eChapters

Background

Alpha Partners is a large professional services partnership firm comprising over 180,000 professionals with presence in more than 156 countries around the world. It primarily deals in three main businesses - Statutory Audit of listed companies, Taxation Services (both corporate and individuals& Advisory services to leading private companies and governments around the world.

In India, the company has a total of approximately 20000 employees and partners divided between two broad entities - Alpha Partners India (AI) and Alpha Partners Global Services (AGS). AI is the primary client service firm in India and is engaged in professional services to clients in the Indian geography. AGS, on the other hand is a joint venture between Alpha Partners firms in U.S, U.K. and India - all three holding equal shares of AGS

Introduction

BOGL had set up its wholly owned subsidiary company Bikas Oil Inc. (BOI), Moscow, Russia. Mr. Atanu Saxena and Mr. Samish Batra were recently selected for being deputed to BOI. Being a foreign location, this posting was considered as monetarily rewarding and good for career growth of employees. Subsidiaries of other oil and gas companies were also present in Moscow as this location was considered as the oil and gas business hub of Russia.

"Unseasonal thundershowers," remarked Mr. Ritesh Prasad, as he peered out of the windows at the overcast sky and the storm raging outside - the landscape outside was no different than the one raging inside AXYZ ltd, a family-owned, logistics firm. Mr. Ritesh Prasad, or RP as he was popularly known, had been the CHRO at AXYZ for a decade now. He was a personal favourite of Mr. Pulkit Sahni, the founder-owner of AXYZ, and was quite popular with all levels of hierarchy, because of his genial disposition and general sense of empathy towards the firm's workforce.

Introduction

Mr. Ramesh Gupta was transferred from a well established business division to an emerging division of one of the largest companies of India, TN Limited (TNL) (refer Exhibit-1). Mr. Gupta had more than 30 years of work experience in TNL when he joined this new division. The division was primarily into acquisition and management of oil and gas assets in India and abroad. Recently the company had acquired a very large asset in North America. To manage this asset, a Houston, USA based subsidiary of TNL named as BM Limited (BML) was created (refer Exhibit-2). Considering scale of business and complexity involved, the company decided to post some of its brightest officers there. Through competitive and transparent process of selection, three officers viz.

Context

Value Services Incis (VSI) incorporated and headquartered in New York, USA and with presence in 14 countries across the globe. With a total of 14000 employees globally, about 23% of their workforce is based in India in their offices across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Their India headquarters is in Mumbai.

The company's business is primarily in research services. They pride themselves in providing high quality and in-depth research output across all domains, industries and geographies. They serve 40% of the fortune 500 companies as their clients and by 2020, they aim to cover 70% of the list

Background

GMPK is a large professional services partnership firm comprising over 155,000 professionals with presence in more than 156 countries, providing Audit, Tax & Advisory services to some leading companies and governments around the world. In India, the company has two entities with a total of approximately 20000 employees and partners.

For the last four years, GMPK has ranked as an 'Ideal Employer' on a global index of the world's most attractive employers. The index is based on the opinions of close to 130,000 students from renowned academic institutions across many economies, including the United States, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and India. GMPK provides its employees with award-winning diversity initiatives and a formal mentoring program.

Sambit Sharma, Chairman, CTN Limited (CTNL) received a letter from the Chairperson of 3^rd Pay Revision Committee (PRC) for Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of India. The letter inter alia sought feedback on existing Performance Management System (PMS) at CTNL and suggestion for its continuity or modification, if any. In past also, CTNL's suggestions on various human resources (HR) matters had been valued by the Committee and many of those suggestions were retained in their final recommendations to the Government of India. Mr. Sharma, off late, had heard many stories, both positive as well as negative, about the PMS within CTNL and was therefore contemplating to thoroughly review the system. He marked the letter to Ratish Agarwal, Director (HR), CTNL to take necessary action.

A responsibly behaving organization creates a positive impact on society and its operating environment. Globally, there is a rising demand and expectation of people from organizations to act in manners that result into shared value and prosperity. This calls for bringing a major change in the current approach of organizations and their human resources.

Three frameworks could be popularly referred to when we intend to discuss responsible behaviour of an organization. These approaches have been highlighted considering practical significance and ability to fundamentally change the ground rules of organizational day to day working. This includes.

Introduction

In the vast tapestry of challenges confronting humanity, few are as fundamental as ensuring a secure and sustainable food supply for a burgeoning global population. As the world's inhabitants surpass 9 billion by 2050, the pressure intensifies on agriculture to deliver higher yields, reduce environmental impact and adapt to the uncertainties of climate change. In this pivotal moment, the convergence of technology and agriculture emerges as a beacon of hope, offering unprecedented opportunities to revolutionize farm management and secure our agricultural future. The role of technology in precise farm management has transcended mere convenience to become an indispensable cornerstone of modern agriculture.

Introduction

The influence of government policies on agricultural practices is a topic of paramount importance in the realm of global food security, environmental sustainability and economic development. Governments around the world play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of agricultural systems through a myriad of interventions, regulations, and support mechanisms. The intricate interplay between governmental policies and agricultural practices underscores the complex dynamics that govern food production, land use, and rural livelihoods. Agriculture stands as a cornerstone of human civilization, providing sustenance, employment, and economic prosperity to billions of people worldwide.

Introduction

In the evolving landscape of agriculture, where feeding a rapidly growing global population is a pressing concern, the role of data analytics has emerged as a beacon of hope, igniting revolutionary transformations in optimizing crop yields and resource utilization. Data analytics, the science of examining raw data to uncover insights and make informed decisions, has transcended conventional farming practices, propelling the industry towards a new era of efficiency, sustainability, and productivity.

Introduction

Any notable long-term alteration to the anticipated patterns of the average weather in an area (or the entire Earth) over an extended period of time is referred to as climate change. It concerns anomalous fluctuations in the climate and how these fluctuations affect other regions of the planet. Tens, hundreds, or even millions of years may pass before these changes occur. However, as a result of increased anthropogenic activity including industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, agriculture, and altered land use patterns, greenhouse gas emissions grow and accelerate the rate of climate change. Increases in temperature, variations in precipitation, and an increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are all part of climate change scenarios.

Introduction

Amidst the vast fields and verdant landscapes lies the heartbeat of nations -the farmers. Yet, despite their indispensable role in feeding the world, farmers often find themselves on the front lines of adversity, grappling with challenges ranging from volatile markets to climate uncertainties. Recognizing the pivotal importance of agriculture in fostering sustainable development, a plethora of initiatives and strategies have emerged to empower and support farmers worldwide.

Introduction

Market access and supply chain innovation are two critical pillars that underpin the success and sustainability of agricultural produce in today's interconnected world. As the global population continues to grow, along with increasing consumer demands and evolving market dynamics, ensuring efficient access to markets and implementing innovative supply chain practices have become burning imperatives for agricultural producers worldwide.

1. Introduction

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and a significant sector. For all nations, agriculture digitization is a growing area of concern. The need for food rises in tandem with the world's population growth, which is happening quite quickly. The agriculture sector is finding it very challenging to develop methods and strategies that will enable them to completely meet the growing wants and specifications due to the expanding need for food and shifting consumer preferences. Misuse of agricultural components can have detrimental effects on the environment and cause pollution. Farmers mostly rely on irrigation canal networks, groundwater, and rainfall in the field of irrigation. 

Introduction

India possesses abundant human resources due to its demographic dividend. With a population of approximately 1.39 billion, rural areas are home to about 68.84% of the total population, constituting more than two-thirds (Census 2011, GoI). According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2019, about 58.3% of rural households rely on agricultural activities as their primary source of income. Despite the significant reliance on agriculture for livelihoods, the agricultural situation in India is challenging.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources or processes that are constantly replenished.

Renewable energy is energy derived from natural resources that replenish themselves over a period without depleting the Earth's resources.

The term "renewable energy" is energy derived from a broad spectrum of resources, all of which are based on self-renewing energy sources such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, the earth's internal heat, and biomass such as agricultural, industrial, and municipal waste.

1. Introduction

Technology innovation is characterised by the development and utilisation of novel or enhanced technologies, instruments, frameworks, and procedures that result in noteworthy progressions or discoveries across diverse domains. It entails utilising resources, knowledge, and experience to create creative solutions that address issues, boost productivity, advance the cause, and add value.

In numerous crucial areas, the significance of technological innovation is evident:

In broad perspective, agriculture and allied sciences is defined as the art, science and business study of producing crops, livestock, fishery and forestry for food and economic purposes. Considering its broad base of coverage of various items like crop, livestock, fishery and forestry etc., it is generally called as Agriculture and allied sciences. The etymology of the term Agriculture has two Latin words, Agri and Cultura meaning soil and cultivation. In a holistic sense, agriculture is an applied science comprising of the study of plants and animals like crops, fruits, vegetables, livestock and poultry, fishery, forestry and home sciences etc. It is one the core and primary sector of Indian economy.

In broad perspective, plants and crops of agriculture can be classified mainly based on three criterions namely descriptive, ecological and agronomical. Understanding these basic classifications will help us to study the characteristics of each plant in detail.

Descriptive Classification

In descriptive approach, plants and crops can be classified based on the mode of reproduction, mode of pollination, life span, growth habits and leaf retention property. Sexual and asexual reproducing plants are the two groups based on the mode of reproduction. The sexual reproducing plants are developed from a seed after the union of male and female gametes and asexual plants reproduces through vegetative means and not by male and female gametes.

Meteorology is a branch of physical sciences, which studies the physical properties of earth's atmosphere, and it is a combination of physical and geographical sciences. It is an applied science using the principles of physics to understand the physical state and behaviour of atmosphere.

In meteorology, weather describes the physical state of atmosphere of a particular place in a given point of time, usually for a shorter duration. On the other hand, climate describes the state and dynamics of the same set of weather variables of a particular place for a longer period.

Agronomical practices is the collection of operations starts from field formation, tillage, sowing, irrigation, manure and fertilizer management, pest control and harvest etc. Though, the type of agronomical practices varies with the crop, the basic function of various agronomical operations remains the same for all the crops. Considering that, understanding the basics of general agronomical practices is crucial for good agricultural practices and optimum production.

Tillage

Tillage is the basic activity of preparing the land for the crop production.

Plants requires a number of nutrients for their growth and reproduction, of which six are primary in nature and they are,

1. Carbon - Plants are taking carbon from the air and soil
2. Hydrogen from water
3. Oxygen from water and air
4. Nitrogen from soil and it helps plants to synthesize protein for their growth they need to produce new tissues. Nitrogen is often in shortage in soil for the plants, and plants will try to take as much available from the soil at the same time too much of nitrogen will help the foliage growth and but not the setting of flowers and fruits.
5. Phosphorus stimulates root growth and helps the plants set flowers and seeds. Organic matter and activity of soil organisms increases the availability of phosphorus.

Farm machinery is a range of mechanical implements used in agriculture production from land preparation to harvesting and processing the produce. It includes various ploughs, tractors, broadcaster, harvester and post harvest processing machineries. The purpose of using machines in agriculture production is to handle the mass production, improve the efficiency and to save the labour costs. The types of implements used in fodder production are tillage, sowing, intercultural, plant protection and harvesting equipments.

In broad perspective, forages are plants and crops used for animal feeding. It includes all the natural and cultivated crops, shrubs, and trees etc., used in livestock feeding. Here, fodder specifically denotes the cultivated crops exclusively used for livestock feeding. Though, they are synonymously used in books, a student of veterinary science should able understand the difference between forages and fodder. Fodder is a term mainly used in intensive livestock farming where stall feeding is preferred over grazing to optimize the efficiency of production per unit area. Though, most of the tree's leaves are used for animal feeding, some of the trees being cultivated exclusively for animal feeding and those are called fodder trees and others called as multipurpose trees.

The key characteristic of monsoon based agriculture of India is variability of availability of forage and fodder resources for livestock. In monsoon seasons, fodder availability will be at its peak, and the same will be scarce in dry months. Considering that, preservation of fodder during monsoon months especially through rainfed farming is essential to ensure a fodder supply throughout the year. Preservation of fodder is process of preserving the excess available fodder in a proper form without the loss of nutrients and its palatability. 

As per Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agro forestry represents land-use systems and technologies where trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc. are deliberately used on the same land-management units as agricultural crops and or animals, in some form effective utilization of land and to increase the returns per unit of land. The three main components of agro forestry are land, crops & trees and animals and that can be combined in numerous spatial and temporal function thus creating different kinds of production function.

In economics, labour is defined as manual or mental work for acquiring income for their livelihoods. In farming domain, the agriculture labor is defined as labourers who earn their main source of income by working in farms of others for a wage. In this type, labours may classified in three namely skilled, semi skilled and unskilled labours based on their skill sets.

Skilled labour is a type of labour, who is having specific skills like carpentry, black smiths, drivers, masonry etc will be utilized to perform a specific function, and correspondingly their wages will be on the higher side than other two types. 

Food and Agriculture Organization defines organic agriculture is a unique production system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs.

The beauty of organic agriculture production is dependency three elements namely soil, plants and animals. It is also called animal agriculture in which, animal depends on plants, plants depends on soil and soil depends on animals for their fertile life.

Integrated Farming System is a traditional concept in agriculture in which we are trying integrate various agriculture farming and its allied enterprises suitably for efficient use of single and multiple production function. In simple sense, it is a way integrating crop farming with livestock and poultry farming, fish farming, bee keeping and other agriculture technologies to enhance the value chain of farming system.

The core idea ofintegration is harvesting the complementary and supplementary relationship functions of various enterprises effectively and the art of using the waste of one enterprise to be the input of other enterprise. It is a efficient farming tool for small and marginal farmers to optimize the output per unit of land and investment. Moreover, it is more of organic, eco and soil friendly in nature.

Register in general is recording of an event, transaction of stock and stores, money etc., and collectively it is aggregation of data. The farm will have lot of static and dynamic information and collection and recording all these information and storing the same is called register maintenance. Register maintenance is not a one time job, it is continuous process. Some of the registers will record the basic physical information and some other will record the financial transactions like expenditure, income etc. Maintenance of register with economics is more critical, because they decide profitability and economic efficiency of the farm. Registers are always associated with various activities carried out in a farm.

Cost of production of fodder is critical in deciding the profitability of fodder production and livestock production. In intensive animal farming, fodder plays a vital, because of the reason that, most of the feeding regimen of dairy cattle, buffalo and small ruminant production system is fodder based. Fodder make out the bulk o feed expenditure apart from compounded feed. Understanding the economics of fodder production is vital in production of fodder in livestock farms.

Demand for fodder in intensive livestock farming necessitates the fodder seed production in all the livestock and fodder farms for their own use and sale to needy. In the recent past, fodder seed production is also becoming commercial activity of farmers as the income is promising. Since, there are number of new varieties of fodder are coming to the market, demand for their seed is also encouraging to produce the same commercially. Considering this, the farm managers should aware of fodder seed production technologies for cost effective and quality fodder seed production.

Q1. The exit of drug from C.S.F. irrespective of its entry is by

1. Passive diffusion
2. Filtration
3. Facilitated diffusion
4. All of the above

Q2. The number of half-lives required to reach 99% of steady state concentration is

1. 3.3
2. 4.4
3. 5.5
4. 6.6

Q3. The receptor concept was first introduced by

1. J.N. Langley in 1878
2. Simonis in 1964
3. Paul Ehrlich in 1926
4. Walksman in 1826

Q1. Resistance in tetracycline is due to mutational changes in

1. Tet A gene
2. Kat G
3. Par C par E
4. Inh A

Q2. Single step mutation can be seen in

1. Erythromycin
2. Tetracycline
3. Chloramphenicol
4. Rifampicin

Q3. Multistep mutation is observed in

1. Streptomycin
2. Rifampicin
3. Both A and C
4. Tetracycline

Q1. The nitrogen atom of amino group in basic structure of sulfonamide is designated as

1. N1
2. N2
3. N3
4. N4

Q2. Trimethoprim produces synergistic action by interfering the synthesis of

1. Dihydrofolic acid from tetrahydrofolic acid
2. Tetrahydrofolic acid from dihydrofolic acid
3. mRNA from DNA
4. tRNA from DNA

Q3. An ophthalmic sulfonamide is

1. Sulfaguinidine
2. Sulfadimidine
3. Sulfadimethoxine
4. Sodium sulfacetamide

Q1. Glucuronide conjugation occurs in the compounds with following functional groups:

1. Hydroxyl
2. Carboxyl
3. Amino
4. All above

Q2. Which of the following is not a chelating agent:

1. Dimercaprol
2. Penicillamine
3. Dimethyl sulfoxide
4. Ca-EDTA

Q3. Most appropriate treatment of acute organophosphate toxicity:

1. Atropine alone
2. 2-PAM alone
3. Atropine + 2-PAM
4. Sod. Thiosulphate alone

Q1. Penicillins disrupt the formation of following peptide bond during its antibacterial action on bacteria:

1. D-alanine-D-aspartate
2. D-alanine- D-glutamate
3. D-Glycine-D-alanine
4. D-alanine-D-alanine

Q2. In E.coli, topoisomerase IV, the target enzyme of the quinolones is encoded by the genes

1. parC and parE
2. gyrA and gyrB
3. par C and gyr A
4. parE and gyrB

Q3. Streptomycin interferes in protein synthesis by inhibiting the start codon

1. AUG
2. AAU
3. UUA
4. AGUa

Q1. The exit of drug from C.S.F. irrespective of its entry is by:

1. Passive diffusion
2. Filtration
3. Facilitated diffusion
4. All of the above.

Q2. The number of half-lives required to reach 99% of steady state concentration is:

1. 3.3
2. 4.4
3. 5.5
4. 6.6

Q3. The receptor concept was first introduced by:

1. J.N. Langely in 1878
2. Simonis in 1964
3. Paul Ehrlich in 1926
4. Wakcsman in 1826

Q1. Alpha naphthyl thiourea is less toxic

1. In an empty stomach
2. With oily food
3. Full stomach
4. Not affected

Q2. A rodenticide that blocks tricarboxylic acid cycle by competitive inhibition of the enzyme aconitase

1. Fluoroacetamide
2. Pindone
3. Chloralose
4. All the above

Q3. ANTU is less toxic in an empty stomach a) In an empty stomach it will irritate the stomach wall resulting in vomiting and throwing away the poison and hence no toxicity.

1. Absorb only with fatty materials
2. Immediate absorption and detoxification
3. All the above
4. None of the above

Q1. Halothane is metabolized in to

1. Trifluoracetic acid
2. Inorganic chloride
3. Bromine
4. All the above

Q2. Psychomotor stimulants causes

1. Excitement
2. Relieve fatigue
3. Increase motor activity
4. All the above

Q3. Repeated administration of barbiturate causes

1. Tolerance
2. Drug dependence
3. Toxicity
4. All the above

PART-A

1. Indicate True/False for the following

1. Super infection phenomenon is common with antibiotics that are given as depot preparation.______
2. A combination of penicillin and chlortetracycline leads to antagonism of antimicrobial activity.______
3. Bactericidal drugs act most effectively on toxins librated by organism.
   1. Most of the laboratory sensitivity tests are conducted at a pH of 4-5.______

Q1. Which of the following is semisynthetic product:

1. Chlortetracycline
2. Chloramphenicol
3. Tetracycline
4. Oxytetracycline

Q2. Natural source of amphotericin B is:

1. Streptomyces aureofaciencs
2. Streptomyces nodosus
3. Streptomyces erythreus
4. Streptomyces venezuelse

Q3. Following is /are mitotic inhibitor

1. Paclitaxel
2. Griseofulvin
3. Vinblastine
4. All of the above

PART-A

Q1. Elimination of drug is studied under?

1. Pharmacokinetics
2. Pharmacometrics
3. Toxicodynamics
4. Toxicoelimination

Q2. Serpentine receptor is characterized by

1. 7 Transmembrane loop
2. Petals of lilly like structure
3. Zinc fingers
4. JAK STAT

Q3. Status epilepsy is treated best with lorazepm/diazepam

1. Per rectal
2. Intravenous
3. Intramuscular
4. Oral

Food security is a pressing global concern that requires immediate attention. The rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization has resulted in a reduction of available land for agriculture, making it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for food. In countries like India, where there is already a shortage of meat, rabbit farming has shown great potential in helping to bridge this gap.

Rabbits belong to the mammalian order Lagomorpha, which includes rabbits, hares, and Pikas. Fossil records indicate that Lagomorpha originated in Asia over 40 million years ago during the Eocene period. The continental drift during this period likely contributed to the diverse distribution of rabbit and hare species worldwide, excluding Australia. There are over 60 recognized breeds of domestic rabbits in Europe and America, all descended from the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the only widely domesticated rabbit species. This species is distinct from native rabbits like North American jackrabbits and cottontail rabbits, as well as all hare species.

Breeds of rabbits: There is a diverse range of breeds when it comes to domestic rabbits, with each one possessing unique qualities. Currently, there are 38 recognized breeds and 87 varieties of rabbits that are well established all around the world. These breeds and varieties differ in various aspects such as color, size, type of hair coat, and other characteristics. Depending on their purpose, rabbits can be categorized into three groups: those bred for meat production, those bred for fur production, and those kept as companion animals.

The success of a rabbitry depends heavily on the equipment and hutches used. Climate, location, and budget all play a role in determining the type of equipment needed. Before constructing the hutches, careful planning is necessary to minimize labor and ensure optimum working conditions. A clean and efficient layout should also be considered in order to provide an ideal environment for raising rabbits. With a wide range of hutch designs available, it is important to choose one that best suits the specific needs and purpose of the rabbitry.

In the rabbit production industry, providing a healthy diet and adequate amount of food every day is crucial for success. Rabbits can only survive and thrive on a diet of forage, so it is important to carefully consider their nutritional needs when planning their feeding regimen.

Some rabbit producers choose to provide basic grains in addition to forages in order to increase the potential productivity of their herd. These grains can be sourced from one's own farm or purchased commercially as concentrated feeds. The type of feed given to rabbits will greatly impact the management of the herd, such as how frequently they need to be rebred.

The management of a rabbit herd is a crucial aspect that requires careful planning and organization. As part of a larger scheme involving five medium-sized rabbit farms, the production and marketing of live rabbits and rabbit meat were streamlined into a single business. Although this may differ from the usual backyard production system, it serves as an ideal example of how one can modify their approach to suit specific needs. The success of this scheme lies in its detailed design, which ensures efficient management and optimal output for the herd.