Punjab State Research Articles

Corporations and States

In 2013, the Indian state of Punjab contracted with a corporation to operate a new police phone helpline. The corporation not only takes complaints but also monitors, directs, and reports police responses to them and conducts satisfaction surveys. This essay explores the tensions and effects of using American techniques of corporate customer service to promote procedural law enforcement within police practices in India. It examines the ideological, procedural, communicational, and technological practices through which police procedure is combined with corporate customer service. Moving beyond a concern with privatization and the distinction between state and non-state, the article uses the metaphor of the human microbiome to reconceptualize how to understand the involvement of outside actors within state operations.

Morpho-Cultural, Pathological and Genetic Variability in Rhizoctonia solani Isolates Infecting Crops in Rice Based Cropping Pattern of Punjab State; India

Rhizoctonia spp. which was earlier considered a minor disease causing pathogen under Punjab conditions now is a major threat to crops grown in Punjab. The present study investigated the morphological and cultural variations in Rhizoctonia population, pathogenic behaviour and extent of genetic differentiation between infecting populations of R. solani from different hosts. By species specific primers, Rhizoctonia species in Punjab were identified as R. solani (87.8 %), R. oryzae (11.1%) and R. oryzae-sativae (1.1 %). Morphological characterization of Rhizoctonia spp. based on the growth rate, colour of mycelium and sclerotial characters. A high degree of variation among these R. solani isolates was established. Potato isolates belonging to the different geographic areas of the state were clustered together and cotton isolates also related. R. solani isolates from maize, rice, wheat and chilli formed two major cluster groups. The molecular data on AG specific primers revealed that 46.8% of the isolates belonged to AG1-1A, while AG1-1B (10.1%), AG2-1 (13.9%), AG3 (12.7%). Using interspecific sequence repeat primers, isolates were clustered into three major groups (I, II, III). Group III consisted of isolates, mostly from Ludhiana irrespective of the hosts, indicating existence of genetic similarity among these isolates. Isolates were also found to partially group according to place of origin and the host. Further a partial relationship between the level of severity on rice was observed. The diversity and relatedness in hosts of R. solani isolates from Punjab indicates the need to consider the cropping pattern to reduce the inocula in the soil.

An Economic Analysis of Trends in Cost of Production and MSP in India

Objectives: To study a two-decade economic analysis of Minimum Support Price (MSP) trends compared to the cost of production of major crops of India and understand the real impact of price policy formed by the Government of India.
 Methods: The period of the analysis is from 1999 to 2019 (20 years) and the data sources consulted are Cost of cultivation and Farm Harvest price from Directorate of economics and statistics, Minimum support price from Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and Awareness report of farmers by Questioner based survey. Compound annual growth rate and percentage analysis are used as a statistical tool for this research. To access the impact, Tamil Nadu has been taken as the model state with two model crops Paddy and Cotton and its comparative analysis is done with reference states Punjab and Maharashtra for Cost of Cultivation components and Profitability. 
 Findings: The finding of this research unravels that Wheat, Groundnut and Cotton are getting supported largely due to MSP policy, Paddy and Black gram are barely supportive as there is cutthroat competition between MSP and the Cost of Cultivation and sugarcane is not supported by MSP policy. The comparative and profitability analysis unravels how labour cost is the major cost in Tamil Nadu and paddy is profitable whereas cotton is not.
 Novelty: Therefore, this research depicts that MSP has been supporting the farming community on the policy end. But it’s not working as a fundamental supporting system for the majority of farmers as it’s not exercised by majority of farmers due to low awareness and inefficiency of the system.

Depthwise Variation of Selenium in Groundwater in Parts of Punjab, India

ABSTRACT Selenium is an essential trace element in human diet with carcinogenic effect when consumed in excess. This paper examines the depthwise variartion of selenium in the aquifers of northeastern Punjab (India) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains in a piedmont zone. Out of 210 km2 hydrogeologically studied area in parts of Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts of Punjab State, about 50% of area was found affected by high selenium concentration problem in groundwater. Three aquifer groups were identified, i.e., aquifer group I, II and III with depth ranges of about 75-95 m (thickness ~90 m), 120-230 m (thickness ~110 m) and beyond 255 m, respectively. A clay horizon of about 15-35 m thickness separates aquifer group of I and II and that of about 15-30 m thickness aquifer group of II and III. Aquifer group I is unconfined, aquifer group II is semi-confined and aquifer group III is confined in nature. High concentrations of selenium is observed in aquifer groups I and II with concentrations decreasing with depth. Aquifer group III is devoid of selenium. The symptoms of high contents of selenium started emerging when people deepened their wells in the 1970s to a depth of 20-45 m in a sandy clay horizon. This, however, is yet to be verified and warrants further investigation.

Development of a welfare assessment protocol and assessment of dairy cattle welfare in Haryana and Punjab states of Northern India

AbstractThe aim of this study was to develop an on-farm dairy cattle welfare assessment protocol at different-sized farms in two major commercial dairy farming states in India. For developing the protocol, the basic ‘Integrative Diagnostic System Welfare’ (IDSW) framework was modified to include three welfare components (animal housing and other facilities; feeds and feeding practices; and animal health, performance and behaviour) and 20 welfare indicators (ten resource- and ten animal-based). Each indicator was weighed on a value scale with an aggregate welfare score of 100. The protocol was tested for feasibility, validity and reliability using Cronbach's alpha and Guttman split-half coefficient. Using this protocol, welfare was assessed on 60 commercial farms in Punjab and 50 in Haryana, divided into three adult herd sizes: small (S < 20), medium (M = 21–50) and large (L > 50). Welfare scores in L (76.60 [± 1.70]) and M (68.40 [± 2.27]) sized herds in Punjab were higher than in S herds (60.80 [± 2.77]). In Haryana these were higher in L (68.1 [± 1.18]) than in S (60.50 [± 2.74]) and M (59.35 [± 2.17]) sized herds. The aggregate average welfare score was higher in Punjab (68.60 [± 1.49]) than in Haryana (62.65 [± 2.02]). Welfare at more than 75% of the farms in Punjab and more than 50% of those in Haryana was judged as ‘acceptable.’ Six welfare indicators in Punjab and eight in Haryana were most compromised. Four indicators (microclimate protection measures, availability of milking parlour, cow cleanliness and reproductive efficiency) were the most compromised indicators in both states. To improve dairy cattle welfare in these states we recommend an emphasis on improving housing and feeding conditions, especially at small and medium farms, along with heat stress amelioration measures and improving hygiene and reproductive efficiency at all farms.

Assessment of Rainfall Erosivity Index using Lombardi Method for Amritsar, Punjab, India

The erosivity thing with inside the conventional soil loss equation (USLE) affords a powerful approach ofcomparing the erosive energy of rainfall. This study estimated the erosivity factorbased on monthly and yearly periodic rush rainfall data of Amritsar, Punjab State covering a period of 45 year from1971 to 2015using Lombardi system (EI = 1.03 Vd1.51). It was found that early arrived rainfall led high erosive index.The data of seasonal distribution of precipitation illustrated that the most ferocious erosion imminence inthe area can be anticipated in August, especially in the areas that aren’t defended by foliage cover, whichmight be due to climatic change. The average periodic erosivity indicator for the megacity during theperiod of study was 744.6 MJ mm/ hr. The correlation between periodic erosivity indicator andaverageperiodic rush was expressed as Y = 0.0002x + 0.8873. The R2 of 0.79 shows that rush alone contributed 79 %of the corrosion threat within the study period. The knowledge of impact of rainfall on erosivity is essentialin soil erosion threat assessment and for soil and water conservation planning. The information on effect ofprecipitation on erosivity is important in soil disintegration threat evaluation and for planning of waterand soil conservation.

Perceived determinants for modifying littering behavior – a study testing the influence of perceived behavioral control, environmental factors and intention

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to empirically examine the impact of environmental factors and perceived behavioral control (PBC) in addition to the intention on modified littering behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe present study followed a quantitative approach. The empirical data for the present study were drawn from 750 individuals across the states of Delhi and Punjab in India. The predictors of the antecedents of the modified behavior have been examined using confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS 21.0. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results of the current research found that the modified littering behavior was significantly influenced by intention, PBC and environmental factors. Among these predictor variables, environmental factors have been found influencing the modified littering behavior to the highest extent.Practical implicationsConsidering the highest influence of environmental factors, social marketing interventions need to focus on cleaning the already littered areas, convenient placement of trash bins, regular cleanliness, sanitization and emptying of trash bins.Originality/valueLooking at the uniqueness of the present study in the Indian context, this paper is the first to empirically examine the predictive ability of environmental factors and PBC in addition to the intention that may help close the intention–behavior gap.

Socio-cultural determinants of tobacco consumption: a study of migrant and local workers in a district of Punjab, India

Although the use of tobacco in the state of Punjab is below the national statistics of India, according to Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2016 Report, its consumption has increased. Also, what sets it apart from rest of the nation is the cultural as well as the religious taboo associated with tobacco use. The case of Punjab is also peculiar because of the socio demographic profile of the region which has changed since Green Revolution. Having said that, use of tobacco is a social phenomenon and it becomes important to place tobacco use in a social and cultural context. The aim of the study is to explore the socio -cultural determinants of tobacco use within local and migrant groups in a district of Punjab. The tobacco users in the district were divided into groups of local and migrant labourers and focus group discussion was carried out with them. There were various social correlates of tobacco use in the district which saw variations within and across these groups. The socio demographic factors of age, gender, religion and place of residence were related to the use of tobacco and presented similarities and variations across the groups. The study concluded that tobacco prevention and control policies should include cultural interventions to change current traditional practices and social determinants which influence the use of tobacco.

Comparative Performance and Evaluation of Two Molecular Assays and Conventional Detection of Theileria annulata in Bovines

Background: Theileria annulata is predominant and of utmost economical importance tick borne pathogen of bovines in the region which is routinely diagnosed based on the microscopic examination of Romanowsky stained thin blood smears. Present study was intended to evaluate and analyze the detection efficacy of a commercial polymerase chain reaction kit based assay in comparison to conventional PCR assay and classical microscopy for detection of T. annulata from blood samples of bovines from Punjab state. Methods: In this comparative study 360 bovine blood samples from various districts of agro-climatic zones in Punjab were first screened for T. annulata by Giemsa-stained thin blood smear (GSTBS) examination. The same panel of blood samples was tested for T. annulata by a commercial PCR kit Bovi-TheiDX Theileria annulata (Genext Genomics) (PCR1) and established conventional PCR assay targeting merozoite piroplasm surface antigen (Tams1) gene of T. annulata (PCR2). Result: Out of 360 samples screened, positivity of T. annulata by GSTBS was found to be 12.5% (45/360) with a sensitivity of 37.20% and specificity of 96.00% when compared with commercial kit (PCR1), the difference was statistically significant (p less than .0001). The detection prevalence by PCR1 29.70% (107/360) and PCR2 assay 33.90% (122/360) showed significant (p less than .0001) difference. The conventional PCR targeting the Tams1 gene (PCR2) was found to be more sensitive (84.6%) (p less than 0.001) than PCR1 (69.7%).

‘Crop Raiding’: Farmers’ Perspectives in Shiwalik Hills of North-Western Himalayas, India

A study was conducted to ascertain the causes and possible strategies to mitigate the problems of human–animal conflicts in the foothills of the Shiwaliks of the North-Western Himalayas, known as the Kandi region in the Punjab state of India. The main causes of ‘crop raiding’ were a reduction in grazing areas due to the impacts of deforestation, and reduced numbers of predatory carnivores, lantana infestation in the forests and the overexploitation of the forests for wild fruits. It was observed that neelgai and wild boars are the dominant species in the areas adjoining forests, while and stray cattle are dominant in areas outside forests. Traditional methods being adopted by the farmers for curbing these problems were not effective against most of these species. Classifying some animals as vermin, sterilizing monkeys, payment of compensation to affected farmers, strict implementation of wildlife laws and lantana eradication were suggested as the possible strategies for minimizing losses due to crop raiding.

Where did the Games Go? Inquiry of Board Games in Medieval Marathi Literature in India

Abstract India has a very prominent traditional board game culture, which is evident through numerous game boards and game pieces that are surviving. The spectrum of game board variations documented displays its association with the rich culture of crafts in India. Apart from these sets, there are ample examples of game board graffiti's present in various public spaces, temples being one of the most prominent of them. Many scholars, just to name a few, I. Finkel, R.K Bhattacharya, and L.K. Soni (published in 2011); Vasantha (2003); Fritz and Gibson (2007); Rogersdotter (2015), have documented and/or commented on these appearances of game boards in spaces. Most of these documentations are from the region of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. There are game board surveys from the states of Punjab (Gupta, 1926), Gujarat (Soni and Bagchi, 2011), Marwad (Samanta, 2011), Haryana (Sinha and Bishwas, 2011). Nevertheless, for some reason, there is very little work on board games in the state of Maharashtra. Though the literary documentation of sedentary games of Maharashtra is found in a book by ‘Anant Babaji Deodhar’ named ‘Marāṭhī Khēḷān̄cē Pustaka’ published in 1905; which mainly is anthropological documentation. It does not touch upon the references of this game information. Sāripata (chausar), pat Songtyā (asta chima) existed in the Marathi household until the earlier generation (Pre WWII) in form of cloth boards and wooden pieces. However, it does not show its appearance as game board graffiti's in spaces in the post-Yadav period (14th century). Few games like mancala, Indian hunt games do show their presence in graffitis but seldom in literature. Literary pieces of evidence of regional literature remain untraced. No specific research has happened in literature in this era in the context to board games and thus the paper tries to throw light on evidence of board game mentions in medieval Marathi language literature. During the same time, the game board graffiti's shows its existence in Karnataka, Rajasthan until the 17th century. So what happened to the board game culture in Maharashtra? Where did the games go? Did it acquire a different form? The paper tries to inquire about the presence/absence of board games in the 13th - 17th century Marathi literature and architecture.

Status and Prospects of Agri Start-Ups in Punjab and Telangana States of India

Entrepreneurship is key to the introduction of new technology, innovations and overall economic changes in society. The present study was designed to study the status and prospects of agri start-ups in Punjab and Telangana state. A sample size of 20 start-ups, 10 start-ups from each state, using simple random sampling was selected for this study. Data for the study was collected with help of the interview schedule. The fi ndings of the study revealed a strong desire to do something independent was ranked 1st. Agripreneurs of Punjab and Telangana had a medium awareness about start-ups schemes. All the agripreneurs of Punjab and Telangana had knowledge about RKVY RAFTAAR schemes and they were willing to expand their business in future. Agripreneurs want to construct storage facilities in coming future. All the agripreneurs wanted to invest their profi t margins further in business.

The Study of Traditional Foods, Ornaments, Costumes and Housing Patterns of the People of Ravi River Basin in Himachal Pradesh, India

In Bharmour tehsil, Cheena and inferior types of millets are used. Previously, the diet of Gaddis was simple and did not permit them much variation. In winter season all the people of this basin wear woolen garments but in summer season they wear cotton garments. As would be expected, with the process of modernization, a change took place in the traditional dress (Punjab castes, 1916). Every region has wear jewellery that is typical and peculiar to it. Jewellery and ornaments were fashioned by goldsmiths (suniars) all over Ravi River basin in Himachal Pradesh (C.S. Panchani). The houses are generally two to three storeyed buildings with separate kitchen and cowshed and the design of the houses is not uniform but its design depends upon the location of site. In a mountainous area like Bharmour, the village is not laid out in a systematic way and a number of factors seem to have determined the pattern of settlement. The permanent villages of the Gaddis on an average lie between an altitudes of 7000 to 10000 feet above sea level and they are small sized villages ranging from 30 to 200 families. The inhabitants of most of these villages are exclusively the Gaddis (Punjab State Gazetteer, 1904).

Geospatial Technology-Based Analysis of Air Quality in India during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study evaluates the impacts of India’s COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking periods on the country’s ambient air quality. India experienced three strictly enforced lockdowns followed by unlocking periods where economic and social restrictions were gradually lifted. We have examined the in situ and satellite data of NO2 emissions for several Indian cities to assess the impacts of the lockdowns in India. Additionally, we analyzed NO2 data acquired from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI sensor over a few districts of the Punjab state, as well as the National Capital Region. The comparisons between the in situ and satellite NO2 emissions were performed for the years 2019, 2020 and up to July 2021. Further analysis was conducted on the satellite data to map the NO2 emissions over India during March to July for the years of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Based on the in situ and satellite observations, we observed that the NO2 emissions significantly decreased by 45–55% in the first wave and 30% in the second wave, especially over the Northern Indian cities during the lockdown periods. The improved air quality over India is indicative of reduced pollution in the atmosphere due to the lockdown process, which slowed down the industrial and commercial activities, including the migration of humans from one place to another. Overall, the present study contributes to the understanding of the trends of the ambient air quality over large geographical areas using the Sentinel-5P satellite data and provides valuable information for regulatory bodies to design a better decision support system to improve air quality.

Correlations between serum vitamin B12 and folate levels among mother-infant dyads in Punjab state, North-West India.

Adequate vitamin B12 levels in infancy are crucial for normal psychomotor and cognitive development of infants. Our aim was to examine serum vitamin B12, folate and ferritin levels in exclusively breastfed healthy full-term infants (age group: 1-6months), and also investigate their correlation with maternal markers. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 exclusively breastfed healthy full-term infants (age group: 1-6months) along with their lactating mothers. Serum vitamin B12, folate and ferritin levels were determined for each mother-infant dyad using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean serum vitamin B12, folate and ferritin levels were 512 vs. 535 pg/mL, 15 vs. 12 ng/mL and 313 vs. 114 ng/mL in infants and mothers, respectively. Among 100 infants, 26 (26%) had lower vitamin B12 levels and 5 (5%) had inadequate folate levels. In addition, 22 (22%) of 100 lactating mothers were deficient in vitamin B12 levels and 14 (14%) had inadequate folate levels. We found a statistically significant positive correlation between infant and maternal vitamin B12 (r=0.659, P < 0.001) and folate levels (r=0.51, P < 0.001). Vitamin B12 deficiency was observed in 26% of infants and 22% of lactating mothers. Vitamin B12 and folate levels of infants were positively correlated with maternal levels in the state of Punjab, North-West India. Our findings support that maternal vitamin B12 status can be used as a valuable predictor of infant vitamin B12 status.

The ecological degradation in “the city of saints” hoshiarpur in punjab (India)

Hoshiarpur is a small town in the northern state of Punjab in India that remained ecologically rich until recently, when unplanned urbanization, population explosion and humungous tree cutting contributed in large to a disturbed ecology in the region. This work is a small effort to provide a broader overview towards massive ecological changes that have taken place in the city and suggest the path towards its ecological restoration and remediation.

Rhizoctonia Aerial Blight of Soybean, its Prevalence and Epidemiology: A Review

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is high value oilseed crop grown throughout the world as well as in few soybean growing pockets in India. The hot and humid weather conditions during the soybean cropping season favours the attack by various fungal, bacterial and viral diseases, thereby lowering the crop productivity. Rhizoctonia aerial blight or web blight disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani is considered one of the most economically important disease of soybean in India. It causes yields losses ranging from 35-60% which might reach a devastating level of 80% under favourable environmental conditions. In India, the disease has been reported from most of the soybean growing states of Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam. Epidemiological studies prove to be very important in managing the disease as the disease severity highly depends on the weather variables prevailing in the growing season. The present review has attempted to compile findings on this devastating disease of soybean crops, its prevalence in the country, epidemiological studies and strategies on integrated disease management.

Economic Evaluations of HPV Vaccination in Targeted Regions of Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Modelling Studies.

BackgroundIn countries with limited resources, a targeted HPV vaccination strategy by focusing in selected regions is preferable to be implemented than a nationwide vaccination strategy.ObjectiveThis study aimed to review articles on economic evaluations of HPV vaccination in countries over the world that applied targeted vaccination strategies.MethodsApproximately 1769 articles were obtained from two databases (1242 and 527 articles from PubMed and ProQuest, respectively). The inclusion criteria in this systematic review were studies about full economic evaluations of HPV vaccination in targeted area or sub-national level and written in English. Full-text screening was applied to evaluate the eligibility. Final articles obtained were referred to the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standard (CHEERS) checklist. Finally, we included only 4 articles that met all inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultsIncluded studies in this review focused in different targeted regions, such as Punjab State in India, Vientiane in Lao PDR, Southern Vietnam in Vietnam, and Brazilian Amazon in Brazil. From 24 criteria in the CHEERS checklist, all included studies could meet 21 criteria (87.5%). All included studies in this review applied modeling approaches, which can estimate the number of cases and treatment costs averted. Applying various settings, the results of this study showed that HPV vaccination could potentially reduce the number of cervical cancer cases by 20–72%. Taking cervical cancer screening into account, this study showed that targeted HPV vaccination was cost-effective or even cost-saving.ConclusionImplementation of HPV vaccination in sub-national level as the initial step before nationwide vaccination is more favorable to be implemented in countries with limited budget.

Carbon footprints of rice-wheat cultivation across farm size categories: Evidence from Punjab in India

Carbon footprint (CF) can be a powerful tool to guide sustainable food production systems. The present study quantified the CF and analyzed the variability in CF across farm categories along with share of different contributing inputs for rice and wheat production in the Punjab state. The carbon footprint of rice was found to be much higher (6.34tons CO2eqha-1 and 0.91tons CO2eqton-1) than wheat (1.41 tons CO2eqha-1 and 0.28 tonsCO2eqton-1). Methane emissions contributed about 60 per cent to the emissions followed by free electricity for irrigation (17.9%), N2O (10.8%), plant protection chemicals (7.5%), diesel (6.1%) and fertilizers (3%) for rice while for wheat the major share of emissions were from N2O(41.3%) followed by diesel fuel (28.1%), fertilizers (11.8%), electricity (10.6%) and chemicals (5.1%). Across farm categories, the share of fertilizers (in terms of on-farm (11.2%) and off emissions (3.1)) remained the maximum for marginal farmers while large farmers contributed the most to the GHG emissions (18.5%) by using free electricity. The share of on-farm emissions was higher for rice (95.5%) than for wheat (80.1%) because of cultivation of rice under flooded conditions leading to methane emissions. The major contributors to the higher off-farm wheat emissions were fertilizers especially P2O5, followed by the use of diesel fuel and chemicals. The study stresses the need for sustainable management of agro-inputs which will not only offset the associated GHG emissions but also will improve the soil health. In addition, awareness of climate-smart agricultural practices and access to technologies like DSR, laser leveling, and Happy seeder are key factors in determining the utilization of farm and land management practices that may simultaneously decrease these emissions and increase the adaptive capacity of farmers, and thus improve food security.

Evaluation of genetic polymorphisms at 21 autosomal STR loci in Ramgharia Sikh population of Punjab, India

Background STR (Short Tandem Repeat) markers are highly polymorphic markers, which are widely used in forensics DNA analysis and aid to ascertain unique genotype profiles of individuals and determine the genetic diversity of the given population. Aim In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the population genetic diversity of the Ramgharia Sikh population of Punjab, India, using 21 autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, vWA, D16S539, CSF1PO, TPOX, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D2S441, D19S433, TH01, FGA, D22S1045, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, SE33, D10S1248, D1S1656, D12S391, and D2S1338) to augment the emerging forensic database related to the indigenous population of India. Subjects and methods For generation of the database, 200 (blood on FTA card) samples were obtained from genetically unrelated Ramgharia Sikhs residing in the state of Punjab. Twenty-one autosomal STR markers were analysed using the Globalfiler® PCR amplification kit. Results With the help of various statistical tools, a total of 232 alleles were observed and 11.048 ± 1.284 (mean ± standard deviation) alleles per locus were recorded. No locus deviated from Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. SE33 locus was found to be the most polymorphic and exhibited the highest discrimination power, that is, 0.99. Moreover, results further indicated that Ramgharia Sikhs of Punjab showed a high affinity with Bhils of Madhya Pradesh (India). Thus, the studied population showed genetic proximity with the geographically close populations of India and showed significant genetic variations with distant populations, which was evident from the UPGMA tree and Principal Component Analysis plot. Conclusion Overall, the 21 autosomal STRs were found to be polymorphic in the Ramgharia population and suitable for forensic casework and studies on population genetics.