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Green and decent work in the Global South is inextricably linked to sustaining rural livelihoods especially in agriculture that has undergone significant deskilling under the top-down, technocentric assemblages of the Green Revolution. Additionally, agrarian communities are also seeing youth quitting farming occupations in search of better livelihood options. Scholarly attention to green transitions though has been largely limited to the ecological dimensions. Enacting futures with a focus on ecologically responsible livelihoods need to go beyond existing narratives of technocentric and economic change and foreground the diverse micro institutional innovations that offer newer framings of reskilling. The growing evidence of agroecological initiatives across India indicates less discussed stories of transformation and innovations. Recognising the processes and linkages that allow for, and hinder, transformations at multiple scales and organisational levels is crucial for designing transformative initiatives and policies. Using two illustrative case studies, this paper explores opportunities for green work and the newer skills that might be required to enable sustainable agri-food systems. The case of Natural Farming Fellows (NFFs), a unique programme to encourage young agri-graduates to pursue Natural Farming is presented to understand enabling processes at the grassroots level. The second study explores institutional initiatives to engage rural youth through discussing the pedagogy and curricular approach of a Gandhian university along with opportunities to intern with field organisations. Together, these cases illustrate possible pathways and complexities underlying the process of nurturing sustainable livelihoods, the conception of which needs a broader idea of skilling based on personal aspirations and institutional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an infectious agent spread by mosquitos, that has engendered endemic or epidemic outbreaks of Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) in Africa, South-East Asia, America, and a few European countries. Like most tropical infections, CHIKV is frequently misdiagnosed, underreported, and underestimated; it primarily affects areas with limited resources, like developing nations. Due to its high transmission rate and lack of a preventive vaccine or effective treatments, this virus poses a serious threat to humanity. After a 32-year hiatus, CHIKV reemerged as the most significant epidemic ever reported, in India in 2006. Since then, CHIKV-related research was begun in India, and up to now, more than 800 peer-reviewed research papers have been published by Indian researchers and medical practitioners. This review gives an overview of the outbreak history and CHIKV-related research in India, to favor novel high-quality research works intending to promote effective treatment and preventive strategies, including vaccine development, against CHIKV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wheel was the first form of transportation developed by early people. Increasing population, longer distances, and shorter travel times need more cheap, faster modes of transportation. Environmental issues were never taken into account when choosing the most cost-effective mode of public transportation. Consequently, in the face of global pollution and warming restrictions, all stakeholders choose modes of transportation with little environmental impact. This has led to the development of sustainable transportation infrastructure, particularly in a country as rapidly developing as India. This paper examines the present situation, legislation, and grading systems for sustainable transportation in India and other developing nations. Furthermore, comparisons of India with developing nations of various continents in different aspects are also present. The difference in cost between a private car and a public vehicle indicates which form of transportation should be chosen. The challenges linked with urban and rural Indian roadways are explored, as well as their respective solutions. In order to accomplish sustainable transportation, traffic density and driver conduct are also considered. This study emphasises that sustainability is not just achieved through the use of cleaner fuel or the modification of road materials, although these are vital. Road design, regulatory changes, psychological behaviour, and transit safety are also crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water Sensitive Planning (WSP) recognizes the centrality of water in the urban built environment, something often overlooked in urban planning systems. WSP was primarily developed for western city contexts but many cities in the Global South are rapidly urbanizing, and informal settlements are the predominant form of development, with limited existing water provision. A new WSP framework is needed for these contexts. This paper envisions what a WSP theory would look like for a city in the Global South to enhance water security, using Delhi as a starting point. Firstly, the substantive components of WSP are identified from the literature. Secondly, this framework is critiqued with respect to the extent to which it is appropriate for planning rapidly urbanizing cities, especially in India. Finally, the key principles of WSP for cities in the Global South are suggested. Notable principles include integration of water planning and city planning; linking of drains with statute protected water bodies; green places as recharge areas; reuse of adequately treated wastewater for irrigation purposes; and building roads and drains as per hydrogeography of a place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has led to the emergence of slums in many developing and industrialized nations. It degrades the quality of life and burdens the urban amenities resulting in uneven distribution of slums. The majority of people in the developing world live in squatter settlements and these random gatherings disrupt the economic and social developmental plans of the concerned country. No suitable planning framework has been created for replicability on a considerable scale, despite the fact that slum upgrading is acquiring worldwide importance as a political issue. In recent years Jammu City has witnessed high population growth rates resulting in an uneven provision of urban amenities and a surge in slum areas. This paper focuses on a method-based approach using Management Information System (MIS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) for upgrading slums and recommends a planning outline using the approach formulated by the Government of India under the scheme named "Rajiv Awas Yojna" (RAY). The aim of this study is to assess the status of slums, propose redevelopment plans, and highlight the roles of different planning agencies to accomplish the redevelopment goals. The study concludes by postulating several recommendations for upgrading slums and formulating a framework that can be used in other similar areas for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to provide an improved and more comprehensive understanding of the concept and theories on wasteland. It achieves this by focusing on the Indian context, allowing us to unpack the importance of including multiple perspectives of wasteland narratives; this means including more positive narratives of the potential of wasteland to inform and improve prospects for land policies in the Global South. Wasteland is commonly recognized as an underutilized category of land that may transform into a valuable resource base with proper management measures. The term waste has multiple angles that carry different notions ranging from fallow to agroforestry land in the Global South and brownfield to green space in the Global North. We conduct a narrative review approach to qualitatively analyze the concept of wastelands, which has been studied in the pre-existing literature from 1970 to the present. This unsystematic literature review approach incorporates multiple elements of wasteland discourse, like understanding the meaning of the term on a global scale, setting out the meaning of the term waste into multiple perspectives explicitly in the Indian context, along with different classes and management approaches to wasteland from a national perspective. The multiple perspectives of wasteland not only generate misconceptions of land resources but spawn difficulties in land-use policy, particularly for the Indian scenario. For sustainable land-use policy, reclaiming wasteland would be the best possible way for India and other countries in the Global South, which requires a comprehensive methodological overview on wasteland narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapidly developing world of the Internet of Things (IoT), data security has become increasingly important since massive personal data are collected. IoT devices have resource constraints, which makes traditional cryptographic algorithms ineffective for securing IoT devices. To overcome resource limitations, lightweight cryptographic algorithms are needed. To identify research trends and patterns in IoT security, it is crucial to analyze existing works, keywords, authors, journals, and citations. We conducted a bibliometric analysis using performance mapping, science mapping, and enrichment techniques to collect the necessary information. Our analysis included 979 Scopus articles, 214 WOS articles, and 144 IEEE Xplore articles published during 2015–2023, and duplicates were removed. We analyzed and visualized the bibliometric data using R version 4.3.1, VOSviewer version 1.6.19, and the bibliometrix library. We discovered that India is the leading country for this type of research. Archarya and Bansod are the most relevant authors; lightweight cryptography and cryptography are the most relevant terms; and IEEE Access is the most significant journal. Research on lightweight cryptographic algorithms for IoT devices (Raspberry Pi) has been identified as an important area for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of food safety management systems has a great influence on global food safety and security, especially for developing nations. The principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points are crucial for food safety and are the basis of food safety management systems. The purpose of this study was to assess the food safety management systems of a selected small-sized food company in India, both before and after certification of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22000 and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). This company manufactured traditional fried vegetable snacks using manual processing. The effectiveness of these certifications was assessed through direct audit. The integrated FSVP and ISO 22000 audit checklist were elaborated and applied in this study. It was shown that the certification significantly improved (97.14%) food safety system conformity in the company in question. Before certification, many non-compliances were found, especially for HACCP implementation. After certification, the only non-conformity concerned pest control. The integrated FSVP and ISO 22000 audit checklist used for the assessment enabled an evaluation of several factors: the food quality and safety compliance level, the effectiveness of certification, and the readiness of the small-sized Indian snack producer to develop the export of their products to the U.S. and other developed countries. It was shown that certification enabled a small-sized Indian food producer to meet the requirements of ISO 22000 and FSVP, which are the prerequisites for exporting to the U.S. and other developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in developing countries such as India will experience severe consequences of climate change. Primary school students, in particular, are the most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, such as heat waves intensifying due to climate change. This will adversely impair their development, well-being, and learning outcomes. However, significant research gaps exist in understanding and mitigating children's vulnerabilities. There is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of the impact of heat waves on children's health and well-being in India. Further, the discussion on the state of heat safety in Indian primary schools is limited. This study addresses these gaps by surveying 335 primary school teachers in seven Indian cities. The data gathered from the field survey offers a better understanding of classroom experiences and challenges encountered by children and teachers during heat waves. It underscores several aspects of students' vulnerability to heat exposure and its adverse impact on their health, such as absence from school, physical symptoms of heat distress, etc. Furthermore, it highlights the pressing need for classroom heat risk management in light of climate change and makes several policy prescriptions in primary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a qualitative approach to address limitations and blockages to current plastics reduction via semi-structured interviews with zero waste business practitioners in India. Although they are nascent, India is home to a budding zero waste community that is grappling with how to reduce plastics—via trial and error—and these stakeholders hold insights from lived experience on how plastic reduction can actualize in the Indian subcontinent. This research involved interviewing zero waste businesses and consultants and makers of plastic alternatives in India to understand their experiences with plastic reduction strategies. The key stakeholder interviews reveal key insights for moving forward with plastic reduction initiatives, including challenges faced at government, business, and social levels; considerations regarding plastic waste generation; motivations for starting zero waste businesses and organizations; how it will be possible to operationalize plastic bans in India; appropriate actions for plastic waste reduction; elements that would help India shift into a more circular, regenerative economy; and locally appropriate alternatives to plastics. The discussion further delves into caveats with various alternatives to plastic materials, economic considerations, and characteristics of the zero waste network, and provides next steps for action at the government, business, and civil levels for reducing plastic waste generation in India and minimizing plastic pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence of industry 4.0, several elements of the supply chain are transforming through the adoption of smart technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things and cyber-physical systems. Logistics is considered one of the important elements of supply chain management and its digital transformation is crucial to the success of industry 4.0. In this circumstance, the existing logistics system needs to be upgraded with industry 4.0 technologies and emerge as logistics 4.0. However, the adoption/transformation of logistics 4.0 is dependent on several determinants that need to be explored. Therefore, this study has the prime objective of investigating the determinants of logistics 4.0 adoption in the context of a developing country, specifically, India. Initially, ten determinants of logistics 4.0 are established after a survey of the relevant literature and the input of industry experts. Further, a four-level structural model is developed among these determinants using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach. In addition, a fuzzy Matrix of Cross-Impact Multiplications Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis is also conducted for the categorization of these determinants as per their driving and dependence power. The findings show that top management supports, information technology infrastructure and financial investment are the most significant determinants towards logistics 4.0 adoption. This study facilitates the supply chain partners to focus on these high-level determinants for the effective adoption of logistics 4.0. Moreover, the findings lead to a more in-depth insight into the determinants that influence logistics 4.0 and their significance in logistics 4.0 adoption in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable access to electricity is still a challenge in many developing countries. Indeed, rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries such as India still encounter frequent power outages. Local energy markets (LEMs) have emerged as a low-cost solution enabling prosumers with power supply systems such as solar PV to sell their surplus of energy to other members of the local community. This paper proposes a one-to-one automated negotiation framework for peer-to-peer (P2P) local trading of electricity. Our framework uses an autonomous agent model to capture the preferences of both an electricity seller (consumer) and buyer (small local generator or prosumer), in terms of price and electricity quantities to be traded in different periods throughout a day. We develop a bilateral negotiation framework based on the well-known Rubinstein alternating offers protocol, in which the quantity of electricity and the price for different periods are aggregated into daily packages and negotiated between the buyer and seller agent. The framework is then implemented experimentally, with buyers and sellers adopting different negotiation strategies based on negotiation concession algorithms, such as linear heuristic or Boulware. Results show that this framework and agents modelling allow prosumers to increase their revenue while providing electricity access to the community at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to advances in information and communication technology, e-teaching has become increasingly popular and is in high demand by educational organizations. During the lockdown period of COVID-19 especially, e-teaching provided prior solutions to address the pressing need for monitoring students' learning progress. However, in many developing countries, it is apparent that a wide variety of issues are related to e-teaching adoption. Although the implementation issues associated with e-teaching have been addressed in the existing research literature and in practice for many years, from the available research, the evaluation of e-teaching adoption criteria and ranking using fuzzy theory has been ignored. Therefore, the present research aims to evaluate and rank the criteria for e-teaching adoption through Fuzzy Delphi and Fuzzy TOPSIS. A total of four criteria and twelve sub-criteria for e-teaching adoption were determined based on a systematic literature review and professors' opinions in India. In addition, the Fuzzy Delphi method was employed to finalize the criteria, and the Fuzzy TOPSIS method was employed for ranking the alternatives. The assessment results showed that among the identified alternatives, the "share the technology with other organizations" and "course integration with technology" were the top-ranked alternatives for improving e-teaching adoption. An understanding of these conceptual alternatives can encourage the adoption of e-teaching in educational organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing energy demand in buildings with a 40% global share and 30% greenhouse gas emissions has accounted for climate change and a consequent crisis encouraging improvement of building energy efficiency to achieve the combined benefit of energy, economy, and environment. For an efficient system, the optimization of different design control strategies such as building space load, occupancy, lighting, and HVAC becomes inevitable. Therefore, interdisciplinary teamwork of developers, designers, architects, and consumers to deliver a high-performance building becomes essential. This review aims to endorse the importance of Building Performance Simulation in the pre-design phase along with the challenges faced during its adaptation to implementation. A morphology chart is structured to showcase the improvement in Building Energy Efficiency by implementing Building Performance Simulation for different building energy systems and by implementing various energy efficiency strategies to achieve the 3E benefit. As a developing nation, India still lacks mass application of Building Performance Simulation tools for improving Building Energy Efficiency due to improper channelizing or implementation; thus, this framework will enable the designers, architects, researchers to contemplate variable building energy optimization scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity consumption from lighting accounts for about 15% of total power demand and 5–6% of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. It is therefore a promising avenue to achieve considerable energy savings through technological innovation and upgrading. India has been very successful in recent years with a nationwide roll-out of modern light-emitting diode (LED) applications. This study uses the framework of technology innovation systems to identify the actors, institutions, and processes behind the diffusion of this technology. Our findings indicate that national innovation strategies, along with low-carbon technology (LCT) transfer policies, helped to bring down the cost of LED lamps in a rapidly expanding domestic market. Based on the findings, we further explore lessons for broader issues of low-carbon technology transfer and suggest an emerging intermediate step between north–south and south–south technology transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical criteria/Family history-based BRCA testing misses a large proportion of BRCA carriers who can benefit from screening/prevention. We estimate the cost-effectiveness of population-based BRCA testing in general population women across different countries/health systems. A Markov model comparing the lifetime costs and effects of BRCA1/BRCA2 testing all general population women ≥30 years compared with clinical criteria/FH-based testing. Separate analyses are undertaken for the UK/USA/Netherlands (high-income countries/HIC), China/Brazil (upper–middle income countries/UMIC) and India (low–middle income countries/LMIC) using both health system/payer and societal perspectives. BRCA carriers undergo appropriate screening/prevention interventions to reduce breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Outcomes include OC, BC, and additional heart disease deaths and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)/quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Probabilistic/one-way sensitivity analyses evaluate model uncertainty. For the base case, from a societal perspective, we found that population-based BRCA testing is cost-saving in HIC (UK-ICER = $−5639/QALY; USA-ICER = $−4018/QALY; Netherlands-ICER = $−11,433/QALY), and it appears cost-effective in UMIC (China-ICER = $18,066/QALY; Brazil-ICER = $13,579/QALY), but it is not cost-effective in LMIC (India-ICER = $23,031/QALY). From a payer perspective, population-based BRCA testing is highly cost-effective in HIC (UK-ICER = $21,191/QALY, USA-ICER = $16,552/QALY, Netherlands-ICER = $25,215/QALY), and it is cost-effective in UMIC (China-ICER = $23,485/QALY, Brazil−ICER = $20,995/QALY), but it is not cost-effective in LMIC (India-ICER = $32,217/QALY). BRCA testing costs below $172/test (ICER = $19,685/QALY), which makes it cost-effective (from a societal perspective) for LMIC/India. Population-based BRCA testing can prevent an additional 2319 to 2666 BC and 327 to 449 OC cases per million women than the current clinical strategy. Findings suggest that population-based BRCA testing for countries evaluated is extremely cost-effective across HIC/UMIC health systems, is cost-saving for HIC health systems from a societal perspective, and can prevent tens of thousands more BC/OC cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]