Application Of Permissioned Blockchain For Automated, Efficient, Secure Cross Border Trade

There are lot of documents and confidential data involved in international trade. Banks offer financial services and also act as middleman for cross border trades. The verification process plays a vital role and it takes months to years, to complete. The major problem is to maintain integrity and confidentiality of the data shared, and to maintain fair trading process. Blockchain technology is introduced to increase the efficiency and security of the documents shared to the needed parties in the trade. Permissioned blockchain is used wherein the participants of the network are controlled and governed by the blockchain owner. Hyperledger fabric platform is used to implement the trade finance application. The main idea is to automate the verification processes in order to complete the trade financing within minutes to hours and to enhance security of the documents shared using Attribute Based Encryption (ABE) in cross border trades. The smart contracts in blockchain provides functionalities to assure that the information is tamper-free, auditable and verifiable.&nbsp

Molecular and morphological characterization of new promising black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) lines

Seven high yielding, new, promising lines of black pepper (Piper nigrum) were characterized using molecular markers (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and morphological features. Out of the 14 random decatner primers studied, 9 could generate unique bands in 6 lines. Maximum unique bands of the primers were observed in the line OPKrn followed by HP-1411 and HP-105. HP-780 could not be discriminated by any of the primers. Sixteen unique bands were prod uced by the nine primers making an average of 1.7 bands per primer. The lines OPKm, HP-1411 and HP-105 exhibited distinct morphological features also. &nbsp

Adarsha Watershed in Kothapally Understanding the Drivers of Higher Impact

Water, the very basis of life and the single most important feature of our planet, is the most threatened resource today. In rainfed areas watershed management is the approach used for conservation of water and other natural resources as well as for sustainable management of natural resources. A watershed is a hydrologically defined area that is drained by a network of streams, which meet together in such a way that the water leaves through a common point. A watershed is made up of soil, vegetation and water along with the people and animals who are the integral part of the system. Sustainable management of a watershed thus entails the rational utilization of land and water resources for optimum production but minimum hazard to natural and human resources. Therefore, watershed management is the process of guiding and organizing land use and use of other resources in a watershed to provide desired goods and services to people while enhancing the resource base without adversely affecting natural resources and the………………

Opportunities for the private sector in soil water conservation programs in rainfed areas

Rainfed areas are threatened by problems of high population, poverty, land degradation and drought, water is a key factor increasing the risks for investments by the farmers as well as private entrepreneurs.........

Adarsha Watershed in Kothapally Understanding the Drivers of Higher Impact: Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report no. 10

A new science-based farmer participatory consortium model for efficient management of natural resources and for improving the livelihood of poor rural households was evaluated in Adarsha watershed, Kothapally, Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh, India by ICRISAT and partners. The salient impacts that resulted due to the implementation of this model were substantial reductions in runoff and soil loss, improvement in groundwater levels, reduction in pesticide usage, improvement in land cover, increase in productivity and high incomes to the farmers. Compared to the pre-project situation, average household incomes from crop production have doubled. The drivers of this success were: (i) selection of the watershed on a demand driven basis; (ii) higher farmer participation in the watershed program; (iii) good local leadership; (iv) integrated approach to watershed management; (v) team effort and collective action by the consortium partners; (vi) social vigilance and transparency in financial dealings; (vii) increased confidence of the farmers; (viii) choice of low-cost conservation structures that provide benefits to large segments of the community; (ix) constant participatory monitoring; (x) knowledge-based entry point activity; and (xi) concerted local capacity building efforts by all the partner

Development, Integration and Dissemination of Resource Conservation Options through Community Watershed Approach

Dryland areas in the tropics are hot spots of poverty as well as severe land degradation and water scarcity. In order to achieve the food security for millions of rural poor, it is critical to enhance the productivity of rainted agriculture through conservation of natural resources such as water and land. The Comprehensve Assessment of Water for Food and Water for Life has demonstrated that potential of rainted agriculture of doubling the productivity can be harnessed by adopting integrated approach through watershed management. Assessment of watershed impacts in India revealed that watershed approach can be applied in all rainfed areas with suitable modifications of interventions or economically beneficial and rainted agriculture can be upgraded by enhancing the effectiveness of 68% of the watershed prajecrs which are perlorming below average. The new paradigm tor unlocking the potentia! of rainted agriculture IS by adopting community watershed management approach as a business model through convergence and linking of farmers to the markets, efficient use of conserved natural resources for enhancing tile productivity by adopting IGNRM approach and improving community participation through capacity building and ensuring tangible economic benefits. Capacity building has been identified as a weakest link for scaling-up the watershed programs and national strategy for quality capacity building measures through consortium of quality setvice providers with suitable quality indicators is recommended. Consetvation agriculture can be operationalized through watershed approach for improving the livelihoods of rural poor by unlocking the potential of rainfed agriculture

Journey from 2D to 3D: Implant imaging a review

Imaging techniques play an important role in proper treatment planning for dental implant. Conventional radiographic imaging techniques provide sufficient information regarding suggested implant sites. But, small size, image distortion and magnification limit their use in many cases. Previously CT has been employed for preoperative planning of implant. The major disadvantages of CT are artifacts, high dose of radiation and cost. Advanced imaging modalities like CBCT produces 3D images at relatively low cost and radiation dose thus making it invaluable in coordination with other techniques providing the anatomical information thus helps in proper treatment plan, good prognosis and thus relatively low risks for surgical mishaps

Evaluation of Trait-based and Empirical Selections for Drought Resistance at Udaipur,Rajasthan, India

The performance of 8 parental groundnut genotypes (ICGS 76, CSMG 84-1, ICGS-44, ICGV 86031, TAG 24, GG 2, JL 220 and K 134) and 192 progenies was evaluated in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, during 2000 (rainy season). The top 20 genotypes for kernel yield were identified by trait-based (9) and empirical (11) selections. For these genotypes, a kernel yield of 3411-4662, harvest index (HI) of 0.39-0.47, transpiration efficiency (TE) of 2.01-2.16 g/kg, and transpiration level of 377-492 mm were recorded. JAL 17, JUG 11, ICR 39, ICR 23 ad JAL 24 showed a significant improvement (from 12.7 to 28.1%) in kernel yield over the parent with the highest yield (TAG 24, 3639 kg/ha). Relative to TAG 24, higher HI (by 0.4-3.2%), TE (by 1.2%) and T (by 10.5-27.66%) were observed in 4, 3 and 5 of these genotypes. JAL 17, ICR 39 and ICR 23 showed significant increases in all 3 traits over the control

Socioeconomic profiles, production and resource use patterns in selected semi-arid Indian watershed villages

The collaborative watershed research and development project between ICRISAT and the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme (APRLP) was initiated with an overall objective of alleviating poverty through watershed-based interventions that enhance agricultural productivity and the sustainability of rural livelihoods. The initial phase of the project focused on participatory technology evaluation in selected watersheds for development of best practices and upscalable implementation models. Characterization of the biophysical and socioeconomic systems is an important aspect of this work. A detailed baseline socioeconomic farm household survey was conducted in 2003 in selected watershed villages of Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Kurnool districts. This report analyzes the socioeconomic conditions and resource endowment patterns of the watershed farmers. The report provides a snapshot of the structure of production in the villages, constraints and potential for increased productivity, social and political networks, and the distribution of assets across social groups. The net household incomes from diverse sources including crop, livestock and off-farm and their contribution to total household income in the selected villages are presented. The report also analyzes the income inequalities and the effect of different income sources on household income inequalities in the watershed villages using inequality decomposition techniques