Giri Babu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Giri Babu

Journal of Sustainable Development, 2019

In this article, we present the results after assessing the Indian's Swachh Bharat Mission's (SBM... more In this article, we present the results after assessing the Indian's Swachh Bharat Mission's (SBM) (aka Clean India Campaign) contribution in combating violence against women and girls while attending nature's call. Towards this, firstly we have used the publicly available data from National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB-India) to identify the hotspot districts with highest crimes against women in the country. Various districts in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, and Assam were top in the list of hotspots for gender based crimes; these districts were prioritized for investigation in this study. Context-driven web crawlers were developed and used to retrieve the reported crimes against women and girls from the district editions of electronic newspapers from 2010 till 2018. The results obtained from this web crawler were analyzed to determine the trend of gender-based sexual assaults before and after SBM implementation. It is observed that post SBM implementation, sexual assaults were reduced and the declining trend of crimes exhibited similar pattern for all the districts in the three states. The first dip in the trend has occurred during 2016 and consequently, there is reduction of crimes against women from 2017 onwards. The availability of sanitation infrastructure in the form of Independent Household Latrines under SBM's program should have influenced the reduction of practicing the open defecation to a certain extent, and the reduction in open defecation practice has helped in reducing the scope of sexual encounters during the course of routine sanitation needs. It is observed that in 2016, sexual assaults have downsized to 65 per cent and by the year 2018 the percentage dip in reduction of violence against women is more than 90 per cent.

Regional Sustainability, 2022

Forests are considered as a sacred asset in India and have guided the way of living throughout it... more Forests are considered as a sacred asset in India and have guided the way of living throughout its history. Indian forests not only accommodate the myriad species but also act as a survival support system to the communities that depended on them. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development proposed by the United Nations (UN) has gained momentum and becomes an integral part of the recent efforts of Indian governance. In this investigation, we examined the potential nexus between Indian forestry system (biodiversity-enriched assets, ecosystem services, constitutional mechanisms, and governances) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through theoretical underpinnings from literature that selected from database like Google Scholar, Indian forest survey reports, and information retrieved from Indian government websites. The significance of this review is that it presents comprehensive information about Indian forestry, biodiversity-rich assets , and sustainable forest management practices. The results show that Indian forestry as a whole is an integral part of the food-energy-water cycle and contributes to all dimensions of sustainable development, i.e., economic sustainability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The investigation confirms that besides partly contributing to the economy and life support systems to many dependent species, forests also act as boosters in the areas of food security and health. Targets related to the climate action, peace, and partnership goals are well in place through various forestry interventions and environmental commitments by the Government of India.

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2014

Image registration is the most critical operation in remote sensing applications to enable locati... more Image registration is the most critical operation in remote sensing applications to enable location based referencing and analysis of earth features. This is the first step for any process involving identification, time series analysis or change detection using a large set of imagery over a region. Most of the reliable procedures involve time consuming and laborious manual methods of finding the corresponding matching features of the input image with respect to reference. Also the process, as it involves human interaction, does not converge with multiple operations at different times. Automated procedures rely on accurately determining the matching locations or points from both the images under comparison and the procedures are robust and consistent over time. Different algorithms are available to achieve this, based on pattern recognition, feature based detection, similarity techniques etc. In the present study and implementation, Correlation based methods have been used with a imp...

Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2021

Aeolian process leads to the transportation and accumulation of sand particles that result in san... more Aeolian process leads to the transportation and accumulation of sand particles that result in sand dune landforms. The structure and shape of the sand dunes are driven by the parameters of interacting wind force and the material composition of sand within. Cross-section profiles over the sand dunes will essay the geomorphological parameters through which the steady state and rate of sand transport can be computed. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's novel satellite namely Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite -2 (ICESat-2) hosts a solo sensor namely Advanced Topographic Laser Al-timeter System (ATLAS) which is a photon counting instrument that measures the round-trip time of the light pulse being emitted and reflected back from the surface determines the true height of the topographic feature on the Earth. In this article, cross-section profiles generated from the beams of ICE-Sat-2 ground-tracks acquired over sand dunes of the Thar Desert region were analysed for detecting the geomorphological parameters. Observations from the cross-section profiles have resulted in giving unprecedented details about the shapes and morphological settings of various types of sand dunes like barchanoids, parabolic, longitudinal, and transverse dunes. Morphological parameters of sand dunes like the length of the stoss slope, crest height, slip face details, inter-arms spacing, height of the trailing arms, length of the de-positional lobes, and sinuosity of the recurring crest lines were retrieved with ease from the Level-2A data product namely ATL03 of ICESat-2/ATLAS.

International Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 2020

Technical Report, 2021

This report presents the design and development of a prototype robotic boat, namely Aquayaan whic... more This report presents the design and development of a prototype robotic boat, namely Aquayaan which is capable of various sensor(s) mounting and performs field surveys in inland waters. Aquayaan is operable remotely over an Internet connection so that it can travel long distances in water without losing the contact and its geo-track can be monitored in the WebGIS environment. The compact sized dimension of Aquayaan enables for high portability and the design is envisaged for holding upto 4 kg of payload weight. The report discusses about hull and frame design, rudder and propeller setup, electronics and motors implementation, communication interfacing and software integration. The cost effective strategy of Aquayaan is intended for performing various field surveys in inland water-bodies like rivers, reservoirs, lakes, backwaters, tanks, ponds, etc. to collect the water samples and measure various parameters with add-on sensors.

Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2020

The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forsk. (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is a peculiar insect that... more The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forsk. (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is a peculiar insect that exhibits density-dependent phase polyphenism. Gregarious phase enables desert locust to form a large groups and mass migrations during which significant crop loss and food security issues may occur. Currently , the most recent upsurge of desert locust is prevailing across Eastern Africa and Southwestern Asia. Usually desert locusts are restricted to regions like semi-arid and arid regions. A super cyclonic storm, namely Amphan originated during May 2020, in the Bay of Bengal of North Indian Ocean has influenced numerous swarms to migrate from the Thar desert region to other parts of India. In this research, satellite data were used to investigate the reasons for this sudden swarm migration. The results that revealed the wind jets passing above the Thar desert region have integrated with the cyclogenesis of Amphan and led to the formation of conduits. The favorable conditions in the conduits include the open sky conditions, air temperature and fresh vegetation availability. Moreover, the wind settings in the conduits have enabled the swarm migrate to follow the downwind facing the sunrays during early mornings for an easy and successful takeoff. It is observed that during the takeoff session the wind speed at 850 hPa pressure level is mostly double than that of surface wind in both the conduits.

Mary Ann Liebert Inc. Publishers: Sustainability: The Journal of Records, 2019

As the world continues to embrace the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), member... more As the world continues to embrace the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), member countries are becoming more proactive in this pursuit, leading the way to solve the most complex problems of our time. In response to acceptance of the SDGs by member nations, researchers began to map or check the scope of important themes contained in the SDGs. This research led to a better understanding of the interactions between the three pillars of sustainability: economy, society, and environment, and their effects on mapping SDG themes. After 2015, the number of research studies performing the mapping, or scoping, of the world concepts to the SDGs increased. This article offers a systematic review that synthesizes the information gleaned from this research. This review showed that the mapped themes are multidisciplinary, but their impacts, influence, role, responsibilities, synergies, and trade-offs are intrinsic to the SDGs. Some of the themes mapped to the SDGs in this review act as catalysts to foster the achievement of SDGs, while some of the issues act as roadblocks that can cripple the achievement of SDGs. Looking at an issue through the lens of SDGs will enable us to understand the balance needed between profit, people, and the planet. The major takeaway from this review is that the water-food-energy nexus acts as a potential linkage with SDGs and helps in understanding the interrelated dynamics between human population and the natural environment.

Technical Report, 2019

Rough terrain robotics is a new emerging research field that has stimulated a high number of work... more Rough terrain robotics is a new emerging research field that has stimulated a high number of works during recent years to provide more autonomy for outdoor vehicles. Robotic rovers intended for interplanetary science can be re-oriented with ease for field experiments on Earth in the areas that are constrained with extreme weather conditions and human unadoptable/hostile conditions. In this article, we show the design and implementation details of a 6 wheeled economical rover (scientific/lab grade) which can be used in the Mars/Moon simulation labs.
Generic manned vehicles consist of two or four wheels that support planned maneuverability on roads, but interplanetary conditions include rugged terrain and need vehicle motion in crests and troughs. There is a need for tactical wheel placement for traversing over undulating surfaces and should pass the obstacles. An added degree of freedom in the form of upward thrust will enable the rover to climb small obstacles with the help of a suspension system. The suspension system helps the rover from sudden and dramatic positional changes while cruising over rocky terrain. The interplanetary rovers should support the plug-ability of the internet of things/sensors to read/record the in-situ conditions. Through this paper, we would like to present the construction of rover namely VikSar100. This article presents details of VikSar100 – a simulated rover developed for demonstration purpose for school children.

Journal of Map & Geography Libraries, 2019

Geospatial technologies have evolved as a science for location-based problem solving at varying s... more Geospatial technologies have evolved as a science for location-based problem solving at varying scales-from local, regional, national and even global levels. Location intelligence is the core strength of geospatial technology and enables efficient public administration and ensures proper delivery of government services. Technical advancements in geospatial technology enabled new modes of government services through the g-governance toolkit. At the heart of this articulation lies the conceptualiza-tion of g-Governance as a geospatial plug-in for e-Governance. Emphasis has been given on harnessing geospatial technology for enabling governments to do the public services by exhibiting high-quality and cost-effective operations, delivery of services, citizen engagement, bringing transparency, and accountability in the public administration process. The need of g-Governance in various service verticals was analyzed and compiled in this article.

Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal - Atlantis Press, 2019

This article discusses how the practice of open defecation influences the Sustainable Development... more This article discusses how the practice of open defecation influences the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN) and accepted by all countries. Unfortunately, the practice of open defecation still exists. Public health is at stake because open defecation enables transmission of infectious diseases via the fecal–oral route. Open defecation could hinder achieving the targets set for sustainable development. Poverty is one of the prime reasons for open defecation and this in turn has negative effects on social outcomes, wellbeing, ecosystems, and the economy. This article highlights the areas in which open defecation could prevent attainment of SDGs, and justifies the recent sanitation interventions by various countries to curb the practice of open defecation.

Journal of Sustainable Deelopment, 2019

Sustainable Development (SD) not only ensures addressing the root cause of poverty but also helps... more Sustainable Development (SD) not only ensures addressing the root cause of poverty but also helps in achieving the wellness of society. Protecting the natural resources for current and future generations is the main goal of the SD process. In recent times, developing countries have initiated social safety nets (SSNs) for poverty elimination and to achieve the SD goals through public works. The Government of India has initiated numerous development projects aimed to achieve SD and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is one of them. The research objective of this article is to harness the power of geospatial technology for evaluating the public works under MGNREGA at a district level. The proposed research method utilizes the power of remote sensing data with a very high spatial and temporal resolution to monitor the development activities at the grass root level. Satellite based land-use maps, indices, and publicly available web based geospatial information systems have been used in this investigation to assess the changes that have occurred due to the community-level planned activities. The findings from this research confirm that MGNREGA has the potential to accrue multiple dividends at all the three pillars of SD, i.e., economic development, social development, and environmental protection. It was proved from this research that public works under MGNREGA besides providing the wage based employment to the beneficiaries resulted in improved water conservation and harvesting facilities in the study area and in return, these facilities acted as a catalyst for improved agricultural productivity.

ACTA SCIENTIFIC MEDICAL SCIENCES, 2019

During diarrhea, a patient will have a frequent abnormal passage of loose, liquid or watery stool... more During diarrhea, a patient will have a frequent abnormal passage of loose, liquid or watery stools and causes depletion of body fluids, resulting in profound dehydration. Acute diarrhea refers to the episodes of infectious diarrhea, which have a rapid onset and lasts for about 3 to 7 days but may last up to 10 to 14 days. When two or more people in a community or geographical area have a similar illness or proven infection due to common exposure then it is termed as an outbreak. Variations in weather and climate conditions will influence the intensity of disease outbreaks and thus understanding the influence of the seasons on the infectious disease outbreaks is very important for public health monitoring. The objective of this study is to understand the seasonal variations of the acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks in India. We analyzed the weekly ADD outbreaks data from 2010 till 2018 that is published as a part of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme by National Centre for Disease Control, Directorate General of Health Services. The results of the analysis show that in India, ADD outbreaks will be more during the month of May (peak summer) but predominantly maximum during the month of July (when monsoon prevails).

Kartografija i geoinformacije (Cartography and Geoinformation), 2014

Cartosat-1 is a global high-resolution stereoscopic imaging mission to support enhanced applicati... more Cartosat-1 is a global high-resolution stereoscopic imaging mission to support enhanced applications in several areas of terrain mapping, natural resources management, disaster management, infrastructure and develop0ment planning. A collaborative project of generating state-wide Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and a mosaic of Ortho-images for all the states and union territories in India has been completed within the project Space-Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning (SIS-DP) using photogrammetric techniques with Cartosat-1 stereo data. Approximately 11000 stereo pairs of Cartosat-1 data were used in this process. Photogrammetric block for each state was processed using existing reference tiles and accordingly, orthoimages were generated. The paper outlines the methodology for generating state-wide Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and orthoimages. Guidelines that govern the quality of the output are discussed. Dissemination mechanism via a publically accessible web platform is described.

Journal of Science, Technology and Environment Informatics, 2019

Sustainable development depends on the complex set of interactions between the natural environmen... more Sustainable development depends on the complex set of interactions between the natural environment, the society we live and economic conditions. The relationship between humans and the environment is like 'one will give and other will take', during which equilibrium may get distracted. Economics leverages the growth potential of the society and society is influenced by the natural environment. To maintain the equilibrium between these three pillars of sustainable development there is a need to link them. Transparency during the execution of large-scale projects plays a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development and enables the balance between the environment, society, and economy. In recent times, the governments of many countries have adopted programs for improving the living standards, food security and improved nutrition, health, clean water and sanitation, education, and other aspects of sustainable development goals. This article reports the transparency methods that are implemented for MGNREGA project and articulates the role of transparency in linking between the three dimensions of sustainable development: environment, society, and economics. The paper emphasizes that the mechanism of transparency should reside in all sides of the triangle of sustainability.

International Journal of Computer and Internet Security, 2018

Cybersecurity is a global challenge as Cyberspace is never risk free. Cybersecurity ensures the a... more Cybersecurity is a global challenge as Cyberspace is never risk free. Cybersecurity ensures the attainment and maintenance of the security properties of the digital infrastructure and services against relevant security risks in the cyber environment. Currently web applications are highly functional and rely upon two-way flow of information between the server and browser. New technologies in Web applications have brought with them a new range of security vulnerabilities and new possibilities for exploitation. WebGIS is an effective way for disseminating geospatial data and geo-processing tools through internet. WebGIS is similar to the client/server architecture and the server-side geo-processing components will store, process and serve the data to the client/browser, during which Database server, Application server and a web server will be involved. The networking infrastructure in WebGIS environment plays a critical role in the security of the data centres. This paper presents the architecture of WebGIS environment, role of networking components, traits of Cybersecurity and portrays various defence mechanisms that aid in Cybersecurity in WebGIS environment.

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2019

Background: Enough evidence exists to attribute the occurrence of diarrheal disease outbreaks due... more Background: Enough evidence exists to attribute the occurrence of diarrheal disease outbreaks due to open defecation practice and unsafe sanitation methods. Open defecation enables pathogens such as virus, bacteria, and protozoa to infect humans by means of fecal–oral transmission methods through contaminated fluids, water, and fomites. To curb the malefic effects of open defecation, the Indian government had initiated pro sanitation program namely Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014. SBM became the world's largest toilet-building initiative. More than 95 million toilets have been built across rural and urban India since the launch of this mission. This articulation summarizes the trend analysis of acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks over a 9-year period with emphasis on changes due to the building of toilets under the clean India campaign.

Methods: Weekly ADD outbreaks data from national-level Integrated Disease Surveillance Program between 2010 and 2018 were used for trend analysis along with the number of toilets constructed in rural areas under SBM from the year 2014.

Results: ADD outbreaks were analyzed from 2010 to 2018. The number of ADD outbreaks per year during the past 2 years (i.e., 2017 and 2018) of SBM regime was lesser than in any year during the investigation period. Seasonal variations during the months of May, June, July, and August account for 55%–60% of ADD outbreaks in any of the years; but for 2018, the total outbreaks were 46%, which is significantly lower than that of regular range of outbreaks in the peak season.

Conclusion: The recent pattern of ADD outbreaks exhibits a declining rate.

IJCSMC, 2018

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enables electronic Governance (e-Governance). e... more Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enables electronic Governance (e-Governance). e-Governance is all about providing reliable and efficient online services to the citizens in a secure manner. e-Governance is currently being utilized by many developing countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs are mirrored substantially in India's development plans and priorities through National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog). NITI Aayog has mapped the goals and targets to various nodal ministries through flagship programmes. Government of India has launched several ambitious missions to accomplish all the targets of SDGs. During the course of launching these missions and schemes, numerous ICT tools have been development and deployed, which has helped to significantly enhance the efficiency of Government programmes. This paper presents the results of survey data which illustrates the state of ICT enabled landscape belonging to fifty three ministries via 431 web sites, 106 mobile applications, and 57 Geo-portals. Major schemes/mission projects implemented by various ministries were also depicted along with their responsibilities for achieving the targets of SDGs in India.