The solar photovoltaic technology is one of the renewable technologies with the potential to shape a future-proof, reliable, scalable and affordable electricity system. It is important to provide better resources for any upcoming technology. CdS/CdTe thin films have long been considered as one enticing option for reliable and cost-effective solar cells to be developed. N-type CdS as a transparent window layer in heterojunction structures is one of the best choices for CdTe cells. In a solar cell structure, window layer material plays a very crucial role to improve its performance. For this reason, this review focuses on the basic and significant aspects such as importance of the window layer thickness, degradation effect, use of nano-wire arrays, and an ammonia-free process to deposit the window layer. Also, an attempt has been made to analyze various processes improving window layer properties. Necessary discussions have been included to review the impact of solar cell parameters on the above aspects. It is anticipated that this review article will fulfill the requirement of knowledge to be used in the fabrication of CdS/CdTe solar cells.

Management and Production Engineering Review (MPER) is a peer-refereed, international, multidisciplinary journal covering a broad spectrum of topics in production engineering and management. Production engineering is a currently developing stream of science encompassing planning, design, implementation and management of production and logistic systems. Orientation towards human resources factor differentiates production engineering from other technical disciplines. The journal aims to advance the theoretical and applied knowledge of this rapidly evolving field, with a special focus on production management, organisation of production processes, management of production knowledge, computer integrated management of production flow, enterprise effectiveness, maintainability and sustainable manufacturing, productivity and organisation, forecasting, modelling and simulation, decision making systems, project management, innovation management and technology transfer, quality engineering and safety at work, supply chain optimization and logistics. Management and Production Engineering Review is published under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences Committee on Production Engineering and Polish Association for Production Management. The main purpose of Management and Production Engineering Review is to publish the results of cutting-edge research advancing the concepts, theories and implementation of novel solutions in modern manufacturing. Papers presenting original research results related to production engineering and management education are also welcomed. We welcome original papers written in English. The Journal also publishes technical briefs, discussions of previously published papers, book reviews, and editorials. Letters to the Editor-in-Chief are highly encouraged.

While assessing the effects of climate change at global or regional scales, local factors responsible for climate change are generalized, which results in the averaging of effects. However, climate change assessment is required at a micro-scale to determine the severity of climate change. To ascertain the impact of spatial scales on climate change assessments, trends and shifts in annual and seasonal (monsoon and non-monsoon), rainfall and temperature (minimum, average and maximum) were determined at three different spatial resolutions in India (Ajmer city, Ajmer District and Rajasthan State). The Mann–Kendall (MK), MK test with pre-whitening of series (MK–PW), and Modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) test, along with other statistical techniques were used for the trend analysis. The Pettitt–Mann–Whitney (PMW) test was applied to detect the temporal shift in climatic parameters. The Sen’s slope and % change in rainfall and temperature were also estimated over the study period (35 years). The annual and seasonal average temperature indicates significant warming trends, when assessed at a fine spatial resolution (Ajmer city) compared to a coarser spatial resolution (Ajmer District and Rajasthan State resolutions). Increasing trend was observed in minimum, mean and maximum temperature at all spatial scales; however, trends were more pronounced at a finer spatial resolution (Ajmer city). The PMW test indicates only the significant shift in non-monsoon season rainfall, which shows an increase in rainfall after 1995 in Ajmer city. The Kurtosis and coefficient of variation also revealed significant climate change, when assessed at a finer spatial resolution (Ajmer city) compared to a coarser resolution. This shows the contribution of land use/land cover change and several other local anthropogenic activities on climate change. The results of this study can be useful for the identification of optimum climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies based on the severity of climate change at different spatial scales.

Management and Production Engineering Review (MPER) is a peer-refereed, international, multidisciplinary journal covering a broad spectrum of topics in production engineering and management. Production engineering is a currently developing stream of science encompassing planning, design, implementation and management of production and logistic systems. Orientation towards human resources factor differentiates production engineering from other technical disciplines. The journal aims to advance the theoretical and applied knowledge of this rapidly evolving field, with a special focus on production management, organisation of production processes, management of production knowledge, computer integrated management of production flow, enterprise effectiveness, maintainability and sustainable manufacturing, productivity and organisation, forecasting, modelling and simulation, decision making systems, project management, innovation management and technology transfer, quality engineering and safety at work, supply chain optimization and logistics. Management and Production Engineering Review is published under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences Committee on Production Engineering and Polish Association for Production Management. The main purpose of Management and Production Engineering Review is to publish the results of cutting-edge research advancing the concepts, theories and implementation of novel solutions in modern manufacturing. Papers presenting original research results related to production engineering and management education are also welcomed. We welcome original papers written in English. The Journal also publishes technical briefs, discussions of previously published papers, book reviews, and editorials. Letters to the Editor-in-Chief are highly encouraged.

The conservation of rainwater and augmentation of groundwater reserve is necessary to meet the increased water de-mands. Precipitation occurring in the smart cities need to be understood for a better water management action plan. There-fore, monotonic precipitation trend analysis was performed for eight smart cities drawn from six monsoon homogeneous regions across India. The precipitation data were investigated for trends using the modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) test and Sen’s slope estimator at annual, seasonal and monthly scales. The trend analysis was carried out over 118 years (from 1901 to 2018) at 95% significance level. The Dehradun city (Northern Himalayan region) showed a significant increasing annual precipitation trend (Z = +3.22). Indore and Bhopal cities from West Central region showed significant increasing annual trend (Z = +2.01) and non-significant decreasing annual trend respectively. Although, Vadodara and Jaipur are lying in the same Northwest region, the trends are opposite in nature. Jaipur city showed a significant increasing annual pre-monsoon trend (Z = +2.44). The winter rainfall in the city of Vadodara is showing a significant decreasing trend (Z = –2.16). The pre-monsoon rainfall in Bhubaneswar (Central Northeast region) and monsoon precipitation in Trivandrum (Peninsular region) are showing significant increasing (Z = +2.56) and decreasing (Z = –2.71) trends, respectively. A non-significant decreasing trend was seen in Guwahati city (Northeast region). The eight smart cities selected for investigation are not truly representing the entire country. However, the study is clearly pointing towards the regional disparity existing in the coun-try. These findings will be helpful for water managers and policymakers in these regions for better water management.