Urban Gujarat Research Articles

Solar Energy Integration in Urban Gujarat: A Pathway to IGBC Certification

The integration of solar energy in urban Gujarat is a key strategy for sustainable development and energy challenges in growing cities. This paper explores the potential of retrofitting non-certified green buildings with solar technologies to meet IGBC certification standards, focusing on the Surat Solar City initiative. Gujarat's abundant solar resources and progressive policies are enabling urban areas to transition to renewable energy solutions through rooftop solar PV systems, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and smart energy systems. Innovative technologies like transparent solar cells, solar paint, and hybrid systems are enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprints. Government incentives and net metering policies are driving adoption. Solar retrofitting projects in Gujarat, particularly in Surat, serve as scalable models for integrating renewable energy into urban infrastructure. Key Words: Solar retrofitting, IGBC certification, Smart energy systems, BIPV, Energy storage

A pilot study on the efficacy of 10600 nm carbon dioxide laser ablation in treatment of eyelid margin lesions.

Eyelid margin lesions cause discomfort by impeding both central and peripheral vision, depending on their position on the eyelids, thus hindering everyday routines. However, surgical excision, radiofrequency, electrocautery, and cryosurgery are employed for treatment, although they are complicated and have functional limitations. Carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers were used to assess the efficacy, safety, and patient satisfaction with CO2 laser ablation in managing eyelid margin lesions. This is a pilot study of patients with eyelid margin lesions presented to a private clinic in urban Gujarat between June 2020 and June 2023. All patients were treated with a 10600 nm CO2 laser with a power of 1-2 W in continuous mode. The eyelid lesions were classified into three categories based on their size: Small (1-3 mm), medium (4-6 mm), and large (7-10 mm). The clinical response was assessed by the treating physician at week 1 and week 4, and categorized as excellent (complete clearance of lesion), moderate (>50%), or poor (<50%). Patients were asked to rate their level of satisfaction on a three-point scale at the end of the follow-up period: Dissatisfied, somewhat satisfied, or very satisfied. Ten patients of all females with six of them having compound melanocytic nevi, two of them each had cystic hidradenoma, and one each had cyst of zeis and verruca vulgaris. Six of them had small lesions, two had medium, and two had large lesions. The clinical response grading of physicians at both 1 week and 4 weeks was excellent, and the patient satisfaction questionnaire yielded excellent outcomes. The ablative CO2 laser is an excellent device used for the treatment of eyelid margin lesions, particularly when performed by an expert and skilled dermatologist. The application of this treatment approach has proven to be very beneficial and shows excellent results in terms of both the esthetic appearance and structural function of the eyelids.

‘Upgrading’ in precarious times: social mobility, skills and entrepreneurship among pastoralist youth in urbanising Gujarat

ABSTRACT The paper examines the occupational trajectories of young pastoralist (rabari) men as they turn to new livelihoods in place of livestock herding in urban Gujarat. In contrast to the dominant skill development narratives, the paper offers a micro view of how youth with limited education and financial resources rely on an alternative infrastructure of skills beyond the state and private sector to cope with economic precarity. What is the role played by caste and community networks in shaping youth aspirations for social mobility, the pursuit of new occupations and the acquisition of innovative skills? To what extent do youth manifest a new entrepreneurial spirit and individual-centric agency that is commonly associated with the advent of the neoliberal political economy? The findings reveal the workings of a communitarian skill-ecosystem that mobilises community networks, reinvents traditional practices and produces innovative cultures of skilling and entrepreneurship, whereby youth attempt to cope and survive in precarious urban landscapes.

Caste, gig-economy, and youth: the resurgence of a new age caste politics in urban Gujarat

ABSTRACT This article interrogates the connections between caste and gig economy, and how these connections play out in the political actions by youth in the erstwhile mill-neighbourhoods in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat. It asks, how do the gig-economy workers from the lower castes navigate in the highly caste segregated urban spaces of Ahmedabad? What drives them to join their own caste collectives while looking for gig work in the city? The article explains through ethnographic inquiries that while the recent emergence of the gig economy provides the young jobseekers from the lower castes an escape route from the caste-based occupations in the rural, their caste identities are strategically masked and highlighted in informing their choices, political aspirations and economic anxieties while navigating in the urban. The unpredictable and uncertain nature of the contractual work consolidates caste and kinship networks to get work and information about available work in the urban gig economy. This in turn facilitates a renewed political activism of the youth in the urban neighbourhoods that strengthens caste politics in the region.

Response and adaptations made by the integrated child development services stakeholders towards the digitalisation of its record keeping systems of the Anganwadi centres in urban Gujarat, India

Initiated on 12th February 2018, Anganwadi centres (AWC) of Gujarat adapted the integrated child development services common application software (ICDS-CAS), for real time monitoring and record keeping, for Anganwadi workers (AWWs), Anganwadi supervisors (AWS) and the child development project officers (CDPO).This application was abruptly discontinued in September 2020 and replaced by ‘Poshan tracker’ ,a mobile based application, launched by the ministry of women and child development, government of India on 1st March 2021. Documentation of challenges and benefits due to shift to software-based record keeping system by frontline workers of ICDS in urban Gujarat. Informal meetings were held with stakeholders like the CDPO, AWS and AWWs to discuss the challenges faced due to digitalisation of record maintenance. We planned to conduct two focused group discussions (FGD) for the same purpose. FGDs were conducted at two different Anganwadi, within city corporation area. Audio recordings of both FGDs were repeatedly played and analysed to prepare qualitative report. ‘ICDS-CAS’ didn’t store older records so the AWWs had to refer to their older registers. The software was English based but AWWs preferred Gujarati(local) language. ‘Poshan tracker had no ‘auto-update’ and ‘delete’ option, to rectify inaccurate entries. One could easily view all the information in one glance. Software database had compiled data from anganwadi, removing the need for supervisors to separately contact each AWWs for an anganwadi data. It was concluded that elder AWWs preferred old register entry system, while the younger AWWs preferred the software data entry system.

Exploring The Relationship Between Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Weight Perception, And Weight Change Behaviour Among University Students in Urban Gujarat, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: In the context of the rising trend of overweight and obesity, young people are more concerned about their weight. This study investigates the association between measured Body Mass Index (BMI), self-perception of body weight and weight change behavior among university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed a sample of 415 university students aged 18-23 years residing in urban areas of Anand. Measures included weight, height, BMI, body weight perception and weight change behavior. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, the student’s t-test and Chi-square test. Results: About 36.1% of the participants misclassified their weight category. More women than men felt overweight in relation to their actual body shape. Among normal-weight or underweight BMI participants, 44.4% of females and 31.8% of males were inappropriately trying to lose weight. Conclusions: The study showed a higher prevalence of weight perception and inappropriate weight change behaviour. It also observed that the correct perception of body weight influences the willingness to lose or gain weight. It is important to consider these issues while designing a public health campaign targeting obesity and healthy lifestyles.

Qualitative Inquiry into Determinants of Decision Making for Therapeutic Mastectomy Amongst Pre and Peri- Menopausal Women, at Urban Gujarat

Introduction: Breast Cancer (Ca Br) is one of the most common cancer amongst women globally as well in India. Amongst various available modalities of treatment, the most common treatment being advised in Ca Br is mastectomy which is commonly associated with a lot of emotion and mental challenges. For Ca Br patients, any decision in this regard forms an integral part in the diagnosis, confirmatory and treatment phase. The present study aims to explore the psychosocial determinants to undertake surgical decisions. Objective: To explore the psychosocial determinants and dilemma of undertaking decision for surgical intervention in Ca Br cases amongst pre and peri-menopausal women. Methods: The participants of pre and peri- menopausal women with Ca Br were selected purposively from a tertiary care hospital. The inclusion criteria included patients with Ca Br who underwent a therapeutic mastectomy and willing to be a part of the study were included. Qualitative Inquiry method was used for data collection and Content analysis was done using Atlas.ti. Results: Five themes emerged from the content analysis. It was observed that patriarchy dominates as decision-makers; surgical decision – is it a ' No –brainer' thing?, the big emotional burden on shoulder, motivators &amp; demotivators, and inspiration. Women's passivity as decision-makers along with emotional distress conditions like fear of loss of feminity was always accompanied. Strong support system and will power were the major motivating factor for participants. Conclusion: The study gave a prominent and complex view on determinants of undertaking surgical decisions. Findings from the study would contribute to better strategizing the management of patients in a local context from all aspects and not just from the clinical lens.

Triadic interaction and gestural communication: Hierarchical and child-centered interactions of rural and urban Gujarati (Indian) caregivers and 9-month-old infants.

In this study 9-month-old infants in rural and urban Gujarat, India were compared in how frequently and in which way they engage in triadic interactions. It was assumed that urban caregivers would engage in a child-centered interaction style, frequently creating triadic interactions and following infants' signals. It was also expected that they would engage in more gestural communication in line with results on young infants often being involved in distal interactions. Rural caregivers were assumed to engage in a hierarchical interaction style in which the caregiver directs the interactions. It was expected that they would engage more in bodily ways of communicating as young infants in these communities often experience large amounts of proximal interactions. Infants were observed in everyday situations to assess their everyday engagement in triadic interactions and experience with gestures. Additionally, infants' mothers were asked to show their children something distant to assess how triadic attention is created. These interactions were video recorded and analyzed in terms of gestures and bodily behaviors. The results indicate that urban infants experience more triadic interactions and have caregivers who are more likely to follow their initiatives than rural infants. In the observations, urban caregivers also used gestures more frequently than rural caregivers. For rural infants the results are less clear with some indications that caregivers directed their attention more, particularly using their bodies. These differences were only apparent in the video-recorded situations. Implications for infants' further development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Transacting Caste in Modern Times: Changing Social Identity through Surnames in Urban Gujarat

With rapid socio-economic changes in Gujarat, the practice of untouchability also has changed. Surnames have always been important markers for caste, but in a globalizing urban environment, it has become perhaps the most prominent marker of caste identity and therefore carrier of discrimination. Caste revealing surnames can result in ostracization of Dalits and exclusion from institutional and non-institutional resources, such as housing, private sector jobs, education, business and marriage, etc. Many Dalits, in order to access the mainstream society, increasingly attempt to ‘pass’ as non-untouchables or as ‘pure’ caste-Hindus by changing surnames. This study explores the phenomenon of changing surnames among Dalits and how it affects their opportunities for social mobility. Why do Dalits want to change their social identity by changing surnames? Does changing social identity accommodate Dalits as equals with the Savarnas? What are the risks and uncertainties after changing the surname? This paper addresses these questions and assesses the impact of changing surnames on the lives of urban Dalits.

A Comparative Study: Assess the Nutritional Status of Toddlers among Urban Area and Rural area

Today's children are tomorrow's world or tomorrow's father” this slogan is riding a massive wave of concern throughout the world. Hunger and malnutrition make them worst sufferers and these pose potential threats to mankind as a whole or to the civilization itself. According to Gujarat Demographic and Health Survey (20132014), there is 13.6% malnourished child in rural Gujarat and 6.5% malnourished child in urban Gujarat. The underweight prevalence rate is 59% of toddlers.1

Post-surgical mental morbidity of breast cancer survivors in India: reflection from urban Gujarat

Post-surgical mental morbidity of breast cancer survivors in India: reflection from urban Gujarat

Depression, anxiety, and stress among resident doctors of a teaching hospital

Introduction: Higher studies in general and postgraduate medical studies in particular carry a lot of stress. Some of it must be accepted, but a lot of it is modifiable by pertinent personal, institutional and policy changes. Hence, as a basic prerequisite, we have tried to assess the level of depression, anxiety, and stress suffered by the resident doctors of a teaching hospital in urban Gujarat. We also tried to find the various correlates. Aims and Objectives: (1) To find the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in resident doctors of a tertiary care teaching hospital. (2) To study demographic characteristics among residents and its correlates with depression, anxiety, and stress. (3) To study the correlation of postgraduate training-related factors and personal factors with depression, anxiety, and stress. Materials and Methods: After taking informed consent and explaining the procedure, self-report forms were distributed to all 520 resident doctors of our institute. It constituted of a sociodemographic datasheet and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS)-42, having 14 questions each of depression, anxiety, and stress. The data from the returned completely filled 462 forms were entered in Microsoft Excel version 2007 and analyzed using Epi Info and Chi-square test. Results: Higher than average prevalence of depression (27.71%), anxiety (36.58%), and stress (24.24%) was found among the resident doctors. Furthermore, variables such as being junior, long duty hours, no job satisfaction, residents of clinical branches, not having any hobbies, and staying at hostel were significantly associated with higher scores on DASS. Conclusion: Postgraduate medical studies engender a lot of stress which can result in personal tragedies, poorer patient care, and overall loss to the society. If doable strategic changes are brought about, the scenario can be improved.

Development Discourse and Popular Articulations in Urban Gujarat

ABSTRACTThis article discusses how members of marginalized groups in the Indian state of Gujarat make sense of hegemonic discourses about national development in light of their own experiences and material circumstances. For many, the idea of development resonates even when they do not experience material progress in their lives. This partial hegemony of development discourse can be explained by the concept of “political articulation.”. This captures the political process by which parties succeed, at specific historical moments and under certain circumstances, in joining different, even potentially conflictual interests by referring to a common idea and project. The article focuses on Ahmedabad city where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has created a cross-caste bloc through the trope of development. The BJP has been particularly effective in linking the idea of development to mundane concerns about security, identity and spatial order. However, anxieties about the degradation of labour by increased casualization, informalization, and socio-spatial marginalization have disrupted this common sense linkage and weakened the hegemony of the BJP's model of development.

Delivering Low Income Housing-Role of Access to Land and Credit in Gujarat, India

Housing, particularly for the poor and marginalised, is a complex urban problem that occupies centre-stage in present-day development issues. Access to housing is influenced by two major fac-tors—land, and finance. Absence of either (or both) of these results in mushrooming of high density, environmentally insanitary living areas commonly referred to as slums. The poor and vulnerable sections increasingly struggle to secure adequate quality of shelter, because of their inability to access land at affordable rates and finance to be built. As the inflow of the poor from rural to urban is, by now, accepted as inevitable, providing housing and economic opportunities for these would have to form part and parcel of any sustainable urban development strategy. In the state of Gujarat, formal housing supply is unable to meet even a fraction of the housing demands in urban areas. Thus a mix of private and informal sector housing has emerged in the past few decades. During the 1990s, the involvement of NGOs in facilitating access of the poor to housing finance also became increasingly significant. This paper presents a critical review of housing delivery systems in urban Gujarat with an emphasis on the poor. A schematic design for delivery of land and access to housing finance for poor households has also been presented.

A comparison in HIV-associated stigma among healthcare workers in urban and rural Gujarat

The present study measures levels of stigma within health care settings in urban and rural Gujarat, in an attempt to understand how this may have contributed to the state's increasing HIV incidence. Two sites were studied: a rural hospital in Bardoli and an urban hospital in Surat. HIV-associated stigma among healthcare workers (N=170) was assessed using a Stigma Index. Overall, analyses suggest an increase in medical education was found to be associated with higher stigmatisation (p<0.001). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference between stigma scores of HCWs in rural and urban Gujarat was not observed.

Early Socialization Contexts and Social Experiences of Infants in Rural and Urban Gujarat, India

In this study, the early social experiences of infants from a rural, traditionally agricultural community are compared with those of urban infants of the same region. Using spot observations, infants'daily social experiences were assessed when they were about 3 months of age. Based on overarching sociocultural orientations, the authors expected rural and urban caregivers to provide their infants with the same amount of body contact, kissing, and body stimulation. Based on different educational profiles of the caregivers, less eyetoeye contact, exclusive attention, and object stimulation by rural compared to urban caregivers were expected. Differences between mothers and other caregivers in their interaction with the infant and during distress and nondistress waking states of the infant were explored. The results confirmed their expectations partially. Urban infants experienced more eye-to-eye contact and more exclusive attention but also more body contact. There were no differences in kissing, body stimulation, and object stimulation.

URBAN UPHEAVAL IN INDIA: THE 1974 NAV NIRMAN RIOTS IN GUJARAT

FOR THE FIRST ten weeks of 1974, the Indian state of Gujarat faced an emergency of locally unprecedented proportions. Waves of riots and political agitation swept through its cities and towns, causing over one hundred reported deaths, many more serious injuries, massive arrests, and the destruction of huge amounts of public and private property. The Nav Nirman (social reconstruction) movement spread like a firestorm throughout urban Gujarat in January, continued in the face of Army intervention, and subsided only after the leaders secured key political objectives. The most important of these was the overthrow of the state government, partially realized on February 9 when the Chief Minister resigned under pressure from Delhi and President's Rule was clamped on the state, and completed on March 15 when the Prime Minister reluctantly acceded to dissolution of the Gujarat legislative assembly.' The upheaval has since had major repercussions on Indian national politics. The Gujarat riots, together with the anti-government