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The road to implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME) in the medical curriculum in India has both challenges and windows of opportunities in its folds. The hindrances identified were reluctance to change, capacity building of faculties, lack of infrastructural support, and methods of assessment. Notwithstanding, CBME has the potential to ensure that the Indian medical graduates are equipped with better clinical skills, and learner-centric education, that aligns well with individual competence, and community healthcare needs. Effective navigation through this transition calls for collaborative efforts among academicians, regulatory bodies, and related stakeholders while drawing from relevant successful models of our country itself. It is imperative to address the challenges concerning capacity building of faculties, resource allocation, and assessment methodology for successful implementation. Given appropriate adoption, the CBME-based curriculum can go a long way to deliver quality healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's vast and diverse population strains its healthcare system. Amidst these complexities, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a beacon of hope. This transformative technology promises to revolutionize healthcare, starting with early disease detection and accurate diagnoses. AI, driven by vast medical data, paints a deeper picture of individual health. By analyzing health patterns, it can detect hidden cancers and tuberculosis early, saving lives through proactive treatment. AI's power extends beyond individual diagnoses. It can scan populations, identifying risk factors and predicting outbreaks before they erupt. This foresight allows for targeted resource allocation and preventive measures, mitigating outbreak impact. AI can even personalize healthcare, shaping treatment plans based on a patient's unique lifestyle and medical history. This maximizes treatment efficacy, minimizes adverse reactions, and improves patient's well-being. Imagine AI as a trusted medical advisor, suggesting the most effective treatment options for each individual. However, AI's promise comes with challenges. Data privacy, reliable infrastructure, and biased algorithms need effective solutions. India, with its strong tech ecosystem and commitment to innovation, is well-positioned to tackle these challenges. By investing in AI research, strengthening data infrastructure, and establishing ethical frameworks, India can unlock AI's immense potential to revolutionize its healthcare landscape. This will be a dividend for millions, ensuring India's healthcare system transforms with the brushstrokes of AI, leading to a healthier and more affordable future for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunization programs globally have played a pivotal role in reducing mortality rates. However, the effectiveness of these programs often falls short of the intended coverage targets, primarily due to challenges within the supply chain, storage facilities, and distribution processes. Notably, a substantial percentage of vaccine wastage has been observed in numerous countries, thereby imposing a significant financial burden on immunization initiatives, and presenting a formidable challenge to policymakers. This paper undertakes a comprehensive study of the financial dynamics inherent in an immunization program within the context of India. Employing a systems perspective, we scrutinize the intricate interactions among various cost factors. Through a five-year system dynamics simulation, we derive insights into the amplified financial constraints resulting from vaccine wastage and the inefficiencies associated with shared personnel. Furthermore, our analysis extends to evaluate the impact of an additional investment aimed at enhancing the quality of the cold chain infrastructure and health worker proficiency on the overall funds of the immunization program. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the financial intricacies of immunization programs, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to optimize program efficiency and resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Small-scale fishers of Indian Sundarbans depend on open-water fisheries for their livelihoods. They often face health, occupational, and safety issues in their profession due to environmental, socio-economic, and policy changes. The morbidity pattern and related risk factors are important indicators of well-being for any community, hence applicable to small-scale fishers of Sundarbans. The present study was designed to assess patterns of morbidities, associated risk factors including occupational health hazards, and treatment-seeking behavior of small-scale fishers in the Indian Sundarbans. Material and Methods: Household surveys, focused group discussions, and personal interviews were conducted through a predesigned pretested structured questionnaire. Associated risk factors and the nature of seeking treatment were considered during the data collection covering 650 individuals from 132 fishers' families. Results: Morbidities were more frequent in males (39.33%) than in females (28.5%). The fever (31%) was the most dominant reason for morbidities followed by ocular ailments (23%), musculoskeletal disorder (20%), dermatological ailments (17%), and respiratory illness (9%). The highest morbidities (25%) were recorded in the age group of 21-30 years in males while that was 20% in the 11-20 years age group in the case of the females. Physical labor for fishing activities predisposes to health ailments of the studied population. Conclusions: The prevalence of morbidity among the fishermen community was found to be 28.5%. The understanding of the morbidity profile of a population in general and specific age groups of both sexes in specific sheds light on the vulnerability of working groups that will help for effective healthcare planning and resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately detecting human trafficking is particularly challenging due to its covert nature, difficulty in distinguishing trafficking from non-trafficking exploitative conditions, and varying operational definitions. Typically, detecting human trafficking requires resource-intensive efforts from resource-constrained anti-trafficking stakeholders. Such measures may need personnel training or machine learning-based identification technologies that suffer from detection errors. Repeated usage of such measures risks biasing detection efforts and reducing detection effectiveness. Such problems raise the question: "How should imperfect detection resources be allocated to most effectively identify human trafficking?" As an answer, we construct a class of resource allocation models that considers various optimal allocation scenarios. These scenarios range from optimal location selection for monitoring to optimal allocation of a finite set of imperfect resources, given error rates. We illustrate the applicability of these models across both human and technology-facilitated detection contexts at the India–Nepal border and in the global seafood industry. Insights from our models help inform operational strategies for allocating limited anti-human trafficking resources in a way that effectively preserves human rights and dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates voter responsiveness to the world's largest rural roads program, a highly visible development program that improved connectivity for one-third of humanity that previously lacked road access. Investigating 180,000 roads provided across half a million Indian villages aggregated across multiple elections over the last 20 years, the article finds that road provision fails to boost electoral support for the ruling party. Exploiting population-based implementation rules that partly determine road allocation, instrumental variable regressions show that voters remain unresponsive to exogenous road provision. Exploiting subnational variation in implementation and political alignment, analysis shows that factors that breakdown the accountability chain, such as quality, salience, myopia, corruption, or attribution concerns, do not explain these results. The findings suggest that weak accountability presents a more enduring challenge to democracy than assumed in theoretical models and policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Research, knowledge, and technological advances have promoted minimally invasive image-guided diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. Such interventions are increasingly performed for musculoskeletal diseases by radiologists within outpatient settings. The objective of this study was to ascertain levels of safe practice among musculoskeletal radiologists in the United Kingdom and the Indian public health-care system, as defined by access to spinal surgeons and anesthetists during radiological spinal procedures. Material and Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of eight questions (multiple choice and free text) was circulated among musculoskeletal radiologists in the UK and India, to evaluate: (i) Image-guided practice among musculoskeletal radiologists. (ii) Types of interventions undertaken. (iii) Practice setting. (iv) Availability of supportive, backup access to spinal surgery services. Results: A total of 53 replies were received of which 43 (81.1%) were from musculoskeletal radiologists who perform spinal interventional procedures. Spinal biopsies and injections were the most common procedures performed by the 43 eligible radiologists (79.1% and 74.4%, respectively), with vertebroplasty and sacroplasty performed by only 16.3% and 11.6%, respectively. Less than half (46.5%) of musculoskeletal radiologists performing interventional procedures did so within a hospital setting with both a spinal surgeon and an anesthetist on site, 20.9% had an anesthetist on site but no spinal surgeon and 16.3% had neither on-site. Conclusion: Minimally invasive image-guided diagnostic and therapeutic intervention is a niche sub-specialty practiced by a few musculoskeletal radiologists. Enhanced resource allocation, skills training, and multidisciplinary service provision will ultimately minimize existing deficiencies, improving patient-related clinical outcomes, and quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health state valuation attempts to evaluate health states based on the perception of individuals. The values are used to derive disability weights (DWs) —an important metric for estimation of disability-adjusted life years and thereby calculation of the burden of diseases. Several studies have calculated DWs using different methods of valuation, however, very few have attempted to explore the underlying cause for assigning values to different health states. This study aims to document the perceptions, preferences, and social context in assigning DWs to given health states. Methods: A total of 42 community members and 21 service providers (from public and private sectors) across urban and rural Odisha and Telangana were interviewed between July to September 2018. A face-to-face in-depth interview and a rank ordering technique through card sort exercise was employed to explore reasons and perceptions of individuals in the context of health states using the thematic framework approach. Findings: Six themes emerged through analysis: awareness of the health state, nature of the disease, disease consequences, treatment-related issues, social implications, and case burden. Each theme captured an individual's reason for valuing one health state as different from the other, with differences and/or similarities between community members and service providers. Conclusion: Our study provides a comprehensive comparison between contrasting groups of individuals, thereby suggesting mere acceptance of 'experts' reasoning may not always suffice. Further research studies in the future need to be conducted for a better insight into the health perspective of a culturally diverse community. It can also help estimate the burden of disease for decision making and resource allocation in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital, defined as the nature of the social relationship and the resources embedded within the social network of an individual or community, influences how individuals within a group interact and collaborate within their communities or organizations. While it is acknowledged that social capital can be drawn from as a coping strategy to mitigate financial stress, there is a notable absence of the lived experience in the literature on how social capital influences households to tap resources from their social network. We have investigated the role of social capital in healthcare financing in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, highlighting the challenges faced by households in managing healthcare expenses. We took a qualitative research approach, conducting in-depth interviews with 24 households in the Hardoi District of Uttar Pradesh in August 2017 to explore participants' lived experience of accruing support from their community during their healthcare crisis. Data analysis followed a thematic content analysis approach. The study finds that households leverage social capital for both financial and non-financial support during health crises. Social networks, trust, and community cohesion play critical roles in resource acquisition. However, overreliance on social capital can be coercive, leading to inequity, privacy invasion, and dependency. Though social capital serves as a crucial resource of support in healthcare emergencies, its unequal distribution and potential for misuse highlight the need for more structured health financing policies in India. The findings underscore the importance of integrating community-driven resources into broader health financing strategies, considering local social structures and community dynamics. • Rural Indian families from Uttar Pradesh use social capital to fund health cost. • Social capital impacts equal access to community resources during a health crisis. • Community's contribution included financial, logistical, and emotional support. • Reciprocal trust catalyzes a cycle of social cohesion and continuous mutual support. • Excessive reliance on social capital may coerce or invade privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical connection between decentralization and the representation-cum-efficiency advantage in combating poverty has been questioned by empirical evidence. How decentralization shall be integrated with the intervention from higher-level governments in anti-poverty efforts remains unclear. Drawing on the comparison of India (West Bengal), Mexico, and China, this analysis examines the institutional designs of the poverty alleviation programs across the cases, including the selection of recipients, allocation of fiscal resources, and monitoring, and the political dynamics that generate the designs. Despite differences in the level of poverty and political backgrounds preceding the programs, the key contributors to their success in reducing poverty lie in some common factors, including the strong commitment of the ruling authority to poverty reduction, decentralization in beneficiary identification, and centralized arrangements that reduce elite capture and the power of local brokers. These findings advance our understanding of the endogenous political nature of anti-poverty efforts and the importance of integrating devolution with centralized arrangements in the war against poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting vector abundance and seasonality, key components of mosquito-borne disease (MBD) hazard, is essential to determine hotspots of MBD risk and target interventions effectively. Japanese encephalitis (JE), an important MBD, is a leading cause of viral encephalopathy in Asia with 100,000 cases estimated annually, but data on the principal vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus is lacking. We developed a Bayesian joint-likelihood model that combined information from available vector occurrence and abundance data to predict seasonal vector abundance for C. tritaeniorhynchus (a constituent of JE hazard) across India, as well as examining the environmental drivers of these patterns. Using data collated from 57 locations from 24 studies, we find distinct seasonal and spatial patterns of JE vector abundance influenced by climatic and land use factors. Lagged precipitation, temperature and land use intensity metrics for rice crop cultivation were the main drivers of vector abundance, independent of seasonal, or spatial variation. The inclusion of environmental factors and a seasonal term improved model prediction accuracy (mean absolute error [MAE] for random cross validation = 0.42) compared to a baseline model representative of static hazard predictions (MAE = 0.51), signalling the importance of seasonal environmental conditions in predicting JE vector abundance. Vector abundance varied widely across India with high abundance predicted in northern, north-eastern, eastern, and southern regions, although this ranged from seasonal (e.g., Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal) to perennial (e.g., Assam, Tamil Nadu). One-month lagged predicted vector abundance was a significant predictor of JE outbreaks (odds ratio 2.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.52–4.08), highlighting the possible development of vector abundance as a proxy for JE hazard. We demonstrate a novel approach that leverages information from sparse vector surveillance data to predict seasonal vector abundance–a key component of JE hazard–over large spatial scales, providing decision-makers with better guidance for targeting vector surveillance and control efforts. Author summary: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is the leading cause of viral encephalopathy in Asia with an estimated 100,000 annual cases and 25,000 deaths. However, insufficient data on the predominant mosquito vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus–a key component of JE hazard–precludes hazard estimation required to target public health interventions. Previous studies have provided limited estimates of JE hazard, often predicting geographic distributions of potential vector occurrence without accounting for vector abundance, seasonality, or uncertainty in predictions. This study details a novel approach to predict spatiotemporal patterns in JE vector abundance using a joint-likelihood modelling technique that leverages information from sparse vector surveillance data. We showed that patterns in JE vector abundance were driven by seasonality and environmental factors and so demonstrated the limitations of previously available static vector distribution maps in estimating the vector population component of JE hazard. One-month lagged vector abundance predictions showed a positive relationship with JE outbreaks, signalling the potential use of vector abundance as a proxy for JE hazard. While vector surveillance data are limited, joint-likelihood models offer a useful approach to inform vector abundance predictions. This study provides decision-makers with a more complete picture of the distribution of JE vector abundance and can be used to target vector surveillance and control efforts and enhance the allocation of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relationship between dowries – wealth transfers from the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage – and individual-level poverty in rural India. Based on the estimates of a collective household model, we show that the share of household consumption expenditure allocated to a woman is strongly associated with the dowry she paid at the time of her marriage. We compute poverty rates separately for women and men and find that women's poverty relative to men decreases with dowry. Moreover, women who paid dowries are less likely to be poor relative to women who did not, even when their households' consumption expenditures are the same. Our counterfactual policy analysis indicates that abolishing or reducing dowries (through anti-dowry laws or taxes, for example) may have the unintended effect of aggravating intra-household inequality and increasing women's risk of living in poverty after marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agricultural experimentation, a large number of genotypes are normally evaluated over a wide range of environments for delineating stable genotypes. In this study, fifteen dwarf field pea genotypes were evaluated at six diverse locations under three Agro-climatic zones viz., Central zone, North West peninsular zone and North east peninsular zone for the purpose of identifying stable genotypes through deploying the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model. The uniqueness of AMMI biplot is to provide comprehensive solution regarding multi-environment evaluation of genotype. In addition to identification of stable genotypes, this approach facilitates effective selection of test environment and allows optimum resource allocation in future testing programme. In the present study from the AMMI biplot and the ASV AMMI stability value (ASV), it was detected that genotypes 6 (Pant-P-345), 12 (KPF-14-50) and 4 (KPMR-940) were the stable genotypes amid the tested genotypes. These identified genotypes with wide adaptation would be valuable treasure troves for the breeder for utilizing as a parent in field pea breeding programme of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infected individuals must be aware of disease symptoms to seek care, so outreach and education programs are critical to disease control. However, public health organizations often only have limited resources for outreach and must carefully design campaigns to maximize effectiveness, potentially leveraging word-of-mouth information spread. We show how classic epidemiological models can be reformulated such that identifying an efficient disease control resource allocation policy in the context of information spread becomes a submodular maximization problem. This means that our framework can simultaneously handle multiple, interacting dynamic processes coupled through the likelihood of disease clearance, allowing our framework to provide insight into optimal resource allocation while considering social dynamics in addition to disease dynamics (e.g., knowledge spread and disease spread). We then demonstrate that this problem can be algorithmically solved and can handle stochasticity in input parameters by examining a numerical example of tuberculosis control in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study advances methods of measuring access to water by providing a framework that can be operationalized by practitioners to inform decision and policy making. A modified WPI was developed and deployed in India, with results indicating significant differences between WPI and many indicator scores both between and within administrative territories. Spatial analyses identified significant clustering of WPI and indicator scores, indicating that scores are not randomly distributed. Three weight schemes were applied, two of which were informed by local stakeholders. The weight schemes highlighted the subjectivity of weighting and importance of including local populations in water development and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scientometric study examines the publication outputs from six institutes of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India as cited in the Scopus database over the past 24 years, 1996-2019. Research in biotechnology and other allied areas were analysed in terms of their chronological growth, activity index, collaborations, preferred journals for publication, country collaborators, popular keywords and scholarly impact. Scientists from the six institutes published 6, 076 journal articles representing 73.65 per cent of nationally collaborated articles and 25.03 per cent of internationally collaborated articles. Of the DBT institutes, the National Institute of Immunology (NII) published the highest number of articles and the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) shared most patents. Publication frequency was the highest for Plos One journal and the countries with which scientists collaborated included the United States, Germany, United Kingdom and France in that order. The publishing outputs of DBT institutes suggest a need for greater international collaborative research in order to gain scientific competency and increase the quality of research outputs. Also this study may be helpful to government officials and policy makers in determining allocation of resources to boost the scholarly outputs of DBT institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

innovation barriers prevailing in the higher education institutions in India and presents an innovation possibility matrix based on two dimensions of resources (lightweight versus resource-intensive) and openness (open versus closed). At the policy level, this approach helps as a lens for informed resource allocation that is balanced across different institutions and kinds of innovations. At the institution level, it helps us understand what kind of innovation direction can institutions take in different projects, the gaps to be filled and capabilities to be built. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is among major threats to the world's forests, leading to tremendous biodiversity losses. Forest fire in India has greatly increased in the last few decades; the state of Arunachal Pradesh, a recognized Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, is extremely prone to this disaster. The objective of this study was to develop GIS integrated mapping of direct and indirect factors, leading to a predictive model to identify settlements/villages for the strategic allocation of resources towards damage mitigation and control. Initial hotspots were generated by integrating factors of socio-economy, geography and climate, using differential weightage. The intersection of these with fire data, led to identification of final hotspots within the predictive model. The model was improved by linking it to a mobile App and the WebGIS portal. Of the 5258 settlements/villages, a total of 560 were found to be at high fire risk. Percentage correlation increased from 63 to 74, after data revision through the App. A focused intervention on predicted villages was undertaken, resulting in a decrease of 31% of fire incidence in comparison of last five years (2015–20) data. Such advanced information about fire disaster with optimal use of limited resources was greatly helpful, and helped protect the rich Himalayan biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: India is one of the five worst hit countries in the world due to COVID-19, by the fourth week of June 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on the health practices is well-documented but there are no studies assessing its impact on anesthesiologists in India. This study aims at assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the practices followed, the preparedness, and mindset of anesthesiologists in India. Material and Methods: Using Google forms, a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted between the 5th and 22nd of May, 2020, among trainees and practicing anesthesiologists, in India. The anesthesiologists were invited to participate, using their e-mail addresses and through the social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. The responses that were generated, were analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results: Of the 707 anesthesiologists who participated, 68.3% had already worked in a COVID-19 specialty unit. Only 41.7% of the anesthesiologists felt confident that they had sufficient knowledge to deal with COVID-19 infected patients. Fear of catching the infection and infecting loved ones were important causes of anxiety, which was seen in 95% of the participants. Majority of the participants, (64.5%) did not think that elective surgical procedures could be restarted at this point. Conclusion: COVID-19 has had grave impact on anesthesiologists, on the professional and personal front, and will possibly cause near-permanent changes in the work culture. Restarting elective surgical procedures, will require meticulous planning. In spite of their self-perceived under-preparedness to combat COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of participating anesthesiologists were prepared to contribute to the management of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data analysis plays an important role in the health sector of any government in predicting the health conditions of their people and take measures to improve the health of their people. In this article, we present the problems faced by the department of health and family welfare in collecting and analyzing data from various directorates of the government of Tamilnadu in India. We then propose a framework that can collect data from various directorates of the government and analyze the data collected to predict the resources needed by the hospital to better serve their patients. Logistic regression and decision trees were used to analyze the data collected from various directorates. Further, the data are researched to identify potholes in the healthcare system to improve the existing system. In addition, we used five key performance indicator measures to evaluate the outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area specific technology has put limits on the applicability of diffusion model in a resource diverse country like India and it accentuated the relevance of Schultz's high-Pay off input model which emphasizes on rational resource allocation as the key for input use efficiency. In this backdrop, the study seeks to analyze the efficiency of input use across different stages of crop production. This study analyzed the input efficiency across different stages of crop cultivation for different crops in two diverse agro climatic regions like assured irrigated wet region representing modern agriculture and drought prone rainfed zone representing the traditional agriculture. The linear regression and Controlled Cobb-Douglas model results indicate that while vegetation stage inputs contribute more on output in wet area, maturation stage inputs are more efficient in dry area. The findings vividly manifest that there remains a multitude of input efficiency differentials across crops, across stages of production and across regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resource allocation decisions for disease categories can be informed by proper estimates of the magnitude and distribution of total spending. In the backdrop of a high burden of Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries (NCDI) in India, and a paucity of estimates on government spending on NCDI, this paper attempts to analyse public sector expenditure on NCDI spending in India. Methods: Various recent budget documents of the Centre and States/Union Territories have been used to extract expenditure on NCDI. The aggregates thus arrived at have been analysed to estimate aggregate and state level per capita spending. State level spending have been compared against disease burden using DALYs. Patterns of spending on NCDI across states were also analysed together with state level poverty to observe possible patterns. Findings: The total spending on NCDI by the government is low at less than 0.5% of GDP. NCDI spending is little more than one-fourth of total health spending of the country and most spending takes place at the state level (80%). The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s share in Central spending on NCDI is around 65%, and currently it spends 20% of its total health spending on NCDI. The gap between spending and DALYs is the most for the economically vulnerable states. Also, the states with high poverty levels also have low per capita expenditure on NCDI Interpretation: India does not depend on donor funding for health. It will have to step up domestic funding to address the increasing disease burden of NCDIs and to reduce the high out-of-pocket expenditure on NCDI. Policies on NCDI need to focus on UHC, service integration and personnel gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of the household as a resource allocation mechanism, considerable interest exists in its efficiency. Most of the non-experimental evidence for inefficiency comes from West African farm households in which husbands and wives pursue separate productive activities. Using experiments, we test for efficiency of spouses' resource allocation decisions in a range of household types. In North India, we select households that are unified, in northern Nigeria households characterised by separate spheres of economic decision-making. Our other sites occupy carefully selected intermediate positions on the spectrum from unitary to separate-spheres household types. We find that, the more separate the decision-making in real life, the less efficient the resource allocation in the experiments. Moreover, female control of resource allocation tends to lower efficiency, in contrast to male control. The exception is a site in northern Nigeria where female control of resource allocation is well established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Subtle self-construal priming has diverse effects sharing in different societies. • Selfishness increases following independence-priming in both India and the UK. • Only Indian children show greater generosity following interdependence-priming. • Differences in self-construals affects how easily children are moved to generosity. • The findings inform effects of sociocultural transformations around the world. Most humans share to some degree. Yet, from middle childhood, sharing behavior varies substantially across societies. Here, for the first time, we explored the effect of self-construal manipulation on sharing decisions in 7- and 8-year-old children from two distinct societies: urban India and urban United Kingdom. Children participated in one of three conditions that focused attention on independence, interdependence, or a control. Sharing was then assessed across three resource allocation games. A focus on independence resulted in reduced generosity in both societies. However, an intriguing societal difference emerged following a focus on interdependence, where only Indian children from traditional extended families displayed greater generosity in one of the resource allocation games. Thus, a focus on independence can move children from diverse societies toward selfishness with relative ease, but a focus on interdependence is very limited in its effectiveness to promote generosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The state-of-practice in planning, designing, and conducting freight surveys leave much to be desired, even in the era of big data analytics. This paper addresses this issue by providing a comprehensive, yet, inexpensive integrated data collection framework for conducting establishment-based freight survey (EBFS). The paper demonstrates the application of the proposed framework by implementing it in eight cities across two geographically dissimilar states of India. This is the first freight survey of its kind in terms of scale and scope in developing countries, where there is no established practice in freight data collection. Guidelines are suggested for overcoming challenges in EBFS such as: (a) efficient allocation of survey resources within budgetary constraints; (b) effective survey instrument design for reducing the respondent burden; (c) determination of sample size requirements and the expected number of sampling units to be contacted (d) development of sampling strategies using sampling frames with limited auxiliary information; and (e) data collection strategies to improve response rates. The heuristics for allocation of survey resources are mathematically formulated and predicted using the web-based survey responses obtained from planners of past surveys. Trade-off scenarios between different components of survey resources (money, time, and manpower) are presented to enable the planners to arrive at a suitable EBFS design for meeting research requirements within resource constraints. Analysis of results suggest that the response rates for EBFS are largely linked to the physical characteristics of commodities and city demography. The discussions provided on resource allocation, survey instrument design, sampling design, pilot surveys, interviewer training, response rate improvement strategies, and data processing are expected to guide for best practices in future surveys. In sum, the literature synthesis, case-study illustrations, and the proposed framework for EBFS design are expected to strengthen the state-of-practice of EBFS by making the rigorous random sample surveys less expensive, more systematic, and in turn, replacing the need to opt for convenience samples. Highlights • A structured synthesis of establishment freight surveys (EBFS) is presented and insights are drawn. • An integrated comprehensive framework is proposed for planning, designing, and conducting EBFS. • Guidelines and tools provided for resource allocation, survey instrument design, sampling and data collection strategies. • Survey design framework is implemented, and findings are reported for two dissimilar states in India. • Survey response rates found to be influenced by physical characteristics of commodities and city demography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We analyze the distributive politics of India's rural employment guarantee program. • We use constituency level data on state elections and program implementation 2009–16. • We find no difference in job allocation between core and marginal constituencies. • We find higher material expenditure in core constituencies of the ruling party. • Opaque electoral funding and power of special interest groups explain the results. Abstract This article analyzes the distributive politics of India's (and the world's) largest workfare program, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. We use a unique dataset that includes census and MGNREGA implementation data at the single-constituency level for the state of Andhra Pradesh (2009–17) across an entire election cycle (2009–14). Using regression analysis, we find that the ruling party does not use the program to buy votes neither in swing, nor in core areas of support, as we find the distribution of jobs to be 'post-clientelistic'. We explain this result – surprising in a 'patronage democracy' – with the lobbying power of big farmers, an important special interest group in India's political economy. Our analysis also shows that the ruling party's distributive strategy consists of compressing job generation in core constituencies, in order to expand expenditure on materials needed for the execution of the projects. In this way, the ruling party can channel resources to contractors, who fund the electoral campaign of the party in return as our qualitative evidence suggests. The article reinforces arguments that predict that political parties will target core areas of support and develops a bi-dimensional model of clientelism that highlights the role of contractors and opaque electoral rules in determining distributive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among the global estimation of 10.4 million new cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in 2015, 27% of cases are contributed by India. Revised national TB control program (RNTCP) started in 1993, and now heading towards for universal access. Despite its achievements, the program faces number of implementation challenges. This qualitative study explored 'what is healthcare providers take on it?'. Material & Methods: A total of 28 in-depth interviews were conducted in Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Maharashtra from October 2014 to January 2015, under the thematic areas of finance, human resource, and communications. Participants included senior level policy makers like principal secretaries of health, National Health Mission Directors, Director Health Services, state TB officers and district TB officers, medical officers, community volunteers and TB consultants from international agencies. Analytic induction method was used for data analysis. Results: Participants identified many barriers in the overall management and implementation of RNTCP. Convergence of RNTCP needs to be more effective. Inadequate Human resources, issues in public private partnership, insufficient budget allocation and interrupted fund flow, inefficient Information Education and Communication strategy are a few. Conclusion: This study could gather the perspectives of senior health officials, implementers and other stakeholders on challenges in implementation of TB control programme in four states. Challenges perceived by them are vital in strategic revisions of RNTCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with the morphological diversity of seedling establishment in different populations of Scaligeria stewartiana (Nasir) Nasir, inhabiting in North-West Himalayas. The seedling at different stages in the population of the species revealed marked variability. Seed treatments for germination resulted in understanding of seed dormancy and time required for the seedling establishment. The species develops variability in the genetic level that is transmitted and reflected in the form of morphology in order to adapt itself in the extremes of biotic and abiotic variables. Photographs of the seedling and data compiled in tables catch the specific stages of their seedling development after germination as well variability of the chromosomes. The initiation of tuber formation under the ground level in the soil and allocation of resources perform indispensable role in the life span as well as in paving the way for survival, conservation and distribution of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the concentration of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India at the district level, based on project-specific location choices since the reform program in the early 1990s. The decomposition property of the Theil index allows us to trace changes over time in the overall concentration of FDI to changes in concentration between and within subgroups of districts. We also differentiate between major types and sources of FDI. We find that FDI concentrated in a persistently decreasing number of districts. Concentration across those districts that received at least one FDI project within a given time interval also increased, but this increase leveled off in the more recent past. These trends hold for essentially all types and sources of FDI, while the average level of concentration varies considerably between these types and sources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drought monitoring and understanding of spatiotemporal patterns of drought characteristics are beneficial for sustainable agricultural water management at a regional scale. Changes in rainfall and drought patterns in future could impact decision-making in water resources allocation. The impacts of potential climate change on future meteorological droughts could be better analysed by utilizing an index that incorporates the number of rainy days information in addition to magnitude of rainfall to characterize the drought severity. In this study, we propose a bivariate copula-based multi-scalar rainfall pattern drought index (RPDI), a variant of the popular standardized precipitation index (SPI), and then the drought characteristics in India based on RPDI and SPI at different time scales (3-, 6- and 12-months) are analysed. When compared to RPDI, SPI underestimated drought severity and indicated low spatial heterogeneity of drought characteristics. The RPDI analysis identified changes in average drought severity and total number of drought events between two sample time slices (1920–1960 and 1961–2000) in the historical period. Future RPDI drought characteristics based on the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6 (CMIP6) multi-model ensemble under two emission scenarios known as shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs): SSP126 and SSP245 are then computed. When drought characteristics in the near future (2020–2049) and far future (2070–2099) periods are compared with their baseline period (1985–2014) values, the results show that a significant declining trend is likely in the total number of drought events over the study region, while increases are projected in the maximum drought duration and maximum drought severity in future. Long-term drought characteristics extracted using 12-months scale RPDI, are likely to intensify in future under both scenarios. Considering the effects of erratic rainfall pattern on agricultural productivity, the RPDI drought monitoring framework could be utilized for efficient agricultural water management in future. • The new index RPDI combines rainfall and rainy days information using copula. • RPDI severity differs from SPI as the number of rainy days is incorporated. • Climate change is found to affect RPDI drought characteristics in India. • In future, increase in long-term drought severity is projected over India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical education in India is suffering from various shortcomings at conceptual as well as implementation level. With the expansion in medical education, the doctor to patient ratio has increased but these numbers do not align well with the overall quality of medical care in the country. To address this issue, a comprehensive analysis of various associated factors is essential. Indian medical education is suffering from a maldistribution of resources, unregulated growth in the private sector, lack of uniform admission procedures and traditional curricula lacking innovative approaches. To achieve higher standards of medical education, our goal should be to re-evaluate each and every aspect; create an efficient accreditation system; promote an equal distribution of resources, redesign curricula with stricter implementation and improved assessment methodologies; all of which will generate efficient medical graduates and consequently better health care delivery, and resulting in desired change within the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was under taken to analyse the productivity of resources in milk production in the state of Tamil Nadu. From the four sample districts (Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagappattinam and Thoothukudi), 120 dairy farmers from 12 villages (10 farmers from each village) were selected by simple random sampling technique. In all, a total sample size of 480 dairy farmers was selected for the study. Information relating to various aspects of dairy farming was collected from the selected farmers by survey method with a well-designed and pre-tested interview schedule. The data collected were tabulated and analysed with a view to achieve the objectives of the study. The results of the Cobb- Douglas milk production functions showed that the co-efficients of all the resources viz.,concentrate, green fodder, dry fodder and veterinary charges except labour were positive for all the function, while the labour variable had a negative sign for all the functions.The efficiency of allocation of the resources involved in milk production was studied by comparing the MVP (Marginal value product) with the MFC (Marginal Factor Cost) of each factor of production. The MVP-MFC ratio was more than unity for concentrate (1.59), dry fodder (1.96) and veterinary care (37.24), indicating that these resources were under utilized, and there was scope for enhancing the use of these resources in the study area. The results also showed that the ratio was less than unity for green fodder (0.93). The resource wise results indicated that the resource concentrate was more than unity and this resource was under utilized in all the four districts. The variable veterinary care showed a higher MVP-MFC ratio for all the four district which means that this resource was under utilized in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Inequities in a population in spending on food and non-food items can contribute to disparities in health status. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was launched in rural India in 2006, aimed at providing at least 100 days of manual work to a member in needy households. Methods We used nationally representative data from the consumer expenditure surveys of 2004-05 and 2009-10 and the employment survey of 2009-10 conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation to assess the effect of MGNREGS in reducing inequities in consumption of food and non-food items between poor and non-poor households in the states of India. Variations among the states in implementation of MGNREGS were examined using the employment and unemployment survey data, and compared with official programme data up to 2012-13. Inequity in spending on food and non-food items was assessed using the ratio of monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) between the most vulnerable (labourer) and least vulnerable categories of households. Results The survey data suggested 1.42 billion person-days of MGNRGES employment in the 2009-10 financial year, whereas the official programme data reported 2.84 billion person-days. According to the official data, the person-days of MGNRGES employment decreased by 43.3% from 2009-10 to 2012-13 for the 9 large less developed states of India. Survey data revealed that the average number of MGNREGS work days in a year per household varied from 42 days in Rajasthan to less than 10 days in 14 of the 20 major states in India in 2009-10. Rajasthan with the highest implementation of MGNRGES among the 9 less developed states of India had the highest relative decline of 10.4% in the food spending inequity from 2004-05 to 2009-10 between the most vulnerable and less vulnerable households. The changes in inequity for non-food spending did not have any particular pattern across the less developed states. In the most vulnerable category, the households in Rajasthan that got 100 or more days of work in a year under MGNREGS had a 25.9% increase in MPCE. Conclusion MGNREGS seems to have contributed to the reduction in food consumption inequity in rural Rajasthan in 2009-10, and has the potential of making a similar contribution with higher level of implementation of this programme in other states. Non-food consumption inequities benefited less from MGNRGES until 2009-10. The reported decrease in the MGNRGES employment person-days in the less developed states of India from 2009-10 to 2012-13 is of concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Least-cost modeling for focal species is the most widely used method for designing conservation corridors and linkages. However, these designs depend on today's land covers, which will be altered by climate change. We recently proposed an alternative approach based on land facets (recurring landscape units of relatively uniform topography and soils). The rationale is that corridors with high continuity of individual land facets will facilitate movement of species associated with each facet today and in the future. Conservation practitioners might like to know whether a linkage design based on land facets is likely to provide continuity of modeled breeding habitat for species needing connectivity today, and whether a linkage for focal species provides continuity and interspersion of land facets. To address these questions, we compared linkages designed for focal species and land facets in three landscapes in Arizona, USA. We used two variables to measure linkage utility, namely distances between patches of modeled breeding habitat for 5-16 focal species in each linkage, and resistance profiles for focal species and land facets between patches connected by the linkage. Compared to focal species designs, linkage designs based on land facets provided as much or more modeled habitat connectivity for 25 of 28 species-landscape combinations, failing only for the three species with the most narrowly distributed habitat. Compared to land facets designs, focal species linkages provided lower connectivity for about half the land facets in two landscapes. In areas where a focal species approach to linkage design is not possible, our results suggest that conservation practitioners may be able to implement a land facets approach with some confidence that the linkage design would serve most potential focal species. In areas where focal species designs are possible, we recommend using the land facet approach to complement, rather than replace, focal species approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inherent unpredictability and high seasonality of wind and solar resources need to be factored into generation planning to develop a “climate-aware” generation plan that gets the balance right among different generation and import options. Both current and projected generation capacity mix in some parts of India do not reflect a good balance, with significant cost and reliability implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tremendous global efforts have been made to collect data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Yet, significant challenges remain for generating and analysing evidence to allocate resources efficiently and implement an effective AIDS response. India offers important lessons and a model for intelligent and integrated use of data on HIV/AIDS for an evidence-based response. Over the past 15 years, the number of data sources has expanded and the geographical unit of data generation, analysis and use for planning has shifted from the national to the state, district and now subdistrict level. The authors describe and critically analyse the evolution of data sets in India and how they have been utilised to better understand the epidemic, advance policy, and plan and implement an increasingly effective, well-targeted and decentralised national response to HIV and AIDS. The authors argue that India is an example of how 'know your epidemic, know your response' message can effectively be implemented at scale and presents important lessons to help other countries design their evidence generation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding evidence of gender discrimination among children in the intrahousehold allocation of goods has often proven to be difficult. This article uses data on education expenditures in India to test whether data aggregation, data reliability and the statistical method used help explain this pattern. Results suggest that discrimination against girls is increasing in age and robust to the statistical method and the expenditure measure at the all-India level, although state-level results are more sensitive. I find that data aggregation and statistical method are important factors in detecting gender bias, while data reliability does not seem to play a major role. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In this study, a fuzzy mixed integer goal programming model (FMIGP) has been developed for rural cooking and heating energy planning in the Chikhli taluka of Buldhana district, Maharashtra, Central India. The model considers various scenarios such as economical, environmental, social acceptance and local resources to trade off between socio-economical and environmental issues related to cooking and heating energy in two villages namely Malshemba and Muradpur. Due to uncertainty involved in real world energy planning problems, exact input data is impossible to acquire. Hence FMIGP model is used to consider four fuzzy objectives. The solutions provide energy resource allocations at micro level with minimized cost, minimized emission, maximized social acceptance and maximized use of local resources. The proposed approach can handle fuzzy environmental realistic situation and can provide better solution to decision maker for rural energy planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated current trends in communication intervention and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in southern India through a mixed-methods design. Study participants (N = 18) were special educators, speech-language pathologists, and behavior therapists. Responses from the questionnaire were quantitatively analyzed. Open-ended interview questions were recorded and qualitatively analyzed for emergent themes. The results are presented as descriptive statistics and insights. Some prevalent perspectives conveyed by the participants include that (a) communication intervention should be a structured, child-centric process, using a collaborative team model; (b) parents play an integral role in decision making and intervention; (c) because of the diversity that exists in India, cultural and linguistic issues are imperative in decision making and intervention; (d) use of better materials and technology can improve intervention; (e) better training programs are needed; and (f) more conference, workshops, seminars are required as a common platform for professionals to learn and interact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As demand and competition for water resources increase, the river basin has become the primary unit for water management and planning. While appealing in principle, practical implementation of river basin management and allocation has often been problematic. This paper examines the case of the Krishna basin in South India. It highlights that conflicts over basin water are embedded in a broad reality of planning and development where multiple scales of decisionmaking and non-water issues are at play. While this defines the river basin as a disputed 'space of dependence', the river basin has yet to acquire a social reality. It is not yet a 'space of engagement' in and for which multiple actors take actions. This explains the endurance of an interstate dispute over the sharing of the Krishna waters and sets limits to what can be achieved through further basin water allocation and adjudication mechanisms - tribunals - that are too narrowly defined. There is a need to extend the domain of negotiation from that of a single river basin to multiple scales and to non-water sectors. Institutional arrangements for basin management need to internalise the political spaces of the Indian polity: the states and the panchayats. This re-scaling process is more likely to shape the river basin as a space of engagement in which partial agreements can be iteratively renegotiated, and constitute a promising alternative to the current interstate stalemate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper an integrated modelling framework for water resources planning and management that can be used to carry out an analysis of alternative policy scenarios for water allocation and use is described. The modelling approach is based on integrating a network allocation model (REALM) and a social Cost Benefit economic model, to evaluate the physical and economic outcomes from alternative water allocation policies in a river basin or sub-basin. From a hydrological perspective, surface and groundwater models were first applied to assess surface and groundwater resource availability. Then an allocation model was applied to reconcile the calculated surface and groundwater resources. From an economic perspective initially the value of water allocated to different uses in each demand centre within the system was estimated. These values were then placed in a social Cost Benefit Analysis to assess the economic consequences of different allocation scenarios over time and space. This approach is useful as it allows policymakers to consider not only the physical dimensions of distributing water, but also the economic consequences associated with it. This model is considered superior to other models as water is increasingly being seen as an economic good that should be allocated according to its value. The framework outlined in this paper was applied to the Musi sub-basin located in the Krishna Basin, India. In applying this framework it was concluded that competition for Musi water is very high, the transfer of water from agriculture to urban users is likely to grow in future and the value of water used in different agricultural zones is very low. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A weekly irrigation planning LP model is formulated for determining the optimal cropping pattern and reservoir water allocation for an existing storage based irrigation system in India. Objective of the model is maximization of net annual benefit from the project. In an irrigation planning of a storage based irrigation system, initial storage of the reservoir at the beginning of the reservoir operation, expected inflows into the reservoir during each intraseasonal period, capacity of channels, crop calendar and yield response to water deficit in each growth stage of crop play a vital role in deciding acreage and water allocation to each crop. The planning model takes into account yield response to water deficit in each intraseasonal period of the crop, expected weekly inflows entering into the reservoir, storage continuity of reservoir, land and water availability, equity of water allocation among sub areas and proportionate downstream river release. One year comprising of 52 weeks is considered as planning horizon. To account for uncertainty in water resources availability, the model is solved for four levels of reliability of weekly inflows entering into the reservoir (90%, 85%, 80% and 75%). Alternative optimal cropping patterns and weekly releases to crops grown in each sub area under each main canal are obtained for various states of initial storage at the beginning of reservoir operation and for various levels of weekly inflows into the reservoir. Results reveal the importance of initial state of reservoir storage for feasible solution and shows the impact on cropping pattern with the change in initial storage of reservoir for different levels of reliability of weekly inflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To assess the annual health care expenditure for a patient with diabetes and extrapolate the same to country specific prevalence estimates for 2010. Methods: This population based, cost of illness study collected retrospective data for last 12 months on direct costs (medical and non-medical) through records, indirect cost through human capital approach and intangible cost by contingent valuation method from diabetes patients. Results: Out of 4677 subjects screened, 1050 had diabetes and 718 participated in the survey. The median annual direct and indirect cost associated with diabetes care was estimated at 25,391 INR ($525.5) and 4970 INR ($102.8), respectively. Extrapolating the direct and indirect estimates to Indian population, the annual costs for diabetes would be 1541.4 billion INR ($31.9 billion) in 2010. Two-way sensitivity analysis assuming 10% variation in both prevalence of diabetes and in treatment costs resulted in an estimated cost range of 1230 billion INR ($25.5 billion) to 1837.3 billion INR ($38.0 billion). Conclusion: Keeping the future diabetes explosion in mind, this heavy economic burden highlights the urgent need for the decision makers to allocate resources for planning and implementing strategies in prevention and management of diabetes and its complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The growth and allocation patterns of biomass and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) were studied in Chromolaena odorata populations grown in different human modified ecosystems including an Albizia plantation, a rubber plantation, community land and a naturally regenerating forest. The greater shoot length of C. odorata in the regenerating forest could be attributed to the competitive and shady environment created by the mature vegetation here. High relative growth rate, net assimilation rate and reproductive potential of C. odorata populations growing on the community land and in the rubber plantation may be due to the open habitat and frequent disturbances to these sites. In general, allocation of biomass and nutrients to the leaf and reproductive components was low in the regenerating forest. On the other hand, greater allocation to the root component in the regenerating forest may be a strategy for survival and regeneration after the disturbance. Low nutrient uptake and greater resource use efficiency in the regenerating forest could be a response to limited resource availability under the competitive micro-environment created by the fast growing tree species. C. odorata has an exploitative growth strategy and will persist in regenerating open habitats whereas it showed suppressed growth in the light – limited shaded environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Due to the growing energy needs along with increasing concerns towards control of greenhouse gas emissions, most developing countries are under pressure to find alternative methods for energy conversion and policies to make these technologies economically viable. Most of the energy is produced from fossil fuel in India which is not a sustainable source of energy. In this paper Indian power sector has been examined by using MARKAL model for introduction of clean coal and advanced nuclear technologies with implementation of energy conservation potential. The result shows that application of clean technologies gives energy security but not significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. When clean technologies apply with energy conservation a huge amount of CO2 can be reduced and also economically viable. Three scenarios including base case scenario have been developed to estimate the resource allocations and CO2 mitigation. The clean technologies with maximum savings potential shows 70% CO2 reduction in the year 2045. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Husbands and wives from 422 households in the slums of Navi-Mumbai, India, were interviewed separately first and jointly thereafter in a contingent valuation framework to assess their individual and joint household willingness to pay (WTP) for malaria vaccines. Husbands’ and wives’ demand differed significantly when they were interviewed separately but not when they were interviewed jointly. The author rejects the common preference model and unified (bargaining) model of intrahousehold resource allocation. Researchers should consider the complexity of intrahousehold decision making when they conduct stated preference surveys, even in patriarchal societies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article, the author discusses the role of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) as civil society groups and presents a case study on a NGO engaged in self-help groups (SHGs) program. The author narrates her experience of working as an intern in a NGO working for SHG program in Tamilnadu, India. She comments that the use of resources and delivery methods of development of NGOs should be under greater scrutiny.

This paper studies mechanisms to compensate local government for the public provision of environmental services using the theory of optimal fiscal transfers in India. Especially, we analyzed the role of intergovernmental fiscal transfers in achieving the environmental goal. Simply assigning the functions at appropriate levels does not ensure optimal provision of environmental services. Optimality in resource allocation could be achieved by combining the assignment system with an appropriate compensation mechanism. Intergovernmental fiscal transfers would be a suitable mechanism for compensating the local governments and help in internalizing the spillover effects of providing environmental public goods. Illustrations are also provided for India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While democracy is widely expected to control corruption, by commonly used yard-sticks democratic India has done no better than China at checking corruption, and may have fared worse. Important aspects of corruption in India reflect institutional and political shortcomings of its democracy. Differentiating among types of corruption, and among the kinds of monopolies they embody, helps account for that contrast. Further, in the absence of economic development, democracy may have particular vulnerabilities to corruption, as economic development involves not just resources but also institutions protecting opportunities and assets while restraining excesses and abuses. Thus, prospects for reform in a poor democracy are not encouraging, even by comparison to liberal authoritarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human development and conservation have been an integral component behind the formulation of Man and Biosphere Programme. Over the years the confrontation between the ecosystem people and the biosphere people surrounding the development and the resource allocation have brought certain issues in the development process focussing the impact on the people. The villages on the fringe areas of Sundarban Biosphere Reserve have revealed that in many cases certain local issues have largely been ignored while putting development initiatives and the conservation efforts. The present article makes an attempt to look into these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]