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Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to identify, analyze and select the enablers for vertical integration of Aloe vera supply chain (AVSC) so that rural employability will be enhanced in the context of Rajasthan, India. Design/methodology/approach: Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) was proposed to develop a structural model to identify the right enablers for enhancing the rural employability and business prospects. Also, fuzzy-matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to classification (F-MICMAC) was applied to segregate the enablers into four clusters on the basis of their driving and dependence power. Finally, the significant enablers were selected. Findings: Out of identified 13 enablers, three enablers (i.e. institute for training and research, transportation infrastructure and government incentives for value addition) were appearing at the bottom of the ISM structural model and also in the driving quadrant of driver-dependent diagram. Therefore, they are the significant enablers for vertical integration of AVSC to enhance the rural employability in the context of Rajasthan, India. Research limitations/implications: The interactions among enablers are not statistically validated. However, the empirical analysis and total interpretive structural modeling may be used for this purpose. Practical implications: The outcomes of the study will provide the guidelines for implementation of vertical integration at the village level to enhance rural employability in the context of Rajasthan, India in specific. Originality/value: Although a few studies have been reported in the literature related to value-addition process (vertical integration), but the modeling of enablers to segregate and identify the appropriate enablers for vertical integration of AVSC for enhancing employability at the rural areas is unique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indian adolescents experience body dissatisfaction. However, empirically supported interventions are lacking, particularly in lower socio-economic regions of India. This paper describes the acceptability testing of a six-session teacher-led comics-based intervention, aiming to improve body image and related outcomes among adolescents in Indian Hindi medium schools. Methods: Thirty-five students (50% girls; M age, girls = 12.3 years; M age, boys = 13 years) and nine teachers (11% women) from Hindi medium schools in Rajasthan, India, completed a quantitative acceptability questionnaire regarding comics that target body dissatisfaction and associated risk factors. They also participated in online or telephone semi-structured interviews to share in-depth feedback, with teachers providing additional feedback on an accompanying teacher guide. The quantitative data were analysed descriptively, with the interviews analysed using qualitative codebook thematic analysis. Results: Quantitative analyses revealed that 73% of students felt the comics made them feel good about themselves. Qualitative analyses revealed four themes: (1) body dissatisfaction is a concern; (2) the comics are powerful; (3) increasing ease of understanding; (4) a teacher guide to aid delivery. Conclusion: This study demonstrates acceptability of a novel teacher-led comics-based body image intervention for adolescents in Indian Hindi medium schools from lower socio-economic settings. These findings are currently informing intervention optimizations, which will be evaluated in a randomized controlled effectiveness trial. If found to be effective, this intervention will be disseminated across eight Indian states by UNICEF. Trial registration. This trial has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov; a database of privately and publicly funded studies conducted around the world. Registration date: 2nd May 2020; Registration ID: (NCT04317755). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04317755?term=NCT04317755&draw=2&rank=1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The psychological well-being of school teachers is a growing concern in the post-pandemic era. Many initiatives are undertaken by individual school authorities and government agencies to address this issue. In this study, we examine the impact of energy management, thriving, and stress on the psychological well-being of school teachers in India. Method: Data was collected from 356 school teachers in Rajasthan, India, through a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. These teachers were working both in rural and urban areas. The relationship among energy management, thriving, stress, and psychological well-being was analyzed using hierarchical regression. Results: The findings suggest that energy management positively impacts psychological well-being. A mediating effect of thriving and stress on the relationship between energy management and psychological well-being was also found. The results support that psychological well-being can be enhanced by investing in managing school teachers' energy levels. Discussion: These results contribute to our theoretical and practical understanding of factors that can enhance the psychological well-being of school teachers and improve the quality of education. Institutes may design and implement interventions on energy management to enhance the psychological well-being of school teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is successful in increasing antenatal and natal care services, little is known on the cost coverage of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on maternal care services post-NRHM period.Methods: Using data from a community-based study of 424 recently delivered women in Rajasthan, this paper examined the variation in OOPE in accessing maternal health services and the extent to which JSY incentives covered the burden of cost incurred. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses are used to understand the differential and determinants of OOPE.Results: The mean OOPE for antenatal care was US$26 at public health centres and US$64 at private health centres. The OOPE (antenatal and natal) per delivery was US$32 if delivery was conducted at home, US$78 at public facility and US$154 at private facility. The OOPE varied by the type of delivery, delivery with complications and place of ANC. The OOPE in public health centre was US$44 and US$145 for normal and complicated delivery, respectively. The share of JSY was 44 % of the total cost per delivery, 77 % in case of normal delivery and 23 % for complicated delivery. Results from the log linear model suggest that economic status, educational level and pregnancy complications are significant predictors of OOPE.Conclusions: Our results suggest that JSY has increased the coverage of institutional delivery and reduced financial stress to household and families but not sufficient for complicated delivery. Provisioning of providing sonography/other test and treating complicated cases in public health centres need to be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infections are among the most common and widespread infections in developing countries where sanitation facilities are inadequate. Aims: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of STH infections in prenatal mothers in two states in India. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Maharashtra and Rajasthan state of India. We randomly selected one municipal corporation and one rural block from a selected district in each state. Methods and Material: Out of 2400 contacted, 2206 pregnant women gave stool samples for microscopy for parasitological study. The response rate was 89.91%. Stool specimens were transported to an accredited lab and examined microscopically within 24 hrs. Results: Prevalence of STH was 8.34 (95%CI 7.22–9.57). The prevalence in rural and urban areas was 10.01% (95%CI 8.51–11.74) and 5.76% (95%CI 4.39–7.52), respectively. Ascaris lumbricoides (34.7%) were the most common, followed by Entamoeba histolytica (30.43%), and 20.1% were mixed infections. Higher age, walking barefoot, weight gain during pregnancy were significantly associated with STH (p < 0.05). The mean hemoglobin value in women with STH was significantly less (8.75 gm%; SD 4.04) compared to those without STH (10.23 gm%; SD 1.23) (p < 0.05), and average weight gain during pregnancy was significantly less among women with STH (3.80 kg; 4.11) compared to women without STH (8.45 kg; 2.83); (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study provides valuable insights into the burden and intensity of STH in pregnant women that may support the policy recommendation for deworming during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdown has disrupted food supplies across large parts of India, where even prior to the pandemic, food insecurity and malnutrition were widely prevalent. Tribal populations in southern Rajasthan, India, live in extreme scarcity, rely mainly on outward migration for sustenance, and have been significantly affected by the pandemic. In this study, we assess the availability of foodstuffs at the household level and community experiences about satiety and hunger during lockdown.Methodology: We conducted a rapid assessment of food security in rural southern Rajasthan, India, using a structured questionnaire. Trained interviewers conducted telephonic interviews using KoBoToolbox, an open-source tool. A total of 211 respondents including community volunteers, family members of tuberculosis patients and malnourished children, pregnant women, and influential members in the villages participated in the study.Results: A cereal was reported to be present by 97% of the respondents, two-thirds had pulses, and nearly half had milk. The amount of cereals available was adequate for about 5 months and that of pulses, oil/ ghee, and sugar for about 1 to 2 weeks. Two-thirds of the respondents reported that food in their households was sometimes not sufficient for the amount they wanted to eat, and 97% of these mentioned not having money to buy food as the reason for not having sufficient food.Conclusion: This study highlights widespread food insecurity among tribal communities in southern Rajasthan, and the scenario is likely to be similar in other tribal migration dependent areas of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study on health convergence based on beta (β), sigma (σ) and club convergence is attempted here across 26 Indian states over time using NFHS (1–4) data. We formulate an overall health index (OHI) from three sub-health dimensions like child, reproductive and general health based on selected health indicators. The results show that the states are improving in respect of OHI; there exist absolute β convergence in respect of OHI and its sub-dimensions; however, we find σ divergent in respect of OHI and its sub-health dimension indices except child heath index. The club convergence based on kernel density provides a clear picture about stratification, polarization and uni-modal distributions of states in respect of OHI; over time states are converging to a steady state at higher value of OHI, but in the long-run there exists 'low level health trap' among five major states like UP, MP, Rajasthan, Bihar and Assam. Except Rajasthan, all the four major states remain at the lower level in respect of sub-health dimensions too. These five major states roughly account for 50% of India's population, and more than 50% of India's future demographic dividend will emerge from these major states. Therefore, in order to reap the benefits of demographic return, a major investment in human capital is urgently needed. Such 'low level health trap' justifies the 'big push' theory to health. This analysis can be applied at the sub-state level for policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arid regions of Rajasthan in India are characterized by harsh environments, fragile ecosystems, and limited water resources and arable lands. Desertification is one of the major land-degradation problems in these regions. Recent changes in the regional climatic regime and the low availability of water in this northwestern state of India, pose the threat of desertification in the agriculturally productive part of the state. This study aims to delineate the environmentally sensitive areas to desertification in the districts of Jhunjhunun and Sikar in Rajasthan, India. It uses geospatial data from various sources, and combines them to calculate an environmental sensitivity index ( ESI), which will allow the quantification of the area's vulnerability to desertification. The study uses the analytical hierarchical process ( AHP) to assign respective weights to individual factors for each index calculation. Land-cover maps and socio-economic data have been used to understand their relationship with ESI. Results showed that 13 percent and 45 percent of the study area are under highly sensitive and moderately sensitive zones, respectively. Mapping and monitoring of environmentally sensitive areas in such arid regions are critical to sustainable use and planning of natural resources namely water and land-cover and are helpful in determining priority actions and their successful implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field study evaluated the performance of direct well recharge structures (DWRS) in order to harvest and filter farm runoff and its discharge into open dug wells to augment groundwater recharge. This was undertaken between 2016 and 2018 using a total of 11 wells in the Dharta watershed, situated in a semi-arid hardrock region of Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. The depth to water level in each DWRS well was monitored weekly for 1 to 3 years before and after the DWRS was established, and water samples were taken for water quality analysis (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, fluoride, and Escherichia coli) before and during the monsoon period. For each DWRS well, two control wells in close proximity were also monitored and sampled. Five of the DWRS established in 2018 also had flow meters installed in order to measure discharge from the filter to the well. The volume of water recharged through DWRS into individual wells during the 2018 monsoon ranged from 2 to 176 m3 per well. Although the mean rise in water levels over the monsoon was higher in DWRS wells than in nearby control wells, the difference was not significant. Values of pH, EC, TDS, and F decreased in DWRS and control wells as each monsoon progressed, whereas the turbidity of wells with DWRS increased slightly. There was no significant difference between DWRS and control wells for pH, EC/TDS, turbidity, or fluoride. The presence of E. coli in DWRS wells was higher than in control wells, however, E. coli exceeded drinking water guidelines in all sampled wells. On the basis of this study, it is recommended that rural runoff should not be admitted to wells that are used for, or close to, wells used for drinking water supplies, even though salinity and fluoride concentrations may be reduced. For this study, none of the 11 DWRS wells produced sufficient additional recharge to potentially increase dry season irrigation supplies to justify expenditure on DWRS. This even applies to the DWRS well adjacent to a small ephemeral stream that had a significantly larger catchment area than those drawing on farmers' fields alone. An important and unexpected finding of this study was that no sampled open dug well met drinking water standards. This has led to a shift in local priorities to implement well-head water quality protection measures for wells used for drinking water supplies. It is recommended that parapet walls be built around the perimeter of such dug wells, as well as having covers be installed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural farmers in western Rajasthan State are uneducated and most of the applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are demonstrated and run in the English Language. The majority of these rural farmers who are illiterates with a very low level of understanding of the English Language find it difficult to take advantage of the availability of ICT to facilitate their access to information for their farm businesses. This study examined the role of ICT in enhancing the farmers' access to production and marketing information in western Rajasthan State in India. Primary data was collected from 133 farmers consisting of 71 ICT users and 62 Non-ICT users through questionnaire administration. The results of the Analysis of Variance test regarding the farmers' access to different types of production and marketing information revealed that the user type (i.e., ICT versus Non-ICT user) significantly explains the differences in farmers' access to the different types of marketing and production information. These results are consistent with the empirical results of the student's t-test that farmers' access to different types of production and marketing information from ICT sources is significantly higher than from Non-ICT sources. Consistently, the empirical results of the multiple regressions revealed that the percentage of production and marketing information obtained from ICT sources had positive significant influence on the farmers' access to marketing and production information; and that the percentage of marketing and production information obtained from Non-ICT sources had negative significant influence on the farmers' access to marketing and production information. These results suggest that ICT sources of marketing and production information play a crucial role in the farmers' access to this information for their business operations. The implication is that proper education and training of farmers (especially the female farmers) about the utilization of ICT sources to accelerate access to information is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]