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Social enterprises strive to create social value by providing innovative solutions to various socio-economic and developmental problems. Given the harsh economic terrain, the key question is how these organizations traverse the path to financial sustainability to fulfil their social mission. Thus often challenged to either change scope or shut down. There is a dearth of research on micro-social enterprises and their strategies for financial sustainability. This study gathered data through an online survey platform from 121 social enterprises, which were more than 3 years of age based in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Further, crucial insights were obtained by analyzing this data using two statistical software: Jamovi and PROCESS Macro of SPSS for serial mediation. The findings demonstrate that growth orientation positively and significantly influences financial sustainability, both directly, and indirectly through; product & service innovation, social capital and external funding, which was observed individually and in serial mediation. Thus revealing that all these factors have partial mediation on financial sustainability. However, the influence of growth orientation with all these factors is way higher than it does individually. There are several crucial paths for financial sustainability, however, the most crucial one is when growth orientation is in tandem with product & service innovations. By harnessing the synergies between growth-oriented strategies and intermediary variables, social enterprises can navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and advance their dual mission of financial sustainability as well as their social mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the gender differences in sleep problems among older adults in India. We also examined the role of socioeconomic status in determining the gender differences in sleep. Individuals aged 50 years and above (N = 6560) from the first wave of WHO's Study on global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) – 2007 were studied using bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. In the fully adjusted regression model, older women in India were 46% more likely to report sleep problems than men. Educated and wealthier older adults had fewer sleep problems compared to their counterparts. Further, the gender difference in sleep problems is largely driven by lower socioeconomic status. There are no gender differences in sleep problems among older adults in 6–9 and 10+ years of schooling as well as middle, fourth and fifth wealth quintile (richest) categories. Gender differences could be explained further with women's mental health (cognitive function, depressive symptoms, stress etc.) and managing their overall physical health and multiple roles demands at the household level in India. Interventions focusing on women in lower socioeconomic strata will be beneficial to reduce the sleep problems in the context of the population ageing in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a product of various deprivations. Gender discrimination is linked with deprivation in terms of socio-economic and political opportunities. This study explores the link between female-headship of a household and its vulnerability towards urban poverty. Further, the most vulnerable sub-sections among the urban female-headed households are identified. The study is based on the 68th round of Household Consumer Expenditure, and Employment and Unemployment Survey, India. Female-headed households were found to have higher odds to be urban poor as compared to their male counterparts. However, this gender-based difference in odds to be urban poor disappears once educational attainment of household-head is controlled for. This highlights that the discrimination in terms of educational attainment is major cause and solution to urban poverty among female-headed households. Further, female-headed households are not a homogeneous group and exhibit significant differences in their vulnerability to urban poverty across different socio-economic and demographic subgroups. The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on female education in India is expected to create a long-term gender gap in terms of poverty. Thus, the public policy should stress on skill and educational attainment of females and target the poverty alleviation programmes on vulnerable sub-section of the female-headed households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's expectation of a demographic dividend owing to an increase in the working age population necessitated government measures aimed at skilling youth. Considerable emphasis was therefore placed on skill development policies and programmes, including revamping formal vocational education and training (VET) institutions that provide skills to students completing secondary schooling and opting vocational training. Although the number of VET institutions in India more than doubled in the last decade, their underutilisation calls for an analysis of underlying reasons. This paper analyses socio-economic factors influencing participation in VET using data from nationally representative survey on education. Findings of a multinomial logit analysis in the paper suggest that students in upper secondary VET institutions tend to belong to socially disadvantaged households, and that students in vocational courses are more likely to be male, urban, and from households whose principal occupation is blue-collar. Children from households belonging to higher socio-economic status and pursuing white-collar jobs are more likely to participate in general and professional education as compared to VET because of higher status assigned to the former in the society. These findings call for fine-tuning of current polices of promotion of VET in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age is one of the predominant reasons for perceived discrimination in developing world where older people are considered a non-contributing burden. The present study explores the prevalence and correlates of perceived age discrimination among older Indian adults.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a large representative survey data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India conducted during 2017-18. Participants included 31,464 older adults aged 60 years and above. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to test the associations between selected background characteristics and perceived age discrimination.Results: The analysis revealed that 10.33 percent of older adults perceived their age as the main reason for discrimination, which was 11.86% among the oldest-old. Older adults with more than 10 years of schooling were 32% [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.68; confidence interval (CI): 0.51-0.89] less likely to perceive age discrimination compared to their uneducated counterparts. The odds of perceived age discrimination were higher among older adults who earlier worked [AOR: 1.73; CI: 1.46-2.05] and currently working [AOR: 1.61; CI: 1.31-1.96] as compared to those who never worked. Further, having difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) [AOR: 1.43; CI: 1.25 -1.65] and having one chronic condition [AOR: 1.16; CI: 1.02 -1.34] were associated with increased odds of perceived age discrimination among older adults.Conclusion: Older adults with lower socioeconomic status, currently working, having more chronic conditions, difficulty in IADL and belonging to rural areas were found to perceive higher age discrimination than their counterparts. The findings of the study have important implications for policy makers with respect to strategies such as making the vulnerable populations aware of their legal rights that help in the prevention of age-based discrimination in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karl Polanyi argues that the discipline of economics has emerged from the observations of human beings and their practices existing in a society. Since humans are perceived primarily as social beings rather than economic ones, embeddedness is a necessary and basic condition of the economy. This paper is an attempt to observe study and understand the inter-sectional application of these concepts of embeddedness and ethnic solidarity, in the socio-economic context of the Tibetan refugee community residing in India. Our study's fieldwork was focused on observing the functioning of the local Tibetan economy in Mcleodganj (Dharamshala), where two Tibetan knowledge systems: the Thangka art and the Tibetan healing system were closely studied, reflecting Tibetan culture, and the community's effort to preserve and promote these knowledge systems in different economic forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict caused by wild herbivores damaging crops is an almost universal problem in conservation. We designed and implemented a game‐theory‐based system for supporting farmers whose crops were being heavily damaged by wild herbivores. In this community‐operated system, farmers self‐report their production, which is endorsed by neighboring farmers. The average deficit in production is compensated for by a payment that is directly proportional to the average deficit in production of the group and to the individual farmer's productivity. As a result, farmers are compensated for the average damage (support) and rewarded for individual productivity (reward) (i.e., support cum reward [SuR]). The design of the game is such that only honest reporting gives maximum returns. Farmers who underreport receive less payment because the SuR amount is proportionate to their self‐reported productivity. The endorsing farmers, in their own self‐interest, prevent overreporting. The system involves multiple game situations, the combined result of which is a stable strategy based on honesty and hard work. In 2 villages along the western boundary of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in central India, we tested the system with 75 farmers over 6 crop seasons. After a few initial attempts to cheat, honesty prevailed throughout the group. Average crop productivity increased 2.5‐fold, in spite of damage, owing to increased effort by farmers. Apart from wildlife conflict resolution, the model offers a promising alternative to crop insurance and a potential behavioral green revolution in agriculture. Article impact statement: A novel scheme of payment for damage and reward for productivity helped resolve farmer–wildlife conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]