In Focus by The Hindu

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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 GandhisGuest: 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in 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 socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices