Research Papers

Endophytic Fungi - An Untapped Source of Potential Antioxidants

Mishra Rahul C., Goel Mayurika , Barrow Colin J, Deshmukh Sunil K.
| 2020

Antioxidants are the substances that interact inside and outside of a biological system against the damaging effects of highly reactive free radicals produced during metabolism. Among various natural alternative sources of bioactive metabolites, endophytic fungi ave emerged as a significant reservoir of potent antioxidant compounds. These scantly explored micro-organisms are prolific producers of novel compounds and have the capability to produce metabolites that are exclusively isolated from Plantae.

COVID-19: a wake-up call to protect planetary health

Pachauri Ash, Sevilla Norma Patricia Muñoz, Kedia Shailly, Pathak Drishya, Mittal Komal, Magdalene Philo
| 2021

Set from the perspective of planetary health, the objective of this chapter is to examine the trends set in motion by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), attempting to discuss the long-term environmental and humanitarian implications. The emergence of zoonotic diseases has underscored that risk-based interventions need to be designed from the perspective of planetary health. The pandemic response must account for its implications on humans and the planet.

Vulnerability of Child Health to Climate Related Agricultural Productivity Threat in India

Sehgal Meena , Kumar Sujit, Kanwal Ghosh, Singh Nayan, Gupta Vidhu, Lal Kanhaiya, Sehgal Anu, Ajay Mathur
| 2021

India faces the burden of under-nutrition, especially among children under five years of age. The gap in nutritional needs and intake, point to the inadequacies in the food and nutrition security of India. This study examines data at the district level to identify vulnerable populations across the geographical expanse of the country. In order to identify districts appropriate for improving the food and nutrition security, a statistical approach was developed to prioritize areas for public health interventions.

Energising change: Clean cooking and the changing social position of women

Govindan Mini, Murali Rashmi
| 2021

The development community clearly recognises the urgency of switching to clean cooking solutions while also creating just energy systems by gainfully involving women as entrepreneurs in the clean cooking value chain.

Influence of Electricity Access on Gender: Evidences from Nepal

Murali Rashmi, Brahmachari Deborshi, Govindan Mini
| 2019

Access to modern energy has been found to especially benefit rural women, in terms of reducing their drudgery and increasing their efficiency of time use. This paper draws from the findings of a primary household survey and qualitative study in Nepal in order to analyse how access to modern energy affects gendered aspects of health, education, income generation, and decision-making. It was found that a higher percentage of children (boys and girls) from households with electricity access were enrolled in schools and spent more hours studying.

A method of wet algal lipid recovery for biofuel production

Patel Swati, Kannan Dheeban Chakravarthi

Drying of algae is resource-intensive (land, energy) for biofuel production. A method to recover lipids from wet algae has been developed at lab scale. The method is based on introduction of polar solvent first into wet algae to replace the water inside the cells, followed by gradual introduction of non-polar solvent to replace the polar solvent and thus extract lipids.

Impact of Clean Energy Interventions on Development in India: A Techno-Economic Analysis

Goswami Anandajit, Kedia Shailly, Chaudhury Saswata, Kumar Atul
| 2021

As a response to repercussions to COVID-19, India's government announced ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ or a ‘self-reliant’ India, which is to the tune of INR 20 trillion or 10 percent of the country’s GDP. The package has five pillars: economy, infrastructure, system, vibrant demography, and demand. Energy is central to all the five pillars of India’s recovery package. Thus, a more detailed scenario based analysis of the energy systems in India and the macro-economic implications is required. Two sets of models are considered for this analysis.

Baseline investigation for environmental project- A scientific approach

Bamal Apoorva , Thakur Amit Kumar, Tripathi Shailendra Kumar
| 2021

Environmental sustainability is achieved through well versed research and analysis of the current and potential future issues under the defined sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this context, it is essential to establish a strategic formulation and implementation of activities/ projects that lead to sustainable development. An important segment to achieve this is availability of precise information regarding respective sectors, post which projects are formulated under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).