implemented widely in areas near remote wildlife reserves and protected areas. We created and evaluated a new environmental education program for 10‐ to 13‐year‐old students in rural schools in India where human–wildlife conflicts with large mammals frequently occur. Between July 2019 and March 2020, we tested the program at 129 schools, reaching 4331 students. The program, which was iteratively designed to fit the local context, is both cost‐effective and scalable. We found that participation in the program resulted in a significant positive increase in local environmental knowledge, in knowledge of safe behaviors, and in some measures of environmental attitudes. This paper reports on the lessons learned while creating this program that may help other organizations interested in using environmental education in regions where negative human–wildlife interactions frequently occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cornerstone of conservation policy for endangered species subject to illegal harvest involves estimating their population and offtake numbers. Census enumerations are expensive to conduct on nationwide scales, especially in resource‐constrained countries housing such species. Resource and data limitations necessitate the estimation of population counts. The effect of poaching on species recruitment is often ignored in scientific population projections. Estimation of population counts should account for the interactive feedback between harvest and recruitment. Data on tiger population sizes and poaching from 51 reserves in India between 1994 and 2022 were obtained to calibrate a coupled ecological‐economic model of tiger population dynamics and poaching. Cobb–Douglas harvest functions with differing degrees of concavity and scale economies are used to characterize the economics of poaching. Population dynamics are evaluated using exponential and critical depensation growth functions. The predictive abilities of linked models and their parameter parsimony are evaluated using information criteria. Poaching is shown to substantially affect recruitment dynamics and is best characterized by a Schaefer function coupled with critical depensation growth. This paper provides a novel perspective of the interaction between tiger poaching and population dynamics in India. A systematic understanding of coupled ecological‐economic processes would improve the management of high‐value endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tiger conservation in India has been driven for the most part by a philosophy that prioritizes the need for inviolate tiger reserves free of human beings. Such reserves, it is argued, provide much needed territory to 'care' for the tiger. In this paper, we examine the biopolitics of tiger conservation in India and argue that the current approach to tiger conservation amplifies the nature‐culture divide and ignores other imaginations of tiger conservation that are more cognizant of human—non‐human entanglements in protected area landscapes. The paper argues that tiger conservation has been a mix of sovereign, disciplinary and neoliberal environmentalities, all built on a certain 'truth' about tigers. The paper raises questions and concerns about the 'truth' discourse that underlies tiger conservation and also argues that tiger conservation has marginalized the environmentalism of the poor. It makes the case for more debate and discussion about tiger truths and suggests the need for a more than human approach to tiger conservation that recognizes the adverse consequences of fortress conservation as well as its limits in caring for the tiger in more than human geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the long‐term effects of population and GDP changes requires a multisectoral and regional understanding of the coupled human‐Earth system, as the long‐term evolution of this coupled system is influenced by human decisions and the Earth system. This study investigates the impact of compounding economic and population growth uncertainties on long‐term multisectoral outcomes. We use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to explore the influence of compounding and feedback between future GDP and population growth on four key sectors: final energy consumption, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and CO2 emissions. The results show that uncertainties in GDP and population compound, resulting in a magnification of tail risks for outcomes across sectors and regions. Compounding uncertainties significantly impact metrics such as CO2 emissions and final energy consumption, particularly at the upper tail at both global and regional levels. However, the impact of staple food prices and water withdrawal depends on regional factors. Additionally, an alternative low‐carbon transition scenario could compound uncertainties and increase tail risk, particularly in staple food prices, highlighting the influence of emergent constraints on land availability and food‐energy competition for land use. The findings underscore the importance of considering and adequately accounting for compounding uncertainties in key drivers of multisectoral systems to enhance our comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of multisectoral systems. The paper provides valuable insights into the potential implications of compounding uncertainties. Plain Language Summary: Understanding how future population and economic growth changes could impact our energy, water, food, and environment requires looking across multiple sectors and regions. This is because these systems are all connected. For example, increasing population drives higher food demand but requires more energy and water to grow food. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy through increased biofuel consumption can compete with food production for land resources. This study explored how uncertainties in future population and GDP growth could compound and interact to affect future energy use, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and carbon dioxide emissions. Using a model that connects all these systems, the study found that combined uncertainties in population and GDP lead to more significant risks of extreme outcomes than individually looking at those uncertainties. There are substantial regional differences in future outcomes, like higher uncertainty in food prices for India and West Africa compared to other regions. We highlight the need to consider multisector and multisystem interactions between uncertainties across different regions. Accounting for these compounding uncertainties provides valuable insights into potential risks, like higher extreme projections for food prices or water use. These insights are essential for long‐term planning in our connected human‐Earth system. Key Points: Long‐term implications of population and GDP changes on the coupled human‐Earth system focusing on multisectoral and regional understandingUncertainties in GDP and population growth can compound, resulting in more extreme outcomes for multisectoral systemsCompounding uncertainties differ by region and metrics; staple food prices and water withdrawal show significant regional variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the different models of disablement in different religions and cultures around the world, social and aesthetic representations of intellectually disabled people are diverse in various societies. Disability is perceived in a different way in India than in the West. There are very few studies on the complex role of Indian mainstream Hindi cinema in the representation of intellectual and developmental disabilities in India. This paper explores the potential of shifting representations of intellectual and developmental disability in the late twentieth and early twenty‐first century Bollywood films in the context of multiple aesthetic challenges they pose. The shift in screen image of intellectual impairment is strongly related to the shifting and ambiguous sociocultural model of personhood in India. In earlier Indian Hindi films, characters with intellectual disabilities were depicted in terms of good/bad moralistic labels, compromised body image, leading to aesthetic undesirability. In later Hindi films, they were instead represented as enduring human beings. In short, in earlier Hindi films, there was a discriminatory hegemonic bias in the depiction of intellectually disabled characters, in contrast to that in later Hindi films, where they were depicted in richly diverse perspectives. The changing artistic parlance becomes even more interesting in the context of major developments in Indian governmental policies and rights for the disabled in the last two decades. Thus, the paper highlights that contemporary Hindi films urge the audience to consider intellectual and developmental disability as a multilayered issue and rather than merely as a disease. Accessible summary: Our ideas about disability are linked with those of family, religion and tradition in a particular society.Cinema also reflects our perceptions and concepts of disability.This paper is about the how people with intellectual disabilities have been shown in Hindi cinema in the last 30 years, and how intellectual disability is understood in India.In Hindi cinema, intellectually disabled characters are represented in a way that is slightly different from those in Western literature and films.Research on representations of intellectual disability in cinema is important as it can stimulate healthy discussions on a more empathetic society with a better understanding of the various facts related to intellectual disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility and utilization of banking services are the key elements of financial inclusion. Accessibility is the gateway, whereas utilization actually matters in deriving the positive impact of financial inclusion. Plethora of studies have covered the accessibility dimension; however, we found a lack of empirical analysis of the utilization of it. This paper analyses the utilization dimension of financial inclusion using empirical evidence from the rural and tribal regions of an eastern Indian State, that is, the State of Odisha, which is among the low financially included regions of India. The paper explores the purpose/pattern, depth and frequency of utilization of formal financial services using primary data and develops empirical models explaining the demand and supply‐side determinants. The findings include, the utilization of account for saving and borrowing is not satisfactory. Similarly, the depth of account use is limited due to lack of ICT knowledge. The use of bank accounts for the financial transaction is mainly performed to receive direct benefit transfers and NREGS payments rather than savings, credit and insurance purposes. The policymakers can be benefited from this research by understanding the determinants of financial utilization at the grassroots level and could take corrective measures to promote utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]