In Focus by The Hindu

Last month, the Union government announced that it would invest ₹11,000 crores under a centrally sponsored scheme, The National Mission on Edible Oils—Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), to promote oil palm cultivation. The stated objective of this scheme is to reduce India’s dependence on edible oil imports by boosting domestic production of oil palm. Many, however, have expressed concerns over this push for oil palm cultivation, especially in bio-diversity hotspots such as the Andamans and the North-east. Critics have claimed that the monoculture of commercial oil palm plantations would destroy bio-diversity as well as the livelihood autonomy of farmers. How valid are these fears and what are the likely outcomes of the government’s ambitious plans to boost oil palm production? Guest: Sudhir Kumar Suthar, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a gap of more than a year, the Nipah virus is back in Kerala. After a 12-year-old boy died of the infection in Kozhikode district, 11 more people have shown Nipah symptoms. A team from the National Centre for Disease Control has been rushed to the State to help manage the outbreak. Kerala is already caught in a tough battle against COVID-19, with the state still accounting for almost half of all new infections in the country. In this scenario, the outbreak of one more deadly viral infection has everyone worried. Also, this is the third outbreak of Nipah in Kerala, with the state having encountered the virus in 2018 and 2019. So, how serious is the current outbreak? How prepared is Kerala to handle it? Will the outbreak remain localised, or is it likely to spread further? Guest: Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor at The Hindu. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic caused not only a health emergency in the country, but also led to mass economic distress with the loss of jobs and livelihoods. India already one of the lowest rates of women in the workforce, and the pandemic worsened this situation -- it forced women into jobs that paid lower rates than pre-pandemic and it added significantly to their domestic work burden -- with schools remaining closed, women were forced to stay at home to care for children. In the April-June 2020 quarter, during the lockdown, the percentage of women in the labour force was only 15.5%. But this problem has persisted for years -- despite increasing educational levels among women and decreasing fertility levels, India continues to have not as many women in the workforce as even our neighbouring countries. What are some of the reasons behind this? How is a country's economy impacted when 50% of its population is left out of economic activity? How can policies be changed in order to encourage more women into the workforce? Guest: Sona Mitra, principal economist, Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy, lead, Krea University Host: Zubeda Hamid Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just a few weeks ago, we were celebrating India’s best ever medals tally at the Tokyo Olympics. And now India has produced its best performance ever at this year’s Paralympics. We have already bagged 10 medals, with two gold, five silver and three bronze. This has generated a lot of curiosity, both about these successful para-athletes and about the Paralympics itself. For para-athletes, the rules and requirements of competition, as well as the challenges, are different from what they are for the able-bodied. They come under the spotlight whenever the Paralympics are held but are mostly forgotten in the intervening years. Will the Indian contingent’s superlative achievements at the Tokyo Paralympics change this pattern? Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor (Sports), The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States has literally fled Afghanistan. Other Western nations, most of them part of the G-7 had wanted an extension beyond August 31 so that repatriation flights could continue, but U.S. President Joe Biden put his foot down. What will be the international status of Afghanistan now? Who will represent the country in the U.N.? What are the options of the international body while dealing with the Taliban? How will the U.S. deal with the Taliban? Will Russia and China have a better grip on the Taliban than the western powers? Guest: Syed Akbaruddin, formerly India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York and currently Dean of the Kautilya School of Public Policy in Hyderabad. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The price of petrol is more than ₹100 per litre in several parts of the country – the highest it’s ever been. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has blamed the UPA-era oil bonds for the high fuel prices. She has claimed that the ₹1.4 lakh crores worth of oil bonds issued by the UPA government have to be serviced, and that’s why the government has had to tax fuel at high rates. Opposition parties have, of course, disputed her claims. So, what exactly is the truth about oil bonds, and how credible is the government’s claim that oil bonds are to blame for the high fuel prices? Guest: Vivek Kaul, business columnist and author of five books, including the bestselling Easy Money trilogy Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Afghanistan continues to hog the headlines. Nearly two weeks after the Taliban drove into Kabul, and former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the world is still debating whether the Taliban have turned a new leaf. As analysts, experts and journalists try to figure out the Taliban’s intentions, wait and watch appears to be the default mode. Will the Taliban actually allow women and girls to work and study? Will music be allowed? Will there be elections? Or will there just be a soft veneer hiding the very same iron fist that we saw during the Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001? Guest: Michael Semple, Professor at The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, Queen's University in Belfast. He has worked as deputy to the European Union Special Representative in Afghanistan. He also served as an honorary adviser to the Afghan High Peace Council. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, the Union Education Ministry told a parliamentary panel that the plan to serve breakfast to students in government schools had to be shelved as the Finance Ministry had refused to sanction the Rs. 4,000 crore the programme needs. The refusal comes at a time when the country is facing a malnutrition crisis -- data from the latest National Family Health Survey shows an increase in stunting, in 13 of the 22 States and Union Territories that were covered. As this was 2019 data, experts believe that food insecurity during the pandemic could have worsened, especially with the immense disruption in services such as the mid-day meals, as well as due to economic distress. Where does India stand on addressing malnutrition? Have government schemes such as the flagship programme to address malnutrition, POSHAN Abhiyaan, worked? What have been the efforts made during the pandemic, and what more needs to be done to address a problem that not only affects children, but has long-lasting consequences upon the health and wellbeing of the nation? Guest: Dr. Dipa Sinha, assistant professor, School of Liberal Studies, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University, Delhi Host: Zubeda Hamid Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since good health is both a pre-condition and an outcome of sporting activity, is there a case to be made for linking sports policy to public health? Can this be done in a way that makes commercial sense as well? And most critically, does it make sense for a nation like India, with limited means but high Olympic ambitions, to concentrate public money on elite sports and success in elite competitions? Or should it focus more on building a sporting culture as such, by boosting community participation in sports and ‘physical literacy’, as we have seen in sporting nations such as Australia, which also tend to do better in elite events such as the Olympics? Guest: Hans Westerbeek, Professor of International Sport Business and Head of the Sport Business Insights Group at Victoria University, Melbourne. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The return of the Taliban and the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan has raised a lot of new questions. We’ve discussed some of them in different InFocus podcasts over the past week. We’ve looked at why the Afghan army almost melted away, what the Taliban’s likely course of action is going to be, what are India’s options in Afghanistan now, especially the nature of the relationship with a Taliban-controlled regime. One of the things we haven’t covered so far is the geo-political ramifications of the American withdrawal. The exit of a superpower is bound to create a power vacuum that the other big powers in the region, most notably Russia and China, and regional powers such as Iran and Pakistan, would be scrambling to fill. And each of them has their own set of priorities. It’s a rather complicated strategic scenario. We unpack the web of macro-level geo-political issues linked to the U.S.’s withdrawal from Kabul in this podcast. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Taliban takeover and U.S. exit, attention has focused on what role China is likely to play in Afghanistan. Beijing was among the first countries to say it "stands ready" to work with the new Taliban regime, while in late July, China hosted a Taliban delegation committing economic cooperation. What will China's game plan be? Will Beijing remain cautious or step up its presence, particularly in the economic domain? What of China's long-standing concerns of the Taliban's links to Jihadist groups, including those blamed for attacks in China's Xinjiang region, which borders Afghanistan? Will the new situation in Afghanistan see a deepening China-Pakistan nexus, and what will be the implications for India? Guest: Andrew Small, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and author of "The China Pakistan Axis" Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Parliament cleared the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 on August 11th. The Bill seeks to amend the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972, and thereby enable the privatisation of the public sector insurance companies regulated under the 1972 Act. Apart from privatization, the Bill’s stated objectives include enhancing the penetration of the insurance sector, providing social protection by securing the interests of the policyholders better, and contributing to faster economic growth. It is not quite clear how this Bill would manage to achieve all these objectives. Also, is the Bill driven purely by an impulse to generate funds through disinvestment, or does it also further consumer interest? Guest: Harsh Roongta, founder and head of Fee Only Investment Advisers, LLP, a SEBI-registered Investment Advisory firm. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With events moving so fast in Afghanistan, officials and analysts have all been caught napping. The Taliban took their first provincial capital on August 6 and by August 15 they had taken over Kabul. Why did the Afghan Army, which the Americans had spent billions of dollars on, disappear without a resistance in this period? The UN has said that the Taliban will have to shed its terror links. But will the Taliban do that? What is Pakistan's role now? And what should India's strategy be now? Guest: Jayant Prasad, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan and Nepal, and Director of the Manohar Parikkar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fall of Kabul and the Taliban's rapid takeover has plunged Afghanistan into uncertainty. In this episode, we look at the return of the Taliban and what it means for the country, for India, and for the region. How did Kabul fall so rapidly? Is Afghanistan set to return to the dark days of the late 1990s? What will the Taliban's links to jihadist groups mean for the region's security? What does the dramatically changed landscape mean for India's relations with Afghanistan and for its broader neighbourhood? Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu; Stanly Johny, Foreign Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected]: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Episode Notes Analysis | How Kabul fell by Stanly Johny Taliban takeover: 5 issues facing the Modi government by Suhasini Haidar Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of August 16, 8.8 % of India's population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 30.9% has received at least one dose. Earlier this month, the country saw a huge achievement in coverage -- the 50-crore mark in vaccine doses administered was reached. But as India continues to report over 30,000 new cases a day, and concerns mount about the Delta variant in other parts of the world, how much faster does our vaccination campaign need to be? Can we meet the government's estimated deadline of covering all beneficiaries over the age of 18 by December 2021, and do we have enough supply to meet this target? Can our two main vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin be mixed for better results? And what is the latest on that tricky subject, herd immunity? Guest: Dr. K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India Host: Zubeda Hamid Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 amends the Constitution to allow states and union territories to prepare their own list of socially and educationally backward classes. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 9, 2021 and passed unanimously by the Lower House of Parliament on August 10. It was passed with cross-party support in the Rajya Sabha on August 11. The 127th Amendment Bill restores the system prior to the Supreme Court judgment of May 2021. The "state list" will be completely taken out of the ambit of the President and will be notified by the State Assembly as per the proposed Bill. The passage of the Bill meets the demands of regional parties that have sought autonomy in determining their own list of socially and economically backward classes. In this podcast, we discuss what this means for the OBC communities across the country, and how it will affect social justice as well as caste politics. Guest: Prof Badri Narayan, Director and Professor, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked India’s stint as a rotating president of the UN Security Council for the month of August by presiding over an open debate on enhancing maritime security. In this episode, we look at the significance and main takeaways, and India's message on maritime security. We also examine India's broader agenda at the UNSC under its Presidency, from terrorism to peacekeeping, and ask what the status of the long pending reform to expand the UNSC's permanent members is. Episode notes: PM Modi outlines five-point framework for maritime security debate at UNSC Biden administration non-committal on support for permanent UNSC seat for India Guest: Sriram Lakshman, U.S. correspondent, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tokyo Olympics is finally done and dusted. The Indian contingent has come back with its best ever Olympic haul – of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. This edition of the Games has been historic for India not only for its highest ever medals tally but also for its first ever track and field gold. While these are great positives, there have also been near-misses, and some disappointments. We take a step back from the celebrations to take a dispassionate look at two aspects: Did our athletes perform to their potential? And does the performance at the Tokyo Olympics herald something new for Indian sport? Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor, Sports at The Hindu. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 3. Once it comes becomes law, it will replace the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021. The Bill, among other things, seeks to abolish several appellate tribunals, ranging from the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal and the Airports Appellate Tribunal to the Authority for Advanced Rulings, Intellectual Property Appellate Board, and the Plant Varieties Appellate Tribunal. The Bill also introduces changes in the terms of service of the officials serving in tribunals. There was hardly any discussion in Parliament before the Bill was passed. But some key questions merit a proper debate: What was the need for this Bill? Will the abolition of tribunals increase the workload of the judiciary? How will the Bill impact our tribunals’ independence from executive influence? Guest: Prachee Mishra, Head of Research at PRS Legislative Research, a New Delhi-based independent research non-profit. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host: Zubeda HamidSince March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck India, a majority of our health resources have been allocated towards battling the virus. The country went through a first wave last year with an intense lockdown in place and faced a brutal second wave this year. But while we needed all available healthcare systems to fight COVID-19, what has happened to patients with other diseases who were in need of frequent care? Some studies from last year indicated a decrease in the number of surgeries and patient consultations at hospitals, affecting patients with cancer, those with kidney disease who require dialysis as well as those with a host of other conditions. Lack of transport options during the various lockdowns in States, fear of contracting the virus and the loss of incomes may all have contributed to fewer patients seeking care. Some children missed out on important, routine vaccinations though the government has made efforts to ensure that missed children get their doses. Since it looks as if COVID-19 may be with us for some time more, what can governments do, moving forward, in order to ensure healthcare services do not suffer? Do we need better primary health systems in our country, and what are the steps that can be taken to achieve this? Guest: Dr. Rajib Dasgupta, Professor at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Host: Zubeda Hamid Write to us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flood devastation is mostly associated with developing countries in tropical zones. But over the past fortnight, some of the world’s richest and technologically most advanced countries with sophisticated flood alert systems were devastated by flash floods. Nearly 200 people have died in floods in Germany and Belgium. There have been similar reports of flood devastation from Henan province in China, from London, and Maharashtra, where it’s almost an annual feature. Do these geographically disparate natural disasters have something in common? Are they all linked to climate change? And if they are, what are the most feasible mitigation measures? Guest: G Ananthakrishnan, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Write to us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest: Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation Earlier this month, the Indian Council of Medical Research's director general, Dr Balram Bhargava, said that once the country begins to consider re-opening schools, it would be wise to open primary schools before secondary schools, provided all school teachers and staff were vaccinated. A vast majority of schools in India have been shut for over 15 months now, since March 2020, affecting 24 crore students. Various states have opened temporarily for senior classes, sometimes only to shut again when COVID-19 cases rose. Online classes have been around as a substitute, but with less than 25 percent of Indian households having access to the internet as per the National Sample Survey 2017-18, how far can digital learning go? Have our students lost a year of learning and are they potentially going to forget what they learnt before the pandemic struck? Does India need a roadmap for the reopening of schools and how can it do so safely? Guest: Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation Host: Zubeda Hamid Write to us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are now past the halfway point of the Tokyo Olympics, which is a good time to pause and take stock. India started off well, with an early silver for Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting. But there were several disappointments thereafter, especially in shooting, and in boxing as well. In the run-up to the Games, many in India believed that this would be India’s best Olympics ever in terms of medal haul. Our most successful Games so far, purely in terms of the number of medals won, was the 2012 London Olympics, when we came back with six medals, two silver and four bronze. So, at the halfway mark of the Tokyo Games, how do we stand in terms of beating, or at least matching, that record? In this podcast, we get some answers as well as the reasons for the underwhelming results the past week. Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor (Sports), The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Basavaraj Bommai became Karnataka’s 30th Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28. He went from being Home Minister in the Cabinet of B.S. Yediyurappa to displacing him as the Chief Minister in a matter of 48 hours. Several reasons have been trotted out as to why BJP felt the need to replace Yediyurappa – his age, the fact that dissidence against him was on the rise within the party, and that corruption allegations had made him vulnerable. But while all these may have played a role they do not, in themselves, provide a convincing explanation as to why Yediyurappa’s departure was in the party’s best interests. So, what explains the departure of the BJP’s tallest leader in the State in the middle of his term as Chief Minister? What are the implications of the choice of Basavaraj Bommai as Yediyurappa’s successor? And will Yediyurappa fade away into retirement or continue to play a role in active politics? Guest: K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj Host G. Sampath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, July 28, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited India and held key meetings with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as representatives of civil society organisations. In this episode, we look at the main takeaways of the visit and ask where India U.S. relations are headed as they deal with shared concerns on Afghanistan and China among other issues. We also ask how the Biden administration's strong emphasis on promoting democratic values abroad figured during the visit, and how New Delhi views its approach to democracy and the contrast from the previous Trump era. Guest: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Read more: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/antony-blinken-holds-talks-with-nsa-ajit-doval-meets-civil-society-representatives/article35577671.ece https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indian-democracy-is-powered-by-its-freethinking-citizens-blinken/article35583397.ece Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been considerable debate over the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021, which is likely to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament. The objective of the Bill is “to prevent and counter trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to provide for care, protection, and rehabilitation to the victims, while respecting their rights, and creating a supportive legal, economic and social environment for them, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has said. The National Investigation Agency, a counter-terrorism agency, has been made the nodal investigative agency for trafficking crimes. The Bill also states that the consent of the victim could be immaterial, leading to concerns that it would criminalise. Other concerns raised include draconian penal provisions, including death for some offences, and a heavy-handed approach that does not adequately address the root cause of trafficking -- poverty. Guest: Kaushik Gupta, an advocate practicing in Kolkata who heads a team of lawyers from West Bengal and Maharashtra, at the anti-trafficking collective Tafteesh. Host: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we are examining the rise of what's being called China's wolf warrior Diplomacy, referring to an increasingly assertive brand of fiery diplomacy from many of Beijing's diplomats and foreign envoys. What exactly is wolf warrior diplomacy? Is this new diplomacy a change in merely style, or also a change in substance? What does history tell us about how domestic political trends in China shape Beijing's external behaviour? What do these changes mean for countries like India and their relations with China? Guest: Peter Martin, journalist and author of China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy. Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Tokyo Olympics finally kicking off this week, one year late, there is both excitement as well as uncertainty around the event. Tokyo is still under a COVID emergency, and there are many who worry that the Olympics shouldn’t become a public health catastrophe. In Japan itself, public opinion is sharply divided. In fact, one of the biggest Olympic sponsors, Toyota, has said that they won’t be running TV ads in Japan – which is one indicator of the public mood about the Games. But despite the misgivings around the pandemic, the show is set to go on, and in India, there is already plenty of buzz about medal prospects. We try and get a sense of what’s in store in the coming weeks in Japan, both within the sporting arena and beyond. Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor, Sports, The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the recent Cabinet reshuffle, the government announced the creation of a Ministry of Cooperation. The Ministry’s mandate, the government says, “is to provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the co-operative movement in the country”. Opposition parties have called it an attempt by the Centre to take over a a domain that comes under the State governments. Critics have also read political significance into the fact that this ministry is being headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. So, why do we need a Ministry of Cooperation, and how will it impact the vast universe of India’s co-operatives? Guest: Professor C. Shambu Prasad, Institute of Rural Management, Anand Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An international group of news publications are reporting that a spyware known as Pegasus has been used to spy on politicians, journalists, and activists in at least 10 countries. Reports from the group, which includes The Wire in India, The Guardian in the U.K., and Washington Post in the U.S. among others, suggest that in India, at least 40 journalists, sitting Cabinet Ministers, and holders of Constitutional positions were possibly subjected to surveillance. The Pegasus spyware is graded as a cyberweapon and NSO states that its clients include only authorised government entities from various countries. This leads to some problematic inferences, particularly in India where the target list includes Opposition leaders, social activists from leftist organisation, journalists who have written against the government and constitutional officers who have reportedly not toed the government line. In this podcast, we discuss the constitutionality of electronic surveillance in India and whether the laws that govern them are robust enough. Guest: Apar Gupta, lawyer and Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation. Host: P.J. George Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With less than a year to go for the Assembly elections, the infighting in the Punjab unit of the Congress party has been making the headlines. The two main protagonists are Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Punjab, incidentally, is one of the handful of states where the Congress has done well and the BJP is on a weak wicket. Capt. Amarinder is often touted as a rare Congress success story that comes when regional leaders operate with autonomy. But Sidhu has not only openly challenged Capt Amarinder’s leadership, he also has the ear of the party’s high command in Delhi, which seems ready to go the extra mile to accommodate him. With Assembly elections due early next year, what are the options for the Congress, which needs to resolve this conflict in order for its campaign to take off? Why does the Congress high command find it important to keep Sidhu happy? Guest: Varghese George, Associate Editor, The Hindu. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past few weeks, the debate on population control in India has been re-ignited. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State in India, has introduced a draft bill that says that those with more than two children will be debarred from government-sponsored welfare schemes and from contesting in elections to local bodies, while incentives for those who adhere to the two-child norm include subsidies to buy land and build houses. Assam's Chief Minister recently advised the minority community to adopt "decent population control measures" and calls have come from Karanataka too, for the adoption of a two-child policy. Even while data shows us that India's fertility rate is declining, our population is set to grow, and to overtake China by 2027 or earlier. But do we need a two-child policy? Do such government regulations on family size work? How have other countries, especially those in Asia, explored population stabilisation measures? Guest: Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Population Foundation of India Host: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we are looking at the battle unfolding in China between its big tech companies and Communist Party regulators in the wake of the latest tussle in this on-going tug-of-war. On June 30, the ride-hailing app Didi, which dominates the China market, raised $4.4 billion in its much-anticipated listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the biggest Chinese listing since Alibaba. Days later, its value would crash with regulators announcing an investigation and taking the extraordinary step of banning Didi from registering users and removing its app from app stores. The Didi episode follows November's shock suspension of an IPO by Alipay, the financial payments arm of Alibaba. What is driving the tensions between the Party and Big Tech? Where is China's tech sector headed? What do the moves mean for the global ambitions of China's Internet giants? Guest: Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the second-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic raged this year, reports poured in of economic distress. Not only were thousands of Indians left without livelihoods due to the lockdowns, they also had to cope with the trauma and expenditure of a loved one who had contracted COVID-19. Media reports indicated that the costs ran into lakhs for hospitalisations, compounded by the desperate search for oxygen and black maketeering of drugs. India has one of the highest rates of out-of-pocket expenditure in health in the world, at over 60 per cent, and recent data has shown a decline in household income as well as a rise in gold loans during the pandemic period. In this podcast we discuss, the enormous strain health expenses have placed on Indians, the role of the public and private sector in the pandemic, and what role insurance has played and could play in the health sector in India. Guest: Dr. Rama V. Baru, Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University Host: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can tennis as a sport do better for the lower-ranked players? This question has recently become a talking point for two reasons. First is the formation of the Professional Tennis Players Association, or the PTPA, by Novak Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil. The PTPA hopes to get some more by way of collective bargaining power for the players. The second is a report published in the New York Times suggesting that the players’ share of the revenues generated by the sport is much lower in tennis than in some of the other sports. While it is common knowledge that lower-ranked tennis players really struggle to cover their expenses, the pandemic-induced suspension of tournaments brought fresh spotlight to their precarity. Can tennis administrators be expected to do better when it comes to taking care of the players? Should tennis players unionise? Can tennis be made viable as a career option even for those ranked, say, between 150 and 400 in the world? Guest: Vijay Amritraj, former professional tennis player and popular commentator. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu You can find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and other platforms. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the In Focus podcast, we try to understand the threat from drones and where the country stands in terms of preparedness On June 27, explosives were dropped inside the Jammu Air Force station, injuring two IAF personnel. They are believed to have been dropped using drones, the first such attack in the country. The threat from drones has been regularly flagged in the recent past after instances of them being used by terror groups to drop drugs, arms and ammunition from across the border in Jammu, and also in Punjab. In this episode of In Focus, we try to understand this new threat and where the country stands in terms of preparedness and policy framework. Guest: Group Captain R.K. Narang (Retd), who has been researching on UAVs and has written the book “India’s quest for UAVs and challenges”. Host: Dinakar Peri Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 20 years after invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the United States military on July 3 vacated Bagram, its biggest airfield in the country. Meanwhile, fighting raged amid the U.S. exit and the Taliban’s march through northern Afghanistan has continued to gain momentum with the capture of several districts. In this episode, we look at where Afghanistan is headed and examine its uncertain future as the U.S. leaves. What are the prospects of a peace deal amid the uptick in violence? Will the Taliban return to Kabul? What are India’s stakes and how should Delhi deal with the Taliban? What will be the role of other regional powers such as China and Russia? Read Suhasini Haidar's interview with Hamid Karzai Read ‘What lies ahead for Afghanistan after U.S. exit?’ by Stanly Johny Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs, The Hindu; Stanly Johny, Foreign Editor, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Consumer Affairs Ministry last month issued a set of new draft e-commerce rules that has some of the top e-commerce sites rather worried. According to the government, these rules seek to protect consumer interest, prevent unfair trade practices, and encourage fair competition. Among other things, the rules bar certain kinds of flash sales and mis-selling, and make it mandatory for them to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for coordination with law enforcement agencies, and a resident grievance-redressal officer. On the face of it, these rules do not seem unreasonable, especially from the consumer point of view. But e-retailers such as Amazon and the Tatas have expressed concerns. The government has now extended the deadline for public comments on the proposed amendments to July 21. So, what is likely to be the impact of these amended rules? Will they truly benefit consumers? And why are online retailers so concerned? To discuss these questions and related issues, we speak with Kazim Rizvi, founder-director of The Dialogue, a New Delhi–based research and public policy think tank. Read: Draft e-commerce policy moots conformity assessment measures for online retailers Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy died in custody on July 5, 2021, aged 84 and in the middle of a long battle for medical bail. Fr. Swamy, a Jesuit priest, had worked with tribals in Jharkhand for over five decades, organising them for land, water and forest rights. The National Investigation Agency accused him of having links with the Maoists and arrested him in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case last October. He was charged under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Fr. Swamy was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and had applied for bail multiple times, but his pleas were rejected. After he passed away in custody, many activists and political leaders have sought accountability from the government and the judiciary over this tragic death. What were the reasons Fr. Swamy was unable to get bail, especially given that he posed zero flight risk? K. Venkataramanan, Associate Editor at The Hindu explains some of the systemic problems with India’s bail jurisprudence in general, and the UAPA in particular, that could have had a bearing on the unfortunate case of Fr. Stan Swamy. Guest: K. Venkataramanan, Associate Editor, The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs as they are known, have been around since 2017. But they suddenly went mainstream this year, attracting the attention of both crypto-currency traders and general investors. The sale of a tokenised digital art work titled ‘Everydays – The First 5000 Days’ by an artist called Beeple, for $69 million, appears to have unleashed an ‘NFT bubble’, with some analysts comparing to the ‘Tulip bubble’ of the 17th century. Are NFTs primarily a digital art-related phenomenon – a way to trade digital art and other digital collectibles? Or will they have a wider impact in the offline world as well, extending to domains such as music, fintech, and real estate? We demystify NFTs in this episode of In Focus with Dr Merav Ozair. Dr Ozair is a FinTech Faculty member at Rutgers Business School. She is a data scientist, a quant strategist, and a Crypto/Blockchain expert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent weeks, Canada has been rocked by the discovery of a large number of unmarked graves of indigenous children. In the last week of May, the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia. And last week, another 751 unmarked graves were found at the site of a similar residential school in the province of Saskatchewan. They graves point to Canada’s colonial practice of having special residential schools that indigenous children were forced to attend. These schools were State-funded and operated by the Church. They have been in operation since the mid-19th century, with the last one closing only in 1996. What was the idea behind these schools? How were they allowed to operate for so on? And what does the discovery of these unmarked graves of children – which are basically undocumented deaths – mean for the rights of Canada’s indigenous people going forward? Guest: Prof. David MacDonald, Professor of Political Science at the University of Guelph. He is the author of The Sleeping Giant Awakens: Genocide, Indian Residential Schools, and the Challenge of Conciliation. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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