Traditional metrics of gender development have failed to capture social dynamics that hinder gender equality, the inadequacies in reproductive health. As a policy instrument, traditional indices are inadequate for state governments to tackle regional issues in gender justice. This paper develops an index which can be used by states to determine particular areas of intervention and to track their progress. Methodology: The study develops an index based on six pillars. Under each pillar, the states are scored on a set of variables based on the quartiles of their scores. This scoring is scaled and the geometric mean of the score on each pillar is used as final index. The study then clusters the states based on their index scores and uses dimensionality reduction using Principal Component Analysis to arrive at dimensions for intervention. Result: Index scores indicates that the states perform well on some while fail on other dimensions challenging traditional notions and stereotypes of states being labelled as “sexist” or “feminist”. The study highlights: “Position of Women in Society”, “Access to Reproductive and Child Health” and “Economic Empowerment” as key dimensions of intervention for states and based on their scores, recommends policy action for each dimension.

Marriage is an important event in an individual’s life. The decision of choosing the right partner is partially based on the human survival instinct that psychologically orients with cost vs reward assessment strategy. Hence, to identify the factors that influence a woman when she selects the right alliance for marriage, a survey-based statistical analysis study was performed by n = 107 women who participated. In this study, it is observed that the current family type influences the women’s preference for partners’ family type post marriage. Age also plays an important role when women make considerations for post-marriage family type. Moreover, women evaluate and consider situations such as independence, family support as the cost/reward categories to make choices when it comes to family type post marriage. In addition to this, women highly prefer tier 1 over the tier 2 cities as well as the future husband having a job or business but the least preference is given to an individual with the farming occupation. Therefore a noticeable shift in the trend of cost vs. reward assessment in matrimonial selection is seen. Moreover, the inclination towards nuclear family type is increasing compared to a joint family which may have on the Indian socio-economic scenario.

Ecotourism has a significant role in community development in the host areas through alternative but sustainable livelihood. This tourism practice meets the needs of the tourists and hosts together, protecting the natural environment. Nowadays, this tourism involves visiting new areas to learn about various landscapes, environment, habitats as well as the cultural activities of an individual community. It also expands the possibilities for future. So, ecotourism can be an effective method for sustainable rural development in the Himalayan tract of West Bengal. In Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, ecotourism is still a community-based activity which involves local people and their culture. Most of the ecotourism sites in this part of West Bengal are within forest and hilly tract. Here growth of ecotourism has been phenomenal during the last decades with the influx of tourists that boosted the local economy. Sillery Gaon, a small village, in ‘Silk Route Circuit’ of West Bengal, is a new addition to it and a perfect example of this scenario. It is situated in Kashyone, gram panchayat of Kalimpong District. This pictorial village is surrounded with the dense forest of Pankhasari range and blessed with the panoramic view of Tista River and Kanchenjunga. In the last ten years, the villagers have developed ecotourism facilities and activities which transformed their traditional agrarian economy to tourismbased livelihood. This paper is based on a case study that analyses the symbiotic relationship between the ecotourism practice and sustainable community development of Sillary Gaon village. It also deals with the prospects and challenges of ecotourism sector of this village.

In the contemporary world, ornamental fisheries /aquaculture is gaining much popularity; in fact, globally it is a trading and marketing industry rather than a hobby. Earlier days, ornamental aquaculture in India was just a hobby for people. Slowly the hobby got momentum to be a viable business as it boomed with trade values internationally. India has enormous potential to be one of the top ornamental fish producing nations as it has huge in untapped or unexploited resources. Ornamental aquaculture can generate income and employment and has immense potential for the upliftment and empowerment of women. Women in fisheries is predominantly involved in post-harvest activities but inclusion of women in aquaculture will help in creating gender equalisation in the sector. Ornamental aquaculture has been tried and tested by several countries, states, and organisations in rural development and the progress of women in all walks of life through ornapreneurship.

College students are recognized as a vulnerable population these days who suffer from varied levels of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, disrupted eating and sleeping patterns as compared to general population. Therefore, when the nature of their daily life and educational experience changes like during the COVID-19 pandemic—the weight of mental health of this vulnerable population is magnified. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on psycho-social health of University students. Questionnaires were mailed to Under Graduate students of CSKHPKV, Palampur students. A total of 160 responses were received and results were interpreted. The results revealed that 45 per cent respondents experienced severe anxiety, followed by (42.5 %) who had moderate level of anxiety. On the other hand, 58.7 per cent experienced moderate level of stress during lockdown. No significant difference was found between male and female students regarding anxiety and stress. A positive correlation was observed between age and anxiety among respondents. Lockdown resulted in increased frustration due to uncertainty characterising immediate future plans, academic stress and feelings of helplessness among students.

Famers’ fair an important tool in transferring latest technologies to farmers is gaining momentum over the years. The main purpose of organizing such farmers’ fair is to create awareness among visitors about new technologies developed by researchers primarily from the government sector, agricultural and allied research centres and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs). Considering its importance, an exploratory study was carried out to identify the constraints perceived by the visiting farmers and remedies suggested by them for improvement of farmers’ fair. The present study was conducted at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCS HAU), Hisar main campus during 2019-20. Empirical data were collected through personal interview technique with the help of well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule and analyzed using standard methodology. Findings revealed that infrastructural constraints were perceived highest with composite index value (CIV) of 38.28, followed by physical (34.37), institutional (30.00), miscellaneous (19.27) and social (07.81) constraints. With regards to suggestions, most of the farmers suggested time duration of farmers’ fair should be increased followed by adequate transport facilities, seeds should be made available at low price, etc. Hence, the paper recommends that although the farmers’ fairs are playing an effective role in information dissemination but must be updated each year to catch more attention of the farmers.

The predominant type of living arrangement in pre-independence India was joint family system. It was based on the notion of collectivism and charity. It was a serving place for not only nurturing and preserving social values, but also passing them down through generations. After the advent of industrialization and subsequent emergence of urbanization and modernization, the joint families started disintegrating into nuclear families. The modern nuclear family is perpetually promoting the principle of individualism or independence in contrast to the value of collectivism deep-rooted in joint family. It is, therefore, a value shift in family from collectivism to individualism. It is followed by a loyalty shift in family from lineal ties to conjugal ties. Consequently, nuclear family has become an indispensible social unit in contemporary Indian society. However, its sustainability may perhaps be uncertain in a distant future because of the inclination of present younger generation to complete independence in life. Probably this may result in the emergent of a new type of living arrangement to satisfy the needs of generations of people in a remote future.

Research in history is digging into the past through multidisciplinary approach, with the requisites of professionalism, critical aptitude, technical erudition, analytical mind and incisive faculty to reconstruct the past and to elaborate, analyze, synthesize, philosophize the ideas and critically examine the data in the light of objectivity. Historical research is primarily based on literary and archaeological sources. Literary sources are more or less infected of personal bias and prejudice by the author or interpreter. So, here archaeology comes to rescue for reconstructing comparatively an unbiased history. Archaeology is an auxiliary science or ancillary discipline with its numerous approaches, which assist in historical research. It is a sub-discipline of anthropology which is concerned with the study of human evolution and his environment and the material culture associated with him in pre-historic, proto-historic and historic periods through practical undertakings, methods and theories. Kashmir is an ancient geological land with glorious past where the man lived since the pre-historic times and has always been contacts with her neighbors and witnessed influx and efflux of races and cultures. So the role of archaeology with literature is of vital significance in the research of history of Kashmir. But, the application of archaeology in the research of history of Kashmir in general and in ancient and medieval history in particular seems very negligible. The attitude and interest of research about the ancient history of Kashmir and fresh explorations of archaeological sites among the regional institutions,students and scholars is meager. The national and international surveys and studies about archaeological research have also come to halt. The deteriorating condition of archaeological sites in the valley gives us the glimpse of our vanishing history. Archaeology is not confined to historical archaeology, it includes ethno-archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Rural and Urban Archaeology, Marine Archaeology, and the list goes on. In this paper I will try to investigate the different perspectives and concerns of archaeological research in the history of Kashmir, its application on vast and wide areas of research, keeping in view the post-processual and postmodern viewpoint. Besides methodological problems, descriptions and fundamental goals, this paper seeks to evaluate the reasons why and based on these evaluations some suggestions for future research in Kashmir history are proposed. As the history of Kashmir is the significant and an inseparable part of Kashmir Studies.

Main objective of study was comparative analysis of Laser Land Levelling (LLL) vis-a-vis Conventional Land Levelling (CLL) in terms of resource use efficiency. Regression analysis along with economic concept of marginal value productivity (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) were used to analyse resource use. Six variables were used to regress yield. The results of the study revealed that highest resource use efficiency were obtained in case of seed, while it was observed lowest in case fertilizers under laser land levelling (LLL) in paddy. Whereas, under conventional land levelling (CLL), highest resource use efficiency was found to be in case of labour while least resource use efficiency was obtained in irrigation. Similarly, in case of wheat highest and lowest resource use efficiency under laser land levelling technology were observed in inputs viz: seed and plant protection chemicals, respectively while, under conventional land levelling it was for inputs like labour and seed, respectively. Hence, study highlighted the strength of resource conservation potential of laser land levelling technology. Two variables i.e. irrigation and fertilizer impacted significantly with the adoption of laser land levelling, validated the outcomes of study by difference between MVP and MFC for these two particular inputs were found to be positive and close to zero indicated efficient utilizations of these resources. Hence, it is suggested that adoption of laser land levelling should be promoted on wider scale to tap its resource conservation potential.

Nineteenth century Orissa history is marked as a period of natural calamity and severe drought. The shortage of rainfall and the decline of food production created a horrific situation for the people of Orissa. From the ancient period,the people of Orissa were famous for their reach of rice cultivation,and till now,it is the primary food crop for most of the people of Orissa. During the 19th century,apart from being an important food crop, it was used as an essential item for trade and commercial activities. During the colonial period, society was feudal, and most of the benefits from trade were taken by the colonial Government, Zamindars, and merchants. Peasants came at the last of the list. This was one of the most prominent reasons behind the famine of 1866. Due to the high price of rice throughout the famine, lower-class people could not afford the high pricerice, and they didn’t have sufficient storage of food for any kind of emergency,;as a consequence, lower-class people became the primary victims of the famine. Here rice will be used as an essential source to study the famine in Balasore district of Orissa which was one of the city which was greatly affected by the famine of 1866 along with Cuttack and Puri. Here in this article, we are subjected to study on the famine of 1866 in Balasore district, its rice production, its society and how it reacted to the famine, and how it overcomes the famine of 1866 in Orissa.

People are the main component as well as the target for social work practice. The intention of this profession is to help individuals /groups/communities to find out and solve their difficulties arising out of an imbalance between them and their surroundings and to assist them enhancing and restoring their capacities and potentials. On the other hand, Human Resource Management stands for recognizing and channelizing the uniqueness, talents, potentials, capabilities and strengths of human beings in work place, to develop their productivity as well as to ensure the protection of rights, social security, and justice for them. Human Resource Management is a term that aims to the blooming people as a valuable resource of the organization rather than their control as material assets. By analyzing the frameworks and philosophical bases of both the profession, it can be clearly elucidated that the practice of Human Resource Management, where it aims into resolve the disequilibrium in workplace relationship or employeeemployer relationship and when it aims to identify, utilize and channelize all of their potentials and inner resources to develop their productivity the process of Social Work intervention strongly finds its way into the domain of practice of HRM and vis-à-vis.