Groundwater Management in India:Physical, Institutional and Policy Alternatives

Groundwater constitutes a vital natural resource for sustaining India’s agricultural economy and meeting the country’s social, ecological and environmental goals. It is a unique resource, widely available, providing security against droughts and yet it is closely linked to surface-water resources and the hydrological cycle. Its availability depends on geo-hydrological conditions and characteristics of aquifers, from deep to alluvium, sediment crystalline rocks to basalt formations; and agro-climate from humid to subhumid and semi-arid to arid. Its reliable supply, uniform quality and temperature, relative turbidity, pollution-safe, minimal evaporation losses, and low cost of development are attributes making groundwater more attractive compared to other resources. It plays a key role in the provision of safe drinking water to rural populations. For example, already almost 80% of domestic water use in rural areas in India is groundwater-supplied, and much of it is being supplied to farms, villages and small towns. Inadequate control of the use of groundwater, indiscriminate application of agrochemicals and unrestrained pollution of the rural environment by other human activities make groundwater usage unsustainable, necessitating proper management in the face of the twin demand for water of good quality for domestic supply and adequate supply for irrigation, ensuring equity, efficiency and sustainability of the resource. Groundwater irrigation has overtaken surface irrigation in the early 1980s, supported by well energization. It is estimated that there are about 24 million energised wells and tube wells now and it is driven by demand rather than availability, evident through the greater occurrence of wells in districts with high population densities. Apart from aquifer characteristics, land fragmentation and landholding size are the factors that decide the density of wells. The ‘rise and fall’ of local economies dependent on groundwater can be summarized as: the green revolution of 1980s, groundwaterbased agrarian boom, early symptoms of groundwater overdraft, and decline of the groundwater socio-ecology. The social characteristics and policy interventions typical of each stage provide a fascinating insight into the human-resource dynamics. This book is a compilation of nine research papers discussing various aspects of groundwater management. It attempts to integrate knowledge about the physical system, the socio-economic system, the institutional set-up and the policy environment to come out with a more realistic analysis of the situation with regard to the nature, characteristics and intensity of resource use, the size of the economy the use generates, and the negative socioeconomic consequences. Complex variables addressed in this regard focusing on northern Gujarat are the stock of groundwater available in the region, its hydrodynamics, its net outflows against inflows, the economics of its intensive use (particularly irrigation in semi-arid and arid regions), its criticality in the regional hydroecological regime, ethical aspects and social aspects of its use. The first chapter by Dinesh Kumar and Singh, dwells on complex groundwater socio-ecology of India, while emphasizing the need for policy measures to address indiscriminate over-exploitation of dwindling resources. The chapter also explores the nature of groundwater economy and the role of electricity prices on it. The next chapter on groundwater issue in north Gujarat provides a description of groundwater resource characteristics followed by a detailed analysis of the groundwater depletion and quality deterioration problems in the region and their undesirable consequences on the economy, ecosystem health and the society. Considering water-buyers and wellowning farmers individually, a methodology for economic valuation of groundwater in regions where its primary usage is in agriculture, and as assessment of the groundwater economy based on case studies from north Gujarat is presented in the fourth chapter. The next chapter focuses on the extent of dependency of milk production on groundwater, which includes the water embedded in green and dry fodder and animal feed. The study made a realistic estimate of irrigation water productivity in terms of the physics and economics of milk production. The sixth chapter analyses the extent of reduction in water usage, increase in yield and overall increase in physical productivity of alfalfa with the use of the drip irrigation system. The chapter also provides a detailed synthesis of the costs and benefits associated with the use of drip irrigation systems. A linear programmingbased optimization model with the objective to minimize groundwater use taking into account the interaction between two distinct components – farming and dairying under the constraints of food security and income stability for different scenarios, including shift in cropping pattern, introduction of water-efficient crops, water- saving technologies in addition to the ‘business as usual’ scenario is presented in the seventh chapter. The results show that sustaining dairy production in the region with reduced groundwater draft requires crop shifts and adoption of water-saving technologies. The eighth chapter provides evidences to prove that the presence of adequate economic incentive would encourage farmers to adopt water-saving irrigation devices, based on the findings of market research with reference to the level of awareness among farmers of technologies and the factors that decide the adoption of water-saving technologies. However, now the marginal cost of using electricity for agricultural pumping is almost zero. The economic incentives are strong and visible only when the farmers are either water-buyers or have to manage irrigation with limited water from tube-well partnerships. The ninth chapter explores the socio-economic viability of increasing the power tariff and inducing groundwater rationing as a tool for managing energy and groundwater demand, considering the current estimate of the country’s annual economic loss of Rs 320 billion towards electricity subsidy in the farm sector. The tenth chapter suggests private tradable property rights and development of water markets as the institutional tool for achieving equity, efficiency and sustainability of groundwater use. It identifies the externalities for local groundwater management and emphasizes the need for managing groundwater by local user groups, supported by a thorough analysis of groundwater socio-ecology in India. An institutional framework for managing the resource based on participatory approach that is capable of internalizing the externalities, comprising implementation of institutional and technical alternatives for resource management is also presented. Major findings of the analyses and key arguments in each chapter are summarized in the concluding chapter. Case studies of the social and economic benefits of groundwater use, where that use could be described as unsustainable, are interesting. The benefits of groundwater use are outlined and described with examples of social and economic impacts of groundwater and the negative aspects of groundwater development with the compilation of environmental problems based on up-to-date research results. This publication with a well-edited compilation of case studies is informative and constitutes a useful publication for students and professionals.

Pursuit of Sustainable Iron-Based Sodium Battery Cathodes: Two Case Studies

Rechargeable batteries have been the torchbearer electrochemical energy storage devices empowering small-scale electronic gadgets to large-scale grid storage. Complementing the lithium-ion technology, sodium-ion batteries have emerged as viable economic alternatives in applications unrestricted by volume/weight. What is the best performance limit for new-age Na-ion batteries? This mission has unravelled suites of oxides and polyanionic positive insertion (cathode) compounds in the quest to realize high energy density. Economically and ecologically, iron-based cathodes are ideal for mass-scale dissemination of sodium batteries. This Perspective captures the progress of Fe-containing earth-abundant sodium battery cathodes with two best examples: (i) an oxide system delivering the highest capacity (similar to 200 mA h/g) and (ii) a polyanionic system showing the highest redox potential (3.8 V). Both develop very high energy density with commercial promise for large-scale applications. Here, the structural and electrochemical properties of these two cathodes are compared and contrasted to describe two alternate strategies to achieve the same goal, i.e., improved energy density in Fe-based sodium battery cathodes.

The influence of debris cover and glacial lakes on the recession of glaciers in Sikkim Himalaya, India

We investigated area changes in glaciers covering an area of similar to 200 km(2) in the Tista basin, Sikkim, Eastern Indian Himalaya, between similar to 1990 and 2010 using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Indian Remote-sensing Satellite (IRS) images and related the changes to debris cover, supraglacial lakes and moraine-dam lakes. The glaciers lost an area of 3.3 +/- 0.8% between 1989/90 and 2010. More detailed analysis revealed an area loss of 2.00 +/- 0.82, 2.56 +/- 0.61 and 2.28 +/- 2.01 km(2) for the periods 1989-97, 1997-2004/05 and 2004-2009/10, respectively. This indicates an accelerated retreat of glaciers after 1997. On further analysis, we observed (1) the formation and expansion of supraglacial lakes on many debris-covered glaciers and (2) the merging of these lakes over time, leading to the development of large moraine-dam lakes. We also observed that debris-covered glaciers with lakes lose a greater area than debris-covered glaciers without lakes and debris-free glaciers. The climatic data for 24 years (1987-2011), measured at the Gangtok meteorological station (1812 m a.s.l.), showed that the region experienced a 1.0 degrees C rise in the summer minimum temperature and a 2.0 degrees C rise in the winter minimum temperature, indicating hotter summers and warmer winters. There was no significant trend in the total annual precipitation. We find that glacier retreat is caused mainly by a temperature increase and that debris-covered glaciers can retreat at a faster rate than debris-free glaciers, if associated with lakes.

What mainly controls recession flows in river basins?

The ubiquity of the power law relationship between dQ/dt and Q for recession periods (-dQ/dt kQ(alpha); Q being discharge at the basin outlet at time t) clearly hints at the existence of a dominant recession flow process that is common to all real basins. It is commonly assumed that a basin, during recession events, functions as a single phreatic aquifer resting on a impermeable horizontal bed or the Dupuit-Boussinesq (DB) aquifer, and with time different aquifer geometric conditions arise that give different values of alpha and k. The recently proposed alternative model, geomorphological recession flow model, however, suggests that recession flows are controlled primarily by the dynamics of the active drainage network (ADN). In this study we use data for several basins and compare the above two contrasting recession flow models in order to understand which of the above two factors dominates during recession periods in steep basins. Particularly, we do the comparison by selecting three key recession flow properties: (1) power law exponent alpha, (2) dynamic dQ/dt-Q relationship (characterized by k) and (3) recession timescale (time period for which a recession event lasts). Our observations suggest that neither drainage from phreatic aquifers nor evapotranspiration significantly controls recession flows. Results show that the value of a and recession timescale are not modeled well by DB aquifer model. However, the above mentioned three recession curve properties can be captured satisfactorily by considering the dynamics of the ADN as described by geomorphological recession flow model, possibly indicating that the ADN represents not just phreatic aquifers but the organization of various sub-surface storage systems within the basin. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-state-choice automata model for expedient learning in random environment

A new automata model Mr,k, with a conceptually significant innovation in the form of multi-state alternatives at each instance, is proposed in this study. Computer simulations of the Mr,k, model in the context of feature selection in an unsupervised environment has demonstrated the superiority of the model over similar models without this multi-state-choice innovation.

CFC Alternatives: A Fresh Look

This article examines, through a molecular perspective, the 'ozone-friendly' refrigerants R-134a and R-123 vis-à-vis R-12 and R-11, which are targeted to be phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Final Act (1987). It appears that the molecular weight, size parameter, and dipole moment, of R-134a and R-123, may induce a pronounced effect on the chemical equilibrium of ice particles in the polar stratospheric clouds and subsequently influence the photochemical reactions therein. Non-polar, high-molecular-weight perfluoropropane (R-218), could be a better substitute for R-12, while R-134, which is a non-polar HFC of the ethane family, could also be a candidate although its molecular weight is lower than that of R-12. The search for a good substitute for R-11, however, must continue.

Embodied energy in cement stabilised rammed earth walls

Rammed earth walls are low carbon emission and energy efficient alternatives to load bearing walls. Large numbers of rammed earth buildings have been constructed in the recent past across the globe. This paper is focused on embodied energy in cement stabilised rammed earth (CSRE) walls. Influence of soil grading, density and cement content on compaction energy input has been monitored. A comparison between energy content of cement and energy in transportation of materials, with that of the actual energy input during rammed earth compaction in the actual field conditions and the laboratory has been made. Major conclusions of the investigations are (a) compaction energy increases with increase in clay fraction of the soil mix and it is sensitive to density of the CSRE wall, (b) compaction energy varies between 0.033 MJ/m(3) and 0.36 MJ/m(3) for the range of densities and cement contents attempted, (c) energy expenditure in the compaction process is negligible when compared to energy content of the cement and (d) total embodied energy in CSRE walls increases linearly with the increase in cement content and is in the range of 0.4-0.5 GJ/m(3) for cement content in the rage of 6-8%. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Geostatistical Study pf Alumina-Content in Ores of An Indian Iron-Ore Deposit

Mining and blending operations in the high grade iron ore deposit under study are performed to optimize recovery with minimal alumina content while maintaining required levels of other chemical component and a proper mix of ore types. In the present work the regionalisation of alumina in the ores has been studied independently and its effects on global and local recoverable tonnage as well as on alternatives of mining operations have been evaluated. The global tonnage recovery curves for blocks (20m x 20m x 12m) obtained by simulation closely approximated the curves obtained theoretically using a change of support under the discretised gaussian model. Variations in block size up to 80m x 20m x 12m did not affect the recovery as the horizontal dimensions of the blocks are small in relation to the range of the variogram. A comparison of the local tonnage recovery curves obtained through multiple conditional simulations made with that obtained by the method of uniform conditioning of block grades on an estimate of panel 100m x 100m x 12m panel grade reveals comparable results only in panels which have been well conditioned and possesing an ensemble simulation mean close to the ordinary kriged value for the panel. Study of simple alternative sequence of mining on the conditionally simulated deposit shows that concentration of mining operations simultaneously on a single bench enhances the fluctuation in alumina values of ore mined.

Ribavirin-Induced Anemia in Hepatitis C Virus Patients Undergoing Combination Therapy

The current standard of care for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection - combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin - elicits sustained responses in only similar to 50% of the patients treated. No alternatives exist for patients who do not respond to combination therapy. Addition of ribavirin substantially improves response rates to interferon and lowers relapse rates following the cessation of therapy, suggesting that increasing ribavirin exposure may further improve treatment response. A key limitation, however, is the toxic side-effect of ribavirin, hemolytic anemia, which often necessitates a reduction of ribavirin dosage and compromises treatment response. Maximizing treatment response thus requires striking a balance between the antiviral and hemolytic activities of ribavirin. Current models of viral kinetics describe the enhancement of treatment response due to ribavirin. Ribavirin-induced anemia, however, remains poorly understood and precludes rational optimization of combination therapy. Here, we develop a new mathematical model of the population dynamics of erythrocytes that quantitatively describes ribavirin-induced anemia in HCV patients. Based on the assumption that ribavirin accumulation decreases erythrocyte lifespan in a dose-dependent manner, model predictions capture several independent experimental observations of the accumulation of ribavirin in erythrocytes and the resulting decline of hemoglobin in HCV patients undergoing combination therapy, estimate the reduced erythrocyte lifespan during therapy, and describe inter-patient variations in the severity of ribavirin-induced anemia. Further, model predictions estimate the threshold ribavirin exposure beyond which anemia becomes intolerable and suggest guidelines for the usage of growth hormones, such as erythropoietin, that stimulate erythrocyte production and avert the reduction of ribavirin dosage, thereby improving treatment response. Our model thus facilitates, in conjunction with models of viral kinetics, the rational identification of treatment protocols that maximize treatment response while curtailing side effects.

A comparative-study of vapor-compression refrigeration working fluids, in the wake of the montreal protocal

A comparative study has been carried out of R-12, 22, 125, 134a, 152a, 218, 245, 500, 502, 507 and 717 as working fluids in a vapour-compression refrigeration system. Two performance parameters were defined, which are expressed in reduced quantities for a corresponding-states comparison of these refrigerants in the temperature range -20 to 50-degrees-C. One is based on the product of temperature drop to pressure penalty ratio and the available volumetric heat of vaporisation at the evaporator; the other considers the effect of isentropic compression in the ideal gas state. It was shown that R-125, 507 and 218 could be better alternatives to R-12 than R-134a. Among these, R-218 has a lower maximum cycle pressure.

Band gaps in diamond-graphite hybrids

The HOMO-LUMO gaps have been estimated in a graphite-like sp(2) carbon network with a progressive increase in the fraction of sp(3) carbons, taking into account several possible structural alternatives for each composition. The gap is shown to increase exponentially with the fraction of sp(3) carbons. Accordingly, the gap in a diamond-like sp(3) network decreases with the increase in the fraction of sp(2) carbons.

Electrochemical aspects of leaching of ocean nodules in the presence and absence of microorganisms

instead of using chemical-reducing agents to facilitate the reduction and dissolution of manganese and iron oxide in the ocean nodule, electrochemical reduction based on two approaches, namely, cathodic polarization and galvanic interaction, can also be considered as attractive alternatives. Galvanic leaching of ocean nodules in the presence of pyrite and pyrolusite for complete recovery of Cu, Ni and Co has been discussed. The key for successful and efficient dissolution of copper, nickel and cobalt from ocean nodules depends on prior reduction of the manganese and ferric oxides with which the above valuable nonferrous metals are interlocked. Polarization studies using a slurry electrode system indicated that maximum dissolution of iron and manganese due to electrochemical reduction occurred at negative DC potentials of -600 mV (SCE) and -1400 mV (SCE). The present work is also relevant to galvanic bioleaching of ocean nodules using autotrophic microorganisms, such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and T thiooxidans, which resulted in significant dissolution of copper, nickel and cobalt at the expense of microbiologically generated acids. Various electrochemical and biochemical mechanisms are outlined and the electroleaching and galvanic processes so developed are shown to yield almost complete dissolution of all metal values. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

CUSUM Based Distributed Detection in WSNs

We are concerned with the situation in which a wireless sensor network is deployed in a region, for the purpose of detecting an event occurring at a random time and at a random location. The sensor nodes periodically sample their environment (e.g., for acoustic energy),process the observations (in our case, using a CUSUM-based algorithm) and send a local decision (which is binary in nature) to the fusion centre. The fusion centre collects these local decisions and uses a fusion rule to process the sensors’ local decisions and infer the state of nature, i.e., if an event has occurred or not. Our main contribution is in analyzing two local detection rules in combination with a simple fusion rule. The local detection algorithms are based on the nonparametric CUSUMprocedure from sequential statistics. We also propose two ways to operate the local detectors after an alarm. These alternatives when combined in various ways yield several approaches. Our contribution is to provide analytical techniques to calculate false alarm measures, by the use of which the local detector thresholds can be set. Simulation results are provided to evaluate the accuracy of our analysis. As an illustration we provide a design example. We also use simulations to compare the detection delays incurred in these algorithms.

A Method for Evaluation of Product Lifecycle Alternatives under Uncertainty

In each stage of product development, we need to take decisions, by evaluating multiple product alternatives based on multiple criteria. Classical evaluation methods like weighted objectives method assumes certainty about information available during product development. However, designers often must evaluate under uncertainty. Often the likely performance, cost or environmental impacts of a product proposal could be estimated only with certain confidence, which may vary from one proposal to another. In such situations, the classical approaches to evaluation can give misleading results. There is a need for a method that can aid in decision making by supporting quantitative comparison of alternatives to identify the most promising alternative, under uncertain information about the alternatives. A method called confidence weighted objectives method is developed to compare the whole life cycle of product proposals using multiple evaluation criteria under various levels of uncertainty with non crisp values. It estimates the overall worth of proposal and confidence on the estimate, enabling deferment of decision making when decisions cannot be made using current information available.

Open source drug discovery- A new paradigm of collaborative research in tuberculosis drug development

It is being realized that the traditional closed-door and market driven approaches for drug discovery may not be the best suited model for the diseases of the developing world such as tuberculosis and malaria, because most patients suffering from these diseases have poor paying capacity. To ensure that new drugs are created for patients suffering from these diseases, it is necessary to formulate an alternate paradigm of drug discovery process. The current model constrained by limitations for collaboration and for sharing of resources with confidentiality hampers the opportunities for bringing expertise from diverse fields. These limitations hinder the possibilities of lowering the cost of drug discovery. The Open Source Drug Discovery project initiated by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India has adopted an open source model to power wide participation across geographical borders. Open Source Drug Discovery emphasizes integrative science through collaboration, open-sharing, taking up multi-faceted approaches and accruing benefits from advances on different fronts of new drug discovery. Because the open source model is based on community participation, it has the potential to self-sustain continuous development by generating a storehouse of alternatives towards continued pursuit for new drug discovery. Since the inventions are community generated, the new chemical entities developed by Open Source Drug Discovery will be taken up for clinical trial in a non-exclusive manner by participation of multiple companies with majority funding from Open Source Drug Discovery. This will ensure availability of drugs through a lower cost community driven drug discovery process for diseases afflicting people with poor paying capacity. Hopefully what LINUX the World Wide Web have done for the information technology, Open Source Drug Discovery will do for drug discovery. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.