Shows / In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus by The Hindu
A podcast from The Hindu that delves deep into current developments with subject experts, and brings in context, history, perspective and analysis.
Episodes
- In Focus by The Hindu
Aman Sehrawat’s big miss: Does Indian wrestling have a weight-cutting problem?
At the World Wrestling Championships in Croatia, India’s Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat was shockingly disqualified ahead of his opening bout on September 14…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Is the American Dream dead for Indians?
On September 19, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order, raising the H-1B visa fee to $1,00,000. Many fear that this will disproportionately…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Saudi-Pak Defence deal: Should India be alarmed or is it ‘no big deal’?
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a new defence deal. It’s called the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA). Under this deal, “any aggression against…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tariff Watch: Is India’s gem and jewellery sector losing its sheen under US tariffs?
90% of the world’s natural diamonds are cut and polished by about 5000, largely family run businesses out of Surat in Gujarat, but the recent 50% US tariffs on…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is there an H1-B ‘scam’ that affects both Indian and American workers?
Through a new executive order, President Donald Trump has added 100,000 US dollars to the annual fee for H1B visa applicants. H1B is a visa programme for…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is GST becoming the “good and simple tax” it was promised to be?
When the Goods and Services Tax — or GST — was rolled out in 2017, it was billed as one of India’s biggest tax reforms. It replaced a maze of indirect taxes…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What do India's declining fertility rates mean for the future?
The Sample Registration Survey’s Statistical Report, released last week had some significant numbers. One, India’s total fertility rate has dipped – it has…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Decoding the Supreme Court’s interim order on Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of India stayed certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Among the provisions stayed are the one requiring a…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Should India overlook boundary issues while normalising ties with China?
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his much-anticipated visit to China. Mr. Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can India’s Factories Survive America’s Tariff War?
Washington’s latest tariff hike isn’t just a line in a policy paper. In India, it shows up in half-finished orders, idle machines, and nervous exporters. The…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tariff Watch: US Tariffs Leave Indian Shrimp at Sea
A few weeks ago, containers of frozen shrimp left Indian ports bound for the United States. By the time they were halfway across the ocean, U.S. tariffs had…
- In Focus by The Hindu
20 Years of Forest Rights Act: Can it work without a tribal policy?
The Forest Rights Act (FRA) came into being in 2006. As we touch 20 years of its existence as a tool for tribal empowerment, the United Nations Development…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Weekend | Sinner vs Alcaraz: A new era of dominance in tennis
Men’s tennis has always been defined by legendary rivalries. For nearly two decades, the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic – treated…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Israel's attack on Qatar: Is diplomacy now a target?
On september 9, 2025, Israeli forces launched an attack in Qatar in what is being seen as an unprecedented escalation beyond the Gaza conflict. The strike…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tariff Watch Part 2: How US tariffs could impact India’s textiles sector
Washington’s new tariff regime, an extra duty on India-origin imports and the end of the $800 de minimis exemption, is already rippling through India’s…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Nepal on the Brink - Part 2: Beyond the Gen Z's rage
Nepal is the most politically unstable democracy in the world since 1990 with 30 government tenures in 35 years. In this episode, we’re going beyond the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Nepal on the Brink: Will the old guard step aside?
On 8 September 2025, the quaint Himalayan town Kathmandu saw violent scenes. A ban on 26 social media platforms sparked protests that turned anti-corruption…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why most students in Bengal and Odisha take private tuitions
Private coaching in India has grown into a parallel education system. It is no longer just extra help after school, but the backbone of learning for millions…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is your hair transplant being performed by a qualified practitioner?
Dr. Rajetha Damisetty explains how the entry of unqualified practitioners and a lack of regulatory oversight is impacting patient safety when it comes to skin…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Weekend | Dinosaur fossils: Can India protect its prehistoric past?
India’s rocks hold an extraordinary record of life: the earliest traces of plants, dinosaur bones, and even fossils of ancient horses, whales, and humans. This…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why is Kerala seeing a spike in brain-eating amoeba infections?
On Saturday morning, a 45-year-old man died in Kerala of amoebic meningocephalitis. This is the fourth death reported in Kerala in less than a month of this…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tariff watch Part 1: Will Trump’s duty-free cut hurt India’s online sellers?
For years, the United States let low-value parcels enter duty-free under a rule called the de minimis exemption—literally “too small to matter.” By 2016, the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Should commercial speech on digital platforms be regulated?
On August 25, 2025, the Supreme Court urged the Union government to frame guidelines for regulating social media, noting that influencers often commercialise…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can India’s real money gaming ban withstand constitutional scrutiny?
Parliament last month enacted the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for India’s rapidly…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Modi-Xi at Tianjin SCO summit: Does it signal a shift in momentum for India-China ties?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit China for the first time in seven years. He had a…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Are persons with disabilities in India compensated well?
India has several policies designed to support persons with disabilities. Yet, data shows that many are still unable to access these benefits. A major reason…
In Focus by The HinduIn Focus-Weekend | Coffee Blues: Will Record Price Surges Hurt Our Daily Fix?
Coffee is more than a beverage—it’s a sensory ritual. But in 2025, global coffee prices are at a fifty-year high, sending shockwaves down to Indian households…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is Wickremesinghe's trial a turning point in Sri Lankan politics?
In recent years, Sri Lanka has endured fuel queues, protests and the fall of the Rajapaksa political dynasty. Ranil Wickremesinghe stepped in and steadied the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Trump tariffs: How can India gain from a pivot to China?
India-China relations have been bogged down by two major irritants: the border issue, and China’s close military collaboration with Pakistan. But now, both…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Should States be compensated for revenue loss from GST reforms?
During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a “Deepavali gift” to the people in the form of next-generation Goods and Services…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can RBI's new guidelines regulate the use of AI, without slowing down innovation?
Banks and fintechs use Artificial Intelligence to detect fraud in credit scoring, but with new opportunities come new risks, including that of bias and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What are the risks of using ChatGPT for mental health?
Last month, OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT made an important change to its popular app: ChatGPT will now avoid offering specific advice on personal…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Gaza’s Journalists: Reporting Under Fire, Paying with Their Lives
Since October 2023, more than 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza, a Palestinian territory that has seen extensive destruction, displacement and death…
In Focus by The HinduIn Focus-Weekend: Manu Joseph on why the poor don’t kill us, and other such mysteries
India is one of the most unequal places in the known universe. It combines extreme inequality with extreme exploitation like nowhere else. And yet, the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
US Open 2025 preview: Will Sinner prevail over Alcaraz?
The singles main draw of the US Open kicks off on August 24. Who are the favourites? Who are the dark horses? Can Jannik Sinner sustain his hard court…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill anti-federal?
The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, and two allied Bills that extend its applicability to Union Territories and Jammu and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Will a two-tiered World Test Championship do more harm than good?
A proposal to restructure the World Test Championship (WTC) into a two-tiered system, potentially dividing the 12 Test-playing nations into two groups of six…
- In Focus by The Hindu
How will the reformed GST impact India's economy
Last week, the Modi government proposed the biggest overall of the goods and services tax since its rollout in 2017. Aiming to collapse the current 4 slab…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Bihar SIR: What the Supreme Court’s interim order means for voter rights
The Supreme Court, in an interim order on Thursday (August 14, 2025), directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish a booth-wise list of nearly 65…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What does the U.S. slashing of funding for mRNA vaccine research mean for public health
The United States Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that it would cancel nearly USD 500 million of funding for mRNA vaccine projects…
- In Focus by The Hindu
From Obesity to Ozempic: Is This the Right Way to Lose Weight?
The food landscape has undergone a dramatic shift over the years, and the numbers tell a sobering story. A study in The Lancet found that childhood and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why stunting happens in children and what we can do about it
We often assume a child’s height is all about genetics. But for millions of children in India, being shorter than average has nothing to do with family traits…
- In Focus by The Hindu
China’s Mineral Curbs: Will your new EV arrive late and cost more?
Across India, EV dealers are warning that customers may have to wait longer and pay extra for their new rides. The culprit: rare earth magnets made from…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Should HIV/AIDS testing be made mandatory before marriage?
In July, Meghalaya Health and Family Welfare Minister Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh announced that the State may follow Goa in making HIV/AIDS test mandatory for all…
- In Focus by The Hindu
India’s stray dog crisis: Can the Supreme Court’s Delhi ruling curb rabies?
India’s Supreme Court presented its toughest ruling yet on the country’s stray dog problem, ordering all in the Delhi capital region be moved into shelters…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Does the average Indian diet meet protein requirements?
Nutritional Intake in India report that came out recently threw up some interesting facts -- how many calories India is consuming on an average, are Indians…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Indian Railways’ money problem: Will higher fares fix it?
Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest transport networks, is in considerable financial trouble. Despite carrying millions of passengers, it recovers…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Uttarkashi flash floods: Can we prevent the next tragedy?
On August 5 in Dharali, a Himalayan village near the Gangotri pilgrimage route, steady rain was followed by the ballooning of a river that destroyed homes and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Rahul Gandhi’s allegations: Is transparency the EC’s best weapon to counter them?
The ‘atom bomb’ that Rahul Gandhi was talking about has finally dropped. At a press conference on August 7, Mr Gandhi gave a presentation where he sought to…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Should there be a ceiling on salaries of top management?
After Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced its decision to lay off 12,000 employees, Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies) said…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Trump’s 25% tariffs: Would India be better off without a rushed trade deal?
U.S. President Donald Trump announced has 25% tariffs on imports from India, “plus a penalty”. While this has been on the cards, there was some expectation…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Does India need to decriminalise teenage relationships?
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, in a written submission to the Supreme Court recently, saidthat consesual sex between teenagers aged 16 to 18 must not be…
- In Focus by The Hindu
At 19, Divya Deshmukh Makes Chess History for India
It was a final like no other — two Indian women, face to face, with a world title on the line. On one side of the board sat Koneru Humpy, one of the greats of…
- In Focus by The Hindu
How would NISAR expand our understanding of the Earth?
On July 30, the India-US space collaboration crossed a historic milestone with the successful launch of NISAR, or the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Kamchatka quake: How come 8.8 in magnitude but zero casualties?'
The Richter scale is used to measure the strength of an earthquake. Theoretically, the maximum reading that’s possible is 10. The most powerful quake ever…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is ICJ's ruling on climate change merely symbolic?
In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 23, 2025, announced countries and territories are obligated to combat climate change…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Behind the scenes: How the data and science teams measured heat stress
The podcast episode features interviews with the four journalists behind Taking on the Heat, a data-driven story on heat stress in Chennai. The story follows…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What is India doing about its child trafficking problem
Nearly all of us have seen an instance of it: a child working at a streetside tea shop, begging at a traffic light or perhaps even as a domestic help at some…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Did a Wall Street Giant Crush India’s Small Options Traders?
More than a year ago, on options expiry days, which are trading sessions when bets are settled, Mayank Bansal began to notice something odd. Prices were moving…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Pitch Imperfect: The ISL suspension and Indian football's latest crisis
On July 11, the upcoming 2025–26 season of the Indian Super League was abruptly put on hold by its organiser, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL)…