Publications
Chemical Characterization of Meltwater from East Rathong Glacier Vis-à-Vis Western Himalayan Glaciers
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Ice and meltwater samples from Rathong glacier and its pro-glacial stream Rathong chu, were collected during late winter season. Samples were analyzed to study the chemical composition , weathering, and geochemical processes in ice and meltwater at high altitudes.
Creating enabling environment for affordable delivery of sustainable electricity services: Case studies of Innovative techno-institutional models
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Achieving universal electricity access has become a key policy objective for India as well for all other developing countries, especially after the launch of Sustainable Energy for All initiative of the United Nations. While governments have designed macro-scale policies and schemes for energy access; in recent year’s entrepreneurs, NGOs, and usergroups have been introducing innovations in designing energy access projects at more localized levels with varying degrees of success.
Deforestation-induced costs on the drinking water supplies of the Mumbai metropolitan, India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The success of incorporating natural capital into resource- and land-use decisions hinges on the ability to quantify the ecosystem services, forecast the returns to the investments, convert these values into effective policy and finance mechanisms, and the presence of well-functioning institutions and infrastructure.
Determinants of proactive environmental management practices in Indian firms: An empirical study
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The present study aims to empirically determine the primary factors that have a major influence on adoption of environmental management practices in Indian firms. For this purpose, a theoretical framework has been proposed based on previous studies and a pilot survey that provides broad and specific variables that might have an impact of these practices. This impact has been investigated by conducting factor analysis and stepwise-regression analysis. In order to collect the primary data a questionnaire has been designed for which 104 valid responses (8.5% response rate) have been obtained.
Determining the genetic origin of Nitrate contamination in aquifers of Northern Gujarat, India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Over the past decades, the Gujarat state of India experienced intensive agricultural and industrial activities, fertilizer consumption and abstraction of groundwater, which in turn has degraded the ground water quality. Protection of aquifers from nitrate pollution is a matter of prime concern for the planners and decision-makers. The present study assessed the spatial and temporal variation of groundwater nitrate levels in areas with different land use/land cover activities for both pre- and post-monsoon period.
Development, design and performance analysis of a forced draft clean combustion cookstove powered by a thermo electric generator with multi-utility options
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
About 2679 million people across the world are using biomass fuels to meet their energy requirement for cooking. Due to incomplete and poor combustion, these cookstoves are causing indoor pollution and perform at a poor efficiency. There is a need to develop efficient and affordable clean combustion cookstoves. Improved cookstoves working on the natural draft mode perform at a lower efficiency. The forced draft cookstoves work at higher efficiency with clean combustion, but requires power to operate a small blower.
Deviations from the O3-NO-NO2 photo-stationary state in Delhi, India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
A network of air quality and weather monitoring stations was set-up across Delhi, India, under theSystem of Air quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) project. The objective of this network was toenable better understanding of air quality in terms of atmospheric chemistry, emissions and forecastingin Delhi, one of the largest metropolises in the world. In this study, we focus on the O3-NO-NO2-triad. Photo Stationary State (PSS), and investigate site-specific deviations in the Leighton Ratio (F) during ashort period in 2012 (1e31 December).
Disease burden due to biomass cooking-fuel-related household air pollution among women in India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Household air pollution (HAP) due to biomass cooking fuel use is an important risk factor for a range of diseases, especially among adult women who are primary cooks, in India. About 80% of rural households in India use biomass fuel for cooking. The aim of this study is to estimate the attributable cases (AC) for four major diseases/conditions associated with biomass cooking fuel use among adult Indian women.
Do free trade agreements promote intra-industry trade? The case of India and its FTAs
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The paper examines the role of free trade agreements (FTAs) in promoting intra-industry trade (IIT) between India and its selected FTAs - Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and Sri Lanka. IIT is evident for India's trade with Sri Lanka and Singapore whereas the same is low for other countries. Even the observed IIT is mostly in the form of vertical IIT (VIIT). The results based on fixed effects model using gravity equation shows that the FTAs have a significant impact in promoting IIT.
Ecobiotechnological Strategy to Enhance Efficiency of Bioconversion of Wastes into Hydrogen and Methane
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Abstract Vegetable wastes (VW) and food wastes (FW) are generated in large quantities by municipal markets,restaurants and hotels. Waste slurries (250 ml) in 300 ml BOD bottles, containing 3, 5 and 7 % total solids (TS) were hydrolyzed with bacterial mixtures composed of: Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Exiguobacterium, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas and Sphingobacterium species. Each of these bacteria had high activities for the hydrolytic enzymes: amylase, protease and lipase. Hydrolysate of biowaste slurries were subjected to defined mixture of H2 producers and culture enriched for methanogens.