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Digital identity platforms are a recent e-governance innovation for improving social assistance programming in the development context, the most well-known of which is India's Aadhaar. While a significant number of studies have accumulated on Aadhaar, so far under-researched is the importance of local government practices and processes in shaping usage of the platform to support social assistance programming. In this paper we theorize how local government intermediation on digital identity platforms can improve social assistance programming through a case study of the Aadhaar-enabled Fertilizer Distribution System (AeFDS) in Andhra Pradesh. Our findings show how the relevance of the platform for low-income farmers depends crucially on the proactive adaptation of the technology by key local government intermediaries. From a policy perspective, this result emphasizes the importance of supporting efforts to acknowledge the role of responsive local government agencies in ensuring that centralized digital identity platforms remain relevant for implementing social assistance programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years now, a variety of studies have proven the strong relationship between productivity and profitability. However, simply earning a profit does not necessarily mean that the firm is productive. Many highly productive firms face financial losses, whereas less productive ones’ experience significant profits. This paper examines the dynamics of how productivity really matters for profitability. The paper uses a non-parametric index number approach to estimate the productivity, profitability, and price performance of a publicly owned, once world’s largest, bus transport corporation operating in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to examine these dynamics. The paper finds that when public organizations are constrained from raising the prices of their services, productivity gains may not be adequate to counterbalance the impact of rising prices of major inputs. Moreover, loss-making organizations, even if they are publicly owned, would find it hard to improve both the quality and quantity of their services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000s, some Indian states started allowing private traders to buy directly from farmers outside the state-regulated market system. The experience of these states can shed light on the impact of market-oriented reforms and the role of public procurement. Using individual-level National Sample Survey Data on agricultural wages and a new dataset on state-level average real farm income per cultivator for 18 major Indian states between 1987–2012, this paper shows, using both a difference-in-difference and a triple difference framework, that marketing reforms alone did not contribute to higher farm incomes and agricultural wages. However, when these reforms were coupled with public procurement at the minimum support price, farm incomes and agricultural wages significantly improved. Our results suggest that market-reforms and public procurement at minimum support prices were complements which together contributed to raising rural incomes in states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth in dairy consumption and food scandals in India in the 2000s increased awareness of food safety issues among consumers and policymakers. This led to the introduction of new standards. However, there is li ttle information about how they affected farm-level activities and whether value chains played any role. Our paper addresses these questions using a two-round panel survey of dairy farms in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. We find significant improvements in adoption of farm-level hygienic practices, especially in Punjab. Value chain innovations do not play a significant role in stimulating safety and quality improvements among dairy smallholders in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews a range of global aquaculture health and safety literature to inform and contribute to the development of a socio-economic profile of Indian shrimp farm workers including the occupational hazards and injuries they face. In addition, 60 shrimp farm workers were interviewed from each of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The study revealed that all shrimp farm workers were male, 58% were migrants, and ages ranged from 23 to 53 years with work experience of 5 to 24 years. Few workers (14%) had no formal schooling and many had secondary-level education. Reported physical hazards were high (93%) followed by biological (82%), chemical (77%), ergonomic (71%) and psycho-social (71%) hazards. The majority of physical injuries reported related to slips, falls and cuts (51%), electric shocks (44%), sunburn (41%), dehydration/ headaches (40%) and fractures (27%). Approximately 30%-39% had some chemical injury with skin infections/breathing problems. Indian shrimp farm workers face similar occupational hazards and injuries to shrimp farm workers in other countries. The occupational health and safety of shrimp farm workers should be integrated into the concept of 'One Health' to ensure aquaculture sustainability and safe, meaningful and good quality employment to workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores processes of speculative accumulation through land in the making of a new city in Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Rather than analysing the Amaravati plan as an example of neoliberal urbanization or 'accumulation by dispossession', it examines how the project is unfolding on the ground by situating it within the region's 'vernacular capitalism' centred on land and finance capital. The paper maps the processes of speculative accumulation through which value is extracted from land by diverse actors, and describes the practices of calculation, investment and negotiation employed by local landowners to manage their uncertain futures and to insert themselves as 'stakeholders' in the development of the new city. The Amaravati case reflects the deepening entanglement of transnational and provincial circuits of capital in post-liberalization India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1993, India adopted the neoliberal World Bank model for the electricity sector, which endeavoured to privatise the state owned sector. The move to privatise was prompted by sectoral losses owing to politicisation of provision and inefficient management of the state owned utility. This transition from a 'welfare state' to a 'regulatory state' was sought to be achieved through legislative enactment. By tracing the province of Andhra Pradesh's implementation of the reform legislation, the paper evolves an alternate narrative of the reform process, as opposed the World Bank's narrative of legislative enactment signalling the reception of its regulatory model. It argues that focussing on resistance to reform and actual 'reception' as opposed to formal enactment will counter the assumption of triumph of the neo-liberal worldview of the role of the state in economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Globally, mental health problems are a growing public health concern. Resources and services for mental disorders are disproportionately low compared to disease burden. In order to bridge treatment gaps, The Systematic Medical Appraisal, Referral and Treatment (SMART) Mental Health Project was implemented across 12 villages in West Godavari district of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This paper reports findings from a process evaluation of feasibility and acceptability of the intervention that focused on a mental health services delivery model to screen, diagnose and manage common mental disorders (CMDs). Methods: A mixed methods evaluation was undertaken using quantitative service usage analytics, and qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with stakeholders including primary care physicians, community health workers, field staff and community members. Barriers to and facilitators of intervention implementation were identified. Andersen's Behavioral Model for Health Services Use was the conceptual framework used to guide the process evaluation and interpretation of data. Results: In all, 41 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and 6 primary health centre (PHC) doctors were trained in mental health symptoms and its management. ASHAs followed up 98.7% of screen positive cases, and 81.2% of these were clinically diagnosed and treated by the PHC doctors. The key facilitators of implementation were adequate training and supervision of field staff, ASHAs and doctors, use of electronic decision support, incorporation of a door-to-door campaign and use of culturally tailored dramas/videos to raise awareness about CMDs, and organising health camps at the village level facilitating delivery of intervention activities. Barriers to implementation included travel distance to receive care, limited knowledge about mental health, high level of stigma related to mental health issues, and poor mobile network signals and connectivity in the villages. Lack of familiarity with and access to mobile phones, especially among women, to accessing health related messages as part of the intervention. Conclusions: The evaluation not only provides a context to the interventions delivered, but also allowed an understanding of possible factors that need to be addressed to make the programme scalable and of benefit to policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the use of thematic collages as a methodological innovation to participatory photography as a research framework. Participatory photography was used to understand the subjective "off-script" motivations behind the full or partial adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by members of women's self-help groups in Andhra Pradesh, India. The addition of thematic collages to existing participatory photography methods was developed as a mechanism to better support the dialogic generation of new Freirean "generative themes" for investigation by a group. Further, the use of thematic collages invites the integration of "renegade" or non-thematic images into participant group analysis. ZBNF is an agricultural practice that has become an extension priority in Andhra Pradesh. It emphasizes the use of defined chemical-free inputs and regenerative farming techniques as a holistic approach toward socio-ecological resilience. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this participatory photography design was piloted parallel to a soil science experiment in three geographically distinct agroecological zones in Andhra Pradesh. We show how participatory photography, with the novel addition of thematic collages, can be integrated into interdisciplinary research as a method to discover the underlying motivations to adopt agricultural practices and participate in agricultural movements like Zero Budget Natural Farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commitment or political will is often notable by its absence. While lack of commitment is a key factor in policy failure, it has been challenging to identify and operationalize how commitment can shape successful implementation. This article applies Brinkerhoff's (2000) framework of expressions of commitment to explain how commitment of policy elites shape policy implementation processes. Evidence for five characteristics of commitment traces these expressions from two types of policy elites — politicians and bureaucrats. Primary data from four Indian states were used—Chhatisgarh, Assam, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh—to examine the case of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA). The data were collected through interviews with state‐level elites, supplemented by secondary data on the political economy of these states. In explaining how successes and failures of the MGNREGA are attributable to the commitment of these actors, the article considers the politics of policy implementation. It argues that commitment is critical at the sub‐national level in India, and explains the different outcomes of MGNREGA in the four states. The article considers how to strengthen policy implementation, and demonstrates that this can be done through capitalizing on positive feedback loops between different strands of commitment, as well as between commitment of administrative elites and political party leaders. The paper concludes that commitment and capacity feed off each other, improving implementation of social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the mental health of people from different backgrounds; these effects have been particularly acute among the lower-income households and in slums. There has been a steep rise in mental illness and behaviours associated with it since 2020, especially in the slums characterised by poverty, poor housing, high density and unhealthy environments. This paper aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of people living in the slums of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The results of the study confirm that more than three-fourth of people suffer from mental stress due to the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown imposed by the government. Also, 80% of those surveyed stated that stress affected their decision-making. The study also confirms that the number of dependents, monthly income, number of living rooms, maintenance of physical distancing norms, avoidance of social gatherings, government support, health insurance and living in a rented house are significantly related to the mental stress of people living in the slums in Andhra Pradesh in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jaiswal D, Banerjee S. 2024. Notes on Gerridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerromorpha) from the Eastern Ghats of Telangana and Northern Andhra Pradesh, India. Nusantara Bioscience 16: 43-53. Gerridae is the family of semi-aquatic bugs found in both the lentic and lotic freshwater bodies. The present study focused on the Gerridae from the Eastern Ghats of Telangana and Northern Andhra Pradesh, India. This study documented a total number of 16 species belonging to 13 genera and 7 subfamilies under the family Gerridae. Tenagogonus nicobarensis Andersen, 1964, was earlier described from Andaman and Nicober islands and also known to be endemic to that particular geographical area. We are recording this species for the first time from the mainland of the Indian subcontinent. Ventidius aquarius Distant, 1910 was also recorded for the first time during this present study from the Eastern Ghats, an endemic species to peninsular India. Another species, Naboandelus signatus Distant, 1910 is also recorded from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh as well as an addition to the state fauna of Andhra Pradesh. It is a widespread species and reported from both central and northeastern India. In southern India, it was reported from the two states and present record will be the additional third state to its distribution. In addition to taxonomic details, the article covers the geographic distribution of the 16 species. This study has also led to the addition of nine species of Gerridae to the state fauna of Andhra Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to draw attention to two important, but less researched, areas regarding low fee private school provision in India. Firstly, the paper evaluates the impact of fees on household debt burden and decision-making, and secondly highlights the dynamic interplay between the private and government sub-sectors and the potential consequences this may have for educational delivery. The paper attempts to provide an overview of the historic growth, extent and performance of low fee private schools and private tutoring. Consistent with others, the paper finds that private provision is not currently accessible to the poorest and thus potentially deleterious to equity both within schools and within families. While drawing on existing research and particularly the longitudinal Young Lives data sets in Andhra Pradesh – findings are largely exploratory. The paper concludes that there is a need for further research on both household and school effects related to increasing privatisation in education. In particular there is a focus on how emerging inequalities emanating from school choice and private tuitions can be addressed. This is urgently needed to inform policy and investment decisions that maximise the contribution of both sectors and mitigate against inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Having achieved remarkable improvements in basic education, India now faces the issues of low learning levels, and a high dropout rate. This paper examines whether the learning crisis is responsible for students dropping out of school using unique panel data that followed nearly 1000 Indian children from 2002 to 2013. We discover that literacy skills acquired by the age of 12 have long-lasting, positive effects on subsequent school progression. We also find that local job opportunities influence school progression. Further, we find that time spent on household chores negatively affects literacy acquirement during primary school years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between e-governance and accountability of state administrations for service provision has been problematized in the literature to date. However, little is known about its application to anti-poverty programmes, of which public workfare schemes are an increasingly important subset. In this paper, we fill the gap with a study of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), India’s largest workfare scheme, as it is being computerized in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. A state-level information system was devised to ensure transparency of transactions, and hence combat the illicit diversion of the programme’s funds to non-entitled recipients. But while doing so, the system carries a policy of centralization, which concentrates decision-making power in the hands of a limited set of actors rather than distributing it across the programme’s stakeholders. In particular the Field Assistants, appointed officials responsible for the village-level management of the scheme, have direct control on the information inputted in the system, which reinforces their position of authority rather than challenging it in favour of greater empowerment of wageseekers. Furthermore, wage payments are traced by the information system till they reach the disbursement agencies, but are prone to capture in the ‘last mile’ where workers collect their salaries, which results in greater vulnerability for them. As a result, MGNREGA workers are constructed by the new information system as sheerbeneficiariesrather than activeparticipantsin the programme, which concurs to crystallizing existing power structures rather than resulting in wageseekers’ empowerment. Lessons are drawn for other states currently computerizing their social safety nets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the struggle for legitimation associated with the attempt to define the risk of Bt cotton, a genetically modified crop, in Andhra Pradesh, India. Beck asserts that, given the uncertainty associated with risk society, efforts to define risk are creating the need for a new political culture. This article argues that this political culture emerges from attempts to legitimate power within risk definition. This is examined using critical discourse analysis on interview excerpts with key figures in the Bt cotton debate. Legitimation is explored using the categories of legitimation developed by Van Leeuwen. These are (a) authorisation; (b) moral evaluation; (c) rationalisation; and (d) mythopoesis. The analysis highlights that the political culture which emerges in response to risk society is in a state of constant flux and contingent upon the ongoing struggle for legitimation with regard to the definition of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of European Journal of Development Research is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A new phreatoicidean isopod, Speonastes venkataramani gen. sp. nov. is described from Borra Cave in northeastern Andhra Pradesh, India. This new taxon has features seen in most phreatoicideans such as ventrally projecting pleonal pleurae, but also has features characteristic of the hypogean family Hypsimetopidae, such as an elongated pleotelson with a medially rotating uropod that has protopodal denticles or denticulate setae opposing the denticulate margin of the pleotelson, as well as the distal article of the antennula being minute and the penultimate article elongated and somewhat inflated. Robustness-tested phylogenetic analyses of character data from exemplars from nearly all phreatoicidean genera and four non-phreatoicidean outgroups finds that this species is the earliest derived member of Hypsimetopidae. These analyses have substantial implications for both relationships among Phreatoicidea, but within the family as well. The body form of the Phreatoicidea basal to the hypsimetopid clade resembles the form seen in fossils or by recent taxa such as Crenisopus Wilson & Keable, 1999. Ancestors of Speonastes gen. nov. may have independently colonized India from those of the Nichollsia - Andhracoides clade. An early Mesozoic diversification of Hypsimetopidae and related taxa along continental rifts in eastern Gondwana between Antarctica, India, and Australia is one implication of the phylogeny. Although the caves of Andhra Pradesh and other Indian states have biologically unique and scientifically important taxa, India provides no protection for any cave. This exposes the fauna to negative impacts such as quarrying or illegal mining, over-exploitation of water resources, and damage from unconstrained tourist visitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widespread occurence of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in different avian species, there has been scanty reports on genetic characterization of NDV strains from wild birds in India. During 2017–18, a total of forty eight cloacal swab samples were collected from apparently healthy migratory birds (painted storks, n = 32 and spot-billed pelicans, n = 16) at the Telineelapuram bird sanctuary of Andhra Pradesh, India. NDV was isolated from a spot-billed pelican (NDV/Pelican/Telineelapuram/ 2018) which is genetically identical to that isolated from a naturally infected backyard chicken flock (NDV/Chicken/SKLM-1/2018). The isolates are found to be velogenic based on mean death time, intracerebral pathogenicity index and the putative fusion protein cleavage site (112R-R-R-K-R-F117). Phylogenetic analysis based on full-length fusion gene classified the isolates into genotype XIII, sub-genotype 2.2, however these isolates demonstrated multiple amino acid substitutions in the critical domains of F and HN proteins. The pelican strain (MIG-9) was tested for its pathogenic and transmission potential in three-week-old broiler chickens and the isolate proved to be highly virulent to chickens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evidence for the role of spot-billed pelicans in the maintenance of virulent NDV and its transmission to chickens in India. This study further highlights the role of wild birds in NDV transmission and the need for enhanced biosecurity in commercial poultry operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the groundwater quality for domestic and irrigation purposes in a coastal aquifer in the West Godavari delta region based on geochemical evaluation, integrated multivariate statistical analysis and entropy water quality index (EWQI). The study area is underlain by the Quaternary sediments with unconsolidated to semi consolidated sand, silt and clay formation. In the study, the significant hydrochemical facies of groundwater observed were Na-Mg-Cl-HCO3−, Na-Cl-HCO3− and Mg-Na-Cl-HCO3−. The results revealed that the area occupies high salinity groundwater controlled mainly by evaporation and also by rock weathering-solubilization to some extent. The concentrations of major cations and anions decreased in the order: Na+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ = Cl− > HCO3− > SO42− > NO3−. The chemical constituents of the samples TA (85%), TDS (100%), TH (83%), Mg2+ (91%), Cl−(81%) and SO42 (12%) exceeded the limits, making them unfit for drinking. Based on EWQI (53.3–143.4), nearly 70% of groundwater samples were of poor to very poor quality for drinking, which required treatment, and the remaining 30% of samples were unsuitable for domestic purposes. Some samples of the irrigation suitability parameters (Na%, SAR, RSC, PI, CAI, KR and CCR) exhibit moderate to good categories, which can be used for irrigation with proper management. The multivariate statistical analysis was performed to understand the relationships among the chemical constituents present in groundwater. TDS is highly correlated with EC, TH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3− and Cl−. Principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the datasets showed that the first three PCs accounted for 65% of total variance cumulatively 94.5% for a total of 7 PCs. The PCA results indicate that the variation of groundwater quality is possibly attributed to various anthropogenic and geogenic factors, rock–water interactions and ion exchange processes in groundwater. The uncontrolled drawl of subsurface waters and aqua forming at an advanced rate when compared with recharge has led to this coastal aquifer being in a critical stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Green Revolution in Asia, the gap in agricultural yield with the developed world has been closed, while the gap in farm labour productivity has greatly widened. This reveals a deepening agrarian and environmental crisis in India. The industrial mode of production has led to the massive use of costly industrial inputs to increase yields and offset economies of scale that are almost impossible to achieve in this densely populated country. Such a development path is a trap for millions Indian micro-farmers and their natural capital. We then unveil the promises of a type of agroecology called 'natural farming' that has developed in Andhra Pradesh, a State in South India. Andhra's natural farming has pioneered the adoption of technical and organizational innovations that could lead to the first large-scale agroecological transition in the world. But in 2019, these local innovations were accused of following a regressive path and endangering the country's food security. This attack reveals the current omnipotence of the industrial sociotechnical regime over science, as well as a conception of science and progress antithetical to agroecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green lacewing, Pseudomallada astur (Banks) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is a potential predator of the invasive rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) infesting coconut palms. A meridic diet for its mass production was standardized. Highest fecundity (393 eggs), larval hatch (324.60 larvae), pupation (279.20 pupae), male longevity (23.25 days) and female longevity (59.62 days) of P. astur were recorded when reared on adult diet comprising honey, protein X, glucose, coconut pollen and yeast. In the laboratory, each P.astur larva fed on 705 and 996 eggs of Corcyra cephalonica and A. rugioperculatus in a period of 13.23 and 21.19 days, respectively. About 7.26 lakh and 17.76 lakh P.astur eggs were distributed to farmers during 2019 and 2020, respectively in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India to combat A. rugioperculatus. Field evaluation indicated significantly low population of A. rugioperculatus (19.96 nymphs) on coconut palms inoculated with P. astur eggs than un-released control palms (158.5 nymphs) on 28th day after inoculation and thus established successful predatory potential on rugose spiralling whitefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of Self-Help Group (SHG) participation on the frequency of domestic violence in rural India. The study hypothesizes that SHG participation can raise tensions between married men and women because husbands may perceive some aspects of women's empowerment as a challenge to patriarchal cultural norms. Using household panel data collected in rural Andhra Pradesh in 2004, 2006, and 2007, this article employs double difference methodology with an instrumental variables approach for impact evaluation. The estimation results show that, while SHG participation reduced domestic violence in the short-term, medium-term participation increased the frequency of domestic violence, particularly after women's credit access through SHG participation had improved. This article furthermore reveals that the impact of SHG participation on domestic violence was more pronounced among couples who married with dowry. Spouses who practiced dowry appear to be more susceptible to financial inflow through the wife. HIGHLIGHTS Self-Help Group (SHG) participation impacts the frequency of domestic violence in conflicting ways. Women's SHG participation initially reduces tensions with their husbands. In the medium term, women's access to credit creates conflicts with their husbands. SHG participation alone is not enough to overcome patriarchal practices and structures. Effective gender-advocacy programs should include training to change both women's and men's attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global literature examining the association between mental health of women living with HIV (WLWH) and child development is scarce. In this study, we examined the relationship between mothers' mental health and their children's social development outcomes 6 months later. Data for these analyses come from several waves of interviews of 600 WLWH in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India. These women were enrolled in a 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial designed to assess the impact of food supplementation and nutrition education, both in addition to ASHA support, on adherence to ART and improved health outcomes for the women and one of their children. They were assessed on food security, stigma, social support, quality of life, depressive symptoms and child development outcomes. Results of longitudinal GEE regression analysis indicate that mother's depressive symptoms were significantly negatively associated with child's social quotient 6 months later. These findings have important implications for targeted health interventions, integrating mental health, both for WLWH and their children in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Around 1 in 7 people in India are impacted by mental illness. The treatment gap for people with mental disorders is as high as 75-95%. Health care systems, especially in rural regions in India, face substantial challenges to address these gaps in care, and innovative strategies are needed.Methods: We hypothesise that an intervention involving an anti-stigma campaign and a mobile-technology-based electronic decision support system will result in reduced stigma and improved mental health for adults at high risk of common mental disorders. It will be implemented as a parallel-group cluster randomised, controlled trial in 44 primary health centre clusters servicing 133 villages in rural Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. Adults aged ≥ 18 years will be screened for depression, anxiety and suicide based on Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorders (GAD-7) scores. Two evaluation cohorts will be derived-a high-risk cohort with elevated PHQ-9, GAD-7 or suicide risk and a non-high-risk cohort comprising an equal number of people not at elevated risk based on these scores. Outcome analyses will be conducted blinded to intervention allocation.Expected Outcomes: The primary study outcome is the difference in mean behaviour scores at 12 months in the combined 'high-risk' and 'non-high-risk' cohort and the mean difference in PHQ-9 scores at 12 months in the 'high-risk' cohort. Secondary outcomes include depression and anxiety remission rates in the high-risk cohort at 6 and 12 months, the proportion of high-risk individuals who have visited a doctor at least once in the previous 12 months, and change from baseline in mean stigma, mental health knowledge and attitude scores in the combined non-high-risk and high-risk cohort. Trial outcomes will be accompanied by detailed economic and process evaluations.Significance: The findings are likely to inform policy on a low-cost scalable solution to destigmatise common mental disorders and reduce the treatment gap for under-served populations in low-and middle-income country settings.Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registry India CTRI/2018/08/015355 . Registered on 16 August 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improving quality of care is a key priority to reduce neonatal mortality and stillbirths. The Safe Care, Saving Lives programme aimed to improve care in newborn care units and labour wards of 60 public and private hospitals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India, using a collaborative quality improvement approach. Our external evaluation of this programme aimed to evaluate programme effects on implementation of maternal and newborn care practices, and impact on stillbirths, 7- and 28-day neonatal mortality rate in labour wards and neonatal care units. We also aimed to evaluate programme implementation and mechanisms of change.Methods: We used a quasi-experimental plausibility design with a nested process evaluation. We evaluated effects on stillbirths, mortality and secondary outcomes relating to adherence to 20 evidence-based intrapartum and newborn care practices, comparing survey data from 29 hospitals receiving the intervention to 31 hospitals expected to receive the intervention later, using a difference-in-difference analysis. We analysed programme implementation data and conducted 42 semi-structured interviews in four case studies to describe implementation and address four theory-driven questions to explain the quantitative results.Results: Only 7 of the 29 intervention hospitals were engaged in the intervention for its entire duration. There was no evidence of an effect of the intervention on stillbirths [DiD - 1.3 percentage points, 95% CI - 2.6-0.1], on neonatal mortality at age 7 days [DiD - 1.6, 95% CI - 9-6.2] or 28 days [DiD - 3.0, 95% CI - 12.9-6.9] or on adherence to target evidence-based intrapartum and newborn care practices. The process evaluation identified challenges in engaging leaders; challenges in developing capacity for quality improvement; and challenges in activating mechanisms of change at the unit level, rather than for a few individuals, and in sustaining these through the creation of new social norms.Conclusion: Despite careful planning and substantial resources, the intervention was not feasible for implementation on a large scale. Greater focus is required on strategies to engage leadership. Quality improvement may need to be accompanied by clinical training. Further research is also needed on quality improvement using a health systems perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Oral health literacy (OHL) is a relatively unexplored construct in the Indian context. Most of the few previous studies estimating OHL among different populations of India used instruments that were either previously validated in a different country or not tested for psychometric properties. With this background, the objective of this study was to develop an Indian oral health literacy measure and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument among Telugu speaking population of Andhra Pradesh (IOHLM-T).Materials and Methods: The initial version of the instrument after evaluated for face and content validity was tested for psychometric properties among 200 adult patients visiting the outpatient department of SIBAR Institute of Dental Sciences. Predictive validity of the instrument was checked by the association between IOHLM-T score and oral health impact profile (OHIP-14), decayed-missing-filled teeth (DMFT) scores. Convergent validity was tested by assessing the correlation between IOHLM-T score and rapid estimate of adult literacy in dentistry (REALD-30) score.Statistical Analysis: SPSS version 20 software was used to analyse the data. Independent samples t-test, Pearson's correlation, one-way ANOVA and stepwise multiple linear regression were done to analyse the data.Results: IOHLM-T demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.75), convergent validity (r = 0.34 between Reald-30 and IOHLM-T scores) and predictive validity (significant negative correlation of IOHLM-T with OHIP-14 and DMFT scores).Conclusion: IOHLM-T demonstrates good face validity, content validity, predictive validity, convergent validity and internal consistency reliability and thus can be used among different populations in India after translation to the corresponding languages and evaluation of psychometric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What factors underlie the exclusion of some poor households from welfare programmes? This article analyses the question through a comparative examination of households' demographic characteristics, social capital and communities' spatial (dis)advantage as determinants of enrolment in three social programmes in Andhra Pradesh, India. The main findings indicate that traditionally marginalised demographic groups do not experience programme exclusion significantly more than other groups, but that households' social-network capital and communities' spatial advantage increase households' programme inclusion. The importance of social capital for programme inclusion wanes, however, in spatially more advantaged communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive geophysical and petrological study was carried out at Giddalur area in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh, which is geologically a highly deformed area and is difficult to delineate the aquifer zone(s). The task was to find out the exact rock type in which aquifer is concealed as well as to delineate the aquifer zone, which can yield sufficient quantity of water. The resistivity models derived from geophysical dataset were interpreted in terms of hydrogeology and the results revealed substantial resistivity contrast of the geological formations within the study area. We have delineated two major groundwater potential zones based on this study. These zones were tapped at different depths in diverse rock types. Drilled hand specimens (rock cuttings) were not adequate, so these specimens were petrographically studied to reveal the exact contact zones of the rock type. On integration of the geophysical and the petrographic results, it was illustrated that two aquifer zones were struck at a depth of 92 and 122 m between shale-phyllite and phyllite-quartzite, respectively. These findings were correlated, which matched with the lithology of the drilled borehole. This integrated approach will be helpful in strategy for groundwater assessment as well as prospecting groundwater resources in different geological terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a form of agricultural system redesign being practiced at scale in India, particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh. ZBNF is an emerging set of agricultural practices designed dramatically to reduce farmers direct costs (hence 'zero budget') while boosting yields and farm health through the use of non-synthetic inputs sourced locally ('natural farming'). Andhra Pradesh has set out the aim of 'rolling out' ZBNF to all 6 million of the state's farmers through a state-led programme of training and extension. We present data showing statistically significant differences between ZBNF and non-ZBNF yields and farmer incomes at multiple locations and with a variety of crops, as well as preliminary results on farmers' experiences with crop health and household transitions following the adoption of ZBNF. We conclude with reflections on the lessons derived from Andhra Pradesh's state support for ZBNF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many LMICs have implemented Publicly Funded Health Insurance (PFHI) programmes to improve access and financial protection. The national PFHI scheme implemented in India for a decade has been recently modified and expanded to cover free hospital care for 500 million persons. Since increase in annual cover amount is one of the main design modifications in the new programme, the relevant policy question is whether such design change can improve financial protection for hospital care. An evaluation of state-specific PFHI programmes with vertical cover larger than RSBY can help answer this question. Three states in Southern India - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been pioneers in implementing PFHI with a large insurance cover.Methods: The current study was meant to evaluate the PFHI in above three states in improving utilisation of hospital services and financial protection against expenses of hospitalization. Two cross-sections from National Sample Survey's health rounds, the 60th round done in 2004 and the 71st round done in 2014 were analysed. Instrumental Variable method was applied to address endogeneity or the selection problem in insurance.Results: Enrollment under PFHI was not associated with increase in utilisation of hospital care in the three states. Private hospitals dominated the empanelment of facilities under PFHI as well as utilisation. Out of Pocket Expenditure and incidence of Catastrophic Health Expenditure did not decrease with enrollment under PFHI in the three states. The size of Out of Pocket Expenditure was significantly greater for utilisation in private sector, irrespective of insurance enrollment.Conclusion: PFHI in the three states used substantially larger vertical cover than national scheme in 2014. The three states are known for their good governance. Yet, the PFHI programmes in all three states failed in fulfilling their fundamental purpose. Increasing vertical cover of PFHI and using either 'Trusts' or Insurance-companies as purchasers may not give desired results in absence of adequate regulation. The study raises doubts regarding effectiveness of contracting under PFHIs to influence provider-behavior in the Indian context. Further research is required to find solutions for addressing gaps that contribute to poor financial outcomes for patients under PFHI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigated area around Sarvapuram represents a part of the Karimnagar granulite terrane of the Eastern Dharwar Craton, India. Garnet–bearing gneiss is hosted as enclaves, pods within granite gneiss and charnockite. It is largely made up of garnet, orthopyroxene, cordierite, biotite, plagioclase, K–feldspar, sillimanite and quartz. The peak metamorphic stage is represented by the equilibrium mineral assemblage i.e. garnet, orthopyroxene, cordierite, biotite, plagioclase, sillimanite and quartz. Breakdown of the garnet as well as preservation of the orthopyroxene–cordierite symplectite, formation of cordierite with the consumption of the garnet + sillimanite + quartz represents the decompressional event. The thermobarometric calculations suggest a retrograde P–T path with a substantial decompression of c. 3.0 kbar. The water activity (XH2O) conditions obtained with the winTWQ program for core and symplectite compositions from garnet–bearing gneiss are 0.07–0.14 and 0.11–0.16 respectively. The quantitative estimation of oxygen fugacity in garnet–bearing gneiss reveal log fO2 values ranging from −11.38 to −14.05. This high oxidation state could be one of the reasons that account for the absence of graphite in these rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]