In Focus by The Hindu

The release of Jana Nayagan, the high-budget farewell film of actor-politician Vijay, has reached a legal and bureaucratic impasse that threatens a ₹500 crore investment. The film was diverted to a Revising Committee just days before its planned January 2026 debut. This last-minute intervention fuelled allegations of a "political conspiracy" intended to stifle Vijay’s entry into politics. This was...

Acid attack survivors are recognised as persons with a specified disability under the Rights of Persons with Disability Act (RPwD), 2016. This acknowledges external disfigurement, but overlooks cases of forcible ingestion of acid wherein injuries are internal and often invisible. Recently, the Supreme Court heard a plea by an acid attack survivor, Shaheen Malik, to formally recognise such acid att...

China is building the world’s largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. This river flows into Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, and it is one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra in Assam. Further down, it becomes the Jamuna river in Bangladesh. This dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo is a trans-boundary project that would have an impact on downstream countries. China, however, ha...

Iran is once again witnessing protests on its streets, triggered by a severe economic squeeze as inflation surges and the rial continues to lose value. What began as protests over livelihoods—most visibly among merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar—has begun to intersect with deeper questions about governance, legitimacy, and the state’s ability to manage crises. This unrest is unfolding amid renewed...

For years, India has struggled to improve its record on deceased organ donation, even as thousands of patients wait for transplants. This is despite data showing strong willingness among people to donate their organs after death. In this episode, we examine two paradoxes in India’s organ donation system. Why do cadaver organ donations remain low despite high posthumous willingness? And why do wome...

The Supreme Court on January 5, 2025, declined to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, notwithstanding their incarceration for nearly six years without the commencement of trial. The court held that the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty is not “absolute”, and remains subject to the stringent bail regime prescribed under special s...

On January 3rd, 2026, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela and arrested President Nicolás Maduro. Relations between the U.S. and Venezuela strained since the Cold War era, and worsened after Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, and deteriorated further with U.S. sanctions imposed from 2006 onward. The arrest of Maduro marks a dramatic escalation of ties. Maduro has long been...

At least eight people have died, hundreds were hospitalised and thousands more were affected after consuming contaminated water in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in a tragedy that has rocked the nation and also severely dented the image of Indore as a clean city. The case has now gone to court, and while the government claims the situation is under control, local residents allege that the death toll is m...

The Parliament has passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025. It is being touted as a game changer, especially with the move to allow 100% FDI in insurance companies.  The government also says that the act strengthens the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI), and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).  How would 100% FDI improve the claims exper...

On December 31, more than a lakh gig and platform workers held a strike. In a memorandum to Union Labour Mansukh Mandaviya, their unions demanded that the that the 10 to 20-minute service delivery system should be immediately withdrawn to prioritise worker safety. The Union government sees the four Labour Codes, which was implemented recently, as an answer to the problems of gig workers, especiall...

India does not have a codified law that recognises or regulates personality rights, particularly concerning artificial intelligence (AI). In 2025 alone, several Indian celebrities have moved court to protect their personality rights including Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jr. NTR among others. The cases are over the personalities' right to control the commercial as well as the reputational...

Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple is one of the six abodes of Tamil god Murugan. Set in Madurai, the ancient capital of Pandyas, it has found reference in Sangam literature and subsequent literary works. The temple is now in news over the lighting of the Karthigai deepam at the hills. While one section claim that the Deepam is traditionally lit at the Uchhi Pillayar temple, the right wing forces wa...

The recent disruption India’s aviation sector due to IndiGo's crew shortage has thrown up questions about the concentration of powers in the hands of a few in the market across sectors. India’s domestic aviation market is heavily concentrated. IndiGo and Air India together control close to 90 per cent of passenger traffic. Passengers were left without a backup when IndiGo faced a massive staff sho...

The Bengaluru Open is the most prestigious event on the tennis calendar in India. It is an ATP 125 Challenger. Although Challengers are tier 2 in the ATP rung, this is the only ATP 125 level event in India. The other three Challengers – in Chennai, Pune, and New Delhi – are below the ATP 125 level.  This year, for a change, Bengaluru Open will see two Indian stars with a great chance of going all...

The Aravallis are the green lungs of northern India. They are a defensive wall that protects the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains from desertification – from an eastward expansion of the Thar desert.  But over the years, commercial exploitation has put this fragile ecosystem under immense strain. On November 20th, the Supreme Court ruled that only Aravalli hills above 100 metres tall would enjoy envir...

Roti, kapda aur makaan (roti, clothes, and housing) has been a political promise for generations. Now, with housing becoming increasingly expensive, makaan has been taken out of the equation in urban India. In Patna, for instance, buying a 2 BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) costs over ₹1 crore. This is the case in other rapidly urbanising cities as well. In metropolises, it is twice the amount, making...

Zohran Mamdani, an avowed socialist, will be sworn in as New York City’s new mayor on January 1. His rise has revived old debates about the future of the U.S. Democratic Party. For most of the last century, the Democratic Party offered a clear promise. If you worked hard, if you were new to the country, if the economy knocked you down, this was your political home. But today, that bond feels weake...

2025 tested India and the world on multiple fronts. Politics dominated the discourse, global trade shocks rattled economies, climate stress pushed cities to the brink, and public health and trust came under strain. From BJP’s continued dominance and a faltering Opposition, to Trump-era tariff pressures, the war in Gaza that claimed many lives, and sport offering brief relief, the year unfolded in...

The essence of nuclear governance is safety. That’s not only because any accident can destroy thousands of lives – it’s also because the harm unfolds over time, affecting generations. It can destroy entire regions, as nuclear radiation can make them uninhabitable for a long time. It is thus a matter of common sense that safety has to be a higher priority than any other consideration -- including e...

This year marks ten years since the Paris Agreement, the climate pact that redefined global climate action. In 2015, nearly 200 countries signed on to a framework based on nationally determined commitments, balancing ambition with political and economic realities. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It has two big goals - one - to hold “the increase in...

In early December 2025, the Rupee slipped past the ₹90 per dollar mark. While this drop is labelled as 'psychologically significant,' the underlying economic factors hasn't changed much. Yet a specific set of recent events has added fresh momentum, decisively tipping the scales against the currency. The Rupee’s rise or fall depends on two main factors: what’s happening in the market, and how the R...

Every year around Christmas, reports of attacks on Christian worshippers surface from different parts of India. This year, there were numerous reports of various groups disrupting celebrations across several States, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and even Kerala. Several church bodies have written to the Central government, warning of the “alarming rise” in such i...

The age-old question of whether works created with explicit ideological intent can achieve artistic greatness has long divided critics, artists, and audiences. From Leni Riefenstahl’s films glorifying Nazism to the bold, constructivist posters of the Soviet era, history offers uncomfortable affirmations of propaganda transcending its purpose to become enduring art. Recently, this debate has been r...

The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAMG) Bill, 2025 has received the President’s assent. This Bill replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which stands repealed.  The move has sparked an outcry, from the Opposition and civil society. Critics say this new law will destroy the very substance of the erstwhile MGNREGA – whic...

India’s top human rights body, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), is going to have its accreditation status downgraded -- from ‘A’ to ‘B’. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) is the international body that mediates the relationship between national human rights institutions and the United Nations (UN).  In March this year, GANHRI’s Sub-Committee on Accredit...