In Focus by The Hindu

It is election season in Bihar. While the Opposition often speaks about the lack of development and industrialisation in the State, in its campaigns, the National Democratic Alliance, which is in power, argues that a change of government will bring back the ‘Jungle Raj’ of the earlier decade. What makes Bihar one of India’s most underdeveloped States? Is landlockedness a reason for its underdevelopment, as some argue? Here we discuss the question. Guests: R. Nagaraj, Economist and retired professor from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai; Manindra Nath Thakur, Professor , Centre for Political Studies, JNU, Delhi Host: Saptaparno Ghosh Edited and produced by Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago, U.S. president Donald Trump made a startling announcement: he said using the common painkiller paracetamol, or acetaminophen, known as Tylenol in the U.S. during pregnancy, could cause autism in the baby. This announcement came after earlier this year, the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine sceptic, announced a massive testing and research effort to identify the “environmental toxins” that he said were behind the growing “epidemic” of autism in the U.S. It is true that more cases of autism are being reported now than in previous decades, and this is the case in several countries including India. But is autism actually caused by Paracetamol use? Why are cases on the rise? And how much do we actually know about genetic and environmental factors that contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders? Guest: Dr. Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy, neuropsychiatrist and founder, Buddhi Clinic, Chennai. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a significant diplomatic development, a Taliban delegation led by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister recently visited New Delhi for official talks, the first such high-level engagement since the group took power in Kabul in 2021. Following the talks, India announced plans to reopen its full-fledged embassy in Kabul and expand cooperation in health, infrastructure, and education. But the visit also drew criticism after female journalists were reportedly barred from attending the Taliban minister’s press briefing, a reminder of the regime’s continuing restrictions on women and the media, and a point of discomfort for India’s democratic image. This renewed engagement comes as Taliban–Pakistan relations deteriorate, creating new strategic openings that India appears ready to explore. Yet, New Delhi’s outreach raises difficult questions: what has prompted this shift now? Can India balance pragmatic diplomacy with the values it has historically stood for? And can it deepen ties with the Taliban without extending formal recognition? Guest: Kallol Bhattacharjee, Foreign affairs reporter, The Hindu. Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court is set to take up a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT). This is a direct tax levied on all transactions that happen through a stock exchange. The STT was brought in under the Finance Act, 2004. It has since become a significant source of revenue for the government, netting an estimated ₹55,000 crore in FY 2025. But this petition argues that the STT is deeply flawed, and violates constitutional guarantees of equality, freedom of trade and proportionality. How valid are these arguments? Should the STT be scrapped, or retained with modifications? Guest: Deepak Joshi, advocate-on-record at the Supreme Court, and a Chartered Accountant. Host: G Sampath Recorded, produced, and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another upgrade, another round of applause. OpenAI’s GPT-5 has arrived—sleeker, quicker and kind of the talk of the town. But peel back the glitz and questions pile up. In this episode, we will know who builds these systems, and at what cost? Who reaps the rewards? And what happens when a few voices decide how billions will live, work and learn? Guest: Payal Arora, Professor of Inclusive AI Cultures, Utrecht University; author of From Pessimism to Promise Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She has been tear-gassed, threatened, and banned from office — yet María Corina Machado never stopped speaking for a silenced nation. Now, at 58, Venezuela’s most determined dissident has been named the country’s first Nobel Peace Prize winner — and only the 20th woman to ever receive it. An engineer turned opposition leader, she has spent years standing up to Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, a government that jails critics and silences dissent. Now in hiding, Machado continues to speak out — urging even soldiers to trade loyalty to power for loyalty to the people. Her surprise and humility in accepting the award stood in sharp contrast to nominee Donald Trump, who chest thumped and demanded it. Amid bloody wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, peace seems unattainable. But perhaps that’s why this award matters — because someone, somewhere, must still believe. The question is, do we? Guest: Harsh Mander, human-rights activist and founder of Karwan-e-MohabbatHost: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's new 20-point peace plan promises to end hostilities, free hostages, and rebuild Gaza under a new framework of international oversight. Backed by several Arab nations, it’s being routed as the most detailed roadmap yet to stop the war. But is this really a plan for peace, or just another political blueprint that sidesteps the core issues fuelling the conflict ? Who gets to decide what Gaza’s future looks like? And with Israel still reluctant to commit to a full withdrawal, can any of this hold on the ground? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited and Produced by Sharmada Venkatausbramanian Camera: Shivaraj S Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections, political parties are rolling out several welfare measures for women. On October 3, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar transferred ₹10,000 to the bank accounts of 25 lakh women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Earlier, on September 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced the transfer of ₹7,500 crore under the same scheme to 75 lakh women. This pattern has been seen in other Assembly elections as well. Moreover, the share of women voters has also been steadily increasing over the years. Are women deciding Assembly elections?  Host: Joan Sony Cherian  Guests: Ruhi Tiwari and  Rajeshwari Deshpande  Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, Indian households relied on fixed deposits, insurance, and gold to grow their savings. A large faction still continues to do that. But in the last few years, more and more Indians have opened demat accounts, started SIPs, and entered the stock market. In this episode, we explore what’s driving this shift in how Indians invest, and whether the rise of domestic investors is making our markets more resilient at the time when foreign investors have been pulling money out from Indian stock markets. Guest: Ankit Mandholia, Head Equity and Derivatives, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Host: Devyanshi Bihani Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 40 years ago, 14 patients died at Mumbai’s J.J. hospital, as the medication they took was contaminated with diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent that is toxic to human beings. Over the past few weeks, at least 16 children, a majority of them in Madhya Pradesh and a few in Rajasthan have died, and their deaths are suspected to be because of the same issue: a cough syrup, given to them for treatment, contained diethylene glycol. The issue of medicines being contaminated is not new – how it happens and how it can be stopped are both well known. And yet, India, which accredits itself as the pharmacy of the world, providing generic drugs to many parts of the globe, cannot seem to ensure that medicines for its own children are safe. What are the issues plaguing the drug regulatory system? Why do these deaths continue to take place with little accountability? And are cough syrups necessary at all for children? Guest: Anant Phadke who is with the All India Drug Action Network, a national network that advocates for rational and affordable drug policies in India Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston For more episodes of In Focus: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, the Supreme Court of India issued guidelines with regard to DNA samples in criminal cases. These guidelines, issued to preserve the integrity of such samples, highlighted the need for chain of custody documentation as well as for proper procedures to be put in place for the collection, packaging of transportation of such samples. DNA samples can play a tremendously important role in criminal investigations, but in several cases, the evidence has been rejected by the court due to quality control and procedural issues. How is DNA evidence collected and analysed in India? How do our forensic labs work and what are the gaps that need to be plugged to make such evidence reliable and error-free? Guest: Shreya Rastogi, Director of Death Penalty Litigation and Forensics, The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, Delhi. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a July morning in 1960, Jane Goodall stepped off a boat onto the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. She was 26, untrained by universities, armed only with binoculars, a notebook and patience. What she saw in the forests of Gombe in East Africa altered science itself: chimpanzees who shaped tools, who mourned, who loved. She gave them names and with that simple act, insisted on their individuality. But Goodall did more than open a window into the lives of chimpanzees. She opened doors for women. In an era when female scientists were almost absent, she, alongside gorilla researcher Dian Fossey and orangutan expert Biruté Galdikas, staked a claim in a field dominated by men. Reluctant at first, passionate in time, she traded the intimacy of the forest for activism on world stages, becoming a gentle but firm voice for nature and for children who would inherit it. On Wednesday (October 1, 2025), Jane Goodall died at 91. She was still on tour, still speaking for the wild. Will we carry her hope and continue the path she opened for women in science? In this weekender episode, we talk about how Goodall’s life reshaped research, storytelling and the role of women in conservation. Guests: Catherine Crockford, primatologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Lyon; Neha Sinha, wildlife biologist, conservationist, and author, based in Delhi Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adding a page to the history of the Israel-Palestine question, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia now formally recognise a Palestinian state. However, data show that the share of people surveyed in the UK who support this decision has decreased since the same time last year. On the other hand, according to a YouGov poll, the share of Americans backing Israelis in this conflict has reached a 25-year low. Both sets of opinions represent a shift away from their respective governments’ stances. Guest: Stanly Johny, the International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Nitika Francis Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 24, Ladakh witnessed unprecedented violence and protests which left four persons dead in police action. Two days later, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was sitting on a hunger strike with 15 others, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and taken to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. The government accused the activist of instigating the violence, a charge denied by Wangchuk. A year after it was turned into a Union Territory in 2019, the region, with a population of around three lakh, has been protesting for constitutional safeguards, the two major demands being statehood and tribal status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The government is engaged in talks with two civil society groups, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, representing the Leh and Kargil regions, respectively, for the past three years. The talks led to few outcomes regarding policies on reservation and domicile status, but this was not acceptable to the groups as the two core demands remained unmet. Should Ladakh get statehood? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Rangarajan R, former IAS officer and author of Courseware on Quality Simplified, and Sajjad Kargili, member of the Kargil Democratic Alliance. Host: Vijaita Singh Produced by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Asia Cup has never been straightforward. Scheduled every two years, it often slips away — undone by border tensions and government quarrels. This year, despite tensions between India and Pakistan, the tournament managed to be held.The young Indian team, missing the usual veterans, went unbeaten. Pakistan made the final a nail-biting contest: a reminder of why this rivalry endures and is eagerly awaited by people of two countries that were once one.Sadly, the clashes between these famed rivals were overshadowed by fighter-plane gestures and snubbed handshakes. India lifted nothing but an imaginary trophy. They had won every match but refused the silverware from the Pakistani head of the Asian Cricket Council. Why do the shadows of politics so often creep onto a field made for sport? To make sense of this, we turn to KC Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor of The Hindu, who has spent decades tracing this much-cherished rivalry on the pitch and behind the scenes. Guest: KC Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last decade, "Make in India" has been at the heart of the Centre's economic policy and increasing defence manufacturing is a important part of that goal given India is one of the largest importers of defence equipment in the world. The sector, plagued by bureaucratic delays, budgetary constraints, and corruption, was opened to the private sector. The government streamlined procedures, earmarked weapons and platforms that will be manufactured domestically and allowed more FDI in the sector. Now, domestic manufacturing is booming. Defence expenditure increased from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013–14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025–26. In 2024–25, defence production touched a record ₹1.50 lakh crore, more than triple the 2014–15 level. Defence exports grew thirty-four times over the last decade, reaching ₹23,622 crore in 2024–25.  What does this mean for our defence preparedness?  Guest: Dinakar Peri, a fellow in the Security Studies program at Carnegie India Host: Nivedita V Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent analysis in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia, found that one in five deliveries in India are now by Caesarean section. From 2005, when the rate of C-section was 8.5%, it has risen to 21.5% as of 2021, the analysis said. International bodies such as the World Health Organization discourage high rates of C-section, as they are associated with longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs, burdening both patients’ families and the healthcare system. So what is driving the rates up in India despite the fact that C-sections, in general, cost more? Is patient preference a factor? Is this an area that could do with guidelines or regulations? Guest: Dr A. Jaishree Gajaraj, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Chennai Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fringed by China and Pakistan, Ladakh is India’s high-altitude borderland. For years now, locals led peaceful protests demanding statehood and constitutional protections for land, jobs, and identity. But last week, that peace broke. Violence erupted in Leh city in the Union Territory of Ladakh on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), several protesters were killed as security forces launched a heavy crackdown. At the centre of it all is Sonam Wangchuk — an engineer, climate activist, and one of Ladakh’s most respected voices. He was arrested under the National Security Act, a law that allows detention without trial for up to 12 months. What triggered this escalation? Why did peaceful protests turn deadly? And what does Wangchuk’s detention mean for the future of Ladakh’s struggle? Guest: Peerzada Ashiq, Kashmir-based journalist with The Hindu Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent times, India has seen a sharp spike in the popularity of IB schools. In fact, having your kid in an IB school has become something of a status symbol, although that may or may not be the primary motive for most parents. But many parents, regardless of their reasons for choosing an IB school, face a number of confusing questions and dilemmas. For instance, how does the pace of learning for an IB student compare with that of a child in a CBSE school? Will an IB curriculum help a child who wants to sit for IIT or Medical entrance exams in India? If the idea is to prep the child for higher education abroad – when do you decide, how do you figure which stream, which country, and which university? Guests: Nayantara Handa, who leads the careers and university guidance team at The British School, New Delhi, and Sobhana K Nair from The Hindu’s Delhi Bureau. Host: G. Sampath Edited and Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the World Wrestling Championships in Croatia, India’s Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat was shockingly disqualified ahead of his opening bout on September 14. At the official weigh-in before his match, Aman was found to be 1.7kg over the 57kg limit. The Wrestling Federation of India on September 22 served a show-cause notice to Aman, asking his staff to explain his disqualification. This is the third time in just over a year that an Indian wrestler has failed to make weight, beginning with Vinesh Phogat’s infamous miss at the Paris Olympics. Neha Sangwan, who is just 18, was the other wrestler to not make weight at the U20 world championships. She was suspended for two years. Why does this keep happening despite the money and resources poured into Indian wrestling? What does it say about the system, and how will this episode affect a young star like Aman Sehrawat? Guest: Y.B. Sarangi from The Hindu sports bureau Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices