Food Security in South Asia : Issues and Opportunities

Food security is defined as economic access to food along with food production and food availability. Agriculture in the SAR (South Asian Region) is caught in a low equilibrium trap with low productivity of staples, supply shortfalls, high prices, low returns to farmers and area diversification - all these factors can be a threat to food security. South Asia still has the highest number of people (423 millions) living on less than one dollar a day. The region has the highest concentration of undernourished (299 million) and poor people with about 40 per cent of the worlds hungry. Despite an annual 1.7 per cent reduction in the prevalence of undernourishment in the region in the past decade, the failure to reduce the absolute number of the undernourished remains a major cause for concern. Estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) indicate that by 2010, Asia will still account for about one-half of the worlds undernourished population, of which two-thirds will be from South Asia. Though SAARC countries have established a food bank to meet the needs of food security in the region, it has not been operational even during times of crisis. This is despite the felt need of member nations to evolve mechanisms to make the SAARC Food Security Reserve operational. It is against this background that this study has been undertaken. Conducted in collaboration with think-tanks from South Asian countries, it aims to identify issues relating to food security, the policy initiatives taken to tackle these issues, evaluate these policies and suggest measures to overcome identified constraints in order to improve the food security situation in the region.South Asia, food security, Safety Nets, Food Bank

Development Strategy for the Hill Districts of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand, in spite of being a small state, has certain key features that make it distinct from other states of the country and highlights its potential for development. However, development has predominantly been in the plains, and the hill districts have been left behind. All the hill districts have subsistence farming as their main economic activity. Due to subsistence livelihood, migration and a remittance economy operate in the hill districts. They are land-locked with huge distances between the markets and resources. Because of these constraints, traditional agriculture cannot be the lead sector for development. Thus the state faces the challenge of promoting livelihoods to minimize migration through local employment and income generation, and to enhance the quality of life of people living in villages. The positive features of these hill districts are that they have enormous potential for tourism, a suitable climate for high-value agriculture, and a pleasant environment due to 60 pert cent forest cover. These have to be harnessed for a development strategy. The development strategy for Uttarakhand hills should be based on developing brand equity under the name of Organic Green State and an Uttarakhand Brand Equity Fund should be set up. This can be achieved by working towards this common goal through infrastructure development, tourism promotion, agriculture diversification, poultry- and wool-based livelihoods, and SMEs based on the above that capture linkages with industry and tourism.Uttarakhand, Development Strategy, Organic Green State

Lexical Approach: Revisiting English Language teaching by Putting Theories into Practice

We could not talk about vocabulary teaching nowadays without mentioning Michael Lewis (1993), whose controversial, thought-provoking ideas have been shaking the ELT world since the publication of his book “The Lexical Approach”. The lexical approach is a method of teaching foreign languages . The basic concept on which this approach rests is the idea that an important part of learning a language consists of being able to understand and produce lexical phrases as chunks. Students are thought to be able to perceive patterns of language (grammar) as well as have meaningful set uses of words at their disposal when they are taught in this way. The most important highlight is the importance of vocabulary as being basic to communication. Lewis himself insists that his lexical approach is not simply a shift of emphasis from grammar to vocabulary teaching. The Chunks that he refers include collocations, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and idioms, which according to him, occupy a crucial role in facilitating language production and act as the key to fluency. The principles of the Lexical Approach have been around since Michael Lewis published 'The Lexical Approach' 20 years ago. It seems, however, that many teachers and researchers do not have a clear idea of what the Lexical Approach actually looks like in practice. In creating the pedagogical materials for Français interactif, the developers decided to move away from the traditional grammatical syllabus and adopt features of the Lexical Approach instead

A Study on the Recruitment and Selection practices of IT-ITES firms in India

The need to attract and select a highly skilled and a competent global workforce in a tight and competitive labour market characterized by a skills shortage and limited suitability of manpower has necessitated the adoption of best practices in recruitment and selection by firms in the IT-ITES industry in India. This study examines the recruitment and selection practices of IT-ITES firms in India and attempts to validate and extend the findings of studies in recruitment and selection conducted in Western countries to a non-Western context. Based on a detailed examination of literature on best practices in recruitment and selection, three research questions are developed, and using qualitative research methods the recruitment and selection practices of seven domestic and foreign firms in the IT-ITES industry in India are investigated in order to answer these questions. Firstly, the extent of adoption of best practices in these firms is studied. Secondly, the implementation of new and innovative methods to recruitment and selection is looked at, and finally a comparison is made between the recruitment and selection practices of domestic and foreign IT-ITES firms to determine whether foreign firms use more sophisticated techniques compared to domestic firms. The results revealed the implementation of best practices in the areas of job analysis and recruitment, but only partial implementation in the areas of initial screening and selection due to various time, cost and resource constraints. Further, IT-ITES firms were found to have adopted a range of innovative recruitment and selection strategies, though a greater focus on innovation in recruitment than in selection was observed. Finally, it was found that the recruitment and selection practices of foreign firms were not more sophisticated and structured than those of local firms except in certain aspects

Intermolecular interactions in staphylokinase–plasmin(ogen) bimolecular complex: Function of His43 and Tyr44

AbstractStaphylokinase (SAK) forms a 1:1 stoichiometric complex with human plasmin (Pm) and switches its substrate specificity to generate a plasminogen (Pg) activator complex. Site-directed mutagenesis of SAKHis43 and SAKTyr44 demonstrated the crucial requirement of a positively charged and an aromatic residue, respectively, at these positions for optimal functioning of SAK–Pm activator complex. Molecular modeling studies further revealed the role of these residues in making cation–pi and pi–pi interactions with Trp215 of Pm and thus establishing the crucial intermolecular contacts within the active site cleft of the activator complex for the cofactor activity of SAK

Mechanistic Insight into the Enzymatic Reduction of Truncated Hemoglobin N of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: role of the CD loop and pre-A Motif in electron cycling

Background: The HbN of Mycobacterium tuberculosis carries a potent nitric-oxide dioxygenase activity despite lacking a reductase domain. Results: The NADH-ferredoxin reductase system acts as an efficient partner for the reduction of HbN. Conclusion: The interactions of HbN with the reductase are modulated by its CD loop and the Pre-A region. Significance: The present study provides new insights into the mechanism of electron transfer during nitric oxide detoxification by HbN.Fil: Singh, Sandeep. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Thakur, Naveen. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Oliveira, Ana. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Petruk, Ariel Alcides. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Hade, Mangesh Dattu. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Sethi, Deepti. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Bidon Chanal, Axel. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Marti, Marcelo Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Datta, H.. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Parkesh, R.. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Estrin, Dario Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Luque, F. Javier. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Dikshit, Kanak L.. Institute of Microbial Technology; Indi

Truncated hemoglobin, HbN, is post-translationally modified in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and modulates host-pathogen interactions during intracellular infection

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a phenomenally successful human pathogen having evolved mechanisms that allow it to survive within the hazardous environment of macrophages and establish long term, persistent infection in the host against the control of cell-mediated immunity. One such mechanism is mediated by the truncated hemoglobin, HbN, of Mtb that displays a potent O2-dependent nitric oxide dioxygenase activity and protects its host from the toxicity of macrophage-generated nitric oxide (NO). Here we demonstrate for the first time that HbN is post-translationally modified by glycosylation in Mtb and remains localized on the cell membrane and the cell wall. The glycan linkage in the HbN was identified as mannose. The elevated expression of HbN in Mtb and M. smegmatis facilitated their entry within the macrophages as compared with isogenic control cells, and mutation in the glycan linkage of HbN disrupted this effect. Additionally, HbN-expressing cells exhibited higher survival within the THP-1 and mouse peritoneal macrophages, simultaneously increasing the intracellular level of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and suppressing the expression of co-stimulatory surface markers CD80 and CD86. These results, thus, suggest the involvement of HbN in modulating the host-pathogen interactions and immune system of the host apart from protecting the bacilli from nitrosative stress inside the activated macrophages, consequently driving cells toward increased infectivity and intracellular survival

Development and validation of a novel core set of KASP markers for the traits improving grain yield and adaptability of rice under direct-seeded cultivation conditions

The development and utilization of molecular-markers play an important role in genomics-assisted breeding during pyramiding of valuable genes. The aim of present study was to develop and validate a novel core-set of KASP (Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR) markers associated with traits improving rice grain yield and adaptability under direct-seeded cultivation conditions. The 110 phenotypically validated KASP assays out of 171 designed KASP, include assays for biotic-resistance genes, anaerobic germination, root-traits, grain yield, lodging resistance and early-uniform emergence. The KASP assays were validated for their robustness and reliability at five different levels using diverse germplasm, segregating and advanced population, comparison with SSR markers and on F1s. The present research work will provide (i) breeding material in form of anticipated pre-direct-seeded adapted rice varieties (ii) single improved breeding line with many useful genes and (iii) KASP assay information for the useful QTL/genes providing grain yield and adaptability to rice under direct-seeded cultivation conditions

A Study on the Recruitment and Selection practices of IT-ITES firms in India

The need to attract and select a highly skilled and a competent global workforce in a tight and competitive labour market characterized by a skills shortage and limited suitability of manpower has necessitated the adoption of best practices in recruitment and selection by firms in the IT-ITES industry in India. This study examines the recruitment and selection practices of IT-ITES firms in India and attempts to validate and extend the findings of studies in recruitment and selection conducted in Western countries to a non-Western context. Based on a detailed examination of literature on best practices in recruitment and selection, three research questions are developed, and using qualitative research methods the recruitment and selection practices of seven domestic and foreign firms in the IT-ITES industry in India are investigated in order to answer these questions. Firstly, the extent of adoption of best practices in these firms is studied. Secondly, the implementation of new and innovative methods to recruitment and selection is looked at, and finally a comparison is made between the recruitment and selection practices of domestic and foreign IT-ITES firms to determine whether foreign firms use more sophisticated techniques compared to domestic firms. The results revealed the implementation of best practices in the areas of job analysis and recruitment, but only partial implementation in the areas of initial screening and selection due to various time, cost and resource constraints. Further, IT-ITES firms were found to have adopted a range of innovative recruitment and selection strategies, though a greater focus on innovation in recruitment than in selection was observed. Finally, it was found that the recruitment and selection practices of foreign firms were not more sophisticated and structured than those of local firms except in certain aspects

Food Security in South Asia: Issues and Opportunities

Food security is defined as economic access to food along with food production and foodavailability. Agriculture in the SAR (South Asian Region) is caught in a low equilibrium trapwith low productivity of staples, supply shortfalls, high prices, low returns to farmers and areadiversification - all these factors can be a threat to food security. South Asia still has the highestnumber of people (423 millions) living on less than one dollar a day. The region has the highestconcentration of undernourished (299 million) and poor people with about 40 per cent of theworld's hungry. Despite an annual 1.7 per cent reduction in the prevalence of undernourishmentin the region in the past decade, the failure to reduce the absolute number of the undernourishedremains a major cause for concern. Estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)indicate that by 2010, Asia will still account for about one-half of the world's undernourishedpopulation, of which two-thirds will be from South Asia. Though SAARC countries have established a food bank to meet the needs of food security in theregion, it has not been operational even during times of crisis. This is despite the felt need ofmember nations to evolve mechanisms to make the SAARC Food Security Reserve operational.It is against this background that this study has been undertaken. Conducted in collaboration withthink-tanks from South Asian countries, it aims to identify issues relating to food security, thepolicy initiatives taken to tackle these issues, evaluate these policies and suggest measures toovercome identified constraints in order to improve the food security situation in the region.South Asia, Food Security, Safety Nets, Food Bank