Review of Oral Rabies Vaccination of Dogs and Its Application in India

Oral rabies vaccines (ORVs) have been in use to successfully control rabies in wildlife since 1978 across Europe and the USA. This review focuses on the potential and need for the use of ORVs in free-roaming dogs to control dog-transmitted rabies in India. Iterative work to improve ORVs over the past four decades has resulted in vaccines that have high safety profiles whilst generating a consistent protective immune response to the rabies virus. The available evidence for safety and efficacy of modern ORVs in dogs and the broad and outspoken support from prominent global public health institutions for their use provides confidence to national authorities considering their use in rabies-endemic regions. India is estimated to have the largest rabies burden of any country and, whilst considerable progress has been made to increase access to human rabies prophylaxis, examples of high-output mass dog vaccination campaigns to eliminate the virus at the source remain limited. Efficiently accessing a large proportion of the dog population through parenteral methods is a considerable challenge due to the large, evasive stray dog population in many settings. Existing parenteral approaches require large skilled dog-catching teams to reach these dogs, which present financial, operational and logistical limitations to achieve 70% dog vaccination coverage in urban settings in a short duration. ORV presents the potential to accelerate the development of approaches to eliminate rabies across large areas of the South Asia region. Here we review the use of ORVs in wildlife and dogs, with specific consideration of the India setting. We also present the results of a risk analysis for a hypothetical campaign using ORV for the vaccination of dogs in an Indian state.

Analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions and their impacts on COVID-19 in Kerala

In the absence of an effective vaccine or drug therapy, non-pharmaceutical interventions are the only option for control of the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019, a pandemic with global implications. Each of the over 200 countries affected has followed its own path in dealing with the crisis, making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of measures implemented, either individually, or collectively. In this paper we analyse the case of the south Indian state of Kerala, which received much attention in the international media for its actions in containing the spread of the disease in the early months of the pandemic, but later succumbed to a second wave. We use a model to study the trajectory of the disease in the state during the first four months of the outbreak. We then use the model for a retrospective analysis of measures taken to combat the spread of the disease, to evaluate their impact. Because of the differences in the trajectory of the outbreak in Kerala, we argue that it is a model worthy of a place in the discussion on how the world might best handle this and other, future, pandemics.

Composite Geoelectrical Investigation to Delineate Groundwater Feasibility in Hard Rock area of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.

In hard rock terrains, groundwater movement, migration, and storage occur through subsurface fractures. To assess the fractures and associated water, we carried integrated geophysical investigation with Wenner, (GRP), Schlumberger, and Pole-Dipole array in Indian State. The resistivity survey carried out using a CRM-500 resistivity meter. The analyzed results are also re-verified with the help of IPI2WIN software. Initially, lateral and surface variations of resistivity were plotted by using Wenner and Gradient Resistivity profiling array. Then the low resistivity points were investigated with Schlumberger and Pole-Dipole array. In interpretation, low resistive zones identified correspond to the possible fractured zones. The results allowed mapping of the weathering zone at depth 12 to 15 m, and deep fracture lies below depth 55.0 m depth. The present study validates that the integrated Geophysical survey is a powerful exploration technique to scrutinize and identify water-bearing fractures in the hard rock area.

Burnout and Stressors as Influencers on Work Engagement Among Law Enforcement Agents in Selected Cities

Burnout is an underlying issue that has an adverse effect on the working enthusiasm of the employees. In this chapter, the researcher has attempted to assess the influence of stressors on burnout and work engagement in the context of the Indian law enforcement agents. The study evaluates the correlations between burnout factors—emotional exhaustion, cynicism, low professional efficacy—with vigor, dedication, and absorption. For the purpose of this study, items from MBI-GS for assessing burnout, scale for stressors, and employee engagement are adapted. The construct of the scale developed was established using confirmatory factor analysis. The study was carried out for 145 law enforcement agents in the selected cities of a North Indian state. T-test results applied on stressors between male and female groups show varying results. A significant negative effect of burnout factors on work engagement factors is observed through the empirical examination using SEM AMOS.

Revisiting the food security system in India in the pandemic era: the case of a Southern Indian state

PurposeThe objective of this paper was twofold-revisiting the in-kind public distribution system (PDS) – India's flagship food security intervention and seeking beneficiary perspectives on its efficacy. The feasibility of cash transfers as an alternative mechanism is also examined, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachPrimary and secondary data from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu were used. In-depth interviews with beneficiaries using phenomenology were conducted to evaluate their perception and willingness to shift to a cash-based PDS in the pre and post-pandemic periods. Secondary district-level data were also used to ascertain institutional preparedness for this shift.FindingsIn-depth interviews of 105 beneficiaries revealed valuable insights, which seem to have significantly changed post-pandemic. Beneficiaries in the post-pandemic period seem much more inclined toward cash transfers, though a combination of cash plus in-kind benefits seems to be strongly preferred. Secondary results pointed out to the lack of institutional preparedness in financial inclusion. The research suggested that while the existing PDS needs to be overhauled, policymakers should look at a model of cash plus in-kind transfers as a probable alternative to pure cash transfers.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of in-depth state-specific studies on beneficiary perception of PDS, and this is important since the economic and sociocultural milieu in each region is unique. Being the only state with universal food security, its experience could yield important insights for other states or even middle or low-income countries similar to India.

Is the Anti-Incumbency Sentiment Changing in Tamil Nadu? A Case Study of 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections

Elections are the most important pillar of democracy. A voter's behaviour is influenced by many parameters that can turn the outcome of the election. Many constituencies follow a certain voting pattern. The voters of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, have often been categorized as having an anti-incumbency sentiment, where the ruling party has often switched in every consecutive election. However, there seems to be a gradual shift in this sentiment. This paper presents a case on the relaxation of the anti-incumbency sentiment by analyzing the voting data across the constituencies in the five elections of the last two decades. Some aspects which could have contributed to this voting behaviour are also discussed.

Solar power for some? Energy transition injustices in Kerala, India

The Indian government advocates for a major shift from national reliance on coal to more renewable energy sources. While these aspirations are laudable, a political ecology review reveals the uneven power relations associated with the introduction of renewable energy in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Drawing from fieldwork, research traces how Kerala government solar projects, including schemes to promote rooftop solar, prioritize middle- and upper-class consumers. Historically marginalized communities, including people living below the poverty level and Adivasis (indigenous peoples), are not a priority for the state agency implementing renewable energy and thus are not beneficiaries of cleaner energy. This disconnected approach builds from and exacerbates historical political and resource inequalities and enables the persistence of social and environmental injustices, even while moving towards a lower-carbon future. This model does not allow for all residents to actively engage in decision-making about energy processes and proves to be a missed opportunity to think holistically about development and energy in tandem. Energy democracy provides ideas to disturb this uneven power structure, with cooperatives being one possible way to implement this change. As the case of Kerala underscores, India may undergo an energy transition, but it will not be a just energy transition without significant changes.

Relevance of developing public health service cadres alongside a more prevention oriented Indian health system: an overview

The relevance of public health has been emphasized in the wake of the global epidemic COVID-19. There are several success stories that we often tend to forget, such as the fight against various infectious illnesses like smallpox, poliomyelitis, and current human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, to name a few, public health has played a significant impact. Diarrheal diseases, for example, which contributes significantly to India's under-five mortality rate and is one of the leading causes of malnutrition, can be effectively handled by improving access to safe water and sanitation. Because public health encompasses more than just health, we require a workforce with managerial and leadership skills as well as training in public health as a specialty. This paper explores some of the successes and lessons learned from systematic investments in public health in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, namely The Tamil Nadu model and other countries, as well as the system's flaws. In India, a feasible framework for establishing dedicated public health cadres has also been explored. Evidence was acquired from PubMed, Google Scholar, newspaper stories, and publicly released government orders and papers. The recruitment of cadres may resemble that of the Indian economic/statistical services (IES/ ISS) by the UPSC. Another area to emphasize for health professionals interested in public health is training. Starting from frontline workers, block level workers to district and state we need dedicated public health workforce. Moreover, the need of the hour is to establish such a system which will work alongside pre-existing clinical fields.

Examining Education Reforms of India in the Matrix of Rights and Biopolitics

Three significant reforms were established at the turn of the century in India: the National Curriculum Framework of 2005, the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education of 2009, and the Right to Education Act of 2009. All three reforms reflect a contradiction between the rights of citizens and the regulatory biopolitical inertia of the state. Indian State has undergone cyclical shifts in its orientation. In certain phases, rights became the fulcrum to guide policy and legal framework, and in other phases, the regulatory impulse of the state was at the center. The neoliberal turn of the 1990s marked a sharp shift in which the state left behind its welfare outlook and adopted a more regulatory structure. The rights-based agenda of the three reforms needs to be understood against the backdrop of the changing nature of the state. The three reforms stand apart from those instituted before and after, in that they were informed by a critique of the rights-based framework even while working within it. The three reforms and their social context provide an example of the tension between rights and biopolitics; the reforms emerged as a response to this tension. While proposing rights-based reforms in school education, the intent was much more ambitious, going beyond the immediate domain of education. Occurring in the middle of a neoliberal, market-driven discourse, these reforms critiqued the 21st-century state and pushed it to serve the role of a provider and not just a regulator.