'A watershed in watershed governance' : democracy and (de) politicization of development projects in India

This thesis studies the governance aspects (institutions and discourses) of donor-aided development programs in two integrated watershed development projects: 1) the Indo-German Watershed Development Program in Maharashtra (west India), and 2) the Integrated Watershed Development Project, Shiwalik Hills-II in Uttarakhand (north India). A watershed development project entails physical interventions for soil and water conservation measures (like building check dams, water absorption trenches, forestation, among others) and institutional interventions (like formation of village watershed committees, micro-credit societies, and forest protection committees, among others) in a specified location demarcated by the catchment area of a river or stream. It presents economic and socio-political data from the above-mentioned case studies to illustrate that the present governance strategies of the watershed development projects can be usefully analyzed from a ‘depoliticization’ perspective. Depoliticization can be described as a process in which previously political issues, people and institutions are becoming less political or nonpolitical. Habermas describes this process as the ‘decline of the public realm as a political institution’ that reduces the role of ‘citoyens’ to consumers, the public realm gets confined to spectacles and acclamations (Outhwaite, 1996). This implies that such issues, people and institutions are relocated from the arenas of democratic contestation and decision into the arenas which are governed by apolitical expert bodies, rules and regulations prescribed by non-negotiable scientific ‘facts’. In development studies, the concept has been used among others by Harriss (2002) and Ferguson (1990) to suggest that the developmental enterprise in the third world is based on a discourse propounded by international development agencies like World Bank, that relocates political issues of poverty and water scarcity in the list of technical problems to bypass the issues of contestation in democratic politics. Political decision-making in the sense of citizens critically discussing watershed policies, has been replaced by dominant groups persuading the public towards certain interventions and conclusions as observed in the cases. In this study, depoliticization has been further disaggregated under two categories: (i) preference-shaping depoliticization, and (ii) depoliticization of institutions and social organizations. These aspects are explored in detail with the help of empirical data from each case to locate the governance tactics of watershed development projects. Issues and institutions in this sense became the focal locations where the processes of governance were observed to be following certain techniques that could be problematized under the umbrella concept of depoliticization. In this study, depoliticization has been further disaggregated under two categories: (i) preference-shaping depoliticization, and (ii) depoliticization of institutions and social organizations. These aspects are explored in detail with the help of empirical data from each case to locate the governance tactics of watershed development projects. Issues and institutions in this sense became the focal locations where the processes of governance were observed to be following certain techniques that could be problematized under the umbrella concept of depoliticization. This thesis concludes that watershed governance in India is at the crossroads where it is undergoing a paradigm shift in the light of parallel transformations in the world democracy. This ‘shift’ has been characterized in the title of this thesis as ‘a watershed’ in Indian watershed governance

Neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior in urban Lucknow

We conducted this study to assess the neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior amongst slum and non-slum dwellers at Lucknow. One hundred and fifty neonates were recruited within 48 hours of birth from an urban Reproductive and Child Health center and followed up at 6 weeks±15 days at home. Twenty five (16.6%) were lost to follow-up. Among those followed up, 46.4% (58/125) developed one or more morbidity; 26% (15/58) of these did not receive qualified medical care. Neonatal morbidity was 56.8% (33/ 58) among slum dwellers and 37.3% (25/67) among non-slum dwellers (absolute difference=19.5%, 95% CI=3.3 to 34.7; P=0.04). Severe neonatal illnesses were also significantly higher among neonates from slums as compared to those from non-slum areas (OR=4.50, 95%CI=1.28 to 16.38, P=0.007). Male gender was associated with any care-seeking (OR=1.24, 95% CI =1.24 to 91.99; P=0.03) and was more likely to be seen by a qualified provider (OR=3.8, 95% CI=1.05 to 13.94; P=0.04). Since nearly half of the neonates had morbidity and more than a quarter of them did not receive qualified medical care, there is a need to introduce Community Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) program here, emphasizing on the importance of qualified medical care for ill neonates, including females

Development and characterization of paclitaxel and embelin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for breast cancer

In an effort to develop an alternative formulation of combination of paclitaxel (PTX) and embelin (EMB) suitable for parenteral administration, PTX-EMB loaded sterically stabilized solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were prepared, characterized and examined for in vitro cytotoxicity. The SLNs, comprising glycerol mono stearate (GMS) as a solid lipid core, Brij 35 used as surfactant and PEGylated phospholipid used as stabilizer, were prepared using a hot homogenization method. Optimized PTX-EMB loaded formulation, the particle sizes of the prepared SLNs were around 300 nm, suggesting that they would be suitable as a parenteral formulation. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the SLNs were homogeneous and spherical in shape. Entrapment efficiency of paclitaxel and embelin was 92.83 ± 2.2%, 83.25 ± 2.4% respectively. An in vitro drug release study were performed in PBS (pH 7.4) for 80 hrs and observed that paclitaxel and embelin released from the PEGylated SLNs was 93.91 ± 4.1 % and 75.63 ± 4.37 % respectively. Furthermore, treatment of the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with PTX-EMB loaded SLNs yielded cytotoxicities comparable to PTX solution, PTX-EMB mixture solution and PTX loaded PEGylated SLNs. These results collectively suggest that our optimized SLN formulation may have a potential as alternative delivery system for parenteral administration of paclitaxel and embelin. Keywords: Embelin, Apoptosis, Cancer, Cytotoxicity, Breast Cancer, Solid lipid nanoparticles

Halotolerant Plant Growth Promoting Bacilli from Sundarban Mangrove Mitigate the Effects of Salinity Stress on Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) Growth

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is one of the major crops in dry and saline areas across the globe. During salinity stress, plants encounter significant changes in their physio and biochemical activities, leading to decreased growth and yield. Bacillus species are used as biofertilizers and biopesticides for pearl millet and other crops to promote growth and yield. The use of Bacillus in saline soils has been beneficial to combat the negative effect of salinity on plant growth and yield. In this context, the present study emphasizes the use of two Bacillus species, i.e. Bacillus megaterium JR-12 and B. pumilus GN-5, which helped in alleviating the impact of salinity stress on the growth activities in salt-stressed pearl millet. Pearl millet seeds were treated with two strains, B. megaterium JR-12 and B.pumilus GN-5, individually and in combination under 50, 100 and 150 mM of sodium chloride stress. The treated plants showed higher plant height, biomass accumulation, and photosynthetic apparatus than the non-treated plants. Additionally, the treated plants showed increased osmoprotectant levels under salinity stress compared to control plants. The antioxidant enzyme content was improved post-inoculation, indicating the efficient stress-alleviating potential of both strains of Bacillus species. Moreover, inoculation of these microbes significantly increased plant growth attributes in plants treated with a combination of Bp-GN-5 + Bm-JR-12 and the reduction rates of plant growth were found to be alleviated to 9.12%, 20.30% and 33%, respectively. Overall, the results of the present study suggested that these microbes could have a higher potential to improve the productivity of pearl millet under salinity stress