On August 10, the Union government introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha that proposed that the selection panel for appointing the Election Commission, comprising the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs), will consist of the Prime Minister as the chairperson, the Leader of the Opposition as a member, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister as another member. In March, the Supreme Court had ruled that the selection panel should comprise the ...
Aug 24, 2023•22 min
On August 11, 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha; the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The proposal raises questions on whether the existing laws were being misused for them to be changed, and what are the amendments made in the new Bills. Here we discuss wh...
Aug 17, 2023•27 min
India has 1.2 billion mobile phone users and over 600 million smartphone users. That figure is expected to cross a billion by 2026, according to a Deloitte study, indicating that a future world will be dependent on these small devices. However, one place where smartphone usage has become controversial is the classroom. Last month, UNESCO recommended a universal ban on the usage of smartphones in schools, saying that it was needed to tackle classroom disruption, improve learning, and help protect...
Aug 10, 2023•32 min
Recently, while hearing an appeal by a man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for maintaining a consensual relationship with a minor girl, the Bombay High Court said that it is high time India considered reducing the age of consent for sex. The court pointed out that after the enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, many adolescents are being prosecuted for consensual relationships with minor girls. Should the age of consent be revised in India? Here ...
Aug 03, 2023•40 min
On July 18, the top leaders of 26 Opposition parties joined hands to form INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance), a coalition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 general elections. The coalition plans to set up an 11-member coordination committee, prepare an action plan, and eventually work out a seat-sharing arrangement. But is seat adjustment enough for Opposition unity? Here we discuss this question. Guests: Suhas Palshikar tau...
Jul 27, 2023•28 min
Delimitation is the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies based on a recent Census to ensure that each seat has an almost equal number of voters. The last delimitation exercise took place in 1976. While the current boundaries were drawn on the basis of the 2001 Census, the number of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats remained frozen on the basis of the 1971 Census. In 2002, the Constitution was amended to place a freeze on the exercise until the first Cen...
Jul 20, 2023•33 min
Twenty-four years after its formation, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split on July 2 over the question of succession. In 2022, the Shiv Sena went through a similar churn. This malady is not unique to Maharashtra; many regional parties in India, such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), have gone through this. Others, such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), seem poised to go undergo this churn. Are regional parties facing a succession problem? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Sugata Srinivasaraju,...
Jul 14, 2023•37 min
Over the past few years, the Indian government has increasingly been trying to control law and order by shutting access to the Internet, whether in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Manipur or Punjab. Between 2016 and 2022, 60% of Internet shutdowns across the world took place in India. Should shutdowns be used to maintain public order? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Radhika Jhalani, Counsel with the Software Freedom Law Center in New Delhi; Karnika Seth, Founding Partner of Seth Associates an...
Jul 07, 2023•25 min
The intellectual class of West Bengal, euphemistically termed the Bhadralok, has long held a pivotal role in shaping culture, politics and policy in the State. From producing timeless cinema to dominating political power to setting policies on welfare, reforms and state interventions, this segment of Bengali society performed an outsized role. But all indications are that its influence is fading quickly in the State and beyond. Surajit Chandra Mukhopadhyay and Sandip Roy ponder the relevance of ...
Jun 29, 2023•34 min
Last month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the Health Department to consider starting a three-year diploma course for medical practitioners, who would then serve in primary health centres (PHCs). This is not the first time that such a proposal has been considered in the country. India has nearly 1 lakh MBBS seats, but there continues to be a massive shortage of doctors in rural areas. Will a shorter course help bring in more medical professionals to serve where they are needed ...
Jun 22, 2023•50 min
On June 2, 2023, an accident involving three trains took place in Balasore district of Odisha. It claimed 288 lives and left more 1,200 people injured. The tragedy has left several questions in its wake about safety, signalling, and overcrowding. Here we discuss whether the Indian Railways is stretched beyond its capacity. Guests: Mahesh Mangal, former additional member of the Railway Board. He led the team which developed Kavach; Sudhanshu Mani, retired General Manager of the Integrated Coach F...
Jun 15, 2023•47 min
In a recent note, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned the success of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in boosting India’s domestic manufacturing and exports. The PLI scheme was introduced by the Centre in 2020. Lakhs of crores of rupees have been allocated towards subsidising companies that manufacture in India. The Centre believes that the PLI scheme has boosted the domestic manufacturing sector, but critics have questioned its success. Do PLI schemes for...
Jun 08, 2023•31 min
After its loss in the recent Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party is left with no State government in south India. It is part of an alliance in the Union Territory of Puducherry. The governments of the five States of the south are led by different parties — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, and the Congress in Karnataka. This is no...
Jun 01, 2023•32 min
The National Pension Scheme (NPS) was launched in 2004. While the older pension scheme offered defined benefits to all government employees without any contribution on their part, the NPS requires employees to contribute a sum throughout their working years. Almost two decades after the NPS came into effect, several States are switching back to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Earlier this year, the Central government set up a committee under the leadership of the Finance Secretary to review the wo...
May 25, 2023•33 min
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Union Health Ministry and the Union Ministry of Ayush have agreed to enhance cooperation in health research in the field of integrated medicine. This move will help Ayush departments at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) evolve into departments of integrated medicine. Will such an integrated system of medicine work? Here we discuss the question.
May 18, 2023•42 min
The coronation of King Charles III of the U.K. has led to critical questions on the relevance of the monarchy in the 21st century, in the context of tectonic shifts in society, politics and culture in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth realms. In a conversation moderated by Narayan Lakshman, Priyamvada Gopal and Philip Murphy discuss what these changes imply for the future of monarchies in the U.K. and across the world.
May 11, 2023•28 min
Germany has shut down the last of its nuclear power plants; France, the nuclear powerhouse of the world, is struggling to replenish its stock of ageing reactors. With solar and wind power becoming more popular globally, there are questions on whether nuclear power, with its attendant concerns on cost and safety, remains a relevant option for a future that is fossil-free, particularly in India. Here we we discuss whether nuclear energy should be phased out. Guests: R. Srikanth, Professor and Dean...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr
With the second phase of the caste survey beginning in Bihar, other political parties such as the Congress are also raising a pitch on the issue. Last month, there was a heated political war over sections of the Ramcharitmanas in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with some leaders arguing that the text “abuses” Dalits, Adivasis and backward castes. Here we discuss how these developments compare to the high noon of Mandal mobilisation in the late 1980s and 1990s. Guests: Mona G. Mehta, Associate Professor...
Apr 20, 2023•33 min
The growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and their deployment has raised questions about privacy, monopolisation and job losses. Here we discuss concerns about the economic and privacy implications of AI as countries try to design regulations to prevent the possible misuse of AI by individuals and governments. Guests: Ajay Shah, Research Professor of Business at O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat; Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation Host: Prashant...
Apr 13, 2023•29 min
During Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s visit to New Delhi this month, India announced a number of measures to support its neighbour’s development plans. However, the unspoken part of the visit was Bhutan’s boundary talks with China. Before the King’s visit to India, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering had said in an interview that Bhutan and China have made considerable progress on demarcating border lines. Here we take stock of the India-Bhutan relationship. Guests: Pavan K. Va...
Apr 06, 2023•39 min
After the Punjab police launched a coordinated crackdown against the Dubai-returned radical preacher, Amritpal Singh, and his associates on March 18, there is rising concern- about a revival of the Khalistan movement in Punjab. Here we discuss the developments. Guest: Shashi Kant, a former Director-General of Punjab Police; Manish Tewari, Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and former I&B Minister. Host: Vijaita Singh
Mar 30, 2023•31 min
In recent weeks, there have been many attacks by stray dogs on people, especially children. With an estimated 1.5-6 crore stray canines roaming around the streets in India, questions are being raised about the implementation of municipality laws and cultural attitudes of tolerance towards stray dogs. Here we discuss the scale of the public safety issue and provide a legal and administrative context. Guests: Meghna Uniyal, Director and Co-founder, Humane Foundation for People and Animals; Shailaj...
Mar 23, 2023•53 min
Since September 2022, India has translocated eight African cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa. This is part of a long-term conservation plan to re-introduce the wild cat into the country after it became extinct in the 1950s, primarily due to hunting. The aim is to be able to build a self-sustaining population, centred at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, which will also contribute to the global survival of the cheetah as a species. Can the cheetahs thrive in India and help India’s...
Mar 09, 2023•43 min
On February 17, the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the party’s Bow and Arrow symbol to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction, in effect recognising it as the original party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray. The political crisis in Maharashtra began last year after a group of 40 of the 55 Sena MLAs walked out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance under the leadership of Mr. Shinde, which caused a division in the party. Both the Uddhav Thackeray a...
Feb 23, 2023•28 min
Recently, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court put forth the idea of setting up an expert committee that could recommend ways to protect common investors from market events. The court’s recommendation came soon after the stocks of the companies of the Adani Group crashed following a report by Hindenburg Research, a U.S.-based investment research firm. It is estimated that the fall in the Adani Group’s stocks has cost investors over $100 billion. Can investments be free of risk? Here we discu...
Feb 16, 2023•27 min
Last October, Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the national president of the Congress party. The election was historic as the party’s top post was, from 1978, occupied by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family (except for brief spells between 1992 and 1998). Officially, the party says it is now ready to hold a similar election to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), its highest decision-making body, but there are still internal debates going on. The last time the CWC had an election was in 1997, ...
Feb 09, 2023•25 min
A report prepared for a security conference in Delhi set off a controversy by stating that India has lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the Galwan Valley clash in April 2020. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised again that no territory has been ceded to China, while the Opposition has called for the government to clarify matters on the LAC. Here we discuss whether the government should put out a white paper on Ladakh. Guests: Sati...
Feb 02, 2023•32 min
The Union Budget set to be presented in Parliament on February 1 will be the last full-year Budget of the Narendra Modi government before the Lok Sabha elections are held next year. Given the electoral timetable, there is an expectation that the Budget could be populist in nature; but with high inflation, there are questions about the government’s ability to spend freely at the moment. Here we discuss the fiscal situation. Guests: Lekha Chakraborty, a professor at the National Institute of Publi...
Jan 12, 2023•27 min
With the surge in COVID-19 cases in China, after the easing of its stringent zero-COVID policy in December, there is apprehension that the pandemic could be entering a new, uncertain phase. Here we discuss the situation in China and the potential impact in India. Guests: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of the World Health Organization; Dr. Giridhara R. Babu, professor and head of Life Course Epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health, PHFI, Bengaluru Host: Zubeda Hamid...
Jan 05, 2023•33 min
By issuing decrees banning girls/women from school, gyms and public parks, and from working at NGOs, the Taliban regime controlling Afghanistan seems to have made it clear that it does not intend to keep the promises it made of protecting women’s rights. It also seems to be reneging on its other assurances, such as ensuring an inclusive government, the safety of minorities, and disallowing terror groups to operate from Afghanistan. Should India, which changed its traditional stand against the Ta...
Dec 29, 2022•43 min
