Urban–Rural Linkages and Their Implication to Human Security in Pandemic Time

Evident through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation, the wider impacts of pandemics stretch far beyond the immediate and devastating loss of human lives. Beyond the health crisis, the pandemics often turn out to be a crisis for human security, as the unprecedented movement restrictions disrupt the lives of all people and their freedom to live with dignity. The core issues pertaining to limited healthcare capacities, job losses, economic slowdown, etc., also bring forth a range of inequity issues for urban and rural populations within a regional space, which are closely interlinked through spatial and sectoral linkages. While the geographically dispersed rural populations often depend on their urban counterparts for access to emergency services, they are often disproportionately impacted by a crisis situation due to the persisting connectivity gaps and socioeconomic barriers. Several such experiences have also been made during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which call for revisiting the contemporary developmental planning from human security perspective, so as to safeguard the survival, livelihood, and dignity of the diverse urban and rural populations. This chapter highlights the key lessons from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation and offers a forward-looking perspective on strengthening urban–rural linkages for consideration by the policymakers. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer 2022.

Modeling of Critical Food Supply Chain Drivers Using DEMATEL Method and Blockchain Technology

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the critical drivers of the food supply chain (FSC) in the Indian context and find cause–effect relationships among the identified drivers using a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based method. After a review of the literature and discussion with food chain experts, fourteen drivers have been identified for this study. Critical drivers and their causal relationships are explored through the cause-and-effect diagram. Results of this study show that the drivers namely "Shift towards a sustainable food system in India” (D7), "Social requirements on food security and safety” (D13), and "Growing attention towards food SCM amidst pandemic Covid-19” (D1) are the top three critical and influential drivers. It has been observed that limited research studies are done to identify and analyze the FSC drivers specific in the Indian context. Recent advancements in Blockchain technology have paved the path for improving the performance of the food supply chain with appropriate Blockchain technology intervention. Blockchain technology (BT) can be a new driver in the FSCM. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the implementation of Blockchain technology in the food supply chain. This paper attempts to draw the attention of policymakers to develop a new sound policy with the help of Blockchain technology to ensure food security. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).