This chapter focuses on the relationship between the story of Noah and the New Science. It begins with the contemporary discussions about the date of the flood and the calculations about the numbers of people from the time of the flood to the present. It continues with the late seventeenth-century debate about the universality of the flood. The issue of the date of the flood leads also to the problem of fossils and their relation to the flood of Noah, with particular attention to John Woodward’s An Essay Towards a Natural History of the Earth. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the shifting time scales on the age of the earth during the eighteenth century cast doubt upon the role in the formation of the earth that had traditionally been ascribed to the flood, along with attempts to harmonise the Biblical story with the new age of the earth.

While exploring the historical relationship between the Burdwan fever and agriculture in Burdwan, a district in West Bengal, in connection with my PhD research in the 1990s at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, I was considerably excited and resolved to undertake a project on the history of kala-azar as my postdoctoral studies. I noticed the conflicting comments of contemporary physicians and health personnel on the nature of the Burdwan fever—some referring to it as malaria whereas others naming it kala-azar. Malaria in Bengal by then had already gripped the attention of historical scholarship, and some scholars were engaged in research on various aspects of malaria, including its epidemic episodes and endemicity. The history of kala-azar was rather a neglected field of historical enquiry even though there was abundant material on it. This sparked my interest and attracted my attention. After having completed my PhD, I started exploring the history of kala-azar and wrote a small piece on it towards the end of the 1990s. Subsequently, I undertook it as my postdoctoral project, came into contact with David Arnold, and applied for Commonwealth Fellowship to work with him on this subject. I was selected and was based at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, to pursue my studies during 2002–2003, and thus began the trajectory of my postdoctoral work. I felt honoured to work with Professor Arnold, who was very supportive and generous with suggestions, and inspired me a lot to produce a book based on my work. Thus, the idea of this treatise was conceived way back in the early 2000s. It took a long time to produce this treatise since after gathering information on it in the United Kingdom's libraries and archives, I looked into some additional sources in India. Finally, the baby came out of the womb. I am grateful to Professor Arnold for his advice and assistance in completing the research successfully.

I am greatly indebted to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, London, for sponsoring my trip to and supporting my stay in London during 2002–2003, which gave me ample opportunities to use the esteemed libraries and archives in London. This facilitated my research at the British Library, Wellcome Library, London School of Tropical Medicine Library, and the British Medical Association archives in London.

11.1 Introduction

Banks are basically commercial entities and maximising profit is the main objective in the banking business. Profit for banks arises from broadly two sources. The major source is interest income from loans and investments over interest cost on deposits and borrowings, popularly referred to as net interest income (NII). We have observed earlier in this book that deposits constitute the bulk of the liabilities of a bank and loans and investments overwhelmingly dominate a bank's assets. Therefore, NII constitutes the main source of a bank's profit. A bank has to choose a judicious mix of deposits and loans as also appropriately price such products to maximise its NII. The second source of profit for banks is earnings in the form of fees, commissions and charges, and so on.

However, banks cannot ignore the risks involved in various banking products. Generally, higher risk is associated with higher returns. Prudent banking entails containment of overall risks within reasonable limits; otherwise excessive risks may wipe out the entire profit. In exceptional situations, excessive risk may even cause complete collapse of a bank. In view of these aspects, optimising risk-adjusted returns without compromising solvency and liquidity aspects is the ultimate goal in the banking business.

It is important to note that profitability can be maximised through improving banking efficiency and productivity. In banking, productivity is popularly measured in terms of per employee business and profit. This closely resembles the concept of labour productivity used in microeconomics. Higher business per employee reflects higher productivity.

The process of colonization made the colonial administration face terrible diseases in India that threatened the army, white civilians, and the economy of the colony, and generated tremendous insecurities and anxieties. Western medicine and medical men were brought to India to tackle the diseases and protect the ‘crown jewel’ of the British Empire. At the same time, the introduction of Western medicine into India by the British generated a host of complexities that have significance insofar as the history of medicine in colonial India is concerned. What was essential for combating the dreadful diseases was advanced medical knowledge, and it emerged from the sincere and sustained work of medical researchers in India. The scientific efforts of researchers were essential to enabling everything from the diagnosis of the illness to the development of therapeutic treatments. Only by the diligent research of medical scientists—whether it was quinine for malaria, smallpox or plague vaccinations, or anti-kala-azar drugs—was remedial chemotherapy known to the hospitals. The research yielded unquestionably enormous advantages, but to what extent the government appropriately utilized those gains to contain the diseases is another story entirely. It is the painstaking research of the IMS men and members of the Bengal Medical Service that brought to light what we know about kala-azar. Investigations undertaken by them continued until the end of British rule and produced a plethora of information about the disease, its chemotherapy, and its prognosis. This chapter focuses on the growth of medical research on black fever, or kala-azar, against the background of medical research in general in colonial India. It also seeks to shed light on the government's response to it and the extent the research reached fruition.

A new era in the history of fighting the fever began in 1903 when the kala-azar parasite was correctly identified. Thenceforth, further study on it made India one of the world's leading countries that produced enormous medical knowledge about this disease, thereby enriching the knowledge base of black fever. Despite the overwhelming wealth of information on this ailment, the colonial state in India and its subjects had to wage war against kala-azar till the end of colonial rule. Eastern India experienced serious medical intervention by the colonial administration to combat kala-azar, but the progress of the disease could not be checked successfully even in the late colonial period despite pursuing treatment campaigns and health propaganda. The administration failed to prevent its occurrence, though successful treatment from the 1920s saved innumerable people. The disease was rather widely prevalent despite the availability of all possible means to eliminate it. This raised doubt over the efficiency of the anti-kala-azar measures implemented by the health administration.

Despite the fact that the health policy of the British Indian government had certain limitations, the contribution and efficacy of Western medicine cannot be questioned. It had a liberating, though limited, role in the control of communicable diseases. It introduced modern scientific and medical knowledge and evoked interest among the local populace. The notion of public health was certainly attractive to the Indian elite and intelligentsia, who accepted some of its doctrines and wanted to see the principles of public health working in India. The developing concept of public health and hygiene, medical institutions and hospitals, IMS and subordinate medical services, and so on, provided an organized medical system and an iron framework of public health administration in independent India. It gave certain benefits to the Indian people. The Indian medical system was not as methodical, pervasive, and penetrative as Western medicine. Colonial medical research based on the method of experiment and observation carried out by experts on different diseases provided new knowledge about preventive and curative aspects of medicine and also about the containment of dreadful diseases.

Unquestionably, the government was sorely tempted to retaliate against the inroads of kala-azar and set forth plans and strategies for that purpose. Treatment was used as an effective tool to arrest the disease. The sustained and extensive treatment for kala-azar had a great effect on saving lives in the areas under study.

9.1 Introduction

In the backdrop of our discussion in the previous chapters, it is important to reiterate two key aspects pertaining to the banking business. First, as a financial intermediary, a commercial bank undertakes deposit mobilisation and uses such deposits for lending and investments. Surplus interest income earned on loans and investments over the cost of deposits is the main source of a bank's profit. Needless to mention, to calculate a bank's overall profitability, non-interest income is to be counted and operational costs and taxes need to be adjusted. As a commercial entity, profit maximisation is the prime objective of a bank. Second, we also discussed that lending and investments entail various types of risks. Aggressive lending in search of higher returns inherently involves higher levels of risks. The quantum of risks in the banking business needs to be kept within reasonable limits to ensure banking stability.

Considering these facts, the guiding principle for prudent banking is to strive for optimising risk-adjusted profit. In that direction, the banking business is conducted keeping in mind not only the primary objective of profitability but also considerations of solvency and liquidity.

As regards promoting profitability, banks aim to maximise their NII and non-interest income. The NII is nothing but interest income over interest cost of a bank and accounts for the bulk of banking profitability. Higher NII can be generated by expanding interest income from loans and investments while reducing costs on deposits. Thus, maximising NII requires judicious decision-making in choosing the portfolio of bank deposits, loans and investments and the pricing of products.

The introduction of Western medicine in India by British colonialism is a milestone in the history of modern India. Many of the new ideas of medical science—hospitals, health, hygiene, sanitation—came to India with colonialism. At the same time, there evolved an encounter between Western and indigenous medicines—a cultural encounter between India's traditional society and the West. The relationship between Western and Indian medical systems has always been a significant topic in medical history, and in recent decades historical studies have focused on this relationship. In his essay titled ‘Medicine and Orientalism: Perspectives on Europe's Encounter with Indian Medical Systems’, Mark Harrison deftly examines this topic. Discussing both collaboration and contradiction in the relationship between the two in the course of passing through several stages from the seventeenth century onwards, Harrison mentions that the Europeans’ attitude towards Indian systems of medicine underwent a change after 1820. Using ‘native’ medicinal herbs, examining Indian medical literature, and consulting practitioners of Indian medical systems, European physicians made substantial use of indigenous medical knowledge.

12.1 Introduction

In the preceding chapters, we broadly covered all critical aspects of banking in an Indian perspective. We began with an introduction to the banking business and Indian banking system in Part I of the book. We discussed that deposit mobilisation and use of such deposits for lending and investment form the core of the banking business. We also highlighted how modern banking has become more sophisticated with the adoption of financial engineering and several ancillary functions. In the Indian financial system, SCBs continue to be of paramount importance despite development of other segments including the capital market during the post-reform period. Necessary details in a comparative perspective were provided.

This was followed by a discussion on the role of banks in an economy in Part II. Drawing from growth theories, we discussed how through mobilisation of domestic savings and facilitation of capital formation along with efficient resource allocation, banks support long-term economic prosperity. The critical role of banks in the MTM towards moderating economic fluctuations in the short run was also highlighted. It was underscored that banks can be helpful in addressing the economic disparity across states in India by promoting banking services in backward regions or states.

The banking business inherently entails a variety of risks. In this context, various types of banking risks, their quantification, regulatory prescriptions and the risk management framework of banks were covered in Part III. Awareness about banking risks and containing such risks within reasonable limits is an integral part of the banking business; otherwise, like a nuclear disaster, banking failures can be severely damaging. Banking crises can impede economic prosperity as was evident during the Great Depression of the 1930s and GFC of 2007–08. Such situations undermine monetary policy effectiveness.

10.1 Support Vector Machines

Support vector machines (SVMs) are supervised machine learning (ML) models used to solve regression and classification problems. However, it is widely used for solving classification problems. The main goal of SVM is to segregate the n-dimensional space into labels or classes by defining a decision boundary or hyperplanes. In this chapter, we shall explore SVM for solving classification problems.

10.1.1 SVM Working Principle

SVM Working Principle | Parteek Bhatia, https://youtu.be/UhzBKrIKPyE

To understand the working principle of the SVM classifier, we will take a standard ML problem where we want a machine to distinguish between a peach and an apple based on their size and color.

Let us suppose the size of the fruit is represented on the X-axis and the color of the fruit is on the Y-axis. The distribution of the dataset of apple and peach is shown in Figure 10.1.

To classify it, we must provide the machine with some sample stock of fruits and label each of the fruits in the stock as an “apple” or “peach”. For example, we have a labeled dataset of some 100 fruits with corresponding labels, i.e., “apple” or “peach”. When this data is fed into a machine, it will analyze these fruits and train itself. Once the training is completed, if some new fruit comes into the stock, the machine will classify whether it is an “apple” or a “peach”.

Most of the traditional ML algorithms would learn by observing the perfect apples and perfect peaches in the stock, i.e., they will train themselves by observing the ideal apples of stock (apples which are very much like apples in terms of their size and color) and the perfect peaches of stock (peaches which are very much like peaches in terms of their size and color). These standard samples are likely to be found in the heart of stock. The heart of the stock is shown in Figure 10.2.

9.1 INTRODUCTION [LO1]

Stresses given by relatively simple equations in the strength of materials for structures or machine members are based on the assumed continuity of the elastic medium. However, the presence of discontinuity destroys the assumed regularity of stress distribution in a member and a sudden increase in stresses occurs in the neighborhood of the discontinuity. In developing machines, it is impossible to avoid abrupt changes in cross-sections, holes, notches, shoulders, etc. Abrupt changes in cross-section also occur at the roots of gear teeth and threads of bolts. Some examples are shown in Figure 9.1.

Any such discontinuity acts as a stress raiser. Ideally, discontinuity in materials such as non-metallic inclusions in metals, casting defects, residual stresses from welding may also act as stress raisers. In this chapter, however, we shall consider only the geometric discontinuity that arises from design considerations of structures or machine parts.

Many theoretical methods and experimental techniques have been developed to determine stress concentrations in different structural and mechanical systems. In order to understand the concept, we shall begin with a plate with a centrally located hole. The plate is subjected to uniformly distributed tensile loading at the ends, as shown in Figure 9.2.

1.1 Introduction

In today’s data-driven world, information flows through the digital landscape like an untapped river of potential. Within this vast data stream lies the key to unlocking a new era of discovery and innovation. Machine learning (ML), a revolutionary field, acts as the gateway to this wealth of opportunities. With its ability to uncover patterns, make predictive insights, and adapt to evolving information, ML has transformed industries, redefined technology, and opened the door to limitless possibilities. This book is your gateway to the fascinating realm of ML—a journey that empowers you to harness the power of data, enabling you to build intelligent systems, make informed decisions, and explore the boundless possibilities of the digital age.

ML has emerged as the dominant approach for solving problems in the modern world, and its wide-ranging applications have made it an integral part of our lives. Right from search engines to social networking sites, everything is powered by ML algorithms. Your favorite search engine uses ML algorithms to get you the appropriate search results. Smart home assistants like Alexa and Siri use ML to serve us better. The influence of ML in our day-to-day activities is so much that we cannot even realize it. Online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra use ML to recommend products. Facebook is using ML to display our feed. Netflix and YouTube are using ML to recommend videos based on our interests.

Data is growing exponentially with the Internet and smartphones, and ML has just made this data more usable and meaningful. Social media, entertainment, travel, mining, medicine, bioinformatics, or any field you could name uses ML in some form.

To understand the role of ML in the modern world, let us first discuss the applications of ML.

1.1 INTRODUCTION [LO1]

Mechanics is one of the oldest physical sciences, dating back to the times of Aristotle and Archimedes. The subject deals with force, displacement, and motion. The concepts of mechanics have been used to solve many mechanical and structural engineering problems through the ages. Because of its intriguing nature, many great scientists including Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein delved into it for solving intricate problems in their own fields.

Engineering mechanics and mechanics of materials developed over centuries with a few experiment-based postulates and assumptions, particularly to solve engineering problems in designing machines and structural parts. Problems are many and varied. However, in most cases, the requirement is to ensure sufficient strength, stiffness, and stability of the components, and eventually those of the whole machine or structure. In order to do this, we first analyze the forces and stresses at different points in a member, and then select materials of known strength and deformation behavior, to withstand the stress distribution with tolerable deformation and stability limits. The methodology has now developed to the extent of coding that takes into account the whole field stress, strain, deformation behaviors, and material characteristics to predict the probability of failure of a component at the weakest point. Inputs from the theory of elasticity and plasticity, mathematical and computational techniques, material science, and many other branches of science are needed to develop such sophisticated coding.

The theory of elasticity too developed but as an applied mathematics topic, and engineers took very little notice of it until recently, when critical analyses of components in high-speed machinery, vehicles, aerospace technology, and many other applications became necessary. The types of problems considered in both the elementary strength of material and the theory of elasticity are similar, but the approaches are different. The strength of the materials approach is generally simple. Here the emphasis is on finding practical solutions to a problem with simplifying assumptions.