In Focus by The Hindu

As Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls Phase 3 unfolds, a surge in Form 7 applications, the mechanism for seeking deletion of names, in Karnataka has raised an alarm. More than 4,000 such forms were filed in the state, with 1,363 in one place coming from just ten electors, many reportedly targeting Muslim names. Uttarakhand has seen objections filed in an ERO's name without his knowledge, while in earlier phase 2 in West Bengal, data shows nearly 90% of Form 7 applications were accepted. Similar cases have been reported by The Hindu from Rajasthan and Gujarat earlier. What does the law require of the Electoral Registration Officer, and why is it Section 31 of RPA Act rarely invoked? Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa and Prasenjit Bose, Congress leader and petitioner in West Bengal SIR case in Supreme Court, discuss misuse, deterrence and the need for reform in the system in this conversation. Host: Sreeparna Chakrabarty Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India is entering a demographic window of opportunity. For the next 15 years or so, our ratio of our working age population to the dependent population will be the highest. This is a historic opportunity to convert this demographic dividend into economic dividend.Now, cities are the engines of economic growth. To make our demographic dividend count, we need to create urban dividend. This basically means that our cities should be able to offer millions of jobs, host thousands of firms, and provide the urban services needed to sustain a large working population.Is India ready for this challenge?A new article titled, ‘Unlocking India's Urban Dividend', points out that India is not even accurately mapping its urban spread, and argues that unless we empower our cities, India will fail to encash its urban dividend. We are joined today by the author of this essay, demographic expert Apoorva Jadhav, who is a Non-resident Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Senior Fellow at the Population Reference Bureau, Washington, DC. Guest: Apoorva Jadhav, Demographic export Host: G. Sampath Edited and published by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joy Bhattacharjya discusses the scale and cost of organising the fixture, India's decision to prioritise Brazil over the ASEAN Cup and the wider debate over the AIFF's priorities Brazil are coming to India for a high-profile friendly in Kolkata, but what does the game really mean for Indian football? The high costs involved and India's decision to pull out of the inaugural ASEAN Cup to accommodate this fixture have sparked a debate on the merits of hosting star teams while India's domestic football structure continues to face challenges. Does a marquee game against Brazil justify the investment, and should Indian football be focusing more on high-profile friendlies or strengthening its domestic leagues and grassroots structure? Guest: Joy Bhattacharjya, sports administrator, author and analyst Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology, and especially AI, are no longer just a tool for humans. Today they control our choices, shape our daily routines, and determine how we invest our energies. This is true at the level of the individual, and also at the level of the nation-state. While at the individual level, the key question concerns freedom, for the nation-state, it's more about sovereignty – does India get to independently decide its own policies, or are they pre-decided for it by other geopolitical actors? A good example is how our banks do KYC. Thanks to a poorly designed framework, it has served as a blunt tool for mindless harassment and has failed to curb violations of sovereignty via money-laundering. If we can't get a simple KYC right, how well is India placed to navigate the complex landscape of fast-evolving LLMs and AI models, which pose major challenges to freedom and sovereignty? A new book, titled ‘Power of Uncertainty: The Battle for Privacy, Identity and Sovereignty' tries to answer these very questions. We speak to its authors, V. Anand, a cybersecurity expert, and Srinath Sridharan, corporate advisor and author. Host: G Sampath Producer: Shiksha Jural Camera: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special weekend bonus episode, we have a crossover with the Hindu's Rearview podcast. Common birds are no longer common. Rural landscapes now host fewer Black Drongos and Indian Rollers; Nightjars call less frequently from the edges of forests; Black-shouldered Kites perch less often on telegraph wires; Eagles are scarcer in the skies; and Harriers patrol protected grasslands in dwindling numbers as they search for insects. What is causing this disappearance? Renowned ornithologist and former Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) director Dr Asad Rahmani's latest book, ‘Where Are the Birds Gone?', investigates the alarming long-term decline of bird populations across the Indian subcontinent and the reasons behind it. Hosts: Sobhana K Nair & Jacob Koshy Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the beginning, civil society and section of political parties have questioned an exercise of such enormous scale, one that was presented as an effort to clean up the electoral rolls and identify suspected foreign nationals, but has already led to more than 13 crore names being deleted at the draft stage.Those concerns have now moved beyond the SIR, into the functioning of the Election Commission. A recent investigation report found that two of the three Election Commissioners raised formal objections 14 times in 10 months over decisions relating to electoral rolls and SIR, including the centralisation of the voter database.What do these objections reveal about the way SIR is being conducted, and about the institution overseeing it? Guest: Parakala Prabhakar, Economist and Author Host: Rishita Khanna Edited and published by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly, France has made a proposal to enhance the functioning of the UN, especially in dealing with the requirement for collective security and the use of veto. France has been advocating that the use of veto in the UN Security Council should be “regulated” when it comes to dealing with humanitarian criss, like in Sudan or in Lebanon or genocide. France believes that the use of veto is not a matter of “privilege” and that it is a matter of “responsibility”. Guests: Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Dean of School of International Studies, JNU and Prof. Swaran Singh, former professor of the School of International Studies Host: Kallol Bhattacherjee moderated a conversation between Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tata Group is facing its most consequential governance crisis in decades. N. Chandrasekaran, who had announced his departure, has now been reappointed by the Tata Sons board, even as the Tata Trusts, which control 66% of the holding company, challenge that decision. At stake is more than a chairman or a listing: it is a contest over who controls India's largest business house, how its governance model should work, and what happens to the values and public purpose that have defined the Tata name for generations. So, how does this end — and what has Tata meant to India? Guest: Lalatendu Mishra, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu Host: Kunal Shankar Edited by Sharmada venkatausbramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is India continuing to buy Russian crude despite growing pressure from the United States? And what happens if Washington imposes steep tariffs on Indian exports over those purchases? In this episode of The Hindu's InFocus, we spoke to Professor Anuradha Chenoy, Adjunct Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs and former Dean and Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of International Studies. We discussed India's strategic autonomy and its dependence on Russian oil, the potential impact of secondary tariffs on Indian exports, and the unusual reversal in the oil trade after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted Russian refining capacity. Host: Nitika Francis Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode at In Focus we have a special crossover episode featuring the Hindu's Global Faultlines podcast with Sharmada Venkatasubramanian and Stanly Johny. The UAE has emerged as one of the most influential powers in West Asia, using diplomacy, trade, investment and strategic partnerships to extend its influence far beyond the Gulf. But its relationships with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel have grown increasingly complex, while the Iran war has tested its carefully calibrated regional strategy. At the same time, Abu Dhabi is deepening its strategic partnership with India. In this episode, we examine the UAE's rise, its regional ambitions and the changing alliances shaping its foreign policy. Expert: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Research, Editing and Production: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Camera: Shivaraj S Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of In Focus Weekend Podcast, we speak to Chandan Gowda, a noted sociologist. He is currently the Dean of School of Liberal Arts, Vidyashilp University, Bengaluru. He has formerly worked with National Law School of India University Bengaluru, Azim Premji University and Institute of Social and Economic Change. His recent book "Longing for an Elsewhere: Mysore and the making of India's Developmental State", traces the trajectory of the model of development free india adopted to one of its origins in the Mysore state during colonial times. It argues development is not just an economic argument, but deeply cultural. The book is also interesting in how it traces the rise of technocrats and experts in the administration and records contemporary dissent. The book while dealing with history surprisingly speaks to contemporary concerns. Host: Aditya Bharadwaj Producer: Shiksha Jural Video: Ravichandran N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou saw India's best ever performance – we came back with 107 medals, including 28 gold medals, and we finished fourth on the medals table, behind only China, Japan and South Korea. The 2026 Asian Games will officially kick off in from September 19, and the big question is: can improve on its performance? In this episode, we preview 's prospects, and joining us is Uthra Ganesan from The Hindu's Sports Bureau. Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Producer: Jude Weston Editor: Jude Weston and Shiksha Jural Video: Tayyab Hussain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a strong pushback against unilateral western sanctions; criticism of Israel over the killing of civilians, the attacks on Lebanon, and the forced occupation of Palestinian territory; and support for United Nations reform as well as a BRICS payment mechanism, the New Delhi Declaration of 2026 has been likened to India's foreign policy from its non-aligned past. But was it a compromise by New Delhi in order to build a consensus, or will the statement, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's close engagement with the leaders of Iran, Russia, and China, have a bearing on India's future foreign policy? Guests: Ajay Bisaria and Happymon Jacob Host: Suhasini Haidar Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Western Ghats in India is a mountain range that is considered next only to the Himalayas in terms of being a biological treasure trove with a high degree of endemism and scenic beauty. It has also been declared as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. However, in recent times, it has been in the news for threats to its unique ecosystem, especially with every episode of an ecological disaster. Yet, every attempt that has proposed to address these problems - be it the Gadgil committee report or the Kasturirangan report - has met with opposition. The latest in this list is the draft notification issued by the Centre proposing the Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) that would cover a 20,668 square kilometre area spread across 1,449 villages in Karnataka, which has been vehemently opposed by the Karnataka government. In the first of this two-part podcast, AS Ponnanna, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka and MLA from Virajpet in Kodagu, nestled in the Western Ghats, talks about the concerns the Karnataka government has with the Kasturirangan report and the Centre's latest draft notification. In Part 2, we will have TV Ramachandra from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, who was also the local expert who gave his inputs to the Kasturirangan committee. Host: K C Deepika. The Hindu Producer and editor: Jude Weston Video: Ravichandran N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent BRICS summit in New Delhi, held under India's presidency, brought together an expanded grouping at a time of major geopolitical and economic shifts. The summit sought to deepen cooperation among its members while navigating their often divergent strategic interests. West Asia, in particular, posed a significant diplomatic challenge. The New Delhi Declaration addressed the situation in Gaza, the Iran conflict and the wider instability in the region, while India also sought to facilitate dialogue between Iran and the UAE. So, what were the key takeaways of the Delhi summit? How did BRICS handle the conflicts in West Asia? And why was the grouping able to find greater consensus on Palestine than on the Iran conflict?  Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited and published by Sharmada Venkatausbramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Security Council is paralysed, and Superpowers haven't recognized there are limits to their power says UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in his most scathing comments about the culture of “impunity” and divisiveness that besets global leadership. This episode, we have an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the UNSG, who demits office at the end of the year weighed in on a number of issues, including UN reform, the election for his successor, the latest developments in the West Asia war, Israel's war in Gaza, India's efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war, and the latest controversy of a new UN resolution on the world map. Guest: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Host: Suhasini Haider Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doomsday scenarios of an ‘AI takeover' have been part of popular lore for a long time. Skynet, Terminator, and Agent Smith are fictional icons of this narrative. What may seem a paranoid fantasy appears to have unfolded in real life, with the recent hacking incident involving AI infrastructure platform, Hugging Face. OpenAI was conducting a cyber-evaluation of some of its AI models, and according to a report put out by MERT and Redwood Research, AI safety experts, about 1,200 AI agents, who were supposed to be isolated from one another, colluded and collaborated through an unsanctioned message board. They cheated on their task, and covered their tracks by falsifying their logs. It was as a part of this ‘rogue' action that 700 of them attacked Hugging Face. The report says that more than a thousand agents carried out a massive, unsanctioned, collaborative project over months, before being discovered and shut down. OpenAI's own report revealed that after the Hugging Face attack, the ‘rogue' agents even took over a cluster of OpenAI's own computers. What does this entire incident mean for AI safety? Are fears of an AI takeover justified? How to ensure that frontier AI research is properly regulated and doesn't endanger humanity itself? Joining us today is Sayash Kapoor, incoming professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information and co-author of the book, ‘AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence can do, what it can't, and how to tell the difference'. Host: G Sampath Producer: Shiksha Jural Video: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Iran war has entered another dangerous phase, with the confrontation between Tehran and Washington increasingly spilling into the Persian Gulf. Iran has stepped up attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. has intensified efforts to restrict Iranian oil exports. At the same time, questions over Iran's nuclear programme remain unresolved, and tensions are rising across Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. So, what is Iran trying to achieve with this escalation? What remains of Iran's nuclear programme? Is the conflict turning into a wider regional war, and is Lebanon becoming its next major front? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year moratorium on generative AI tools for public school students through Class 8 for the 2026-27 academic year. Officials argued that young children require human connection and independent problem-solving skills instead of relying on algorithms. Should the use of Gen AI be banned among younger students?   Guests: Lavina Jaswani and Deepa Jacob Host: Priscilla Jebaraj Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Western Ghats in India is a mountain range that is considered next only to the Himalayas in terms of being a biological treasure trove with a high degree of endemism and scenic beauty. It has also been declared as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. However, in recent times, it has been in the news for threats to its unique ecosystem, especially with every episode of an ecological disaster. Yet, every attempt that has proposed to address these problems - be it the Gadgil committee report or the Kasturirangan report - has met with opposition. The latest in this list is the draft notification issued by the Centre proposing the Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) that would cover a 20,668 square kilometre area spread across 1,449 villages in Karnataka, which has been vehemently opposed by the Karnataka government. AS Ponnanna, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka and MLA from Virajpet in Kodagu, nestled in the Western Ghats, talks about the concerns the Karnataka government has with the Kasturirangan report and the Centre's latest draft notification. Host: K. C. Deepika, City Editor, The Hindu, Bengaluru Producer: Shiksha Jural Video: Ravichandran N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The implementation of the creamy layer doctrine for OBC reservations has been beset with complications. A Supreme Court judgement on March 11 essentially held that Union government has been doing it all wrong all these years, and that their income/wealth test was subjecting a section of OBC applicants to “hostile discrimination”. The Supreme court gave the government six months to implement its order with regard to the litigants. But the government has told the court that it will be too complicated to implement its order retrospectively. For instance, one immediate concern: what happens with the results of the 2025 civil services exams that were declared on March 6? With the court set to hear the matter again on September 17, we unpack the complex history of creamy layer implementation. How effective has it been -- in remedying the hogging of OBC reservations by a few select groups? Isn't sub-categorisation a better approach compared to the creamy layer doctrine – when it comes to ensuring opportunities for under-represented communities within OBCs? Guest: Abhinay Lakshman from The Hindu's bureau Host: G. Sampath Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special bonus episode featuring the Hindu's Global Faultlines podcast where Sharmada venkatausbramanian is in conversation with Stanly Johny. Israel has fought multiple wars and military campaigns since October 7, in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, while expanding its military and intelligence operations across the region. But military reach does not necessarily translate into strategic victory. What has Israel actually achieved, and at what cost? Has it strengthened its security and position in West Asia, or created new vulnerabilities and deeper isolation? How have these wars changed Israel's relationship with the United States, the Gulf and India, and what do they mean for the future of the Palestinian question?  In this episode of Global Faultlines, we examine Israel's wars, its security establishment, its evolving regional strategy and the larger question: Is Israel winning? Expert: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Research, Editing and Production: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Camera: Johan Sathyadas J Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's been a lot of excitement in the cancer research field recently. Preliminary results from a trial with patients who had melanoma or skin cancer, showed that a ‘cancer vaccine' had been successful in reducing the recurrence of melanoma tumours. This vaccine, called instamaren autogene, is based on mRNA technology – the same tech that was used to manufacture Covid vaccines during the pandemic. A number of other trials across the world are also looking into how mRNA vaccines can help prevent the recurrence of certain hard-to-treat cancers. So what are these new therapies and what cancer do they treat? Why are they called vaccines when they don't actually prevent cancer? How does mRNA tech work and how is AI helpful in this? Will these personalised treatments be available in India any time soon and how expensive will they be? Guest: Dr. Narayana Subramaniam, Lead Consultant, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Aster Hospitals, and Adjunct Faculty at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much was expected from the Indian men's hockey team after back to back bronze medals at the highest level of the sport – the Olympic Games. The core of the team that took part in the recently concluded World Cup was the same as the one that medalled at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Yet we struggled against the top teams at the recently concluded World Cup. Despite having a coach in Craig Fulton who is known for a defense-first approach, the single most disappointing aspect of the team's performance was in defence, as it conceded 19 goals in just six games. What is the team missing, and what does this performance bode for the upcoming Asian Games where are the defending champions? We speak with Uthra Ganesan from The Hindu's Sports Bureau. Host: G Sampath Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, jewellery brand Giva withdrew an advertisement it made for Raksha Bandhan after netizens criticised actress Kriti Sanon's outfit as too revealing for a traditional festival. The incident is the latest in a series of brands backtracking on their advertisements following backlash that is often religiously or communally charged. Given India's current socio-political climate, are brands overreacting to manufactured outrage? Here, we discuss the question. Guest: Mitushi Sharma and Santosh Desai Host: Sonikka Loganathan Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The resilience of a nation's economy is determined by the quality of its human capital. Other things being equal, a country with a healthy and educated population will grow much faster than one with a semi-literate and undernourished one. And yet, has historically, and consistently, under-invested in health and education – neglecting them even in years of high economic growth. There is a strong tendency to dismiss state expenditure on people's well being a as ‘freebies' or ‘revdi'. But are they freebies or are they basic rights that people can demand from the state? Guest: Reetika Khera, professor of economics at IIT, explores this question in her book, ‘Freebies or Rights: Understanding Social Policy in ', which maps 's welfare architecture and its effectiveness. Host: G Sampath Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its fifth year, the conflict shows little sign of ending. Russia and Ukraine continue to intensify drone and missile attacks, while efforts for a possible diplomatic breakthrough remain uncertain. Is Vladimir Putin under growing pressure? How has the nature of the war changed, what is driving the escalation? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Smriti Sudesh Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Do you not want people to be healthy?” That was the question the Supreme Court put to the FSSAI earlier this month, while hearing a case over warning labels on the front of packaged food, for foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. The Court questioned why the regulator had delayed implementing stronger warnings, particularly when the issue directly concerns public health and children.The question becomes even more significant now, after a media investigation found that some of the world's biggest food and beverage brands use substantially different formulations for their products in India and abroad, with Indian products containing higher levels of sugar, salt or fat, along with less prominent health warnings.So, what determines what consumers get on their shelves and how much protection do our food-safety rules really provide? To understand this, today, on In Focus, we're joined by Hyderabad-based paediatrician Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh, whose eight-year fight over the misleading use of “ORS” label on high-sugar electrolyte drinks eventually led to FSSAI banning the use of the term by products that do not follow the prescribed formulation. Guest: Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh, Paediatrician Host: Rishita Khanna Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special weekend crossover episode featuring the Hindu's Rearview podcast. Did Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi solve the Riemann Hypothesis - one of mathematics's greatest puzzles? Was Kosambi, who wrote one of the most influential books on studying Indian history, ignored by both mathematicians and historians? Is he India's Alan Turing? This week we interview Prof Ram Ramaswamy, whose biography of the remarkably eclectic DD Kosambi: DD Kosambi, One Life, Many Worlds, gives a dispassionate, scholarly and insightful look into this mathematician and historian who was also a Sanskrit scholar and avowed Marxist. Ramaswamy, who's taught at JNU, IIT Delhi and is a former Vice Chancellor at University of Hyderabad, has unearthed rich archival material to investigate the motivations, frustrations and sources of inspiration that shaped one of India's greatest polymaths. Host: Jacob Koshy Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India has a waste management problem. Though we reportedly collect 90% of our municipal solid waste, nearly 40% does not enter formal processing. Due to this large share that is out of the formal processing system, most Indian cities have garbage mountains – open dump sites and landfills. These dump sites have been linked to groundwater contamination and other public health risks. Critically, they are massive sources of non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as Methane.How to eliminate or shrink these dump sites? How to ensure that waste segregation is followed all the way from the collection point till the end of the fresh-waste disposal chain? What are the chances India can reduce landfill methane emissions to zero?A new report, titled ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management in : Policy and Technology Pathways for Climate Action', says that with the right reforms, can reduce waste sector methane emissions by 99% within 10–15 years. Guests: Zerin Osho, Director of the Indian Program at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD), and Akshat Patni, Senior Adviser with IGSD. Host: G. Sampath Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian and Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court has been discussing linguistics this month, while hearing challenges to the CBSE's three-language formula, which mandates that two of the three must be native Indian languages, a category that does not include English. The Bench has been debating whether English should be considered a foreign language in India, given its long history in the country, and its role as a link language in governance and in higher education. We discuss the same question in this week's Parley, with Apoorvanand, a professor in the Hindi department of the University of Delhi, and Ganesh Devy, a former professor of English and the man behind the People's Linguistic Survey of India project. Host: Priscilla Jebaraj Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) for women have become extremely popular. So far, more than 14 states have done it, benefiting 120 million women. The monthly payouts range from Rs833 to Rs2,500. State governments spend more than Rs2 lakh crore annually on such schemes. But at the same time, at least six such states projected a revenue deficit for 2025-26, pointing to the growing fiscal pressure due to the rapid expansion of women-centric cash transfers. There is a raging debate on whether unconditional cash transfers are crowding out state expenditure on social infrastructure such as public health and education. A new book by Prabha Kotiswaran, titled ‘Wages for Housework: 's experiment with Unconditional cash transfers for women' defends such payouts from a feminist perspective, and argues that they are a form of economic, social and political recognition of women's unpaid domestic and care work. Prabha Kotiswaran is Professor of Law and Social Justice at King's College, and she joins us today for a discussion on women-centric UCTs. Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Road traffic noise is a major environmental pollutant. Indian cities are cacophonous. They are not designed to insulate residents from sustained exposure to traffic noise. A new research paper has found a worrying link between traffic noise exposure and dementia, and also cognitive impairment. The paper, titled ‘Association of road traffic noise exposure with dementia or cognitive impairment – A systematic review of longitudinal cohort studies', has been co-authored by Emil Basil Scaria and Nisha Dhanda, and was published on PLOS Global Public Health earlier this year.  We speak with the lead author of the study. Guest: Emil Basil Scaria, a public health researcher and physician based in Dubai Host: G. Sampath Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year, residents in several Indian cities -from Mumbai to Bengaluru - have experienced a shortage in water supply. India's big cities are expanding in terms of size and population. This has also meant a strain on existing resources such as land and water. We have already seen cities such as Bengaluru attempting to implement restrictions on use of potable water for non-potable purposes. But do our cities need more than that to ensure water security for the future? How water stressed are Indian cities? Guest: Priyanka Jamwal, Programme Leader and Senior Fellow, Water and Society Programme, ATREE Raj Bhagat, Senior Program Manager, Geo Analytics for Sustainable Cities & Transport program, WRI India Host: K. C. Deepika, City Editor, The Hindu, Bengaluru Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's one of those conditions that has no symptoms during its early stages, meaning that by the time it is diagnosed, it could be very late: chronic kidney diseases, or CKD, has been in the news recently after a Parliamentary Standing Committee tabled a report on this condition in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, and made a series of 66 recommendations. Significantly, the committee recommended diagnosis methodologies, called for a national CKD screening protocol and a registry, highlighted CKD of unknown etiology in certain States especially among agricultural workers and recommended greater use of peritoneal dialysis. So what is chronic kidney disease, why and how does it take place, what does it to the body, and who needs to be tested and when? Guest: Dr Rajan Ravichandran, Director, Nephrology, MIOT Hospital, Chennai and Chairman, Sapiens Health Foundation Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The biggest hurdle to police reforms comes from the bureaucracy itself – IAS officers who hold key positions at the Centre and in all departments of the governments and local bodies in the states,” writes Yashovardhan Azad in his new book, ‘Policing the Republic: An Inside View of How India Fights Corruption and Crime, and Protects Rights.' Mr Azad, a former IPS officer who has served as special director at the Intelligence bureau and Central Information Commissioner, argues in his book that corruption and the breakdown of institutional credibility are two major challenges hobbling the India story. In this episode, we discuss, among other things, police reforms, the politics of corruption, and how tough life can be for a upright civil servant. Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his 2026 Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will roll out free online coaching for competitive exams using India's digital public infrastructure. The announcement was made in a bid to reach out to the Gen-Z youth, especially following the widespread student protests against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak. The objective of the PM's announcement was to save poor and middle-class families thousands of crores while also helping students prepare without leaving their homes. However, can govt. coaching classes break the private coaching industry? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Buddha Chandrasekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and CEO, Anuvadini AI run under the Ministry of Education; Anubhav Shrivastava, Co-founder of Theory of Physics Host: Maitri Porecha Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus episode of the In Focus podcast we have an excerpt from Global Faultlines, the Hindu's international affairs podcast. Yemen is no longer just the site of a devastating civil war. The Houthis have emerged as a powerful regional actor, capable of threatening Saudi Arabia, Israel and one of the world's most important maritime trade routes. In this episode, we examine how the Houthis transformed from a domestic insurgency into a regional military force, how the Gaza war expanded their role, and why Yemen has now become a new front in the Iran war. We look at the Houthis' relationship with Iran, the strategic importance of the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, the renewed confrontation with Saudi Arabia, and what the escalation means for Yemen's already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Can Yemen still find a political settlement, or has the rise of the Houthis permanently changed the balance of power in West Asia? Expert: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Research, Editing and Production: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Camera: Shivaraj S Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it say about our cities when the Supreme Court has to remind governments that people have a fundamental right to walk? The Court's recent judgment on footpaths has put a very basic question back on the table - who does the city actually make space for, the pedestrian or the vehicle? In cities like Bengaluru, the answer is visible on the street. Footpaths are taken over by parking, vendors, utility infrastructure and construction, while in several places there is barely a footpath to begin with. But is “encroachment” really the problem, or have we never planned our streets around pedestrians in the first place? So, what does the Supreme Court's decision mean for metropolitan cities, and what would it take for Bengaluru and other metro cities to become a city where walking is treated as a right rather than an afterthought? Guest: Pawan M, Executive Director at the World Resources Institute, who has been advocating for safer, more accessible and people-centric street Hots: Rishita Khanna Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Camera: Ravichandran N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kerala is known for its high literacy rate and strong public education system. Yet, several tribal communities in the State continue to face barriers in accessing and completing education. According to the 2011 Census, the Cholanaickan community in Kerala had a literacy rate of just 15.3%, pointing to the wide gaps that persist within the State.In this episode, we look at which tribal communities are most affected by school dropouts, the reasons behind children leaving school, and the stages at which they are most vulnerable. The conversation also examines whether existing government schemes have made a difference and where gaps remain.We also discuss the example of Serve India Adivasi LP School in Thariode, Wayanad, which has worked to prevent dropouts by adapting teaching methods without changing the syllabus, and whether such approaches can be replicated elsewhere in Kerala. Guest: Pradeep Kumar, anthropologist and researcher in tribal studies and development Host: Priya Baburaj Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, startling headlines hit the news. Three commonly prescribed medicines, hydrochlorothiazide, used to treat high blood pressure, voriconazole, an antifungal medicine and tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant were classified as carcinogenic, or cancer causing, to humans. The classification was made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC, which is the World Health Organization's cancer research agency.According to the IARC, there is sufficient evidence that hydrochlorothiazide causes squamous cell carcinoma of the skin and cancer of the lip, as the drug makes the skin more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation. Voriconazole, also has been linked to the same cancers. In the case of Tacrolimus since it suppresses the immune system to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, the reduced immune surveillance may allow abnormal cells to proliferate and it is linked with non-Hodgkin lymphoma with limited evidence for other cancers as well.These drugs are prescribed to millions of people worldwide. So what happens now? Guest: Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan convener, research cell, Kerala State IMA and honorary senior consultant gastroenterologist, Sunrise Hospital, Kochi. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Karnataka Government has been championing a project to build a nearly 10,000 acre Live-Work-Play greenfield city on its outskirts in Bidadi, which has become a political flashpoint as farmers oppose land acquisition. All our mega cities seem to be saturated, overpopulated and congested. As a country we seem to be looking at ways of decongesting them. As Bengaluru seeks to embark on a similar trajectory as other mega cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad which have experimented building satellite towns, we ask whether building such greenfield towns on the peripheries of these cities, really the way ahead. To discuss this, urban planning, policy and governance expert Champaka Rajgopal, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi, joins us on the In Focus podcast. She brings over 25 years of experience of having worked with national, state and local governments in India and abroad on urban policy, planning and governance. She has worked on a Master Plan for Bengaluru, Structural Plan for Bengaluru Metropolitan Region, Perspective Plan for Bengaluru - Mumbai Economic Corridor and the Earlier Draft Development Plan for Greater Mumbai - 2034. Host: Aditya Bharadwaj Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Days after India's youth-led protests forced the resignation of India's Union Minister of Education, Members of Parliament found themselves speaking in the language of the protestors. For instance, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde accused the opposition of being “MIA” - missing in action - and feeling the “FOMO”, or the fear of missing out, before eventually becoming “delulu”. However, the Gen Z were in the limelight far before the protests caught steam. Tamil Nadu's freshly elected Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), owes his victory, in part, to the Gen Z voters of the State. The debutante party involved its young following in electoral politics, one viral Instagram reel at a time. In response to this, the then-incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a decades-old party with deep footing in the State, posted reels and co-opted Gen Z slang as well, to no avail. Are traditional parties unable to understand the grammar of Gen Z politics? Here we discuss the question. Guests: N Sai Balaji, the political activist associated with CPI(ML) and the All India Students' Association and Kunal Purohit, journalist and author of H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Popstars Host: Nitika Francis. Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mecca Defence Pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan marks a significant shift in West Asia's security landscape. What does the agreement mean for India, and could it reshape the regional balance of power? In this episode of In Focus, we look at how India views the Mecca Pact, its implications for India-Pakistan tensions, Türkiye's role, Saudi Arabia's strategic calculations, and the possibility of a new security architecture in West Asia. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor at The Hindu Host: Smriti Sudesh Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indians make around 24 billion UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions a month. The combined value of these payments is nearly Rs30 trillion. UPI is at the heart of India's digital public infrastructure. The best thing about UPI payments: they are free. But now this could change. The government recently passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha. This Bill, among other things, amends the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, which had ensured that no charge can be levied on UPI transactions. But now, this is no longer the case. The government has claimed that this charge, known as the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), may only be applied on transactions above a certain threshold, that too only on merchants, and not on consumers. But analysts believe the costs will be passed on to the consumers. Why is MDR needed for UPI payments? Does it have anything to do with US pressure in the context of trade deal negotiations, as alleged by Opposition leaders? Is UPI really ‘free of charge' even as it stands today? Guest: L Srikanth from Cashless Consumer, a consumer collective Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The scientific world was rocked last month, when the case of a six-year-old girl who died in China, surfaced. The child was believed to have Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation in the CHD3 gene. The condition affects intellectual development, but its severity varies widely. The girl's parents sought an experimental treatment led by neuroscientist Zilong Qiu at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. What happened then was the child underwent base editing therapy, a specialised form of gene editing therapy. The therapy was directed at her brain to correct a genetic mutation in her brain cells. The parents are believed to have financed much of the therapy's development. Within days of the therapy, the child developed a fever and kidney damage, and died a week later. The case has thrown up a number of issues: why was an experimental treatment such as this allowed to go forward even after animal testing had reportedly found dangerous side effects? How much treatment of this sort should be allowed when its effects are still not fully understood? Are there gaps in scientific regulatory mechanisms that need to be fixed? Should families of patients be financially supporting such treatments? And finally, what does this say about our treatment of persons with disabilities? Guest: Dr. Debojyoti Chakraborty, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi Host: Zubeda Hamid Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ken-Betwa Link Project, India's first river-linking project, has once again come under the spotlight amid protests by villagers, many from tribal communities, who fear displacement and question the rehabilitation process. But beyond the immediate protests lies a larger debate over the science, hydrology and long-term viability of the project. In this episode, we unpack how the project is designed to work, what it means for the Ken and Betwa river basins, and whether the idea of a “surplus” river is scientifically sound. The conversation also explores the communities that stand to be affected, the links between environmental impacts and rehabilitation, the role of forests and river ecosystems in maintaining water security, and whether alternatives such as watershed development, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge could offer more sustainable solutions for Bundelkhand. Finally, we examine what the Ken-Betwa project could mean for the future of India's wider river-linking programme, with 30 such projects proposed under the National Perspective Plan. Guest: Himanshu Thakkar (Coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People)Host: Devyanshi Bihani Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recently concluded Commonwealth Games were unlike the usual multidisciplinary sporting extravaganzas that we are used to seeing. A late replacement to Victoria as host, the Glasgow Games were more akin to an abridged version with fewer events and fewer participants. India finished fourth on the medal table, a commendable performance given that most of the sports that over the years have formed the bulk of our medal haul had been removed. But questions of uncertainty have been whirling around the Games for a long time and the Glasgow edition has again reignited the same. Are the Commonwealth Games dying? We discuss. Tune in! Guests: Anju Bobby George and Dr. Heena Sidhu Host: Uthra Ganesan Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, blue has been synonymous with Indian sport. So why has Hockey India decided to replace it with saffron as the primary colour of the men's national team's jersey ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup? The move has sparked criticism from former players, administrators, fans and politicians, raising questions that go far beyond the design of a kit. In this episode of In Focus, we look at how the decision was made, whether the federation followed due process, if players and support staff were genuinely consulted, and whether Hockey India's technical explanation for the change stands up to scrutiny. Guest: Uthra Ganesan, The Hindu's hockey correspondent Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neha Bora has emerged as a charismatic student leader and one of the key faces of the Jantar Mantar protests. She is the national president of AISA, the All India Students Association, which is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. We speak with her about the impact of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 on India's higher education system, what it means to be a leftwing student leader in India, and the challenges in mobilising students and working class youth for social justice in a scenario of shrinking spaces for dissent and civil liberties. Host: G Sampath Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exactly seven years ago on August 5th, 2019, the Union government abrogated Article 370, and subsequently, Jammu & Kashmir became a Union Territory, ruled directly from New Delhi. Legislative assembly elections were held in September 2024 but the newly elected government did not have meaningful legislative or administrative powers. When it revoked Article 370, the government made two promises: one, that the move will usher in ‘normalcy' to the Kashmir Valley, and two, that it would restore statehood soon. Today, Jammu and Kashmir is still awaiting statehood. And questions remain: Has normalcy returned? Has insurgency been stamped out? What's the mood on the ground, and among the Kashmiri political classes? We speak with Praveen Donthi, Senior Analyst with the International Crisis Group, a non-profit that works on conflict-prevention and resolution. Produced, edited and shot by Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices