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]

We thank Patil Pillai et al. for preparing a critique on our article (Joy et al., 2018). Patil Pillai et al. contest the analytical procedure utilized for the carbonates and "geological information" documented in our research article and raise concerns on our conclusions. We hereby provide our reply to each of their comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: An umbrella review is a systematic review of systematic reviews, which provides a tertiary level of evidence. This umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta‐analysis (SR‐MA) aimed to determine the proportion of oral cancer (OC) development in oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) patients. Materials and Methods: We searched electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and assessed for eligible papers. The methodological quality of SR‐MA was evaluated using AMSTAR2, and we also checked the quality of evidence of the included papers. Results: Out of 454 papers identified in the primary search, 105 underwent eligibility screening. Inclusion criteria were met by four SR‐MA. OC ratios ranged between 4.2% and 6% for OSF. Substantial heterogeneity was observed for this outcome in all four MA (I2 = 71.31% to 86.37%). None of the SRs assessed the quality of evidence, and half of them were judged to be of critically low methodological quality. Conclusion: There is lack of quality of evidences and critically low methodological quality among SRs and MA leading to substantial heterogeneity. However, due to potentially malignant nature, OSF patients should be monitored carefully for early detection of OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how research advisory groups can be a vehicle for youth activism. It draws on our experiences with young activists, aged 15–26 years, in India and Brazil, who were advisors on a research project focused on youth livelihoods in cities. These young people played a vital role in supporting youth researchers, identifying research themes and developing engagement and advocacy strategies. Through this paper, we explore how the Youth Expert Group advisory model evolved differently in each location and examine how these were shaped by the context, the 'adult' research team and the youth activists themselves. A critically reflexive response in intergenerational partnership is essential to support youth activists in research activities. [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]

This paper explores how uncertainty has become a central constitutive feature under the ongoing attempts at rapid extension of highway corridors across India. Contrary to the terra nullius assumption that India's highway programmes operate under, the pathways to accumulation they seek to open present a palimpsest of pre‐existing claims, occupancies and forms of dwelling that come into conflict with the attempts to extend urban space. The paper specifically follows the prolonged uncertainty surrounding a regional highway corridor between the cities of Delhi and Gurgaon, the Dwarka Expressway, which underwent multiple legal contestations over evictions and land disputes. In doing so, it analyses how managing uncertainty in the production of highway corridors becomes profitable for the state, powerful corporate actors and middle‐class homebuyer‐investors, presenting a form of value that can be commodified and exchanged. However, on the other hand, owing to its double‐edged nature, uncertainty also becomes productive for the urban majority in laying claims to urban space. As rapid extended urbanisation increasingly disrupts the lifeworlds of marginal communities, this paper calls for embracing the politics and practices of uncertainty in the continued efforts to push ex‐centric urban analysis beyond the narrow focus on state processes and commodification. [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]

Tiger conservation in India has been driven for the most part by a philosophy that prioritizes the need for inviolate tiger reserves free of human beings. Such reserves, it is argued, provide much needed territory to 'care' for the tiger. In this paper, we examine the biopolitics of tiger conservation in India and argue that the current approach to tiger conservation amplifies the nature‐culture divide and ignores other imaginations of tiger conservation that are more cognizant of human—non‐human entanglements in protected area landscapes. The paper argues that tiger conservation has been a mix of sovereign, disciplinary and neoliberal environmentalities, all built on a certain 'truth' about tigers. The paper raises questions and concerns about the 'truth' discourse that underlies tiger conservation and also argues that tiger conservation has marginalized the environmentalism of the poor. It makes the case for more debate and discussion about tiger truths and suggests the need for a more than human approach to tiger conservation that recognizes the adverse consequences of fortress conservation as well as its limits in caring for the tiger in more than human geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has had a low divorce rate only recently, but the divorce rate is rising following the international trend. The rising divorce rate has gained considerable attention among social scientists. The paper identifies gaps in spouses' educational attainment as a potential cause of rising failed marriages in India. Using a nationally representative large survey dataset, namely the fourth round of the District Level Household Survey, we show that the likelihood of divorce and separation is higher among women who are comparatively more educated than their partners. Moreover, the likelihood increases as the positive education gap increases. The incidences of divorce are significant among those residing in rural areas, educated up to secondary and beyond, and unemployed despite being more educated than their husbands. Although the results show that women are gaining autonomy in deciding whether to move out of marriages, the government must provide free education for women, at least up to the secondary standard, as being more educated than their partner does not provide them the autonomy to dissolve their marriages unless they are educated at least up to secondary standard. [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]

The establishment, development and abandonment and/or destruction of ancient civilizations were catalytically controlled by geomorphic features such as lakes and rivers and the climate. This paper examined the possible influence of tectonism and climate on six habitations of the ancient Vaigai River Basin civilization in South India, using multiple proxies such as grain size, geochronology and geochemistry of the sedimentary archives. The tectonic setting of the basin changed between the active margin and passive margin; the discriminant diagrams suggested varying provenance and changing climatic conditions over the mid‐ and‐late Holocene. Tectonic activism and quiescence, base‐level change in the channel morphology led to the burial/marooning of the first habitation surface. Overall, arid conditions were punctuated with catastrophic flooding and peak discharge (flood) destroyed the second, third and fourth habitation sites. These flooding events were characterized by moderate weathering (CIA) and high values of Al, Fe and Rb/Sr and low Ca/Mg in the sediment records. The abandonment/destruction of the fifth habitation also occurred during an arid interval (droughts), possibly caused by weak monsoon. Along with the interactions between tectono‐climatic and fluvial geomorphic factors, the new results provided avenues to (a) check and recognize the archives for 8.2 and 4.2 ka‐like events in this part of the world, and (b) the utility of integrated analyses to constrain on the civilizational histories of the mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically explores the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdown on adolescent girls' and women's access to sanitary pads in India. We have used the National Health Mission's Health Management Information System (NHM‐HMIS) data for the study, which provides data on pads' distribution on a district level. The empirical strategy used in the study exploits the variation of districts into red, orange, and green zones as announced by the Indian Government. To understand how lockdown severity impacts access to sanitary pads, we used a difference‐in‐difference (DID) empirical strategy to study sanitary pads' access in red and orange zones compared to green zones. We find clear evidence of the impact of lockdown intensity on the provision of sanitary pads, with districts with the strictest lockdown restrictions suffering the most. Our study highlights how sanitary pads distribution was overlooked during the pandemic, leaving girls and women vulnerable to managing their menstrual needs. Thus, there is a requirement for strong policy to focus on the need to keep sanitary pads as part of the essential goods to ensure the needs of the girls and women are met even in the midst of a pandemic, central to an inclusive response. [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]

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]

Legislations for persons with disabilities emerged in the 1990s in India, providing them with rights and entitlements. Aligned with the UNCRPD, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016) supports improved programmes and services. There are no exclusive policies for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Different government departments and non‐government organisations provide services including centrally sponsored programmes to persons with disabilities and enable them to exercise their rights. For example, rehabilitation and provision of aids and appliances lie with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, right to education is with the Ministry of Education, and, early intervention and health services and related supports are with the Ministry of Health. In India, non‐government organisations also play a vital role in health care services. In this paper, we discuss the existing health care systems including medical services in India for persons with disabilities with a specific focus on persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The discussion include how the system was evolved and what is in place today, the coverage, strengths, and limitations in the system. We have tried to provide a comprehensive description of existing policies, and practices of health care as well as the cultural influences with regard to health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansion in access to public infrastructure can have varied, microlevel impacts. In this paper, we use a discrete and quasi‐random change in the access to paved roads through a large‐scale rural road construction program in India to study how road access impacts fertility decisions and investments in child health. We find that increased access to paved roads at the district level decreases fertility, improves investments in children, and lowers infant mortality. We also provide evidence that highlights the mechanisms that drive this effect. First, we show that local roads improve access to health care facilities and raise immunization rates, which reduces infant mortality. Then, we demonstrate that last‐mile road connectivity has contrasting effects on employment across gender. Overall, the evidence suggests that rural roads can help accelerate demographic transition through their effects on fertility and infant mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of the goals and targets specified by the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 3, often referred to as "30 × 30," has garnered widespread attention globally. In this paper, we critique India's potential to meet this target. We find that with its vast network of ecosystems that are under some form of protection and through the recognition of other effective area‐based conservation measures sites, India has the potential to meet the quantitative target of conserving and managing at least 30% of its area by 2030. However, the qualitative attributes of the target might be more difficult to realize owing to several challenges, such as inadequate landscape connectivity, insufficient representation of habitats in the current protected area model, and the exacerbation of socioeconomic vulnerabilities of resource‐dependent communities. To achieve strategic, inclusive, and equitable conservation, we suggest a four‐pronged approach involving landscape‐level biodiversity conservation, socially just and collaborative safeguarding of biodiversity, and relevant policy (re)formulation, informed and underlain by long‐term research and impact monitoring. Although we focus on India, the issues we discuss are of broader relevance, especially for countries across the Global South that are also likely to be significantly impacted by the implementation of the target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) resolves in most children within 3–12 months of diagnosis. Chronic ITP affects 10%–20% of patients, some of whom require treatment. Several second‐line agents are efficacious in this group of patients. This paper describes our experience of using dapsone as a single second‐line agent in children with chronic ITP. One hundred and three children with chronic ITP were seen at our centre from January 2012 to December 2016. Forty‐five children met the inclusion criteria and received dapsone; 17 (37.8%) were boys; and 28 (62.2%) were girls. Early response to dapsone was seen in 37.8% of patients. The median duration of long‐term follow‐up was 50 months, and at least a partial response was seen in 64.4% of the patients. Dapsone offers good initial response rates and sustained remission in paediatric chronic ITP, comparable to other therapeutic agents available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters affect economic activities and welfare of small‐scale producers in developing countries, but may also offer opportunities to reinvest in productive asset, economic capital, and new technologies for future economic prospects. This paper investigates the impacts of a livelihood recovery project that provided access to finance and rehabilitated communal infrastructures in the coastal communities of Tamil Nadu, India which were severely affected by the 2004 tsunami. We replicate the project's eligibility criteria to build the counterfactual to identify control households based on the validation of secondary data and administrative records. Using data from a carefully designed primary survey, we estimate the impacts of providing access to finance and rehabilitating communal infrastructures on economic and livelihood outcomes. Results indicate positive and significant impacts on income, asset and food security. These impacts are mainly driven by improved access to finance provided and participation in groups. Findings highlight the importance of ensuring access to finance for sustainable economic recovery among small‐scale producers, particularly in the aftermath of natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries like India, the majority of the workforce is informal. There is no specific study about the important factors that influence the consumption expenditure of informal workers working in urban areas. The purpose of this paper, thus, is to identify the determinants of the consumption expenditures of urban informal workers, and the same is explored with respect to migration and gender. In this regard, a primary survey was conducted at the household level of the informal sector workers following the method of multi‐stage stratified sampling. The method of analysis of variance and a binary logistic regression model is employed. The inferences of the study explained that the expenditure pattern of the informal worker depends on socio‐economic factors—age group, income level and essential commodities like milk, kerosene, oil and child education. The study also highlights the fact that the informal workers are dragged into the web of a vicious circle of poverty due to a higher level of consumption expenditure than income and demonstrates the effect of betel‐tendu leaf mini cigarette‐tobacco‐alcohol. Hence, it is desirable that the policymakers should frame a regulated subsidised pricing policy for essential commodities as well as increase the minimum wage rate in order to strengthen the basic consumption expenditure of the informal workers. [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]

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]

The purpose of this paper is to first, understand the existing status of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind‐AS) and its convergence from the perspective of accounting practitioners in India; and second, to elucidate the benefits and challenges while implementing Ind‐AS. The paper exemplifies the Ind‐AS convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) thereon cited as Ind‐AS. The study considers exploratory research design and uses an in‐depth interview approach, a qualitative research method of 32 practitioners in India from a heterogeneous group of 6 regulating institutions, 8 conglomerate companies and 18 audit firms including the Big four. The preparedness of the Ind‐AS transition was studied from the perspective of accounting practitioners interviewed revealing three critical perspectives. First, the respondents believed that a greater understanding of the benefits of IFRS convergence can be built by professional education and proper training. Second, the main challenges reflected by the respondents on the implementation of Ind‐AS can be summarised in two key areas: the complexity and interpretation of the accounting standards, since there are fundamental differences between IFRS and the converged Ind‐AS. Third, by strengthening the regulatory framework for monitoring, enforcing accounting and auditing requirements concerning listed companies. [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]

Eucalyptus spp. and their hybrids are frequently cloned and mass planted across farmland tracts and commercial plantations in northern India. It is a viable feeder species to the paper and pulp industries in this region. In 2018 and 2019, during field surveys conducted in northern India, a serious leaf blight disease was frequently observed in E. tereticornis plantations. Isolation from the blighted leaf samples consistently yielded fungal isolates having Calonectria‐like morphology. Morphological features coupled with sequence analysis of partial β‐tubulin (TUB2) and partial translation elongation factor‐alpha (TEF1) gene regions of two fungal isolates confirmed the species as Ca. cerciana. In detached leaf assays and glasshouse inoculation experiments, both isolates produced symptoms similar to those observed on the naturally infected leaves. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re‐isolating Ca. cerciana from the inoculated leaves. This work is the first to confirm that Ca. cerciana is associated with a serious leaf blight disease of Eucalyptus in northern India and is an important addition to the taxonomy of Calonectria fungi in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Learning to read is a complex process that involves phonological and orthographic processing abilities, broader language skills and cognitive processes across all writing systems. Although these components remain common, the pace of acquisition of phonological and orthographic processing and reading abilities differ across writing systems. Methods: This study aimed to understand the developmental pattern of reading and phonological processing, assess their interrelationship and study the predictors of reading ability among 175 children, learning to read Malayalam and attending Grades 1–3. They completed various reading (akshara reading, word and nonword reading) and phonological processing (rhyme recognition, syllable deletion, syllable segmentation, phoneme deletion, phoneme substitution, rapid naming and nonword repetition) tasks. Results: Grade and reading level‐based analysis was performed to collate the results. Results revealed a significant overlap of phonological processing and reading abilities among children in Grades 2 and 3. Reading scores demonstrated a weak‐to‐moderate significant correlation with the phonological processing tasks. Although skilled readers performed significantly better on all phonological processing tasks, their scores did not reach ceiling. Syllable‐level tasks were easier compared to phoneme‐level tasks, and they significantly predicted the reading abilities of children. Conclusions: The findings contribute to the existing body of evidence for akshara writing systems, specifically in Malayalam alpha‐syllabary. The development of phonological processing and reading in Malayalam extends beyond the third grade, and syllable processing contributed to increased variance in reading accuracy among inexperienced readers. Highlights: What is already known about this topic Crosslinguistic research evidence suggests a difference in reading acquisition patterns among different writing systems.Studies in akshara writing systems have demonstrated that akshara knowledge develops over time and a reciprocal relationship exists between phonological processing and reading abilities.Syllable‐level processing emerges earlier than phoneme‐level processing and predicts reading accuracy. The architecture of the akshara explains this pattern of development and the importance of phoneme processing to become more skilled with akshara reading. What this paper adds This paper adds to the existing evidence on reading acquisition in an akshara writing system, Malayalam, with the power of an explanatory model. A model of syllable and phoneme processing and akshara knowledge explains 87.8% of the variance in reading accuracy scores of Malayalam readers in early grades.The mastery of reading acquisition in Malayalam continues to develop beyond Grade 3. Phoneme manipulations are difficult compared to syllable manipulations, and mastery of these extends well beyond Grade 3. Phoneme processing remains low among unskilled readers and syllable processing accounts for the variance in reading performance. Implications for theory, policy or practice The study adds to the body of evidence concerning the theoretical underpinnings of learning to read, against the backdrop of Malayalam alphasyllabary.The interrelationships between phonological processing and reading accuracy imply that intervention strategies to improve reading should address both domains.Policy‐related implication is that the strategies to teach reading to young readers should consider a phoneme level instruction strategy alongside akshara teaching across different akshara types considering the complexity and nature of the Malayalam orthography. [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]

The work of school counsellors has become complex with the increasing technological advances and adolescents' dependency on them. There is a surprising lack of study in the Indian context, aimed at school counsellor's challenges in dealing with adolescents' digital use. This paper provides better understanding of the challenges of school counsellors involving adolescents' digital use in Indian schools. Three significant themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) negative aspects of digital use among Indian adolescents, (b) the need to effectively teach how to navigate the digital world and (c) the challenge of integrating technology with traditional counselling approaches to educate adolescents about their digital use. Furthermore, this paper presents implications for school counselling practice and research within Indian context. Practitioner points: School counsellors address challenging situations involving adolescents' use of digital media.School counsellors play a crucial role in teaching and modelling how to navigate the digital world.Little research has been conducted in the Indian context; hence this study is a good step forward to understand and acknowledge the challenges of school counsellors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Madhya Pradesh, India, rural migrant workers hired in flyover's construction yards experiment a space of work where the social practices relating to caste separation and hierarchy are temporally softened. This paper shows that these processes of conviviality, through mixing between castes and trans‐communitarian work identities based on the hierarchies of labour, are taking part in the lower classes' long quest for less oppressive labour relations. Starting from the construction yard, and then going to the village, this paper shows that the labour relations involved in the circulation of rural migrants to the flyover construction yards are contributing to shaping their complex and flexible social consciousness in a context of slow reconfiguration of oppressive rural labour relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is concerned with the contemporary relevance of caste to agrarian capitalism and the relations of dependency and allegiance it fosters in a village of Andhra Pradesh. It deploys the method of village study to examine the two‐way interaction between agrarian class and caste relations and the emerging rural‐based informal nonfarm economy. It elaborates the continuation of relations of debt, dependency, and political allegiance fostered by landlordism despite significant diversification to nonfarm by landlords and labour and identifies the crucial role of land inequality and the working of ritual hierarchy in locking Dalit caste in land‐based relations of dependency. The paper highlights the importance of expanding the definition of landlordism as the use of social power for accumulation by embedding it in the motives and values generated by the Hindu social order. While the new wave of literature focuses attention on global capital and commodity chains to understand differentiation of rural population and ruralities, the paper emphasizes the persistent significance of landholding provincial capital in shaping class/caste relations and rural politics and argues for a course correction in thinking about the processes of globalization and new forms of labour control and stresses the continuing significance of the agrarian question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a symposium from the International Journal of Psychology that discusses supervision in psychology and psychotherapy training in India. It includes papers that explore the experiences of psychotherapy supervisors in various settings and highlight the challenges they face in adapting Western theories to Indian culture. The document also discusses the importance of cultural competence in therapy and includes presentations on topics such as acculturation gaps in immigrant families, culturally sensitive therapeutic approaches, and approaches to psychotherapy in different cultural contexts. Additionally, two studies are presented, one exploring the effectiveness of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and another examining clients' perceptions of therapy delivered via videoconference. Finally, a case study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrative play therapy in supporting children who have witnessed family violence, and a study compares different progress monitoring measures in psychotherapy. [Extracted from the article]

Investigations into zoonotic disease outbreaks have been largely epidemiological and microbiological, with the primary focus being one of disease control and management. Increasingly though, the human–animal interface has proven to be an important driver for the acquisition and transmission of pathogens in humans, and this requires syncretic bio‐socio‐cultural enquiries into the origins of disease emergence, for more efficacious interventions. A biocultural lens is imperative for the examination of primate‐related zoonoses, for the human‐primate interface is broad and multitudinous, involving both physical and indirect interactions that occur due to shared spaces and ecologies. I use the case example of a viral zoonotic epidemic that is currently endemic to India, the Kysanaur Forest Disease, to show how biocultural anthropology provides a broad and integrative perspective into infectious disease ecology and presents new insights into the determinants of disease outbreaks. Drawing on insights from epidemiology, political ecology, primate behavioral ecology and ethnoprimatology, this paper demonstrates how human‐primate interactions and shared ecologies impact infectious disease spread between human and nonhuman primate groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the destination recovery procedures through the stakeholders' lens. It focuses on identifying real‐time implications and opportunities for destination marketing authorities toward tourism revival. This paper utilized a thematic analysis with data sourced through interviews with stakeholders in the tourism industry resulting in the emergence of various subcategories, which were further grouped into six final themes. These themes include the determination and confidence of stakeholders, need for a peaceful environment, recovery from negative media propaganda, tourist awareness, and online marketing to persuade people who have already visited the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines satiric parody in Hinglish tweets that users created in response to the censorship in India of the James Bond movie Spectre. The analysis reveals the creativity with which users conflated two different cultures (Indian and Western) and languages (Hindi and English) in their tweets for a parodic portrayal of James Bond in an Indianized avatar and a satirical criticism of the underlying conservative ideology behind the censorship of the movie. Rather than taking the form of acrimonious debate on the issue of censorship, the #SanskariJamesBond tweets show how users dealt with the issue through satirical user‐generated Twitter memes. This study demonstrates that parody through code‐mixed tweets is an effective way of highlighting controversies, taking a stand on them, and, simultaneously, countering conflicting views through a collective public response on a social media platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the term zones of compounded informality to demarcate locations wherein regulatory exclusions in distinct domains interact to escalate the impact of exclusions for people who live and work in these areas. Based upon a study of India's Delhi, National Capital Region (Delhi‐NCR), I explain how the interaction of flexible planning and employment in particular locales produce zones of compounded informality as a technique of governance. Circular migrant workers in Delhi‐NCR overwhelmingly live and work in these zones, wherein unstable employment and housing contribute to nomadic migration. Legal exclusion from housing protections interacts with other procedural pathways, creating barriers to accessing social protection and citizenship rights. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and a survey of 981 workers, I consider how zones of compounded informality in Delhi‐NCR interact with India's Aadhar biometric identification system to variegate access to the franchise and Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS) for migrant and other low‐wage workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low permeability of coal seams is a constraint in the efficient production of coalbed methane. However, the presence of natural fractures in coal enhances the permeability, and prior knowledge of sub‐surface fractures in coal seams is vital to identify the prospective seam. This paper investigates the anisotropy and identifies fractures by processing the advanced sonic and resistivity image logs to mitigate challenges in the reservoir. Anisotropy is estimated from the difference in the travel time between fast and slow shear waves. The application of Alford's rotation technique determines the fast shear wave polarization angle which is consistent with the fracture orientation along the NE–SW or NW–SE direction in coal seams. Moreover, the crossover of fast and slow shear waves in the slowness versus frequency plot indicates stress‐induced anisotropy that originates from fractures. Besides, drilling‐induced fractures observed along NE–SW in the resistivity image log indicate the maximum horizontal stress direction. Results from this study compare coal seams based on fractures in adopting better operational activities for optimized production and future geomechanical studies in the Bokaro coalfield situated in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sealing wax is used for maintaining the integrity and authenticity of a document or physical evidence. Any tampering with the seal calls into question the overall integrity and authenticity of the tangible evidence or document. In these circumstances, determining the authenticity of the sealing material (physical and chemical) becomes imperative. In this study, ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy supported by chemometrics has been used to differentiate sealing wax samples belonging to 12 different brands available across India. All the samples were first melted, cooled, and then analyzed using ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy in the mid‐infrared region (4000–600 cm−1). The obtained spectra were first examined visually for the presence of different functional groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component analysis‐linear discriminant analysis (PCA‐LDA) were employed to analyze the sample clustering patterns and to categorize them into their respective groups, respectively. For classification, a PCA‐LDA training model was applied, and it demonstrated 95.83% accuracy. The validation test resulted in an accuracy of 83.33%. PCA‐LDA model offered 100% accurate prediction for samples on various substrates, including cloth, cardboard, and paper. A blind study was also performed using five unknown samples, which were accurately classified into their respective groups. PCA‐LDA model will be helpful in providing investigative leads by linking a questioned sealing wax sample with its respective group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infections by multidrug‐resistant organisms (MDRO) are a major hurdle in hematopoietic stem‐cell transplants (HSCTs). Conditioning regimens lead to mucosal barrier injury, which in‐turn leads to transmigration of gut bacteria and sepsis. Pre‐transplant stool and throat surveillance cultures can guide empirical antibiotic policy during the neutropenic period. In this paper, we document colonization with MDRO in pre‐transplant surveillance cultures and the correlation with bloodstream infections in HSCT patients and analyze transplant outcomes with respect to these infections. Methods: A single‐center, retrospective study on HSCT was performed between January 2021 and December 2021. The incidence of bacterial infections, percentage of MDROs, correlation with pre‐transplant stool/throat surveillance cultures, and their impact on overall 100‐day and post‐100‐day to 6‐month post‐transplant survival were analyzed. Results: Sixty‐four patients were included in the study. Pre‐transplant stool surveillance cultures were positive for MDRO in 85.9% of patients. Almost half (48.5%) of the isolates were positive for carbapenemase‐producing genes (mainly New Delhi metallo‐beta‐lactamase‐1 [NDM‐1] and oxacillinase‐48 [OXA‐48]). Eighteen patients (18/64, 28%) had a positive blood culture for MDRO in the peri‐engraftment neutropenic period. Correlation between surveillance and blood cultures was seen in 61% (11/18) of patients. All‐cause mortality was 14.1% (9/64) and 25% (16/64) in patients at 100 days and 6 months post‐HSCT, respectively. The 100‐day and post‐100‐day all‐cause mortality rates were higher in patients with Gram‐negative MDRO bloodstream infections (p <.012 and <.008, respectively). Conclusion: MDRO infections can adversely affect HSCT outcomes. Pre‐transplant stool and throat surveillance cultures may guide empirical antibiotic policy and lead to favorable transplant outcomes. [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]

Summary: Food security is a critical concern for emerging nations, where agriculture is a vital source of livelihood for a significant proportion of the population. However, ineffective food grain storage management (FGSM) poses a substantial threat to food security, resulting in significant post‐harvest loss (PHL). This research aims to identify and analyse the challenges to sustainable FGSM in emerging nations, with a specific focus on India using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) analysis. The study identifies 15 critical challenges after doing a thorough literature review, consulting with industry experts, and a dedicated questionnaire survey. The study finds that inadequate government policies and a lack of commitment from the top management are the major challenges to sustainable FGSM. The combination of the qualitative and quantitative model provides a comprehensive understanding of the identified factors and their interrelationships, offering a logical framework to support decision‐making and encourage sustainability. This paper contributes to the broader debate on sustainable food production and consumption by highlighting the importance of sustainable FGSM in emerging nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at a case of rural‐to‐rural movement of agrarian capital in southern India and the ways in which capital–labour relations are reworked to maintain oppressive forms of exploitation. Faced with an agrarian crisis, capitalist farmers from affluent communities of Wayanad, Kerala, take large tracts of land for lease in the neighbouring state of Karnataka and grow ginger based on price speculation. Landless Adivasis from Wayanad have served as labourers on these ginger farmlands for the past three decades. Recently, farmers have shifted to employing labourers from a Scheduled Caste (SC) from Karnataka. The change happened not just because of the lower wages the SC labourers were willing to work for but also because of the farmers' inclination to move away from Adivasis who have been resisting the poor working conditions on the farm. The story resonates with the broader dynamics of agrarian–labour relations amidst capitalist expansion and highlights the centrality of socio‐political factors at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an empirical exercise carried out in five villages of Odisha in eastern India, the paper looks into ageing of the farm population and the experiences and responses of farmers of various age groups to farming. The findings of the study indicate that agriculture is greying, farmers are getting older and the youth, particularly of higher and cultivating castes, are averse to farming. The unwillingness of these youths to join farming is mainly attributed to loss of social status, declining profitability in agriculture and discouragement of immediate 'mentors', the middle‐aged farmers, caused by the perpetual decline of farm income and loss of social recognition. The hitherto nonfarming youths, belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and service‐rendering castes, especially the female youths, are joining farming to fill this gap, mostly as leased‐in cultivators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infrastructure sector is one of the major pillars for economic growth and development of a country. The responsibility to develop this crucial sector is shifting away from the public to the private sector. After the economic liberalization in 1991, India opened the infrastructure sector, among many others, to private domestic and foreign investment. The shortage of electricity, the poor state of roads, and limited telecom access necessitated a stream of persistent reforms, which were expected to play a significant role in the infrastructure sector's growth. Although some subsectors witnessed success, others continued to face hurdles. The paper highlights the role of infrastructure in socio‐economic development through global literature. It also presents a story of infrastructure development in India since the inception of economic liberalization. It highlights various challenges that discourage private sector investments, thus providing a rationale for policy initiatives by the government. The paper also presents critical issues highlighted by multiple government committees over nearly three decades and identifies residual issues that merit attention. The outcomes of the paper are relevant in the context of developing and emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among several devastating natural hazards, flooding is a common and serious threat to society causing huge loss of lives, properties, and infrastructure throughout the world. The intensity and frequency of this extreme weather event are expected to increase due to significant changes in the present‐day climate and land use and land cover (LULC) pattern. India has a very systematic and organized structural program and policies but lacks proper implementations, and adverse effect of climate change and the extreme event goes on in society. This paper is an analysis of floods in India and hazards due to climate change and LULC change patterns. Three models, namely "Eco‐biogeography‐based optimization (EBO), Random forest (RF), and Support vector machine (SVM)" were used to obtain the final output to prepare a "Flood susceptibility map". The result was validated through the "Receiver operating characteristics (ROC)" with "Area under curve (AUC)" values. The future rainfall scenario has been estimated by considering the "General circulation models" through different "shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs)". The values of AUC are 0.915 (EBO), 0.887 (RF), and 0.869 (SVM), respectively. After consideration of different SSPs, the result shows that there is an increasing tendency of flood hazards in the projected period. Among all the employed modelling approaches, the EBO model has notable potential in delineating the possible flood‐prone regions for effective flood planning and management. Decision‐makers can benefit from country‐specific information and regional planner to implement sustainable and long‐term measures to overcome this type of hazardous situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The development of human capital is a priority for most nation states, accelerated by the COVID‐19 global pandemic. In the context of reimagining a "new normal" post‐COVID, we reconsider the concept of human capital, and focus on knowledge, skills, and training of individuals in order to capture aspects of inclusive development. Purpose: This paper shows how the perspective of women, informal sector workers, representing some of the most marginalized workers in society, informs and improves our understanding of human capital and its development and utilization. Methods and approach: Our findings are derived from field‐based research conducted over the summer of 2021 in which multiple (virtual) focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with selected members of the Self‐Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India. Findings: Through our FGDs, the participants provided new perspectives and insights into our knowledge of human capital, emphasizing the importance of social protection programmes, gender equity, ongoing training opportunities, decentralized supply chains, and income security. Perhaps most significantly, the benefits accrued to women through being organized have been key to unlocking their human capital potential. Policy implications: Our research highlights themes that are often overlooked in the literature or are beyond the scope of more narrow conceptualizations of human capital. We show that human capital is tightly interwoven with other forms of capital (community assets), and hence efforts to build the former cannot be achieved in isolation from attending to the latter. [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]

Therapy process research focuses on understanding how therapy is conducted by professionals in the field. It is a nascent field of psychotherapy enquiry in India. This paper explores how novice therapists in India perceive their clients, and how this influences the process of therapy. In depth interviews were conducted with ten novice therapists, with less than six years of practice experience, from Mumbai, India. The data was thematically analysed. The data revealed that therapists' perceptions of their clients were defined by socio‐demographic features of age and gender, along with presenting complaints and personal attributes. Participants had defined beliefs about good clients as contrasted with difficult ones. Distinct preferences for particular client types were identified. The antecedents to these beliefs were attributed to the therapist's worldview, their training and the supervision received. These views, and the conceptualisation of the client, influenced the choice of client, the process of therapy and how they proceeded with sessions, and their methods of referral. The data from the study has implications for therapist training, supervision and further research. [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]

The restoration of degraded mangrove habitats is a global priority. In countries such as India, the significance of coastal mangrove forests is deeply embedded after the 2004 tsunami and numerous cyclones that caused immense damage to coastal communities. Mangrove restoration drives have been carried out in several regions across the Indian coast. However, the establishment of mangrove nurseries using plastic bags to plant seedlings results in a large amount of plastic waste at the end of each plantation drive. People have tried to combat this issue of plastic pollution by adopting alternative methods but encountered several drawbacks and hitches. In this study, hand‐woven Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer, Arecaceae) bags were experimented with as a replacement for plastic bags to grow seedlings. The bags were able to withstand water inundation conditions similar to those of mangrove tidal flats for a maximum of 6 months, beyond which they disintegrated. The mangrove seedlings showed good growth similar to that in plastic bags, but the roots were well spread in Palmyra bags compared to plastic bags. In addition, during plantation, the seedling along with the bag could be planted as the bags were biodegradable, which is an advantage over plastic bags that need to be removed. Moreover, since local fishermen community members prepared these bags, it provided them with an alternative source of livelihood. Hence, Palmyra bags are an eco‐friendly alternative to plastic bags in reforestation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) are highly threatened by fisheries, there are few studies that examine gear and fishery effects on catch composition and abundance across India, one of the top elasmobranch fishing nations globally. We assessed elasmobranch diversity, abundance, catch rates and fishery characteristics using landing surveys in Malvan on the central‐western coast of India, a major multi‐gear, multi‐species fishing centre, over three sampling periods from February 2018 to March 2020. We sampled 3145 fishing trips and recorded 27 elasmobranch species, of which nearly half are categorised as "Threatened" by the IUCN. In addition, we documented historical records by compiling information from identification guides, research papers, articles and reports. During the study period, the catch was dominated by small‐sized coastal species like the spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) and the scaly whipray (Brevitrygon walga). Trawlers accounted for 64.9% of the catch, highest by number, and captured smaller‐sized individuals. Nonetheless, artisanal and gillnet fisheries had higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) for rays (5.1 ± 1.0) and sharks (10 ± 1.0), respectively, and captured significantly larger‐sized individuals. Through generalised linear models, we found seasonal, gear and fishery effects on the abundance and size of commonly caught species. The presence of neonates and gravid females of multiple species also suggests nursery grounds in this region. Historically, 141 species have been recorded in this region, and a comparison with current catch suggests a shift in elasmobranch community structure and potential mesopredator release. This study emphasises the importance of gear and species‐specific research for conservation planning at the local level and suggests the need for management strategies with fisher cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]