Impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program on Rural Poor - A Simple Theoretical Discourse

The basic objective of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program (MGNREGP) is to provide safety net for the rural poor and to stabilize agricultural production through creating productive assets via employing labourers. Two important linked aspects are worth noting in respect of implementation of the program. Implementation of MGNREGP in multiple cropping areas can increase the employment opportunities among the landless agricultural labourers and thus has inevitably raised their bargaining power particularly during the time of second crop i.e. post rainy season cultivation. Besides this, Government of India has persistently been hiking per man-day MGNREGP wage. Both these instances undoubtedly increase the reservation wage in agricultural labour market which in turn may have an adverse effect on the farm income in the multi-cropping areas. In this paper, maximum possible per man-day MGNREGP wage is determined at which the corresponding agricultural wage can help the marginal farmers to sustain their net farm income at least at subsistence level. This paper also establishes the fact that as a result of the hike of MGNREGP wage, sustenance of subsistence net farm income may lead to price hike in agricultural sector. The study also attempts to analyze the results in respect of aggregate net pecuniary benefits of the rural poor in the light of MGNREGP considering different agricultural frameworks

Participation of women in traditional pig farming in North bank plain zone of Assam

A study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of women pig farmers, pig rearing system, feeding management, annual income from piggery and constraints faced by women farmers and involvement and contribution of women in backyard piggery in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district under North bank plain zone of Assam. A total of 577 women farmers involved actively in pig farming were randomly selected and interviewed with a standard questionnaire. Involvement of married (40.9%) and middle aged women (26-35 years) with formal education adopted piggery through low input traditional management practices for fattening purpose (49.04%). The management system followed was scavengingsystem (47.05%). Kitchen waste and leftover of local rice beer along with rice bran were the common feeds offered to pigs. The major constraints to women involvement in pig farming was found to be inadequate capital (37.43%) followed by high cost of medication and commercial ration (28.94%) and pre-occupation with household chores (17.67%). The average age at puberty of pig (16.55±0.11 months) was longer. The average weight gain (2.31±0.01 kg/month), litter size at birth (10.57±0.13) and litter size at weaning (5.76±0.14) were poor. It was found that 70% of the women farmers could generatemedium level of annual income (40-50 thousand) followed by 19.5% with high level income (>50 thousand). The study recommended that easy access to credit facilities from the financial institution and improve technical skills on pig farming may increase the level of involvement and help in doubling the annual income of the women piggery farmers. Backyard piggery may act as way of women empowerment in rural areas and enhance the socio-economic status of the women in piggery

Participation of women in traditional pig farming in North bank plain zone of Assam

A study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of women pig farmers, pig rearing system, feeding management, annual income from piggery and constraints faced by women farmers and involvement and contribution of women in backyard piggery in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district under North bank plain zone of Assam. A total of 577 women farmers involved actively in pig farming were randomly selected and interviewed with a standard questionnaire. Involvement of married (40.9%) and middle aged women (26-35 years) with formal education adopted piggery through low input traditional management practices for fattening purpose (49.04%). The management system followed was scavengingsystem (47.05%). Kitchen waste and leftover of local rice beer along with rice bran were the common feeds offered to pigs. The major constraints to women involvement in pig farming was found to be inadequate capital (37.43%) followed by high cost of medication and commercial ration (28.94%) and pre-occupation with household chores (17.67%). The average age at puberty of pig (16.55±0.11 months) was longer. The average weight gain (2.31±0.01 kg/month), litter size at birth (10.57±0.13) and litter size at weaning (5.76±0.14) were poor. It was found that 70% of the women farmers could generatemedium level of annual income (40-50 thousand) followed by 19.5% with high level income (>50 thousand). The study recommended that easy access to credit facilities from the financial institution and improve technical skills on pig farming may increase the level of involvement and help in doubling the annual income of the women piggery farmers. Backyard piggery may act as way of women empowerment in rural areas and enhance the socio-economic status of the women in piggery

Employment Generation among Women in NREGS: A Synthesis on the basis of Micro Level Field Investigation

Abstract. Government of India has initiated the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) or N REGS in 2006 where the basic objective is to provide 100 full man-days of employment to each willing rural household. The adjoining act (NREG Act of 2005) that guarantees employment of every rural household for 100 days has different provisions to incentivize participation of women in the programme. The programme indeed has both direct and indirect aspects towards favoring the participation of women in order to fulfill a larger objective of women empowerment. Thus it becomes imperative to focus on the extent to which the programme is inclusive of women. Official data suggest that 47% of all NREGS workers are women. However, in this regard, there is substantial variation not only across states but also across different regions within a state. The present paper based on a primary survey made in Birbhum district of West Bengal, attempts to investigate whether expansion of NREGS has been able to help the female job-card holders to get employment through NREGS where we have considered ratio of female man days to total man days of a household as the outcome variable. It is observed that the heterogeneity in the value of the stated outcome variable is significantly caused by nature of works the female job card holders have to carry out under NREGS and family parameters faced by them which somehow emanate from socio-cultural factor(s) in general and binding in particular. Apart from this, although there is inevitability of the influence of total number of NREGS man- days received in the entire reference period by the household to which the female member(s) belongs, yet, there seems no one to one correspondence between the outcome variable and the same.Keywords. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Female employment generation in NREGS, Nature of works, Family parameters, Type II Tobit model with endogenous regressor.JEL. C34, C36, D10, J16

<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> Crystal and molecular structure of <i style="">o</i>-thiobenzyl-N,N-dibenzylaniline (C₂₇H₂₅NS) </smarttagtype></smarttagtype>

172-174In crystals of o-thiobenzyl N,N-dibenzylaniline (I) (C27H25NS), there are three benzyl groups. N atom is two covalent with the C atoms of the two benzyl groups and the S atom is covalent with the C atom of the other benzyl group. The distances N1-C21, N1-C14 and S1-C7 have been found to be 1.489(4), 1.488(9) and 1.832(8)Å, respectively. The molecule is as a whole non-planar. The S1 and the N1 atoms make intramolecular hydrogen bonding. No intermolecular hydrogen bonding has been found and the molecules are stabilised by the network of Van der Waals interaction in their crystalline assembly

<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN">Crystal<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN"> and molecular structure of 2<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN">-chloroazobenzene-2-sulphenylbromide <span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-IN">(C₁₂H₈BrC1N₂S)</span></span></span></span>

357-360The title compound 2-chloroazobenzene-2-sulphenylbromide (I) (C12H8BrClN2S) is ionic in nature. The electronegativity difference between S and Br atoms makes S atom electrophilic in nature and the presence of intramolecular interaction between the S atom and the azo group has been established by the formation of bond between S and N5 atom and increase in the bond distance between S and Br atoms to 3.23 1 (7)Å in the compound, which is greater than any known covalent length between them. The dihedral angle between the phenyl rings A and C is 46.13(0.13)0. The molecules are stabilised by the network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds and van der Waals contacts.</span

Self‐reported urinary tract infection and bacterial vaginosis symptoms among indigenous adolescents during seasonal periods of water scarcity: A cross‐sectional study in Bandarban Hill District of Bangladesh

Abstract Background and Aims Water scarcity and poor water quality could lead to suboptimum menstrual hygiene practices, and subsequently urinary tract infection (UTI) and bacterial vaginosis (BV). In this study, we estimate the prevalence of self‐reported UTI and BV among indigenous adolescent girls during the water scarcity period in the Bandarban Hill Districts in south‐eastern Bangladesh. Methods Using a cross‐sectional design, a total of 242 indigenous adolescent girls were selected and interviewed during the seasonal water scarcity period (from February to May 2022) in Bandarban. The difference in prevalence of any self‐reported UTI or BV symptoms by respondents' characteristics was assessed by χ2 test. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to observe the associated factors. Results The prevalence of self‐reported UTI, BV, and any symptoms of UTI or BV among the respondents were 35.54%, 28.93%, and 43.80%, respectively. Ethnicity, studentship status, source of water used for menstrual hygiene, and perceived water quality were significantly associated with the prevalence of any self‐reported UTI or BV symptoms. Conclusion Findings recommend further research to cross‐check the validity of self‐reported prevalence and investigate if the episodes of UTI or BV could be attributable to water scarcity and poor water quality in study areas during dry period

How is parental education associated with infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh? a systematic literature review

Abstract Background Education is expected to bring about positive behavioral changes which could lead to improved health behaviors. Parental education is a primary determinant of child health and development. However, some evidence showed inverse associations between high parental education and recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in Bangladesh. How the association of parental education differs with specific IYCF components has not been reviewed. Therefore, the role of parental education on optimal IYCF practices in Bangladesh appears to be inconclusive. The objective of this review is to summarize how parental education is associated with IYCF practices in Bangladesh. Method This review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar. Record searching, study selection, and data extraction was performed using Endnote online and Covidence tool, respectively. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale was used for quality assessment of the included studies. Results Out of 414 initial hits, 34 studies were included for this review. Of the included studies, 32 were cross-sectional, one was a randomized controlled trial, and one was a retrospective cohort. Most of the studies (n = 24) were nationally representative whereas 10 studies had populations from district and sub-district level. Included studies considered different IYCF-related indicators, including breastfeeding (n = 22), complementary feeding (n = 8), both breastfeeding and complementary feeding (n = 2), both breastfeeding and bottle feeding (n = 1), and pre-lacteal feeding (n = 1). Parental education was found to be positively associated with complementary feeding practices. However, the role of parental education on breastfeeding, in general, was ambiguous. High parental education was associated with bottle-feeding practices and no initiation of colostrum. Conclusion Public health interventions need to focus not only on non- and/or low-educated parents regarding complementary feeding but also on educated mothers for initiation of colostrum and proper breastfeeding practices. Trial registration This systematic review is registered to PROSPERO ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ ) with registration ID: CRD42022355465