eChapters

The aim of the research is to make a study of the role of Internet as a medium of interaction, its impact on the society from the social and cultural point of view. Keeping these objectives in mind, the researcher has referred to contemporary researches, books and articles available in the area. The researcher admits that the number of studies available in the area is very much dispersed. In the line of the research questions formulated for conducting the study, the researcher has explored the relevant studies undertaken so far by different researchers.

Bhatia, (1965) in his study on “Patterns of Crop Concentration and Diversification in India” has observed that physical, socio-economic and technological factors have affected the magnitude of crop diversification. Variations in above mentioned factors are responsible for variations in patterns of crop diversification in India. He has also evolved a new technique for measuring crop diversification in India. He has taken all the crops which are having 10 per cent or more than 10 per cent of the cropped area. He summed up the total area under these crops and divided the sum by the number of crops. According to his method, higher the index, lower is the magnitude of crop diversification and vice-versa.

Ayyar, (1969) in his study “Crop Regions of Madhya Pradesh: A Study in Methodology” has evolved a new technique for measuring crop diversification regions. He has taken all the crops which were having 1 per cent or more than 1 per cent of the total cropped area. Then he divided the sum of crops by the number of crops which are having 1 per cent or more than 1 per cent of the total cropped area. His method is an improvement over Bhatia’s and Singh’s methods for measuring crop diversification.

Patel and Pawar (1980) studied the marketing of fruits in Mahatma Phule market, Bombay. The study showed that there was close relationship between wholesale prices and supply position, whereas there was no such pattern in case of retail prices. The producers’ share in consumers’ rupee was 33.07 per cent for sweet oranges. In case of apples, mangoes and grapes, the share of the producer in consumers’ rupee varied according to the varieties and ranged from 33 to 54 per cent. The study also made some suggestions as standardization and grading, and establishment of cooperative marketing societies for getting better prices for the producers.

ABSTRACT

Decomposition of litter is a dynamic process. It regulates cycling of nutrients in ecosystem. The productivity of an ecosystem depends on the turnover of carbon and other nutrients. Microbes play an important role in releasing of minerals locked up in organic complexes. The release of nutrients, however, is regulated by various climatic factors. The microbial succession at different stages of degradation of litter is controlled by the litter quality and species composition and biological activity. The present paper reviews the status of litter production, decomposition, species diversity and Biological activities as affected by the climatic and edaphic factors in tropical ecosystem.

Keywords : Litter decomposition, microbes, species diversity, biological activities, edaphic factors, tropical ecosystem.

In India, the ivy gourd is also called as small watermelon, little gourd, gentleman’s toes” and “Tindora/Tondli/Kundru.” This vine climbs aggressively and spreads quickly across fences, trees, shrubs, and other supports. Its natural range includes India and stretches from Africa to Asia.

Botany and taxonomy: This is a single-tendered perennial climber with glabrous leaves. The leaves are 6.5-8.5 cm long and 7-8 cm broad, with 5 lobes. It’s a dioecious species. Female and male blooms have three stamens and emerge from the axils on the petiole. Scarlet gourds are a genus of 25 species (Coccinia from the Greek, kokkinia or kokkinias - “red” or “scarlet”). It is found in SubSaharan Africa, as well as South and Southeast Asia (with one species, C. grandis), and has been imported to the New World. This is a single-tendered perennial climber with glabrous leaves. The leaves are 6.5-8.5 cm long and 7-8 cm broad, with 5 lobes. It’s a dioecious species. Female and male blooms have three stamens and emerge from the axils on the petiole.

1. Introduction Millet is a heterogeneous group of small-seeded cereal crops classified based on their morphology as major millet and minor millet. Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) are small millets generally categorized as minor millet cereal crops. It is a self-pollinated crop that belongs to the family Poaceae and subfamily Panicoideae with a chromosome number of 2n=36 (Nandini and Bhat, 2019). It is a traditional cereal grain crop widely produced in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Western Myanmar. Little millet is widely cultivated in the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in India for food and feed (Ganapathy, 2017). Indigenously, it is commonly known as samai (Tamil), kutki (Hindi), savior same (Kannada), chama (Malayalam) (Table 1).

1.1 Introduction Millets are nutri-cereals that have been the oldest food since time immemorial and are decisively the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes. Millets generally include small seeded members of the Poaceae family globally used for food and fodder purposes. The word “millet” emanated from the French word “Mile” which means “thousand” signifying that a small quantity of millet may contain thousands of grains. Millets were erstwhile produced in marginal or degraded terrains with very low soil nutrients and semi-arid conditions with very little rainfall. After the green revolution, there was a shift away from millet in favour of wheat, rice, and maize as a result of more land becoming irrigated to alleviate extreme poverty and malnourishment in the country and to feed millions. Most of the millet crops possess the C4 photosynthetic pathway and are therefore able to withstand frequent changes due to environmental stresses. Consequently, millet production has declined and within a few decades post-green revolution, crops that were once eaten by every household were transformed into fodder crops. Millets are considered as ‘good for the planet crops’ as they take less to give more, due to such multi-faceted qualities millets are considered as miracle crops.

Millets, represents groups of small seeded cereals and grasses cultivated in Asian countries from ancient time and used for domestic purpose as feed and food. Being capable to grow under adverse environmental conditions (high temperature, dry land with limited rain) millets are the main food commodity of low income groups in various developing countries around the world.

16.1 Introduction

Littoral drift is a geological process by which sediments such as sand or other materials, move along a beach shore.Long Shore Drift is the movement of eroded material, in a zig zag way, along the coast. The process arises when waves approach the shore obliquely. That is to say, at an angle other than 90°. The effect of this is determined by factors such as the direction and fetch of the present wind and, in the long term, of the prevailing wind.

Waves striking the shore at an angle as opposed to straight on will cause the wave swash to move up the beach at an angle. The swash moves the sediment particles up the beach at this angle, while the backwash brings them, solely under the influence of gravity, directly down the beach. Some geologists consider a beach to be merely a shoreline feature of deposited material, but William Bascom (1980) has argued that a beach is the entire system of sand set in motion by waves to a depth of ten meters or more off ocean coasts. Submerged, longshore bars are therefore also part of the beach, and thus beaches can be viewed as either:

1. Live feed is also known as .........

 a) Natural food b) Fish food organisms

 c) Both a & b d) Algae

 2. Live feed are organisms used as food by .........

 a) Prawns b) Carps

 c) Oysters d) All of these

 3. The common phytoplankton used as live feed are…………

 a) Eudorina b) Volvox

 c) Pediastrum d) All of these

 4. The common  zooplankton used as live feed are .........

 a) Vorticella b) Artemia

 c) Cyclops d) All of these

In Indian aquaculture, live feed plays a critical role, especially in nurturing the larvae of fish and shrimp. Commonly used live feeds include rotifers, copepods, and Artemia nauplii, which are vital for the early survival and growth of larvae. The process of producing these feeds typically begins with microalgae cultivation, which serves as a foundation for developing high-quality larval feed and successful hatchery seed output.
Live feeds provide essential nutrients and help stimulate the feeding instincts of larvae—especially crucial when the larvae are transitioning from utilizing their yolk reserves to external feeding.
LARVAL CHALLENGES
Marine fish species such as bass, bream, meagre, and sole have very small larvae with limited yolk reserves that last just 2–3 days at 20°C. Their small mouths limit the size of food particles they can consume. While shrimp larvae also face food size issues, their appendages aid in capturing and breaking down food, making it less restrictive.
Species like penaeid shrimp go through developmental stages where their feeding habits shift—from herbivorous filter-feeding on microalgae to becoming carnivorous, feeding on organisms like Artemia. Mollusks, including oysters, clams, mussels, and abalone, feed on microalgae throughout their lives using filter-feeding mechanisms.
Natural and Cultured Diets
In the wild, these larvae feed on a wide range of phytoplankton (like diatoms, flagellates, and green algae) and zooplankton (such as copepods and small crustacean larvae). This diversity in plankton sizes and nutritional profiles is essential for meeting their dietary needs. However, collecting such natural plankton on a large scale isn’t practical for commercial aquaculture

Abstract

The Indian western Himalayas have wide variation in altitude, climate, soils, flora and fauna and socio-economic features. Livelihood options are limited due to small and fragmented holdings and inherent hill and mountain specificities. However, the physiographic and agro-climatic variability also offer opportunities of cultivating wide variety of profitable traditional and market oriented crops for exploiting niche advantage. Non-timber forest products play a vital role for livelihood security and demand that initiatives at local and governmental level are taken to develop and popularize technologies for collecting, processing and value adding to these products for commercial exploitation. Research and self help institutions are important in this context but strong regulatory policy framework is equally important. Further, need based and location specific trainings and demonstrations need to be organized to fill the knowledge void especially in traditional activities and emerging vocational enterprises. The national and international business concerns, engaged in exploiting natural resources such as hydro power and calcareous and limestone deposits should also engage more meaningfully in this task, under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) Livelihood generating scheme such as MNREGS should be extended to the non-conventional activities like weed eradication, management of wild (monkeys) and stray (cattle) animals that threaten livelihood security.

Switching over to alternate production systems, or adoption of modern production practices are far beyond the scope of Scheduled Caste and other vulnerable farmers due to their poor resource base and economic conditions

The agricultural production systems are largely dependent on rainfall, vagaries of climate, and biophysical environment including market dynamics. Continuously, threatened livelihood systems lead to low income generation, insecurity in food production, and compels to live in below poverty line (BPL).
 
The basic approach of agricultural extension focuses on reach to small, marginal/rural women/rural youth. It also includes strengthening and up-scaling of on-going extension reforms, provision of quality manpower and promotion of commodity based farmers organizations and thrust on market-led extension.

The National Development Council had visualised an overall growth rate of 10 per cent for the XI Five-Year Plan for which agriculture sector has to contribute a growth rate of about 4.1 per cent as against 1.7 per cent. Hence, there is a need for vibrant, dynamic and innovative approaches to be adopted for agricultural extension in order to achieve the targeted growth rate.

There are 437 tribes in India and Andhra Pradesh is inhabited by 33 tribes. Of these, 13 tribal groups  inhabit in high altitude zone of Visakhapatnam. Livelihood security is the ability of a household to meet its basic needs like food, health and shelter, basic education and community participation. Livelihoods can be made up of a range of on-farm and off-farm activities which together provide a variety of procurement strategies for food and cash.

ABSTRACT

The land available to grow food and trees is decreasing owing to population pressure in all the regions of the world. In the Shivaliks, the land available for crop and tree cultivation is further limited by steep slopes and inaccessibility of different land areas. The livelihood options in the Jammu Shivaliks are limited due to poor development of this area compared to adjoining plains. In such a situation, agroforestry is one of the options to increase the livelihood security of the people of this region as it results in concurrent and sustainable use of the limited land for production of food and tree-based products and improves the livelihoods of the rural people. Agroforestry improvement based on scientific inputs and its popularisation has the potential to improve the livelihoods of people of this region. This paper dwells on the role of agroforestry in livelihood security and constraints in realising the potential of agroforestry in Jammu Shivaliks.

Coldwater fishes exhibit enormous diversity and have great potential for generating livelihoods, mitigating poverty and unemployment. Coldwater fishery deserves attention for improving production by ensuring seed and feed supply. Other important issues in fisheries sector relate to marketing, value addition and farming. There is need to have separate action plan for low volume high values, and high volume low values fishes. Coldwater fishery sector can be strengthened using the available technologies such as hatchery and seed rearing, management protocol breeding and grow out protocols, fish specific feed formulations, exotic carp farming, and fish farming in polythene lined irrigation/ watershed tanks. The sustainable fishery development in hills requires attention on defining and granting appropriate ownership of resources, developing state of art infrastructure, initiation and implementation of fisheries conservation including focus on native and exotic species through enforcement of protective legislation. Strengthening of hill fishery education will play a central role. A “strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis” suggests an integrated approach by addressing the issues on genetic characterization and conservation, environmental impact analysis, development of niche specific aquaculture system, focus on post production and health management issues, implementation of demonstration programmes, enhancement of institutional capabilities, and development of human resources. Research areas relating to capture fisheries, culture fisheries, extension and transfer of technologies are also important.

Livelihood refers to the means and capabilities by which individuals and households secure the necessities of life such as food, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare. It encompasses not just the income-generating
activities people undertake, but also the assets, skills, knowledge, and social networks they use to sustain and improve their living conditions. The concept of livelihood is broader than employment or income; it includes access to natural, financial, social, human, and physical capital that enable people to build a decent standard of living.
A widely accepted definition by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (developed by the UK’s Department for International Development) states that a livelihood comprises “the capabilities, assets (including both material and
social resources), and activities required for a means of living.” A livelihood is considered sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation. In India, livelihood patterns differ significantly between urban and rural areas due to differences in economic structures, resource availability, access to services, and lifestyle choices.

1. Introduction

India has 536.76 million livestock as per 20th Livestock Census 2019. Livestock plays a vital role in improving the socio-economic conditions of rural masses especially for landless and marginal farmers; as well as an important role in the national economy. Livestock production and agriculture are closely related and vital for the overall food security. Agriculture diversification through animal husbandry is one of the primary factors of growth in rural incomes. A higher public investment in livestock sector is the need of the hour for doubling farmers’ income. Future economic growth would have to come from improvements in animal productivity. India is bestowed with a great degree of livestock biodiversity which can be elucidated in hosting more than 200 breeds across all the species. Along with producing A2 milk, desi cattle are renowned for withstanding heat, illness resistance, immunity to ticks and parasites and low maintenance requirements. The various indigenous breeds of agricultural animals are mostly the consequence of evolutionary processes. They were improved through field progeny testing & selection. Conservation and propagation of most precious high producing elite buffalo germplasm though the cloning technique is the contribution of the scientists to the buffalo rearing farmers of the country. The Indian Jamunapari goat is one of the ancestors of the American Nubian. Goat milk is an excellent source of vitamin A, is high in digestible protein, contains significantly lower levels of alpha-S1-casein, contains slightly less lactose, and has more non-digestible carbohydrates than cows’ milk.

Livestock integration into a farming system offers multiple benefits, including manure for soil fertility, animal products for food and income, and utilization of crop residues. Livestock components like dairy, piggery, goatry, poultry, and duckry are essential for enhancing income, improving livelihoods, and ensuring sustainability within farming systems. They are particularly important in diversified and integrated farming approaches, enabling
multi-output farming that benefits rural communities both economically and nutritionally. Livestock plays a vital role in farming systems across India and serves as a major source of livelihood, especially for small and marginal
farmers. It provides nutrition, income, employment, and farm inputs such as manure and draft power, while also serving as a risk buffer in times of crop failure.
• Dairy: Dairy farming involves the rearing of cows and buffaloes for milk production. It is a prominent source of regular income in rural areas and supports food security through milk and milk products. Cow dung is also used as organic manure and fuel.
º Definition: Raising cattle (cows, buffaloes) primarily for milkproduction. 

Introduction

India is often criticized for the negative externalities to the ecology due to the largest livestock population of the country. Thus inspite of the fact that the integrated farming system followed in the country contributes towards not only saving the resources and improving the environment. This study quantifies the positive environmental externalities associated with the livestock production in the context of integrated farming system of rainfed areas. It included land saving due to recycling of agricultural by-products as animal feed and also due to use of dung- cake as domestic fuel, saving of chemical fertilizers due to use of dung as manure and prevention of carbon dioxide emission due to use of animal energy in agriculture.

Abstract
The industrial revolution, while driving economic growth and entrepreneurship, has significantly impacted the environment through resource depletion, air and water pollution, and ecological degradation. Business ventures, vital for employment and wealth generation, often contribute to environmental harm due to unsustainable practices. Environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, plays a crucial role in balancing entrepreneurial development with ecological integrity. These laws regulate waste management, industrial emissions, and hazardous substances, ensuring sustainable business practices that protect human health and the environment. By addressing natural environmental factors like climate, air quality, and resource availability, such legislation fosters sustainable entrepreneurship, promoting economic progress without compromising environmental safety.
Keywords: Environmental Legislation, Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Industrialization, Environmental Degradation, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Waste Management, Ecological Integrity, Business Ventures, Resource Conservation