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For achieving the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it is very much called for the meaningful participation of the youth. The young population in India is sizable, diversified, and affected by a wide range of problems. Due to their social status and caste rigidity, youth from Scheduled Castes (SC) are vulnerable. Despite numerous laws and programs, Tamil Nadu's programs for SC youth have a lower-than-average active participation rate. Their transition and social development are negatively impacted by poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, discrimination, and the lack of opportunities. Numerous empirical studies have examined the status of SCs in terms of their involvement in work and education, but none have yet studied their participation in accomplishing the SDGs. This paper examines how SC youth in Tamil Nadu participated in the SDGs. Subsequently, it offers an inclusive strategy to increase SC youth participation in accomplishing the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the critical role of personal agency in influencing health and development outcomes and presents a framework for implementing non-therapeutic cognitive-behavioral interventions that foster agency, especially for women, in resource-poor settings. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has placed "empowerment" at the center of global targets, particularly to improve individuals' health and development. Despite extensive research on individual and community empowerment, there is limited focus on the role of psychological and behavioral approaches directly fostering individual and collective agency in health programs. Fundamental to this process is the understanding that decision-making is an interaction between mental processes and one's current context. Approaches that allow individuals to understand how their beliefs, values, emotions, and thoughts impact their behaviors and can be modulated to increase their personal agency are needed. This model is illustrated through a pilot behavioral intervention with women engaged in sex work in Pune, India, demonstrating substantive benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work emphasizes the need for sustainable river basin planning and management, which is considered as a pre-requisite for socioeconomic and cultural development of a nation. Since the pollution and abstraction of riverine water resources for various purposes are inevitable, an effective decision-making and policy implementation are needed to strike a balance between the development and sustainability. Keeping these concerns in view, the study provides a novel decision-making approach for rejuvenating major river across the globe by trying to achieve following objectives: (a) providing a scientific in-depth discussion about the inter-related and complex threats and challenges; (b) assessing the success and limitations of earlier and recent programmes initiated by government for rejuvenating river basin; (c) developing strength–weakness–opportunities–threats matrix to derive policies; and (d) procuring the opinions of multiple stakeholders at all levels to suggest best strategies for reaching sustainability goals. A case study of one of the heavily polluted river basins of the world, namely Ganges, India, has been considered for demonstrating the decision-making approach. The study proposes certain modifications in the current policies, and also some innovative strategic policies are recommended to strengthen the task of achieving development of the river basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]