The road half-traveled : governance reforms of food and nutrition programs in India

Since its founding as a social welfare state, India has been meandering through a life of contradictions when it comes to social and economic equality. A potent indicator of this reality is the state of food and nutrition security across the country. Indias meager progress comes on the heels of rapid economic growth over the last two decades and a slew of public programs have attempted to address the multi-faceted nature of food and nutrition security. These efforts have included subsidized grains for households through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), village health, nutrition and education programming through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) to treat cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Though these programs have been scaled across the country, numerous governance challenges and institutional failures have persisted. The latest development in Indias food and nutrition policy landscape is the National Food Security Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) of 2013, which leverages existing national programs, including the TPDS and ICDS, to grant legal entitlements to nearly 70% of the total population. This Act was the fruit of a rights-based movement in India that demanded for over a decade to codify social and economic rights. However, the question arises as to whether this new Act been able to achieve its goal to ensure food and nutrition security by strengthening the governance of these programs? This is the central question of the present thesis. This thesis investigates how the Act has reformed the implementation of food and nutrition programs in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and the capital of New Delhi. The four key objectives of this study are to investigate 1) what changes are prescribed by the Act; 2) how effective these reforms have been in addressing persistent governance challenges; 3) what challenges remain and why; and 4) what strategies could be used to address these gaps. A qualitative case study approach was applied, which involved the following data collection methods: key informant and in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, matrix ranking and process net-mapping, an innovative participatory tool that maps complex institutional processes and actors. This thesis is comprised of nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the puzzle of Indias nutritional status and explores why government efforts to tackle this problem have had tepid results. The second chapter presents the conceptual framework that defines governance challenges and an institutional framework of demand and supply side factors that contribute to effective policy and programming. Chapters three and four present an overview of the TPDS, ICDS and NRCs, and review the existing literature on the governance issues of these programs. Chapter 5 lays out the study design, methods and ethical protocols. Chapters six through eight explore each of the three programs and present key findings across the selected study sites. The last chapter presents cross-cutting conclusions for these programs in the wake of the Act and proposes a way forward to address institutional gaps in tackling food and nutrition security.Seit der Gründung des Wohlfahrtsstaates erlebt Indien eine Reihe von Widersprüchen, was die soziale und wirtschaftliche Gerechtigkeit des Landes angeht. Ein aussagekräftiger Indikator dieser Realität ist der Stand der Ernährungsicherheit im Land. Indiens dürftiger Fortschritt in der Ernährungssicherung folgt einer zwei Jahrzehnte andauernden Periode rasantem Wirtschaftswachstum, sowie einer Reihe von öffentlichen Programmen, die versuchen, die vielschichtigen Aspekte von Ernährung zu adressieren. Zu diesen Bemühungen gehören subventioniertes Getreide für Haushalte durch das gezielte öffentliche Vergabesystem TPDS, dörfliche Gesundheits-, Ernährungs- und Bildungsprogramme durch die Integrierten Dienstleistungen zur Entwicklung von Kindern ICDS und Rehabilitierungszentren für Fälle von schwerer akuter Mangelernährung (NRCs). Obwohl diese Programme auf ganz Indien ausgeweitet wurden, bestehen weiterhin institutionelle Mängel sowie zahlreiche Governance-Herausforderungen. Die jüngste Entwicklung in der Indischen Ernährungspolitik ist das Gesetz zur nationalen Ernährungssicherheit NFSA aus dem Jahr 2013. Das NFSA nutzt zwei bestehende nationale Programme, TPDS und ICDS, um fast 70% der Bevölkerung Rechtsansprüche zu gewähren. Dieses Gesetz war das Ergebnis einer größeren rechtebasierten Bewegung in Indien, die seit über einem Jahrzehnt das Ziel hat, soziale und wirtschaftliche Rechte zu kodifizieren. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob dieses neue Gesetz es ermöglicht hat, durch eine Stärkung der Governance der bestehenden Programme einen Lebenszyklusansatz in der Ernährungssicherung zu etablieren. Diese Doktorarbeit verwendet einen Ansatz vergleichender Fallstudien, um zu untersuchen, wie das NFSA die Umsetzung der Ernährungsprogramme in den Staaten Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh und der Hauptstadt Neu Delhi reformiert hat. Die vier Hauptziele der Dissertation sind: 1) die Änderungen, die durch das NFSA vorgeschrieben wurden, zu beschreiben 2) die Effektivität dieser Reformen bei der Bewältigung von Governance-Herausforderungen zu erklären, 3) die weiterhin bestehenden Governanceprobleme und Gründe dafür zu erklären, und 4) Strategien zu erarbeiten, die zur Behebung dieser Defizite beitragen können. Diese vier Aspekte wurden untersucht mittels Befragung von Schlüsselpersonen, Tiefeninterviews, Fokusgruppendiskussionen, teilnehmender Beobachtung, Matrix-Ranking und Prozessnetzkartierung (process net-mapping), ein innovatives und partizipatives Instrument, das komplexe institutionelle Prozesse und Akteure abbildet. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit besteht aus neun Kapiteln. Das erste Kapitel gibt eine Einleitung in die Rätselhaftigkeit der Ernährungslage in Indien, und warum staatliche Bemühungen dieses Problem anzugehen, nur dürftige Ergebnisse erzielt haben. Das zweite Kapitel stellt einen konzeptionellen Rahmen bezüglich Governance-Herausforderungen und einen institutionellen Rahmen bezüglich Nachfrage- und Angebotsfaktoren, die zu wirkungsvollen Politikmaßnahmen und Programmgestaltung beitragen, dar. Kapitel drei und vier geben einen Überblick über TPDS, ICDS und NRCs, und über die bestehende Literatur bezüglich der Governance-Herausforderungen dieser drei Programme. Kapitel fünf beschreibt das Studiendesign, die angewandten Methoden und die Forschungsprotokolle. Kapitel sechs bis acht untersuchen jeweils eins der drei Programme und erklären Schlüsselergebnisse über die drei ausgewählten Untersuchungsstandorte hinweg. Die Dissertation schließt mit einer übergreifenden Zusammenfassung für diese Programme vor dem Hintergrund des neuen Gesetzes und gibt wegweisende Vorschläge wie man diese institutionellen Defizite zur Verbesserung der Ernährungssicherheit adressiert

The road half-traveled : governance reforms of food and nutrition programs in India

Since its founding as a social welfare state, India has been meandering through a life of contradictions when it comes to social and economic equality. A potent indicator of this reality is the state of food and nutrition security across the country. Indias meager progress comes on the heels of rapid economic growth over the last two decades and a slew of public programs have attempted to address the multi-faceted nature of food and nutrition security. These efforts have included subsidized grains for households through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), village health, nutrition and education programming through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) to treat cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Though these programs have been scaled across the country, numerous governance challenges and institutional failures have persisted. The latest development in Indias food and nutrition policy landscape is the National Food Security Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) of 2013, which leverages existing national programs, including the TPDS and ICDS, to grant legal entitlements to nearly 70% of the total population. This Act was the fruit of a rights-based movement in India that demanded for over a decade to codify social and economic rights. However, the question arises as to whether this new Act been able to achieve its goal to ensure food and nutrition security by strengthening the governance of these programs? This is the central question of the present thesis. This thesis investigates how the Act has reformed the implementation of food and nutrition programs in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and the capital of New Delhi. The four key objectives of this study are to investigate 1) what changes are prescribed by the Act; 2) how effective these reforms have been in addressing persistent governance challenges; 3) what challenges remain and why; and 4) what strategies could be used to address these gaps. A qualitative case study approach was applied, which involved the following data collection methods: key informant and in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, matrix ranking and process net-mapping, an innovative participatory tool that maps complex institutional processes and actors. This thesis is comprised of nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the puzzle of Indias nutritional status and explores why government efforts to tackle this problem have had tepid results. The second chapter presents the conceptual framework that defines governance challenges and an institutional framework of demand and supply side factors that contribute to effective policy and programming. Chapters three and four present an overview of the TPDS, ICDS and NRCs, and review the existing literature on the governance issues of these programs. Chapter 5 lays out the study design, methods and ethical protocols. Chapters six through eight explore each of the three programs and present key findings across the selected study sites. The last chapter presents cross-cutting conclusions for these programs in the wake of the Act and proposes a way forward to address institutional gaps in tackling food and nutrition security.Seit der Gründung des Wohlfahrtsstaates erlebt Indien eine Reihe von Widersprüchen, was die soziale und wirtschaftliche Gerechtigkeit des Landes angeht. Ein aussagekräftiger Indikator dieser Realität ist der Stand der Ernährungsicherheit im Land. Indiens dürftiger Fortschritt in der Ernährungssicherung folgt einer zwei Jahrzehnte andauernden Periode rasantem Wirtschaftswachstum, sowie einer Reihe von öffentlichen Programmen, die versuchen, die vielschichtigen Aspekte von Ernährung zu adressieren. Zu diesen Bemühungen gehören subventioniertes Getreide für Haushalte durch das gezielte öffentliche Vergabesystem TPDS, dörfliche Gesundheits-, Ernährungs- und Bildungsprogramme durch die Integrierten Dienstleistungen zur Entwicklung von Kindern ICDS und Rehabilitierungszentren für Fälle von schwerer akuter Mangelernährung (NRCs). Obwohl diese Programme auf ganz Indien ausgeweitet wurden, bestehen weiterhin institutionelle Mängel sowie zahlreiche Governance-Herausforderungen. Die jüngste Entwicklung in der Indischen Ernährungspolitik ist das Gesetz zur nationalen Ernährungssicherheit NFSA aus dem Jahr 2013. Das NFSA nutzt zwei bestehende nationale Programme, TPDS und ICDS, um fast 70% der Bevölkerung Rechtsansprüche zu gewähren. Dieses Gesetz war das Ergebnis einer größeren rechtebasierten Bewegung in Indien, die seit über einem Jahrzehnt das Ziel hat, soziale und wirtschaftliche Rechte zu kodifizieren. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob dieses neue Gesetz es ermöglicht hat, durch eine Stärkung der Governance der bestehenden Programme einen Lebenszyklusansatz in der Ernährungssicherung zu etablieren. Diese Doktorarbeit verwendet einen Ansatz vergleichender Fallstudien, um zu untersuchen, wie das NFSA die Umsetzung der Ernährungsprogramme in den Staaten Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh und der Hauptstadt Neu Delhi reformiert hat. Die vier Hauptziele der Dissertation sind: 1) die Änderungen, die durch das NFSA vorgeschrieben wurden, zu beschreiben 2) die Effektivität dieser Reformen bei der Bewältigung von Governance-Herausforderungen zu erklären, 3) die weiterhin bestehenden Governanceprobleme und Gründe dafür zu erklären, und 4) Strategien zu erarbeiten, die zur Behebung dieser Defizite beitragen können. Diese vier Aspekte wurden untersucht mittels Befragung von Schlüsselpersonen, Tiefeninterviews, Fokusgruppendiskussionen, teilnehmender Beobachtung, Matrix-Ranking und Prozessnetzkartierung (process net-mapping), ein innovatives und partizipatives Instrument, das komplexe institutionelle Prozesse und Akteure abbildet. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit besteht aus neun Kapiteln. Das erste Kapitel gibt eine Einleitung in die Rätselhaftigkeit der Ernährungslage in Indien, und warum staatliche Bemühungen dieses Problem anzugehen, nur dürftige Ergebnisse erzielt haben. Das zweite Kapitel stellt einen konzeptionellen Rahmen bezüglich Governance-Herausforderungen und einen institutionellen Rahmen bezüglich Nachfrage- und Angebotsfaktoren, die zu wirkungsvollen Politikmaßnahmen und Programmgestaltung beitragen, dar. Kapitel drei und vier geben einen Überblick über TPDS, ICDS und NRCs, und über die bestehende Literatur bezüglich der Governance-Herausforderungen dieser drei Programme. Kapitel fünf beschreibt das Studiendesign, die angewandten Methoden und die Forschungsprotokolle. Kapitel sechs bis acht untersuchen jeweils eins der drei Programme und erklären Schlüsselergebnisse über die drei ausgewählten Untersuchungsstandorte hinweg. Die Dissertation schließt mit einer übergreifenden Zusammenfassung für diese Programme vor dem Hintergrund des neuen Gesetzes und gibt wegweisende Vorschläge wie man diese institutionellen Defizite zur Verbesserung der Ernährungssicherheit adressiert

Identifying problems in pop cork manufacturing process

The current context of the Europe, USA, China, India and worldwide industry is marked by an intense competition between producers to attract the customer´s choice. The dynamic needs of client feed the competitiveness to the companies, pushing them to lower prices, high quality and better delivery conditions in terms of lead time and quantities. The pop cork production makes more efficiency the production of larger amounts of granules in grain materials technology. Amorim cork industry is the biggest cork materials manufacturer company in the world and is located at Portugal, supplying to different fields such as aerospace, automobile industry, textiles and household things. Following this, innovation unit is embedded in the grain materials technology. This work expects to recognize the pop cork issues and to enhance the pop cork effectiveness by improving the cork expansion, as well as the equipment working conditions. The case study provides detailed information about the granules units 1 and 3, at na operational level. In the GMT (Granules Materials Technology) units 1 and 3, analyses and improvements in the cork expansion were carried out, by identifying the boilers capacity limitations, controls of the equipment conditions, operational failures and available resources, such as natural cork waste, because different kinds of Cork Bark are used in the pop cork production. These sections were analysed collecting samples of different kinds of cork bark used in the pop cork production, at diferente temperatures, observing as well the variation of cork expansion in order to identify the problems occurred in the process. Errors displayed by the equipment and/or pointed out by operators in the GMT units 1 and 3 were recorded. Corporate changes to promote the standardization of procedures, from initial objectives to evaluation, considering the planning, execution and reports, were also identified. At the end, the results of pop cork production in the GMT unit 1 and 3 were improved by 3%. Now, Amorim Cork Composites presents a more profitable process, which was proved. The regularity of maintenance operations should be undertaken to increase the granules production.O contexto atual da Europa, EUA, China, Índia e da indústria em todo o mundo, é marcado por uma intensa concorrência entre os produtores para conquistar a escolha dos consumidores. As dinâmicas dos clientes alimentam a competitividade das empresas, impelindo-as para a prática de preços mais baixos, alta qualidade e melhores condições de entrega em termos de prazos e quantidades. A produção de pop cork torna mais eficiente a produção de grandes quantidades de grânulos na tecnologia de materiais granulados. O Grupo Amorim é o maior conjunto de empresas fabricante de materiais de cortiça do mundo e está localizado em Portugal, fornecendo as diferentes áreas, como a aeroespacial, indústria automobilística, têxteis e artigos domésticas. Para tal, a unidade de inovação está incorporada na unidade de tecnologia de granulados. Este trabalho espera reconhecer os problemas de produção da pop cork e melhorar a eficácia do processo de expansão da cortiça, bem como as condições de trabalho do equipamento. O caso de estudo fornece informações detalhadas sobre as unidades de grânulos 1 e 3, ao nível operacional. Nas unidades 1 e 3 da GMT (Granules Materials Technology), foram realizadas análises e melhorias na expansão da cortiça, identificando as limitações da capacidade da caldeira, controlo das condições do equipamento, suas falhas operacionais e recursos disponíveis, como resíduos de cortiça natural, porque são usados diferentes tipos de casca de cortiça como matéria-prima na produção de pop cork. Essas unidades foram analisadas recolhendo as amostras de diferentes tipos de cortiça usados na produção de pop cork a diferentes temperaturas, observando também a variação da expansão da cortiça para identificar os problemas ocorridos no processo. Os erros exibidos pelo equipamento e/ou apontados pelos operadores nas GMT 1 e 3 foram registrados. Foram também identificadas mudanças na Organização para promover a padronização de procedimentos, desde objetivos até a correspondente avaliação, considerando o planeamento, execução e relatórios. No final, foi possível registar um incremento na produção de pop cork nas unidades 1 e 3, o qual atingiu os 3%. Agora, a Amorim Cork Composites apresenta um processo mais lucrativo, o que ficou provado. A regularidade da manutenção deve ser tida em conta, com vista a aumentar a produção de grânulos

Rigid Body Motion Estimation based on the Lagrange-d'Alembert Principle

Stable estimation of rigid body pose and velocities from noisy measurements, without any knowledge of the dynamics model, is treated using the Lagrange-d'Alembert principle from variational mechanics. With body-fixed optical and inertial sensor measurements, a Lagrangian is obtained as the difference between a kinetic energy-like term that is quadratic in velocity estimation error and the sum of two artificial potential functions; one obtained from a generalization of Wahba's function for attitude estimation and another which is quadratic in the position estimate error. An additional dissipation term that is linear in the velocity estimation error is introduced, and the Lagrange-d'Alembert principle is applied to the Lagrangian with this dissipation. This estimation scheme is discretized using discrete variational mechanics. The presented pose estimator requires optical measurements of at least three inertially fixed landmarks or beacons in order to estimate instantaneous pose. The discrete estimation scheme can also estimate velocities from such optical measurements. In the presence of bounded measurement noise in the vector measurements, numerical simulations show that the estimated states converge to a bounded neighborhood of the actual states.Comment: My earlier submitted manuscript (arXiv:1508.07671), is an extended version of this work, containing detailed proofs and more elaborated numerical simulations, currently under review in Automatica. This paper will be cited in the extended journal version (arXiv:1508.07671) upon publicatio

Challenges and Approaches in Green Data Center

Cloud computing is a fast evolving area of information and communication technologies (ICTs)that hascreated new environmental issues. Cloud computing technologies have a widerange ofapplications due to theirscalability, dependability, and trustworthiness, as well as their abilityto deliver high performance at a low cost.The cloud computing revolution is altering modern networking, offering both economic and technologicalbenefits as well as potential environmental benefits. These innovations have the potential to improve energyefficiency while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions and e-waste. These traits have thepotential tomakecloud computing more environmentally friendly. Green cloud computing is the science and practise of properlydesigning, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers,and associated subsystems like displays,printers, storage devices, and networking and communication systems while minimising or eliminatingenvironmental impact. The most significant reason for a data centre review is to understand capacity,dependability, durability,algorithmic efficiency, resource allocation, virtualization, power management, andother elements. The green cloud design aims to reduce data centre power consumption. The main advantageof green cloud computing architecture is that it ensures real-time performance whilereducing IDC’s energyconsumption (internet data center).This paper analyzed the difficultiesfaced by data centers such as capacityplanning and management, up-time and performance maintenance, energy efficiency and cost cutting, realtime monitoring and reporting. The solution for the identified problems with DCIM system is also presentedin this paper. Finally, it discusses the market report’s coverage of green data centres, green computingprinciples, andfuture research challenges. This comprehensive green cloud analysis study will assist nativegreen research fellows in learning about green cloud concerns and understanding future research challengesin the field

IN SILICO DESIGN AND MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES OF SOME 1, 2-BENZISOXAZOLE DERIVATIVES FOR THEIR ANALGESIC AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY

Objective: In silico design and molecular docking of 1,2-benzisoxazole derivatives for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity using computational methods.Methods: In silico molecular properties of 1,2-benzisoxazole derivatives were predicted using various software's such as Chemsketch, Molinspiration, PASS and Schrodinger to select compounds having optimum drug-likeness, molecular descriptors resembling those of standard drugs and not violating the ‘Lipinski rule of 5'. Molecular docking was performed on active site of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (PDB: 2KSR) for analgesic activity and COX-2 (PDB: 6COX) for anti-inflammatory activity using Schrodinger under maestro molecular modelling environment.Results: From the results of molecular docking studies of 1,2-benzisoxazole derivatives, all the compounds showed good binding interactions with Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and COX-2. Compounds 4a and 4c showed highest binding scores (-7.46 and-7.21 respectively) with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and exhibited maximum analgesic activity. Compound 4a showed highest binding score (-7.8) with COX-2 and exhibited maximum anti-inflammatory activity.Conclusion: All the derivatives of 1,2-benzisoxazole showed good analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity as predicted using molecular docking on respective receptors

Participation of rural workers in the mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act in India

Responsibility of Government of India to provide funds through an easy and convenient mechanism, In the present funding pattern GOI provides funds to the states to meet full cost of wages and upto 75% of the material cost of work including wages to skilled and semiskilled workers. (subject to material - wage ratio not exceeding 40:60); release of funds is made not to the state but directly to each district. This system involves need for detailed calculations and scrutiny of figures of expenditure on wages, material component and staff. It also entails heavy workload in having to keep district - wise account. This cumbersome procedure compels district officers to make frequent visits to Delhi to chase their proposals for release of funds. The whole process can be greatly simplified by having a new funding pattern in which central government meets full cost of employment wages and in addition funds equal to 50% of wages are given towards all other costs (including material component, staff etc). This simple pattern of funding would dispense the need for getting from states details of expenditure on material, staff etc. or having to calculate the wage-material ratio in REGS works, Also, the release of funds should be to the state and not directly to the district; on-account automatic release of funds to the states will be based on the Utilization Certificate of earlier released funds given by the finance department of the state. GOI will then be concerned with maintaining only state-wise accounts and not nearly 600 accounts for the districts