International Development Research Centre

This body of work critically evaluates the efficacy of India’s mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) regime, as a potential alternative financing mechanism for Disaster Risk Management (DRM). While the mandated framework demonstrates significant potential in ex post disaster response, relief, and recovery efforts, the study finds that fundamental structural and behavioural biases severely impede strategic investment in proactive ex ante Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Integrating established theoretical frameworks, specifically Institutional Theory and the Proximity & Signalling Bias, the analysis unpacks the root causes of the misalignment. Empirical evidence shows that CSR funds are disproportionately directed toward sectors offering easily quantifiable, high-visibility metrics (e.g., basic education and healthcare), critically neglecting highly vulnerable states and complex, long-term DRR needs. The study uses powerful visualisations to illustrate an investment gap to plug disaster risks through CSR funds. To bridge this structural gap and transform compliance-driven spending into strategic investment, the study proposes a set of integrated governance and policy imperatives. Key recommendations include multiple options, ranging from redefining ‘disaster management’ in Schedule VII, to establishing a tiered investment approach within companies for segregated ex ante and ex post financing or, implementing a Risk-Weighted Expenditure Support Programme (RWESP). The RWESP establishes a new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, enforcing a data-driven investment strategy through co-funding from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to incentivize high-risk, high-impact projects. Collectively, these policy reforms, coupled with an urgent reform of the reporting ecosystem to prioritize verifiable long-term impact, have the potential to transform the CSR mandate into a truly strategic, equitable, and sustainable instrument for national resilience building.

BackgroundFolate has been examined extensively in relation to carcinogenesis due to its role in one-carbon metabolism impacting the synthesis of DNA and RNA, methylation processes, and genomic integrity. Current evidence on the relationship between folate status and the risk of cancer is equivocal: low or deficient folate status may contribute to an increased risk of cancers, while high-dose folic acid supplementation may have adverse effects on carcinogenesis.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and the Database of s of Reviews of Effects up to February 2024 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the associations of folate (measured as dietary intake, supplementation, or blood concentrations) with any specific cancer outcome. Screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed in duplicate. We assessed the credibility of the evidence using predefined criteria.ResultsWe found 67 syntheses, of which 57 provided meta-analyses. Over half of the syntheses had a high risk of bias. We identified 168 unique associations (unique exposure – unique outcome – unique setting) across 10 cancer types, 3 system cancers, and total cancer. Of these, we assessed 15 directional associations (colorectal, oesophageal, and total cancers) to be at a highly suggestive level of credibility, and 17 directional and 10 null associations to be at a suggestive level of credibility.ConclusionsThe available evidence for each category of unique association was generally limited. Highly suggestive associations were found for oesophageal, colorectal, childhood brain and spinal tumours and total cancers. More robust primary studies are warranted to follow-up the signal of a positive relationship reported for prostate cancer warranting further research. Evidence was weak for all but colorectal and oesophageal cancers, or the central nervous system cancers in children.RegistrationPROSPERO: CRD42021265041.

The objective of this study is to analyse the role of communication technology, such as smartphones, in influencing public service provision. The penetration of smartphones is low in rural India, particularly among frontline health workers, who are typically women. This study analyses the association between smartphone ownership, communication practices, and information-oriented service provision among frontline health workers, beneficiaries and supervisors during the COVID-19 lockdown in Chhattisgarh, India. It uses data from a phone survey conducted with 642 frontline workers and employs regression analysis to study the associations, adjusting for observable frontline worker and subdistrict characteristics. Qualitative data from interviews with 19 government officials support the importance of technology in communication during COVID-19. Owning a smartphone allows flexibility for frontline workers in communicating during the lockdown over phone calls or WhatsApp with their beneficiaries, supervisors and other frontline workers. Communications over smartphones did not crowd out in-person interactions, suggesting that the overall frequency of communication was higher during the lockdown than for those frontline workers without smartphones. Frontline workers with smartphones could provide counselling services, antenatal care and immunisation support at a significantly higher rate. To conclude, smartphone-based technology can complement the usual communication channels, providing a viable option if there are service disruptions.

ABSTRACT Based on the Young Lives longitudinal study in India, gender differentials in completion of higher education (HE) among 26 year olds are explored in this paper. The binary logistic regression reveals that young women are significantly less likely to complete HE compared to men. Further analyis shows that women and youth from socially diadvantaged caste groups as well as bottom tercile households are lower probability of completing HE. The Fairlie decomposition model expals 32% of the gender gap, with 20% gap explained by type of school attended at age 15 and mathematics score explaining 70% of the gap.This paper is particularly important from a policy persoective as the National Education Policy 2020 is rolled out with a focus on lifelong learning.

We summarize our present knowledge of the regulation of photostasis and photosynthetic performance versus photoprotection in response to vernalization and conclude that the enhanced photosynthetic performance of winter crops is due to an inherent increase in photosynthetic energy conversion efficiency induced by vernalization which translates into high seed yield in the field as well as under controlled environment conditions. This is consistent with the published data for enhanced photosynthetic performance of the only two extant terrestrial angiosperms, Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica, native to the frigid conditions of terrestrial Antarctica. The Cold Binding factor family of transcription factors (CBFs/DREBs) governs the enhanced photosynthetic performance of winter cereals as well as the Antarctic angiosperms. In contrast to winter crops, spring varieties survive cold environments by stimulating photoprotection at the expense of photosynthetic performance like that observed for green algae and cyanobacteria. Consequently, this minimizes the photosynthetic energy conversion efficiency of spring varieties and limits their seed yield upon cold acclimation. This review provides critical insights into the regulation of photostasis and the balance between photosynthetic performance and photoprotection in plants and how vernalization has enhanced photosynthetic energy conversion, which is essential for understanding plant adaptation to cold environments and optimizing agricultural productivity for improving crop resilience and yield in challenging climates.

Forest fires or wildfires are becoming more prevalent across Canada. They are both beneficial and harmful. They promote forest health and aid ecological processes. However, they play a devastating role in impacting the economy of a nation and also impact the health of humans. Hence, it is important to consider all data sources relevant to forest fires or wildfires. The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) calculates the danger of forest fires. The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is a critical part of CWFIS, which does not consider land vegetation in its calculations. Considering it is the vegetation that burns in a forest fire, it is important to have an insight into what types of vegetation are more prone to fires. Earth observation data for vegetation over land is now available across North America. This research primarily provides an analytical data visualization of the vegetation land cover impacted by and impacting forest fires. We look into open-source vegetation land cover data and provide insights into forest fires or wildfires. A look into the change of vegetation is also provided.

BackgroundAs the world approaches the final five years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global polycrisis threatens progress on health and well-being. Populations experiencing vulnerabilities, particularly women, girls, and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, shoulder a disproportionate burden. Universal access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services has seen mixed progress. In particular, adolescents are facing heightened risks such as early marriage, unintended pregnancies, and limited access to SRH services, compounded by gender norms and fragile contexts. Integrated, community-driven, and gender-transformative approaches are urgently needed, as are robust health data and information systems. However, fragmented systems suffer from poor data quality and underrepresentation of marginalized groups. Digital innovations hold promise for addressing these gaps but must be adapted to local contexts.Bridging the Know-Do GapThis supplement presents findings from the Cedar Cohort, an initiative supported by the International Development Research Centre across West Africa and the Middle East (2017–2023). The cohort's 16 implementation research projects explored SRH services for adolescents and health information systems, emphasizing gender equality, human rights, and knowledge translation.The articles are organized around three themes: (1) adopting contextual approaches rooted in local communities and their context-specific needs, (2) advancing gender equality and inclusion and (3) harnessing the transformational potential of data and information systems. Authored by LMIC-based researchers, the supplement provides concrete findings and localized insights into the transformative change possible when high-quality research is combined with an understanding of social, economic, political, and cultural factors at the individual, organizational, structural and systems levels.ConclusionThe collection of research projects featured in this supplement enriches our understanding of designing and implementing effective initiatives to improve health outcomes for women, children and adolescents. The findings emphasize that no singular solution exists for the multifaceted SRH challenges that continue to evolve. The projects in the Cedar Cohort offer critical insights into designing and scaling SRH interventions that are locally relevant, inclusive, and impactful. The current polycrisis necessitates a re-evaluation of global strategies, and the findings from the research projects in this supplement provide indications of ways forward.

Abstract Floods and droughts are major concerns for rice farmers in Thailand, particularly those in the Chao Phraya River Basin (CPRB). To mitigate the impacts of these extreme weather events on their rice cultivation and livelihoods, some farm households have implemented adaptation strategies, such as adjusting the crop calendar and changing rice varieties. Using data from a survey of farm households in the CPRB, this study highlights the adaptation strategies adopted and analyzes their impacts on rice productivity through an endogenous switching model. Our results indicate that adaptation to floods in the CPRB increases wet-season rice productivity. The unconditional impact of adaptation on wet-season rice productivity is approximately 120 kg per rai (about 0.16 hectares). The treatment effect, which captures the hypothetical scenario where farm households that adapted chose not to adapt, shows that the impact of adaptation on wet-season rice productivity is around 31 kg per rai. This means that farm households that adapted to extreme weather events would have produced 31 kg less per rai if they had not adapted.

This study aims to analyze the influence of technology in the learning process of Islamic Religious Education in junior secondary schools. The main focus of this research is to observe the impact of using various technology-based teaching media, including slide presentations, audio videos, educational games and interactive quizzes, on students' understanding. The method used in this study is experimental quantitative research, where the researcher applies technology-based learning methods to evaluate their effect on learners' understanding of the teaching materials delivered by the teacher. The learning media used included laptops, projectors, and audio systems, as well as teaching materials in the form of videos and presentations. Data was collected from six six students involved in the study, with the results showing that about forty-two students or 65% of the total sample understood the material taught. This finding indicates that the use of technology in Islamic Education learning can have a positive impact on students' understanding.

This study aimed to identify Nigella sativa L. germplasm for medicinal use in large-scale production on Canadian farms. Eight N. sativa accessions were planted in Ottawa, Canada, in 2024. Six were provided by the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System, and the other two were from commercial sources, one from India and the other from Poland. Only three accessions (PI 506432, W6 18859, and India) set seeds, and PI 506432 was far superior as it had the highest number of plants, lodging resistance, and produced the highest seed yield. This report is the first on the field performance of N. sativa in Canada.