Government of Karnataka

The study explores the use of rainfall patterns and maize types in Chamarajanagara district, Karnataka, India, where rainfall varies significantly from place to place and year to year. The researchers used data from weather stations collected every month from January to December 2021 and tested 6 methods to create full maps: Inverse distance weighted (IDW), Spline, Natural neighbour, Trend, Kriging and Topo to Raster. The results show that weather plays a significant role in maize yields, with timing and amount playing a crucial role. Sowing windows or the best weeks to plant seeds, are crucial in this region, as planting too early or too late can lead to water stress. The hybrid MAH 14-5 genotype was found to be particularly effective when sown in the first week of July, resulting in stronger growth, higher nutrition levels and reduced anti-nutritional factors. These findings emphasise the importance of selecting the right planting time to maximise water use efficiency, harness soil conditions and utilise sunlight intensity. Farmers who match sowing to rain peaks can boost yields without extra inputs. The study also highlighted how rain changes over time and space in the district, with some spots experiencing steady showers in June and others experiencing heavy bursts in August, leading to uneven crop growth. Smart planning involves tailoring sowing windows to local rain forecasts, choosing genotypes that fit the area's weather and aligning tasks like fertilising or weeding with rainfall. These steps help farmers adapt and achieve reliable harvests year after year.

Kanger National Park is home to a tropical mixed deciduous forest in central India, which has great floral diversity and is a key carbon reservoir. Survey was conducted which looked at tree species composition, structural features, diversity indices, biomass, and carbon stock in 3 representative sites within the park: Tirathgarh, Kamanar, and Kudruwada. At Tirathgarh, Kamanar and Kudruwada, 27, 22, and 25 tree species were recorded, respectively, with stand densities that ranged from 694.46 to 1166.69 stems/ha and basal areas from 19.23 to 26.25 m2/ha. At all sites, Shorea robusta and Tectona grandis were the dominant species, whereas Buchanania cochinchinensis exhibited very high abundance specifically at Kudruwada. Species diversity peaked at Tirathgarh (H′ = 3.42), while Kudruwada recorded maximum biomass (279.02 t·ha⁻¹; carbon stock = 117.33 t·ha⁻¹). When compared to other dry deciduous reserves across the country, Kanger National Park exhibits analogous structural complexity and high biomass. These results underline the protected area’s regional ecological value. The data also suggest that the park could effectively contribute to broader carbon sequestration efforts.

ABSTRACT Background: Task shifting is an accepted way to address the treatment gap for mental health disorders. Community Health Workers (CHWs) can play vital roles through screening, referral, and providing basic counseling. To address the dearth of a concise screening instrument for CHWs, the “ M ental H E alth Sc R een I ng T ool for Community Health Workers in India [MERIT]” was designed and developed. In this paper, we have examined the psychometric properties of MERIT. Methods: MERIT consists of nine stems (consisting of 11 questions) covering the following five domains: (a) Substance Abuse (alcohol, tobacco), (b) Anxiety, (c) Depression and Somatoform symptoms, (d) Severe Mental Illnesses, and (e) Suicidal risk. MERIT can be applied to one key informant of the household to screen for all its adult members. Mental health professionals (MHPs) with community psychiatry expertise undertook the face and content validity exercise (for both English and Kannada versions; 17 and 11, respectively) and rated the ‘adequacy’ (ability to pick up a mental health issue) of each of the questions on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). For each of the domains, the item-content validity index (I-CVI) of more than 0.8 was considered adequate. Concurrent validity was examined through concordance between the screened status as per Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs; quintessential CHWs; n = 16; n = 116 households) and the independent clinical impression derived by seven MHPs. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) was examined by measuring the concordance between the two groups of ASHAs (first group; n = 7, second group; n = 9), who independently screened the same 116 households. Results: All experts (for both English and Kannada versions) gave a rating of 3 or more for each of the MERIT domains. I-CVI of each domain was > 0.8 (0.86 for English and 0.80 for Kannada). Concurrent validity [n = 116; k = 0.792 indicating substantial agreement between ASHAs and MHPs; P < 0.001] and IRR [n = 115, k = 0.744; P < 0.001] were excellent. The specificity (97.50%), positive predictive value (92.4%), and negative predictive value (86%) were high. The sensitivity was 62.5%. On average, 5 minutes were required to administer MERIT. Conclusion: MERIT is concise, valid, and reliable for CHWs to screen for priority psychiatric disorders among adults. While its sensitivity is comparatively lower, it can be easily integrated into public health programs as it offers the advantage of covering the entire household by interviewing one of its key informants.

India's banking system is balancing economic growth with environmental protection through the introduction of green banking. While not widely used, some Indian banks are beginning to adopt green banking practices, financing renewable energy projects and sustainable farming. However, challenges include lack of awareness, high costs, and lack of clear guidelines. To address these issues, education, rules, incentives, and technology investment are needed. By adopting green banking practices, Indian banks can improve their environmental impact, enhance their image, reduce costs, and compete more globally. This approach can also help banks improve their image and reduce costs.