Partners In India Research Articles

Tests to determine employer-employee relationships in India: looking towards the future?

ABSTRACT The employer-employee relationship forms the foundation from which a host of social security benefits and labour rights emerge. Workers are traditionally classified as employees hired under a contract of service or independent contractors hired under a contract for service. Over the years, Indian courts have relied on the control, integration, and multi-factor tests to determine the correct nature of employment contracts. This article explores the evolution of these tests and examines whether the burden of proof in determining the existence of employer-employee relationships requires modification. It then dissects the efficacy of the current multi-factor test in emerging platforms and gig economies by looking at the standard form contract signed by a popular food delivery platform with its delivery partners in India. Finally, the article explores the ability of the newly enacted labour codes, particularly the Code on Social Security 2020, to address the classification conundrum and its consistency with precedents.

Revitalizing Real Estate Professionalism: Assessing the Impact of RERA on Channel Partners in India

In the dynamic landscape of the 21st-century real estate market, factors such as the paradox of choice and technological advancements significantly influence consumer behavior. To extend their services to a broader customer base, developers, builders, and marketing partners in the real estate sector are establishing intermediaries and efficient channels. For an extended period, the Indian real estate market operated without regulations, exposing buyers to unfair dealings, malpractices, and biased transactions facilitated by channel partners. The Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) was enacted in 2016, introducing robust guidelines to protect the interests of real estate buyers. This study delves into the transformative impact of RERA on channel management within the Indian real estate sector and its implications for real estate transactions. Drawing insights from a survey of 200 respondents who have purchased houses, the findings underscore the positive influence of RERA on the professionalism of channel partners. This impact manifests in heightened transparency, accountability, and ethical practices in real estate transactions. The research reveals an increased confidence among buyers in engaging with channel partners for real estate transactions. In contributing to the existing body of literature on RERA, this research emphasizes the pivotal role of professionalism and ethical practices among channel partners in ensuring the sustainable growth of the real estate industry in India.

A Recombinant Protein XBB.1.5 RBD/Alum/CpG Vaccine Elicits High Neutralizing Antibody Titers against Omicron Subvariants of SARS-CoV-2.

(1) Background: We previously reported the development of a recombinant protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, consisting of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide (alum) and CpG oligonucleotides. In mice and non-human primates, our wild-type (WT) RBD vaccine induced high neutralizing antibody titers against the WT isolate of the virus, and, with partners in India and Indonesia, it was later developed into two closely resembling human vaccines, Corbevax and Indovac. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a next-generation vaccine adapted to the recently emerging XBB variants of SARS-CoV-2. (2) Methods: We conducted preclinical studies in mice using a novel yeast-produced SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.5 RBD subunit vaccine candidate formulated with alum and CpG. We examined the neutralization profile of sera obtained from mice vaccinated twice intramuscularly at a 21-day interval with the XBB.1.5-based RBD vaccine, against WT, Beta, Delta, BA.4, BQ.1.1, BA.2.75.2, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5, and EG.5.1 SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses. (3) Results: The XBB.1.5 RBD/CpG/alum vaccine elicited a robust antibody response in mice. Furthermore, the serum from vaccinated mice demonstrated potent neutralization against the XBB.1.5 pseudovirus as well as several other Omicron pseudoviruses. However, regardless of the high antibody cross-reactivity with ELISA, the anti-XBB.1.5 RBD antigen serum showed low neutralizing titers against the WT and Delta virus variants. (4) Conclusions: Whereas we observed modest cross-neutralization against Omicron subvariants with the sera from mice vaccinated with the WT RBD/CpG/Alum vaccine or with the BA.4/5-based vaccine, the sera raised against the XBB.1.5 RBD showed robust cross-neutralization. These findings underscore the imminent opportunity for an updated vaccine formulation utilizing the XBB.1.5 RBD antigen.

Rebooting India-GCC Energy Partnerships: Hydrogen as a Fuel for the Future

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States have over the decades proved to be dependable partners in India’s energy security. However, the energy transition necessitates examining its impact on the India-GCC energy partnership. Will India-GCC energy partnership last the transition from hydrocarbons to renewables? What will be its medium- and long-term impact? Can hydrogen replace hydrocarbons as the vehicle for India-GCC energy cooperation? This article answers some of these questions based on a systematic study of innovation in the field of hydrogen as a fuel, India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and the growing investments in capacity building in hydrogen production in the GCC States.

The RECHARGE-IPCRG ‘Teach the Teacher’ programme: building capacity for pulmonary rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries

Introduction Chronic respiratory diseases are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a low-cost, high-impact intervention with patient education and exercise at its core. Although supported by a well-established evidence base, demand greatly exceeds capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), including limited workforce training opportunities to support PR development and implementation. The International Primary Care Respiratory Group’s (IPCRG) Teach the Teacher (TtT) is an established education programme designed to build sustainable local clinical teaching and delivery capacity. Methods A collaboration between the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded Global RECHARGE Group for PR and IPCRG to deliver a ‘Teach the Teacher’ (TtT) programme for PR capacity building. Our Tier 1 TtT programme combined educational and PR service development concepts with core clinical content adapted for RECHARGE partners in India (Pune and Delhi), Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda. Due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) pandemic, the programme was adapted to a digital environment using online platforms such as Zoom video conferencing and Google Classroom. We used an adapted framework to evaluate professional learning and its impact. Findings Fifteen Tier 1/local leader participants attended a sixteen-hour online programme in September-October 2021. Participants included nurses, physiotherapists, doctors and early career health professionals/researchers. As local leaders in PR, participants created a tiered teaching programme for developing a critical mass of PR expert teachers, contextualised to their local healthcare systems and cultures. Participants also explored how to engage and influence multiple professional groups and stakeholders to support the widespread sustainable implementation of PR. Conclusions The RECHARGE-IPCRG TtT programme provided a clear education and service development framework to support PR capacity development in LMIC. We address a lack of empirical evidence concerning capacity-building initiatives by being explicit about the programme’s learning design, management and evaluation. A whole system perspective to PR allowed consideration of health systems, culture, referral pathways and scalability. Sustainable national PR education programmes will require additional resources and a long-term strategy, potentially aligning with the TtT three-tier cascade model.

Wastewater treatment and resource recovery for a sustainable water future in India

Wastewater treatment and resource recovery for a sustainable water future in India Unlocking wastewater treatment, water reuse and resource recovery opportunities is a key approach for sustainable water solutions in India, explains Dr. Paul Campling, Business and Relationship Development Manager at VITO. Dr. Paul Campling, Business and Relationship Development Manager at VITO, Belgium is the coordinator of the EU-India Horizon 2020 project Pavitra Ganga, which is a research and innovation project that brings European Union and India partners together to address some of the pressing water challenges in India.

Exploring governance issues between online food delivery platforms and restaurant partners in India

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the governance of external entities that lie outside the boundaries of digital platform firms by using the theoretical lens of the transaction cost theory (TCT). TCT offers alternative modes of governance for effectively managing transactions in market, hierarchy or hybrid scenarios providing a perfect framework to study platform governance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores governance issues between restaurant partners and online food delivery platforms in India via qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews of various stakeholders, including restaurant partners and platform managers.FindingsThe study reveals that information asymmetry, opportunism, control and trust deficit are the major strategic governance issues in online food delivery platforms.Research limitations/implicationsThough care had been taken to cover all types of restaurants, due to lockdown number of restaurants studied was restricted in number. Despite the restrictions, findings provided valuable insights into the governance issues of the digital platform. Challenging times like Covid-19 make the study even more crucial from the strategic perspective. The study also adds to the literature on platform governance and provides practical implications for account managers and policymakers.Practical implicationsThe study uncovers various critical governance issues. These, if resolved using the right combination of governance mechanisms, will lead to increased partner participation and value creation on the platform.Originality/valuePlatforms outsource the value creation to external entities without having any hierarchical control over partners. The paper studies governance outside the boundaries of the firm using TCT. Hence, it helps to extend governance outside the boundaries of the firm.

The Colonialism and Post Colonialism Diaspora and its unique effect on the world culture over the years

Indian Diaspora has never been acknowledged and been neglected in India’s cultural diplomacy for long period of time but their contribution and immense leverage in local communities and government has been recognised in recent years and the Indian Government has taken some measures to link with the diaspora and make them partners in India’s growth and part of International relation. Diaspora Diplomacy plays a crucial role in the foreign policy and in increase economic, political and defense cooperation between different countries. Indian communities are spread across the global in 6 continents and 125 countries, Indian Diaspora is categorized into old, new and gulf Diaspora according to their labour characteristics. The success of Indian entrepreneurs, scientist, academics, media personalities, filmmakers, IT professionals, CEOs in the US has created trust in India’s intellectual abilities abroad. It has been a major source in branding India as a source of well-educated and hard working professionals. Ethnic Indians particularly in New Diaspora countries have become known for their economic, professional academic, scientific and artistic successes and general peaceful integration. The government of India has taken many initiatives for their betterment and organize various programmes for being the India Diaspora close to their host country and also to resolve the issues and challenges faced by the government from the Indian Diaspora.

Factors associated with men’s perpetration of physical violence against intimate partners in India

Factors associated with men’s perpetration of physical violence against intimate partners in India

India to the fore

India’s contract research organizations (CROs) are no longer just low-cost compound synthesizers. Over the past 15 years, they have asserted themselves as world-class chemistry-service providers. Now, the country’s top CROs are setting up labs in the West, fostering global teams, and courting biotechnology companies. The goal of their executives is nothing less than becoming integrated partners for global drugmakers and going head to head with China as the world’s powerhouse drug discovery partner. Amid the economic turbulence and supply chain upsets of the past 2 years, big pharmaceutical companies have been quietly moving some of their drug discovery projects from research outsourcing partners in China to partners in India. The diversification effort started before the pandemic, says Ramesh Subramanian, chief commercial officer at Aragen Life Sciences, one of India’s leading contract research organizations (CROs). “What we’re seeing is a significant focus from companies on diversifying their geographical footprint,” he says.

Hand-Print CARE: Towards Ethics-led Action Learning for ESD in School Subject Disciplines

The Hand-Print concept emerged as a proposition for learner-led action learning in the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Hand-Print CARE as an ethics-led action learning proposition was developed at a Local Culture for Understanding Mathematics and Science (LOCUMS) research group meeting with some educators in Alta, Norway. Here ‘CARE’ emerged as an acronym reflecting an ethic of inclusive respect through Concern for others, being Attentive to needs, showing Respect for each other and being Engaged in learning actions for the common good. Hand-Print CARE was thus activated as a co-engaged mediation process towards ‘Learning to look after others to best care for ourselves and the surroundings we all share’. Conceptual tools towards a Hand-Print CARE rationale were clarified in subsequent ESD workshops in Malaysia and Mexico and the challenge of developing a schema for ESD in school subject disciplines emerged at an ESD training workshop with National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) in Delhi, India. This article explores the emergence of Hand-Print CARE and the framing of an open-ended schema for mediating better-situated and ethics-led action learning in school subject disciplines. A formative perspective towards more locally situated and co-engaged processes for mediating learning was refined through an ESD Expert-Net collaboration to clarify ESD learning progressions in school subject disciplines. Some start-up materials were developed with partnering NGOs in the small town of Howick in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and in an expanding collaboration involving partners in India, Mexico, Germany and South Africa. Each of us worked to refine Hand-Print CARE learning progressions for ESD processes of action learning in diverse subject discipline and school-in-community settings.

LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd.: An Outsourcing Decision to India

This case, based on general business experience, casts students in the role of analyzing the financial effects of a possible outsourcing decision. Lee and Marcia Mills, owners of LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd. (LOPP), a Canadian company that designs, manufactures, and installs outdoor play equipment, are faced with a decision pertaining to whether LOPP should outsource the company's back-office information technology enabled services (IT-ES) functions. Lee engages with an outside advisory firm specializing in matching companies with suitable outsourcing partners in India, and eventually a contract is presented. From just a financial perspective, students must ascertain whether Lee and Marcia should accept the outsourcing offer. Excerpt UVA-C-2440 Jun. 18, 2020 LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd.: An Outsourcing Decision to India Even though their ages were beginning to show, Lee and Marcia Mills were young at heart. For the past 15 years, they had tirelessly worked to build their business, LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd. (LOPP), into a western Canadian industry leader. Of late, their reputation for novel, safe, and well-built products had produced inquiries from potential new customers in the US East Coast and several family-oriented resorts in Latin America. The company designed, built, and installed all types of outdoor play equipment suitable for school-age children. Marcia was the whimsical, creative force behind the company's unique product designs. She was also in charge of the company's marketing, sales, and promotion activities, which were web-based, brochure-based, and via targeted direct mail. Lee, on the other hand, was the primary business manager—overseeing the production operations, product transport and installation, as well as back-office information technology-enabled services (IT-ES) such as accounting, website expansion/maintenance, and personnel payroll/benefits. Late one Sunday afternoon, during a rare moment while relaxing on one of their perpetual self-pushing swing sets, they had agreed on two things that set a number of wheels in motion. First, they agreed that they were both too busy—they were, as the saying goes, “burning the candle at both ends” at an unsustainable level. Second, they wanted to grow the business, taking on the new clients that were calling from more distant locations. Perhaps they would become the world's leader of outdoor play systems, or be presented with a buyout option too good to refuse from an established company already in the recreational equipment industry. Maybe a company like Nike or North Face might want to expand their product offerings and would be interested in acquiring LOPP's. The first of their shared realizations presented an immediate, follow-on task for Lee that he looked forward to addressing. He needed to find a business affiliate that could take on the company's back-office operations (e.g., accounting, employee benefits, and payroll administration) and promotional communications (both hardcopy and web-based), freeing him to focus on the production and installation aspects of the business. Regarding the promotions-related activity, Marcia would still create and design the promotions materials and strategies while the hoped-for outsourcing company would print all pertinent hardcopy brochures and execute all her web-based campaigns. Lee started his research the next morning. . . .

Intimate relationships of Devadasi sex workers in South India: An exploration of risks of HIV/STI transmission

Global literature on female sex workers suggests that being in an intimate relationship is associated with barriers to practising safe sex behaviours. Condom use within intimate relationships is often seen as a sign of infidelity and fosters mistrust which could affect longevity, trust and intimacy within partnerships. Using qualitative data from Devadasi sex workers and their intimate male partners in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India, we examined both partners' perspectives to understand the quality and dynamics of these relationships and the factors that influence condom use in intimate relationships. Our thematic analysis of individual interviews conducted in May 2011 with 20 couples suggests that many Devadasi sex workers and their intimate partners define their relationships as ‘like marriage’ which reduced their motivation to use condoms. Evidence from this study suggests that active participation in sex workers' collectives (sanghas) can increase condom use, education and family planning services, among other things, and could be helpful for both Devadasis and their intimate partners to better understand and accept safer sexual practices. Our work has direct implications for designing couple-based health interventions for traditional Devadasi sex workers and their intimate partners in India.

The Presidential Visit to Asia

The RCS undertakes a range of activities outside the UK as part of its commitment to enable surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. This is accomplished through establishing partnerships and complementing local provision to add value to the resident surgical community, most visibly through the supply of training and assessment. Just as importantly, the RCS's international partners enrich the College with active involvement and sharing of skills and experience. As with any partnership, it is important to maintain good communication, which can be a challenge when there are thousands of miles between the parties. So, at the beginning of this year, an RCS delegation, led by Professor Norman Williams, President of the College, visited a number of its partners in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Groundnut improvement: use of genetic and genomic tools

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), a self-pollinated legume is an important crop cultivated in 24 million ha world over for extraction of edible oil and food uses. The kernels are rich in oil (48–50%) and protein (25–28%), and are source of several vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, biologically active polyphenols, flavonoids, and isoflavones. Improved varieties of groundnut with high yield potential were developed and released for cultivation world over. The improved varieties belong to different maturity durations and possess resistance to diseases, tolerance to drought, enhanced oil content, and improved quality traits for food uses. Conventional breeding procedures along with the tools for phenotyping were largely used in groundnut improvement programs. Mutations were used to induce variability and wide hybridization was attempted to tap variability from wild species. Low genetic variability has been a bottleneck for groundnut improvement. The vast potential of wild species, reservoir of new alleles remains under-utilized. Development of linkage maps of groundnut during the last decade was followed by identification of markers and quantitative trait loci for the target traits. Consequently, the last decade has witnessed the deployment of molecular breeding approaches to complement the ongoing groundnut improvement programs in USA, China, India, and Japan. The other potential advantages of molecular breeding are the feasibility to target multiple traits for improvement and provide tools to tap new alleles from wild species. The first groundnut variety developed through marker-assisted back-crossing is a root-knot nematode-resistant variety, NemaTAM in USA. The uptake of molecular breeding approaches in groundnut improvement programs by NARS partners in India and many African countries is slow or needs to be initiated in part due to inadequate infrastructure, high genotyping costs, and human capacities. Availability of draft genome sequence for diploid (AA and BB) and tetraploid, AABB genome species of Arachis in coming years is expected to bring low-cost genotyping to the groundnut community that will facilitate use of modern genetics and breeding approaches such as genome-wide association studies for trait mapping and genomic selection for crop improvement.

Understanding Indian supply chain management practices

Global corporations increasingly pursue avenues for employing the information technology and manufacturing prowess of India and managing global cooperative strategies (strategic alliance and supply networks) with India partners. While most studies addressing global cooperative strategies analyse organisational and industrial characteristics, very few theories incorporate explanations for Indian supply chain management practices. This study is an attempt to better understand Indian supply chain management practices.

Evidence for Action on HIV treatment and care systems in low and middle-income countries

Despite the unprecedented scale-up of treatment for HIV in low and middle-income countries over the past decade, 49% of adults and 77% of children in need of HIV treatment still do not have access to it. ART programmes that were initially set up as an emergency response now need to be adapted to ensure that they include all the essential components and are well integrated with other health services; meet the needs of special groups, including children, adolescents, pregnant women and older people; address the mental health needs of HIV-positive people; and monitor as well as report their impact in valid and comparable ways.This supplement is an output from the Evidence for Action on HIV Treatment and Care Systems research programme consortium. Evidence for Action was a 5-year, multidisciplinary research programme, which ran from 2006 to 2011, with partners in India, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and the United Kingdom.The primary aim of this supplement is to stimulate reflection and provide guidance on what should be in the package of HIV treatment and care systems, as national programmes look to maintain the major advances of the past decade and scale-up treatment to the other 50% of people in need of it.

Impact of an HIV Prevention Intervention on Condom Use among Long Distance Truckers in India

This paper examines the impact of three components of an HIV prevention program (mid-media, interpersonal communication, and project-run clinics) on consistent condom use by long distance truckers with paid and non-paid female partners in India. Data from 2,723 long distance truckers were analyzed using the propensity score matching approach. Based on utilization of services, the following categories of intervention exposure were derived: no exposure, exposure only to mid-media, exposure only to mid-media and interpersonal communication, exposure only to mid-media and project-run clinics, and exposure to all three intervention components. Compared to those who were not exposed to any intervention, exposure to mid-media alone increased consistent condom use with paid female partners by about ten percent. Exposure to mid-media and visits to project-run clinics increased consistent condom use with non-paid female partners by 26 %. These findings suggest that mid-media events and clinics were the most effective package of services to increase consistent condom use among the long distance truckers.

Development and technology transfer of Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines for developing countries

This paper describes the development of a Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/Netherlands Vaccine Institute (RIVM/NVI, Bilthoven, The Netherlands), and the subsequent transfer of its production process to manufacturers in developing countries. In 1998, at the outset of the project, the majority of the world's children were not immunized against Hib because of the high price and limited supply of the conjugate vaccines, due partly to the fact that local manufacturers in developing countries did not master the Hib conjugate production technology. To address this problem, the RIVM/NVI has developed a robust Hib conjugate vaccine production process based on a proven model, and transferred this technology to several partners in India, Indonesia, Korea and China. As a result, emerging manufacturers in developing countries acquired modern technologies previously unavailable to them. This has in turn facilitated their approach to producing other conjugate vaccines. As an additional spin-off from the project, a World Health Organization (WHO) Hib quality control (QC) course was designed and conducted at the RIVM/NVI, resulting in an increased regulatory capacity for conjugate vaccines in developing countries at the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) level. For the local populations, this has translated into an increased and sustainable supply of affordable Hib conjugate-containing combination vaccines. During the course of this project, developing countries have demonstrated their ability to produce large quantities of high-quality modern vaccines after a successful transfer of the technology.

P14 Pathways to HIV diagnosis and treatment among migrants and their partners in India

BackgroundAn estimated 2.3 million people are living with HIV in India. Although free testing and treatment is available, <20% of HIV-positive people access treatment at its antiretroviral treatment (ART) centres....