Faculty Publications
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Item An ANN Approach for Measuring Operational Performance Efficiency in India Post Service Industry(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Vadivel, S.M.; Khosla, S.; Devanathan, C.; Sequeira, A.H.; Abhinav, A.In this study, the authors proposed Artificial Neural Network (ANN) as a decision making tool for India post service operational excellence, Karnataka, southern part of India. Though the concept of lean system bundles has been excellent results in the service sector, implementing in the postal service has been taken up as a new challenge. The performance has been validated based on Lean Service Practices (LSPs), Lean Workplace Environmental Practices (LWEPs), and Lean Social Practices (LSoPs) on Operational Performance (OP). Results can be deriving specific conclusions. As per our expectation, it is observed that ANN gives promising of ranking the decision making units. Here, we have used radial based function model. The expense of implementing lean was around INR 2 lakhs. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.Item A comprehensive review of the soil health status for enhancing agricultural sustainability(Frontiers Media SA, 2025) Timilsina, R.R.; Khosla, S.; Rahut, D.B.; Jena, P.R.; Sonobe, T.Sustainable agricultural practices have become more crucial than ever as the world grapples with food insecurity and environmental degradation. Soil health, a fundamental attribute of agricultural productivity and ecosystem stability, plays a pivotal role in achieving global sustainability targets. Despite its importance, comprehensive analyses of soil health initiatives remain limited. This systematic review addresses this gap through a dual objective: first, to contextualize the critical role of soil health in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and second, to critically evaluate the implementation, impact, and policy relevance of India’s Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme launched in 2015 to enhance soil fertility through site-specific assessments and tailored fertilizer recommendations. Global research highlights the crucial role of soil health in promoting sustainable agriculture, and the SHC scheme has yielded notable results, including a 5%–6% increase in crop yields and an 8%–10% decrease in chemical fertilizer usage. Grounded in the framework of the SDGs, this paper highlights the SHC scheme’s contributions to enhancing farm productivity, lowering input costs, and advancing environmental objectives. It further explores the policy landscape, identifies institutional gaps, and examines the potential for scaling and adapting these practices in other regions. This review offers evidence-based insights into the interplay between soil health, agricultural sustainability, and policy innovation, aiming to inform future interventions and promote international collaborations in sustainable land management. © © 2025 Timilsina, Khosla, Rahut, Jena and Sonobe.Item Switch in Livelihood Strategies and Social Capital Have a Role to Play in Deciding Rural Poverty Dynamics: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis from Eastern India(SAGE Publications Ltd info@sagepub.co.uk, 2020) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.Rural households continuously move into and out of poverty due to various factors; and in response to this phenomenon, these rural households adopt several strategies. The purpose of the present paper was to examine the role of livelihood diversification and social capital in the movement of these households into and out of poverty in Eastern rural India. The present study classified households into four poverty groups (called poverty dynamics) based on the panel data gathered from 1353 rural households between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. The study used the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and the multinomial logit model (MLM) to examine the poverty outcome between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. As per the data collected, at the state level, 25.26% of households were chronic poor and 37.04% of households ascended out of poverty, while 8.20% of households descended into poverty between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. Further, it was found out from the SLA that there is a positive relationship between the phenomena of non-farm activities and escaping poverty. The result from the MLM shows that social capital in the form of group membership in different saving schemes and social groups helps to ascend out of poverty. © The Author(s) 2019.Item Analyzing vulnerability to poverty and assessing the role of universal public works and food security programs to reduce it: Evidence from an eastern Indian state(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.Social protection (SP) programs have become a widespread intervention to strengthen coping strategies in developing countries to improve the well-being of vulnerable households. Past studies have identified the positive impact of SP on ex-post poverty reduction. However, there is relatively scant evidence of the role of SP in reducing vulnerability to poverty (VtP). This study estimates the role of SP, in particular, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and public distribution system (PDS) in reducing household VtP in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Firstly, the household VtP was estimated using the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method. Secondly, the role of SP in reducing household VtP was analyzed using the quantile regression (QR) approach. This study utilizes cross-sectional data of 1506 rural households from the State of Odisha. The FGLS estimates show that the household VtP rate is 42.43% as opposed to the current poverty rate of 32.87% in the state. The QR results demonstrate that the households that participated in the MGNREGA program are less likely to fall into poverty than those without it. However, household access to the PDS is observed to have no significant association with vulnerability. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item Can rural livelihood programs enhance capabilities and reduce vulnerability to poverty? Evidence from a tribal region of eastern India(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.; Rahut, D.B.Quantitative evidence on the impact of social protection such as livelihood programs (LPs) on reducing vulnerability to poverty (VtP) is scant. Therefore, this paper aims to estimate VtP and the ability of LPs to reduce it. The analysis is based on the primary data collected in 2018–19 from 479 households in a tribal region of eastern India. First, household VtP was estimated using the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method. Households were categorized into four groups based on their current and predicted future poverty status: chronic poor, transient poor, escaped poverty, and non-poor. Second, factors influencing this movement of households from current to future poverty states were determined using multinomial logistic regression. Third, the impact of the LP on VtP was investigated using the endogenous switching regression (ESR) approach. The FGLS estimates show that 34.7% of households are vulnerable to future poverty, which exceeds the actual poverty rate of 28.6%. The major factors responsible for exacerbating chronic poverty and causing transient poverty are chronic illness, climate shocks, and the sale of assets. The ESR results indicate that a household's VtP is reduced by 3% for those that participate in LPs. Although the LP evaluated in this study has an average positive impact in reducing vulnerability, there is wide heterogeneity among the beneficiaries as the geographically disadvantaged communities lag behind the others. Therefore, the study suggests strengthening such LPs with a particular focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. © 2022 Economic Society of Australia, QueenslandItem Using Multidimensional Poverty Measure to Target Right Beneficiaries to Achieve Sustainable Development Goal-1 in India(Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd, 2023) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.Shocks are responsible for significant setbacks in development progress because it persistently inflicts a negative impact on livelihood. As a result, those who are poor continue to be poor, and those who are not poor become vulnerable to falling into poverty. The analysis of the link between risks and vulnerability to poverty in developing countries is a major focus of development policy to ensure the resilience of vulnerable households. However, there is a lack of research in India that examines the potential impact of shocks on poverty and future deprivation. The objective of this study is to estimate vulnerability to multidimensional poverty (VMDP) and analyse the factors that lead to loss of well-being after experiencing adverse events in rural Odisha. Using survey data from 479 households, the study first estimated multidimensional poverty (MDP), adopting a counting approach. Secondly, the estimation of VMDP is performed using the three-step feasible generalised least squares approach. The results show that 55% of the surveyed households are vulnerable to MDP in rural Odisha. It is also observed that 35% of currently poor households are likely to remain poor and 20% of non-poor households are at risk of sliding into poverty. The study suggests that poverty alleviation policies should cover not just those in poverty today but also those at risk of becoming poor in the near future. © 2023 Institute for Human Development.Item Can farmers with higher capabilities fend off falling into future Poverty? Empirical evidence from a tribal region in eastern India(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Jena, P.R.; Khosla, S.; Rahut, D.B.The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 (no poverty), targets those individuals who are below the poverty line and those who are vulnerable to falling below the poverty line (VtP). Farmers are more VtP due to limited resilience capacity against the covariate and idiosyncratic shocks. However, literature on farmers’ VtP and their capabilities to mitigate the adverse effects of shocks is relatively scant. Thus, this study aims to examine if higher capabilities lead to less VtP. Using a survey dataset from 222 farm households in rural eastern India, this study first estimated VtP by employing the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) approach. Secondly, it used a counting approach and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method to examine the relationship between the capabilities of households and their VtP. The FGLS results show that about 50% of households are VtP, which exceeds the actual poverty rate of about 36%. The counting approach results show that households with higher capabilities are less VtP. The PSM results indicate that a household's VtP is reduced by 27–37% for those with higher capabilities. Thus, the policy targeting the household below poverty line and also VtP would significantly reduce poverty and contribute to achieving SDG1. This would involve identifying and targeting households most in need of assistance such as households with low income, lack of education, and limited access to resources. This study also suggests increasing the resilience capabilities of households by providing job skill training, diversifying income portfolios, insurance coverage, and social safety nets. © 2023 Elsevier LtdItem Can a Universal Public Health Insurance Policy Dent Vulnerability to Poverty? Empirical Evidence from Rural India(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2024) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.Idiosyncratic shocks, mainly health shocks, are common among rural households in developing countries, and as a result, many non-poor households fall into poverty and poor households remain poor. This study investigates the impact of a universal public health insurance policy, namely Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), on household vulnerability to poverty (VtP) in rural India. Using 17,468 national-level household data, household VtP has been estimated using feasible generalised least squares (FGLS), and the impact of a health insurance policy on household VtP has been investigated using propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR). FGLS estimates show that VtP is found to be 33 per cent compared to a currently classified poverty headcount rate of 27 per cent. PSM and ESR results indicate that access to RSBY significantly reduces household VtP, especially in less developed states. JEL codes: I00, I13, I15, I18, I30, I32, I38, I39 © 2025 SAGE Publications.Item Regenerative agriculture practices and multidimensional poverty in eastern rural India(Nature Research, 2025) Khosla, S.; Timilsina, R.R.; Jena, P.R.; Rahut, D.B.Rural households in developing countries face multidimensional poverty (MDP), i.e., deprivations beyond income, including health, education, empowerment, and living standards, while they are also being highly vulnerable to climatic risks. Regenerative agriculture (RA), a set of practices aimed at restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and improving long-term farm resilience, has emerged as a promising strategy to boost productivity, diversify incomes, and promote sustainability. However, little is known about the impact of RA practices on MDP, and empirical evidence linking the two remains scarce. To this end, the present study examines the relationship between RA practices, such as crop rotation, agroforestry and crop diversification, and MDP reduction in eastern rural India. We administer household survey data from 917 households to construct an MDP index based on Alkire and Foster’s counting method and estimate the impact of RA adoption through Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The results show that RA practices significantly reduce MDP by improving access to education, healthcare, and living standards. These findings underscore the potential of RA as a pathway for sustainable rural development and call for targeted policy interventions to support its broader adoption. © The Author(s) 2025.