Search

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]

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]

The poetic and hagiographical works of early modern north Indian saints constitute a rich case study for understanding the relationship among changes in language, material practices of writing, and ideologies of writing. Beginning in the fourteenth century, the commitment of the vernacular language of bhāṣā to writing had the effect of reconfiguring practices and ideologies of writing, posing a serious challenge to the epistemic and cultural privilege formerly accorded to writing in the literary, intellectual, and religious traditions contained in Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. Although unable to completely escape the conceptual structures of a postliterate society, these supposedly illiterate, subaltern poet‐saints were able to undermine systems of religious and intellectual authority by questioning the ontological status and epistemic utility of written language and by divesting writing of its aura. They did so by emphasizing the materiality and banality of writing and by characterizing inscription as just another form of worldly labor. Such readings of the saints' poetic works are made possible precisely by their authorial personas as subaltern, illiterate figures, and these personas are in turn established not in the poetry itself but in the hagiographical works that narrativize these saints' lives. Importantly, these hagiographies reflect a concern with historicizing both the saints' utterances and the material processes through which those utterances came to be written down. Perhaps paradoxically, it is this concern with historicity that enables the tradition to establish the transcendent nature of the saints' speech and thought, and to enable those in the present to recreate the transformative speech acts that the hagiographies describe. [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]

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]

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]

The literature on agrarian change in India has largely employed class categories based upon data on land, assets and occupational status, which collapse women's class relations into those of (mostly male) households heads. In this paper, we interrogate this understanding of class building on the work of Carmen Diana Deere. Employing the first ever national time use survey conducted in India in 2019, we interrogate class as a labour process that intersects with caste and gender. Our analysis of the data using a Marxist‐feminist framework suggests the following. First, there exist intra‐household gendered differences in class locations. This calls to question theoretical frameworks that assign a cohesive class location to all household members that underlie data collection in India and elsewhere. Second, individuals participate in multiple labour processes depending on their caste and gender. Hence, they may be subsumed to capital in varied and sometimes contradictory ways. Finally, we find that both men and women engage in reproductive labour in addition to other forms of labour, which varies by caste categories. This finding further underscores and supports previous research on the importance of an expanded conception of work that includes reproductive labour. In sum, we argue for a more complex understanding of class in India, one that incorporates its caste and gender dimensions. [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 examines the evolution of Rajasthan's water poverty status and identifies key areas where intervention is needed to address the state's water woes. For this, a modified water poverty index (MWPI) has been constructed using data from the National Sample Survey (NSS). To understand the spatial and temporal change, MWPI has been computed for all 33 districts for 2012 and 2018. Although the state's overall water poverty status has improved over the given period, descriptive data analysis reveals a decline in the resource component of the index. A deterioration in the index value of some of the districts' access, capacity, and secondary sources is also a concern. Given the dwindling access to safe, sufficient, and reliable water sources and an increase in the burden of water‐related disease, the study recommends policy initiatives that urgently and explicitly address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a crucial intervention because of its long‐term impact on child development. However, information concerning the effectiveness of the ECEC in developing countries like India is sparsely available. This empirical study drew upon primary data collected from India's eastern state, West Bengal and investigated whether attending preschool contributed to children's cognitive and social skill development. The study found that attending preschool did not provide dividends in the form of cognitive and social skill accumulation. Furthermore, attending private preschool was associated with socioemotional development but no cognitive development. Moreover, parents' education seems to be a strong predictor for child's development. Given the findings of this paper, preschools in India, both in the public and private sectors, would need considerable quality improvement to deliver developmentally appropriate ECEC to children. It is particularly relevant in the context of the new National Education Policy in India, which emphasises the need to provide universal access to high‐quality ECCE to all young children across the country. [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]

This paper examines the sustainability of the current account deficit (CAD) and validity of the intertemporal budget constraint of India for the period of 1980 to 2019. The cointegration results show that exports and imports are not cointegrated and the current account (CA) series is not mean reverting during the study period. Therefore, the results refute the sustainability of CAD and the validity of the intertemporal budget constraint in the Indian context. Furthermore, the study also emphasised the testing of the disaggregated CA and found that while the goods account is not sustainable, the services account found to be sustainable in the long run. Our findings thus indicate the potential for aggregation bias to have an impact on the overall CA sustainability results. Therefore, policies that help in achieving self‐sufficiency on the one hand and export promotion in goods on the other may eventually contribute to CA sustainability. [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]

This paper reviews literature and identifies trends in the study of slum redevelopment and rehabilitation policies in India since the country's Independence. In doing so, it brings into conversation literature from various disciplines centered around slum redevelopment and rehabilitation policies of Indian cities. The paper begins by laying out the history of slum redevelopment and rehabilitation policies in India and then contextualizing the policies by examining how they came about and how they correspond to specific moments of the Indian political‐economy, especially the "liberalization" of the market in the 1990s. In the second section, the paper highlights trends in contemporary research on slum redevelopment and rehabilitation policies with a focus on studies on dispossession. The final section identifies a critical omission of the socio‐spatial realities of caste in contemporary studies of slum redevelopment and provides suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasslands are contested ecosystems due to our scant understanding of their ecological and socioeconomic roles and also due to the ambiguity in understanding what exactly constitutes them. This problem escalates in the absence of proper governance. In this paper, we explore the historical accounts of Indian grasslands to trace how they have shaped contemporary grassland conservation and restoration policies. The paper draws from the concept of Biome Awareness Disparity and links it to grassland degradation through misleading nomenclature and flawed interventions rooted in misplaced governance. We found that Indian grasslands are negatively affected by India's commitment to global goals (with quantified targets of increasing tree cover) and the involvement of multiple government bodies in grassland management. This conundrum is fueled by the strong forest bias within government bodies and nongovernmental organizations. Based on the findings, we propose that India needs a more cohesive national policy framework and a robust ecosystem classification system to successfully conserve and restore grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the scholarship on the causes of civil wars, GDP per capita represents a strong and robust variable. Less attention, however, is paid to the role of economic decline. When it is included at all, scholars tend to consider it only in the period just prior to the onset of war. This paper argues that the impact of economic decline has been underestimated, for in addition to its short‐term effects, evidence from case studies reveals that a particular pattern is often evident during periods of sharp economic decline, in which ethnonationalist actors ascend in political power while scapegoating minority populations. The resulting increase in interethnic tensions raises the risk of large‐scale civil violence even many years after a major recession. The cases of Yugoslavia, Ivory Coast and India show the long‐term effects of a common exogenous shock‐ the global recession of the late 1970s‐ in the form of rising ethnonationalist political actors, setting the stage for large‐scale interethnic civil violence long after the initial economic shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of disaster politics debate how far natural hazards cause or catalyse political change. This paper builds on recent scholarship on tipping points and social contracts to argue that two case studies of historical earthquakes in 1930s British‐colonised India invite a focus on the dynamics of cooperation and conflict between state and non‐state actors. Officials of the colonial state and its nationalist rivals cooperated after one earthquake even though they otherwise bitterly opposed each other. Cooperation broke down after the second event, just one year later. Yet, in both cases, officials and nationalist leaders shared a broad vision for Indian society, which pushed both sides actively to seek to recover the social and economic status quo ante, preventing potential tipping points from crystallising. These case studies reveal how and why highly fraught social contracts can survive major disasters. The colonial state's transient and reactive approach to disaster governance continued to impact on post‐independence India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to decentre/decolonize our understanding of capitalist development in the Global South call for more complex and differentiated categories of work that acknowledge the significance of both non‐waged and reproductive labour. These categories would allow us to more clearly ‘see’ the varying intersections of gender, class and caste within this world of work. Even as the literature on work in the Global South acknowledges the importance of forms of non‐waged work, there is still more work to be done to sufficiently incorporate the labour of social reproduction. In this paper, which emerges from an effort to apply a feminist social reproduction lens in the field, we propose understanding work through four conceptual dyads: waged productive labour, non‐waged productive labour, waged reproductive labour and non‐waged reproductive labour. Through an in‐depth description of three specific cases from a time‐use survey we conducted in rural Punjab, India, we argue not only that all four dyads are required to encompass the world of work but also that this more expansive conceptualization can help us produce richer analyses of the intersections of class, caste and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ventilago Gaertn. (Rhamnaceae) is widely distributed in pantropical areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. However, fossil records of this taxon are sparse, which limits understanding of the evolution and biogeographic history of the genus. In the present study, we report and describe two new fossil species of Ventilago, V. siwalika sp. nov. from the Miocene sediments of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya, and V. pliocenica sp. nov. from the Pliocene sediments of Jharkhand, eastern India based on single‐winged samaras. Ventilago pliocenica is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins, the presence of equatorial rim, the hypanthium, and short pedicel. On the other hand, V. siwalika is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins. Our discovery represents the first unambiguous fossil record of single‐winged samara of Ventilago from India and provides valuable insights into the evolution of this genus. In this paper, we also review its biogeographic history and add new information to understand its hypothetical migration route. Present and earlier records of Ventilago also suggest that this genus was a common forest element during Neogene (Miocene time) in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how Indian migrant families in Dubai actively sustain mobile livelihoods across the Indian Ocean and beyond, paying attention to the role played by education in the unfolding of such migrant lives. This paper aims to nuance the experiences of Gulf migrants that have broadly focused on systemic vulnerabilities produced by the legal, economic and social structures encountered in Gulf destinations. This paper builds on the stories of three families from the southern Indian state of Kerala with diverse mobility trajectories over time and space, which is conceptualized in relation to the practice of specific livelihoods, focusing on the patterns and impacts of mobility at different life stages and across generations. Literature engaging with the migration‐education nexus, which reveals that education is an integral part of mobile livelihoods worldwide, provides an analytical backdrop. The paper shows distinct ways in which education forms a crucial part of complex agendas, informing family migration to and from the Gulf region. Furthermore, it captures how migrants' educational agendas are continuously being adjusted in processes of migration, and how this relates to the ongoing transformation of individual and collective social identities and the remaking of mobile livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at analysing the level of awareness of the symptoms and the methods of protection from COVID‐19 based on the Rural Impact Survey of the World Bank, collected from 5200 households belonging to six states in India that is, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Data has been analysed using chi‐square test and regression analysis. Results of the analysis indicate that about 70.8% rural households are aware of the symptom of coronavirus, and 81.9% are aware of the preventive measures for controlling the spread of COVID‐19. Analysis indicates a significant association between awareness level on symptoms and prevention of COVID‐19 and socio‐demographics and location. The study further analyses the key determinants of awareness of COVID‐19 symptoms and preventive measures using the logistics regression model, indicating that age, gender, education, income, poverty status, access to information, cash relief and medical services are the determining factors of health awareness on COVID‐19 pandemic among rural households in India. Considering the importance of self‐protecting measures in fighting the pandemic, this paper highlights the importance of strengthening public awareness for containing the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic implications of biopolitics – or the administration, regulation, and control of life – have received significant attention in recent geographical and cognate scholarship. An emerging theme of inquiry, largely focused on the Global North, makes contributions to specifying 'lively capital', defined here as bodily value in motion – predicated on accumulation from other‐than‐human life. In this paper, we argue that the biopolitical process of bringing life into the ambit of capital works in cultural, political, and economic registers and not just through singular logics of the economic, as extant accounts have implied. The rendition of life into capital through modes of biopower is not a universal process. It has diverging trajectories that, in postcolonial contexts, involve hybrids between biopolitical and vernacular practices. This argument is made through an account of bovine biopolitics in urban Delhi with specific reference to the city's 'cattle problem' involving 'surplus' animals. It unfolds in four distinct parts. First, drawing on archival work, we trace colonial histories of cattle improvement to reveal how the category of 'surplus' was invented. Second, we deploy more‐than‐human ethnographies of free‐ranging animals in Delhi to foreground how 'surplus' cattle – which we conceptualise as 'living waste' – are driven to feed on waste as a result of gentrification and the enclosure of erstwhile grazing grounds. Third, we turn to gaushalas (cow shelters) in Delhi to show how 'surplus' cattle from the city's streets are rehomed and managed. Fourth, we examine the uneven practices of care afforded to different bovines based on logics associated with right‐wing Hindutva nationalism. Our account provincialises lively capital by opening up more nuanced and situated understandings of the relations between biopolitics and capitalism, attentive to divergences from models situated in Western modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy is a period of major physiologic, hormonal, and psychological change, increasing the risk of nutritional deficiencies and mental disorders. Mental disorders and malnutrition are associated with adverse pregnancy and child outcomes, with potential long‐standing impact. Common mental disorders during pregnancy are more prevalent in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). In India, studies suggest the prevalence of depression is 9.8%–36.7% and of anxiety is 55.7%. India has seen some promising developments in recent years such as increased coverage of the District Mental Health Program; integration of maternal mental health into the Reproductive and Child Health Program in Kerala; and the Mental Health Care Act 2017. However, mental health screening and management protocols have not yet been established and integrated into routine prenatal care in India. A five‐action maternal nutrition algorithm was developed and tested for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aiming to strengthen nutrition services for pregnant women in routine prenatal care facilities. In this paper, we present opportunities and challenges for integration of maternal nutrition and mental health screening and a management protocol at routine prenatal care in India, discuss evidence‐based interventions in other LMICs including India, and make recommendations for public healthcare providers. Synopsis: The need for incorporated mental‐health services into routine prenatal care in India is reviewed, along with opportunities and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands have historically been considered hindrances to development, with 'reclamation' considered the appropriate management practice. This is no different in India, where most cities are built on wetlands. This study examines the case of fast urbanising Kozhikode City on the south‐west coast of India by overlaying political and developmental interventions of the city with its ecological realities. While pre‐colonial settlements in the region were predominantly along the coast leaving the marshy inland areas, the need for resource mobilisation by colonial forces led to the development of Conolly Canal through the wetlands. The spoil bank of the canal spawned the development of roads cutting across the wetlands, a process continuing to this day, with consequent ribbon development. Wetland loss due to reduction in depth, core area loss, fragmentation and salinity intrusion have gone hand in hand with the city's rapid urbanisation. While the looming threat of climate change is forcing Kozhikode's planners to revive the canal, wetlands that sustain the canal (and the city) are buried too far beneath the piecemeal undertakings that have shaped the city. This paper reconstructs the environmental history of the city, the canal and the wetlands from the establishment of the city to the present, spanning a period of 500 years. Determinants of urban growth including canal construction, transport network development in line with the spoil banks and rapid urbanisation processes are chronicled to understand the interconnectedness between ecology, urban sprawl and the rationality of disaster preparedness. In this context, the future development proposals for the region are examined especially with the wetlands as the backdrop. We employ mixed methodologies to track this history including satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), archives and interviews with senior citizens. This framework can be applied to other cities to understand the metabolic relationship of urban growth with ecology and its changing history. [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 critically the economic package announced by the Indian central government to counter the challenges of lives and livelihood in the Covid‐19 pandemic. This paper estimates the shares of the fiscal economic packages in two phases as per the shares of the vulnerable workers and number of Covid‐19 cases in the Indian states. The recent data on labour market are used from National Sample Survey Organization and data on Covid‐19 cases from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This paper recommends alternatively a fiscal stimulus package of Rs. 10 lakh crores (5% of GDP) with an immediate effect to counter the present problems of health, food and unemployment in the pandemic and should be extended to Rs. 24 lakh crores (12% of Indian GDP) to the Indian states for at least 1 year to protect the lives and livelihood of the most vulnerable, informal and migrant workers. The populous and poor states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have higher share of vulnerable workers and highly industrialized states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have higher number of Covid‐19 cases. Due to the unplanned lockdown in India, there has been a surge in Covid‐19 cases across the country that in turn led to an increase in vulnerable workers in poor states due to reverse migration from industrialized states to populous and poor states during the pandemic. Furthermore, the paper explains the five significant factors that justify the adoption of an expansionary fiscal policy rather than monetary policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By tracing specific moments in the history of the more‐than‐human landscape constituting the food geography of western Avadh, a long settled agricultural heartland in the Indo‐Gangetic plains, this paper challenges the neat formulations of the Anthropocene laying out decisive global impacts of humans on the environment. Building upon the concept of the 'patchy Anthropocene', we show how outcomes are shaped by an imbrication of humans and non‐humans—where powerful human actors seek to coerce people and corral the environment into their projects of remaking the landscape, but also where recalcitrant ecologies and resistant people thwart these intentions, especially during the colonial encounter. Contestations across power hierarchies and unintended outcomes litter the wake of the Anthropocene — as we show, efforts to save the non‐human cow in the last decade have intensified processes associated with the Great Acceleration. Instead of treating the trajectory of food geographies like western Avadh as outliers and marginal to the normative process of defining change, we argue for treating it as constitutive of the norm. Only through such a process of decolonisation, by 'provincialising the Anthropocene', can we hope to push for epistemic justice, ecological sustainability and a more equitable world. By tracing the history of the more‐than‐human landscape constituting the food geography of western Avadh, a long settled agricultural heartland in the Indo‐Gangetic plains, this paper challenges the neat Anthropocene formulations of decisive global impacts of humans on the environment. We show how powerful human actors seek to coerce people and corral the environment into their landscape remaking projects, but also how recalcitrant ecologies and resistant people thwart these intentions. We also describe unintended outcomes – efforts to save the nonhuman cow in the last decade have intensified processes associated with the Great Acceleration. Only through decolonisation and 'provincialising the Anthropocene', can we hope to push for epistemic justice, ecological sustainability and a more equitable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to enhance understanding of how self‐initiated expatriates (SIE) adjust to new cultural contexts in the under‐explored Indo‐Japanese inter‐Asian context. A literature review identified that Asian focal case studies are under‐developed, especially regarding the important interactions between major advanced Asian economy and emerging Asian economy settings. Therefore, the study developed an illustrative case of advanced economy Japanese SIE managers' lived experience in Indian emerging economy cross‐cultural management situations. Deploying a social constructivist epistemology using interpretive analysis, the current study found clear evidence of an interplay of hitherto under‐recognized common Indo‐Japanese spiritual values with roots in Buddhism surfacing in the Japanese SIE's adjustment. The paper offers important insights to complement extant theory on the individual‐level factors influencing SIE adjustment in an inter‐Asian context. The study contributes to international human resource management literature by surfacing contextualized understanding of the role of traditional spiritual values in SIE adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forced changes and disruptions in educational systems and learning experiences due to the pandemic has impacted students' mental health and well‐being. The present study aims to understand the effects of the determinants of well‐being on students in India during the second wave (April to August 2021) of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The determinants of well‐being in this study are academic grit, intolerance to uncertainty and students' engagement in an online learning environment. In this study, well‐being is characterized as students' confidence and satisfaction in an online learning and pandemic environment. The data collected from 1174 students (12–19 years) from various states, using standardized tools, were analyzed to find out about the mediating effect of students' engagement on the relationship between academic grit and well‐being, and between intolerance to uncertainty and well‐being. Further, the model fit analysis of the determinants of well‐being is explored. The paper reports that students' classroom engagement does mediate in the path of academic grit and well‐being, and in the path of intolerance to uncertainty and well‐being. It also evidence the model fit of the influence of the determinants of well‐being on that of school students during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study also draws implications and suggestions for educators using the current model of students' well‐being. Practitioner Points: 1.Classroom engagement mediates in the path of academic grit and well‐being among school students during the pandemic.2.Classroom engagement mediates in the path of intolerance to uncertainty and well‐being among school students during the pandemic.3.Students' classroom engagement, academic grit, and intolerance to uncertainty evidenced to be the determinants of their well‐being. [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 introductory article makes a critical estimation of the impact of pandemics on the Global South consumer's well‐being. Our paper moves beyond the concerns of the other papers of this Special Issue. Instead, we focus on the issues of the vulnerable, marginal, and subaltern consumers of the Global South—experiences and anxieties, distinct from those of more "modern," capitalized, industrialized, democratized, and economically liberated Global North consumers. We offer the North–South comparisons across national lines or from block to block that bring in a series of promising directions and new currents in the critical, interdisciplinary studies of consumer affairs. Primary perspectives and associated topics for future agenda impacting TCR highlighted are (i) socio‐economic inequalities and injustices, (ii) environmental injustice and sustainable future. We finally suggest an innovative research paradigm, "altruistic‐activist consumer research," to address the concerns and impact the well‐being of marginal consumers from the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2018, it was found that only a quarter of Grade 3 children in India were reading at grade level. A growing demand for English education has further limited children's literacy achievement. Despite a strong evidence base in favour of using systematic phonics for building English literacy skills, many teachers in India continue to use rote‐methods of literacy instruction. Objectives: We aimed to examine the efficacy of GraphoLearn (GL) English Rime, a computer‐assisted reading intervention, in improving the foundational literacy skills of 1st and 2nd grade students who were attending an English medium school in India. Methods: A total of 136 students across 6 classrooms were randomly allocated to play either GL or a control math game over a 5‐week intervention period. Students were pre‐ and post‐tested on various English literacy skills using tasks built into the GL software as well as through oral and paper‐based tasks. Results and Conclusions: Students who played GL showed significantly greater and faster development on in‐game measures of letter‐sound knowledge, rime unit recognition, and word recognition as compared to students who did not play GL. In addition, GL resulted in greater effects on these measures for students with stronger English literacy skills prior to the start of the intervention. No differences were found between groups on the oral and paper‐based tasks. Implications: GL was able to quickly and effectively teach critical sub‐skills for reading. However, a lack of effects on the out‐of‐game measures opens the door for further discussion on the successful implementation of such interventions. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic:India has an ongoing literacy crisis with many children failing to acquire functional literacy skills.Under‐resourced schools,outdated pedagogical methods, and a demand for English‐medium education are partially to blame.Globally, technology is being increasingly looked at to help improve student learning levels across all subject areas.There are a lack of studies examining the efficacy of various ed‐tech tools to improve literacy in the context of India.What this paper adds:The study aimed to test GraphoLearn English (GL), a mobile game designed to teach and practice early reading skills through phonics with first and second graders.Results showed that children who played GL outperformed those who did not play on critical literacy skills such as letter‐sound knowledge and word recognition.In addition, GL was more effective for those who had higher pre‐existing English literacy skills.However, improvements were only seen on measures assessed in the game and not on measures assessed orally or on paper.Implications for practice and/or policy:GL and other educational technologies can be extremely effective tools which allow for an individualized learning experience.However, it is important that for any educational game, learning moves beyond the game itself.Teachers are critical players in this process and must ensure that tech‐based instruction is integrated with teacher‐led instruction.Policy makers and school administration must ensure that teachers are adequately trained on when, with whom, and how to use such technologies before they are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thrust on insurance‐financed health systems may reduce Out‐of‐pocket health spending. But health insurance penetration among Indian elderly is abysmally low. In this context, the paper intends to examine the factors affecting demand for various types of insurances among Indian elderly. Data were drawn from 71st round (2014–15) "Key Consumption: Health" household survey data collected by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), Government of India. A total number of 27,245 older adults were selected for this study. In addition to basic descriptive statistics, we employ logistic regression models to conduct the econometric analysis. Socioeconomic, health‐related and contextual predictors are considered in this study. The results show that the probability of health insurance coverage among elderly significantly depends on income, education, disease types, caste, family size, and most importantly, social relationships. The underprivileged groups have higher likelihood to be covered by government‐funded insurance, while the older people with higher income and education, having spouses and less number of children, and residing in urban areas have a higher likelihood of purchasing private health insurance. The study identified the factors responsible for low demand for health insurance among elderly. The study suggests the expansion of private insurance network, especially, in the underserved rural areas, along with generating financial awareness among the elderly. The study also suggests an inclusive model of health insurance demand, which may be adopted by future empirical studies to find out the significant factors affecting health insurance demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper answers research questions on screening and management of severe thinness in pregnancy, approaches that may potentially work in India, and what more is needed for implementing these approaches at scale. A desk review of studies in the last decade in South Asian countries was carried out collating evidence on six sets of strategies like balanced energy supplementation (BEP) alone and in combination with other interventions like nutrition education. Policies and guidelines from South Asian countries were reviewed to understand the approaches being used. A 10-point grid covering public health dimensions covered by World Health Organization and others was created for discussion with policymakers and implementers, and review of government documents sourced from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Eighteen studies were shortlisted covering Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. BEP for longer duration, preconception initiation of supplementation, and better pre-supplementation body mass index (BMI) positively influenced birthweight. Multiple micronutrient supplementation was more effective in improving gestational weight gain among women with better pre-supplementation BMI. Behavior change communication and nutrition education showed positive outcomes on dietary practices like higher dietary diversity. Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka and Nepal are the only two countries to have management of maternal thinness in their country guidelines. India has at least nine variations of supplementary foods and three variations of full meals for pregnant women, which can be modified to meet additional nutritional needs of those severely thin. Under the National Nutrition Mission, almost all of the globally recommended maternal nutrition interventions are covered, but the challenge of reaching, identifying, and managing cases of maternal severe thinness persists. This paper provides four actions for addressing maternal severe thinness through available public health programs, infrastructure, and human resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports on the changing phase of sociolinguistics in India. The early phase of sociolinguistically oriented research is located within the philological tradition of India which ruled the early phase of the modern linguistics activities. The next phase was led by Gumperz and Pandit, who were deeply influenced by Emeneau, particularly with reference to outcomes of stable bi/multilingualism. Post Pandit, sociolinguistics in India took a major applied turn which lasted for nearly three decades. Beginning 2000 saw a variationist wave in sociolinguistics in India which has got stronger over the years. The paper analyses the factors that were responsible for the various turns that Sociolinguistics took over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Speech–language pathologists are often involved in the assessment and management of communication, cognition and swallowing deficits in people with Parkinson's. However, speech–language pathologists' self‐perceived competency levels in serving people with Parkinson's remain elusive, especially in the Indian context where there is an increasing disability burden due to Parkinson's disease. Additionally, the challenges faced by speech–language pathologists in India to provide efficient services to this population are unidentified. Aims: To determine speech–language pathologists' self‐perceived competence and challenges faced when providing services to people with Parkinson's in India. Methods & Procedures: A survey questionnaire was sent to speech–language pathologists through emails and social media asking them questions to evaluate self‐perceived competency in serving people with Parkinson's and to identify the challenges to their service delivery. A total of 69 speech–language pathologists responded to the survey. Outcomes & Results: The majority of respondents reported to be competent in dealing with various domains of assessment and management of people with Parkinson's. Although competent, they reportedly faced a few challenges during their service delivery. Conclusions & Implications: This study provides an insight into the speech–language pathologists' self‐perceived competency in serving people with Parkinson's in India, and also identifies the challenges related to interprofessional service delivery. The findings of the study have educational and clinical implications. What this paper adds: The study delineates speech–language pathologists' self‐perceived competency in working with people with Parkinson's in India, a nation that is seeing a constant rise in the incidence of Parkinson's disease.The study the unique challenges within India to speech–language pathologists' service delivery for people with Parkinson's, thus having educational and clinical implications in Parkinson's disease care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether investing in R&D reduces the impact of exogenous shocks like the COVID‐19 on stock market performance and accounting performance of manufacturing firms in India. For the sample of listed manufacturing firms, the paper finds that the firms engaged in R&D activities had lower negative cumulative abnormal return than those firms that did not invest in R&D in the pre‐pandemic period using multiple event windows. The result suggests that R&D investments can lower value erosion for the shareholders during a severe crisis period. Further, using a difference‐in‐difference fixed effects model, the study finds that manufacturing firms engaged in R&D activities in the pre‐pandemic period exhibited higher return on sales and growth of total income during the pandemic quarter vis‐à‐vis the non‐R&D firms. The favorable accounting performance indicates the possibility of firm‐level R&D being associated with the firm's ability to adjust its functioning during a crisis, thereby reducing the effect of the crisis. Finally, the study documents that government intervention to reduce the spread of the virus had a differential impact on firms based on their industry of operation. The findings have implications for investors, corporate managers, and policymakers in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through its colonial, class‐ and caste‐based history, English in India has come to be seen as a powerful resource that opens doors for those who 'have' it and holds back those who do not. For women, English ostensibly offers various promises in addition to employment: progressiveness and 'empowerment'; and the potential for upward mobility through marriage. Yet, the conversion of English capital for English‐speaking Indian women proves to be intensely complex in practice, as many find themselves forced to navigate between shifting moral regimes attached to 'tradition' and 'modernity'. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in an NGO in Delhi that offers free English training to 'disadvantaged youth', this paper explores how English capital is managed by young women striving to attain middle classness through English, and how their class, caste and gender positionings are negotiated across particular time‐space configurations as they seek to become English speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to assess employee emotional responses of organizations undergoing Mergers and Acquisitions and middle‐level manager role in managing these emotional responses in the post‐acquisition phase. The study is empirical in which a total of 215 responses from middle managers, involved in six Mergers and Acquisitions, were considered. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing standard scales of employee emotions during change, and middle manager role tested in other change contexts. The psychometric properties of the measures are established before testing the hypotheses. The results indicated that middle managers involvement in the strategy could enhance their commitment, which can reduce resistance to change and smoother integration. The results highlighted the importance of leveraging the middle manager role, given the post‐merger phase's criticality to achieve the desired synergies. One of the fundamental strengths of the paper is the rigors undertaken in selecting the companies representing an apt radical change context to test the theory of emotional balancing. The application of the concept of emotional balancing in the radical change context of Mergers and Acquisitions and its empirical validation is an original contribution to the field of knowledge in change management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study provides empirical evidence on how Indian Accounting Standards (Ind‐AS hereinafter) adoption has affected earnings management (EM hereinafter) in India. The study uses the Beneish Model and Modified Jones model to detect EM. The sample of the study comprises 240 companies listed in the S&P BSE MidSmallCap index for the period 2013–2019. The results of the Modified Jones model reveal that Ind‐AS have no significant effect on EM. However, the Beneish model shows that all ratios except leverage index have a significant relationship with EM after Ind‐AS adoption. Nine industries out of 28 sample industries are suspectable to indulge in manipulating financial statements. The ratio of manipulators to nonmanipulators has grown after Ind‐AS adoption. The paper adds to the literature by examining the impact of new accounting standards on EM in an emerging economy. The findings of the study would be relevant to the public accounting bodies, regulators, accounting professionals, and the public at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on the concept of the "socio‐ecological fix" to emphasise the contradictions inherent in seeking to produce nature through such fixes for insecure petty commodity producers who occupy the class place of both labour and capital. I explore how petty commodity producer households cultivating tobacco in western Tamil Nadu, South India, are reworking labour practices in managing erratic rainfall and groundwater depletion. Agriculture in Tamil Nadu is in decline, and dominated by small and marginal farming households that oscillate between agrarian production and waged work to make ends meet. These unstable petty commodity producer households have historically accumulated in western Tamil Nadu, through labour exploitation and the appropriation of groundwater, in order to transition to petty industry. However the long‐term decline of the region's aquifers highlights the limits of such over‐exploitation. The paper makes two contributions in exploring how petty commodity producer households are remaking space to move beyond agrarian accumulation. First, the paper highlights the biophysical limits of seeking to produce nature through socio‐ecological fixes, therefore acknowledging the mercurial as well as produced aspects of nature as a form of space. Second, in adjusting to such biophysical limits on productive capacity, the paper highlights how petty commodity producer households enact forms of resilience and reworking in decreasing their reliance on waged workers and remaking agrarian landscapes to demand less labour, tending away from accumulation and towards salaried jobs. Overall, the paper looks to explore how petty commodity producers, which constitute a norm in Global South agrarian settings, offer new paths for thinking about forms of class‐entangled geographical space‐making in understanding trajectories of socio‐ecological accumulation. First, the paper highlights the biophysical limits of seeking to produce nature through socio‐ecological fixes, therefore acknowledging the mercurial as well as produced aspects of nature as a form of space. Second, in adjusting to such biophysical limits on productive capacity, the paper highlights how petty commodity producing households enact forms of resilience and reworking as spatial agents, tending away from accumulation and towards salaried jobs. Overall, the paper looks to explore how petty commodity producers, who constitute a norm in Global South agrarian settings, offer new paths for thinking about forms of geographical resistance in understanding trajectories of socio‐ecological accumulation. [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]

After a traumatic lockdown in 2020, India's migrant factory workers have headed back to work and on worse terms than before. Struggling with new levels of denial of entitlements, workers respond by withdrawing from their fragile hold on formality, moving instead further into the informal sector. Based on voice notes recorded on Saajha Manch, a phone‐based community media platform, the paper examines workers' experience that their efforts to claim their rights lure them into a quagmire in a bureaucracy which sucks their energy while assuring no clear outcome. Seeing evidence of failed enforcement and structural inequality all around them, workers conclude that the law is not meant for them and hence show little interest in the new labour codes hastily enacted at the height of the pandemic. The paper highlights the dysfunction of the formal sector in delivering to its low‐waged workers who remain unserved in spite of registration and documentation in place. As they join the ranks of informality, however, migrant factory workers do not lose interest in associative and contentious activity. On the contrary, freedom from the bureaucracy of rights may be a boost to new forms of struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the impasse climate‐informed development practices currently find themselves in. This is represented by the fact that while "solutions" to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance capacities for adaptation and resilience are increasingly adopted around the world, we have enough evidence to suggest that strategies adopted "from above" have been unable to engender transformations towards more just and liveable futures. Situating the paper within recent calls for a "post‐adaptation" turn in the field, I propose a generative critique of climate‐informed development through the lens of care as a place from where to begin thinking and practicing development differently. The aim of this critique is not to discard or discredit development practices as necessarily tainted or flawed but to make them accountable to a whole set of concerns and cares going into their stories of success or failures. Throughout the paper, I therefore speculatively ask the reader to think though the possibilities that may be opened when we stop treating climate‐informed development projects as neutral and undisputable "matters of fact," engaging with them instead as necessary and non‐innocent "matters of care." Thinking through a tryptic notion of "matters of care," as at the same time a neglected doing necessary for the sustenance of life, an affective state, and an ethico‐politics, I look at examples from semi‐arid areas of India to give visibility to those practices, relations, and emotions of care that have been marginalised by mainstream development circles. Through this shift in perception, a deeper understanding of vulnerability as a state of shared fragility emerges, one that grounds an ethico‐politics of climate‐informed development to concrete circumstances and becomes the foundation upon which more inclusive practices can be built upon. Situated within a post‐adaptation turn, this paper propose a generative critique of climate‐informed development through the lens of care. The aim of this critique is not to not to discard or discredit development practices as flawed but to make them accountable to whole set of concerns and cares going into their stories of success or failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Diabetes is a significant public health concern in India, with Kerala being labeled as the diabetes capital of the country. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence, treatment, and management of diabetes to examine the unmet need for care to propose cost-effective strategies. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a geographically defined cohort population in Ernakulam. Sample: This paper presents diabetes data of adults ≥30 years enrolled from the community cohort. The interviews were conducted with 997 participants at their residence. Measurement: Random blood glucose was assessed for each participant using a finger prick test. Results: The overall prevalence of diabetes was 30.1%, of which 4.1% of participants had undiagnosed diabetes. Among those with diabetes, 86.3% were aware of their diagnosis; among those aware, 86.5% were on treatment. Among those on treatment for diabetes, 54% achieved controlled blood sugar. Conclusion: The challenge in diabetes management is controlling the blood glucose levels of people who adhere to treatment. Younger employed females from lower-income quartiles have the highest risk. The study also raises questions about quality and strategies for medication compliance. The findings inspire future research on care needs, policies, and program responses to reduce the diabetes disease burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reframes the motto of the right to the city by examining the colliding practices of place‐making among diverse residents such as displaced slum dwellers, rural migrants, and low‐income newcomers in a resettlement colony in Delhi's periphery. Moving beyond this conceptualisation of the "city" within the right to the city motto as an emancipatory and ideal one, I shed light on the "kind" of a city the diverse actors produce in Delhi's periphery. Refraining from suggesting a normative conceptualisation, I argue that the right to the city as practised on the ground is also a right to co‐create an ever‐emerging city with colliding trajectories of opportunities and constraints beyond an inclusive and emancipatory city, as generally perceived. This paper reframes the motto of the right to the city by examining the colliding practices of place‐making among diverse residents, such as displaced slum dwellers, rural migrants, and low‐income newcomers, in a resettlement colony in Delhi's periphery. Drawing from 13 months of ethnographic field research among the residents of a resettlement colony, Savdha, I identify and examine three broad practices and associated politics of place‐making among the residents and their implications for revisiting the motto of the right to the city: the politics of land commodification; the politics of patience, hope, and incremental homemaking; and the politics of mobility and temporality. Although scholars have sympathetically critiqued "whose" rights, "what" rights and "what kind" of rights "the right to the city" entails, scholars within the right to the city framework implicitly have spatially and conceptually fixed the "city" and practices of resistance in the gentrifying urban cores. Moreover, existing scholarship envisions the right to the city motto as an oppositional demand to reclaim and redistribute resources to co‐create an inclusive and emancipatory city. Moving beyond this conceptualisation of the "city" within the right to the city motto as an emancipatory and ideal one, I shed light on the "kind" of a city the diverse actors produce in Delhi's periphery. Refraining from suggesting a normative conceptualisation, I argue that the right to the city as practised on the ground is also a right to co‐create an ever‐emerging city with colliding trajectories of opportunities and constraints beyond an inclusive and emancipatory city, as generally perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kerala is one of India's most vulnerable states in India when it comes to climate‐induced disasters. Kerala's public health department grappled with a flood of unprecedented magnitude in August 2018. Situating the flood in the context of Kerala's state and society, this paper addresses three questions: What was the level of flood‐prevention preparedness? What were the public health effects and how were they managed? Finally, what policy lessons were learned? Drawing from reports of relevant national and state agencies responsible for disaster management as well as first‐hand accounts of nongovernmental organizations and media coverage, this paper argues that while Kerala's flood‐prevention preparedness was far from ideal, its postflood response in mounting a rapid and effective rescue and relief operation as well as in preventing a public health crisis was commendable. The paper also shows that impressive achievements in climate‐disaster health management can be achieved through a decentralized and participatory public health system in which coordinated public action is managed by a capacious state with the active collaboration of civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the livelihood vulnerability experienced by agricultural households in Kuttanad, a below sea level farming system in southern India, in the aftermath of a major flood in August 2018. For this purpose, we constructed a flood coping strategy index (FCSI), to measure coping strategy intensity, using the data on the severity and frequency of various coping strategies adopted by households. Furthermore, we estimated a Tobit regression model to identify the factors influencing the intensity of coping strategy choices. The FCSI revealed that only two per cent of agricultural households experienced a 'severe' level of vulnerability because of the quick and effective policy response of the Kerala state government. In addition, Tobit regression analysis indicated that female‐headed and labour households are more vulnerable than their respective counterparts. While income exerts a negative influence on the degree of livelihood vulnerability, agricultural landholding has a positive effect, as it increases cultivation loss during a flood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paleogeographic affinity of the south China craton (SCC) with India in the Neoproterozoic has long been advocated based on lines of geological evidence. However, the lack of coeval paleomagnetic data renders the putative connection ambiguous. Here we report new paleomagnetic results obtained from seven ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in SCC that provide new critical constraints on the issue. The data quality is assured by a positive regional tilt test, a reversal test, and by adequately averaging‐out paleosecular variation. Our data, together with coeval poles from the global paleomagnetic database, support a reconstruction in which the SCC was connected with India at ca. 770 Ma via linkages with smaller continental blocks. The SCC‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far from Laurentia and Australia, which were located at low latitudes at ca. 770 Ma. Plain Language Summary: Multiple lines of geological evidence may suggest a close paleogeographic relationship between the south China craton (SCC) and India. Their specific connection, including the alignment of tectonic features, if had ever existed in any way, can be tested and determined through the use of coeval high‐quality paleomagnetic data from the two cratons. In this paper, we report a new paleomagnetic pole obtained from seven ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in the SCC, which is coeval to the pole obtained from the Malani igneous suite in India. The data quality of both poles is assured by robust paleomagnetic field tests. Our reconstruction based on the updated paleomagnetic database and geological data demonstrates that the SCC was connected with India at ca. 770 Ma via linkages with other smaller Asian blocks. Furthermore, the SCC‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far from the core of Rodinia, for example, Laurentia and Australia, which were located at low latitudes at ca. 770 Ma. Key Points: A new paleomagnetic pole (25.6°N, 116.8°E, A95 = 9.9°) was obtained from ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in South ChinaSouth China was connected to India via Indochina and small Asian blocks at ca. 770 MaThe South China‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far away from the core of Rodinia at ca. 770 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]