eChapters

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge Resource Centres play a very important role in this fast changing e-environment of publishing. Their role includes identification and selection of information, its organization and management, storage, retrieval and dissemination to right users at the right time at right place at right price and in right format. The dawn of information revolution is considered to be one of the marvels of 21st century. It is well known that paper and printing were originated in China in the 2^nd and 5^th century of Christian era, respectively.(1) There is a “ wordless heaven book”, “ published in oral or paper less form among the Chinese. The word less book is actually an adaptation and extension of “the song of baked dough by Pie-wen Lu” (2) of the 14^th century. The “elite” in every generation have access to the timelessly flexibly text of the heaven-book to interpret the contents and to predict, accordingly, the great events of the world, particularly when it is in chaos. The world refers to, of course, the “middle kingdom,” which is China in Chinese. Although the work is only a legend, the wordless heaven-book can be considered as the pioneer prototype of modern electronic publishing and as the earliest idea of the recently developed hypertext.

Another classic concept of e-publishing can be traced in Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift first published in 1726. The work has a passage describing a writing machine developed by the Lagadonians in the Grand Academy of Lagado. The Lagadonian writing machine used the method of a fixed syntactic structure and the filling in of that structure with contents by a random procedure (3).

INTRODUCTION

During the last three decades, libraries have shown a considerable degree of momentum in the collection building and readership programme activities involving considerable expenditure of funds. This rapid development of libraries as a consequence, generated several evaluative studies on the usefulness of libraries to society. Until recently evaluations were subjective, based purely on opinions expressed by an individual or group. However, developments in the field of mathematics, statistics, operations research, management science, economics and system analysis have led to a minimization of this subjectivity. In particular, the systems analysis approach has led to the identification and application of appropriate quantitative measuring techniques for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the information services offered by the librarians. This has generated a new field in library and information science viz; ‘Bibliometrics’.

Bibliometric analysis which has now become a well established part of information research and quantitative approach to the description of documents and examination of services is gaining ground both in research and practice. Librarians are facing the problems arising out of ever increasing cost of different types of reading materials and decreasing budgets of libraries.

Bibliometric studies are helpful in solving the problems of librarians. Pritichard¹ defines Bibliometrics as “application of mathematical and statistical methods to books and other media of communication”.

USER EDUCATION

User Education can be defined as a program to guide and to instruct the potential users either individually or collectively. User education is an action taken by the Library staff to train / educate their users so as to make full use of the existing knowledge to develop their community.

ALA Glossary defines user education as it encompasses all types of activities designed to teach users about library services, facilities and organizations library resources and search strategy.

User education can be defined in the context of electronic sources of Information as educating the users how to operate computer and searching Information on Net using various search strategies and to educate them how to use electronic sources of information and various databases.

Users of the library must be convinced that continuing learning is worthwhile and that the process of education does not end with examination. They must have confidence to be learners and to stand of their own, to possess autonomy to select and to direct their own future study experience. User education has been defined by Mews as “instruction given to readers to help them to make best use of library”. User education was not solely to stimulate library use as this but one of the sources of Information. According to Nancy, Fjalbarnt and Lan Malley “ User Education is concerned with the whole Information and communication process and one part if this involves the total interaction of the users the library. This should be a continuous process starting with schools and public libraries and with possibility of extension to academic and specialized libraries. According to Jacques Tacathan, Director of UNESCO general Information Program “User Education is to include any effort or program which will guide and instruct existing and potential user in the recognition and information service and their assessment.

INTRODUCTION

Libraries have become Library and Information Centers (LIC) and Knowledge Resource Centers (KRC). Many LICs and KRCs have stepped forward towards establishing Digital Libraries and Digital Repositories. These wings require the professionals with adequate qualifications and should have good command over the latest technologies. The trained candidates prior to their recruitment may immediately take up a project with a challenge. The professionals who are in service may enhance their skills through sponsorships to long term / short term programs.

In the present era, LIS is treated as multi-disciplinary subject and has integration with all newly emerging subjects. The other side, the LIS departments in the Universities have to respond properly (towards requirement) in incorporating suitable latest topics in their curricula and implement it very strictly. The research activity in LIS field in the country has to grow suitably along with the developed countries. In Andhra Pradesh, similar response is needed from the Government in providing and releasing funds to the state universities to start LIS departments. The preference has to be given by the State Government to LIS research in public libraries in proportionate with Science, Humanities and Social Science libraries. In future, it is expected that the LIS research should lead.

INTRODUCTION

The emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has made the libraries more powerful in the collection development, processing and retrieval of information. The advent of internet has not only made it possible to connect the libraries over the world, but also to search a huge repository of databases. The technology has developed to online system to connect commercialize vendors as well as learned societies with the databases to seek and obtain the needed information. The use of computer and digital technologies in teaching and learning has been evolved not just through the increase of distance learning or virtual courses but through the use of cyber education as an adjunct to the traditional classroom. This increased the trend of access to technology in Library and Information Centers and has given the opportunity to use those resources and improve the skill. In order to acquaint themselves with the new technological environment, the users are required to be more conversant with those skills.

Libraries & Information Centers play an important role in supporting the teaching, learning, research and extension programme of universities. These are made possible by building and developing good collection of selected documents both in print as well as digital form and by supporting it with various services for their dissemination. There is such an exponential growth of information in today’s era that students, faculties, research scholars often lack the scope of getting proper education or instruction to use those resources to the optimum possible limit. To overcome this difficulty and to maximize the use of such resources proper library instruction must be imparted to the user community which is otherwise known as Library User Education.

INTRODUCTION

Research and teaching increasingly rely on global networks for the creation, storage, evaluate, and disseminate the knowledge. The 21^st century has brought enormous change in higher education throughout the world as a result of new information and technological developments. We are outfitting our schools, libraries, and homes with electronic technologies, but are we preparing our students and teachers for the onslaught of information that is provided by these technologies? What happens when the student can get more information from the Internet than previously conveyed by a teacher or a textbook? What should a student do when faced with so many informational possibilities ? Which of the information is credible and which is not?

The teacher’s role must evolve from the giver of knowledge into being more of a coach or guide. Teachers, librarians, administrators, and the community must collaborate to develop ways to involve the student not only in using classroom materials but also in using resources from the broader community and the mass media.

Teachers must be prepared to teach student to become critical thinkers, intellectually curious observers, creators, and users of information. In this context university libraries need to be dynamic, take a leading role in assessing the information literacy and computer literacy competence of the teachers and plan for conducting such programmes to improve the situation. One such attempt has been made by the Authors and the result is reported here.

INTRODUCTION

Library and information centers are primarily service institutions which are expected to provide information to the entire satisfaction of user groups. However, in recent times, it is observed that there is conglomeration of several services in a pin-pointed manner in which the libraries are facing problem of confusion. Therefore, leading library and information centers have started adopting emerging management principles and practices in their functions and operations. Among all these new traits of management the concept of quality management appears to have a dynamic impact upon the improvement of organizational objective and functions. Since agriculture libraries are vibrant information organizations their quality of services needs to be improved in the modern technological era. The application of Total Quality Management (TQM) is one of the vital aspects of the management techniques that appears to be very much applicable and can bring about a great transformation in quality of library services. The present paper makes an analytic discussion on the applicability of TQM in Agriculture Libraries in India.

INTRODUCTION

Information has now become one of the basic needs of human being in addition to air, water, food and shelter. There is no human activity in the world without information. It is a basic raw material for right decision making from the governmental level to the personal level. It is an indispensable tool for teachers and research scholars.

Now-a-days, ICT advancements and developments have changed the libraries from mere store house of printed materials into gateways to knowledge of the world of information. The collection of modern library is not restricted to print media only but libraries are adding e-resources to their existing collections. Users need not come to library to meet their information needs. They may use online catalogue, web based database, online e-journals etc remote from library. In view of the above, information need and seeking pattern of users particularly research scholars are likely to change. Based on this, an attempt has been made to study on use pattern of electronic resources by Physics and Chemistry research scholars.

INTRODUCTION

Digital libraries are a set of electronic resources and associated technical capabilities for creating, searching, and using Information; they are an extension and enhancement of information storage and retrieval systems that manipulate digital data in any medium. The content of digital libraries includes data and metadata. Digital libraries are constructed, Collected, and organized by a community of users and their functional capabilities support the information needs and uses of that community.

A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system. Man is a communicator of information, not simply a user of tools. The history of civilization is the history of improved means of communication. Man always desires to improve the means of communicating. Documents are the artifacts of recorded knowledge that is information. Documents are meant for communication knowledge to larger audiences. Libraries have stored and served the documents to the users.

Thus, libraries have performed as one of the links between generators of information and its users. The developments of libraries from print paper based libraries to digital libraries seem an illustration of man’s never-ending desire to improve his means of communication. In the digital world highway, there is stress on three factors (a) Awareness of information: it provides breadth of vision (b) awareness of technology: gives the power to make the visions manifest, and (c) awareness of needs facilitates the insight to use professional skills and talents to greater effect.

1. INTRODUCTION

With the rapid development of Information Communication Technology (ICT), many new services have been introduced in libraries to satisfy the need of users in a better way. Institutional Repository is a type of information service which involves collection, organization, preservation and dissemination of digital scholarly materials such as theses, dissertations, technical reports, journal articles and teaching materials. It is created and maintained by an individual library/ organization or a group of libraries/organizations with an aim to preserve the institutional knowledge .Thus basically it is an online locus for collecting, preserving and disseminating the intellectual output of an academic or research institution in digital form, created and maintained by the institution itself.

“Clifford Lynch defines “ a university based Institutional Repositories as a set of services that a university offers to the members of its community for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the institution and its community members. It is most essentially an organizational commitment to the stewardship of these digital materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate, as well as organization and access or distribution” ¹

Similarly Mark defines IR as “An institutional repository (IR) is defined to be a web-based database (repository) of scholarly material which is institutionally defined (as opposed to a subject-based repository); cumulative and perpetual (a collection of record); open and interoperable (e.g. using OAI-compliant software); and thus collects, stores and disseminates (is part of the process of scholarly communication). In addition, most would include long-term preservation of digital materials as a key function of IRs”²

INTRODUCTION

Information services are keys to the development of agriculture education, research and extension education in India. The services are rendered by the agricultural department, university, college and ICAR institute libraries. In changing scenario the users of libraries access the information themselves from various sources such as computer, internet, television, e-governance, videoconferencing, call centers, mobile phones and other electronic sources from anywhere, at any time as and when required.

Agricultural trends are changing everyday with the development of new research techniques and technologies and in support of this a heterogeneous knowledge is available in the form of various electronic sources. To make the best of emerging technologies in agriculture, it is vital that agricultural students, scientists, research scholars, academicians, extension workers, agriculturalists receive continuous information on education, research, extension work, training and to the cultivators on topics such as pesticide management, use of better seeds, irrigation and use etc. for the development of farm and farming. With the introduction of new technology that affects both their processes and products, libraries become more and more hybrid organizations. Hybrid libraries are mixes of traditional print material like books and magazines, as well as electronic based material such as downloadable audio books, electronic journals, e-books, etc. Because of this shift, libraries face many challenges, the most important of which is the competition for scarce resources. In this competition libraries have to change the allocation of resources from the more traditional processes like circulation to more value added processes like direct self-services to their patrons. The FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, providing behind the scenes assistance to help people help themselves.

INTRODUCTION

Andries Van Dam of Brown University, USA coined the term electronic book. E-books are print versions of books, which exist in electronic formats and can be read on a machine. The development of e-book started around 1960s by Alan Kay, called the Dyna Book. Stephen King’s ‘Riding the Bullet’ was one of the most popular electronic books available on the web. The electronic documents are easy to access, easy to search, inexpensive and economy in storage. An e-book can be purchased/borrowed, downloaded, and used immediately, whereas to buy a printed book, one must go to a bookshop, or library etc. It can reduce photocopying activities. The concept of Digital library was created based on the electronic documents.

The transfer of ownership of an e-book author is very difficult, whereas such transfer is possible in printed books. It is cheaper and easier for authors to self-publish e-books when compared to printed form. In electronic format there is no hold on licensing. The problems with e-documents are lack of long term access, dependence on the computer, lack of standardization and less permanent. Digital Right Management system is one of the most important development of electronic publishing. It has control over intellectual property. The e-publishers are more concerned about rights. They are offering limited usage for printing, downloading and copying.

INTRODUCTION

The Digital Library concept has evolved to provide solutions for storage, access, dissemination, content delivery and it paved way to mobile library, as we can browse and share content while on the move. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has given a new shape to the learning process, which includes reading, understanding and gaining information, which becomes knowledge. As the type of format of information changed from written to e-format, libraries assumed the role of digital libraries.

The library is a place which holds the information resources in print and digital formats. The concept of digital library is a major success as it came out of closed four walls of library and reached readers in their home, workplace and even while traveling, with the help of mobile electronic gadgets like laptop, palmtop, e-Book reader etc. e-Learning technology is a wonderful gift provided by the present day technological advancement and innovations. e-Learning is the convergence of learning and the Internet’ and it has brought about profound changes around the globe in the way people learn and train, allowing them to do it anywhere, any time. Through the World Wide Web the users can access e-content from any point, off or in campus, through a computer and connectivity.

INTRODUCTION

Libraries are social institutions bestowed with the responsibility of storing preserving the cultural heritage of accounting and making them available for use to the community. The inherent characteristics of artifacts, the storage conditions and the type; intensity and amount of the processes of monitoring the physical condition of the library’s materials and taking action to prevent future deterioration are critical issues. Preservation issues can be defined as those that relate to the longevity of materials, while conservation issues include handling and storage. Ironically, books published since the beginning of the 20^th century are more likely to decay than the older books. Other modern materials such as microfilm, photographs, videotapes, and films have unique preservation need.

INTRODUCTION

Digital resources are growing at an exponential rate and uncountable stacks of resources are available on the web. Semantic based search engines and meta-search engines stimulate resource discovery on digital collections1. During recent years an increasing quantity and variety of digital material has been created or held by libraries, and consequently many standards have been developed to encode different catego-ries of metadata for specific object types. Metadata today is an essential phenomenon for electronic cataloguing, federated searching, and open URLs. Selecting metadata is perceived to be essential for the librarians in pursuing long-term management and preservation of digital objects in digital library. Metadata is also important for digital archivists, database developers, resource authors, web-page designers, aggregators, system designers, as well as seekers of electronic information. In fact, metadata is inevitable for digital resource management and for discovering information from a large distributed environment. Metadata is expected to improve matching by standardizing the structure2 and content of indexing or cataloguing information. The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standards (METS) were developed to deal with diverse metadata is-sues. It is an XML Schema designed as an overall framework3 within which all the metadata associ-ated with a single digital object can be stored or referred to. It enables effective management of digital objects within the repository; acts as a standard for transferring metadata within repositor-ies, facilitates access and navigation by the researcher, and links the digital object and its meta-data inextricably together.

INTRODUCTION

Education, as is widely argued is a method of knowledge sharing and distance education is a concept in education that is widely prevalent. Several people around the world qualify themselves through this mode of education. Though widely popular, it has its limitations with respect to production, reproduction and distribution costs, however, the role of distance education is shifting (Caswell et al. 2008). This shift is accomplished with the help of technology, which reduces and almost nullifies the reproduction costs (Caswell et al. 2008). This is a step towards making the quality of life of learners around the world improve (Caswell et al. 2008). Further as Caswell et al. (2008), rightly quote that, this is also the beginning of a movement to ensure the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 26, which declares that everyone has the right to education and “technical and professional education shall be made generally available” (United Nations, 1948).

Distance learning made possible through the help of technology specifically the internet or e-learning is not a new concept. Several individual course materials are available online (Baldi et al. 2003). However, systematically organizing and structuring the academic course materials from different disciplines and easy retrieval of such information is a sign of innovation (Baldi et al. 2003). This innovation which is currently made possible through initiatives of different Universities, institutes of learning and organizations is popularly titled Open Course Ware (OCW).

INTRODUCTION

Libraries are undergoing rapid changes due to the developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT). Paper based resources are giving way to electronic resources. The dynamic linking capability of web has provided users unrestricted access to information. ICT has brought massive changes in distance mode of education. ICT has helped to introduce many virtual universities in the world, which are operated through Internet and other telecommunication technologies. The e-learning library should organize and present the e-learning resources and services in a way that help users to locate and retrieve materials needed efficiently.

At present e-portals of various organizations come across as gateway for the websites that aggregates information from variety of sources, providing access to information network and set of services through the web. For examples the libraries of National Research Centers of India, Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The approach of learning of these institutes doesn’t mean composed, organized and packaged e-information resources in a blogging pattern but it is comprehensive and fully accessible to the user as reader and writer. Undoubtedly, a study of e-library environment of these institutes immensely helps us in evaluate the potential of proliferation of digitalization of libraries in India.

INTRODUCTION

Library networks and cooperatives were formed to provide support among libraries, leveraging staff and resources to provide cost-effective and efficient services that the libraries individually could not afford. By 1960s, the networks and cooperatives were focusing on automation; it was through them that library automation was introduced and pioneering efforts in resource sharing began. As the world of libraries changed, other services became the business of networks and cooperatives. Frequently, services initiated by networks were later integrated into the daily operations of individual libraries. Examples of such pioneering services included Internet connectivity and training; teleconferencing; services to special populations; distance learning; database licensing and training. Hence the discipline of LIS meant to manage and provide information service may not be taught effectively and practiced perfectly through a framed curriculum in the formal education stream alone. Driven by the market demands and user needs, the discipline is embracing other disciplines like computers, communication technology research etc. Library consortia and networking are not new to the library community as it is the latest phrase of the so-called library cooperation, library networks and so on. We have talked a lot about the issues that caused the lack of successful implementation of library networks in India. Of them, technology and economics are very important factors for realizing a successful cooperation. We talked about the solutions that are of global in nature but never suited Indian environments with its economic background. The result is that we developed library networks, but nothing to share. And then we realized that we need to develop information resources in the electronic form so that library networks become effective for the purposes they were setup. We have had number of conferences, meetings, publications etc on discussing the bibliographic formats, standards and the software to host these resources. There was a lot of initiatives by networks such as INFLIBNET, DELNET and other library networks supported by NISSAT to formulate bibliographic standards and formats that is suitable for Indian environment. And the database development activities started. Union catalogs of serials, thesis and dissertations were developed followed by catalog of books. Web enabled search interfaces were also developed for searching. However, union catalog system will be effective only when they are supported by efficient and timely document delivery system.

INTRODUCTION

Library Consortia is the sharing of resources among the libraries based on a number and utility over their respected areas. The resources that are shared in today’s consortia atmosphere are largely in electronic form such as electronic journals and databases. The aim of consortia is to accomplish what the members of the group cannot achieve individually, and its intention is sharing of resources, manpower and money, etc. It is regarded as a valuable strategy to increase the buying power and risk-sharing capacity of academic libraries over a short term. It is also a chance to maximize the opportunities for joint collection development and resource sharing over the long term. A consortium has the ability to share resources without forfeiting the individuality of member library. As a result, the end-users can collect the benefits of more resources than would be accessible through one library, while staff can adapt the system to meet their individual library’s needs. It can be a single agency with multiple locations around the world, all sharing one name, or the consortia members can retain their own name, but use the name of the consortia to recognize that they are the part of a larger, often worldwide, organization. It acts as director for the electronic resource sharing at the national, regional and local levels. The accessibility of IT-based electronic information products put forth portions of their budgetary allocation for either acquiring or accessing web-based online full-text search services, online databases shared services, on the one hand, permits flourishing consumption and desktop access to electronic resources at highly increasing users demands and growing cost of journals.

INTRODUCTION

Information literacy has been the subject of many studies over many years. The originating concept of information literacy is generally attributed to Paul Zurkowski, in 1974 (Spitzer, Eisenberg & Lowe 1998). Indeed, since 1974 information literacy has been an area of increasing interest to librarians and information professionals and there is a huge amount of literature on the topic. However, the majority of publications have come from the industrialised, English-speaking countries, especially from the United States and Australia. Information literacy is related to information technology skills, but has broader implications for the individual, the educational system, and for society. Information literacy is a natural extension of the concept of literacy in our information society. Information literacy education is the catalyst required to transform the information society of today into the learning society of tomorrow. IL is generally seen as pivotal to the pursuit of lifelong learning, and central to achieving both personal empowerment and economic development. Information literacy is a key component of, and contributor to, lifelong learning. Information literacy is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological changes and proliferating information resources. Because of the escalating complexity of this environment, individuals are faced with diverse and abundant information choices—in their studies, in the workplace, and in their personal lives. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self directed, and assume greater control over their own learning.

The phrase “information skills” (rather than information literacy) is used, for example, by the Standing Conference of National and University Libraries (SCONUL) in the name of its Task Force, and was used by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) when tendering for a project looking at training in UK further and higher education.

Information literacy competency ensures maximum utilization of the information resources as well as optimization of information handling capabilities.. Information literacy competency extends learning beyond formal classroom settings and provides practice with self-directed investigations as individuals move into internships, first professional positions, and increasing responsibilities in all arenas of life. Because information literacy augments students ’ competency with evaluating, managing, and using information, it is now considered by several regional and discipline-based accreditation associations as a key outcome for college students and for “on campus “ students..

INTRODUCTION

In the current climate of rapid change, whether political, economical, social or technological, the importance of knowledge cannot be ignored. Knowledge plays a crucial role in the development of the society which is based on the development of the individual person of that society. Once society is developed automatically the nation will develop. Developed countries have already realized the importance of knowledge and accordingly collected and organized properly. The developing countries like India are now realizing its importance. It has been felt that without knowledge society and then nation cannot be developed.

On this backdrop someone has to come forward and act as a broker between those who have knowledge and those who may use it. No doubt, knowledge cannot be well managed until some organization or professional takes the clear responsibility of it. Library professionals are the right persons to shoulder this responsibility.

Knowledge is action. It is a value-added behavior and activity. It provides the ability to respond to a novel situation. The person having knowledge can take right decision at right time in any critical situation. Such decisions will definitely get fruitful results. Therefore it should not be neglected. It must be focused and shared.

INTRODUCTION

For centuries, social and technological changes have been affecting every profession. During the last two decades rapid technological development has affected library services as well. Specifically for the last five years, Web 2.0 technologies have significant impact on the higher education sector as well on the libraries all over world. Tim O’Reilly invented the term Web 2.0 in 2004

INTRODUCTION

The phenomenal growth and reach of World Wide Web (www) has been one of the most significant developments in the last few years. It has rapidly gained popularity and has become most widely used application of the Internet. Today, the World Wide Web has emerged as the most powerful medium for information publishing and access. A plethora of information sources.

The user friendly interface and hypertext features of Web have been attracting a significant number of users as well as information providers. The web-based e-services are increasingly being used by research communities as a viable means to access to a plethora of digital resources in networked information environment. Concomitantly, utilization of such electronic methods and means is expanding substantially throughout the chain of e-research and scientific knowledge production.

INTRODUCTION

The World Wide has become one of the most important media for sharing information resources, digital documents, images, movies and various other types of resources. The research results, new findings, and opinions can also be put on the web from any where at any time. Owing to the dynamic nature of web information, the contents of many websites and their web pages are constantly being updated to reflect the latest changes.

The Web has also freed the user‘s dependence on library resources for finding information related to address and contact details of a person/institution, contents pages of books, journals, etc. Looking at the web has become an innovative trend in the reference service to complement dated print sources. At present many academic institutes in India have their own website and present all kinds of information about themselves. Information content is, however, one thing; Web site design and organisation is quite another matter. The existing institutions of Web sites are as different as are the institutions because even a high-quality institution may have a low-quality Web site that turns users off. Obviously, different institutions have a wide range of target groups, level of service, resources etc. Stover (1997) has outlined the different types of Web sites that academic, public and special libraries have created.

INTRODUCTION

The term open source describes the practices in production and development that promote access to the end product’s source materials. Open Source Software (OSS) came into existence with the development of ICTs. The services and the collections of the libraries and information centres are becoming global due to the application of Information Communication Technologies. Information can now be accessed from even the remote places with the help of internet. The term “open source” refers to software that includes the original source code, used to create it so that users can modify it writing to their requirements.

It also includes the right of redistribution; therefore, there may be products that are based on other open source products. While the software may be free, a developer or distributor may charge for services such as special programming, installation, training and technical support, etc. In general, the source code of OSS is widely accessible, freely available and reusable. Now the institutions especially the academic institutions are starting to build their own repository to serve their community locally and globally.

RISE OF INFORMATION INDUSTRY

Market place created by the convergence of computers, telecommunication and microelectronics. The whole business is depend on marketing, therefore marketing of any product is the whole business seen from the point to point of view of its final result, that is from the customers point of view. Thus marketing means art of selling of working with market to actualize potential exchanges for the purpose of satisfying human needs and wants. It is the systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.

GLITCH IN INFORMATION INDUSTRY

Today information industry is a buss word every day user vista is opening. Some companies believe there are no new opportunities. They believe this information industry in mature that they are selling a commodity. But there is no such thing as a mature market or a commodity. It’s only getting in the way of imagination. Starbucks didn’t see the coffee market as mature.

Lateral marketing is to think of product in relation to another product service or idea. Through the thinking across two products rather than cereals plus a snack. Instead of putting loose cereal in a box, they use the cereal in the from of a snack bar that can be carried and eaten any time. This health bar suddenly people are able to consume cereal any time of the day in a conrenient form.

Marketing Guru Philips Kotler defines marketing as the analysis, planning implementation and control of carefully formulated programmes, designed to bring about voluntary exchanges of values with targets, markets for the purpose of achieving on designing the organization offering in terms of target markets need and desired on using effective pricing communication and distribution to inform, motivate and service the markets. Marketing brings in an element of competition. This will result in providing better services.

INTRODUCTION

‘Library is to Education’ as ‘Soul is to Body’. Library has always been central to education and self-improvement. Library is like an ocean of knowledge. One can find information in a library in almost all areas, be it history, politics, economics, geography, science, fiction, computers, or technology a library has it all. A library is like the whole world encompassed in one room. It is very essential to the education and school system. Libraries are an integral part of the education system and one is incomplete without the other. Francis Bacon quoted that Libraries are the shrines where all the relics of the ancient saints, full of true virtue without delusion or imposture, are preserved and reposed.

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

India consists of 28 states, 6 union territories and a national capital territory having a rich and diverse culture spanning many years. The Constitution of India distributed the powers between the Union and the States in three lists such as Union list, State list and Concurrent list. Education is in the Concurrent List. Under the State list, state governments are exclusively responsible for education in their respective states. Union government is responsible for maintaining national and integrative character of education under the Union list. But both state and central government share responsibility for education in case of partnership under the Concurrent list.

INTRODUCTION

‘Society’, this word is derived from the Latin word ‘socius’ which literally means a companion. Society is complex organism constituted by persons bound in willing allegiance to some common standards of psychological approach and outward behavior [10]. The story of libraries reflects the social, economical, cultural and educational needs to which libraries have responded. In preliterate society, human beings depended on live memory and the spoken words. By 2700 BC, the Sumerians had established private and government libraries for preserving their varied writings for use in the form of clay tablets. Ancient Egypt, from where writing was developed, produced some libraries which were composed of papyrus rolls [11]. So we can see, from the very initial stage of the society; books, papers, manuscripts, drawings, copper plates and other articles were being presented to it by various sources. We know that there is close relation between books and society. Healthy society is the creation of sound mind by books. Without sound mind, social progress can not be achieved properly. Every significant book may reflect distinct period of history. It is not essential to say that an author and his works can create new culture and lead to social changes. The books of authors of different countries in the world had / have a long influence on society [3].

In this present era, literature and knowledge is growing very fast and for their proper collection, preservation and to properly disseminate to people, we need public libraries. Society always depends on smooth growth and this growth is neither willful nor arbitrary[10]; it is consistent and systematic. For smooth and systemic growth of society, the government of different countries and states in the world have established schools, colleges and universities. No doubt, the government, different organizations, industrialists have to give priority to drinking water, sanitation and other conveniences. On the other hand, to remove illiteracy or to educate the citizens/nations and to introduce the human beings with phenomenal explosion of knowledge and information, government and other reputed agencies have established and also are establishing public libraries whose services play a vidal role in national progress and development.

This chapter is based on literature reviews on urban regeneration with the intention to record and appreciate the perception of urban regeneration as reflected by the experiences of regeneration attempts in Europe and the United States. Since India owes much of her urbanization characteristics of the contemporary era to the colonial days, a special focus is on the experiences of U.K. The chapter also deals with early civilization and understanding of Urbanism, Impact of industrial Revolution and discusses Cities of South Asia. This attempt acts as a window to view cities as centres of power and performance, the assets of a city are discussed and the declining factors observed, a view necessitated out of the exercise is to look at cities on their own merits, demerits and policies, the programme for renewing would stem out of these inherent qualities which make these cities stand apart. The third and concluding part discusses some of the successful efforts of regeneration in the West and specifies on the strategies drawn for regeneration as a product of declining factors, the capacity to withstand change and available resources.

A world view of Transportation system of renowned urban centers

While discussing urban regeneration and observing cities, it is impossible to overlook the importance of the transportation system and its impact on the urban form of a city. For example, if one observes a typical industrial city plan, one would notice that radial corridors of development generated from the city core stand out in contrast to the intricate detailing of vehicular roads added later on in due course of time.

The increase in vehicular traffic brings in new patterns of fast moving lanes. To clear the congestion created by ever increasing number of motor cars, larger cities need new road patterns and parking spaces, even public transportation needs new interventions and congestion of buses gives way to systems like mass rapid rail

Historic Cities Of India: Description And Its Classification

At this stage it is vital to take a look at ‘historic’ cities of our country with a view of better understanding, it is important to understand the basic components that constitute a historic city. Can we arrive at the number of such cities presently in India.

In the absence of an official definition of a ‘historic city’, it is hazardous to answer the above question in terms of a specific number. The census of India does define ‘urban area’ but does not venture to define historic cities. Considering the long history of its culture, it may be said that a majority of the Indian cities are historic.

Review of literature revealed that Indian historic cities need to be addressed with a deeper concern than they have been so far. The general trends of transformations of historic cities including Indian historic cities exhibit a recognizable pattern and it is possible to identify Indian historic cities on the basis of at least two indisputable grounds

The role of fringe cannot be ignored in the city development process. It is interesting to study the pattern and characteristics of fringe in developing cities. The chapter focuses on the phenomenon of urban fringe of Pune and also discusses strategies for further development. The study deals with some of the variables of change like demographic pattern, land use, and infrastructure in fringe area villages.

Historical Growth of Pune City

Pune’s origin date back at least two thousand years, it was a small settlement called ‘Kasbe’ and developed into a metropolitan region over the period of time. Its basic unit of development can be identified as ‘wada’ - a traditional house. In due time these developed into ‘peths’, which were planned complexes including residences of all types, commercial areas, parks, playgrounds, police station etc.

During 13^th to 17^th century, the city was under the control of Muslim rulers. Pune gained importance in 1630s, when it was declared as capital of Maratha kingdom. Pune’s importance grew in this period and many peths were developed to cope with the increasing requirements. The town changed hands between Maratha and Mughals before the British gained control of it in 1818. The Pune cantonment and Kirkee cantonment were established by British to guard the entry points. Development of cantonment areas started in this period and Parsi families constructed spacious bungalows which gave an image to the city.

To draw regeneration strategies for a city it is important to understand the city, therefore physical as well as social transformations, major events in history should be observed and analyzed. The strength of a regeneration technique lies in discovering the potential thrust areas for the city.

In order to have a better understanding of the urban setting of an Indian historic city, the ancient city of Allahabad is discussed. The history and development of this ancient city has been studied in a chronological fashion. This part of the book focuses on the period:

From antiquity to the revolt of 1857, city’s inherent potential as a popular pilgrim center, and also the phenomenon of Kumbh. Further exploring the sacredness of Allahabad. Why Allahabad is regarded as a Tirthraj? And what sacred elements constitute the ‘Prayag’ of olden times? Apart from Sangam, confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, the city is also known for Temples, namely, the Bharadwaj Ashram, Nag Basuki, Mankameshwar.

The British administration, with an intention of ruling over India, viewed Allahabad as a city of the future. They saw the prospect of a glorious future in Allahabad and planned the city in a manner to project it as a center of Education, Culture and Administration. With religious bearings already an established feature, this, added to its charm and growing potential. This chapter covers the crucial ninety years of development in the city before Independence. The observations and findings are recorded and commented upon, these help in analyzing the exact nature of rise and decline, this city faced in years to come.

ALLAHABAD : AN ESTABLISHED CENTER OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE (1858-1947)

In the following section the focus is on the Kumbh mela, its rising popularity and the presence of cultural institutes, their functioning and role in developing the city into a prominent urban centre. During the period 1858-1947, the importance of Kumbh grew, it is evident from the records that the number of pilgrims visiting Allahabad during the Magh increased.

THE DECLINE OF A COLONIAL CAPITAL TOWN

The Post Independence Scenario

It is believed that it takes more time to build and less to demolish, but strangely, in case of Allahabad, it took less time to build but much more to ruin it. As discussed in the last chapter, the peak was reached in about 34 years from 1868 to 1902, the period from 1903 to 1942 being the most constructive years in the history of Allahabad. From the inception of the High Court in 1868 to the formation of the Muir Central College in 1872, to being the capital of the provinces in 1902, Allahabad was regarded as a front runner in the field of Education and Culture.

The city regarded as a ‘production house’, nurtured talent and produced academicians and administrators, who contributed immensely in the process of nation building. The scenario after 1947 however changed drastically, it seemed, as if the city of Allahabad had exhausted its definite role in the freedom struggle, serving only as a preparatory ground which guided young minds to face the future with confidence. Its literary associations, libraries, university and other schools created an intellectual environment which propelled young talents to national fame. The civil services examinations were successfully cleared by many students of the university in those times, this was a result of quality education and an intellectually surcharged environment.

Independent India had lot of promises to fulfill and great expectations from the citizens. Delhi, the capital of Free India, was the focus of these activities. The emergence of new power centers and subsequent development of business and industrial centers, namely, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and later Bangalore, shifted the focus of development from regional, small cities to these new centers. This quantum jump, saw cities of the like Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, trail behind, as they were suddenly reduced in the current perspective and referred to as places in a historical perspective. Post Independence phase created huge opportunity for talented people, academicians, politicians, members of the judiciary, were asked to participate in the running of the nation. Allahabad’s role probably at this point of time, around 1947, seemed to be receding and the city was beginning to be ignored and conveniently forgotten. It slowly became a museum, with only old tales to tell.

This chapter discusses the decline of Allahabad, particularly institutional decline and also traces the earlier efforts in planning of the city. It is here we look for grey areas which would help in finding the exact causes of the physical decline that beset the city.

The problem of haphazard and chaotic development in Allahabad can be traced to the existence of Nazul Lease. The major development of the city under the colonial rule started around 1868, with the inception of the Civil Station, the status of the British inhabitants was further strengthened by the creation of Lease status, the land was basically leased out for a certain specified time period. There were four types of Leases

The City of Kumbh: Temporary Township and its major concern

From antiquity Allahabad has been regarded as a centre of pilgrimage [Table 9.a.]. The number of pilgrims visiting the city during Kumbh shows a steady rise, a clear indication of its popularity over the years. The official record shows 25 lac pilgrims in 1906, the first Mela of twentieth century, the number rose to 30 lac in 1918 and by 1930 recorded an increase of nearly 60%. There was a decline however due to the World War II, in 1942.

EMERGENCE OF ALLAHABAD AS A LITERARY CENTER

The period between 1865 to 1936 can be called the ‘literary ’ period of Allahabad (Refer table10.a.). The press was powerful and there were a number of national dailies which came out from the city. Hindi Sahitya Sammelan established in 1911and Prayag Sangeet Samiti in 1925 were the biggest achievements of Allahabad, these institutes were of national repute and strengthened the cultural bearings of the city. A total of 82 libraries functioned during this period, Allahabad was also known as the ‘intellectual’ capital of the country.

Delhi, Capital City

Delhi, the capital of India has a unique urban sprawl. This city is an urban maze comprising of old heritage areas like walled city Shahjahanabad, Lutyens New Delhi and the newer areas built after independence. Delhi has been the capital of our country for centuries. In 1947 it became the capital of free and independent India. In 1956 was made a Union territory and National Capital Territory on 1^st February’1992.

Situated between the Himalayan and the Aravali range. It is surrounded on three sides by Haryana and on the east by Uttar Pradesh. The total area of the territory is 1,483 sq.km. The climate is extreme dryness with intense hot summer and extreme cold winters. NCT has 209 villages and 7 towns including the Delhi Urban Agglomerations.

Introduction

The rapid pace of urbanisation and abrupt growth of population in few large cities in India has become a standing menace to balanced socio-economic development of India. The rapid pace of development in cities had always attracted investors and entrepreneurs to set their enterprises leading to creation of employment opportunities in these cities. On the contrary, the lack of opportunities in rural areas has created a backwash effect leading to creation of slums in and around potential growth poles (i.e. large cities and growing cities).

In case of Allahabad, it is evident that a major thrust catapulting the city to an invincible position was experienced immediately after 1857. These changes in the character of Allahabad along its journey which witnessed the resurgence of the pilgrim town into a front ranking educational and cultural node also saw the shades of capital center and finally its transition into a low profile city which today has lost its vitality and seem to be comparable to a non functioning muffossil town of Uttar Pradesh. The facts and figures representing the key events and a survey of the city enable us to establish a direct relationship between the functions and performance of the city.

The first part of the chapter is based on the inferences from the study on Allahabad covered earlier. The second part deals with testing these facts on ground by conducting interviews with eminent individuals who had been deeply associated with education and cultural status of Allahabad. The third part consists of the final inferences. Some critical conclusions are also borne out reflecting a clearer understanding of the phenomenon of decline of Allahabad.

Citizens’ Perceptions And City Revival : An Approach To Regeneration

Regeneration Strategies To Be Case Specific And Based On Citizens Perception

It is important to realise the driving force of the inherent potential of a city. In case of Allahabad, the Master Plan guidance was framed since 1950 but it is surprising that the role of the city as a cultural and educational node has not been sufficiently recognized and reflected in the Plan document. We still witness the development of the city like any other city of the state where special areas or historic precincts are surrounded by non-descript structures. It was essential to reach out to the citizens of Allahabad and to know their views on the growth and decline. The perception of citizens would give an idea about their belief regarding the degree of amendments needed in regenerating the city.

1.1 Introduction

In India Agriculture was practiced formerly on a subsistence level, the villages were self sufficient people exchanged their goods and services within the village on a barter basis. With the development of means of transport and storage facilities, agriculture has become commercial in character; the farmer grows those crops that fetch a better price. Marketing of agri produce is considered as an integral part of agriculture, since an agriculturist is encouraged to make more investment to increase production. Thus there is an increasing awareness that it is not enough to produce a crop but it must be marketed. It involves buying and selling of agri-produce. In olden days the farmer sold his produce directly to the consumer on cash or barter basis. Presently it has undergone a series of transfers/exchanges from one hand to another before it reaches consumers. National Commision on Agriculture terms agricultural marketing as a process which starts with a decision to produce a saleable farm commodity and involves all aspects of market structure of system, both functional and institutional based on technoeconomic considerations that include pre & postharvest operations, assembling,grading,storage,transportation and distribution but as per ICAR it is the assembling,processing & distribution. Inadequacies of present Indian agrimarketing system being improper warehouses,lack of grading,standardization,inadequate transport facilities,presence of large number of middlemen,unregulated markets, inadequate market information and credit facilities etc. Characteristics of agri-products being seasonal and perishable has to be colleted from various places ,stored & marketed with proper price. Existing agri-marketing system in India refers to sale through money lenders, hats,mandies(wholesalers) or co-operative marketing. Improvement of Agri-market system refers to regulated markets,constructing warehouses, provision for grading,standardization of produce (seal of AGMARK) and Weights & measures, daily broadcast of market price and transport facilities, market surveys etc.

2.1 Introduction

Government provides various subsidies for agricultural produce. And seeds are also subsidized products. Anyone would like to buy for cheap. Can you imagine what role the government can play in making a product subsidized and making it available for consumption? Let's look at seeds in particular. To understand how the government reaches the rural corners, we need to understand the government model for distribution and control. Every District has a District Development Administrator (DDA) / District Agriculture Officer (DAO). Every district comprises of approximately five Block Offices. Now every Block office has a Subject Matter Specialists (SMS), an Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) and some Agriculture Extension Officer (AEO). Each AEO is assigned a circle to work in (i.e. a designated area). The AEO collects the demand of his circle and reports to the ADO. The ADO confirms the same from every AEO and sends the final report to the SMS. The SMS forwards the demand to the DDA. Every block office is in charge of at least 50 panchayats and every panchayat has 5 villages. So this is how the government reaches the rural population.

3.1 Introduction

The green revolution has no doubt provided great increase in the production of food crops, but has led to a sizeable increase in energy use. With the cost of energy raising constantly and shortage faced in developing countries, the energy conservation given a special importance. It has been estimated that potential for conservation of commercial energy is around 20% in transport, 25% in industrial and 30 percent in agriculture. In a country like India where about 70% of people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture being the primary sector has got its importance. Mechanisation of agriculture is inevitable for farm productivity. Mechanization of agriculture has two forms job requiring traction work, mobile mechanization need the use of machines for such jobs as pulling and drawing efforts e.g. plowing and tillage operations like harrowing, leveling, rolling, seeding, harvesting and hauling .

4.1 Introduction

Issues of productivity growth and patterns of substitution in the fertilizer sector as well as in other energy intensive industries in India have been discussed from various perspectives. Historical estimates vary from indicating an improvement to a decline in the sector's productivity. The variation depends mainly on the time period considered, the source of data, the type of indices and econometric specifications used for reporting productivity growth. Regarding patterns of substitution most analyses focus on inter fuel substitution possibilities in the context of rising energy demand. Not much research has been conducted on patterns of substitution among the primary and secondary input factors: Capital, labour, energy and materials. However, analyzing the use and substitution possibilities of these factors as well as identifying the main drivers of productivity growth among these and other factors is of special importance for understanding technological and overall development of an industry.In this paper we contribute to the discussion on productivity growth and the role of technological change. We introduce the fertilizer industry in more detail taking into account industry specific aspects such as structural composition, production, technologies, energy consumption within processes, sector specific policies etc. This following we derive both statistical and econometric estimates of productivity growth for the fertilizer sector over time. For the statistical analysis we develop the Kendrick and Solow indices while for the econometric analysis a translog cost function approach using both cross-state and national thime series data is employed. The results are then interpreted within a broader context of structural and policy changes in the sector as well as other sector specific aspects.

5.1 Introduction

India ranks 10th in the world in pesticide consumption as its total consumption amounts to about 500 million tonnes. India is presently the largest manufacturer of basic pesticides among the South Asian and African countries, with the exception of Japan. The Indian pesticides market is the 12th largest in the world with a value of US $ 0.6 bn, which is 1.6% of the global market pie. India is one of the most dynamic generic pesticide industries in the world, having a total installed capacity of technical grade pesticides consisting of large and medium scale and 400 pesticide formulators (of all sectors) spread all over the country for use in agriculture, public health, household and plant protection. Overall, it can be said that there is a bright future for agro-chemical companies in India in the post-patent era. This paper focuses on the opportunities arising for companies dealing in pesticides because of the agrarian nature of the Indian economy. Besides, it presents a conceptual framework of the situation prevailing in the marketing of pesticides in India with special reference to Punjab.February 13,2009 (FPRC) — Indian Pesticides Industry - Vital for ensuring food security. Agriculture is the lynchpin of the Indian economy. Ensuring food security for more than 1 bn Indian population with diminishing cultivable land resource is a herculean task. This necessitates use of high yielding variety of seeds, balance use of fertilisers, judicious use of quality pesticides along with education to farmers and the use of modern farming techniques. It is estimated that India approximately loses 18% of the crop yield valued at Rs.900 bn due to pest attack each year. The use of pesticides help to reduce the crop losses, provide economic benefits to farmers, reduce soil erosion and help in ensuring food safety & security for the nation. The Indian pesticide industry with 85,000 MT of production during FY 07 is ranked second in Asia (behind China) and twelfth globally. In value terms, the size of the Indian pesticide industry was estimated at Rs.74 bn for 2007, including exports of Rs.29 bn.Globally, due to consolidation in the industry, the top five global MNCs control almost 78% of the market. In India, the industry is very fragmented with about 30-40 large manufacturers and about 400 formulators.The per hectare consumption of pesticide is low in India at 381 grams when compared to the world average of 500 grams. Low consumption can be attributed to fragmented land holdings, low level of irrigation, dependence on monsoons, low awareness among farmers about the benefits of usage of pesticides etc. India, being a tropical country, the consumption pattern is also more skewed towards insecticides which accounted for 64% of the total pesticide consumption in FY 07.

6.1 Introduction

The analysis of issues in agricultural credit in India reveals that the credit delivery to the agriculture sector continues to be inadequate. It appears that the banking system is still hesitant on various grounds to purvey credit to small and marginal farmers. The situation calls for concerted efforts to augment the flow of credit to agriculture, alongside exploring new innovations in product design and methods of delivery, through better use of technology and related processes. Facilitating credit through processors, input dealers, NGOs, etc., that are vertically integrated with the farmers, including through contract farming, for providing them critical inputs or processing their produce, could increase the credit flow to agriculture significantly.Agriculture plays a crucial role in the development of the Indian economy. It accounts for about 19 per cent of GDP and about two- thirds of the population is dependent on the sector. The importance of farm credit as a critical input to agriculture is reinforced by the unique role of Indian agriculture in the macroeconomic framework and its role in poverty alleviation. Recognising the importance of agriculture sector in India's development, the Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have played a vital role in creating a broad-based institutional framework for catering to the increasing credit requirements of the sector. Agricultural policies in India have been reviewed from time to time to maintain pace with the changing requirements of the agriculture sector, which forms an important segment of the priority sector lending of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) and target of 18 per cent of net bank credit has been stipulated for the sector. The Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan has set a target of 4 per cent for the agriculture sector within the overall GDP growth target of 9 per cent. In this context, the need for affordable, sufficient and timely supply of institutional credit to agriculture has assumed critical importance.

7.1 Introduction

Agriculture production and farm incomes in India are frequently affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, landslides and earthquakes. Susceptibility of agriculture to these disasters is compounded by the outbreak of epidemics and man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, price crashes etc. All these events severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and they are beyond the control of the farmers. With the growing commercialization of agriculture, the magnitude of loss due to unfavorable eventualities is increasing. The question is how to protect farmers by minimizing such losses. For a section of farming community, the minimum support prices for certain crops provide a measure of income stability. But most of the crops and in most of the states MSP is not implemented. In recent times, mechanisms like contract farming and future s trading have been established which are expected to provide some insurance against price fluctuations directly or indirectly. But, agricultural insurance is considered an important mechanism to effectively address the risk to output and income resulting from various natural and manmade events. Agricultural Insurance is a means of protecting the agriculturist against financial losses due to uncertainties that may arise agricultural losses arising from named or all unforeseen perils beyond their control (AIC, 2008). Unfortunately, agricultural insurance in the country has not made much headway even though the need to protect Indian farmers from agriculture variability has been a continuing concern of agriculture policy. According to the National Agriculture Policy 2000, "Despite technological and economic advancements, the condition of farmers continues to be unstable due to natural calamities and price fluctuations". In some extreme cases, these unfavorable events become one of the factors leading to farmers suicides which are now assuming serious proportions.Agricultural insurance is one method by which farmers can stabilize farm income and investment and guard against disastrous effect of losses due to natural hazards or low market prices. Crop insurance not only stabilizes the farm income but also helps the farmers to initiate production activity after a bad agricultural year. It cushions the shock of crop losses by providing farmers with a minimum amount of protection. It spreads the crop losses over space and time and helps farmers make more investments in agriculture. It forms an important component of safety-net programmes as is being experienced in many developed countries like USA and Canada as well as in the European Union. However, one need to keep in mind that crop insurance should be part of overall risk management strategy. Insurance comes towards the end of risk management process. Insurance is redistribution of cost of losses of few among many, and cannot prevent economic loss. There are two major categories of agricultural insurance

I. Definition of wasteland

Wasteland include degraded forest, overgrazed pastures, drought- struck pastures, eroded valley, hill slopes, water logged marshy lands, barren lands etc.

Different authors have defined wastelands as:

Land which is lying unproductive or which is not being utilized to its potential.

Land which is incapable of producing material or services of value (American Society of Soil science).

Land which has been abandoned and for which there is no further use (Mine spoils).

Land which produces less than 20% of economic potential. e) Land where no greenery can be sustained.

Land which is neither under forest cover or agricultural cover or assigned for specific purposes such as National park or National hydro power projects.

The Technical Task Group Report of the National Wasteland Board defines the wasteland due to different constraints.