Food security in India and States: key challenges and policy option

Condition of food security in India is gloomy and is similar to African countries. Both the supply side and demand side factors have their roles in the present condition of food security and undernourishment in India. This study supports that if agriculture production grows; increasing food prices has less bearing on low food security. Problem of food security in India is very much related to low demand. If demand of people can be improved, food security can be achieved. Disaggregated trend of food security shows that problem of food insecurity is high in poor states. Considering disaggregated level of food security, government has passed Food Security Bill in India. Our analysis points out that food security cannot be achieved in India without improving the level of overall agriculture production. Improving agricultural production is essential for ensuring long term food security and promoting poverty reduction. State level condition of storage capacity of food grains also points out that how a state like Bihar with low storage facility will manage to implement this Bill. Without identifying role of market, success of Food Security Bill and reduction of poverty is distant dream

Livestock Policies and its Impact on India and Bihar, State

In an economy like Bihar, dependence of population on livestock as an alternative source of income is significant. Acceleration in the availability of livestock to marginal and small farmers can offer significant opportunities for household income augmentation and employment generation in Bihar. In this context, an analysis of performance of livestock sector in Bihar has been carried out. The growth of livestock sector has been found slower in the Bihar than at the national level. The share of Bihar in India's livestock sector income has not changed significantly. Besides, low milk productivity, decline in the Bihar’s share in India's egg and meat sector income is a major factor responsible for insignificant changes in livestock sector of Bihar. Several demand and supply side factors have been identified for the above trends. Availability of health infrastructure, grazing land and immunisation are significantly affecting livestock across the districts of Bihar. The study has also shown policy initiatives for the improvement of livestock sector resources and outcomes of Bihar

Food security in India and States: key challenges and policy option

Condition of food security in India is gloomy and is similar to African countries. Both the supply side and demand side factors have their roles in the present condition of food security and undernourishment in India. This study supports that if agriculture production grows; increasing food prices has less bearing on low food security. Problem of food security in India is very much related to low demand. If demand of people can be improved, food security can be achieved. Disaggregated trend of food security shows that problem of food insecurity is high in poor states. Considering disaggregated level of food security, government has passed Food Security Bill in India. Our analysis points out that food security cannot be achieved in India without improving the level of overall agriculture production. Improving agricultural production is essential for ensuring long term food security and promoting poverty reduction. State level condition of storage capacity of food grains also points out that how a state like Bihar with low storage facility will manage to implement this Bill. Without identifying role of market, success of Food Security Bill and reduction of poverty is distant dream

Livestock Policies and its Impact on India and Bihar, State

In an economy like Bihar, dependence of population on livestock as an alternative source of income is significant. Acceleration in the availability of livestock to marginal and small farmers can offer significant opportunities for household income augmentation and employment generation in Bihar. In this context, an analysis of performance of livestock sector in Bihar has been carried out. The growth of livestock sector has been found slower in the Bihar than at the national level. The share of Bihar in India's livestock sector income has not changed significantly. Besides, low milk productivity, decline in the Bihar’s share in India's egg and meat sector income is a major factor responsible for insignificant changes in livestock sector of Bihar. Several demand and supply side factors have been identified for the above trends. Availability of health infrastructure, grazing land and immunisation are significantly affecting livestock across the districts of Bihar. The study has also shown policy initiatives for the improvement of livestock sector resources and outcomes of Bihar

Regional Inequality in India: A State Level Analysis

This paper tries to understand the nature and extent of inequality across states of India with special reference to Bihar. This study is based on secondary data collected from various sources including, NSSO, NFHS and other government/non-government documents and reports. The study analyse inequalities under four themes; livelihood, education, health and gender. The analysis finds that, however some positive changes can be seen in terms of enrolment in primary education, but still productivity of education is lowest in Bihar. State government has invested money in attracting students to government schools, but because of low per capita expenditure on education, access to facilities like computer in schools is the lowest in Bihar. In case of health expenditure people of Bihar has to bear significantly higher per capita out of pocket expenditure. Though, Bihar has achieved higher growth in the last couple of years but, still the level of female empowerment is very low in the state. Thus, this study finds that Bihar is still at lowest position in all four themes across states of India and, people of this state is facing grim challenges related to livelihood, quality education and health

Evaluating the use of Audio-Visual Aids in Knowledge Gained among Patients Visiting a Dental College in Greater Noida

INTRODUCTION: It is an important part of dentistry to inform and educate the patient about the dental procedure he/she is about to undergo and there are three main methods viz. audio, visual and audio-visual.AIM: To assess the knowledge gained through dental health education in a randomly assigned group before and after undergoing a Dental Procedure.METHODOLOGY: A total of 100 patients were enrolled in the study and were given a 12 item standardised questionnaire (pre-validated, pre-tested, responses based on likert scale) to assess their knowledge prior to the provision of oral health related knowledge. After this, they received an audio-visual based explanation (laptop presentation, model based and verbal explanation of the undergoing procedure and were again given a 21 item questionnaire to assess the changes in knowledge gained by the patients. Data was tabulated and the Chi Square test and Spearman’s Correlation were applied to find out significant associations, if any. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21.0.RESULTS: Post-explanation, significant differences were seen in knowledge gained (p=.024, r=.70) by the patients.CONCLUSION: Dentists are advised to use audio-visual aids for imparting knowledge regarding the dental procedure as it makes the patient more comfortable while undergoing the procedure

Modeling of finishing force and torque in ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing process

A new finishing technique called ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing integrates ultrasonic vibration with magnetic abrasive finishing process for finishing of workpiece surface more efficiently as compared to magnetic abrasive finishing in the nanometer range. During finishing, two types of forces are generated in ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing, namely, a normal force (indentation force) and a tangential force (cutting force) that produces a torque. The finishing forces have direct control on the rate of change of surface roughness and material removal rate of the workpiece surface. This article deals with the theoretical modeling of the normal force and the finishing torque based on the process physics. In this work, finite element simulations of the electromagnet were performed to calculate a magnetic flux density in the working zone; they were also used to evaluate the normal force on the workpiece surface. The theory of friction for the abrasion of metals was applied together with the effect of ultrasonic vibration to calculate the finishing torque. The developed model predicts the normal force and finishing torque in ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing as functions of the supply voltage, working gap and concentration of abrasive particles in a flexible magnetic abrasive brush. A comparison of theoretical and experimental results is performed to validate the proposed model

Multi-objective optimization of ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing process

Ultrasonic-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing (UAMAF) is an advanced abrasive finishing process that finishes a workpiece surface effectually when compared to a traditional magnetic abrasive finishing process in the order of nanometer. A change of surface roughness and material removal rate are two important factors determining the efficacy of the process. These two factors affect the surface quality and production time and, thereby, a total production cost. The finishing performed at higher material removal rates leads to a loss in shape/form accuracy of the surface. At the same time, increasing the rate of change of surface roughness increases loss of material. For an optimized finishing process, a compromise has to be made between the change of surface roughness and the material removal (loss). In this work, a multi-objective optimization technique based on genetic algorithm is used to optimize the finishing parameters in the UAMAF processes. A fuzzy-set-based strategy for a higher level decision is also discussed. The results of the optimization based on a mathematical model of the process are validated with the experimental results and are found to be in compliance

Inequality in Bihar: A District-Level Analysis

Bihar was one of the moderate developing states in India before 2005. However, after 2005 Bihar emerged as one of the fastest growing states, but it has emerged as a tertiary sector income based economy, saddled with negative growth in the agriculture sector and high out-migration. The state is also devoid of the industry. It is broadly acknowledged that after 2005, construction became a top priority of the government instead of addressing the agricultural crisis and think about developing appropriate health infrastructure facilities. Centralised growth of few districts is another lopsided aspect of the present government in the state. Given this background, it is important to see emerging district-level disparities and hardships in Bihar

Regional Inequality in India: A State Level Analysis

This paper tries to understand the nature and extent of inequality across states of India with special reference to Bihar. This study is based on secondary data collected from various sources including, NSSO, NFHS and other government/non-government documents and reports. The study analyse inequalities under four themes; livelihood, education, health and gender. The analysis finds that, however some positive changes can be seen in terms of enrolment in primary education, but still productivity of education is lowest in Bihar. State government has invested money in attracting students to government schools, but because of low per capita expenditure on education, access to facilities like computer in schools is the lowest in Bihar. In case of health expenditure people of Bihar has to bear significantly higher per capita out of pocket expenditure. Though, Bihar has achieved higher growth in the last couple of years but, still the level of female empowerment is very low in the state. Thus, this study finds that Bihar is still at lowest position in all four themes across states of India and, people of this state is facing grim challenges related to livelihood, quality education and health