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The current study investigates the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions on air quality in an industrial town in Himachal Pradesh (HP) (India) and recommends policies and strategies for mitigating air pollution.

The air quality parameters under study are particulate matter₁₀ (PM₁₀), PM_2.5, SO₂ and NO₂. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc analysis and non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test, and multiple linear regression analysis are used to validate the data analysis results.

The findings indicate that the lockdown and post-lockdown periods affected pollutant levels even after considering the meteorological conditions. Except for SO₂, all other air quality parameters dropped significantly throughout the lockdown period. Further, the industrial and transportation sectors are the primary sources of air pollution in Paonta Sahib.

Future research should include other industrial locations in the state to understand the relationship between regional air pollution levels and climate change. The findings of this study may add to the discussion on the role of adopting clean technologies and also provide directions for future research on improving air quality in the emerging industrial towns in India.

Very few studies have examined how the pandemic-induced lockdowns impacted air pollution levels in emerging industrial towns in India while also considering the confounding meteorological factors.

Water is a vital natural resource without which life on earth would be impossible. Properties of synthetic dyes like high stability and noxious nature make it difficult to remove them from the effluent. This review focuses on the removal of synthetic dyes using nanoparticles (NPs) based on the adsorption principle.

Adsorption technique is widely used to remove synthetic dyes from their aqueous solution for decades. Synthetic dye removal using NPs is promising, less energy-intensive and has become popular in recent years. NPs are in high demand for treating wastewater using the adsorption principle due to their tiny size and vast surface area. To maximise environmental sustainability, the utilisation of green-produced NPs as efficient catalysts for dye removal has sparked attention amongst scientists.

This review has prioritised research and development of optimal dye removal systems that can be used to efficiently remove a large quantity of dye in a short period while safeguarding the environment and producing fewer harmful by-products. The removal efficiency of synthetic dye using different NPs in wastewater treatment varies mostly between 75% to almost 100%. This review will aid in the scaling up of the wastewater treatment process.

There is a lack of research emphasis on the safe disposal of NPs once the reuse efficiency significantly drops. The relevance of cost analysis is equally critical, yet only a few papers discuss cost-related information.

Comprehensive and planned research in this area can aid in the development of long-term wastewater treatment technology to meet the growing need for safe and reliable water emphasising reuse and desorption efficiency of the NPs.

The paper aims to critically review the literature based on the factors identified by the authors to discuss and provide direction for future research. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the factors responsible for affecting consumers’ perceptions and purchasing attitudes toward organic food products.

The literature review follows the review methodology elaborating on key factors identified which affect the consumer’s perception and attitude toward organic farming and products. A total of 50 articles are downloaded from different sources such as Google Scholar and Scopus and later the articles were finalized based on core areas and specializations.

The findings reveal that the behavioral aspect plays a crucial role in the adoption of organic products by consumers; also various factors such as customer perspective, demand and supply, health aspect, cost-effectiveness, standard and reliability are responsible in endorsing organic products. The authors also reveal that among the factors mentioned, the lack of a supply chain market for organic products is the prime concern for the non-availability of products.

The lack of effective distribution and promotion system affects the availability of organic food products.

The paper provides a comprehensive review of organic food in terms of highlighting the factors affecting the perception and purchasing attitude of consumers toward organic food products consumption. Also, the present review study gives an idea of organizing the literature on the organic food based on factors influencing the customer responses.

India has taken a successful step towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by providing access to basic amenities such as safe drinking water, waste management, drainage systems and bio-compost pits in households. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that significantly impact access to such basic amenities in villages in two states in the hilly regions of India.

Village-level secondary data collected from the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) website has been analyzed using multiple linear regression and non-parametric statistical tests. Socio-economic and demographic variables are the independent factors in regression whereas availability of basic amenities is the dependent variable.

Findings reveal that in Himachal Pradesh, gender ratio, annual income per family, percentage of BPL households, percentage of pucca houses, and percentage of village population above graduation, significantly impact access to piped water in village households. Also, literacy rate and percentage of population with education above graduation significantly impact availability of compost pits. Further, in Uttarakhand, percentage of pucca houses influences access to waste collection system and availability of compost pits. Availability of drainage systems is influenced by literacy rate. A comparison between the two hilly states reveals that Himachal Pradesh is better off in terms of ease of access to drinking water whereas Uttarakhand is ahead in terms of other amenities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other studies have used socio-economic and demographic variables to study access to basic amenities in villages in hilly states in India.

The aim of this study is to provide a review of the research studies that took place in the previous years regarding Mangiferin and its potential use in the treatment of various disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and human immunodeficiency virus.

Mangiferin can be easily extracted from the plant at a very low cost to treat some common as well as deadly diseases, which will be a miracle in herbal treatment. In support of this, the recent related articles were considered to understand the bioactive compound “Mangiferin” to treat lifestyle diseases. Various review articles and research papers were collected from international and national journals, and internet sources were also being used to compile the current manuscript.

Mangiferin has been shown to have the potential to mitigate many life style diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia and diabetes-related end-organ complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy.

In this comprehensive review, this study evaluates Mangiferin and its lifestyle disease-modifying properties for nutraceuticals purposes.

The study aims to explore the relationship between the dimensions of green intellectual capital (GIC) and employee green behavior (EGB).

A survey has been conducted among a random representative population of employees working for the energy-sector organizations in India to collect data for this study. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for GIC supports the inclusion of the new dimension in its construct. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validates the measurement model. Hypothesized relationships have been examined by applying structural equation modeling using partial least squares method.

Results corroborate that all the four dimensions of GIC have varying degrees of significant positive impact on EGB. The study contributes to the existing literature by extending the understanding of the concept of GIC and its connection with EGB using natural-resource based theory and social cognitive theory (SCT).

The study has empirically examined the relationship between GIC and EGB in the context of a developing country like India. Moreover, unlike the existing literature that have classified GIC into green human capital (GHC), green structural capital (GSC) and green relational capital (GRC), the study identifies green spiritual capital (GSpC) as another important dimension of GIC which is an intangible asset and highly relevant in influencing altruistic activities like green behavior. The study presents significant implications for managers and policy-makers for ensuring EGB by investing in GIC resources.

This paper aims to provide an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the understanding of the professional code of ethics of Indian Professional Management Accountants in Business (PMAIBs). It further delves into their individual, job and organizational characteristics as determinants of their understanding of the code.

This study relies on data from 247 responses to a survey-based questionnaire. Overall scores and sub-scores of the level of understanding of the code were calculated based on questions grounded in IESBA Code and ethical dilemmas. The drivers of these scores were then examined using one-way ANOVA, OLS, Probit and ordered probit regressions.

This study found considerable heterogeneity in Indian PMAIBs' understanding of their professional code of ethics and substantial scope for improvements. PMAIBs were stronger in Application, Resolution and Threats but weaker in Theory and Principles. Further, PMAIBs who had ranked themselves higher on code-familiarity, had higher moral maturity, hailed from western India and worked for foreign-listed, foreign-owned firms were found to have a higher level of understanding of the code. Highly educated elderly professionals and professionals with more responsibility areas exhibited a lower level of understanding of the code.

Insights from the study can help professional bodies, employers and academics identify and segment PMAIBs based on their ethics-training needs and customize interventions, which can benefit businesses and society through reduced corporate ethical failures. Considering the risk implications of Indian PMAIBs' inadequacies in understanding their code of ethics, the Indian professional accounting organization (ICAI-CMA) should mandate ethics in continuing professional development and expedite its long pending convergence with the IESBA code, a global benchmark for professional accountants.

This paper assesses the understanding of the professional code of ethics of PMAIBs, which is crucial yet amiss in the accounting ethics literature. While ethical decision-making is extensively researched, how well the professionals understand their code is yet unexplored. Research on PMAIBs, despite their unique ethical vulnerabilities and increasingly vital role in organizations, is still dormant. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining PMAIBs from India, an emerging economy under-represented in accounting ethics literature. India offers an important and rich setting for the study due to its large size, fast growth, deep integration with the global economy, high perceived corruption levels and poor ethical behavior of its firms.

To understand social entrepreneurship and a social entrepreneur; to identify a social problem and develop a business idea; to understand the theory of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition; and to understand microfinance and its impact in the lives of the poor.

The case traces the journey of its founder Chandra Shekhar Ghosh from being a small time entrepreneur in microfinance to being the owner of a universal bank named Bandhan. Bandhan bank started its operations on August 23, 2015 with 501 branches, 2022 service center and 50 ATMs across 24 states. It had 14.3 million accounts, around 105 billion loan book and 19,500 employees. The founder of Bandhan bank, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, an Ashoka fellow had won numerous awards such as Entrepreneur with Social Impact Award by Forbes (2014), Entrepreneur of the Year by Economic Times (2014), Skoch Financial Inclusion Award (2011), Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2014) by AIMA to name a few. In 2014, Bandhan was also recognized as Global Growth Company by World Economic Forum.

The case is suitable for analysis in a MBA level course on social entrepreneurship.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

A highly competitive market incentivizes private healthcare providers to deliver high quality services. The purpose of this paper is to identify the perceived expectations of a new private multi-speciality hospital in a non-metro city. To this end, the paper develops a model using identified relevant factors.

A structured questionnaire was administered to 900 people. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were then applied to the data, and partial least square-structural equation modelling was used to test the moderated mediation model.

Word-of-mouth and safety (WM) and access to the hospital and the cost of medical services are found to be important factors for the perceived expectations of the hospitals by medical facility and treatment at a hospital. High quality medical facilities can lead to improved perceived expectations of hospitals, mediated by positive WM. Levels of access to the hospital and the cost of services can significantly moderate the perceived expectations of a hospital, despite good medical facilities.

The study has implications for policymakers and hospital authorities in the context of private sector multi-speciality hospitals in non-metro cities. It will help healthcare managers and service providers to better understand customer perceived expectations, and thereby develop effective strategies for customer service. Decision-makers are encouraged to focus on positive word-of-mouth and enhancement of customer safety to bring about favourable expectations of hospitals. Beyond merely having excellent medical facilities, hospitals that ensure ease of access to the hospital and keep costs low can achieve positive consumer expectations and satisfaction levels.

The paper makes three novel contributions as follows: the mere presence of high quality medical facilities and practices does not equate to positive expectations about the hospital among the patients; access to the hospital and the cost of its services are important in bringing about positive expectations among healthcare consumers; and WM can significantly moderate positive expectations of the hospital. The authors are not aware of any of these findings being previously reported.

The purpose of this paper is to examine influence of past environment-friendly behaviour, peer influence and green apparel knowledge in the context of organic clothing purchase behaviour.

Data were collected by means of a survey carried out in three major metropolitan cities and a sample of total 889 respondents was collected who were college students in India.

Past environment-friendly behaviour influenced Indian youth’s organic clothing purchase behaviour. Green apparel knowledge and peer influence, interestingly, had no impact on organic clothing purchase behaviour.

The sample was limited to students who had past experience with green products. This was deliberately done as the objective was to examine the influence of past environment-friendly behaviour and green apparel knowledge on organic clothing purchase behaviour. Youth with limited awareness about organic clothing were not contacted. This restricted the findings to a specific youth segment. Further, the study was limited to Indian youth and did not examine the purchase behaviour of other consumer segments. Demographic variables were not used for analysis as only purchase behaviour of young people as a consumer segment was studied.

The findings can be used by organic apparel manufacturers in marketing organic clothing brands to the Indian youth. Organic clothing can be positioned to emphasise green values and distinct lifestyle for environment-conscious youths. Initiatives like celebrity talk-shows, organic clothing exhibitions, and launch of organic clothing designer brands can be used to promote organic apparel. College students can be used as opinion leaders to communicate benefits of organic clothing and inculcate green values among larger population.

Organic products and brands are becoming popular among Indian consumers. There has been limited research on the subject of youths’ purchase behaviour of organic clothing to date. Companies trying to launch organic clothing brands in the country may find the results helpful in understanding green buying behaviour.