Design and procurement integration strategies in construction projects play an important role and have an impact on the overall project cycle. Integrated design and procurement will increase productivity and reduce waste. This research aims to provide a guide to good design and procurement integration strategies in Design and Build (DB) projects in government projects. This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of a schematic literature review followed by a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the Delphi method to formulate integrated design and procurement that improve project performance. In-depth interviews were conducted with 90 respondents to explore the implementation of the design and procurement strategy on the project used as a case study. The results of this research are recommendations for an integrated design and procurement strategy which can be used as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in DB projects on government projects so that it can provide added value from the start of the project being designed through tenders. This research can be utilized by project stakeholders, academics and anyone who will develop project performance through the integrated design and procurement in the long term.

India has experienced notable advancements in trade liberalization, innovation tactics, urbanization, financial expansion, and sophisticated economic development. Researchers are focusing more on how much energy consumption of both renewable and non-renewable accounts for overall system energy consumption in light of these dynamics. In order to gain an understanding of this important and contentious issue, we aim to examine the impact of trade openness, inventions, urbanization, financial expansion, economic development, and carbon emissions affected the usage of renewable and non-renewable energy (REU and N-REU) in India between 1980 and 2020. We apply the econometric approach involving unit root tests, FE-OLS, D-OLS, and FM-OLS, and a new Quantile Regression approach (QR). The empirical results demonstrate that trade openness, urbanization and CO₂ emissions are statistically significant and negatively linked with renewable energy utilization. In contrast, technological innovations, financial development, and economic development in India have become a source of increase in renewable energy utilization. Technological innovations were considered negatively and statistically significant in connection with non-renewable energy utilization, whereas the trade, urbanization, financial growth, economic growth, and carbon emissions have been established that positively and statistically significant influence non-renewable energy utilization. The empirical results of this study offer some policy recommendations. For instance, as financial markets are the primary drivers of economic growth and the renewable energy sector in India, they should be supported in order to reduce CO₂ emissions.

This paper reviews and compares the opportunities and challenges in terms of port and intermodal development in China and India—the two fast-growing economic giants in the world. The study analyzes the future direction of these two countries’ port-hinterland intermodal development from the sustainability perspective. Both China and India face some major opportunities and challenges in port-hinterland intermodal development. The proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offers plentiful opportunities for China. A challenge for China is that its development of dry ports is still in the infancy stage and thus it is unable to catch up with the pace of rapid economic growth. As compared with China, India focuses more on the social aspect to protect the welfare of its residents, which in turn jeopardizes India’s port-hinterland intermodal development in the economic sense. The biggest challenge for India is its social institution, which would take a long time to change. These in-depth comparative analyses not only give the future direction of port-hinterland intermodal development in China and India but also provide references for other countries with similar backgrounds.

Manual scavenging refers to the practice of manually cleaning, carrying, disposing or handling human excreta from dry latrines and sewers. It is one of the most dehumanizing and deplorable practices that violate basic human rights and dignity. This practice is linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are expected to perform this job. Despite being outlawed in 1993, manual scavenging continues to exist in India due to socio-economic discrimination and lack of rehabilitation of manual scavengers. This paper attempts to provide an in-depth understanding. The harsh realities by qualitative systemic review of manual scavenging in India and how it negatively impacts human rights. It reviews relevant literature on the prevalence, causes, adverse effects, and laws against manual scavenging. The results indicate that manual scavenging is still practiced across many states in India. Manual scavengers face grave health hazards and socio-economic hardships. The laws against manual scavenging have failed to abolish this practice due to administrative apathy, lack of rehabilitation support for liberated scavengers, and continued prevalence of dry latrines necessitating manual disposal of excreta. The paper emphasizes the need for more concerted efforts by the government and civil society to end manual scavenging to uphold human rights, dignity, and justice for all. There is an urgent need for extensive awareness campaigns, social support, and proper rehabilitation of liberated scavengers into alternative professions.