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The purpose of this paper is to find out the prevalence and determinants of unmet need with a special focus on religious barrier towards the use of contraception among Muslim women in India. The study also addresses their future intention to use family planning method.

Data from the latest round of District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3) in India is used. A multi-stage stratified probability proportion to size sampling design was adopted. The present analysis is based on 70,016 currently married Muslim women across the country.

The prevalence of total unmet need is the highest in Bihar (48.5 per cent), which is two times higher than the national level (27.6 per cent). About 9 per cent Muslim women in India do not use contraception due to religious opposition. There is considerable gap in the future intention to use family planning method between Muslim (9.2 per cent) and non-Muslim (19.6 per cent) women particularly for limiting birth. The logistic regression analysis shows non-Muslim women are significantly more likely (OR=1.540, p<0.001) to have the intention to use family planning method in the future than Muslim women.

Men are not included to explore the differences in the perception of men and women towards family planning. Interventions targeting men and aiming at overcoming cultural barriers to using family planning method are equally imperative. Couple's knowledge, attitude and perception towards acceptance of family planning methods need to be addressed simultaneously by interviewing the couples separately.

Public-private collaboration to promote family planning programme and providing services in the high prevalence (unmet need) states is required. Support from the religious leaders to overcome the cultural barriers towards the use of family planning is also needed.

This is the first ever effort to address the existing unmet need for family planning among Muslim women in India, which is an important determinant of high fertility among Muslim women.

Caesarean section (CS) is being used as a life-saving surgical tool when complications arise in the process of childbirth. CS rates have dramatically increased across the world, especially in recent decades. In this background, the purpose of this paper is to explore the CS rates and its determinants in Karnataka, India.

The study uses multiple rounds of the District Level Household Survey (DLHS) data to show the trends, differentials and determinants in CS deliveries. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been carried out, and the χ² test and logistic regression models were applied.

Result shows a sharp increase in CS rates across Karnataka; further, this is high and reaches an alarming level in southern parts of the state. Along with a huge rural–urban difference, significant biological and socio-economic differences were observed. Further, a very dramatic increase in the CS rate was observed in private health facilities, whereas it was stagnant or even decreased in public health facilities during recent years. Mothers age at birth, birth weight, birth order, multiple births, birth institution and place of residence were significantly associated with CS delivery. Unlike these biological factors, the social-economic factors like maternal education, caste, religion and below poverty line household were not found to be significant in determining CS deliveries.

A strong policy to address the dramatic increase in CS deliveries is the need of the hour. Further, there should be a proper mechanism at national, state and sub-state level to provide appropriate checks and monitoring for CS deliveries which are unnecessary.

Purpose – This study investigates the sociodemographics, late entry to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and clinical markers associated with AIDS-related mortality.

Methodology/Approach – Applying retrospective cohort design, 960 medical records of people who died of AIDS, from October 2006 to December 2014, were accessed from the ART center at tertiary health care center of Ranchi (India).

Findings – With useable data from 889 medical records revealed that the majority of people who died of AIDS consisted of married males in the age group of 19–40 years who were truck drivers, migrant laborers, and of rural origins. The median survival period was below 3 months following the ART. Males and people on the pre-ART group had a shorter survival period than their counterparts. Early mortality was associated with lower CD4+ T cell counts, the third or fourth clinical stage, ambulatory or bed-ridden functional status, and poor medication adherence.

Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to the analysis of AIDS deceased people only; it did not compare the survival duration with living people on ART. The lower CD4+ T cell counts and medication adherence, being strong predictors of mortality, can be addressed to attain higher survival rates of people who have AIDS.

Originality/Value of Paper – This is the first study conducted in the tribal-populated region, covering a large sample of 889 cases. Unique findings of this study update the existing data on AIDS-related mortality.

History teaches us that the glorious victory of mankind across the centuries was accomplished through the successful use of information. The gigantic progressions and rapid transformation of human societies have endorsed legitimacy of abundant data, multiple dynamic variables & critical complexities which reinforce the academia and researchers for understanding and pioneering into ‘Big Data Analytics (BDA)’. Health is one of the vibrant socio-economic variables which have correlations with other aspects of life, that is, education, poverty, income, etc. In fact, there are unending debates whether health can be a basic input for a holistic developmental process or it is the outcome of various developmental factors. BDAs are being used across various sectors of the economy. The developed nations have been yielding most feasible solutions using various forms of analysis of big data. Astronomical research has been using a large quantum of data for accomplishing various satellite projects, space technology, and numerous space missions for the astronaut. With the advent of fourth industrial revolution, the world community has been thriving toward a new age technological innovations that include artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain technology, etc., which act a pivotal tool for BDAs. In the health sector, application of BDAs has been attempted and experimented in the developed nations which have resulted prolific and sustainable solutions to the most typical cumbersome problems. This chapter has demonstrated how BDAs can make progressive reforms in the Indian Health sector outlining the present status and emerging challenges.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the significance of integrated governance in bringing about community participation, improved service delivery, accountability of public systems and human resource rationalisation. It discusses the strategies of innovative institutional structures in translating such integration in the areas of public health and nutrition for poor communities.

The paper draws on experience of initiating integrated governance through innovations in health and nutrition programming in the resource‐poor state of Chhattisgarh, India, at different levels of governance structures – hamlets, villages, clusters, blocks, districts and at the state. The study uses mixed methods – i.e. document analysis, interviews, discussions and quantitative data from facilities surveys – to present a case study analyzing the process and outcome of integration.

The data indicate that integrated governance initiatives improved convergence between health and nutrition departments of the state at all levels. Also, innovative structures are important to implement the idea of integration, especially in contexts that do not have historical experience of such partnerships. Integration also contributed towards improved participation of communities in self‐governance, community monitoring of government programs, and therefore, better services.

As governments across the world, especially in developing countries, struggle towards achieving better governance, integration can serve as a desirable process to address this. Integration can affect the decentralisation of power, inclusion, efficiency, accountability and improved service quality in government programs. The institutional structures detailed in this paper can provide models for replication in other similar contexts for translating and sustaining the idea of integrated governance.

This paper is one of the few to investigate innovative public institutions of a particularly vulnerable and poor region in India, and is unique in that it uses the lenses of governance and community mobilisation to explore this important, and under‐researched, topic.

The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops.

A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied include days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households from three purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet.

The results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition.

The main limitation of the study is that it uses a stated preference choice experiment method, which suffers from hypothetical bias. At the time of implementing this study biofortified high-iron pearl millet varieties were not yet developed, therefore the authors could not have implemented revealed preference elicitation methods with real products and payment.

The method used (stated preference choice experiment method) is commonly used to value non-market goods such as environmental goods and products that are not yet in the market. It’s application to agriculture and in developing countries is increasing. As far as the authors know this is the first choice experiment implemented to investigate farmer/consumer preferences for biofortified crops. The study presents valuable information for development and delivery of biofortified crops for reducing micronutrient deficiencies.

The purpose of this paper is to present the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) as a case to delineate contextual and often paradoxical challenges in implementing centrally sponsored schemes in a small island economy. Government reports cite ANI's record on health outcomes to be impressive when comparing it with other Union Territories (UTs). However, using examples of two public health and nutrition schemes, the paper argues that unless ANI's development indicators are compared over few years, public policy may fail to identity its development challenges and continue its rhetoric while in reality, health outcomes may be regressing.

The paper used case study research design involving mixed method approach. Quantitative data were secondary in nature, collected from local government departments. Two of the three districts of ANI formed the sample of the study. Main tools used for qualitative analysis were observation and informal interviews with government functionaries and other stakeholders.

The findings point to the paradox of superior public spending and infrastructure in ANI in midst of deteriorating public health and child nutrition outcomes. The paper concluded that any policy making on island's trajectory of development is not only incomplete, but also faulty unless its special context is considered as a starting point.

Ethnographic studies on the health-seeking behaviour of ANI communities can reveal trends in access to health services and its reasons, but that was beyond the scope of the paper.

The paper is arguably the first to identify development paradoxes in implementation of government health and nutrition programmes in ANI. The paper poses further questions on unpacking the paradox of development in the islands. It urges policy makers and administrators to reconsider the efficacy of centrally sponsored schemes that are implemented without being contextualised for a small island economy like ANI.