Hafta 523: Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, Budget 2025, rupee’s ‘dollar’ problem

Feb 8, 2025

Mihira Sood, a Supreme Court advocate specializing in women's and juvenile rights, shares her insights on the complexities of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand. She highlights the absurdities of live-in relationship registrations, which carry harsher penalties than marriage. The discussion also touches on political implications, mentioning scrutiny by groups like Bajrang Dal. Govindraj Ethiraj critiques the recent budget, noting its middle-class focus amid inflation. The panel concludes by addressing the rupee's depreciation and its impact on doing business in India.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Politics and Policies: A Deep Dive into Current Affairs

01:35 • 8min

Economic Struggles and Political Dynamics in India

09:37 • 12min

Navigating Inheritance Rights in Same-Sex Relationships

21:44 • 18min

The RTI Act: Accountability and Corruption

40:11 • 3min

Challenges of Business Compliance and Legal Complexities in India

43:40 • 2min

Navigating India's Legal and Economic Landscape

45:14 • 14min

Navigating Economic Challenges in India

59:09 • 16min

Reflections on Governance and Economic Aspirations

01:14:41 • 5min

Nationalism and Its Complexities: Insights on Patriotism

01:20:03 • 3min

Engagement and Societal Dynamics

01:23:28 • 15min

Cultural Significance of Kumbh Mela and Ritualistic Practices

01:38:36 • 2min

Media Integrity and Political Reflections

01:40:39 • 10min

Navigating Legal Challenges and Celebrating Independent Journalism

01:50:43 • 2min

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by Supreme Court advocate Mihira Sood and journalist Govindraj Ethiraj.

The panel discusses the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand. Mihira says, “There are many peculiarities of the law, but the strangest is that registration of live-in relationships is more cumbersome than a marriage…The penalty for not registering a marriage is nothing, but the penalty for not registering a live-in relationship can be imprisonment.”

Commenting on the backlash to inter-faith relationships in the state in the recent past, Manisha adds, “What we know from newspaper reports is that registrations will be scrutinised by the Bajrang Dal…What the Uttarakhand government wants to do here is just police people who are living together.”

On the new budget announced for 2025-26, Govindraj says there’s “nothing really landmark” in the budget but the “benefits offered to the middle class are a good thing”. “It is correcting a problem of the recent past – the pressure of inflation on households and incomes not growing as they did before,” he says.

The panel also discusses the continuing depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, and the ‘unease’ of doing business in India.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:02:12 - Headlines

00:13:37 - Uniform Civil Code

00:44:08 - ‘Unease’ of doing business

00:49:57 - Budget

01:11:05 - Depreciation of the Rupee

01:23:27- Letters

01:45:00 - Recommendations

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand, edited by Hassan Bilal.

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