The increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in distribution systems requires efficient charging load management techniques for delivering high-quality power to consumers. In this paper, we proposed a strategic planning approach for distribution systems integrated with EV charging stations, employing fuzzy Pareto optimality to enhance system performance and minimize carbon emissions. Our approach involves a fuzzy Pareto heuristic network reconfiguration to minimize real power loss and improve voltage profiles. Additionally, Time of Use (ToU) pricing-based EV charging load scheduling is developed to minimize the annual energy cost. These objectives aim to improve minimum node voltage, reduce power losses, and maintain branch current constraints. To simulate the impact of EV charging loads, we aggregate residential, commercial, and industrial loads, along with EV charging loads at charging stations based on customer choice time and ToU pricing methods. The proposed reconfiguration approach is tested on 33 and 69-bus distribution systems with integrated EV charging stations, distributed generations (DGs), and shunt capacitors (SCs). The simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the reconfiguration algorithm in enhancing the performance of the distribution network in the presence of EV loads. Furthermore, we compare ToU pricing-based EV charging time zones with customer comfort-based EV charging, showcasing the advantages of the former in reducing emissions through real power loss reduction. Overall, our strategic planning approach not only improves distribution system performance but also offers economic benefits while minimizing carbon dioxide emissions.

Abstract Keeping in view the substantial risk of obstetric complications due to a high prevalence of pregnancies among adolescent and young adult women across the globe, this study aims to ascertain an association between independent risk factors and unmet needs of contraception among currently married women, aged 15–24 years, living in India. The present study utilized the recently published data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS, Wave-5, 2019-20). The sample size of this study was 72, 714. Univariate and bivariate analysis was used to understand the prevalence and preliminary association of covariates and the dependent variable. Over 18% of women in the selected sample had total unmet needs for contraception which were divided into 14% for spacing and 4% for limiting. Binary logistic regression and multinomial regression were used to determine the independent effect of covariates on total unmet needs, unmet needs for spacing, and unmet needs for limiting while controlling the selected background characteristics. The likelihood of total unmet needs was lesser among women of relatively higher age, higher educational attainment, better wealth status, urban areas, and those hailing from households with males as the head and those with the same desire for children as their husbands. The multinomial analysis found higher education, urban settlement, male head of household and equal desire of couples for children to be associated with lower unmet needs for both spacing and limiting. Additionally, unmet need for spacing was less likely in higher ages, among Hindu women and those belonging to the ‘none’ category of caste. The likelihood of unmet need for limiting was higher among women aged 21–24 and lower among scheduled tribes. To improve the scenario and bring down the prevalence of unmet needs in India, it is important to have targeted interventions among women of various age groups and different socio-demographic sects.

India’s agricultural price policy came under serious criticism in the past for its inefficiencies and the financial burden that it puts on the state exchequer. Using the household-level Situation Assessment Survey, published by the National Statistical Office (NSO), this study inspects the effectiveness, accessibility, and feasibility of price policy mechanisms in India. It is found that farmers’ income in India has been increasing at a slower rate and the share of income from crop cultivation has been declining over the years. However, farmers who have received the benefits of minimum support price (MSP) and procurement mechanism, reported having a better income as compared to farmers who sell to the local market right after harvest. Indian agriculture is dominated by small and marginal farmers operating on less than two hectares of land. They are more vulnerable to shocks, such as climate change, price crashes, and post-harvest loss. This study critically evaluates the operation of price policy with special reference to the landholding classes of the farmers. It finds that MSP played an important role in keeping the market prices high and ensuring a better return. However, the reach of MSP has been limited to a few crops and in selected states.

Poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon linked to the lack of capabilities of households to earn a sustainable livelihood, increasingly being assessed using multidimensional indicators. Its spatial pattern depends on social, economic, political, and regional variables. Artificial intelligence has shown immense scope in analyzing the complexities and nuances of poverty. The proposed project aims to examine the poverty situation of rural India for the period of 1990-2022 based on the quality of life and livelihood indicators. The districts will be classified into ‘advanced’, ‘catching up’, ‘falling behind’, and ‘lagged’ regions. The project proposes to integrate multiple data sources, including conventional national-level large sample household surveys, census surveys, and proxy variables like daytime, and nighttime data from satellite images, and communication networks, to name a few, to provide a comprehensive view of poverty at the district level. The project also intends to examine causation and longitudinal analysis to examine the reasons for poverty. Poverty and inequality could be widening in developing countries due to demographic and growth-agglomerating policies. Therefore, targeting the lagging regions and the vulnerable population is essential to eradicate poverty and improve the quality of life to achieve the goal of ‘zero poverty’. Thus, the study also focuses on the districts with a higher share of the marginal section of the population compared to the national average to trace the performance of development indicators and their association with poverty in these regions.

AbstractPostal financial services have been the beacon on financial inclusion globally. However, with the impact of digitalization, the physical network of post offices no longer remains the core competency. This article analyzes the various factors contributing to household savings across both banks and post offices. It examines the effect of competition at the network level between banks and post offices. The main finding is that the extensive physical network of post offices does not significantly impact postal deposits. There is competition between post offices and private and public banks at the rural population class level. However, at the urban population class level, competition exists only at two levels: between private banks and India Post and between nationalized banks and India Post.

ABSTRACT Groundwater is the single largest source of water for irrigation and domestic use in India. Climate change further exacerbates the threat of depletion, reducing food security and increasing the vulnerabilities of resource users. Governance is complicated by externalities associated with its attributes as an invisible and fluid resource which create problems of rivalry and exclusion. Based on theory-based case studies for evaluation of selected World Bank projects, we analyse challenges for groundwater governance and identify factors that contribute to depletion. It highlights the need for integrating and balancing demand and supply-side approaches, including water-efficient irrigation and climate-smart practices.

The growing number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) engenders a genuine concern for achieving sustainable development. Properly recycling ELV is paramount to checking pollution, reducing landfills, and conserving natural resources. The present study evaluates the sustainability of India's ELV recycling system from techno-socio-economic and environmental aspects as an instrumental step for assessing performance and progress. This investigation has performed the Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) analysis to evaluate ELV recycling in the long-term viability and examine the critical factors and potential. This research makes practical recommendations for effectively encountering persistent challenges in the ELV recycling system based on Indian values. This research adopts an explorative and Integrated bottom-up mixed approach; it interfaces qualitative and quantitative data and secondary research. This study reveals that the social, economic, technological, and environmental aspects of the sustainability of India's ELV recycling system are comparatively limited. The SWOT analysis demonstrates that potential market size and resource recovery are more significant strengths, whereas lack of an appropriate framework and limited technology are major challenges in the recycling of ELVs in India. Sustainable development and economic viability have emerged as great opportunities, while informality and environmental impact have surfaced as primary potential threats to ELV recycling in India. This paper offers insights and yields critical real-world data that may assist in rational decision-making and developing and implementing any subsequent framework.

Floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) systems that allow solar panel installations on water bodies are gaining popularity worldwide as they mainly avoid land-use conflicts created by, and for their superior performance over, ground-mounted photovoltaic installations. Though many studies in the FSPV literature showed how superior FSPVs perform, we still believe there are few potential opportunities for further enhancement in performance. On the other side, the industry’s delivery of FSPV installation service to clients is often questioned, highlighting that FSPV modeling is compromised, leading to false promises on energy performance and feasibility. This might be true given the lack of modeling tools specific to FSPV. With this hypothesis, this review investigates existing modeling approaches by FSPV researchers/industry people practicing and potentially implementable energy performance enhancement strategies leading to the advancement of modeling tools. The review outcome suggested that every FSPV researcher/service provider must carefully design and optimize the FSPV system considering suitable performance enhancement strategies, for instance, replacing conventional solar panels with bifacial ones and integrating various cooling and cleaning methods. Also, while assessing the feasibility, they must follow the lifecycle-based performance indicators that broadly fall under the techno-economic-environmental and social aspects with an appropriate framework-driven assessment approach. Lastly, we have shown a conceptual FSPV project simulation tool consolidating the performance indicators and explored performance enhancement strategies that we believe would help the FSPV community.

ABSTRACT The principal research question addressed by this paper is about how and why blockchain based digital technologies and the metaverse ought to be viewed as inclusive innovations. It is stated that Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) crafted from Ethereum blockchains enable upcoming and established artists to prove their credentials and ownership over their works and reach their products to a wider community of buyers both in the real world as well as in the Metaverse. All the same, NFT auction platforms by innovatively fractionating digital versions of artwork and auctioning the fractions to a large community of small buyers, ensure that marginalized sections of buyers of arts works get ownership over quality art works. Given the nascent nature of the innovation, the paper adopts a conceptual approach to understand the implications of NFTs and metaverse in democratizing art institutions through the mechanism of distributed economic systems which are inclusive, authentic and empowering.

Abstract The employment structure of India's formal manufacturing sector has undergone substantial changes since the early 2000s with a steep rise in the use of contract workers in place of directly hired workers. Much of the existing literature has attributed the widespread use of contract labour to India's rigid employment protection legislation. The resulting informalisation of the workforce in the organised sector raises concerns about the sustainability of employment growth. Using a 14-year plant-level panel data from the Annual Survey of Industries, we find that in addition to labour market rigidities and the existence of a wage differential between contract and directly hired workers, plants in the organised manufacturing sector have another important incentive to hire contract workers. Plants appear to be using contract workers to their strategic advantage against the directly hired workers to keep their bargaining power and wage demand in check. Importantly, the strength of this bargaining channel varies across plants depending on their capital intensity of production, size and existing contract worker intensity.