In Focus by The Hindu
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Top 10 In Focus by The Hindu Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best In Focus by The Hindu episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to In Focus by The Hindu for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite In Focus by The Hindu episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Why did Brazil’s Supreme Court ban X?
In Focus by The Hindu
09/06/24 • 38 min
X (formerly known as Twitter) has gone offline in Brazil. The country’s Supreme Court issued an order to block X in Brazil after Elon Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the company in the country. This defiance came on the heels of repeated flouting of the court’s orders to block certain far-right accounts that were allegedly spreading disinformation.
X has more than 22 million users in Brazil, who suddenly find themselves cut off from their accounts. The judge who ordered the ban, Alexandre de Moraes, has also said in his order that those who use VPN to access X will face a fine of 50,000 reais, or $8,850 per day. Musk, meanwhile, has gone all out vilifying Judge Moraes, calling him an “evil dictator” ‘Darth Vader’ and Voldemort’.
The ban on X has raised several questions about the global governance of social media. For instance, does this ban amount to some form of censorship, as Musk is claiming? Is it okay for an American tech platform owner to publicly back a particular political faction in another country, as Musk has been doing? Can an MNC expect to operate in a given country without complying with local laws? What lessons does the Brazilian court’s action hold for other nations in the Global South, such as India?
Guest: Jyoti Panday, who is with the Internet Governance Project at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.
Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
1 Listener
Saudi's Neom project: What do its exploitative work conditions say about India's migrant worker scenario?
In Focus by The Hindu
11/15/24 • 37 min
Exploitative work conditions faced by Indians in the Middle East is not new, but the recent reports emerging from Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $500 billion Neom project are shocking: a recent documentary alleges that 21,000 foreign workers have died and 1,00,000 have gone missing since 2017, while working on projects that are part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative.
Earlier this week Nadhmi al-Nasr, the long-time chief executive of the Neom project departed, and while there was no reason stated, reports indicate Mr. al-Nasr had earned a chilling reputation managing workers of the project.
But despite sometimes horrific work conditions, multiple deaths and the continuing use of the kafala system, around nine million Indians continue to compete for jobs in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
India has one of the highest remittances from its citizens working abroad, in the world, with the figure estimated at $111 billion as of 2022. And yet, policies and laws to protect migrant workers are scarce.
Why do young Indians continue to go abroad for semi-skilled or unskilled work – are these last-resort options or are they still seen as lucrative employment offers? Why do there continue to remain minimal protections for those who go to these countries? Has the pattern of migration from India changed? And Does the Indian Emigration Act need an overhaul?
Guest: Saurabh Bhattacharjee – associate professor, National Law School, Bengaluru and co-director, Centre for Labour Studies
Host: Zubeda Hamid
1 Listener
Can Dissanayake chart a new economic path for Sri Lanka or will he stay bound by the IMF program?
In Focus by The Hindu
11/20/24 • 48 min
The National People’s Power (NPP), the ruling alliance led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has secured a historic mandate in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections. By winning 159 seats in the 225-member Parliament, it has secured two-thirds majority, a feat never achieved before in Sri Lanka’s proportionate representation system.
This victory, coming two months after his election as President, leaves Dissanayake supremely well-placed to fulfil the expectations of a people exhausted by economic travails. But then, he will also be under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stick with the program of permanent austerity. Can he navigate these contradictory pulls on his government? If so, how? And will he use his two-thirds majority to establish a new political culture, say, by abolishing the executive presidency?
Guest: Dr Ahilan Kadirgamar from the University of Jaffna.
Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.
Edited by Sharmada venkatasubramanian.
1 Listener
Decoding the Uttar Pradesh Digital Media Policy 2024
In Focus by The Hindu
09/11/24 • 23 min
In this episode, we dive into the Uttar Pradesh government's new social media policy, which encourages influencers to promote the state's initiatives and achievements with incentives. However, this move has sparked controversy, with opposition parties criticizing it as an attempt to sway public opinion ahead of the upcoming elections.
How does UP’s policy compare to other states? What are the rules for government advertising, and how does this new policy affect influencers and current practices?
Guest: Apar Gupta, a lawyer, tech policy expert, and co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation
Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu
Edited by Jude Francis Weston
1 Listener
Decoding the mandate for Trump and his picks for the White House
In Focus by The Hindu
11/18/24 • 43 min
Donald Trump is going to Make America Great Again again. He is all set to take oath in January 2025 as the 47th President of the United States. The media and opinion polls had predicted an exceptionally close presidential race. But Trump won by some distance, winning 301 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’s 226.
The Republicans now control the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House. Trump has achieved this on the back of the most divisive, abusive, racist, and gynist campaign in American history, replete with profanities.
What does this electoral outcome mean for America? Where did the Democrats go wrong? And what do Trump’s staff picks reveal about the kind of administration and foreign policy he is going to offer?
Guest: Sriram Lakshman, The Hindu’s foreign correspondent.
Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.
Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
1 Listener
Do India’s Free Trade Agreements with European nations benefit the country? | In Focus podcast
In Focus by The Hindu
04/02/24 • 41 min
On March 10th, India signed a free trade agreement with a group of four European nations, committing to reduce tariffs. In return, India would receive $100 billion in investments over the next 15 years. The non-EU bloc, known as the European Free Trade Association, consists of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. This agreement has come on the back of protracted negotiations of 21 rounds spread over 16 years. While the balance of trade heavily favors the EFTA, with India importing about $22 billion in 2023 from the bloc, India exported only about $3 billion to the bloc. While India hopes to attract investments in railways, the financial sector and automobiles, it is expecting a growth in exports of pharma products, garments, chemicals and machinery to the EFTA.
This pact comes just two years after India signed similar agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Australia, but such free trade deals have not largely helped India's export growth. In fact, it has generally been more beneficial to the other nations or blocks who have signed such deals with India. For instance, India's 2011 comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan enabled Japan to double its exports to more than $16 billion in 2023 from $8 billion in 2011. On the other hand, India's exports to Japan remained static at $5.46 billion in 2023, a tad up from $5.09 billion in 2011. This mirrors other trade pacts like the one signed with the 10-member Southeast Asian block, the ASEAN in 2010. In 2022-23, India exported goods worth about $44 billion to the region, while its imports were valued at $87 billion. The trade deficit in 2022-23 was $43 billion compared with $7.5 billion in 2010.
Why is India then entering into more such agreements? How different is the EFTA from those signed with other nations and blocs? And are such deals a substitute to larger WTO led trade frameworks, where India tends to have a larger say because of the backing of other developing nations.
Guest: Professor Dinesh Abrol, retired professor at the Institute for Studies in industrial development.
Host: Kunal Shankar, Deputy Business Editor, The Hindu.
Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
What the recent UNSC resolution means for Palestinians in Gaza | In Focus podcast
In Focus by The Hindu
04/01/24 • 32 min
After several failed efforts, the United Nations Security Council managed to pass a resolution on March 25 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. Resolution 2728 passed because unlike in three previous occasions the United States chose not to use its veto power but abstained. The resolution passed 14-0.
In a related development, the International Court of Justice warned on March 28 that the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food by Israel to the Palestinians meant that famine was setting in in Gaza.
Also, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Francesca Albanese said on March 26 there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Since October last year, Israel has killed at least 32,000 Palestinians and injured another 71,000 following the Hamas attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. So what does the UNSC resolution and ICJ order mean?
Guest: Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, from 2016 to 2020.
Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.
Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
The end of immunity for MPs and MLAs over bribery
In Focus by The Hindu
03/08/24 • 27 min
Earlier this week, a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that MPs and MLAs are not immune to criminal prosecution on bribery charges related to their votes or speech in Parliament or state assemblies.
This judgement overturns an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court in the 1998 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) case. In this case, the majority opinion had held that MPs and MLAs enjoyed immunity from prosecution with regard to how they vote or speak in the House.
Article 105 (2) of the Constitution confers on MPs immunity from prosecution in respect of their speech or voting in Parliament. Article 194 (2) grants the same protection to MLAs. So what prompted the Supreme Court to strip MPs and MLAs of this immunity? What was the original case that set off the chain of events culminating in this judgement? And what are the implications of this verdict? Tune in to find out.
Does the Bihar Caste Survey point to a need for a national caste census? | In Focus podcast
In Focus by The Hindu
10/13/23 • 36 min
Earlier this month, the Bihar government published the ‘Bihar Caste-based Survey 2022’. The survey data showed that extremely backward classes (EBCs) and other backward classes (OBCs) together made up nearly 63% of the 13-crore population, making them the largest caste group in the State.
The Congress has made a demand for a caste survey a core element of its poll campaign in the forthcoming assembly elections, and the INDIA alliance is likely to do the same in the 2024 general elections as well.
So, what does the data of the Bihar caste survey reveal? Is the caste survey only about removing the existing caps on reservations? Is it likely that a Mandal 2.0 moment will emerge in opposition to ‘Kamandal’ politics?
What are the issues with Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code?
In Focus by The Hindu
02/14/24 • 45 min
The Uttarakhand assembly passed the State’s Uniform Civil Code last week. Titled ‘The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024’, the Bill was one of the BJP’s poll promises during the 2022 Assembly election campaign.
Although its applicability is supposed to be uniform, the law exempts tribal populations, and also the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) from its purview.
What’s the legal history and background of this legislation? How does this law affect minority communities? And what’s controversy around its provisions concerning live-in relationships?
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FAQ
How many episodes does In Focus by The Hindu have?
In Focus by The Hindu currently has 938 episodes available.
What topics does In Focus by The Hindu cover?
The podcast is about News, News Commentary and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on In Focus by The Hindu?
The episode title 'Decoding the mandate for Trump and his picks for the White House' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on In Focus by The Hindu?
The average episode length on In Focus by The Hindu is 27 minutes.
How often are episodes of In Focus by The Hindu released?
Episodes of In Focus by The Hindu are typically released every 1 day, 2 hours.
When was the first episode of In Focus by The Hindu?
The first episode of In Focus by The Hindu was released on Jan 9, 2020.
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