In Focus by The Hindu

India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This is expected to lead to “disengagement” and eventually a proper resolution of the tensions that had emerged along the India-China border in 2020. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that this agreement is just the “first phase”. What exactly is covered by this patrolling pac...

Yayha Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and head of the group’s political bureau was killed by Israeli forces on October 16. His death sparked contrasting reactions. While the West has largely endorsed the killing of a man Israel’s considers as the ‘mastermind’ of the October 7, 2023 attack, Palestinians, Arabs, and other actors in the Middle East have hailed him as a ‘martyr’ and a ‘h...

For the fifth time in its history, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been given for research into RNA. This year’s Nobel Prize winners, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the prize for discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. What is microRNA? Why was its discovery important? What are the implications of this for research into human health an...

Last week, the Supreme Court recalled its judgement of August 23, 2022, wherein it had struck down certain provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act of 2016. Through the 2016 Act, the government had amended the original legislation, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. The 2016 law had expanded the original law from nine sections to 72 sections. In 201...

Last week, G.N. Saibaba, a former professor at Delhi University, died, after being released from jail in March this year after spending 10 years incarcerated. He was jailed on terror charges – but was eventually found innocent by the Bombay High Court. The Court while acquitting him had criticised both the investigation and the trial court’s decision in finding him guilty. Despite being 90% disabl...

In this episode, we are in conversation with A. Soundararajan, the honorary president of the recently formed Samsung India Workers Union to better understand the reasons for the labour unrest at one of the South Korean manufacturing giant’s flagship facilities near Chennai. The 38-day-long workers strike at Samsung India’s factory, which produces a range of products from LED TVs to 5G technology c...

The Union government recently introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the 1995 Waqf Act. The provisions of the 1995 law govern the administration of waqfs—properties endowed for charitable or religious purpose under Islamic law. But opposition parties have accused the government of trying to undermine the religious rights of Muslims through this amendment, which is titled, ‘Unified Waqf Manage...

The INDIA bloc comprising the National Conference (NC), the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist (CPM) has secured a clear majority in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. While the NC prevailed in 42 seats and the Congress won six, the BJP dominated the Jammu region, winning 29 seats in the 90-member assembly.  So, what do these results mean for Jammu and Kashmir going forward?...

All the exit polls had favoured a Congress victory in the Haryana assembly elections. But defying these predictions, the BJP has secured a clear mandate, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly.   How did the BJP manage to beat a strong anti-incumbency factor, not to mention issued such as the farmers’ protests, and the Brij Bhushan sexual harassment issue? What went wrong for the Congress? And...

On October 3, we saw that the government of India announced classical language status to four languages and Marathi was one of them. We have been hearing how there have been joyous and applauding reactions coming in from Maharashtra but there have been certain debates as well on whether Marathi should be given classical language status or not. How was the journey, and how did this whole process be...

The Delhi winter used to be something everyone looked forward to. But over the past decade, Delhiites have come to dread the winter months due to toxic air quality, which have been linked to a spate of health issues.   The government has developed a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), and a Winter Action Plan to tackle air pollution. But these measures --- seasonal and crisis-oriented in nature --...

The Union Health Ministry issued a set of draft guidelines on a subject that has mostly remained somewhat taboo in India: passive euthanasia. The guidelines have stated that doctors should take considered decisions on the withdrawal of life support in terminally ill patients, or consider not giving life support measures in such patients – under certain conditions. This is not the first time passiv...

Last week Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in aerial strikes over a southern suburb of Beirut, raising fears of a sharp escalation and expansion of the conflict across the region. Even after the killing of the Hezbollah chief along with a host of senior commanders, Israel has kept up its bombardment of Lebanon and Beirut. Hezbollah spokespersons have defiantly stated that they are r...

What’s a quick measure of how healthy you are? Most people would say Body Mass Index or BMI. But increasingly, experts have come to the conclusion that BMI has several limitations. Why? For one thing it was made using data from 19th century Europeans and does not work well across different populations. For another, it does not tell you the composition of your weight, or crucially, where that weigh...

India has made chess history winning both the team golds at the Budapest Olympiad, which saw participation from a staggering 193 teams in the Open section and 181 women’s teams. In the Open section, the Indian men’s team of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandha, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna were so dominant they finished a good four points clear of the second-placed USA. The Indian women’s...

Today we are at the Hindu discussing a topic which has been making news since yesterday. It's been over 24 hours since Akshay Shinde, who was accused in the Badlapur rape case, was shot dead in a police encounter. The police have claimed that he was trying to run away and that he snatched the service revolver and thereafter the police had to shoot him down. This incident has clearly snowballed int...

Anurag Kumara Dissanayake of the JVP has been elected as the 9th President of Sri Lanka. The results clearly signal a dramatic change from the politics of the past in Sri Lanka. In this episode of In Focus, we decode the Sri Lankan presidential election results. Nirupama Subramanian, and Meera Srinivasan provide in-depth analysis on what the outcome means for the country’s political landscape. Hos...

On June 5 this year, when NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams flew the Boeing Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station, they expected to be back within about eight days. Now however, these seasoned astronauts will remain in space for eight months – until February 2025. What happened? Their capsule which on its first flight with a human crew was not deemed safe enough...

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is a Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation that advocates for democracy worldwide. It has come out with a report on the health of democracies. Titled, ‘The Global State of Democracy 2024: Strengthening the Legitimacy of Elections in a Time of Radical Uncertainty’, the report has found that while one in...

Many African and Asian countries, including India, are leaning towards biofortification of crops. It is the process by which the nutrient density of food crops is increased by various means without sacrificing characteristic that is preferred by consumers or farmers. Thus, biofortified crops are more nutrient-dense than non-biofortified varieties.   Experts believe that these crops can help end 'h...

Jammu and Kashmir is set to hold its first assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370. The polls will take place in three phases, on September 18, 25th and October 1. The counting of votes will happen on October 8. Given that these are the first assembly elections in ten years, what is the mood on the ground? What are the poll promises being made by the contending parties, and how do t...

Last July, a whistleblower in Kenya posted on social media that the country’s main international airport would be taken over by India’s Adani Group. The news sparked widespread outrage in Kenya. It has since emerged that the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA), which runs the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, has signed a $2.5 billion build-and-operate deal with the Adani Group. Under the...

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 rule...

The merger of Air India and Vistara would be complete by November 12. From this day, all of Vistara’s bookings would be automatically transferred to Air India, and the same goes for Vistara’s crew and air craft. This merger has been in the works for a while now. But mergers in the aviation sector don’t always go down smoothly, and the Air India-Vistara case faces many challenges. What would be the...

There were two recent court proceedings in the country that related to divorce and maintenance: in July, the Supreme Court once again upheld a divorced Muslim woman’s rights to claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code or the secular law ruling that this applies to all women “irrespective of religion.” And then just a couple of weeks ago, questioned a woman who had asked f...