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This paper assesses the social environment required for enhancing social sustainability in a social housing project in India, with a case study of Ajith Singh nagar, social housing project of Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh, India. Social sustainability is less thought off out of Three pillars of sustainability (Environment, social and economic). Social sustainability is quality of life in a neighborhood with its social environment. This paper studies the Informal social spaces such as informal meeting places, eating, sitting places, religious places and other activities of informal enterprise and trades which add to sustainable neighborhood environment. These spaces generate psychological comfort, enable to establish social relationships, that creates opportunity for informal interactions and social cohesion. Provision of these places in a neighborhood will address the social sustainability. This research arrives at what social spaces and activities required in a neighborhood by analysing existing housing layout which is otherwise just series of buildings and roads. The interactions between people and their surroundings strengthen community building and social bonding. This paper finds out that adding these places and activities enhance the social interactions and in turn establish social Capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Tribal entrepreneurship can be understood as infusing the knowledge of commerce and trade into the tribal groups and thereby exploring their products and known for their economic betterment and social advancement. An accumulating body of research has demonstrated that artificial intelligence (AI) is an indistinguishable feature of the fourth industrial revolution. This study integrates the literature on AI and new technologies to examine the constraining and facilitating forces for developing and scaling-up AI-enabling technologies in Africa. This article proposes an integrated conceptual model to elucidate the range of external drivers encompassing global competitive drivers, and market and industry drivers. The internal drivers include the potential to enhance product development speed, improve quality, drive production cost down, and minimise errors and manual processes in organisations. OBJECTIVES: In this study, socio-economic status of tribal population has been taken as a reference in order to see whether there is any impact of economic wellbeing on their livelihood [1]. The study is an endeavour to examine the role of micro enterprises for social and economic empowerment of tribal community in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and role of AI. RESULTS: The main results obtained in this paper are the following SEM identified that there is a lower degree of positive impact of "Tribal entrepreneurship" on "Economic Empowerment" and "women Empowerment" and lower degree of negative impact on "Social Empowerment". It is also concluded that Economic Empowerment of tribal entrepreneurs through micro-enterprises has reduced the dependency on private money lenders the most. Women Empowerment of tribal entrepreneurs has helped the women to achieve gender equality and the social Empowerment aids in the development of competency and technical skills through micro-enterprises. CONCLUSION: The tribal communities in Odisha are regarded as the most disadvantageous group of people in terms of their socio-economic status. The present research makes some pivotal contributions to the current AI literature. First, in spite of the growing recognition that development of new industries and new-business development is increasingly predicated on the adoption of new technologies (Krasniqi and Hajrizi Citation2016), there is a paucity of studies examining contemporary challenges faced by developing nations and their inability to capitalise on such ample and obvious opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of social movements on the Indian state's developmental paradigm. Adopting from Varigonda's (2020) framework, the paper argues that the impact of social movements on state policy and its implementation is primarily determined by three key factors: the collective action repertoires of social movements; the politicization of the Indian state's developmental paradigm; and the openness of state input structures. This framework is tested through a comparative study of two movements that have emerged against two examples of the Indian state's developmental paradigm: a proposed nuclear plant at Kovvada and a proposed thermal plant at Sompeta, both in Andhra Pradesh. The Sompeta agitation was successful in impeding the thermal plant's inception while the movement in Kovvada eventually petered out. The paper demonstrates how the variation in the impact of the two movements can be attributed to the social movement in Sompeta benefitting from stronger collective action repertoires; greater politicization of the state's developmental paradigm; and more open state input structures, vis-à-vis the movement in Kovvada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past, Andhra Pradesh (AP) has experienced increasing trends in surface air mean temperature (SAT at a height of 2 m) because of climate change. In this paper, we attempt to estimate the SAT using the GFDL-ESM2G (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model version 2G), available from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase-5 (CMIP5). This model has a mismatch with the India Meteorological Department (IMD)'s observations during April and May, which are the most heat-prone months in the state. Hence, in addition to the SAT from the model, the present paper considers other parameters, such as mean sea level pressure, surface winds, surface relative humidity, and surface solar radiation downwards, that have influenced the SAT. Since all five meteorological parameters from the GFDL-ESM2G model influence the IMD's SAT, an artificial neural network (ANN) technique has been used to predict the SAT using the above five meteorological parameters as predictors (input) and the IMD's SAT as the predictand (output). The model was developed using 1981–2020 data with different time lags, and results were tested for 2021 and 2022 in addition to the random testing conducted for 1981–2020. The statistical parameters between the IMD observations and the ANN estimations using GFDL-ESM2G predictions as input confirm that the SAT can be estimated accurately as described in the analysis section. The analysis conducted for different regions of AP reveals that the diurnal variations of SAT in the IMD observations and the ANN predictions over three regions (North, Central, and South AP) and overall AP compare well, with root mean square error varying between 0.97 °C and 1.33 °C. Thus, the SAT predictions provided in the GFDL-ESM2G model simulations could be improved statistically by using the ANN technique over the AP region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling surface water quality has become crucial in providing better strategies for managing surface water resources, and adequate findings need accurate and geographically dispersed data. Hydrogeological modeling of these data sets is possible using empirically-based models. The other statistical models are also an alternative approach. In this study, a process with maximum probability is considered with the help of machine learning tools (MLT) to have optimized and valid output. The proposed method combines remote sensing and geographic information systems (RS and GIS) and MLT, which are appropriate for the predicament of neither small, large scale, nor long-term simulations. MLT methods such as VAR and ARIMA are developed in the Python programming with Jupyter notebook and tested according to the data in the spatial prediction for surface water quality parameters such as Tr, pH, Ec, TDS, AL, Ca++, NO−3, So, Cl, F−, Fe, and Mg2+ in the Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India—lower delta part. The delta with susceptible zones was identified using RS and GIS as those areas are prone to direct exposure to surface water contaminants from aquaculture, agricultural runoff, small- and medium-scale businesses, and household trash. Achieving effective surface water management for this ecosystem is critical for regional water management. The geographical information about the concentrations acquired via the RS and GIS was compared to the statistical modeling findings and verified using real-time measurements. MLT modeling seems more realistic than the experimental setting; data from the previous 20 years (2000–2020) were used for modeling, and the predicted values presented in the paper are predicted for the year 2021. The computed R2 value of ranges between 0.75 and 0.96% is recorded with ARIMA, and VAR posted range between 0.56 and 0.75% with the trained and tested data. The findings show the potential for MLT of geographically dispersed hydrogeological data to be used for pollution-free surface water management. From the surface water management perspective, combining RS and GIS and MLT offers an alternate data analysis approach for obtaining quick results utilizing a less laborious process that produces acceptable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sesame is an important oil seed crop affected by toxigenic fungal pathogens viz., Alternaria, Fusarium and Aspergillus. Among these, Alternaria sesami is seed borne and most destructive pathogen causing yield loss to an extent of 28.9 per cent. Hence the effect of artificial infection with A. sesami on seed quality of various samples of sesame was investigated during 2017-2018. Methods: A total of 28 samples were collected from different sesame growing areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and inoculated with A. sesami. The inoculated and uninoculated seeds were tested for germination and seedling growth by rolled paper towel method. Result: Significant differences in seed germination, seedling length and seedling vigour index were observed among the uninoculated as well as inoculated sesame seed samples. The results indicated that Alternaria sesami caused 15.13% to 49.68%, 12.77% to 46.14% and 28.28% to 72.87% reduction in seed germination, seedling length and vigour index, respectively, of inoculated seed over uninoculated seeds. The per cent reduction was highest in the seed samples of YLM-17 collected from farmers' saved seed samples of Prakasam district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Publicly Funded Health Insurance Schemes (PFHIS) are intended to play a role in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In countries like India, PFHISs have low penetrance and provide limited coverage of services and of family members within households, which can mean that women lose out. Gender inequities in relation to financial risk protection are understudied. Given the emphasis being placed on achieving UHC for all in India, this paper examined intersecting gender inequalities and changes in PFHIS coverage in southern India, where its penetrance is greater and of longer duration. Data and methods: This study used the fourth (NFHS-4, 2015–16) and fifth (NFHS-5, 2019–21) rounds of India's National Family Health Survey for five southern states: namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. The World Health Organization's Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) Plus and Stata were used to analyse PFHIS coverage disaggregated by seven dimensions of inequality. Ratios and differences for binary dimensions; Between Group Variance and Theil Index for unordered dimensions; Absolute and Relative Concentration Index (RCI) for ordered dimensions were computed separately for women and men. Results: Overall, PFHIS coverage increased significantly (p < 0.001) among women and men in Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5. Overall, men had higher PFHIS coverage than women, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana in both surveys. In both absolute and relative terms, PFHIS coverage was concentrated among older women and men across all states; age-related inequalities were higher among women than men in both surveys in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telengana. The magnitude of education-related inequalities was twice as high as among women in Telangana (RCINFHS-4: -12.23; RCINFHS-5: -9.98) and Andhra Pradesh (RCINFHS-4: -8.05; RCINFHS-5: -7.84) as compared to men in Telangana (RCINFHS-4: -5.58; RCINFHS-5: -2.30) and Andhra Pradesh (RCINFHS-4: -4.40; RCINFHS-5: -3.12) and these inequalities remained in NFHS-5, suggesting that lower education level women had greater coverage. In the latter survey, a high magnitude of wealth-related inequality was observed in women (RCINFHS-4: -15.78; RCINFHS-5: -14.36) and men (RCINFHS-4: -20.42; RCINFHS-5: -13.84) belonging to Kerala, whereas this inequality has decreased from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5., again suggestive of greater coverage among poorer populations. Caste-related inequalities were higher in women than men in both surveys, the magnitude of inequalities decreased between 2015–16 and 2019–20. Conclusions: We found gender inequalities in self-reported enrolment in southern states with long-standing PFHIS. Inequalities favoured the poor, uneducated and elderly, which is to some extend desirable when rolling out a PFHIS intended for harder to reach populations. However, religion and caste-based inequalities, while reducing, were still prevalent among women. If PFHIS are to truly offer financial risk protection, they must address the intersecting marginalization faced by women and men, while meeting eventual goals of risk pooling, indicated by high coverage and low inequality across population sub-groups. [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]

Cement clay interlocking (CCI) hollow bricks have been used as a construction material in many developed and developing countries. Many emerging and underdeveloped nations have utilised cement clay interlocking (CCI) hollow bricks as building materials. In India, Andhra Pradesh local makers prepare these cement clay interlocking (CCI) hollow bricks by simply mixing clay, cement, and sand in a traditional method, without following strict design criteria or rules. Previous research has demonstrated that the mechanical characteristics of CCI hollow bricks gathered from various locations in detailed manner respect to hand books on Civil Engineering as per Indian Standards. Bricks from one region had compressive strengths that were significantly lower than the other region Indian Community Standards. Various methods were employed in this investigation to enhance the mechanical characteristics of CCI bricks. New mix patterns were created with the use of sand, cement, and fly ash in this research paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainwater harvesting is the method of collection, store and use of rainwater where ever it falls. Tropical climatic conditions will receive extreme precipitation, i.e. in form of rain. Water stress and scarcity is happening around the world especially in urban areas as the demand is more because of density of population. As the infrastructure of basic needs at urban areas are almost up to the level, the paved areas will be present in most of the areas. The gap between supply and demand is varying much essentially in urban areas. Thus, the rainwater harvesting at plot level as well as at community level is becoming very much essential so as to minimize the gap between demand and supply. The harvested water lead to supplement the main supply of water and lessens the pressure on main source of water for the existing urban settlement. The present paper deals with the frame work for sustainable rainwater harvesting at a town level. The paper deals with correlating the selected eight study pockets in Guntur town, Andhra Pradesh, India by making the grouping of plots based on the area of the plots with regard to dwelling units related to occupants. The correlation analysis directed to establish strong relation between different study pockets with respect to LPCDs to workout settlement level Sustainable harvestable rainwater frame work with due consideration to density of population, slope, topography and meteorological parameters etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations worldwide have realized the importance of customer experience management in order to survive in the present day highly competitive business environment. Shopping in India has witnessed a revolution with significant change in customer buying behaviour and the whole format of shopping has been altering. The retailers in the modern format have been trying to find sustainable focus on customer experience management. A good customer experience implies the individual's experience in all points of contact that matches the individual's expectations. The main aim of this paper is to throw a light on key antecedents impacting the customer experience in the Indian Retail Sector. Overall, the study covers the different dimensions of customer experience management in retail sector by taking into consideration select retail formats. In accordance with the objective of this paper an empirical analysis was carried out based on primary data derived from survey with valid questionnaires. The study recommends that retail firms have to be more active in managing customer experience through innovative strategies. [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]

Background: Liver cancer is the third most common cause of cancer mortality. Artificial intelligence, as a diagnostic tool, can reduce physicians’ working load. However, the main fear is that due to the existence of many causes and factors, liver diseases are not easily diagnosed. This study analyzes liver disease intelligently. Various decision tree models were used in this research. Methods: The records of 583 patients in the North East of Andhra Pradesh, India, registered at the University of California in 2012, were collected. Decision tree models were compared by three measures of sensitivity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve. Results: In this study, Decision-Stump showed better results than other models. Accuracy, sensitivity, and ROC curve of Decision-Stump were 71.3058, 1, and 0.646, respectively. Conclusion: The superior model with the highest precision is the Decision-Stump model. Therefore, the Decision-Stump model is recommended for liver disease diagnosis. This paper is invaluable for the allocation of health resources for risky people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Green Revolution" (GR) technology-induced agricultural intensification has transformed India from food scarcity to a food surplus country. However, this has also resulted into several adverse repercussions. Increased application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with stagnating/declining crop productivity has dovetailed with uncertain market conditions and climate change effects which has resulted in un-remunerative agriculture. Consequently, farmers have fallen into the debt trap due to the rising cost of crop production apart from health hazards due to serious exposure to harmful chemical pesticides. Natural Farming (NF), an agro-ecological approach to farming is believed to be an effective way to counter some of these challenges. The present paper presents field-level farmers' experiences of NF adoption in three states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. The study was conducted during February–March 2019 by surveying 295 NF adopted and 170 non-NF adopted farmers. It was found that NF practice has been followed by some farmers for more than 10 years but others have adopted during the recent past. There is variation in the practice followed by the NF farmers. There are farmers who are using Farm Yard Manure (FYM). A solid form of jeevamritha (liquid concoction of microbial inoculants) called as ghanajeevamritha was also found to be used by farmers in Andhra Pradesh. It was observed that non-NF yields are superior to NF yield without FYM. In most crops, however, NF with FYM had a greater yield than NF without FYM and non-NF farms. There has been a decrease in the variable cost and a marginal increase in the market price of NF produce. The study suggests that natural farming may be seen as one of the alternative practices which has potential to rejuvenate the agro-ecosystem, besides cost saving for the individual farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change and its impact on agriculture, the paper analyses the trend of monsoon rainfall and its correlation with crop yield in Andhra Pradesh. The summer monsoon is the main rainy source of water for the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Kharif crops depend on the southwest monsoon rains to the extent that its adverse variability may lead to water stress and agrarian crisis. It has been observed from the study that in recent years the contribution of monsoon rainfall during September is increasing, and any harvest during the month is correspondingly affected, leading to a decline in the crop yield. [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]

Agricultural and food system transformation helps increase farm productivity and encourages farmers to participate in updated value chains, adopt newer technologies, thereby helping farmers transform their livelihoods in a sustainable manner. Relatedly, value chain innovations depend on multiple decisions farmers make at various stages of the value chain, adequate participation being a primary factor. In this paper, we integrate farmers' adoption decision of a new variety of chilli crop ("Teja") along with their electronic market participation decision and e-market participation intensity, based on data from the chilli farming sector in India, where agricultural markets have been modernized through digitization (Kalgudi e-Market). Thus, the employed Triple-Hurdle Model (THM) integrates adoption decision of "Teja" variety of chilli, e-Market Participation Decision and e-market participation intensity thereby, allowing us to make inferences relating to chilli farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Our results, showed that the drivers of "Teja" variety adoption, e-market participation, and e-participation intensity include education, reliable extension services, access to seeds of high yielding varieties, market information, and membership in farmer-producer organizations. Added to these, personnel training visits, prompt deliveries of inputs, and prompt payment of sales proceeds are also important in influencing participation and intensities. Results show that the three stochastic decisions of THM are strongly correlated implying that the adoption decision of "Teja" variety of chilli by the farmers influences the e-market participation decision and consequently, e-market participation intensity and these three decisions are sequential. On the contrary, the decisions viz., e-market participation decision and e-market participation intensity as input buyers and consequent adoption of "Teja" variety of chilli are simultaneous. So, the policy measures that promote production technology interventions (say, "Teja" variety of chilli) will definitely enhance better e-market access of chilli farmers. Accordingly, the breeding programs of the agricultural research stations should enhance the uptake of improved varieties in tune with modern marketing (e-market) technologies. Future farm policy and agricultural-research and innovations must recognize the potential that the digital marketing systems have to offer. Such considerations coupled with the provision of market infrastructure including assaying, grading, storage, and market information will promote digital transformation in agricultural value chains in developing countries like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern Telugu literature, the Dalit literature has been a great wave during 1990-2010. It has been the navigating light for the existential fight of Dalits. But in fact, Dalit literature can be traced in Telugu from a long time back nearly ninety years ago. The problem of casteism and the fight against it are as ancient as the civilization in the history of India. India is the nation in which the society has been configured based on the occupation/professions of the people especially caste wise occupations. Any of these occupations is dependent on the physiological work. In the Indian caste system there are four main castes, and apart from that, there is a fifth group - the Dalits treated as the untouchables in the society. Even some decades back Dalits were considered as the insignificant part of the society. These people have been remained as second class citizens who are severely exploited, and downtrodden. There has been no significant difference in these circumstances anywhere in the Indian subcontinent. But it can be remarked that where ever there are fertile lands and fruitful resources there is a possibility for exploitation of the working class population. And simultaneously there is possibility for revolution through ways. In Andhra Pradesh, East Godavari district is the richest in agricultural prosperity. The same is the place well known for the prolific writers in Telugu Dalit literature. Kusuma Dharmanna, Boyi Bhemanna, Savera (Sarella Venkata Ratnam) are the warriors with pen to fight against the social evil of casteism. This paper focuses on the literary work of the contemporary poet SAVERA who has been considered as the mighty poet with a great impact on the existential fight of Telugu Dalits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic is the most recent—and most severe—crisis to face the microfinance/financial inclusion sector, but it was far from the first. From its earliest years, crises have appeared throughout the modern history of microfinance, and the responses they engendered have included some of the most significant reforms and innovations in the sector. In this paper, we describe selected historical crises—Peru in the 1980s, Grameen in the 1990s, and Andhra Pradesh and others in the 2007–2010 period—through their legacy and impact on the sector's activities and priorities. We then examine some of the pressures on institutions during the pandemic, through interview data with MFI leaders from the Sentinel Project conducted during 2021–22. We argue that the resilience of the sector to the unprecedented pressures of the pandemic can be traced to many of these historical post-crisis reforms—and consider what this means for future crisis responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, Telugu is one of the official languages and it is a native language in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. Although research on Telugu optical character recognition (OCR) began in the early 1970s, it is still necessary to develop effective printed character recognition for the Telugu language. OCR is a technique that aids machines in identifying text. The main intention in the classifier design of the OCR systems is supervised learning where the training process takes place on the labeled dataset with numerous characters. The existing OCR makes use of patterns and correlations to differentiate words from other components. The development of deep learning (DL) techniques is useful for effective printed character recognition. In this context, this paper introduces a novel DL based residual network model for printed Telugu character recognition (DLRNTCR). The presented model involves four processes such as preprocessing, feature extraction, classification, and parameter tuning. Primarily, the images of various sizes are normalized to 64x64 by the use of the bilinear interpolation technique and scaled to the 0, 1 range. Next, residual network-152 (ResNet 152) model-based feature extraction and then Gaussian native Bayes (GNB) based classification process is performed. The performance of the proposed model has been validated against a benchmark Telugu dataset. The experimental outcome stated the superiority of the proposed model over the state of art methods with a superior accuracy of 98.12%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism plays a significant role in today's modern economic structure and is been a key driver in social progress. This sector has been identified as the only sector that involves a majority percentage of populace, directly or indirectly, for earning a decent livelihood. This reflects the fact that the tourism is fast turning into a volume game where an ever-burgeoning number of participants are pushing up revenues of industry players (hotels, tour operators, airlines, shipping lines, etc) and thus offers an interesting investment opportunity for long term investors. In this paper we through a light on the service provider perceptions on various parameters relating to their satisfaction on their revenue, Eco tourism and its sustainability. Primary data was collected from 379 Service providers, the data was analysed and the findings and suggestions were made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out some findings of a research project carried out in private unaided schools in low-income areas of Hyderabad, India. The part of the research project documented here was designed to examine the question: ‘Is the regulatory regime conducive to entrepreneurial action and market discovery’ with particular reference to the low-income schools in Hyderabad. This paper is narrowly focused, setting out the results of pattern matching empirical data with the Austrian economic concepts of entrepreneurship, rivalry, and market discovery. The research discovered that two regulatory regimes exist, one that is set out ‘on paper’ in the Education Acts and associated rules, and another that operates ‘in practice’. That is, there is a combination of regulations ‘on paper’ and regulations existing in an ‘extra-legal’ sector. Generally it was found that the regulations ‘in practice’ are consistent with market principles. Conversely the regulations set out ‘on paper’ are not conducive to entrepreneurial innovation and market discovery. Recommendations for potential policy initiatives include the possibility of legitimising the ‘extra-legal’ sector by introducing self-regulation possibly via self-evaluation systems for the private unaided schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting and gathering, which date back to the Middle Pleistocene, are the oldest sources of sustenance. Practically, these hunting and gathering societies have gradually expanded their settlements and culture across the country. The present paper attempts a qualitative ethnographical study on the ongoing life of the Nir Sikaris which is one of the hunting and fowling tribes in the Tungabhadra Plains of Andhra Pradesh. Primarily it focuses on their settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, and living traditions. S(h)ikar means hunting; Sikari means hunter. They populate Kurnool, Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), Bellary (Karnataka) Districts and Maharashtra. They were labelled with a social stigma of a criminal tribe under the British Raj and were also considered ex-criminal tribe and de-notified tribe in post-independence India. They are currently classified as one of the backward classes (B.C.-A) by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. It becomes vital to shedding light on documentation of Nir Sikaris' evolving cultural life for posterity, as they are culturally transforming due to modernization in the current globalised society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: To ascertain the local prevalence of reproductive tract infections. To research the impact of various factors on the prevalence of genital infections. To research the incidence of RTI symptoms during the intervention period. To evaluate the outcomes in light of a preintervention study carried out in 1996-1997. Method: Every married woman between the ages of 15 and 45 was the subject of a cross-sectional community-based study that was conducted at Department of Community Medicine, Narayana Medical College, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India from February 2022 to January 2023 and evaluated by questionnaire, laboratory test, and physical examination to identify reproductive tract infections. To conduct the study, approval was requested. The health assistant went to the 412 women who were included in the study population, described how the examination would work, got their permission, and offered them to participate. Result: There were 70 abortions total, of which 12 were induced and 58 were spontaneous. Seven of the induced abortions used dilatation and curettage, two used injections, and three used tablets. 98 (22%) of the women had primary infertility. The variables for RTIs had a p value less than 0.2: housewife, intervention arm, tubectomy, sanitary napkins, husband's agricultural work, respondent's education, socioeconomic level, and husband's education. The intervention arm, the usage of sanitary napkins, the presence of a spouse who serves in the military, and the level of education of the respondent were all STIs factors with a p value less than 0.2. Conclusion: A comprehensive community-based intervention approach reduced reproductive tract infections in this study. Health-aides and female doctors were used. RTIs and STIs decreased postintervention. Health-aide and doctor arms fell significantly. Education was found to affect RTIs. Symptomatic RTI diagnosis was unreliable. Prioritise female literacy and school health instruction. Health-seeking couples should talk. Clinical examination and limited laboratory tests like wet preparation are needed to diagnose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective of this study described the present condition and improvement of Library collection in the central coastal districts, of Andhra Pradesh. This paper discussed here enhancement of library collection on user demands with the user interest that is, information requirement groups are like house wives, business men, employed users, unemployed users, retired persons and children. Collecting data through the structured questionnaire, interview and observations in the library in the month of December, 2020 to January 2021, respectively. Total number of questionnaires distributed 100 each of each district central library that is 300 distributed out of the response is 90.33%(271). This survey limited to conduct in district central libraries in central coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh that is three districts such as Krishna, West Godavari, and East Godavari districts. This study found that there is an importance of increase document collection in both aspects that electronic documents and conventional documents. There is a need to allocate to more funds to the district central libraries in central coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three different machine learning models are implemented on liver patient's data. The data set is gathered from North-East of Andhra Pradesh, India. Human mortality and human morbidity are increased due to liver disease. Now a day, liver disease is increasing because of widespread intake of alcohol and also due to hepatitis. The main reason of liver disease is due to intake of drugs, harmful food, infections and toxic substances. The Liver damage is expected to play a vital role in inflammation, scarring, obstructions, cirrhosis, liver failure, and even liver cancer. The use of herbal medicines can be traced back several thousand years ago in ancient China. According to evidences many natural products are available as chemo protective agents against common liver diseases, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, fatty liver diseases, and gallstones. This disease treatment is very costly and complicated. By considering all this facts, the work is carried out in this significant area. A novel machine leaning model has been introduced to detect liver disease. The Classification of liver disease data is done by using confusion matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural communication aims to influence farming and farmers significantly. The most basic definition of communication is the transfer of information from the farmers to the tribal people. By doing that, communication only informs the tribal people of the inclusion of new technology, actual change cannot occur only if the tribal people also obtain the technology and the training necessary to employ it. Schedule areas agriculture is very different from plough farming elsewhere. Generally, tribal communities have low population density, undulating topography, thickly wooded areas, and transportation problems. Most of the hill tribes use shifting farming, in their cultivation. The majority of the hill tribes use shiftfog farming and sometimes prefer alternative cultivation. Tribal people still engage in shifting agriculture due to the physical characteristics of the hills, and unless forced otherwise by physical or economic considerations, they prefer this technique to permanent agriculture. The importance of agriculture communication in schedule areas and coffee cultivation in Araku Valley Andhra Pradesh are covered in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is the activities of societies traveling to and residing in places outside their usual atmosphere for not more than one successive year for relaxation, business and other commitments not related to the application of a movement waged from within the place stayed. Tourism is one of the growing industries in Andhra Pradesh. Its high growth and development rates, considerable amount of employment generation, infrastructure development actively affecting various sectors of economy which positively contributing to the social and economic development of the state. The tourism experience is different to what they can see or do at home and this includes experiencing the real life and lifestyle of the destinations they visit. Sustainable tourism is thoughtful tourism. It is "derived," not "contrived." A community involved in the planning and implementation of tourism has a more positive attitude, is more supportive and has better chance of making a profit than a population passively ruled - or overrun - by tourism. One of the core elements of sustainable tourism development is community development. This is giving the community the process and capacity to making decisions that consider the Long-term economy, ecology and equity of all communities. Nellore is a city in the Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Penna River in Nellore mandal of Nellore revenue division. The city is the fourth most populous settlement of the state well known for its agriculture and aquaculture. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation is the state tourism department, responsible for maintaining, promoting and developing the tourism sector. Nellore is famous for scenic beaches, historic forts, temples, darghas, and bird and wildlife sanctuaries. The Telangana region has all the demanded high qualities for becoming a strong vacationer place with its country. The 1998 tourism plan of Andhra Pradesh concentrates on financial development, employment creation, and poverty alleviation via environmental durability. It pays attention to demand edge and additionally on the vast untapped capacity of vacationer destinations such as ancestry tourism, this paper briefly provided a case study on Andhra Pradesh states towards development on Tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of Andhra Pradesh has a long history of library system before Indian independence as part of the Madras Presidency. Significant changes have taken place in the public library system over the time. This paper gives a brief description of the public library movement, aims and objectives of the library movement, library legislation and organizational structure of public library system in A.P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the use of social media specifically WhatsApp for learning by undergraduate students of Arts and Science Colleges. Literature review shows that social media could be used as an instrument for learning in different parts of the world and reflects the advantages and disadvantages of using social media for learning. This paper uses Communities of Inquiry (CoI) model to prove the point that production of knowledge is done through three presences explained by the conceptual model of CoI developed by researcher. Survey questionnaire is used to elicit answers from the undergraduate students. 769 samples from 10 select Arts and Science colleges in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, South India, were collected. Nominal and ordinal measurements are used to construct the survey questionnaire. Demographic results presented in this paper show cross-sectional representation of the population. Using results of crosstabulation and Kruskal-Wallis-H tests, 3 sets of significant statements concerning teaching, social and cognitive and learning presences are tested and the results are presented. The paper concludes that results of tests prove that social presence and cognitive and learning presence are reflected more than the teaching presence. The social, cognitive, and learning presences make teaching presence a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now a day's the trend shifted to conventional to organic most of the consumers are giving importance to Organic foods compare to the conventional foods. Every human-being run with technology for better life style. Food is the basic need of every living organism. In olden days we are using traditional methods to produce the food items and using natural fertilisers but now a days due to environmental changes the farmers are using chemicals to produce more quantity of crop output with this all the human beings facing so many health issues as well as it causes for environmental sustainability. Due to lack of time to cook they are going and purchasing readily available packaged food. The population is increased over the period of time the producers are also using chemicals and fertilisers to yield more crops to meet the demand of supply with this the consumers facing lot of health issues. At present days, the consumers required of healthy food are increased comparing to the last decade. In this research paper, the Researcher made an attempt to know the consumers opinion on Organic foods in Tirupathi Chittor district. For this purpose, first hand information was collected from 100 sample respondents and the collected data was analysed with the help of stastical tool such as Chi-Square. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use/Land cover (LULC) plays a vital role in planning and supervising the utilization of the natural resources based on the gradual increase in the human demands in the current ecosystem. This study mainly focuses on the usage of the geographic information system (GIS) and land usage to identify the changes in Ananthapuramu, which is located in the Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh (AP) state, South India. This paper mainly focuses on the classification and identification of the changes in LULC in the period of 1999–2019 based on a survey of India's topographic map and temporal images gathered from the satellite. The experimental results indicate that over the specified period of study, the rate of increment and decrement in the built-up area, rate of underwater bodies, forest bodies that may demonstrate a significant impact on the environmental ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a constant evolving country such as India, consumers are adopting new technologies faster than before and are more connected with the world with the help of digital media platforms. These platforms have emerged as a very effective medium to reach out to consumers in ways that are hard to achieve by traditional media. Luxury brands have acknowledged the potential of this digital channel and have been actively participating in digital marketing to reach out directly to their consumers and target audience. The motivation behind this paper is to dissect the effect of digital marketing on young consumers purchase behaviour for luxury products with specific reference to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

India has one of the largest agricultural input support programs in the world, delivered in the form of subsidies to farmers, raising concerns about its sustainability. This paper evaluates the performance of one such support, the micronutrient subsidy program in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and presents a case for providing this support in the form of direct cash transfers. Under the program, key soil micronutrients- zinc, boron, and gypsum were distributed free of cost to farmers living in micronutrient-deficient areas, with identification and targeting managed entirely by the state. We survey 1621 farmers, 61 agriculture extension officers, and 78 agriculture input dealers to assess the efficacy of the program and to identify bottlenecks preventing effective targeting, with a focus on zinc. We find that use of non-subsidized zinc is high in AP, and awareness of benefits of zinc and physical access to input dealer shops are significant predictors of zinc use. We argue that the free provision of micronutrients may have created demand among farmers, but there is little justification to continue subsidizing such a program at such high rates or resorting to public distribution. We find that micronutrient procurement and distribution has become a burden on extension staff and crowds out the private sector. Our analysis shows that the subsidy can benefit more farmers if it is channeled through the network of private fertilizer dealers. We use administrative data on budgetary outlays and digital soil maps to suggest fiscal redistribution in the form of direct cash transfers that may ensure more effective targeting at a lower cost to the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents the livelihood practices and opportunities of the youth of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) living in Andhra Pradesh, India. The PVTGs are a group of tribes under the scheduled tribes of India. There are 75 PVTGs communities living in India, of which 12 PVTGs communities are living in the state of Andhra Pradesh. PVTGs youth are different in many aspects compared to urban youth and rural youth. PVTGs youth are the less developed among tribal groups, more vulnerable, marginalized, live in remote forest areas and hill tracks with poor connectivity and access. This study used two sampling methods i.e. stratified multistage sampling method and systematic random sampling method and conducted with 240 PVTGs youth between the age group of 18-34 years through a structured interview schedule. The study found that the major livelihood practices of PVTGs youth are agriculture or podu cultivation, daily wage, collection and selling of forest products, farm animals and livestock and small scale entrepreneurship. Still, the PVTGs youth are backward because of low income, poverty, poor connectivity, and living in remote forest areas. The PVTGs youth need separate reservations, separate welfare corporation to access the government employment and other welfare or developmental schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the Vidwan database and find the distribution of subject experts in engineering & technology of Deemed Universities in India. Vidwan is the expert database for national researchers network it helps the research community to maintain their academic profile and identify the experts from various subject domains in one place. We collected the data from Vidwan database manually and used Microsoft Excel for analysing the data. Frequency distribution, percentage analysis were used to rank for finding the highly performing the fields of expertise, the academic positions (designation of the researcher), organisations and states. There are about 4365 experts available from the Deemed Universities. Out of these, 1729 experts are available in engineering & technology domain. There are more experts in electrical and electronics engineering. Among the various designations, the experts in the range of Assistant Professors level followed by Professors are in more numbers. Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology have contributed more experts. Andhra Pradesh is leading in the number of experts in engineering and technology. Tamil Nadu is in third position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing recognition of women's role in fisheries, but this has not translated into equal representation of women in management and policy. Fisherwomen remain under-studied and under-recognized in marine resource management. Conservation and fisheries management programmes are biased because of a lack of understanding of women's role in fisheries policy-making. The purpose of this study is to examine the various policies, programmes, and schemes that have been implemented by both the Central and State governments of Andhra Pradesh in support of empowerment of fisherwomen. The study evaluated existing policies and schemes and their utilization by fisherwomen to determine whether they helped to empower fisherwomen. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting policy gaps in favor of economic growth but without considering the needs of fisherwomen. Thus, providing suggestions and recommendations for forming and implementing policies and schemes for fisherwomen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is a country of villages. It has mammoth rural population of 833 million spread over 640,867 villages. Rural markets are small in size, distantly scattered and heterogeneous. They provide awesome opportunities for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Rural consumers aspire to use brands rather than just commodities. At this juncture, understand rural consumer usage of FMCG brands and awareness is perceived appropriate. The objective of this research paper is to study the usage and recall of FMCG brands by rural consumers in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh in India. Thus, a modest attempt is made in this paper to divulge relevant facts of the topic with empirical data. This article is quite useful to the stakeholders of rural marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This proposal interprets the importance of library network and the concept of engineering college libraries networking to facilities information resources sharing and support activities in libraries has become a quintessential in Andhra Pradesh, India. This paper deals with an idea to motivate for networking and resource sharing JNTUH, JNTUA,JNTUK affiliated to Engineering College Libraries. The present study briefly highlights some of the objectives, functioning essentials, benefits, drawbacks, services, future prospects and implementation phase of completeness of proposal networking formation as crucial for "APECLIBNET". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive aquaculture practices generate highly polluted organic effluents such as biological oxygen demand (BOD), alkalinity, total ammonia, nitrates, calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, and chlorides. In recent years, Inland aquaculture ponds in the western delta region of Andhra Pradesh have been intensively expanding and are more concerned about negative environmental impact. This paper presents the water quality analysis of aquaculture waters in 64 random locations in the western delta region of Andhra Pradesh. The average water quality index (WQI) was 126, with WQI values ranging from 21 to 456. Approximately 78% of the water samples were very poor and unsafe for drinking and domestic usage. The mean ammonia content in aquaculture water was 0.15 mg/L, and 78% of the samples were above the acceptable limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 0.5 mg/L. The quantity of ammonia in the water ranged from 0.05 to 2.8 mg/L. The results show that ammonia levels exceed the permissible limits and are a significant concern in aquaculture waters due to toxicity. This paper also presents an intelligent soft computing approach to predicting ammonia levels in aquaculture ponds, using two novel approaches, such as the pelican optimization algorithm (POA) and POA coupled with discrete wavelet analysis (DWT-POA). The modified and enhanced POA with DWT can converge to higher performance when compared to standard POA, with an average percentage error of 1.964 and a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.822. Moreover, it was found that prediction models were reliable with good accuracy and simple to execute. Furthermore, these prediction models could help stakeholders and policymakers to make a real-time prediction of ammonia levels in intensive farming inland aquaculture ponds. [Display omitted] • Inland aquaculture pond effects will enhance nutrient fluxes into the delta. • Degradation of water quality was associated primarily with intensive shrimp farming. • Discrete wavelet transforms are effective for decomposing and enhancing dataset. • DWT-POA ammonia prediction model outperformed standalone POA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic schooling lays the groundwork for a person's mental growth throughout their lives, giving them a wide range of cognitive and analytical talents and the self-assurance and capability they need to go on into the future with hope and optimism. Therefore, nation architects and policymakers must focus their focus on delivering quality and value-based education to all of the people in the country, most particularly to the disadvantaged and poor or weaker sectors of the society, and provide empowerment with a higher quality of education that will aid them in reducing the degree of poverty, and it will also contribute to the creation of a democratic nation; this had been the goal of the leadership of the state at the time. Since the commencement of constitutions, the government has set goals every decade or so. Right to Education clauses haven't done anything for us even after 75 years of independence, even with the support of these kinds of legislation. This paper examines how the implementation of the Right to Education would affect numerous facets of society intertwined with education. Teachers in the Chittoor District provided the data for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coastal areas are subject to various anthropogenic and natural influences. In this study, we investigated and compared the characteristics of two coastal regions, Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Goa (GA), focusing on pollution, anthropogenic activities, and recreational impacts. We explored three main factors influencing the differences between these coastlines: The Bay of Bengal's shallower depth and lower salinity; upwelling phenomena due to the thermocline in the Arabian Sea; and high tides that can cause strong currents that transport pollutants and debris. Results: The microbial diversity in GA was significantly higher than that in AP, which might be attributed to differences in temperature, soil type, and vegetation cover. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and bioinformatics analysis indicated the presence of diverse microbial phyla, including candidate phyla radiation (CPR). Statistical analysis, random forest regression, and supervised machine learning models classification confirm the diversity of the microbiome accurately. Furthermore, we have identified 450 cultures of heterotrophic, biotechnologically important bacteria. Some strains were identified as novel taxa based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, showing promising potential for further study. Conclusion: Thus, our study provides valuable insights into the microbial diversity and pollution levels of coastal areas in AP and GA. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the impact of anthropogenic activities and climate variations on biology of coastal ecosystems and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A house can be defined as an interpretation of perceptions of the society, inculcated within it, in a direct or indirect method. The social cycle of creation of space depends on parameters of site, settings, cultural history, and traditions. Therefore, it’s not only the house form or architectural elements of the space, which encapsulates the whole idea behind its invention but also the symbolic dimension added to it, defining its significance and identity. The study analyses the association of toy-making process of Kondapalli Village (Andhra Pradesh) with its impact on the built environment of the inhabitants over years. The following study attempts to analyze the toy-making process of Kondapalli Village and its impact on the built environment of the houses. The study is threefold, firstly it attempts to understand the traditional knowledge in the process of wooden toy making in Kondapalli; secondly, the spatial analysis of different house forms ranging from vernacular to modern house and their inter-relationship with the art form deduced to examine the sequential evolution of forms and functions; lastly, an establishment of the symbolic relationship of the toy-making process with the community. Therefore, the study helps to analyse and establish an inter-connection between the house forms, occupational practices and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children form the most vulnerable strata of the society and the tobacco industry is known to target them. Article 16 of the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls for prohibition of tobacco sales to and by minors. Although interventions to stop such sales are based on sound science, it is widely acknowledged that many countries find implementation, full of challenges. In India, sales near educational institutions are banned by law, Section 6b of the Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). We conducted a survey of violations in four states [Andhra Pradesh (AP), Karnataka (KA), Meghalaya (ML), Uttar Pradesh (UP)] of India to report the number of violations and to assess if there was an association between the schools with violations and variables such as gender, size, category, location of schools. Methods: Schools in these States were asked to report the number of shops selling tobacco within 100 yards on an App circulated to all schools (289,392 in number). Chi-square tests, univariate and multivariate logistic regression performed to find association between schools with violations by Category of School, Size of School, Gender of students and location (Urban/Rural). Findings: Responses were received from 61,748 (21.3%) schools of which 16,193 (26.2%) reported violations. It was observed that the percentages of the schools with violations were similar to the prevalence of tobacco usage in the state. Four states AP, KA, ML, UP reported violations 22.2%, 17.5%, 42.9% and 31.4% respectively. On chi-square tests, there was a significant association for the states of KA and ML with regards to variables like size, category, location of schools (p-value <0.001). For AP, all variables were significantly different (p-value <0.001) while for UP variables like size and gender were significant. On logistic regression, there was significant association between the variables like size (>100), category (Upper Primary) and location (urban) for tobacco shops violations in both KA and ML except for the school category that was secondary in ML. While for AP and UP, only size (>100), location (urban) of schools have a significant association with the violations of tobacco shops. Logistic regression of pooled data of four states school size (>100) and school category (primary) and location (urban) had significantly higher association of violation of tobacco shops. Interpretation: This is the first large survey with responses from almost all parts of the four states in India. This study shows significant association with the size, category and location of schools. We anticipate that the lists of schools which have such violations can be used by enforcement agencies to take focused action. Such models will help develop effective tobacco control policies in developing countries with large populations where implementation remains a big challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]