Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background The implementation of JSY in India completed nearly 25 years since from its inception. Studies on beneficiary of the scheme based on various nationally provided data set indicates its persistence level over socio-economic inequality. Present study concerns such inequality and utilisation in terms of most recent NFHS-5 data set. Methods The study considers purification of data by deleting large and influential observations and use logistic regressions with robust standard error and inequality measurement technique to observe the condition of ultimate beneficiaries. Results Study observes an improvement in terms favourable distribution towards marginalised section of the society. Illiterate mothers benefitted most probably for the health manager intermediation. Media exposure and distance from health facilities are found significant contribution.

BackgroundPeri-urbanization, the expansion of large metropolitan centers into adjacent peri-urban regions, is a growing concern due to land scarcity and escalating housing costs. These zones, a blend of rural and urban features, blur the line between urban and rural areas, creating new landscapes. This study examines historical, present, and potential growth trends in the peri-urban area surrounding Durgapur Municipal Corporation (DMC). Analytical techniques and spatial metrics are used to track development intensity changes over time, including built-up density, Shannon’s entropy, Landscape expansion index, Average Weighted Mean Expansion Index, Annual Built-Up Expansion Rate, Built-Up Expansion Intensity Index, and Built-Up Expansion Difference Index. Landscape indices like Patch Density, Edge Density, Landscape Shape Index, Largest Patch Index, Ratio of Open Space, and Area Weighted Mean Patch Fractal are used to understand fragmentation, connectivity, and spatial relationships. The Logistic Regression Model (LRM) is used to identify influencing factors and CA-Markov modeling for future built-up areas.ResultsBetween 1991 and 2001, built-up area in the region increased significantly, primarily due to urban development near industrial zones, roadways, and mining areas. The growth was primarily concentrated in the western sector and near National Highway-2 (NH-2). Urban sprawl was a continuous trend, with the highest built-up density in the South-South-East (SSE) direction from 1991 to 2011. Additionally, a key determinant of built-up development was the distance to the city core. By 2031, the built-up area is expected to concentrate in the western and southeast regions, reaching 177.90 km2.ConclusionsThis expansion is attributed to urban development near industrial zones, roadways, mining areas, and other infrastructure. The study identifies distance to the city center as a significant influencing factor for built-up development. The results emphasize the need for inclusive urban planning methods prioritizing sustainable development principles and prudent resource management for future growth and efficient management in the DMC’s peri-urban area.

Groundwater, the world’s largest freshwater supply, is facing increasing strain due to various uses such as agriculture, industry, livestock, and household. This study aims to investigate groundwater prospective zonation in the Bandu Sub-watershed in Purulia, West Bengal, using the AHP model and RS & GIS methodologies. To achieve Goal 6 of the UN-initiated 17 SDGs, it is crucial to determine the spatial distribution of groundwater prospective zones village-by-village, with 1/3 of the regions falling under red alert zones for sustainable development. The 16 most crucial elements affecting groundwater prospective zones (GWPZs) were mapped using AHP, and the final prospective map was obtained through Weighted Overlay analysis. The study identified five different classes within the Sub-watershed as excellent, good, moderate, poor, and very poor. The validation results showed that the approach used to derive GWPZ is reliable, and the results can be applied to future sustainable developments to reduce water shortages through suitable management methods. The research aims to increase the effectiveness of sustainable groundwater zone management, ensuring long-term water management and access.

Over the past decade, West Bengal has witnessed an extraordinary rise in the number of Census Towns (CTs), with the state’s urban population swelling by an additional 6.6 million people. This significant increase in both CTs and urban residents has escalated the demand for essential urban services. Consequently, this article aims to examine the disparity in urbanity levels between Proximate Census Towns (PCTs) and Non-Proximate Census Towns (NPCTs). The Kolkata Metropolitan Area has been selected as a case study for this investigation. Utilizing data from the 2011 Census of India and the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, a composite urbanity index has been derived from a set of variables using the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. To determine the significant differences between the variables of PCTs and NPCTs, an independent T-test has been conducted. Furthermore, to analyze the differences in urbanity index categories between PCTs and NPCTs, one-way ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey tests have been performed. The study’s findings reveal a statistically significant disparity between PCTs and NPCTs, with PCTs predominantly falling into the moderate and high urbanity categories, whereas the majority of NPCTs are categorized as low in terms of urbanity index. This research could be instrumental for urban planners and policymakers in identifying the root causes of inequality in basic urban services between PCTs and NPCTs, thereby aiding in the formulation of tailored policies for both types of Census Towns.

Poverty is the most important metric for determining the nature and sense of wellbeing in a given area. Most economists consider poverty to be an economic criterion for assessing many aspects of human development as well as overall social development; yet, society is multi-faceted in its many forms. To address this pressing societal issue, the current study used the Multidimensional poverty index (MPI). To analyse urban poverty among slum communities, the researchers used the Global MPI of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UNDP (following Alkire and Foster) techniques. Researchers attempted to create a Multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for impoverished households in Purulia's designated slums in this study. In the second phase, the multidimensional poverty of Purulia's urban poor households was assessed based on (a) location, (b) social groupings, and (c) length of stay. Finally, researchers have attempted to identify the factors that contribute to multidimensional poverty. Two indicators, the Head Count Ratio (H) and Intensity of Poverty, have been offered to better explain the nature of MPI (A). Based on slum population density and areal density, eight urban slum areas with 320 households has been taken from 8 selected slums based on Yamane’s methodology from Purulia Municipality's wards. A structured questionnaire, an oral history interview, and a focus group discussion were used as primary data sources, with secondary data acquired from several officially published sources. The study displays a decomposed multidimensional poverty picture in terms of overall condition, socioeconomic groups, and household age, with a quantitative methodology that is transparent. When the locations have been considered, a qualitative approach has been used to determine that the slums closest to the railway track are the most multidimensionally disadvantaged of the eight slums. Furthermore, the schedule caste population has been found to be more deprived across many socioeconomic groups, with Scheduled tribe (ST) households being the most deprived in terms of health on one hand (applied quantitative methodology) and multi-nominal regression (applied qualitative methodology) indicating a mix mode approach. This form of analysis, which combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, can aid stakeholders and policymakers in developing specific poverty-reduction policies at the regional level.

Groundwater, the world's largest freshwater supply, is facing increasing strain due to various uses such as agriculture, industry, livestock, and household. This study aims to investigate groundwater prospective zonation in the Bandu Sub-watershed in Purulia, West Bengal, using the AHP model and RS & GIS methodologies. To achieve Goal 6 of the UN-initiated 17 SDGs, it is crucial to determine the spatial distribution of groundwater prospective zones village-by-village, with 1/3 of the regions falling under red alert zones for sustainable development. The 16 most crucial elements affecting groundwater prospective zones (GWPZs) were mapped using AHP, and the final prospective map was obtained through Weighted Overlay analysis. The study identified five different classes within the Sub-watershed as excellent, good, moderate, poor, and very poor. The validation results showed that the approach used to derive GWPZ is reliable, and the results can be applied to future sustainable developments to reduce water shortages through suitable management methods. The research aims to increase the effectiveness of sustainable groundwater zone management, ensuring long-term water management and access.

In emerging and poor nations, water scarcity and related problems are surging, and they are getting worse due to unfavourable geo-climatic conditions. Two years from the prior body of literature were used in this study: one is a drought year (2010) and the other is a normal year (2017). Weighted overlay analysis has been performed to pinpoint the best location for the construction of the water reservoirs. Five key variables were selected to achieve the goal: distance from the settlement, drainage network, land use and land cover, slope, and lastly soil texture of the study region. The weighted sum of the individual parameters was determined using the AHP approach. 32 existing minor irrigation dam locations were used to evaluate the model of site appropriateness for water reservoirs. The model has been validated by the ROC curve technique where the Area under curve (AUC) value is 0.77. So the value of AUC indicates the model acceptance. The overall suitability of the Community development block has been determined using the TOPSIS approach. The Kashipur block has gained the top spot in terms of total potentiality, according to the PI value, while the Bundwan block is in last place with a rating of 6. Hura, Puncha, and Barabazar have managed to secure second position after Kashipur Block in terms of total potential. Purulia-II, Manbazar-I, Purulia-I, Para are found in third and fourth positions, respectively. The Bundwan block is the initial requirement zone for the construction of a water reservoir, according to this study, which also attempted to establish a model of the water reservoirs requirement zone in relation to the crop water shortage index and applied to assess the total requirement zone. Neturia, Santuri, Jhalda, and Manbazar-II are the necessary blocks for the second stage. The next stage required zone includes Raghunathpur-II, Raghunathpur-I, Jaypur, Jhalda-I, Baghmundi, and Balarampur. The outcome also shows that Kashipur and Barabazar CD Blocks do not have as much need for water reservoirs for irrigation. This model will help to improve the government's initiative and also make it easier in the future to build water reservoirs.

We consider the inhomogeneous Morris–Thorne wormhole metric with matter tensors characterised by a novel linear equation of state in f ( R ) gravity. Using the Einstein’s field equations in metric f ( R ) gravity we model solutions for both wormhole as well as f ( R ) gravity. We obtain four different wormhole models, two wormholes are characterised by solid angle deficit, three are not asymptotically extendible, while one is asymptotically flat with zero tidal force. These are supported by four different power law f ( R ) models. The parameter space of the models can support both null energy conditions (NEC) satisfying as well as violating wormhole. In case of NEC satisfying matter, the associated f ( R ) is ghost. The f ( R ) models obtained have been independently substantiated for cosmological feasibility and valid parameter space was obtained corresponding to cosmologically viable f ( R ). Suitable scalar-tensor representation of the corresponding f ( R ) models have been presented using the correspondence of f ( R ) gravity with Brans–Dicke (BD) theory of gravity. The robustness of the wormhole solutions were further analysed with the BD scalar fields in the hybrid metric-Palatini gravity, which showed excellent results. Lastly as an independent astrophysical probe for the wormhole we have obtained the location of their photon spheres and have connected them with the Herrera Complexity factor in f ( R ). Our results show that the relation between the complexity factor and existence of photon spheres remains fundamentally unaltered in f ( R ) as compared to Einstein’s gravity.

Improper use of water resources in irrigation that contain a significant amount of salts, faulty agronomic practices such as improper fertilization, climate change etc. are gradually increasing soil salinity of arable lands across the globe. It is one of the major abiotic factors that inhibits overall plant growth through ionic imbalance, osmotic stress, oxidative stress, and reduced nutrient uptake. Plants have evolved with several adaptation strategies at morphological and molecular levels to withstand salinity stress. Among various approaches, harnessing the crop genetic variability across different genepools and developing salinity tolerant crop plants offer the most sustainable way of salt stress mitigation. Some important major genetic determinants controlling salinity tolerance have been uncovered using classical genetic approaches. However, its complex inheritance pattern makes breeding for salinity tolerance challenging. Subsequently, advances in sequence based breeding approaches and functional genomics have greatly assisted in underpinning novel genetic variants controlling salinity tolerance in plants at the whole genome level. This current review aims to shed light on physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses under salt stress, defense mechanisms of plants, underlying genetics of salt tolerance through bi-parental QTL mapping and Genome Wide Association Studies, and implication of Genomic Selection to breed salt tolerant lines.