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ID: 61567
Title: Consequences of western disturbance-triggered cooling on the flowering of tree species in the Himalayan Terai region.
Author: Omesh Bajpai, Jitendra Pandey, Lal Babu Chaudhary.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1781-1782 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Consequences, western disturbance-triggered cooling on the flowering of tree species in the Himalayan Terai region.
Abstract: Currently, the study of plant phenology under the light of different climatic parameters is an impressive tool for climate change assessment studies. Thus, a number of studies have been performed globally to understand the interrelationship between these biotic (phenophases) an abiotic (temperature, precipitation, etc.) indices. These studies clearly indicate that different phonological events (flowering, fruiting, etc.) are triggered by temperature and precipitation. These climatic factors distinctly affect different phenophases at different geo-climatic regions. Therefore the regional-temporal phonological studies along with climatic variability have their own importance. Keeping these in mind, phonological observations were started in the tropical moist deciduous forest of the Himalayan Terai region from late 2009 to record the temporal behaviour of some selected tree species to complete the knowledge lacunae on phonological information from this eco-region.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Corlett, R.T.and Lafrankie, J.V., Climate Change, 1998, 39, 439-453. Mezel, A., Climate Change, 2002, 54, 379-385.
Literature cited 2: Moza, M.K. and Bhatnagar, A.K., Curr.Sci, 2005, 89 (2), 243-244. Opler, P.A., Frankie, G.W.and Baker, H.G., J.Biogeogr, 1976, 3, 231-236

ID: 61566
Title: Determinants of ' water fleas ' (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Cladocera) diversity across seasonal and environmental gradients of a polluted river.
Author: Sameer M.Padhye, Neelesh Dahanukar.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1777-1780 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Determinants, Water fleas, Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Cladocera, diversity, seasonal and environmental gradients, polluted river.
Abstract: Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda), commonly known as water fleas, consist of small, primarily freshwater crustaceans, which form a significant component of zooplankton in different aquatic ecosystems. Currently, about 720 species are known across the globe, out of which 130 are reported from Indian waters. Although studies are available on the diversity of cladocera in the riverine systems focusing on their interactions with the environment and subsequent application as bio-indicators of eutrophication, relatively less information on their ecology is known from the Indian subcontinent.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Dumount, H.J.and Negrea, S.V., In Guides to the Identification of the Micro Invertebrates of the Continental Waters of the World (ed.Dumount, H.J.), Back-huys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2002, p.398. Kotov, A.A., Forro, L., Korovchinsky, N.M. and Petrusek, A., World checklist of freshwater Cladocera species. http: //fada.biodiversity.be/group/show/17 (accessed on 25 December 2014).
Literature cited 2: Chatterjee, T., Kotov, A.A., Van Damme, K., Chandrasekhar, S.V.A. and Padhye, S., Zootaxa, 2013, 3667, 1-89. Saunders, J.F.and Lewis Jr, W., Biotropica, 1988, 20 (3), 206-214.

ID: 61565
Title: Watershed-scale runoff-erosion-carbon flux dynamics: current scope and future direction of research.
Author: S.Patra, D.Mandal, P.K.Mishra, P.R.Ojasvi, P.K.Mishra, J.P.Patra, G.Kumar, R.Kaushal and N.M.Alam.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1773-1774 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Watershed-scale, runoff-erosion-carbon flux dynamics, current scope, future direction of research.
Abstract: Soil plays an important role in the ecosystem with regard to plant growth, soil biota functioning, reduction of greenhouse gases, modification of pollutants and maintenance of soil quality. The great importance of C stocks emphasizes the need to understand the role of soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics and quantitative changes as affected by natural conditions and site-specific management. Soil carbon inventories and turnover rates are influenced by climate, vegetation, parent material, topography and time. Studies attempting to understand the influence of a specific factor (e.g. temperature or moisture) on soil properties have found it useful to identify a group of soils for which the factor in question varies. Nevertheless, soils are the largest pool of terrestrial carbon containing 1550 Pg of soil organic carbon (SOC).This vast carbon pool is subjected to perturbation as a result of anthropogenic activities (land-use change) and natural reasons (climate change, soil erosion, etc).The maintenance and enhancement of this terrestrial carbon can occur only through better land-management practices.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Lal, R., Energy Environ.Sci, 2008, 1 (1), 86-100. Houghton, J.T. et al., Climate Change 2001: The scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the IPCC Third Assessment Report, Cambridge, UK, 2001, p.892.
Literature cited 2: Melillo, J.M., Aber, J.D.and Muratore, J.F., Ecology, 1982, 63, 621-626. Balesdent, J., Wagner, G.H. and Mariotti, A., Soil Sci.Soc.Am.J. 1988, 52, 118-124.

ID: 61564
Title: India ' s climate pledge and the global goal of limiting warming below 2?C.
Author: Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1769-1772 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: India, Climate pledge, global goal, limiting, warming, 2? C
Abstract: In this note we have compared India ' s pledges (also called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with that of other major economies of the world. We find that despite being the most populous country in the world in 2030, India ' s greenhouse gas emissions under its INDC scenario will still be about a third compared to China. Further, we test India ' s INDC on the two well-regarded, but divergent approaches of emission reductions sharing between the nations and conclude it is consistent with more than 50 % probability of limiting warming below 2? C under both the approaches, provided that other world regions adhere to their required emission reductions.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Baumert, K.A., Herzog, T. and Pershing, J., Navigating the Numbers Greenhouse Gas and International Climate Policy. World Resources Institute, London, 2005. MoEF, GoI, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2007.Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, 2010.
Literature cited 2: UNFCCC, Synthesis report on the aggregate effect of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2015. Matthews, H.D., Solomon, S. and Pierrehumbert, R., Philos.Trans.R.Soc. 2012, 370, 4365-4379.

ID: 61563
Title: Indian Solar Radiation Atlas is launched.
Author: Anup Kumar Das.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1765-1765 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Indian, Solar Radiation, Atlas, Launched.
Abstract: On 3 June 2015, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai has launched the Indian Solar Radiation Atlas-an on-line GIS-based information portal to facilitate expansion of the solar energy sector in the country. NIWE is a research institute under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India (GoI).The Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) wing of the NIWE is responsible for setting up and maintaining ground stations at different States and Union Territories in the country. The Solar Radiation Measuring Network, now with strength of 121 ground stations, was initially started with the Solar Mapping and Monitoring (SolMap) Project, supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, under the International Climate Initiative. These ground stations are located mostly at technological universities and engineering colleges across the states. SolMap Project facilitated setting up the Solar Radiation Measuring Network and later the development of this Atlas. SRRA has technically collaborated with the German International Cooperation (GIZ), under the Indo-German Energy Programme, and also received technical assistance from Germany-based Suntrace.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Kumar, A., Gomathinayagam, S., Giridhar, G., Mitra, I., Vashistha, R., Meyer, R. and Chhatbar, K., Energy Procedia, 2014, 49, 2351-2361. Mitra, I., Chhatbar, K., Kumar, A, Giridhar, G, Vashistha, R., Meyer, R.and Schwandt, M., Int.J.Renew.Energy Dev., 2014, 3 (3), 207-216.
Literature cited 2: Press Information Bureau, Revision of cumulative targets under National Solar Mission from 20, 000 MW by 2021-22 to 1, 00, 000 MW, 2015; http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=122566.

ID: 61562
Title: A need to revive research on sea cucumbers in India.
Author: R.S.Daniel
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (10) 1763-1764 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Need, revive, Research, Sea cucumbers, India.
Abstract: More than 1400 species of sea cucumber are known from global seas with nearly 200 species around Indian waters of which 75 are within 20 m depth, but just 15 are of commercial value. Holothuroids are the second most diverse echinoderm class, with some 200 described genera containing about 1600 extant species.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: James, D.B., Naga ICLARM Quart, 2001, 24, 4-8. James, D.B., In Glimpses of Aquatic Biodiversity, Rajiv Gandhi Chair Spl.Publ, 2008, 7, 120-132.
Literature cited 2: Smiley, S., In Microscopic Anatomy of Invertebrates (eds Harrison, F.W. and Chia, Fu-Shiang) 14, Echinodermata, Wiley-Liss, New York, 1994, pp.401-471. James, D.B., Technical Bulletin, The Fisheries Technocrats Forum, March 2004, Chennai, vol.2, pp.1-24.

ID: 61561
Title: Bioresources of the Eastern Ghats:Their Conservation and Management
Author: K.V.Krishnamurthy,R.Murugan and K.Ravikumar (reviewed by Anantanarayanan Raman)
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1733-1734 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Bioresources, Eastern Ghats, Conservation, Management
Abstract: Bioresources of the Eastern Ghats reminded me of M.S.Mani ' s Ecology and Biogeography inIndia.Remembering Mani-that remarkable and wholesome Inidan biologist,whose understanding and vision of Indian animals and plants andtheir geography remain unchallenged even today-was pleasant and I pay my homage to this stalwart.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Mani, M.S. (ed)., Ecology an Biogeography in India, W.Junk Publishers, The Hague, 1974, P.773. Thurston,E., The Madras Presidency with Mysore, Coorg, and the Associated States, The University Press, Cambridge, 1913,p.293.
Literature cited 2: Rajagopalan,C.,Proc.IndianAcad.Sci.,Sect.A., 1947,26,237-260.

ID: 61560
Title: Detection of glacier lakes buried under snow by RISAT-1 SAR in the Himalayan terrain.
Author: S.K.Singh, A.S.Rajawat, B.P.Rathore, I.M.Bahuguna and M.Chakraborty.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1728-1732 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Backscattering coefficient, glacier lakes, snow and cloud, synthetic aperture radar.
Abstract: Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signals penetrate through the dry snow and cloud providing crucial data over the Himalayan temperate glaciers and complement the optical images. In the present study, RISAT-1 C band and AWiFS images of winter/ablation period over Samudra Tapu and Gepang Gath moraine dammed lakes (MDLs) in Himachal Pradesh have been analysed. Backscattering coefficient of the lake was observed to be low throughout the year. Penetration depth of SAR into dry snowpack was calculated to vary from 4 to 22 m for a range of snow density (0.1-0.5 g/cm3), whereas it was estimated to be 1.20-2.01 m based on ground observations for 30 January and 24 February 2013.The present study provides results of RISAT-1 C-band penetration up to ~2 m through the snowpack to detect MDLs using in the Himalayan terrain. The detection of MDLs using the back-scattering images of winter season was validated with synchronous A WiFS sensor images.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Ulaby, F.T., Moore,R.K. and Fung, A.K., Microwave Remote Sensing Active and Passive,II & III, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1986, p.2162. Joseph, G., Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, Universities Press (India) Private Limited, Hyderabad, 2003, p.431.
Literature cited 2: Rees, G.W.,Remote Sensing of Snow and Ice, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2006, p.284. Shi, J., Active microwave remote sensing systems and applications to snow monitoring. In Advances in Land Remote Sensing 9ed.Liang, S.), Springer Science + Business Media B.V.college Park, MD, 2008, pp.19-49.

ID: 61559
Title: Borehole radar for delineation of unapproachable underground coal-mine galleries below Grand Chord railway lines.
Author: K.K.K.Singh.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1722-1727 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Abandoned mines, borehole radar, coal-mine galleries, railway lines.
Abstract: There are chances of railway lines being unsafe and thus directly affecting the safety of persons and goods due to presence of old, abandoned and inaccessible mine workings below them. In the past, about 21 galleries in the leasehold of Kunstoria and Satgram areas of the Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), West Bengal and 33 galleries in the leasehold of Mugma area of ECL were driven below the Eastern Railway on the Grand Chord Howrah-Delhi railway line between Andal and Dhanbad. The abandoned mine plans of most of these galleries are not available and as such the exact locations of the galleries were not known. Keeping the above points in view, the present study was taken up for delineating the inaccessible and unknown mine galleries using borehole radar near Ratibati Colliery, Satgram area. A borehole radar survey has been conducted using an antenna frequency of 100 MHz along the six proposed railway sites. Six mine galleries were delineated in a radial distance varying from 4.5 to 5.0 m from the investigation boreholes and at the depths of 24, 27.5, 36.5, 51.5, 53.5 and 54.5 m respectively, from the surface. These mine galleries have been confirmed using direct non-coring drilling. It is also suggested that all mine galleries should be filled up with sand for the safety of the Grand Chord railway tracks in future.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Anon., Safety Action Plan 2000-01, Kuardi Colliery, Satgram Area, Unit-13 &14 Pits, Eastern Coalfields Limited, West Bengal, 2001. Rossaert, F., Fenning, P.J.Giannopoulos, A., McCann, D.M. and McForde, Identifying mineshaft near railroads, School of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh, 2003.
Literature cited 2: James, P., Conroy, M.S. and Erich, D.G., Borehole Tomography and Surface 3D Radar for Coal Mine Subsidence Detection, Springfield, Virginia, USA, 2005. Cook, J.C., Borehole-radar exploration in a coal seam. Geophysics, 1977, 42, 1254-1257.

ID: 61558
Title: Application of neural network based on genetic algorithm in predicting magnitude of earthquake in North Tabriz Fault.
Author: Negar Sadat Soleimani Zakeri and Saeid Pashazadeh.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1715-1722 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Artificial neural network, earthquake magnitude, genetic algorithm, temporal seismicity features.
Abstract: Here we present an application of a supervised feed forward artificial neural network (ANN) that is trained on the basis of genetic algorithm (GA). The network is model is used for predicting the magnitude of earthquakes in the North Tabriz Fault (NTF) North-west Iran. The earthquake database was derived from the catalogues of both the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismicity of Iran and the Iranian Seismological Center. For this purpose, three temporal seismicity parameters were calculated using the ZMAP MATLAB toolbox. The performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) model was measured in terms of accuracy by a ten-fold cross validation as 99.11%.Another evaluation method was predicting as 99.11 %.Another evaluation method was predicting a case event that occurred on 11 August 2012 I n Ahar- Varzeghan in Iran. Results showed that the ANN optimized with GA (ANNGA) learning optimization model is suitable and may be useful for predicting future earthquakes, especially in active seismologic regions.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Hessami, K., Pantosti, D., Tabassi, H., Shabanian, E., Abbassi, M.R., Feghni, K.and Solaymani, S., Paleoearthquakes and slip rates of the North Tabriz Fault, NW Iran: preliminary results.Ann.Geophys. 2003, 46, 903-915. Gheitanchi, M.R., Mirzaei, N. and Bayramnejad, E., Pattern of seismicity in Northwest Iran, revealed from local seismic network.Geoscience, 2004, 11, 104-111.
Literature cited 2: Karimzadeha, S., Cakirb, Z., Osmano gluc, B., Schmalzled, G., Miyajimaa, M., Amiraslanzadeha, R.and Djamoure, Y., Interseismic strain accumulation across the North Tabriz Fault (NW Iran) deduced from InSAR time series.J.Geodyn., 2013, 66, 53-58. Djamour, Y., Vernanat, P., Nankali, H.R. and Tavakoli, F., NW Iran-eastern Turkey present-day kinematics: results from the Iranian permanent GPS network. Earth Planet.Sci.Lett. 2011, 307, 27-34.

ID: 61557
Title: Effect of diet quality and associated metabolic changes in adult stress response and life-history traits in Drosophila ananassae.
Author: Seema Sisodia, Puja Verma and Bashisth Narayan Singh.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1687-1696 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Drosophila ananassae, environmental stress, Malpighian tubules, nutritional regimes, physiology.
Abstract: While investigating the role of larval nutrition in adult stress tolerance in Drosophilla ananassae during the course of the previous study, we have assumed certain hypothesis behind the mechanisms underlying ecological adaptation of this species. Keeping this in view, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the mechanistic role of diets during stress response at cellular and metabolic level in D.ananassae. To gain insight into the molecular and physiological basis of variation in stress tolerance in files developed on different nutritional regimes, we identified a novel factor that depositions of uric acid crystals in Malpighian tubules of flies has a regulatory role in tolerance to desiccation. To assess the role of diet in variation in the physiological process by immunostaining method, we checked (Na+/K+) ion-pump in Malpighian tubules. Results suggest that physiological activities of files fed on carbohydrate food are higher as indicated by the elevated level of (Na+/K+) -ATPase ion transport. We also found significant dietary effects on egg production and egg-to-adult viability, suggesting a possible trade-off between the traits investigated. Expression of Hsp60 was also modulated bydiet.Hsp60 was highly expressed in carbohydrate and protein-enriched medium compared to normal food.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Hoffmann, A.A. and Parsons, P.A., Evolutionary Genetics and Environmental Stress, Oxford University Press, New York, 1991. Rion, S. and Kawecki, T.J., Evolutionary biology of starvation resistance: what we have learned from Drosophila.J.Evol.Biol. 2007, 20, 1655-1664.
Literature cited 2: Lee, K.P., Simpson, S.J. and Wilson, K., Dietary protein-quality influences melanization and immune function in an insect.Funct.Ecol. 2008, 22, 1052-1061. Karasov, W.H., Energetics, physiology and vertebrate ecology. Trends Ecol.Evol. 1986, 1, 101-104.

ID: 61556
Title: Effect of ambient heat on all-cause mortality in the coastal city of Surat, India.
Author: Vikas K.Desai, ShaileshWagle, Suresh Kumar Rathi, Urvi Patel, Hemant S. Desai and Kaplesh Khatri.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1680-1686 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Ambient heat, mortality, temperature, humidity, urban population.
Abstract: A wealth of information is available on extreme heat and humidity associated with mortality for cities of the developed world, but there is a dearth of in the literature for coastal cities of the developing world. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ambient heat on all-cause mortality on the urban population of Surat, a coastal city in India. Retrospective analysis of all cause mortality data with temperature and humidity was performed for the summer months (March-May) for the period 2001-12.Student ' s t- test and correlation coefficient were used to study the relationship between ambient heat and mortality. A total of 36, 167 deaths for 961 summer days (2001-12) were analysed. Mean daily mortality was estimated at 37.6 ? 9.4 for the study period. There is an increase of 11 % mortality when the temperature crosses 40?C.However, there is an increase of 3 (95) deaths per day during danger-level heat-risk days and 6 (18%) deaths per day during high-risk heat days (extreme danger) respectively. Mortality seems to be well correlated with the high temperature (P< 0.001) and high heat index (HI) values (P<0.001).The effect of extreme heat on mortality is at a peak on day-2 of the maximum temperature. The study concludes that the impact of ambient heat in the increase of all cause mortality is clearly evident and HI is more important than maximum temperature (18 % deaths/day versus 11 % deaths/day).Therefore, emphasis should be given to develop measures of adaptation towards ambient heat. This analysis may fulfil the needs of policy makers and apply strategies like integrated coastal zone management. Extreme heat-related mortality merits further analysis in order to reduce harmful health effects among Surat ' s most vulnerable urban population.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Bush, K.F. et al., Impacts of climate change on public health in India: future research directions.Environ.Health Perspect, 2011, 119, 765. Bell, M.L.et al., Vulnerability to heat-related mortality in Latin America: a case-crossover study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Santiago, Chile and Mexico.Int.J.Epidemiol, 2008, 37, 796-804.
Literature cited 2: Basu, R., High ambient temperature and mortality: a review of epidemiologic studies from 2001 to 2008.Environ.Health, 2009, 8, 40. Fowler, D.R. et al., Heat-related deaths after an extreme heat event-four states, 2012, and United States, 1999-2009.Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2013, vol. 62 (22), pp.433-436.

ID: 61555
Title: Uncertainty and the capability approach to design.
Author: Mahendra Shahare
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1665-1671 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Affordance, capability approach, design, trade-off, uncertainty.
Abstract: The concept of ' design for sustainable well-being and empowerment ' seeks to harmonize distinct ideals using the capability approach framework, of which an important element is technology. To increase the freedoms or effective capabilities of individuals, the aim is to design artefacts and technologies. However, in this article, the argument is that due to the inherent uncertainty such optimistic outcomes cannot always be guaranteed and technologies can fail in practice and diminish human capabilities. Design trade-off and affordance of artefacts are used here to demonstrate that the use of capability approach to design is merely a static analytical tool.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Crewe, E. and Harrison, E., Whose Development? An Ethnography of Aid. Zed Books, London, 1998. Sen, A., Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2000.
Literature cited 2: Robeyns, I., The capability approach: a theoretical survey.J.Human Develop.Capabil. 2005, 6, 93-117. Oosterlaken, I., Design for development: a capability approach.Des.Issues, 2009, 25, 91-102.

ID: 61554
Title: Women empowerment by technology supported manufacturing of beads from Holy Basil.
Author: Rajkumar Gupta, Mangal Sharma, Davinder Pal Singh, Bhivraj Suthar and Subir Kumar Saha.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1660-1664 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Holy Basil (Tulasi), women empowerment, contactless sensor.
Abstract: In this article, we demonstrate how intervention using basic technology has improved the manufacturing of the beads from the stems of Holy Basil (Tulasi).This has helped the convenience, productivity and income of those women in the villages who typically make the beads in the Brij area (Mathura, Brindavan and nearby districts) of Rajasthan state in India. Later, it was experimented with a new stem holder and a contactless sensor to improve the vibration of the device and the inconvenience of replacing the mechanical switch frequently. As a result, there is overall improvement in the performance of the device.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Fischer, M., Design to Kickstart incomes. Design for the other 90%, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York, 2007. How to make Tulasi beads? 2012; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuekS3bgy4A (accessed on 18August 2014).
Literature cited 2: Lupin Foundation-Sindhudurg, 2014; http://sindhudurga.lupinfoundation.in/content/rural-industries (accessed on 18 August 2014). Gupta, R., Sharma, M., Saha, S.K., Prasad, R., Gaur, R.R. and Singh, J., Interventions for the empowerment of rural women: a case study of the manufacturing of beads from Holy Basil (Tulasi).In Design for Sustainable Well-being and Women Empowerment, Indo-Dutch International Conference on Design, IISc, Bangalore, 12-14 July 2014.

ID: 61553
Title: Design of a manual press for the production of compacted stabilized soil blocks.
Author: B.V.Venkatarama Reddy.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 109 (9) 1651-1659 (2015)
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Compressed earth block, soil compaction, soil block, toggle press.
Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the design of a manually operated soil compaction machine that is being used to manufacture stabilized soil blocks (SSB).A case study of manufacturing more than three million blocks in a housing project using manually operated machine is illustrated. The paper is focused on the design, development, and evaluation of a manually operated soil compaction machine for production of SSB. It also details the machine design philosophy, compaction characteristics of soils, employment generation potential of small-scale stabilized soil block productions systems, and embodied energy. Static compaction of partially saturated soils was performed to generate force-displacement curves in a confined compaction process were generated. Based on the soil compaction data engineering design design aspects of a toggle press are illustrated. The results of time and motion study on block production operations using manual machines are discussed. Critical path network diagrams were used for small-scale SSB production systems. Such production systems generate employment art a very low capital cost.
Location: TE15, EWRG, CES, IISc.
Literature cited 1: Heathcote, K., Compressive strength of cement stabilized pressed earth blocks. Building Res.Inf. 1991, 19 (2), 101-105. Houseben, H.and Guillaud, H., Earth Construction-A Comprehensive Guide, Intermediate Technology Publications, Belgium, 2003.
Literature cited 2: Olivier, M. and Ali, M., Influence of different parameters on the resistance of earth, used as a building material. Proceedings of the Int.Conference on Mud Architecture, Trivandrum, India, 1987. Venkataraman Reddy, B.V. and Walker, P., Stabilised mud blocks: Problems, prospects. In Proceedings of the International Earth Building Conference, Sydney, Australia, 2005, pp.63-75.