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The paper aims to demonstrate a geographic information system (GIS) based study on environmental impact assessment (EIA), due to air pollution, for a highway project.

An approach has been designed to explore the scope for the combination of EIA and GIS in development for the proposed Allahabad Bypass Project. The air quality in the study area has been quantified in terms of the air pollution index (API). GIS has been exploited to obtain the spatial information for the prediction of air pollution impact at different suburban and rural areas adjacent to the stretch of bypass.

The study has enabled the researchers to understand the variation in air quality along the total stretch of the bypass keeping in view the “with” and “without” project scenarios. The results obtained from the study show considerable increase in air pollution levels from baseline to the projected period of 20 years, due to gradual increase in vehicular traffic along the highway.

The information presented in this paper serves as an example to quantify the negative impacts of countryside air quality associated with highway projects. The approach utilized the spatial evaluation of air pollution and helps to provide a critical insight to the problem, which is not apparent while carrying out such an exercise in the traditional manner.

Hopefully, this study will encourage the highway planners in India to make a wider application of the technique for an indepth assessment of environmental impacts.

Environmental impact and changes are becoming essential in textile and yarn industries, where reliable measurement of parameters related to processing harmful substances needs to be examined. Such findings can be cumulated using smart assessment like life cycle analysis. The ecological impact category, supply chain, and climate-changing factors were considered for the necessary assessment.

This paper applies the Life Cycle Assessment technique in the textile and yarn industry to estimate critical environmental potentials. The critical input for the fabric and yarn industry was put in the GaBi software model to estimate various environmental potentials.

Global warming potential, electricity, and raw cotton consumption in the fabric and yarn industry were critical concerns where attention should be focused on minimizing environmental potentials from cradle to gate assessment.

This qualitative study is made via the industry case-wise inputs and outputs, which can vary with demographic conditions. Some machine and human constraints have not been implemented in modelling life cycle model for smart simulation. Smart simulation helps in linking different parameters and simulates their combined effects on the product life cycle.

This modelling approach will help access pollution constituents in different supply chain production processes and optimize them simultaneously.

The raw data used in this analysis are collected from an Indian small scale textile industry. In the textile fabrication industry, earlier assessments were carried out in cotton generation, impact of PET, cradle to grave assessment of textile products and garment processing only. In this research the smart model is drawn to consider each input parameter of yarn and textile fabric to determine the criticality of each input in this assessment. This article mainly talks about life cycle and circular supply assessment applied to first time for both cotton to yarn processing and yarn to fabric industry for necessary estimation of environment potentials.

A road network provides arterial arrangement to facilitate business, transport, social integration and economic progress of any nation. During the last seven decades after independence, road transport infrastructure in India has expanded manifold, both in terms of spread (total length and density of road) and capacity (number of on-road registered vehicles, and volume of passenger and freight traffic handled). But, with the enrichment of road transport network in India, the number of traffic accidents and total cost for maintaining the road infrastructure also keeps on increasing. It becomes necessary to evaluate state-wise performance of the Indian roads using some mathematical tools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

In this paper, using preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE) and geometrical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA) approaches, an attempt is made to appraise the state-wise performance of Indian roads based on 12 critically important criteria. A geographic information system method and a hue-saturation-value color coding scheme are also employed to identify the influence of individual criterion on the overall rank of 29 Indian states.

It is observed that amongst all the considered states, the road conditions in the states of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are really satisfactory, whereas Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the lagging states requiring governmental intervention and support to enhance their road network infrastructure.

This analysis would help the decision makers to identify the strengths and deficiencies of each Indian state with respect to its road conditions so that proper promotional and growth actions can be implemented.

From the review of the existing literature, it is quite evident that till date, no research work has been conducted in order to evaluate the performance of roads, and their conditions and characteristic features in the Indian context. In this paper, the state-wise performance of the Indian roads is appraised based on several identified parameters using a combined PROMETHEE-GAIA approach.

The purpose of this paper is to formulate frameworks for the drivers and barriers of integrated sustainable solid waste management (ISSWM) with reference to conditions prevailing in India.

A multi-phased approach was adopted in this paper to come up with the conceptual framework of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM. In the first phase, drivers and barriers of ISSWM were identified based on a systematic literature review process. In the second phase, 25 experts having 15 plus years of experience in the field of sustainable development and environmental management were consulted to get their opinion. Validation and understanding of the interrelationship among the selected drivers and barriers were done based on the insights from expert interviews. And in the final phase, structural self-interaction matrix and transitive links are defined based on the expert opinion to come up with the theoretical frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM.

Findings reveal the importance to have a system view point approach by giving equal importance to social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainability along with the technology component to effectively and sustainably manage the solid waste disposal. Institutional effectiveness and the robust policy and frameworks are the two variables found to have the highest driving power. Poor social values and ethics, huge population and illiteracy are the three most critical barriers faced by developing nations in achieving the sustainability practices in the solid waste management. The proposed frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM will definitely help policy makers to effectively manage the sustainable waste management practices for developing economies by focusing on the key variables listed out.

One of the limitations is in the use of very limited sample size in the study. Another limitation is that total interpretive structural modeling fails to come up with the relative weightings of drivers and barriers used in the study. These limitations can be overcome by extending the research by using a semi-structured questionnaire survey with higher sample size for the empirical validation of the model.

This research will help to clearly understand the framework of drivers and barriers of variables and their hierarchical level based on the driving power and dependence. Since such articles focusing on the conceptual frameworks of drivers and barriers of ISSWM are found to be very scant, this paper will equally help academicians and waste management professionals to understand the concepts deeply, by getting answers to the fundamental questions of “what,” “why” and “how.” Developed framework of drivers explicitly shows the need to attain financial stability through the commercialization of the waste management initiatives, which will help to reduce burden on various governmental institutions. Commercialization opportunities will also help to have more successful start-up ventures in solid waste management domain that can provide improved employment opportunities and hygiene environment in the developing nations like India.

Based on the authors’ best knowledge, there is hardly any article that explicitly explains the conceptual frameworks of the drivers and barriers of ISSWM by considering the conditions prevailing in developing countries like India. And thus, this can be considered as one of the unique research attempts to build a clear conceptual framework of ISSWM. The study contributes significantly to the existing literature body by clearly interpreting the interrelationships and the driving power and dependence of variables of ISSWM.

The purpose of this study is to assess the current practices and state of solid waste management systems (SWMS) in one medium‐sized Indian town, identifying main issues and problems to its ineffectiveness, inefficiency and to gain some suggestions and recommendations to improve the SWM infrastructure and practices in such Indian towns.

A medium size city, Aligarh, having a population of about 0.7 million and situated 130 km from the capital city of India, Delhi, was selected for this study. An extensive literature review was conducted to establish a theoretical framework. Field visits were conducted to collect the primary data and to understand the SWMS of the city, including interaction and interviews with the various officials and workers of the municipality responsible for SWM and residents of the city. A protocol was developed to analyze the sources, quantification, and to determine the composition of waste streams. Existing reports related to SWM and recommendations of planners/NGOs/consultants for improving the system were studied.

Despite all efforts being made by the local municipality within their limited resources, the solid waste management situation in Aligarh is still not adequate. The waste is being dumped on low lying or open areas in the outskirts of the city without engineering and scientific methods. This situation of SWMS can be compared with other Indian towns of similar size.

The paper discusses problems, opportunities and perspectives in the existing solid waste management system in Aligarh city and assesses the potential for its improvement.

Caste is the basic structural feature of Hindu society; all social scientists are agreed on this. Since Hinduism is generally recognised to be as much a social system as a religion, its social framework embodying caste rituals has governed the lives of the majority of Indians for hundreds of years. Having deep roots in tradition and enjoying sanction in all religious literature belonging to the pre‐British era, caste has been the dominant principle of social organisation since ancient times. In fact, barring the recent past, Hinduism has always been identified in the minds of most Indians with caste observances. Writes R.C. Zaehner: “…until a century or so ago the acceptance of the caste system was considered by the orthodox to be the sole effective criterion of whether one was or was not a Hindu. In matters of belief it mattered not at all whether one believed in one god or many, or not at all, nor did it much matter on how one interpreted ‘liberation’ or whether one rejected it outright so long as one fulfilled the duties prescribed for one's caste.”

The day-by-day escalating quantity of healthcare waste (HCW), has made waste handling and management a challenging issue for ensuring environmental quality. Developing nations like India face huge difficulties in handling healthcare solid wastes (HCSW) because of the extra population burden. Hence, the present study seeks to evaluate the role of various stakeholders, under the following four performance areas: “collection and segregation of HCSW,” “storage and transportation of HCSW,” “special measures for handling HCSW” and ‘awareness among the various stakeholders of handling and managing the HCSW.”

The study targets the primary data from 323 stakeholders across 35 hospitals in Himachal Pradesh, India, to assess the environmental awareness level among various stakeholders. Data were analyzed using preliminary descriptive statistics, and further statistical testing was done using one-way ANOVA in SPSS version 20.0.

Results highlight that most hospitals lack the following areas: segregation of HCSW, marking of zones and bags carrying infectious HCSWs, inadequate transportation facilities, bad handling and storage practices and recycling without chemical disinfection.

The study's findings will help the hospitals' administration and State Pollution Control Board to design training programs for all the stakeholders involved in managing HCSW. The proper recycling of the HCSW will reduce the adverse environmental impact and ensure the environmental quality within the hospitals and surroundings. The preparation of appropriate policy for the collection, storage and transportation of HCSW from the hospitals to the treatment centers will ensure the cleaner delivery of healthcare services to society.

The present study is the first of its kind, where the primary data were collected from the various stakeholders involved in the handling of HCSW at various healthcare establishments (HCEs) in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Purpose of this paper is to assess the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system and resident practices towards municipal wastes in Dessie city of Ethiopia.

A cross‐sectional study was conducted in 2008 and the data were generated by using self‐administered questionnaire and personnel observations using checklists. MSW generation and composition at household level was calculated by sorting and weighing the wastes from ten houses consecutively for seven days.

The study revealed that Dessie municipality is mainly responsible for collection, transport and disposal of the wastes. Solid wastes generation rate at household level was found to be 0.45 kg/capita/day, having a high percentage of ash and food products. In total, 97 percent of respondents had knowledge about wastes and its management; however, the majority of them (73 per cent) believed that females are responsible for wastes management at household level. About half of the respondents (48 per cent) disposed their wastes near roadsides and vacant areas, in open sewers, bank of rivers and around bushes. Most of the respondents were not satisfied with the present service and 79 per cent of them were willing to pay service charges if there is house‐to‐house (primary) collection initiation by the local authority.

Due to unavailability of laboratory equipment, moisture content and chemical composition was not analyzed for the collected wastes.

Enforcement of existing laws, composting and sanitary land filing can be feasible, useful and effective in the present situation in dealing with MSW problem.

The work identifies the gaps in the present MSWM system of Dessie City.

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirical studies on public-private partnerships (PPPs) and solid waste management (SWM) in Ghana and India to synthesize the “crucial lessons” for urban managers and policy makers in developing countries.

A systematic review of empirical studies was carried out, the search process comprised four categories of keywords combined differently across three main search engines in order to obtain a pool of more relevant literature on the study. Sorting for relevance was done at various levels; retrospective content analysis of relevant empirical studies on PPP and SWM in Ghana and India was subsequently carried out to draw lessons and policy suggestions.

PPPs have mainly been impressive in coverage of waste collection in the Ghanaian context, whilst in India, emphasis has been on injection of technology and effectiveness into SWM. It is also observed that in both cases the PPP processes have lacked adequate openness, transparency and sufficient stakeholder engagement. In the Ghana cases, mostly, urban authorities hardly pay attention to details in the partnership deed and also ignore monitoring of private partners. Poorly performed PPPs do occur when one of the partners relent on his role which could have a cascading effect on other actors.

Whilst PPP is a strong candidate to address the SWM challenges of urban centers in developing countries, this does not necessarily come about by joining the bandwagon. Merely entering into a partnership deed with private waste management companies without paying due attention to details of the contract will usher urban managers into a state of schizophrenia. The paper presents five key lessons to inform policy and practice.

The paper draws lessons from multiple cases of PPPs in Ghana and India by synchronizing lessons adaptable to city authorities and policy makers in developing countries.

Introduction: Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) global outbreak poses a danger to millions of people’s health and the uncertainty and financial prudence around the world. Without a doubt, the sickness will place a tremendous strain on healthcare systems, which existing or traditional-based treatments cannot adequately handle. Only intelligence derived from diverse data sources can provide the foundation for rigorous clinical and social responses that optimise the use of constrained healthcare resources, create tailored patient treatment plans, educate policy-makers, and accelerate clinical trials

Purpose: This chapter aims to incorporate innovative practices of artificial intelligence (AI) into local, national, and global healthcare systems that can save lives of people and as well helps in human capital management ways that may be deployed rapidly and effectively with minimal errors.

Methodology: AI technologies and tools play a crucial part in COVID-19 crisis response by assisting with the virus discovery, early detection, and the development of effective medications and therapies. In this chapter, significant issues related to COVID-19 and how they may be addressed by applying HRM practices with recent advances in AI. Also, through a literature review of the recent studies implemented in a similar context, an AI solution is proposed by formulating a conceptual model.

Findings: This chapter offers that the latest AI techniques can assist policy-makers in implementing modern human capital management practices to fight against COVID-19. The goal is to remotely monitor patients utilising gadgets that are embedded with state-of-the-art medical technology. To limit hospital visits, or at least cut them down to a minimum, on the one hand, the health clinic also wants to deliver reliable health information to the doctors before or during virtual consultations.