In Focus by The Hindu

This podcast was recorded a few days ago as a quick explainer on various States planning to enact laws against ‘love jihad’. While the term is a talking point of right-wing Hindu groups, it is not one that has a legal basis and so these laws proposed by these are being framed as legislations on freedom of religion and all of them want to ban conversion for the sole purpose of marriage. In the preceding weeks, the State governments of U.P. Haryana and Karnataka, all led by the BJP, announced intentions to enact such laws and just today, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh said the BJP government was planning a law that would invite five years’ imprisonment for ‘love jihad’. There is a Special Marriage Act in India, enacted in the year 1954 to facilitate the marriage of couples professing different faiths and preferring a civil wedding. However, a lot of practical problems arise in registering such marriages and so many couples settle for marriage under the personal law of one of them, with the other opting for religious conversion. And this is where the political angles come into play. What are some of the problems with the 1954 Act? What are some legal provisions, already enacted in some States, against conversion for the sake of marriage, that these BJP-ruled States may now seek to borrow from? Guest: K. Venkataramanan, Associate Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

When President-elect Joe Biden takes office as the 46th President of the United States in January, he will face, in addition to a raging pandemic, an enormous economic challenge. America’s economic health at home will hinge on whether or not the Biden administration will be able to get one crucial relationship right, the fraying ties with China having descended into outright confrontation. What legacy does Donald Trump leave behind on the China front? Has his trade war achieved its goals? And how will Biden shape America’s China policy? What explains China’s tepid reaction to the Biden victory? (Beijing was, at the time of recording this podcast on November 11, among the few countries to not congratulate the Biden-Harris campaign or acknowledge their victory. China finally issued a terse and measured statement on November 13.) Guests: Bob Davis and Wei Lingling, authors of Superpower Showdown: How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

On November 11, the government issued an order bringing online news portals and Over The Top (OTT) content–providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar under the regulatory purview of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry. This is a move with far-reaching consequences and could kickstart an era of more frequent and stricter censorship on what online services air. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has found a vast swathe of unregulated content, namely online news and Over the top (OTT) platforms which had escaped any architecture of regulation. While the print media were regulated by the Press Council of India, and television content — both news and entertainment — was being regulated by the Cable Networks Regulation Act (2005), content published online, the government felt, fell into a black hole that did not permit oversight. So, what kind of oversight will this be? How will it work? And what is the potential for misuse or overreach? Guest: Anuradha Raman, Associate Editor, The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the results of the Bihar election expected on Tuesday, November 10, major TV networks had released exit polls on Saturday evening predicting that the ruling Janata Dal United–Bharatiya Janata Party alliance is on its way out. One forecast even predicted that the Rashtriya Janata Dal–led opposition alliance could get a two-thirds majority. Others seemed to indicate that it would cross the halfway mark comfortably. We must add the caveat here that exit polls can be wrong. And it pays to reflect on the divergence we usually end up seeing between pre-poll and post-poll predictions, which will give us a window into the campaigns run by each side and where things stand as we head towards the results. Guest: Rahul Verma, a political scientist and a fellow at the centre for policy research in New Delhi. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

There is a chance — in fact, a large chance — that the hugely consequential United States Presidential Election 2020 may not be straightforward. A huge proportion of voters in the U.S. have opted for early voting and mail-in voting, and in different States in the U.S there are different rules for the counting of these votes. Over the last six months, President Trump has sought to claim on Twitter that mail-in voting would lead to voter fraud and the Republicans are likely to throw in legal challenges in several States. Taking us through the scenarios and analysing the situation for each campaign as we head into our election coverage is Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor of The Hindu and former U.S. correspondent. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The Antitrust case filed by the U.S. Justice Department against Google on October 20, as well as the U.S. Congress Antitrust report which preceded it, lay out a case against the big four tech companies — Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. Both events are seen as major steps toward reining in the growing power of these companies and these are legal battles that are likely to get drawn out over many years. There’s a lot to unpack here, not least the timing of the U.S. Justice Department case against Google, coming as it did just days before the U.S election. Besides the possible political angle to the case, it may well have the legs to continue even if there is a change of administration in the U.S. Even beyond the U.S. context, moves have been made on regulation of big tech being in the E.U., for instance. So, what should we in India be looking out for as this all unfolds? Guest: Mishi Choudhary, Legal Director of the Software Freedom Law Centre in New York. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The big headline from the recently-concluded round of the 2+2 dialogue is that India and the United States have signed the basic exchange and cooperation agreement. BECA involves the sharing of navigation maps for both the air and the sea, including confidential military data, between the two countries. Crucially, it will give India access to high-quality data from U.S. precision military satellites. What does this mean for India’s defence sector? It would also useful to zoom out a bit and look at these talks and the agreement in a larger geopolitical context. The continuing standoff with China is an obvious factor that underpins the entire dialogue and the U.S. has made no secret of the fact that they are looking to build a counter to China’s growing influence in the region. There are ongoing discussions and developments in the quad alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., and amidst all that it’s worth wondering whether the signing of the BECA treaty now embeds India, which has so far avoided being seen as part of any coalition in this regard, more firmly in the U.S. camp. Guests: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu; Dinakar Peri, Defence Correspondent, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

As India continues to walk the challenging path of tackling COVID-19, this month there has been some excitement with regard to possible vaccines. At present, there are four vaccines in India in various stages of clinical trials — Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, a vaccine by Zydus Cadila, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford’s Covishield. And now, permission has been granted for clinical trials for Russia’s Sputnik V as well. Globally, there are over 150 vaccine candidates in various stages of development — with two major vaccine trials that have been in the news, paused over safety concerns and then re-started. Recently, India’s Health Minister announced that 250 million people would be vaccinated by July 2021. So what is the status of the vaccines today and how soon can we expect to be vaccinated? Guest: Dr. Gagandep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore. Host: Zubeda Hamid Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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, we discuss the politics around the film 800, the biopic on the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and his record of being the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets. This is a film that has been mired in controversy for some time and the latest flash point this week is when the noted actor Vijay Sethupathy pulled out of starring as Murali in the biopic, acting, it seems, upon the advice of Murali himself, who said that he didn’t want the actor’s career to be tarred by the controversy. What is the controversy? While Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan Tamil who has roots in India, several groups have branded him a “betrayer of Tamils” and alleged that the cricketer supported the killing of Tamil civilians during the armed conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. There are many more nuances and complications in this story. Guest: Meera Srinivasan, Sri Lanka Correspondent, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Last week, Thailand’s government, led by the Army-chief–turned–Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, declared a state of emergency, banning public gatherings and censoring the media, to tackle the growing students’ protests. The protesters though, dismissed the emergency decree as yet another attempt by the government to take away their rights and vowed to continue the agitation. Recently, the government seems to have relented and lifted the emergency, saying that it wants to hear the concerns and demands that the students have. This may be a small victory for the students but there’s still a long way to go. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Reporting during this election, the first in the age of COVID-19, presents a number of challenges for journalists covering the campaigns. Among the biggest is that while the Election Commission has presented a number of guidelines, election time is pretty much a festival on its own that brings with it many associated challenges. On Wednesday, October 21, for instance, the EC had to reiterate its guidelines for campaigning during the pandemic, noting that many parties and candidates in Bihar, which is going to the polls frmo October 28, had been lax in maintaining discipline in terms of crowd size. Shedding light on this and other aspects of covering this election is The Hindu’s Political Editor Nistula Hebbar, who has just returned from a reporting tour in Bihar, to tell us what she saw and experienced on the ground. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Over the weekend, there was some significant news in the form of a modelling study conducted by a seven-member expert panel, constituted by the government, on the future course of the pandemic. The headline conclusion of the report is that India has passed its COVID-19 peak, and that if current trends continue there will be minimal cases by February. In this episode, we’re going to explore those conclusions made by the committee. We’ll examine whether the optimism is justified or there are factors which we still need to keep a very close watch on that could easily derail some of the progress the country has made in the last few weeks. Our guest today is Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology at Ashoka university. He has a keen interest in the modelling of infectious diseases and its implications for public policy. He has been part of a prominent group of Indian scientists who have come up with detailed mathematical modelling on the progression of the disease. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, but office and public places have begun to reopen after months of closure under the various “unlock guidelines” released by the Central government. On October 5, the Ministry of Education issued detailed guidelines for the gradual reopening of schools from October 15 but stated that no student would be forced to attend against their parent’s consent. We take a look at how the pandemic has affected education, how feasible it is for schools to comply with all the safety guidelines, what they can do to ensure that students catch up with their education, and what the potential for digital education is in the country. Host: Zubeda Hamid Guest: Rukmini Banerji, Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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 second part of a two-episode series on the Nobel Prizes, we go into the Chemistry and Physics 2020 awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, for discovering one of gene technology’s sharpest tools — the CRISPR/Cas9 “genetic scissors”. And for Physics, British mathematician-physicist Roger Penrose received half of this year’s prize “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity”, as the the Nobel Committee put it. German Reinhard Genzel and American Andrea Ghez received the second half of the prize “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy.” We explain the science behind both awards. Guest: T.V. Venkateshwaran, Science Communicator, Senior Scientist at Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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 the first of two episodes, we look at this year‘s Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for their discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. The Nobel announcement said the Prize had been given to “three scientists who have made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world”. We explain why the work of the three scientists is crucial and how they built on each other’s work. Guest: T.V. Venkateshwaran, Science Communicator, Senior Scientist at Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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 the previous episode, we went into the origin and evolution of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act to understand India’s drug laws in relation to our attitudes towards punishment and sentencing. Here, we go into the idea of legalisation — in particular, marijuana, which offers comparisons with other countries, such as the United States. In India, certain parts of the marijuana plant are allowed for commercial use while others are not. So, we look at prominent international examples to home in on where the discourse on the subject — in our courts, Parliament, in research — currently stands in India. Tripti Tandon is a practising lawyer who works on drug policies and is associated with Lawyers Collective, a New Delhi–based NGO that works on promoting human rights. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The Sushant Singh Rajput case — more particularly, its coverage in some instances — has thrown up issues concerning the use of drugs and the attitudes of the law and the media on the subject. In this episode, we look at how the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPSA) has evolved since its introduction in 1985. Over the years, there have been voices stressing the need for a more rational approach to punishment and sentencing with respect to drug possession and quantities. This episode’s guest, Tripti Tandon, is a practising lawyer who works on drug policies and is associated with Lawyers Collective, a New Delhi–based NGO that works on promoting human rights. Also, stay tuned for the second part of this discussion, which goes into the issue of legalising marijuana, and looks at prominent international examples to home in on where the discourse currently stands in India. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The Foreign Ministers of India, the U.S., Japan and Australia met on Tuesday in Tokyo to set the agenda for the Quad grouping, at a time when its members are dealing with an increasingly difficult relationship with China. Are the four countries on the same page when it comes to China? What are the main take-aways from the Tokyo meeting, and where does the group go from here? Guest: Hiroyuki Akita, commentator on foreign affairs in Tokyo Host: Ananth Krishnan, Beijing Correspondent, The Hindu You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Here’s a quick explainer on the clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan where the violence is has entered its fourth day. Fresh clashes erupted on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on Sunday, and it’s threatening to push the countries back to war 26 years after a ceasefire was reached. The conflict between these two former Soviet republics has wider geopolitical implications as Turkey, which shares a border with Armenia, is backing Azerbaijan, while Russia, which has good ties with both countries, has called for a ceasefire. Chatting with Jayant Sriram, The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor Stanly Johny delves into the conflict and the large geopolitical implications today. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Earlier this week, Parliament passed three new laws on social security, industrial relations and occupational safety that subsumed 25 Central labour laws. Along with the wage code that was passed in 2019 the NDA government has now merged 29 different labour laws into four codes and this is something that was badly needed because India’s labour laws are famously complicated and jumbled, and the demand for bringing in more clarity has been longstanding. But what changes do these codes bring to the existing laws and what are the ramifications? Among the key changes are the greater flexibility afforded to employers in hiring and firing workers, the provisions for expanding the social security net to informal workers, albeit not completely, the recognition of new categories of workers such as gig workers, and something of a reduction in the influence of trade unions. So many of these are far-reaching changes and we’ll discuss the most relevant ones. Guest: Roshni Sinha, Senior Analyst, PRS Legislative Research Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our discussion in this episode is on issues arising from the Sudarshan TV news case that is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court. Sudarshan TV is a private channel which aired a series of episodes of a programme called ‘UPSC Jihad’ and claimed that it had uncovered a plot in which Muslims were “infiltrating” the civil services. Last week, a very angry Supreme Court clearly stated that the show was an attempt to vilify Muslims. It granted an injunction on the telecast of the programme, stopping it for the time being, and also said it was going decide how to — and if at all it must — rule on broader questions including the point at which free speech in the media crosses the rubicon to insult a community or breach its dignity, and could thus be considered hate speech. We’ll pick up on that second thread in this episode and take the discussion forward, looking at the questions of law as regarding hate speech in India that the Supreme Court now has an opportunity to bring some clarity on in this case. Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, Advocate, Madras High Court Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

India should engage with the Taliban and fully support the peace process, says former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Karzai, who remains involved in the process, speaks of his hopes from the Intra-Afghan negotiations that began in Doha this month, and the future of Afghanistan as the United States plans to pull out troops, in this interview with The Hindu's Diplomatic Affairs Editor, Suhasini Haidar. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

On September 20, the government introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 in the Lok Sabha, and it was passed in the Lower House on September 21. The Bill amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, a.k.a. FCRA. The FCRA regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign funds by individuals, associations and companies. Civil Society organisations and NGOs are unhappy with the changes proposed in this new Bill. Some of the terms they have used to describe it include “draconian” and “cumbersome”. What exactly are the changes proposed, and why are civil society organisations concerned? To answer these questions, we have with us Venkatesh Nayak, a development sector veteran who has worked on issues of social justice and public audit mechanisms, and is currently with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi. His views and observations are personal. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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 a massive scientific discovery, a team of international scientists has detected traces of phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus. On Earth, phosphine is produced by bacteria thriving in oxygen-starved environments. Crucially, it is considered as a marker for life. The researchers said that their research provided evidence “for anomalous & unexplained chemistry" on Venus. The possibilities for what this means for science, for the long search for life outside earth, are endless. Guest: Prajval Shastri, astrophysicist, Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Our episode today looks at the joint statement issued by the Foriegn Ministers of India and China after a two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting on September 10 in Moscow that went into the night, and which now contains a five-point course of action to de-escalate the four-month-long stand-off at the Line of Actual Control. In previous episodes, we have discussed the stand-off in detail at various junctures and why, for months, despite meetings at various levels, the de-escalation process was really making very little headway. What’s more, there only seemed to be more flare-ups. Will this new five-point course of action make any difference at all? Where do things stand now and are they headed? Guest: Ananth Krishnan, former Beijing Correspondent; Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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 today’s episode we focus on strategic affairs and, in particular, on the quad alliance between India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The occasion for doing so is statements made by India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Monday, September 3, where he said that the ‘Quad’ alliance among India, U.S., Japan, and Australia could be a mechanism to ensure ‘Freedom of Navigation’ in the Indian Ocean and surrounding regions. He said this would ensure that there is “no fear of any other nation singularly trying to dominate the oceans”. These are, of course, not-so-subtle references to China. And General Rawat’s statement introduces the idea of introducing a militaristic aspect to the ‘Quad’. And that’s where things get interesting, because although the Quad forum goes back as far as 2006, the alliance has refrained from exhibiting a military purpose, largely because China has always viewed the alliance with suspicion. Indian thus far has also always been wary of joining any kind of military alliance that would be choosing sides between any of the world’s superpowers. On the other hand, though, could the unprecedented situation playing out in the LAC with China force a rethink? Guests: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor; Dinakar Peri, Defence Correspondent, The Hindu. Host: Jayant Sriram Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

With less than two months to go before the U.S. presidential election not only Americans but people across the world are asking what policy paradigm the winner would bring to the White House. Whether in terms of economic policy, including trade and investment, or immigration, geopolitics, and climate change, there could be major differences between the possible presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We explain these differences and why they matter to India, and the relevant policy and political attributes of the Republican and Democratic agendas. Guest: Dhruva Jaishankar, U.S. Director of the Observer Research Foundation Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we follow up on a report that we carried in the paper last week and that merits a deeper discussion on an important legislation that is being discussed in Parliament right now. It’s on the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Act, 2019. And our story on it was about a draft report on it by the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, which said the provisions in the Bill, as they pertain to what kind of information can be collected through DNA sampling, could be misused. And, in particular, it flagged the possibility that it could be used for caste-based profiling. Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, Advocate, Madras High Court. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

With both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention now over, how is the race for the U.S. presidency shaping up and what are the issues that will dominate the campaign ahead of the crucial November elections? We review the major discussion points for each party in this podcast and get a perspective from a former U.S. Ambassador to India on how each side could approach diplomatic equations in the South Asia region. Guest: Richard Verma, former U.S. Ambassador to India (2014-2017) and currently the Vice-Chair of strategy advisory firm, The Asia Group. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

What is the legacy of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who just a couple of days ago on August 28 announced that he would be resigning from office because of health problems? The news came as something of a shock — over the last eight years, Mr. Abe brought stability and continuity to a country that had grown used to political churn. In the five years in between Mr. Abe’s first stint as Prime Minister — a short-lived one-year term in office that ended in 2007 and his coming to power in 2012, Japan had seen five different Prime Ministers. It’s that sense of stability now that may represent Mr. Abe’s greatest contribution to Japan’s politics — both domestic and in the field of its international relations. Guest: Ananth Krishnan, former Beijing Correspondent, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We turn our attention to the health of the economy in this episode and we do that analysis by looking at the RBI’s assessment of the economy, presented in its annual report released earlier in the week, and then look ahead to what we can expect when GDP numbers are expected to be released on Monday, August 31. Guest: Suresh Seshadri, Business Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The latest meeting the Congress party’s working committee ended with another thumbs-up for the Gandhi family with Sonia Gandhi continuing on as interim president. This is despite 23 senior party leaders writing to Sonia Gandhi stating that the party needs overhauling from top to bottom and that there should be a new leadership which can be more visible on the ground. The party’s dynasty dilemma looks no closer to being resolved but can any meaningful change come from this latest episode? Also read: Sound and fury: On the Congress and the Gandhis Guest: Varghese K. George, Associate Editor, The Hindu. You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago on this day, that’s August 9, 1970, was the last time that a private member’s bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament. A private member’s bill is the only way for a parliamentarian who is not in the government, as a minister, to introduce a piece of legislation. And the fact that it’s been fifty years since a legislation proposed by a private Member of Parliament was actually enacted into a law tells a story of its own. Why has there been a reduction over the years in the time given to discussing private member bills? How might the process around them be strengthened? Guest: Chakshu Rai, head of legislative and civic engagement at the non-profit PRS legislative, which tracks all things to do with parliament and lawmaking in India. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Fifty years ago on this day, that’s August 9, 1970, was the last time that a private member’s bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament. A private member’s bill is the only way for a parliamentarian who is not in the government, as a minister, to introduce a piece of legislation. And the fact that it’s been fifty years since a legislation proposed by a private Member of Parliament was actually enacted into a law tells a story of its own. Why has there been a reduction over the years in the time given to discussing private member bills? How might the process around them be strengthened? Guest: Chakshu Rai, head of legislative and civic engagement at the non-profit PRS legislative, which tracks all things to do with parliament and lawmaking in India. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

On August 14, U.S. President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement via Twitter that two of America’s close allies in West Asia, which had been at odds with each other for decades, reached a “historic” peace agreement. According to the deal, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will formally recognise the state of Israel, while the latter would halt its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank of Palestine. What does this mean for the people of Palestine and how does it fit into the context of a rising Iran and the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

On March 12 this year, the Environment Ministry put out a draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. This draft notification, with amended norms, is meant to replace the EIA notification of 2006. It was in the public domain for consultations and suggestions till August 11. So far, it has triggered widespread fears around dilution of environmental norms. Thousands of environmental activists, civil society groups, opposition leaders and ordinary citizens have written to the Environment Ministry, asking that the draft notification be withdrawn. But Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has maintained that the protests are unwarranted. What exactly does the draft EIA 2020 propose to do? Why are so many environmental groups up in arms against it? What changes does the draft need so that it is able to achieve its stated purpose, which is to safeguard the environment and local communities from potential damage due to developmental projects? Guest: Kanchi Kohli, scholar with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and expert on issues related to the environment, forest and biodiversity governance in India. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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, we go into the politics underlying the reconstruction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the ground-breaking ceremony held on Wednesday, and read into the symbolism and import of the statements made around the event. Guest: Varghese K. George, Associate Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The 2020 tiger census numbers were recently released with much fanfare. And the headline is that India is home to 70% of the world’s tiger population. But is the methodology by which the census is conducted outdated? And could we actually be doing a lot more to increase our tiger population? Guest: Ullas Karanth, Director, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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, we take a look at the issues related to rapid antigen tests, as several States, led by Delhi, have started to rely on this form of testing to collate data related to positive cases. What is it not telling us? We also discuss two serological surveys, from Delhi and Mumbai respectively, and what they tell us about the effects of the disease. Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

To help people whose cash flows and incomes were suddenly disrupted by COVID-19 and the attendant lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India, back in March, announced a loan moratorium scheme. The scheme was initially for three months, from March to May. It was then extended for another three months, till August 31. Now, as we enter the last month of this extension, there is yet another round of debate on whether the moratorium scheme should get another extension, say, till December. So long as the moratorium is in place, and people aren’t tested for their ability to repay, banks have no way to know how many more of their loans have gone bad. Should the moratorium be extended or not? What are the issues involved in either of the two options? What’s at stake for the banks? What does it mean for the consumer? What does it mean for the economy? Guest: Vivek Kaul, columnist and personal finance expert, bestselling author of The Easy Money Trilogy and Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How it Threatens the Indian Banking System. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

India’s telecom sector has seen its share of ups and downs over the past year. At the turn of the year it looked to be a sector under serious stress as the looming prospect of AGR dues payments threatened to seriously hamper major players like Vodafone and Airtel. Over the past six months, however, the telecom sector has received significant investments from global tech firms abroad and coupled with that now is the recent news of Reliance Jio planning to develop its own 5G network solution, the first by an Indian entity. What do these developments mean for the telecom sector going forward? Guest: Thomas K. Thomas, Mumbai bureau chief, The Hindu Business Line. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

India and China head into yet another round of commander-level talks this week and in the weeks since the disengagement of troops along the LAC was announced and government sources were declared that Chinese troops had pulled back, it’s now clear that the situation on the ground is a lot more complicated. To what level has disengagement happened, what remains to be done and is there a timeline at all for the process? Guest: Dinakar Peri, Defence Correspondent, The Hindu; Vijaita Singh, correspondent for Home Ministry and National Security. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is one of the most storied temples in India, said to hold unimaginable riches within its walls, including gold ornaments and other historical artefacts that are yet to be unearthed. A decade-old dispute about its management and administration was brought to a close a week ago, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Travancore royal family. In this two-part podcast, author and historian Manu S. Pillai talks us through the origins of the historical institution before cutting to the present and going into recent developments. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

The Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is one of the most storied temples in India, said to hold unimaginable riches within its walls, including gold ornaments and other historical artefacts that are yet to be unearthed. A decade-old dispute about its management and administration was brought to a close a week ago, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Travancore royal family. In this two-part podcast, author and historian Manu S Pillai talks us through the origins of the historical institution before cutting to the present and going into recent developments. Guest: Manu S Pillai, author and historian. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator on its COVID-19 trials, have been at the forefront of research, most significantly regarding vaccine development. The remarkable progress made by Professor Pollard and his team, captured by data published this week in the Lancet, holds out hope that an effective and safe vaccine might be available earlier than originally assumed, during 2021. Guest: Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator on its COVID-19 trials Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent news cycle may be dominated by Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli’s statements on Ayodhya, but the mobilisation of anti-Indian sentiment within Nepal has much to do with the complicated political situation that Oli finds himself in. In this episode, we take a longer perspective on the India-Nepal relationship to understand the impasses that exist between the two countries on a number of issues today. Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years after India and Iran signed an agreement to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan, the Iranian government has decided to proceed with the construction on its own, citing delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project. In this episode we'll talk about the Chabahar port project, go back in time a bit to analyse India’s relationship with Iran and place this recent development, like all strategic affairs, in the broader context of India’s recent troubles with China, U.S-China relations and the upcoming U.S. elections, among other factors. Guest: Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. 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

It became clear soon after the news of Sachin Pilot’s rebellion in Rajasthan broke that his path to an advantageous exit from the Congress was going to be less straightforward than Jyotiraditya Scindia’s just a few months ago. As Pilot has now been sacked from the posts he held in Rajasthan and looks set to formalise his exit from the party, we look at his track record, analyse the narrative that he was denied opportunities that were due to him and look at where he may go next. Can he negotiate a comfortable position like Scindia or is he ready for a long battle to redemption? Guest: Varghese K. George, Associate Editor, The Hindu. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview with The Hindu’s National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar, former National Security Advisor and former ambassador to China, Shivshankar Menon, perhaps the country’s foremost authority on India-China ties, assesses the recent disengagement along the LAC. What we’re seeing now, he warns, “is more of the same strategy that China has followed in the South China sea, where she changes facts on the ground, presents you with a fait accompli, takes two steps forward and then negotiates one step back”. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in India, one of the major problems faced by the general public is how to consult their doctors, what with an increasing number of healthcare professionals also contracting the virus. Telemedicine is beginning to step in here, with consultations taking place over the phone and video calls. This seems a way to keep both doctors and patients safe in the current situation. On March 25, the Government of India notified the telemedicine practice guidelines, giving an impetus to the sector that up until now had perhaps remained under-utilised. But how much can telemedicine diagnose and treat. And do patients trust telemedicine? Guest: Dr. K Ganapathy, former president of the Telemedicine Society of India, and director, Apollo Telemedicine Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices