In Focus by The Hindu

On July 1, China's Communist Party turns 100. In this episode, we are looking at how the Communist Party of China got to this landmark and to where it is today, the evolution in its politics, its governing philosophy, its ideology, and increasingly, its turn to nationalism. We will look back, and forward, on this significant political anniversary for China, and examine how changing domestic priorities under Xi Jinping are increasingly impacting China's external behaviour and policies. We will look at how, as the party turns 100, its increasingly confident global posture, as China seeks a greater global role, will impact both India and the region. Guest: Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, University of Oxford, and author of China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, the Supreme Court heard a plea seeking compensation to the families of those who have died from COVID-19 or post-COVID complications. The petitioners, citing Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and a 2015 notification, said that the Centre should make ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh to each of the victims’ families. But the government has been reluctant to commit to any such compensation. It has said that given the magnitude of the COVID-19 death toll --- which is nearly 4 lakh as per official figures (and likely to go up) – this would mean paying ₹4 lakh to nearly 4 lakh families, which may not be feasible. Is the government obliged under the law to pay compensation for COVID deaths? How credible are arguments that payouts of this magnitude are not financially feasible or advisable? How realistic is the idea of setting up a dedicated COVID Compensation Fund, which has been mooted by the Opposition? For more clarity on these questions, we speak to Dr Abhay Shukla, who has been working on public and community health issues for over 35 years. A national co-convenor of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Dr Shukla has also been a member of the National Human Rights Commission’s committee for formulating human rights responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by G. Sampath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2021 French Open semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is widely considered as one of the greatest contests the sport has seen. The match, pitting the world’s number one player against the greatest clay court player the game has seen, was a feast of high quality tennis. While a great deal has been written about the historic nature of Djokovic’s victory, it is still unclear what exactly he did differently to pull it off. After all, starting with Roger Federer, every top player of the past decade has thrown everything and the kitchen sink at Nadal and failed to break his supremacy at the French Open, which he has won 13 times, losing just twice in more than 15 years. We dissect Djokovic’s epic run at this year’s French Open, which actually began at the finals of the Italian Open in May, where he lost to Nadal in the final, and ended with another humdinger of a final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. We also delve into what Djokovic’s 19th Grand Slam means for the GOAT debate, which has so far been dominated by Federer and Nadal. Our guest for this episode is Sanjeev Kassal. Sanjeev is a winner of five National Tennis Championship (Seniors) titles and six International Tennis Federation (ITF) Seniors titles. He has been a commentator and interviewer at the Commonwealth Games, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2013 French Open, and many of India’s Davis Cup matches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are looking ahead to the final of the ICC World Test Championship, billed as the World Cup of Test cricket. Over the last two years, nine teams have played several series against other opponents, accumulating points. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that not all series could go ahead, forcing the ICC to come up with a modified points system that would allow the tournament to run its course and stage the planned final. The top two teams, India and New Zealand, will play each other in a one-off Test match at Southampton starting on Friday. This is the first such championship final of its kind in Test cricket. We discuss the evolution of the WTC, the fairness of the points system, possible changes in the format and the prospects of the two sides. Guest: Sharda Ugra, independent sports journalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we discuss the recent G7 summit, the messages and the larger themes that emerged and the key takeaways for India. We're joined by the Hindu’s national and diplomatic affairs editor Suhasini Haidar and China Correspondent Ananth Krishnan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the world stumbles through a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that both its catastrophic toll on human life and the severe socioeconomic dislocation it has caused matter equally. Yet it is also becoming clear that there is a growing inequality associated with governments and private citizens’ responses to the pandemic – whether in terms of access to vaccines or public policy measures to support the most vulnerable sections. In this context, the work of Professor Branko Milanovic of the Stone Center on Socio Economic Inequality at the City University of New York, and former lead economist in the World Bank’s Research Department for almost 20 years, matters ever more today, especially his study of the relationship between inequality and different forms of capitalism across the world. On this episode of the In Focus podcast, he shares his perspective on this subject, including on its relevance to India, with The Hindu's Associate Editor Narayan Lakshman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a couple of days in a row now, India has reported less than 1 lakh COVID-19 cases in a day, with recoveries outnumbering daily cases. Our vaccine programme, however, continues to remain sluggish with only 3.4% of the population fully vaccinated, and 14.1% having received one dose. A lot has been said about the 'Delta' variant being responsible for the second wave that ravaged the country, and a lot of questions remain about the effectiveness of vaccines against virus mutations. Since December 2019, what have we learnt about our body's response to Sars-CoV-2? Is it possible for the virus to keep mutating and developing "immune escape" properties? Does a "mix and match" strategy of using two different vaccines on a person work? And could we have done better to ensure vaccine equity, especially at a time when supplies seem to be running short? To talk to us about these issues, we have with us today Dr. Satyajit Rath, adjunct professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than a year after COVID-19 first made the headlines, the most basic questions about the origins of SARS-COV-2 remain unanswered. We still don’t know how the first human being got infected. We don’t know if this virus naturally evolved the proteins needed to infect humans, or if those mutations were engineered in a lab. At the same time, these questions – which need scientific answers – have become heavily politicised. Until early 2021, the hypothesis that the pandemic originated in a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was dismissed as a crackpot theory. But now a series of in-depth media reports have given the lab leak hypothesis new respectability. How do we understand this sudden shift? What are the various interests and agendas trying to influence the origins narrative? And will we ever know for sure what exactly caused a pandemic that has dislocated modern life in so many profound ways? To better understand these fascinating questions, we speak to Thomas Abraham, adjunct associate professor at the University of Hong Kong and author of Twenty-First Century Plague: The Story of SARS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seven years after the allegations were first made, a sessions court in Goa has acquitted journalist Tarun Tejpal of rape charges. The 527-page judgment has come under close scrutiny and many legal experts, including feminists, have found the verdict problematic. Some of the purported flaws that have been pointed out include the focus on victim’s sexual history and a certain presumption about so-called “normative behaviour” of a rape victim. The Goa government has appealed against Tejpal’s acquittal in the Bombay High Court. In its appeal, it has also argued that this is a fit case for retrial. So, how do we really understand the outcome of this high-profile case, whose trial and verdict took up seven years? Has the needle on gender justice moved at all, since the Nirbhaya case, and the celebrated amendments to our rape laws? We discuss these and other questions thrown up by the Tejpal verdict with Arti Raghavan, advocate at the Bombay High Court. Hosted by: G Sampath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When proposed a year ago, the theory suggesting lab-leak origins for the coronavirus was broadly dismissed as conspiracy. Today, it is back in the reckoning. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros said in March, after a WHO-China joint mission to Wuhan dismissed the theory as being "extremely unlikely", that it required further investigation. His unexpected comments renewed interest, as did a statement from U.S. President Joe Biden in the last week of May ordering a probe into whether the origins were zoonotic or from a lab accident. One reason behind the renewed attention is the information dug up, although still only circumstantial, by a group of online investigators, called DRASTIC. In this episode, we are joined by The Hindu's Ramya Kannan who has been following their work, explains what they have found so far, and what we know and don't know about the origins of the pandemic. Show Notes Ramya Kannan, Online group digs deeper into coronavirus leak theory https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/online-group-digs-deeper-into-coronavirus-leak-theory/article34746341.ece Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we discuss the political situation in Israel where Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest serving Prime Minister, may finally be on his way-out. Eight political parties, from the right wing Yamina to the Arab-majority Ra’am have come together to form a new coalition, which, if proves majority in the Israeli Parliament, could oust Mr. Netanyahu, who has been in power since 2009. So why did this coalition form? Who are its members and what options does Mr Netanyahu have before him as things move forward? We discuss these questions today with The Hindu’s International Affairs editor Stanly Johny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we turn again to China and to policy decisions on family planning and population control. On May 11 we discussed China’s population census figures and why their declining birth rates were a cause of concern. The reaction to those numbers has been swift, and just six years after abandoning the “one child policy” of 1979, China’s Communist Party has now introduced a “three child policy”. The move, according to the Politburo, is to “improve China’s population structure, actively respond to the ageing population, and preserve the country’s human resource advantages'. We will discuss this issue once again with The Hindu’s China Correspondent Ananth Krishnan. Show notes: https://www.thehindu.com/podcast/why-indias-population-may-overtake-chinas-sooner-than-expected-the-hindu-in-focus-podcast/article34536778.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/chinas-coercive-population-measures-serve-as-warning-for-india-experts/article34701448.ece https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/233009/1/GLO-DP-0819.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we’ll look at External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the U.S. last week, a trip that was largely seen as a mission to secure various agreements relating to the supply vaccines or raw materials for vaccine production. Taking off from Dr. Jaishankar’s visit, we’ll also use the second part of the podcast to discuss some of the major diplomatic challenges that India now faces post the COVID-19 second wave. I’m joined by The Hindu’s national and diplomatic affairs editor Suhasini Haidar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have meant work-from home for many. And work-from-home means plenty of Zoom meetings and webinars, which often involve both audio and video. Studies by mental health researchers suggest that web-based official meetings are far more demanding than face-to-face, offline interactions, and over a period of time, a heavy dose of webinars can cause a host of problems – ranging from anxiety and eye strain to restlessness and disturbed sleep. These and other symptoms are often tagged together as webinar fatigue. With the pandemic looking unlikely to recede very soon, web meetings will remain a staple of professional life for some time to come. This makes it all the more important that there is greater awareness about webinar fatigue, so that people can manage it better. So, what exactly causes webinar fatigue? How is it diagnosed? Are there steps that workplaces and managers can take to prevent it? To answer these questions, we speak to Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore. His area of specialisation includes the management of technology overuse, and the healthy use of potentially addictive technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies crashed last week, with prices falling by nearly 50%. A mind-boggling $1.3 trillion of market value was wiped out. Despite such a massive crash, investors and traders on Wall Street and elsewhere continue to be bullish about cryptos such as Ethereum. And in all the mayhem, the role of tech billionaire Elon Musk remains a puzzle. And yet, diehard crypto-investors still believe that in the not-so-distant future, many banking functions will be displaced by decentralised, blockchain protocols, smart contracts, and so on, making cryptos an attractive investment option in the present. To help us decode what’s going on, and where the cryptocurrency scene is headed, we speak to Vivek Kaul. Kaul is the author of five books, including the bestselling Easy Money trilogy. His most recent book is called ‘Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How it Threatens the Indian Banking System’. Host: G Sampath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One is on the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 which came into effect on May 26. The rules apply to various categories of online content providers such as social media platforms, OTT streaming services and online news providers. Some of its key points relate to the setting up of grievance redressal systems and having local personnel to ensure compliance with rules. One requirement for large social media providers is that under certain conditions, they will have to trace the originator of a message. This is a problem for messaging apps like WhatsApp, whose key feature is end-to-end encryption. The fear is that if an option is given to break this end-to-end encryption, it will lead to mass surveillance. WhatsApp has now approached the Delhi High Court against the rules. The other set of headlines are on the back and forth between the Centre and Twitter on the 'toolkit' issue. Twitter had marked a tweet from BJP leaders Sambit Patra on an alleged 'toolkit' by the Congress party, as 'manipulated media'. This has led to the government accusing the microblogging site of defaming India and to the Delhi police visiting the company offices. The San Francisco-based company has called the police visit an intimidation tactic. Now, where do these two sets of headlines intersect? What are the nittie gritties of the new IT rules? What are the prevailing rules on privacy? We explain in this podcast. Guest: Apar Gupta, Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation Host: P.J. George Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India has so far recorded close to 12,000 cases of mucormycosis, or black fungus infection as it is commonly known. The Central government has now declared it a notifiable disease. Mucormycosis was not unknown in India, but it is now, with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to rage, that the country has seen a surge in these infections. While the increased use of steroids, needed for the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients is being cited as one possible reason, experts have also said that a majority of cases are seen in those with poorly-controlled diabetes. Mucormycosis can affect many organs in the body, but what is being seen now, is the rhino-orbito cerebral form -- the infection affects the sinuses, nose, eyes and then brain. Doctors have reported that patients come to them a few weeks after recovering from COVID-19, with symptoms of mucormycosis. Amphotericin B is the main antifungal drug used in treatment, though stocks are running low now in the country due to high demand. The Centre recently said five new pharma companies had been approved to produce Amphotericin-B. Earlier, only six firms were manufacturing it. To speak to us about this fungal infection, its link with diabetes and what can be done to prevent it, is Dr. V. Mohan chairman, Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre in Chennai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we’re talking about the challenges of counting or estimating the death toll from COVID-19 in India. This is, of course, a complicated and polarising subject. Due to a combination of factors such as the size of India’s population, and the lack of good and accessible data in many instances, there is a difference between the officially reported figures for deaths from the pandemic and the actual death count. But to what degree is there under-reporting? This is the cause of much speculation -- the subject of many mathematical models and projections even. As we record this podcast today, the 26th of May, the New York Times has an article that projects a likely scenario in which there are 1.6 million deaths in India as against the reported figure which, as of May 24, stand at a little over 300,000. We're going to take a slightly broader approach to this issue in the podcast today and break down some of the issues with counting deaths in India, the various methodologies that are used, and the challenges of each. We are joined today by Dr. Anand Krishnan, professor at the centre for community medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He has also written two recent columns for The Hindu on counting the COVID 19 toll in India. We go through a lot of technicalities during the conversation about the processes through which mortality, not just from COVID-19 but other causes as well, are calculated. We hope that it will give you a more comprehensive picture on this issue. Episode notes: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-many-challenges-in-estimating-deaths/article32537264.ece https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/counting-the-covid-toll-in-india/article34582009.ece Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic has now entered rural parts of our country, where 65% of our population lives. Data from May shows that the case load is now 65% in rural and semi-rural areas versus 35% in urban and semi-urban areas. Even as hospital in our cities are towns are overloaded and overwhelmed, our rural infrastructure is in danger of collapsing -- with inadequate testing kits, drugs and trained healthcare professionals. There are reports of village residents having to travel for hours to try and secure a hospital bed and with deaths increasing, images of bodies floating on rivers as the people of India attempt to deal with an unprecedented crisis. The Central Government has released an SOP on Covid-19 Containment and Management in Peri-urban, Rural & Tribal areas, but how much of this is feasible? Were we unprepared for the surge of the virus in rural India? What measures can now be put in place to revamp our primary health systems that have, in many parts, been consistently ignored and under-funded for decades? To speak to us about this, we have with us today, Dr SP Kalantri, Professor of Medicine at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and Medical Superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, Sevagram Hosted by Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we get deep into the use of steroids, in medicine more generally and in the treatment of Covid-19. Steroids like dexamethasone seem to have a very positive effect on people who have COVID that's been proven, but Experts have warned that irregular and overuse of steroids causes severe infections like pneumonia and mucormycosis. The latter disease has just been declared an epidemic in India as several states report cases. In this podcast we try and get to the root of the issue. Is the issue with the use of steroids itself and when? Or is it a problem of how much to give and how it should be carefully calibrated? Guest: Dr Vincent Rajkumar: Professor, Mayo Clinic and Editor, Blood Cancer Journal Hosted by Ramya Kannan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the key voices of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Soumya Swaminathan with her clarity of thought, articulation and deep awareness of the Indian context, has emerged as a reliable voice amid the covid 19 pandemic maelstrom. In an online interview, she provides detailed responses to a range of topics that are simmering, resolves some doubts, and advocates strategies to adopt gainfully. Investments in health care are crucial, she says, because it is now clear that there is nothing without health and without sufficient physical and mental well being, it would be impossible to take the path to recovery. Host: Ramya Kannan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re talking today about the big international story that’s dominated this week and that's the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Palestine. There is very little that I need to say by way of introduction, even as we record despite some truce efforts the conflict between the two sides only seems to be escalating and there's real danger now that this could be a long drawn-out affair that could spiral out of control. The number of casualties is already high. So, in this episode we’re going to look at the immediate triggers for this conflict, look at where things stand between the two sides now and as we always do on this podcast, we will pan out and look at how various geopolitical factors have brought us to this point. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The border crisis with China in eastern Ladakh that began in early May 2020 is nowhere near resolution after one year of tensions, even if the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has faded from newspaper front pages amid India's coronavirus crisis. In this episode, we look at the LAC situation one year on, and ask what it means for relations with China and the broader security challenges it poses for India. What is the state of play now at the LAC? How has the past year and the Ladakh crisis changed how the Indian Armed Forces approach guarding the frontiers and deployments along the border? What are the demands on India's resources? Is India ready to face a two-front challenge as the LAC turns "live" and a deepening China-Pakistan relationship? What options does India have as it seeks to mitigate the two-front threat? Guest: Sushant Singh, Senior Fellow, Centre For Policy Research, New Delhi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode we discuss China’s once-in-a-decade population census, the results of which were released today (May 11). The numbers show that China has recorded a slowing population growth rate that will likely see its population peak - and be overtaken by India’s - by as early as 2025, according to experts, with the number of births falling for the fourth consecutive year. This seventh census, released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Beijing, noted 12 million babies were born last year, the lowest number since 1961, a year when China was in the midst of a four-year famine unleashed by Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward policy in 1958 that devastated the farm sector and claimed millions of lives. So there is a lot to breakdown in this episode, to understand how China got to these numbers, what is says now about the changing composition of China’s demographics and what will be its long term economic impact. There is the overarching question also of what this means for the comparison with India and the window of time in which a demographic dividend could come into play. We’re joined by the Hindu’s China correspondent Ananth Krishnan to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by G. Sampath The Covid-19 crisis continues to dominate our news coverage, as it rightly should, and while we’ve doing many episodes on the pandemic, a couple of deep dives into policy issues, which is a trademark of this podcast, got lost along the way. We recorded this podcast last month, just after former RBI governor M. Narasimham passed away, with the aim of understanding his legacy in the context of the current challenges facing the banking sector. Narasimham is perhaps the most influential banker of post-independent India. The reports prepared by the two Committees that he chaired – the Narasimham Committee on Financial System (1991) and the Narasimham Committee on Banking Sector Reforms (1998) – are still the foundational documents for any discussion on banking sector reforms and banking policy. He is also credited with paving the way for epochal moves such as bank mergers, the emergence of new generation private banks, and asset reconstruction companies. But more than two decades after the two Nararimham Committees gave their reports and recommendations, India’s banking sector remains plagued by a host of problems, from high NPAs to poor governance, and a disconnect from developmental priorities. So what has been the legacy of Narasimham and the two committees that he chaired? How will India’s banking history view his role and contribution to India’s banking sector? To throw light on these questions, we spoke with Amol Agrawal, an economic historian and faculty at Ahmedabad University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is raging in India. Hospitals are overflowing, oxygen is in short supply in some parts of the country, patients are prescribed with a number of drugs and patients' relatives are desperately looking for drugs that are also running in short in some cases. What works in the treatment for Covid-19 and what should our treating protocol be? Does plasma therapy work? Are drugs like Remdesivir useful? And what will happen if the many antibiotics taken now lead to antimicrobial resistance in the future? To speak to us about this, we have Dr. Anup Aggarwal. He is the lead author of the ICMR-led Trial on convalescent plasma (PLACID trial) and is a physician at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital Healthcare Services, Gallup, New Mexico, U.S. Hosted by Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this news update podcast today, we discuss various aspects of the coronavirus crisis that the country is still very much in the grip of. We focus particularly on the quality of data that the government is using as it plans its way forward. The big question on everyone's minds now is when this deadly second wave will peak, and cases will see a downturn. However, there are already projections for a third wave later in the year. Our ability to navigate that depends very much on vaccinations, which are still progressing at an alarmingly slow rate. Guest: Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu JS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recorded this episode to coincide with a series of articles that we will carry in The Hindu over the course of this week explaining the verdicts in the four States — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam — and the Union Territory of Puducherry that went to the polls in March-April 2021. These articles are part of post poll survey done by the polling and research organisation, CSDS-Lokniti that tracks the specificities in each State that shaped the result. These post poll surveys have been a feature of our recent election coverage and allow us to reflect on the data and piece together a larger trajectory of how politics in the country is evolving. You can read more from that series, which started on May 4, here. But over the course of the conversation today we’ll go over some aspects of the voter data that we have, both from the CSDS poll as well as from the research that out data team here at the Hindu has done and we hope it’ll help you go beyond the headlines of the recently concluded elections. Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we’re discussing fire safety rules in public buildings, including hospitals. Over the past few weeks there have been deadly fires in hospital buildings, including those treating COVID-19 patients, compounding what is already a severe crisis that the country is facing. The most recent incident was on May 1, when at least 18 people died after a fire broke out in a COVID hospital in Bharuch in Gujarat. A spate of recent hospital fires has also been reported from Maharashtra, at Virar, a suburb of Mumbai, and Mumbra near Thane and earlier in the year at Nagpur. Fires breaking out in buildings, big and small across India is not a new phenomenon. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says 330 people died in commercial building fires in 2019, while fatalities for residential or dwelling buildings were much higher at 6,329. Electrical faults are cited as the leading cause of fires, but State governments are also widely criticised for being lax with building safety laws and for failing to equip public buildings with modern technology. What are the laws and regulations regarding fire safety and how much or how little various State governments comply with them? In this episode we try and answer the question of whether these incidents have been avoided with better compliance of the laws and what can be done in the future to prevent them. Guest: G Ananthakrishnan, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Covid-19 crisis continues to dominate our news coverage, as it rightly should, and on this podcast and elsewhere in The Hindu we are working to get you the most relevant news and the best reporting. However, we switch focus on the podcast briefly today to look at international affairs. We’re going to be discussing something that happened in 1915 during the course of the First World War -- the mass killing of about 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman empire. Over the last weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden formally recognised this act of mass killing as a genocide. In doing so, he was fulfilling a long-standing American promise that his predecessors had failed to act on. In 2019, both Houses of the U.S. Congress passed resolutions calling the slaughter as genocide but the then President Donald Trump stopped short of a formal recognition, mainly because of Turkish opposition. Turkey, America’s NATO ally and the successor of the Ottoman empire, has never acknowledged that a genocide took place, and it sees a mention of it as an insult or a moral stain. Today, we’re going to speak about what happened to the Armenians in 1915, and why they were targeted for these killings. We’ll then talk about the timing of President Biden’s move to recognise the killings as a genocide and what it says about a changing geopolitical picture, especially when it comes to Turkey. I’m joined by The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor Stanly Johny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode we looked in detail at the foreign assistance now pouring in for India by way of critical medical supplies and whether this would help us tackle the current coronavirus crisis that we face. Today we look at how things are shaping up with the logistics of managing the crisis domestically. Shortages of medical oxygen continue to be reported from across the country and as registration opens up for all adults in the country to get a vaccine shot there is still the big question to address; will there be enough supply to get it to everyone? We discuss all that and the trend lines with the latest coronavirus numbers with The Hindu’s Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the next couple of episodes, we turn our attention to the coronavirus emergency in the country and we look at the crucial question of medical supplies. On all fronts now the country seems to be grappling with major shortages but even as we are looking to ramp up domestic production over the weekend various countries around the world have expressed support and have pledged to send urgent medical aid. What can we expect over the next week or so and what are the critical areas that the government hopes to address? We’ll get the details in this episode from The Hindu’s National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend edition of In Focus we discuss sports and look at the controversial rise and rapid implosion of the European super league. Right off the bat, there are a couple of odd things about this story. The first is that it seemed to run an entire cycle in just a few days. Plans for the super league or ESL as it was dubbed, were announced last weekend. The backlash by players, fans, pundits, nearly everyone involved in football was so intense and so immediate that it became clear in just a couple of days that this was a non starter and would have to be wound up. The other unique thing about this story is that in an era of corporate control over sport this was a huge and clear victory for fans, for the intrinsically local sentiment in football prevailing over this attempt to create a closed league of superpowers. So what was the ESL, why did it fail, what has been the fallout of that failure and is the idea now dead or could it rear its head again in the future? These are the questions we’ll take up in this episode. Guest: Ashwin Achal, Sports Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we discuss the Iran nuclear deal and look at where things stand with regard to its possible revival. The Iran nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was an agreement struck under the Obama administration in 2015 and which the US then withdrew from in 2018 under President Donald Trump. That withdrawal had huge geopolitical consequences as does the question now of whether talks taking place in Vienna between delegation led by the US and other members of the 2015 deal, including Iran will be successful in bringing the deal back to the table. The larger backdrop to the whole issue, or a kind of ticking clock, whichever way you see it, is that Iran will go in for elections in June and there is the possibility of a more hardline leadership coming in that can scuttle any such. So what is the Iran Nuclear Deal, what does it mean for various players in the region and why is its revival important now? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second wave of COVID-19 infections in India has seen record-highs of over 2,000 deaths and nearly 3 lakh cases recorded on a single day. Health systems in many parts of the country are completely overwhelmed, reports of oxygen shortage are pouring in, and as cases surge, some States have imposed local lockdowns. How is the second wave in India, which began this year, much later than second waves in other parts of the world, different? Did we miss data that pointed to what was coming? When can we expect to see a decline in cases? And what steps can the country take, to ensure that we battle the pandemic without another economically-crippling national lockdown. To answer these questions, we have with us today, Dr. Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of epidemiology and chair of biostatistics at the University of Michigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we’re discussing the withdrawal of U.S troops from Afghanistan and how that will affect India and more broadly, what it means for the region around us. U.S. president Joe Biden has declared that he will withdraw all remaining U.S troops from Afghanistan by September 11. It's been 20 years since the terror attack on U.S. soil that precipitated their war in Afghanistan. Biden has said that the U.S. cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results and it does appear there is significant political support in America for ending these forever wars that the U.S is engaged in in the middle east. At the same time, in the intervening years, Afghanistan has only become a more complicated place. The peace process has been a long and messy affair and several threads of it remain unresolved, with the possibility very high now that the Taliban could be back in the ascendancy. And while the US may be leaving, that would leave the region in a rather worrying state of flux and instability. What does this all mean for India as we move forward? We will alternate in this episode between giving you a broader context on the withdrawal of troops and the peace process as a whole and discussing the reasons why this should be of particular concern now to India. Guest: Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the podcast we discuss various issues related to India’s vaccine shortage, the recent decision to grant emergency use authorisation to a host of foreign-produced vaccines and the stand-off between the Centre and States over vaccine supply Guest: Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India-China relations stand at a crossroads after the border crisis in 2020. Where do relations go from here, and how should India engage with China going forward even as it confronts a widening power gap with its neighbour? A new paper by a group of six authors including a former Ambassador to China, economists and scientists outline what the authors believe to be the optimal short-term and long-term strategies for India to engage with China politically, economically and military. In this episode, we are joined by two of its authors, who make a case for why realism, and not emotion-driven sentiment, should guide India's approach to China and its efforts to close the widening gap, even as they paint a sobering picture of the power differential between the neighbours. Also read: Excerpts from the interview Guests: Gautam Bambawale, former diplomat who served as Indian Ambassador to China, Pakistan and Bhutan; Ajay Shah, Research Professor of Business, Jindal Global University. Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday (April 9), India said it protested a U.S. decision to conduct a navy patrol in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the western Indian Ocean. The Ministry of External Affairs highlighted India's position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that the Convention does not authorise other States to carry out military manoeuvres or exercises in the EEZ without the consent of the coastal state. The U.S. Navy, however, defended the move, saying its ship USS John Paul Jones had carried out Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the Indian EEZ and challenged what it called India's “excessive maritime claims.” In this episode, we analyse the claims made by both sides, what the international law says, the significance of FONOPs and how they sit with India's views of its maritime rights and interests, and the broader implications for ideas of building a "rules-based order" in the Indo-Pacific region. Guest: Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last episode of our series analysing each State where Assembly elections are taking place, we’re looking at Assam and giving you an overview of the major issues at play there. The battle for Assam has big implications for the Congress and BJP. For the latter, gaining a second term in Assam would cement the party’s hold on the northeast where it rules either directly or in an alliance in all 8 States. For the Congress, coming back to power in Assam would mean regaining a major stronghold and opening up a gateway once again to the northeast. Besides these two major parties there is also the potential impact of new regional parties to discuss. Guest: Sandeep Phukan, Deputy Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recorded this episode on the day that Kerala is going to vote in the 2021 Assembly Elections to recap the major issues and dynamics at play in the election. The CPM-led LDF is hoping to buck Kerala’s long anti-incumbency trend by returning to power on a combination of factors such as efficient administration, welfare programmes and heavy investments in the social sector. Ranged against them are the UDF front which is counting on Kerala continuing the trend of voting the incumbent out of the government and the BJP which is capitalising on communal tensions to expand its footprint in the state. We give you an overview of the battle in this episode. Guest: S Anandan, Kochi Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we continue our state by state analysis of this set of assembly elections currently underway and we look at Tamil Nadu which goes to vote on April 6. We often frame the question, for each state, in terms of what has changed politically since the last assembly election in 2016 and nowhere has the change been as dramatic as seismic as in Tamil Nadu where the intervening years saw the passing away of the DMK’s M Karunanidhi and the AIADMK’s J Jayalalithaa. Between them, for decades the two held such an iron grip on their respective party structures and the state’s politics. In the power vacuum, that has naturally ensued since their passing, is there an opportunity for change and a new kind of political paradigm to emerge? Guest: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Episode Notes: Narayan Lakshman on the challenges facing the two Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu New Paradigm for Dravidianism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we look at China's plans for a Digital Currency, officially titled the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), also known as the digital RMB (the Renminbi is China’s currency). In February, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) launched the latest round of pilot trials, with reported plans of a major roll-out by the end of the year ahead of the February Winter Olympics in Beijing. While several countries are experimenting with digital currencies, China’s recent trials in several cities have placed it ahead of the curve. What is a Digital Currency, and how does it work? How is it different from e-wallets? How widely is it being used? What are the reasons behind the roll-out? Is it a response to the rise of cryptocurrencies? And part of China's broader push to tame its Internet giants? What are the global implications? Guest: Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) New Delhi, and a corporate lawyer Host: Ananth Krishan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, after several months of COVID-19 positive cases on the rise, India saw a decline in cases after September, even though lockdown restrictions were lifted, and economic and other activity resumed. From March onwards this year however, there has once again been a steep rise in infections, in what many are terming the country's 'second wave'. Earlier this week, Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul said the whole country was potentially at risk. The number of new cases added on March 1 was 3,000 but has now become nearly nine times that and daily deaths too, have shot up three-fold. What has driven this second wave? What is the role, if any, played by mutant strains of the virus in the surge of infections? Is vaccination taking us towards herd immunity? Guest: Giridhara R. Babu Professor of Epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health, PHFI, Bengaluru. Host: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we begin our state-by-state analysis of the Assembly elections and we begin with the biggest story perhaps, of this whole election cycle, the battle for Nandigram in West Bengal where polling took place today. And that battle is of course between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamamta Banerjee and her one-time close aide Shuvendu Adhikari who had defected to the BJP. We’ll discuss how the battle for Nandigram in some ways presents a microcosm of the entire 8-phase election that is set to take place in the State — a spirited campaign by the Trinamool Congress against the electoral might and machinery of the BJP with the contest, according to many observers, too close to call. And then we’ll take a closer look at how the campaigns from each side in this election has evolved and what lies ahead as the election progresses. We are joined today by our correspondent on the ground in Kolkata Shiv Sahay Singh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the course of this week and the next we begin our detailed analysis of the assembly elections in four states and one union territory where voting has already begun in some cases and some where it is just around the corner. Before we look in some detail at each state going to the polls though and break down the flavour of each contest we thought we would use this episode to take a broader perspective on these elections as a whole and try and give you a sense of what they mean from national level politics, for the BJP which is trying to make inroads into areas not considered its traditional strongholds and for the opposition parties which are trying to stop its rise. Guest: Varghese George, Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we examine the takeaways from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Bangladesh, and the range of bilateral issues on the agenda from the Teesta river waters and border killings to trade and connectivity. We also explore the broader significance and political symbolism of the visit, which was timed to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations currently underway in Bangladesh to mark its liberation. Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Kallol Bhattacherjee, correspondent covering foreign affairs, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Episode Notes: Suhasini Haidar in The Hindu on the role of India and the U.S. in 1971 Suhasini Haidar's reading recommendations: Anam Zakaria, "1971: A People's History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India" Srinath Raghavan, "1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh" Meenakshi Ahmed, "A Matter Of Trust: India-US Relations from Truman to Trump" Gary Bass, "The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, we give you some immediate reactions and then a larger grounding to understand today’s decision by the Supreme Court not to stay the sale of electoral bonds before Assembly elections in five States. The judgment by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said that since the scheme began in 2018 and continued in 2019 and 2020 without any impediments, the court said it found no reason to stall the sale of electoral bonds now. In the course of this episode we’ll go over exactly what the Supreme Court’s reasoning was. We will also go over what the different sides argued in a hearing on this issue that took place just a couple of days back, when a stay was sought on the sale of electoral bonds. We will also discuss where we stand on the issue and the various talking points that have come up around it in the preceding three or four years. Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, advocate, Madras High Court Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 23, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution on ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ with 22 member states of the 47-member Council voting in its favour. India was among 11 member states that abstained on the vote, which Sri Lanka had been opposing. What will be the impact of the UNHRC vote on Sri Lanka? Is it merely symbolic or will it make a difference in the resolution of the Tamil question? How will it shape India-Sri Lanka relations going forward? What does the continued importance of China, which was among those who opposed the vote, in its backing of Sri Lanka in the UN imply for the future of Beijing's increasingly close relations with Colombo? Guest: Meera Srinivasan, Sri Lanka correspondent, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Episode Notes: 'India cannot abandon us': An interview with Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have had a few busy weeks in foreign policy and international relations. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in New Delhi a few days ago as part of his first trip abroad, the first summit level Quad meeting was held earlier this month, and the U.S. and China held their first bilateral meeting last week. All these interactions and relationships are deeply interconnected. To help us unpack some of these events and to discuss the future trajectory of the U.S.-India relationship under the Biden administration, we are joined today by Professor Joshua T. White. Dr. White is Associate Professor of the Practice of South Asia Studies and Fellow at the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He previously served at the White House as senior advisor and director for South Asian Affairs in the Obama administration's National Security Council, where he advised the President and National Security Advisor on a range of South Asia policy issues related to the Indian subcontinent and led efforts to integrate US government policy across South and East Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices