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Scientific name: Piper betle L.
Family: Piperaceae
The betel vine, scientifically known as Piper betle L., is a perennial climber native to Southeast Asia, including India. It belongs to the Piperaceae family. The betel vine has been an integral part of Indian culture, tradition, and medicine for thousands of years.
In Hinduism, the betel vine is considered a sacred plant, often offered to gods and goddesses. The leaves are used in various rituals, including weddings and pujas (prayer ceremonies). In Indian tradition, betel leaves are also offered as a mark of respect and hospitality to guests.
Betel leaves have been used in Ayurvedic medicine for their numerous health benefits. They are rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, and essential oils. The leaves are used to treat various ailments, including digestive issues, respiratory problems, skin conditions, and oral health issues.
In addition to their medicinal properties, betel leaves are also used as a mouth and breathe freshener. The leaves are chewed with betel nuts (areca nuts) and lime, a practice known as "paan" in India. The betel vine is a versatile plant with significant cultural, medicinal, and economic importance in India and other parts of Southeast Asia.

8.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated in South and South East Asia.

• Cultivated mostly from Pakistan to Papua New Guinea.

8.2. Economic importance

• In India and Sri Lanka, sheaf of betel leaves are traditionally offered as a mark of respect and auspicious beginnings like greeting elders at wedding ceremonies, celebrating the New Year, and offering payment to Ayurvedic Physicians and Astrologers (To whom money and/or areca nut placed on top of the sheaf of leaves are offered in thanks for blessings).

• Consumed in Asia as betel quid or paan with arecanut and/or tobacco.

• Used in cooking usually raw for its peppery taste.

• Medicinal use over a 300 years history in China.

Botanical Name : Piper betel
Family : Piperaceae
Origin : Malaysia.
Chromosome No. : 2n=2x=26 
Useable Part : Leaf 
    ·    Betelvine leaves have a strong pungent aromatic flovour and are widely used as masticatory. 

Scale insect: Lepidosaphes sp.: Diaspididae

The mature scale is elongated and oval in shape and dark grey in colour. They infest the stems, leaves and petioles, causing shriveled leaves due to sucking of the sap. The affected parts wither and dry up. In severe infestation leaves dry up and give sticky look and gradually the vine wilts.

3.1 Introduction

Government of India has made significant impact in empowering girl child through initiation of various schemes viz; Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana etc. After initiation of such types of programme for girls, Child Sex Ratio was increased during 2021-22 i.e; 929 females per 1,000 males. Recently Government of India has initiated new innovation in Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme. Present Paper aim is to discuss the new innovations during 2017 to 2022 under this scheme.

In India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi foresee rural India as ability laden with great prospective to speed of Sustainable Development Goal. Looking at splurge of schemes targeting girl child like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Ladli Yojana and several other schemes empowerment of girl child seems to be heart of a plan to attain dream of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

Biostatistics is a branch of statistics that focuses on the analysis and interpretation of data from biological and health-related research studies. It involves the application of statistical methods to design, collect, analyze, and interpret data from studies involving living organisms like: animals, birds including human beings. Biostatistics plays a crucial role in public health, medicine, epidemiology, genetics, and other related fields.

With the increasing availability of data and advancements in biostatistics, breeders can expect further improvements in breeding practices that will results in better outcomes for both livestock farmers and the animals they breed. Animal breeding is a crucial aspect of agriculture and food production, as it helps to improve the quality and quantity of animal products as well ensuring food security to the masses.

Introduction

Over the past few decades, probiotics have become the most promising and emerging field in human nutrition and health across the world including India and other developing countries. The global profit generated from the probiotic market is expected to reach approximately 12,753.4 million US$ by the end of 2026 (Probiotic market report, 2018). The factor fueling the demand for probiotics is the growing awareness among consumers about their health benefits. The association of probiotics with health benefits stretches back to a time before microbes were discovered. However, the scientific evidence of the health benefits of probiotic microorganisms on the wellbeing of the host was firstly proposed by Russian Nobel laureate Ellie Metchnikoff in 1905. He reported that consumption of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus spp. is responsible for the healthy and long life of Bulgarian people (Anukam & Reid, 2007). Afterward, several of scientific progressions were made to reach the current status where probiotics are not only the subject of food and medical research but also the source of a multi-billion dollar global industry.

The term probiotic is derived from the Greek words, which means ‘for life’. According to the Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO), probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amount promote the health of the host” (Joint, FAO, 2002). In 2014, International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (IPPA) did minor correction in the definition given by FAO-WHO and defined them as “Live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”

13.1 Introduction

13.1.1 Bridging the Gap: Towards a More Equitable Digital Landscape

In an age dominated by digital technologies, the concept of a more equitable digital landscape is paramount to ensuring that the benefits of technology are accessible to all segments of society. The term "digital landscape" encompasses not only the physical infrastructure, such as internet connectivity and hardware, but also the socio-economic and educational factors that influence individuals' ability to participate in the digital realm. The digital divide, often exacerbated by disparities in access to technology, internet connectivity, and digital literacy, presents a significant challenge. This paper, titled "Bridging the Gap: Towards a More Equitable Digital Landscape," seeks to explore the multifaceted nature of the digital divide and propose strategies to overcome these challenges.

6.1 Introduction

In its broadest sense, literacy stands as a fundamental pillar of youth development, transcending mere reading and writing abilities to encompass critical skills necessary for navigating today's complex world (UNESCO, 2020). Concurrently, connectivity serves as the backbone of digital transformation, facilitating communication, collaboration, and access to information on a global scale (ITU, 2021). Skill development, particularly in digital literacy, has become indispensable in an increasingly digitized society, empowering individuals to thrive in both personal and professional domains (European Commission, 2019).

Introduction

Cocoa beans are extracted from the pod of a tree crop Theobroma cacao. It is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. In terms of world production, Ivory Coast and Ghana contribute about 65 percent of world production. Cocoa beans are the main ingredient in chocolate. (Teye, E et al 2014). One of the earliest examples of chocolate consumption comes from the Mayans. The Maya drink was prepared with cocoa and water and often included cinnamon and black pepper. It was also known as the “Food of the Gods” and offered to Emperor Moctezuma II by the Aztecs, (Verna, R. 2013). Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter cocoa in 1502.

Nano-bioinoculants are poised to transform Indian agriculture with solutions tailored to its diverse agro-climatic regions, prevailing smallholder farm management systems, and environmental sustainability. The chapter explores the progress, present research scenario, and future scope of nano-bioinoculants in India. These have been built upon early nanotechnology explorations catalyzed by government initiatives like the Nano-Mission and augmenting research infrastructure, with ongoing research being marked by crop-based studies of Indian crops and utilizing the immense diversity of indigenous microorganisms in cutting-edge nanomaterials. Through controlling the complex plant-microbe interactions to biotic and abiotic stresses, the reaction of nano bioinoculants is being performed using advanced omics-based studies. Great progress is being made in the development of smart delivery systems for precision agriculture, in conjunction with novel formulation methods such as layer-by-layer assembly and stimulus-response release. The use of sensors, drones, and AI-based systems opens up possibilities for targeted application and real-time monitoring. Though commercialization is picking up speed via new start-ups and businesses, costeffectiveness issues, farmer awareness, and an immature regulatory system continue to be a challenge. Looking at the future, promising directions for intelligent farming highlight the revolutionary significance of such beneficial microbes in shaping a more durable, productive, and sustainable future for agriculture in India.

Bhendi is known by many local names in different parts of the World. For example it is called Lady’s finger in England, Gumbo in USA, bhendi in India Okra (Abelmochus esculentus L. 2n= 1 30) belongs to the family Malvaceae. Origin of okra is West Africa. Okra plant is an erect, herbaceous annual, 1-2 meter tall and forms fairly heavy tap root.

1. Vein-Clearing/Yellow Vein Mosaic
Bhendi yellow vein mosaic virus
Diagnostic Symptoms
• Yellowing of the entire network of veins in the leaf blade is the characteristic symptom.
• In severe infections, the younger leaves turn yellow, become reduced in size and the plant is highly stunted.
• The veins of the leaves will be cleared by the virus and intervenal area becomes completely yellow or white.
• In a field, most of the plants may be diseased and the infection may start at any stage of plant growth.
• Infection restricts flowering and fruits, if formed, may be smaller and harder.
• The affected plants produce fruits with yellow or white colour and they are not fit for marketing (Fig.1).
• The virus is spread by whitefly.

ABSTRACT

Fodder availability is a serious concern during winter season in hilly areas as land for growing fodder crops is hardly available unlike plains. Bhimal as an agroforestry species is being cultivated in the Himalayas since long, however, genetic improvement of the species was hardly undertaken in the past barring a few reports on tree improvement of the species. Seeds were used to be usually collected from crooked trees which are easy to climb or swept from the forest floor. Since agroforestry systems have great promise to improve the productivity of both agricultural and tree crops, therefore, keeping that in view, seven provenances (I.C. Bhaintan , I.C. Chamba, I.C. Katkor, I.C. Malas, I.C. Nauni, I.C. Naur, I.C. Tachla) were collected from different regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and evaluated for 10 years (1995-2004). Significant differences in the productivity potential of Bhimal provenances were noticed and the high yielding fodder provenances identified (I.C. Bhaintan , I.C. Chamba and I.C. Malas), yielding as high as 35 q ha^-1 thus fodder productivity could be increased to 25% by planting high yielding provenances. Likewise high yielding provenaces (HYPs) for fuelwood and fibre were identified which can increase the productivity potential of the agroforestry system. In 2005, more than 1200 saplings of HYPs were multiplied in a polyhouse and planted at different elevations in the Himalayas under prevailing agroforestry systems. Differential responses of HYPs in respect of growth and productivity at different locations have been monitored. The rooting behaviour of HYPs was also investigated and it was found that all the three provenances viz., I.C. Bhaintan, I.C. Chamba and I.C. Malas have high soil binding characteristics, thus revealing that apart from production, this tree species plays an important role in soil conservation. Further, high regression of soil binding on above ground biomass and specific root length was recorded among these provenaces. Looking at the performance of such provenances on the farmers’ fields, the demand of high yielding provenaces is increasing. Unlike Eucalyptus, Bhimal had the minimal effect on the performance of field crops and the overall system productivity of the Grewia optiva based agroforestry system was profitable along with insurance against aberrant monsoon conditions.

Shoot and fruit borer: Earias vitella (=E.fabia), E. insulana: Noctuidae

This is a pest on cotton, bhendi, hibiscus, holly hock and other malvaceous vegetables. The damage is due to the larva that bores into tender terminal shoots in the vegetative stage and flower buds;  flowers and young fruits in the fruit formation stage.  The damaged shoot drops, wither and dry up.  The infested fruits have bore holes, are deformed and become unfit for consumption.  Bore holes are plugged with excreta.

Present study was undertaken to investigate the sub-chronic effects of chromium (VI) inmale rats using potassium dichromate (0.625 mg/kg, 1.25 mg/ kg, and 2.5 mg/kg)following oral administration. No discernible clinical signs of toxicity were observed atany dose, and weekly average body weight gain remained almost consistent. Both absoluteand relative organ weights exhibited no significant differences among treatment groups.Hematological parameters showed no appreciable variations across the different treatmentgroups. Potassium dichromate exposure demonstrated limited impact on plasma totalprotein, albumin, and globulin levels. While HDL cholesterol exhibited a non-significantdecrease, plasma glucose, cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol levels displayed a slight andnon-significant increase. Non-significant elevations were noted in plasma AST, ALT,creatinine, and uric acid across all treated groups, with minimal changes in total bilirubinand BUN. Hepatic MDA levels increased non-significantly in a dose-dependent manner,accompanied by a non-significant decrease in SOD, CAT, GSH, and GST levels.Testicular MDA increased non-significantly in a dose-dependent manner, with aconcomitant non-significant decrease in SOD, CAT, and GST levels. Testicular GSHlevels showed minimal alteration. A non-significant rise in ACP, LDH, GGT, and FSHlevels in the testis was observed across all treated groups, while testicular SDH andtestosterone levels exhibited non-significant decreases. Necropsy revealed no grosschanges in various organs, including lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, testes, seminal vesicles,and prostate.

Introduction

Agri-entrepreneurship stands as a vital driver of socio-economic upliftment within society, offering a range of benefits that span from poverty reduction to rural development. In economies, where agriculture remains a cornerstone (Welter, 2011), fostering entrepreneurship in this sector can lead to substantial improvements in livelihoods, income generation, and overall economic growth (Watson, 2013). With support from relevant statistics and references, this article discusses the importance of agri-entrepreneurship.

Economic Growth and Job Creation: Agri-entrepreneurship contributes significantly to economic growth. According to the World Bank, agriculture employs over 25% of the world's labour force and accounts for a substantial portion of GDP in many developing countries. Encouraging agri-entrepreneurs to innovate and invest can lead to the creation of diverse agricultural enterprises, generating employment opportunities both on and off the farm. This, in turn, reduces unemployment rates and drives local economic development (Stam, 2016; Welter & Gartner, 2016).

Poverty Alleviation: Rural poverty remains a significant challenge in many developing nations, where a substantial portion of the population relies on agriculture for their livelihoods. Agri-entrepreneurship empowers individuals to break free from subsistence farming and embrace value-added activities. By fostering innovation, diversification, and access to markets, agri entrepreneurship enables farmers to increase their income and improve their quality of life (Shane, 2007). According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), smallholder farmers, when equipped with entrepreneurial skills, are better positioned to escape poverty cycles.

The increasing deployment of Large Language Models across education, healthcare, finance, employment and public services has made fairness and ethical responsibility central concerns in AI development. LLMs learn from enormous datasets that may contain historical inequalities, stereotypes, cultural assumptions and other forms of social bias. This chapter examines the origins, manifestations and consequences of bias in LLMs and considers approaches for promoting fair and responsible deployment. It discusses data bias arising from the composition and curation of training datasets, algorithmic bias introduced through model architectures and learning processes, and bias associated with human-in-the-loop systems. Gender, racial and cultural biases are considered because they can influence generated outputs and potentially reinforce existing inequalities. The chapter also examines fairness evaluation, mitigation strategies, transparency, accountability and human oversight. Ethical concerns extend beyond bias to hallucination, misinformation, privacy and inappropriate automation. Effective governance requires continuous monitoring rather than one-time assessment because model behaviour may change across applications and populations. The chapter therefore emphasizes responsible AI principles that place fairness, transparency, accountability, safety and human interests at the centre of LLM development and deployment.

Cochan W.G. (1946). Relative Accuracy of Systematic and Stratified Random Sampling for a Certain Class of Populations. Ann. Math. Statist, 17, 164- 177.

Cochan, W.G. (1977). Sampling Technique, 3rd edition, Wiley Eastern Ltd., New Delhi.

1. Jefferies SR. 2014. Bioactive and biomimetic restorative materials: a comprehensive review. Part I. J Esthet Restor Dent. 26(1):14-26.

2. Sharma M, Murray PE, Sharma D, Parmar K, Gupta S, Goyal P. 2013. Modern approaches to use bioactive materials and molecules in medical and dental treatments. Int J Curr.Microbiol. App. Sci., 2(11):429-39.

3. Laskin Daniel M: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery vol 1

4. Kay C. Dee, David A. Puleo, Bizios R. 2002. An Introduction to Tissue Biomaterial Interactions.

5. Peltola MJ, Vallittu PK, Vuorinen V, Aho AA, Puntala A, Aitasalo KM. 2012. Novel composite implant in craniofacial bone reconstruction. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 269(2):623-8

6. Kao ST, Scott DD. 2007. A review of bone substitutes. Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 19(4):513-21, vi.

7. Nasr HF, Aichelmann-Reidy ME, Yukna RA. 1999. Bone and bone substitutes. Periodontol 2000. 19:74-86.

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”.

1. Bibliometric

Bibliometrics is the application of quantitative techniques to analyze the volume, the movement, the frequency and the characteristics, etc of published documents and the related activities. Alan Pritchard was first to use the word “Bibliometrics” in an article “Statistical Bibliography or Bibliometrics” published in the 1969 issue of the “Journal of Documentation”. He defines Bibliometrics as “the application of mathematical and statistical methods to books and other media of communication.” In a later article, Pritchard explained Bibliometrics as the “metrology of the information transfer process and its purpose is analysis and control of the process”. Bibliometrics is a set of methods used to study or measure texts and information (Wikipedia, 2011).

The increasing use of genomics, phenotyping, remote sensing, sensors and digital agricultural technologies has generated large and complex datasets in plant science. This chapter examines the role of big data analytics in managing and interpreting these datasets for agricultural research and decision-making. It discusses applications of big data in plant science and the technological infrastructure required for data storage, processing and analysis. Cloud computing, next-generation sequencing and high-performance computing are highlighted as important technologies supporting large-scale biological and agricultural data analysis. The chapter also considers the benefits and challenges of big data, including computational requirements, data management, integration and interpretation, before outlining future opportunities for data-driven plant science.

Electronic health records contain extensive clinical, demographic, diagnostic and treatment information that can support medical research and decision-making. This chapter examines the characteristics of healthcare big data and the challenges associated with EHR storage, integration, quality and analysis. It presents an analytics pipeline covering data ingestion, secure storage, preprocessing, integration, pattern discovery, visualization and clinical decision support. Machine learning and deep learning methods are discussed in relation to clinical phenotyping, risk stratification, predictive epidemiology and adverse-outcome prediction. The chapter also addresses data privacy, governance, regulatory compliance, explainability, scalability and bias, highlighting the need for secure and interoperable EHR-mining systems that generate clinically useful knowledge.

Big Data refers to extremely large, very fast, highly diverse, and complex data that cannot be managed with conventional data management systems, tools or processes. In the perfect world, Big Data may include all kind of data, which can deliver the right information, to right person, in the right quantity, at the right time, to help in making the right decisions.

Introduction

Indian agriculture, including fisheries, is highly monsoon dependent and effect of climate change is immense on its large tracts of rainfed farms. The effects of climate change could be thwarted through better adaptation techniques using all information available with various agencies concerned with agriculture and using advanced analytical tools. Presently, in the country, there is a gap in the capability in capturing, processing and analyzing huge source of information generated in Indian agriculture. This task can be accomplished using Big Data Platform which works in cluster mode and provides the capability of handling huge volume of data, capturing streaming data or real time data and also can accommodate unstructured data. As per FAO, 70 percent in increase in food production in another 30 years is required to overcome the increasing global food demand. It may not be possible to achieve that target due to variety of problems such as reduction in land for cultivation, climate change, and various other factors, such as increasing the fish production etc. Improvement in crop genetics, application of fertilizer in higher dosages, irrigation facilities, etc. may not be possible in future. We need to create a big data platform involving important parameters on crop production viz., soil, soil temperature, water requirements, and relative humidity, pests and diseases, and micro and macro nutrients in temporal and spatial. Now, since available data is properly utilized for making valid analytics by the farming community due to certain issues. Even the data created is incompatible, data available from various sources is also not compatible among themselves due to which decision making is also a big challenge. Due to the incompatibility of agricultural data from different sources, farmers do not have the accessibility to vast pool of available information for making effective, efficient and timely decisions.

Big Data in Agriculture (including fisheries)

Big data, an emerging data driven system helps in precision agriculture based on data collected. This helps farmers in making efficient decisions on sowing, planting, fertilizing and various other farm operations including

harvesting crops at the appropriate time. Of late, sensors are placed in the fields to collect data on related parameters viz., soil temperature and moisture relative humidity, wind speed, weather, etc. which help in crop growth. Images obtained using satellites are helpful in monitoring the crop growth during crop period. Agro-produce includes not only yields obtained from crops but also include produce from horticulture, livestock, fisheries, and other systems also. Agriculture is dependent on various parameters such as climate, seed, soil cultivation practices, agronomic practices, irrigation requirement, fertilizers pesticides, weeds, harvesting, post harvesting techniques, etc. Data collected on all these parameters would help in estimation of yield and other relevant parameters. Governments, Universities, Research departments, Agro-business and Agri-input companies generate, maintain and use voluminous data related to various farm management practices and other related issues say insurance marketing, supply chain, packaging, distribution, etc. This voluminous and wide variety of data poses several challenges for making effective decisions. Information on various fish related parameters can be collected from the stakeholders and a big data platform can be developed for effective decision making.

Represented by about 120 genera and over 800 species. Bignoniaceae are distributed mainly in tropical and sub-tropical, and a few in temperate regions. About 15 genera and 40 species are found in India. Some of the larger genera along with their approximate number of worldover reported species are Tabebuia (100), Arraabidaea (70), Jacaranda (50), Anemopaegma (30), Tecoma (16), Catalpa (11) and Crescentia (5).
Selected Indian Genera
Jacaranda, Kigelia, Millingtonia, Tecoma, Heterophragma, Oroxylum and Dolichandrone. Economic Importance
1. Ornamental plants of the family include handsome trees (Catalpa bignonioides, Haplophragma adenophyllum, Jacaranda mimosaefolia, (Fig. 26.1), Kigelia pinnata, Millingtonia hortensis, Spathodea campanulata and Tabebuia spectabilis), shrubs (Bignonia unguis-cati), beautiful tendril-climbers (Adenocalymna alliaceum, Bignonia venusta syn. Pyrostegia venusta), aerial rootlet climbers (Campis grandiflora and C. radicans) and herbaceous genus Incarvillea.