In order to quantify the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability for a monsoon dominated agrarian based Indian socio-economy, we used combined high resolution δ¹³C, total organic carbon (TOC), sediment texture and environmental magnetic data of the samples from a ~3 m deep glacial outwash sedimentary profile from the Sikkim Himalaya. Our decadal to centennial scale records identified five positive and three negative excursions of the ISM since last ~13 ka. The most prominent abrupt negative ISM shift was observed during the termination of the Younger Dryas (YD) between ~11.7 and 11.4 ka. While, ISM was stable between ~11 and 6 ka, and declined prominently between 6 and 3 ka. Surprisingly, during both the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice age (LIA) spans, ISM was strong in this part of the Himalaya. These regional changes in ISM were coupled to southward shifting in mean position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and variations in East Asian monsoon (EAM). Our rainfall reconstructions are broadly in agreement with local, regional reconstructions and PMIP3, CSIRO-MK3L model simulations.

Purpose: The food supply chain has faced many challenges due to its complex and complicated nature. Blockchain technology is one of the mechanisms used to improve agri-food supply chain processes by evolving organization capabilities. A study is being conducted to scrutinize the adoption of blockchain technology in the agri-food supply chain through the lens of the operational capability approach. It further makes an attempt to identify the capabilities of blockchain to improve supply chain processes.Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews was used to gather information from experts and professionals in the food supply chain and blockchain technology. The authors have adopted a systematic approach of coding using open, axial and selective methods to depict and identify the themes that represent the blockchain-enabled agri-food supply chain. The data were collected from 32 interviews of selected participants.Findings: The result shows five critical areas where blockchain can come up to enhance the agri-food supply chain performance by providing traceability, transparency, information security, transactions, and trust and quality. Further, the study reveals that blockchain will provide safety, lower the cost of transactions and can create trust among users to communicate within the whole supply chain without the intervention of a third party. This study demonstrated that the capabilities need to be considered when introducing technology into the practice.Research limitations/implications: The study implies thought-provoking implications for bridging the theory-practice gap by examining the empirical data to demonstrate how the operational capabilities of blockchain technology further strengthen the agri-food supply chain. Additionally, this study provides some suggestions for utilizing the results and proposes a framework to understand more about blockchain use cases in the agri-food supply chain as well as extend the application of blockchain using an operational capability approach for future academic researchers in this area.Practical implications: This study presented some more important managerial implications which reveal that the majority of organisations were in the initial stages of adoption process of blockchain technology. Further, the positive influence of managers and IT experts can help the information technology companies (IT) and stakeholders for developing and promoting blockchain solutions in the agri-food supply chain. The important implication of blockchain enabled agri-food supply chain is to maintain information security and incresae supply chain performance. Originality/value: The study shows the operational capabilities of agri-food supply chain using blockchain technology. Blockchain can contribute in enhancing the agri-food supply chain to increase traceability and transparency and helps to reduce the risk of disruptions.