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Concrete is a building material widely used for the infrastructural development. Cement is the binding material used for the development of concrete. It is the primary cause of CO₂ emission globally. The purpose of this study is to develop sustainable concrete material to satisfy the present need of construction sector. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a sustainable concrete developed without the use of cement. Therefore, investigations are being conducted to replace the cement by 100% with high calcium fly ash (FA) as binding material.

High calcium FA is used as cementitious binder, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicates (Na₂SiO₃) are used as alkaline liquids for developing the GPC. Mix proportions with different NaOH molarities of 4, 6, 8 and 10 M are considered to attain the appropriate mix. The method of curing adopted is ambient and oven curing. Workability, compressive strength and microstructure characteristics of GPC are analysed and presented.

An increase of NaOH in the mix decreases the workability. Compressive strength of 29 MPa is obtained for Mix-I with 8 M under ambient curing. A polynomial relationship is obtained to predict the compressive strength of GPC. Scanning electron microscope analysis is used to confirm the geo-polymerisation process in the microstructure of concrete.

This research work focuses on finding some alternative cementitious material for concrete that can replace ordinary portland cement (OPC) to overcome the CO₂ emission owing to the utilisation of cement in the construction industry. An attempt has been made to use the waste material (high calcium FA) from thermal power plant for the production of GPC. GPC concrete is the novel building material and alternative to conventional concrete. It is the ecofriendly product contributing towards the improvement of the circular economy in the construction industry. There are several factors that affect the property of GPC such as type of binder material, molarity of activator solution and curing condition. The novelty of this work lies in the approach of using locally available high calcium FA along with manufactured sand for the development of GPC. As this approach is rarely investigated, to prove the attainment of compressive strength of GPC with high calcium FA, an attempt has been made during the present investigation. Other influencing parameter which affects the strength gain has also been analysed in this paper.

This paper aims to focus on the evaluation of the electrical properties of bio-based polyurethane material derived from cashew nut husk tannin and also the effect of temperature and frequency on the dielectric values and alternate current (AC) conductivity.

Bio-based polyurethane is prepared from cashew nut husk tannin as polyol, their dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor are measured using an inductance capacitance resistance (LCR) metre, and the AC conductivity is determined using dielectric constant and loss values.

The dielectric constant values are high, and the values decrease with an increase in frequency but increase with an increase in temperature. The AC conductivity values are low; hence, the material can be categorized as insulators or semi-conductors. Because the polyurethanes have a good dielectric value and are cost-effective, as they are derived from renewable biomaterial waste, they have promising applications for the future.

The experiment is carried out up to the frequency of 200 KHz because of the limitation in the instrument. But for the institute of printed circuits (IPC) and other specifications, the values of dielectric loss and dielectric constant will be generally coated for 1 MHz.

The high dielectric constant and loss values show that the polyurethane can be opted for use as capacitors in electronic devices, and the values are comparable to the requirements of IPC4101A/24IPC; hence, they are suitable for the application as printed circuit board (PCB) laminate.

The use of biomaterial waste in the production of polyurethane will bring down the dependence of polyurethane industry on fossil fuel reserve, reduce carbon dioxide foot print and reduce the cost of production.

The motivation of the work was its ecological aspect and also aims on the use of an alternative bio-based material in the PCB industry.

This study aims to attempt to make an aluminum-based composite using reinforcement such as graphite and fly ash. Pollution is an enhanced serious issue of concern for global. Industries play a major role in disturbing the balance of the environment system. Composite is made by using the stir casting technique. The waste that is generated by the industries if left untreated or left to be rotten at some place may prove fatal to invite various types of diseases. Proper treatment of these wastes is the need of the hour, the best way to get rid of such kinds of hazardous wastes is to use them by recycling.

Stir casting technique was used to make a composite. Graphite and fly ash were mixed with equal amounts of 2.5% to 15% in aluminum. The microstructure of composite formed after composite was noticed. After seeing the microstructure it was understood that reinforcement particles are very well-mixed in aluminum.

When graphite was mixed with 3.75% and 3.75% fly ash in aluminum, the strength of the composite came to about 171.12 MPa. As a result, the strength of the composite increased by about 16.10% with respect to the base material. In the same way, when 3.75% graphite and 3.75% fly ash were added to aluminum, the hardness of the composite increased by about 26.60%.

In this work, graphite and fly ash have been used to develop green metal matrix composite to support the green revolution as promoted/suggested by United Nations, thus reducing the environmental pollution. The addition of graphite and fly ash to aluminum reduced toughness. The thermal expansion of the composite has also been observed to know whether the composite made is worth using in higher temperatures.

Aluminium metal matrix composite (AMMC) is most popular in various industrial applications such as aerospace, automobile, marine, sports and many others. In common practice, silicon carbide, aluminum oxides, magnesium oxide, graphene and carbon nano tubes are the major reinforcing elements to prepare the AMMC. The purpose of this paper is to develop AMMCs reinforce with eggshell (ES) and rice husk ash (RHA).

Stir casting process is used for preparation of AMMC. From past few years, more emphasis is given to prepare the AMMCs using agro waste such as rice husk and/or ES as reinforcing materials. In this method, after the Al-matrix material is melted; it is stirred vigorously to form vortex at the surface of the melt, and the reinforcement material is then introduced at the side of the vortex. Stir casting process is a vortex and vigorous method to prepare the AMMCs. First, aluminum alloy (AA3105) is melted in the furnace when metal is in semisolid form. Reinforcement, i.e. ES and RHA are preheated at temperature 220°C and 260°C, respectively.

The result of AMMC shows that the tensile strength and hardness increased by using 22.41% and 45.5%, respectively, at 4.75 Wt.% each reinforcement, i.e. ES and RHA, and 1% Cr. The toughness and ductility of metal matrix composite (MMCs) have decreased up to 23.31% and 19.23% respectively by using 1% Cr, 4.75 wt. % ES and by 4.75 wt. % RHA of composite material.

In this work, Cr, waste ES and RHA have been used to develop green MMC to support the green revolution as promoted/suggested by United Nations, thus reducing the environmental pollution.

One of the most important components of healthcare is the timely delivery of pharmaceutical products, such as life-saving medicines. However, disruptions like COVID-19 bring new challenges and risks to the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) and healthcare organizations that impact their operational performance. This study focuses on mitigating risks in India's generic medicine supply chain (GMSC) as a result of various disruptions, which can assist policymakers develop appropriate plans and strategies to build resilience in the Jan Aushadhi Scheme (JAS) of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in order to improve their overall performance.

Risk-causing vulnerabilities and resilience capabilities are identified from the literature review and expert's opinions. Following that, the vulnerabilities are classified into cause-and-effect vulnerabilities, and supply chain resilient capabilities (SCRCs) are measured using a hybrid fuzzy DEMATEL and best worst method (FDEMATEL-BMW) framework.

The outcome of the study reveals that transportation breakdown, loss of human resources and loss of suppliers are the potential risk-causing vulnerabilities that lead to vulnerabilities like shortages of medicines, loss of in-hand stock qualities and loss of sales/revenue. In addition, the analysis suggests that the sustainability of an organization with maximum weightage is the critical factor for building resilience in GMSC followed by flexibility, agility and visibility.

The integration of resilience into Jan Aushadhi GMSC can help in managing disruptions efficiently and effectively to mitigate risk and optimize MSMEs overall performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work will be the first of its kind to model resilience in GMSC of MSMEs using a hybrid framework.

This paper aims to study the interlink between work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement. The notion of how far work-life balance (WLB) policies have a throwback on employee engagement has been presented with shreds of evidence of previous studies carried out in the timeline of 2005–2021 in India. The purpose is to bring forward comprehensive studies together, which are available on piecemeal form in the fragmentary form, to draw a firm conclusion about work-life integration policies and their parallelism with job engagement and organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, this study intends to develop a theoretical framework using Dubin’s methodology on organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement.

This study is based on systematic literature review of papers reviewed from across databases of Scopus, Emerald, EBSCO and Google Scholar. The keywords used for the search were WLB, work-life integration, job satisfaction, job contentment and organizational effectiveness and also a combination of these words was used to pull down the relevant papers. A systematic literature review was undertaken on the topics of work-life integration, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness. These articles were then read and scanned with the overview on abstract and further these articles were selected on the basis of relevance to the current study. Those articles which showed interconnectedness between the identified variables of organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement as antecedents were reviewed and a theoretical framework model is put forth using first part of Dubin’s methodology (1978) for theory building. The posited Model named A4 on organizational effectiveness using deductive approach is built on constructs, interaction, logic and propositions (Whetten, 1989).The theory will be functional in nature. With the given wealth of evidence, the injecting effect of work-life integration on employee engagement and pouring impact on organizational effectiveness becomes more transparent and clear. The authors have proposed a model for better organizational effectiveness through work-life integration policies.

One of the essential ingredients for better employee engagement is work-life integration policies, and organizational effectiveness becomes the by-product of the same. Innovative and friendly WLB policies assist employees to be more productive, dedicated and committed, resulting in better employee engagement which in the long run benefits the company in terms of effectiveness. WLB policies help to flatter down the burgeoning impact of complex work life on employee productivity and engagement. This paper concludes on the healing effects of WLB policies on employee engagement and organizational effectiveness and also proposes a model at the end. The posited model presents the antecedents for achieving organizational effectiveness.

Because the study is conceptual in nature with the proposed model, more empirical-based studies by experts with relevant stakeholders will add more rationalization to the current study.

Organizational effectiveness is the key to survival in today’s complex and competitive world. The authors investigated how organizational effectiveness can be achieved with WLB policies, which can have a linear impact on employee engagement, and ultimately organizations can bear the flowerings of positive output. This linkage and coupling between WLB policies, job contentment, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness deserve attention which the authors have attempted to explore. The outcome and results of the study will contribute to the existing literature in a more meaningful manner and will assist human resource development and policymakers to achieve organizational goals with driving employees. Managers will gain insight into the identified theoretical framework model for its implementation in organization. Future researchers with empirical studies can test the proposed theory to determine its success at organizational level.

Scarcity of resources, ecological imbalance, global warming, rising energy prices and the ever-changing need for variety have attracted the government and manufacturers for sustainable development of the industries. The integrated sustainable-green-lean-six sigma-agile manufacturing system (ISGLSAMS) provides a solid platform for meeting both the customers’ variety needs and business sustainability requirements. Many organizations opted for ISGLSAMS, but still due to various barriers organizations are not able to fully implement ISGLSAMS. The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers to the ISGLSAMS, so that a more sustainable industrial manufacturing system and industrial symbiosis can be developed.

A literature review, from the Web of Science and Google Scholar database, has been carried out to identify the various barriers to the implementation of ISGLSAMS in the entire value chain. A total of 168 research papers have been reviewed for identifying the ISGLSAMS barriers.

This paper elaborates the concept of the ISGLSAMS, its attributes and various barriers and contributes to a better understanding and successful implementation of ISGLSAMS to meet business’ sustainability and market performance goals in the entire value chain. The paper also projects the future research framework and directions for the ISGLSAMS, integrated sustainable-green-lean-six sigma-agile (ISGLSA) product and ISGLSA supply and value chain.

The study contributes to a better understanding of ISGLSAMS’ barriers. The government, stakeholders and policymakers may plan the policy, road map and strategies to overcome the ISGLSAMS’ barriers. In-depth knowledge of subclauses of ISGLSAMS’ barriers will help the practitioners to overcome the ISGLSAMS’ barriers strategically. By overcoming the ISGLSAMS barriers, a more sustainable 7 Rs based market focused manufacturing system can be designed. This will also increase the opportunities to enhance the industrial ecology, industrial symbiosis and better recovery of the product, process and supply chain residual value. This will reduce the waste to the ecosystem.

This work has been carried out in search of a more sustainable manufacturing system, i.e. ISGLSAMS (which is 7 Rs based, i.e. 6 Rs of sustainability with 7th R, reconfiguration) to meet the customer variety needs along with sustainability in the ever-changing customer market. This study adds value to the practitioners to identify and prioritize the ISGLSAMS’ industry-specific barriers and design the solution for the more sustainable development of (1) industries, (2) the industrial symbiosis system and (3) the ISGLSA product, process, system and supply value chain with minimum resource consumption and environmental impact. The research also contributes to the (a) ISGLSAMS (b) ISGLSA supply chain (c) reconfigurable, sustainable and modular products and (d) redesign, recovery and refurbishing of the product to increase the product life cycle.

The present study aims to assess the role of supply chain resilience as an operational excellence approach to deal with disruptions caused by coronavirus pandemic in the food supply chain of an agri-food supply firm.

The case study method was used to analyse the disruptions faced by the agricultural food supply chain during the pandemic. The study applies a dynamic capability theory as a foundation to develop a contextualised resilience framework for agri-food supply chain to achieve operational excellence. The case has been analysed by using situation-actor-process (SAP) and learning-action-performance (LAP) framework.

The SAP aspect of framework points that the flexibility amongst actors for a resilient agriculture supply chain worsened due to the lockdown measures post COVID-19. The LAP aspect of framework suggests how resilience can be built at the supply, demand and logistics end through various proactive and reactive practices such as collaboration, coordination, ICT and ground-level inputs. Lack of commitment and inadequate support from top management towards supply chain resilience are also observed as significant challenges to maintain operational excellence during the pandemic.

One of the major implications of the study is that a mix of capabilities rather than a single capability can be the most appropriate way for making the supply chain resilient to maintain operational excellence during the pandemic. However, the sources of disruptions need to be duly recognised to derive the best-contextualised resilience framework for agri-food supply chains.

The development of a contextualised research framework as well as research propositions for analysing supply chain resilience are the major contribution of this study.

Sustainable development has now been recognised as the pivot around which development activities should revolve. Banking is an important component in the same and adoption of sustainable banking practices by various banking institutions is a strong driver to achieve sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to study the level of adoption of sustainable banking tools and the extent to which banking institutions practice the same in India. In addition, the banking institutions have been ranked and categorised on basis of their sustainable banking performance.

The proposed framework focuses on the environmental and social conduct of the banks, who address the issues of sustainability in Indian banking sector. As there is a difference in the economic standards of developed and developing countries, the review of literature helps to figure out the gap in specific frameworks for assessing sustainable banking practices in developing countries. Previous researchers have made an attempt to develop a general framework for assessing the sustainable banking efforts of the banking sector. These studies fall short of indicators on the social dimension of sustainability specifically in the context of less developed countries like India, the social dimensions are is equally a major thrust area along with environmental indicators. Content analysis technique has been used to evaluate sustainable banking performance of the banks and Mann–Whitney U test used to determine the differences in sustainable banking performance of the banks in India.

In Indian banking sector, the adoption of the international sustainability code of conduct is still in its nascent stage. The research indicates that sustainability issues which are of the highest priority for the banks are directly related to their business operations such as financial inclusion, financial literacy and energy efficiency, and banks are more focussed on addressing social dimension of sustainability in banking rather than important dimensions of sustainable banking, namely, environmental management, development of green products and services and sustainability reporting.

The application of the proposed framework reflects the status quo of sustainable banking in India. This study is useful for the banks and all the stakeholders in understanding more about the shortcomings in integrating sustainability issues in banking. Further, the present study also redresses the extant research dearth in the field of sustainable banking in the Indian context.

This is one of the first studies evaluating the sustainable banking performance of the Indian banking sector.

Power quality issues highly affect the secure and economic operations of the power system. Although numerous methodologies are reported in the literature, flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) devices play a primary role. However, the FACTS devices require optimal location and sizing to perform the power quality enhancement effectively and in a cost efficient manner. This paper aims to attain the maximum power quality improvements in IEEE 30 and IEEE 57 test bus systems.

This paper contributes the adaptive whale optimization algorithm (AWOA) algorithm to solve the power quality issues under deregulated sector, which enhances available transfer capability, maintains voltage stability, minimizes loss and mitigates congestions.

Through the performance analysis, the convergence of the final fitness of AWOA algorithm is 5 per cent better than artificial bee colony (ABC), 3.79 per cent better than genetic algorithm (GA), 2,081 per cent better than particle swarm optimization (PSO) and fire fly (FF) and 2.56 per cent better than whale optimization algorithm (WOA) algorithms at 400 per cent load condition for IEEE 30 test bus system, and the fitness convergence of AWOA algorithm for IEEE 57 test bus system is 4.44, 4.86, 5.49, 7.52 and 9.66 per cent better than FF, ABC, WOA, PSO and GA, respectively.

This paper presents a technique for minimizing the power quality problems using AWOA algorithm. This is the first work to use WOA-based optimization for the power quality improvements.