The Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) employs unique features of the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to monitor dozens of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) millisecond pulsars (MSPs), simultaneously in the 300-500 MHz and the 1260-1460 MHz bands. This dual-band approach ensures that any frequency-dependent delays are accurately characterized, significantly improving the timing precision for pulsar observations, which is crucial for pulsar timing arrays. We present details of InPTA’s second data release that involves 7 yrs of data on 27 IPTA MSPs. This includes sub-banded Times of Arrival (ToAs), Dispersion Measures (DM), and initial timing ephemerides for our MSPs. A part of this dataset, originally released in InPTA’s first data release, is being incorporated into IPTA’s third data release which is expected to detect and characterize nanohertz gravitational waves in the coming years. The entire dataset is reprocessed in this second data release providing some of the highest precision DM estimates so far and interesting solar wind related DM variations in some pulsars. This is likely to characterize the noise introduced by the dynamic inter-stellar ionised medium much better than the previous release thereby increasing sensitivity to any future gravitational wave search.

Soybean is a major source of vegetable oil and protein worldwide. Globally, India is among the top five producers where soybean is a major oilseed grown under diverse agro-climatic conditions by small and marginal farmers. The present study aims to identify soybean varieties with higher yield levels, resistance to pestdiseases and adaptability to climatic fluctuations. One hundred and twenty-five (125) indigenous and exotic soybean germplasm accessions and five checks were evaluated and characterized for eight agro-morphological traits at five testing locations and also screened for frog-eye leaf spot (FLS) and yellow mosaic virus (YMV) diseases under hot-spot locations during the rainy season. A wide range of variability was observed among accessions for days to 50% flowering (39–59), plant height (41–111 cm), number of nodes/plant (10–30), pod clusters/plant (14–39), number of pods/plant (40–102), days to maturity (96–115), grain yield/plant (4.89–16.54 g) and 100-seed weight (6.02–13.72 g). Among various traits, 100-seed weight (0.45), number of pods/plant (0.60) and number of pod clusters/plant (0.38) were found to be major yield-contributing traits as they exhibited highly significant correlation with grain yield/plant. Principal components PCI and PCII with eigen value >1 accounted for 42.66 and 27.08% of the total variation, respectively. Accessions G24 (EC 393222) from Taiwan and G40 (IMP-1) from the USA belonging to cluster IV were found promising for multiple yield traits and JS 20–38 from cluster III for earliness as per cluster analysis. GGE biplot average environment coordination (AEC) view revealed that the accessions viz., G11 (EC 333872), G2 (EC 251506) and G47 (TNAU-S-55) were the best performing stable genotypes in terms of grain yield/plant across locations. Twelve accessions had a high level of resistance against both FLS and YMV diseases under natural hot-spot conditions which can be utilized as promising donors in the soybean breeding programme.

14CO2 activity in air samples collected at Kakrapar Gujarat Site, India, was measured, and site-specific dilution factor for 14CO2 has been evaluated. 14CO2 activity in air samples was monitored for 72 different sampling events at onsite stack of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and at ESL meteorology laboratory (at 1.6 km from NPP stack). 14CO2 activity in air at stack of NPP and at ESL meteorology laboratory was observed to 0.10–0.18 TBq (GWe.year)–1, with mean value 0.12 TBq (GWe.year)–1 and ≤0.04–0.13 Bq m–3, with mean value 0.08 Bq m–3 respectively. The results were correlated with meteorological parameters. Site specific dilution factor for 14CO2 in air was evaluated at 1.6 km and was found to be in the range of 4.6E-05 to 21E-05 s m–3. Inter angle (degree) between plume direction and fixed sampling location and rainfall (mm) are found to be the important influencing parameters for dilution factor of 14CO2 in air.

We present the pulse arrival times and high-precision dispersion measure estimates for 14 millisecond pulsars observed simultaneously in the 300$-$500 MHz and 1260$-$1460 MHz frequency bands using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The data spans over a baseline of 3.5 years (2018-2021), and is the first official data release made available by the Indian Pulsar Timing Array collaboration. This data release presents a unique opportunity for investigating the interstellar medium effects at low radio frequencies and their impact on the timing precision of pulsar timing array experiments. In addition to the dispersion measure time series and pulse arrival times obtained using both narrowband and wideband timing techniques, we also present the dispersion measure structure function analysis for selected pulsars. Our ongoing investigations regarding the frequency dependence of dispersion measures have been discussed. Based on the preliminary analysis for five millisecond pulsars, we do not find any conclusive evidence of chromaticity in dispersion measures. Data from regular simultaneous two-frequency observations are presented for the first time in this work. This distinctive feature leads us to the highest precision dispersion measure estimates obtained so far for a subset of our sample. Simultaneous multi-band upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations in 300$-$500 MHz and 1260$-$1460 MHz are crucial for high-precision dispersion measure estimation and for the prospect of expanding the overall frequency coverage upon the combination of data from the various Pulsar Timing Array consortia in the near future. Parts of the data presented in this work are expected to be incorporated into the upcoming third data release of the International Pulsar Timing Array.

We introduce pinta, a pipeline for reducing the upgraded Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) raw pulsar timing data, developed for the Indian Pulsar Timing Array experiment. We provide a detailed description of the workflow and usage of pinta, as well as its computational performance and RFI mitigation characteristics. We also discuss a novel and independent determination of the relative time offsets between the different back-end modes of uGMRT and the interpretation of the uGMRT observation frequency settings and their agreement with results obtained from engineering tests. Further, we demonstrate the capability of pinta to generate data products which can produce high-precision TOAs using PSR J1909$-$3744 as an example. These results are crucial for performing precision pulsar timing with the uGMRT.

We study the effects of food safety awareness on consumers’ milk purchasing behavior in Nepal. We conducted consumer survey and employed an instrumental variable regression. We find education, income, and social network to influence food safety consciousness (FSC). Our results indicate the positive impact of FSC on weekly milk expenditure and probability of purchasing milk from milk cooperatives. Any policy that helps to improve the FSC levels will likely increase the purchase of safe milk from the modern market outlet, and lack of such awareness raising policies has prevented the market for safe food from evolving and expanding.

In this paper, we present our study on multi-frequency scatter-broadening observations of a large sample of pulsars, made using the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). For each pulsar, the scatter-broadening time scales (τsc) have been estimated at different observing frequencies and the dependence of τsc with the observing frequency, i.e., the frequency scaling index (α) has been obtained. We report estimates of α for a set of 39 pulsars, of which 31 are completely new and provide the first-time measurement on about 50% of the sample. This enhanced sample suggests that almost 65% of the pulsars have an α much lower than the conventional value of 4.4 for a Kolmogorov type turbulence spectrum, and a considerably large scattering strength. An increase in scattering strength is observed with the distance to the pulsar in the Galaxy.

Deriving glacier outlines from satellite data has become increasingly popular in the past decade. In particular when glacier outlines are used as a base for change assessment, it is important to know how accurate they are. Calculating the accuracy correctly is challenging, as appropriate reference data (e.g. from higher-resolution sensors) are seldom available. Moreover, after the required manual correction of the raw outlines (e.g. for debris cover), such a comparison would only reveal the accuracy of the analyst rather than of the algorithm applied. Here we compare outlines for clean and debris-covered glaciers, as derived from single and multiple digitizing by different or the same analysts on very high- (1 m) and medium-resolution (30 m) remote-sensing data, against each other and to glacier outlines derived from automated classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper data. Results show a high variability in the interpretation of debris-covered glacier parts, largely independent of the spatial resolution (area differences were up to 30%), and an overall good agreement for clean ice with sufficient contrast to the surrounding terrain (differences ∼5%). The differences of the automatically derived outlines from a reference value are as small as the standard deviation of the manual digitizations from several analysts. Based on these results, we conclude that automated mapping of clean ice is preferable to manual digitization and recommend using the latter method only for required corrections of incorrectly mapped glacier parts (e.g. debris cover, shadow).

Monitoring the glacier mass balance of summer-accumulation-type Himalayan glaciers is critical to not only assess the impact of climate change on the volume of such glaciers but also predict the downstream water availability and the global sea-level change in future. To better understand the change in meteorological parameters related to glacier mass balance and runoff in a glacierized basin and to assess the highly heterogeneous glacier responses to climate change in the Nepal Himalaya and nearby ranges, the Cryosphere Monitoring Project (CMP) carries out meteorological observations in Langtang Valley and mass-balance measurements on Yala Glacier, a debris-free glacier in the same valley. A negative annual mass balance of –0.89m w.e. and the rising equilibrium-line altitude of Yala Glacier indicate a continuation of a secular trend toward more negative mass balances. Lower temperature lapse rate during the monsoon, the effect of convective precipitation associated with mesoscale thermal circulation in the local precipitation and the occurrence of distinct diurnal cycles of temperature and precipitation at different stations in the valley are other conclusions of this comprehensive scientific study initiated by CMP which aims to yield multi-year glaciological, hydrological and meteorological observations in the glacierized Langtang River basin.

In the present study, unsteady MHD boundary layer flow of a rotating Walters’-B fluid (viscoelastic fluid) over an infinite vertical porous plate embedded in a uniform porous medium with fluctuating wall temperature and concentration taking Hall and ion-slip effects into consideration is discussed. The MHD flow in the rotating fluid system is induced due to the non-torsional oscillations of the plate in its own plane and the buoyancy forces arises from temperature and concentration differences in field of gravity. The partial differential equations governing the fluid motion are solved analytically by using regular perturbation and variable separable methods by assuming very small viscoelastic parameter. Solution for velocity field in the case when natural frequency due to rotation and Hall current is equals to the frequency of oscillations i.e. in the case of resonance is also obtained. In order to note the influences of various system parameters and to discuss the important flow characteristics, the numerical results for fluid velocity in the non-resonance case, temperature and species concentration are computed and depicted graphically versus boundary layer parameter whereas skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number at the plate are computed and presented in tabular form. An interesting observation recorded that there arises flow reversal in the primary flow direction due to high rotation. When natural frequency is greater than the frequency of oscillations the fluid velocity in the primary flow direction is maximum at the plate whereas incase when natural frequency is smaller than the frequency of oscillations, it is maximum in the neighborhood of the plate.

Plant breeding makes genetic gains over years, so growing newer varieties generally provides greater benefits than growing older ones. However, in low-altitude districts of Nepal, a few rice varieties covered 75% of the rice area and were more than 20 years old (first paper in this series). We test here if this slow rate of adoption of new varieties could be accelerated using a participatory method, Informal Research and Development (IRD), where packets of seeds of new rice varieties are widely distributed to many farmers. From 2008 to 2011, over 117 000 IRD packets were distributed in 18 districts of the Nepal Terai, including over 70 000 of three released varieties from a client-oriented breeding (COB) programme in Nepal. The IRD significantly increased the adoption of the three COB varieties. The benefits obtained by farmers in a single growing season equal the costs of IRD, if for every 75 kits distributed an additional 1 ha is grown. This assumes that the new varieties produce a 10% increase in yield (lower than that evidenced in their release proposals). On an average, fewer than three IRD kits were distributed for each hectare of a new variety grown by farmers in 2011. Furthermore, the effectiveness of IRD could be increased 1.2 to 2.7 fold (depending on the COB variety) if the IRD distribution were to be restricted to the region where the variety was most accepted. The best comparison of IRD with extension by the conventional system was their popularity compared with similar-aged varieties that had been promoted in the two systems. The adoption of three COB varieties was about twicethat of three varieties from the National Rice Research Programme (NRRP) that were closest in release date to the COB varieties. Unlike cost effectiveness assessed by hectares grown per IRD kit distributed, this comparison can only indicate efficacy because, as well as extension method, many factors influenced the adoption rates of the COB and NRRP varieties. The costs of IRD are small, both relative to the cost of breeding new varieties and to the benefits gained; so it is one of the simplest and most cost-effective interventions to increase agricultural productivity.

Farmers who continue to grow old and obsolete varieties do not gain the benefits they could get from growing newer ones. Given the potential large scale of these foregone benefits, relatively few studies have examined the age of varieties that farmers grow. In three surveys, members of over 3300 households were interviewed to find the rice varieties they grew in 2008 and 2011 in 18 districts in the Terai, the low-altitude region of Nepal. This provided the first description of detailed geographical patterns of adoption of rice varieties and their ages that were repeated over time. There were large differences between district and individual varieties that showed specific geographical patterns of adoption. Such detailed knowledge on spatial diversity of varieties is invaluable for planning extension activities and developing breeding programmes, and cheaper ways than household surveys of collecting this information are discussed. Some of the factors considered important in determining this complex pattern of adoption were seed availability, growing environments that differed from east to west and the continued popularity of varieties once they had established markets. Rice diversity was low because a small number of rice varieties occupied large areas. In 2011, nine varieties covered at least 75% of the total rice area in western districts, just four in central districts and eight in eastern districts. Of these, most were released before 1995 resulting in a high average age of the predominant varieties – they always had an average age of over 20 years no matter which region or year was considered. Even though there were some large changes in varietal composition from 2008 to 2011, the average age of the predominant varieties remained almost the same. In a second paper in this series, we examine how these very low varietal replacement rates, that reduce yields and increase risk to farmers, can be accelerated using a participatory research for development approach called Informal Research and Development (IRD) (Joshi et al., 2012).

Insufficiency of vitamin B12 (B12) and folate during pregnancy can result in low concentrations in the fetus and have adverse effects on brain development. We investigated the relationship between maternal B12 and folate nutrition during pregnancy and offspring motor, mental and social development at two years of age (2 y). Mothers (n = 123) and their offspring (62 girls, 61 boys) from rural and middle-class urban communities in and around Pune city were followed through pregnancy up to 2 y. Maternal B12 and folate concentrations were measured at 28 and 34 weeks of gestation. At 2 y, the Developmental Assessment Scale for Indian Infants was used to determine motor and mental developmental quotients and the Vineland Social Maturity Scale for the social developmental quotient. Overall, 62% of the mothers had low B12 levels (<150 pmol/l) and one mother was folate deficient during pregnancy. Maternal B12 at 28 and 34 weeks of gestation was associated with offspring B12 at 2 y (r = 0.29, r = 0.32, P < 0.001), but folate was not associated with offspring folate. At 2 y, motor development was associated with maternal folate at 28 and 34 weeks of gestation. Mental and social development quotients were associated positively with head circumference and negatively with birth weight. In addition, pregnancy B12 and folate were positively associated with mental and social development quotients. Maternal B12 and folate during intrauterine life may favorably influence brain development and function. Pregnancy provides a window of opportunity to enhance fetal psychomotor (motor and mental) development.

Experiments demonstrate the ~77× amplification of 0.5 to 3.5-ps pulses of seed light by interaction with Langmuir waves in a low density (1.2 × 1019 cm−3) plasma produced by a 1-ns, 230-J, 1054-nm pump beam with 1.2 × 1014 W/cm2 intensity. The waves are strongly damped (kλD = 0.38, Te = 244 eV) and grow over a ~ 1 mm length, similar to what is experienced by scattered light when it interacts with crossing beams as it exits an ignition target. The amplification reduces when the seed intensity increases above ~1 × 1011 W/cm2, indicating that saturation of the plasma waves on the electron kinetic time scale (<0.5 ps) limits the scatter to ~1% of the available pump energy. The observations are in agreement with 2D PIC simulations in this case.

A review of the outcomes of past attempts at establishing sustainable seed producer groups in Nepal showed that after donor support was withdrawn a lack of marketing skills resulted in the groups no longer producing seed. Learning from this review, when we initiated new attempts at establishing sustainable seed producer groups in Chitwan district, Nepal, we emphasized the strengthening of their marketing and managerial capabilities rather than training in technical issues such as seed quality control. We imparted marketing skills to committee members of farmer groups at an initial training course in Chitwan in 2001. This inspired at least three existing farmer groups in Chitwan, already established for other agricultural activities, to enter into cereal and legume seed production and its marketing. Following their establishment in 2002 we supported them initially by purchasing some of their seed production. This was progressively withdrawn and, after three years, the groups independently marketed all of their substantial seed production. They built up capital reserves mainly from subsidies and by attracting funds from new shareholders with only a small contribution from retained profits that were only about 5% of total turnover. The capital reserves reduced or eliminated the need for loans thus increasing the chances that the enterprises would be sustainable. In contrast, other government-supported groups had practically no cash reserves despite substantial seed sales. By 2010, two of the three groups were still operating and had substantially increased turnover. Shareholders who were also seed producers benefited from being members of the group and from an increased income of 10% by producing seed instead of grain. Our intention in supporting these groups was to promote the scaling out of new rice varieties produced by client-oriented breeding (COB) or identified by participatory varietal selection but most of the seed that was produced was of obsolete varieties. Policies are needed to preferentially promote new varieties by supplying more information about them and increasing the subsidy on their seeds compared with older varieties. Continuing promotion by the organizations that bred them is also desirable but constrained by limited funding for COB.

The hatchability of layers' eggs stored and incubated in different positions was examined at the Defence Agricultural Research Laboratory, Almora, India (5500' above sea level) in 1990. Hatchability was found to be highest in the eggs stored and incubated with their narrow end up and lowest in eggs stored and incubated horizontally.