In Focus by The Hindu

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. It is the result of stunting — a chronic indicator of malnutrition, where a child has a low height for their age due to not getting the nutrition and care they need in the most critical early years of life.This episode explores what stunting really is, why it happens, and the critical windows when intervention can make the biggest difference. Guest: Dr. Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician and former member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Host: Devyanshi Bihani Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 minerals like neodymium, which are crucial for compact, efficient EV motors. While India has its own reserves, mining and processing are largely controlled by China. Now, with Beijing cutting exports amid a trade dispute with the U.S., Indian automakers are struggling to find alternatives. Guest: Ashim Sharma, Nomura Research Institute Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited by Anupama Chandrasekaran and Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 before marriage. The problem is multi-disciplinary; it is not merely a question of health, but also involves considerations of human rights, stigma, and free will.  Should HIV/AIDS testing be made mandatory? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Jahnabi Goswami, president of the Assam Network of Positive People; N. Kumarasamy, Chief and Director of Infectious Diseases Medical Centre, Voluntary Health Services, Chennai Host: Ramya Kannan Edited by Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 within eight weeks. The aim: to end India’s rabies crisis, one of the worst in the world, which kills an estimated 20,000 people a year.But can such a massive operation work? Is it humane? And what happens when the law collides with the emotional bonds people have with the dogs outside their doors?In this episode, we look at the feasibility of the plan, the science of rabies control and what India’s street dog policy needs to get right to protect both people and animals. Guest: Dr. Abi Tamim Vanak, Wildlife ecologist Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 meetings calorific requirements, how differently urban and rural Indians eat and what is the difference in calories consumed by rich and poor Indians. Another interesting aspect was about the protein consumption in India – what is the amount of proteins Indians consume and are we getting our proteins from the right sources? Also, how are food prices impacting our diets? Guest: Dipa Sinha, an independent researcher and development economist Host: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest transport networks, is in considerable financial trouble. Despite carrying millions of passengers, it recovers barely half the cost of each journey. Freight earnings are propping up passenger services and ticket prices remain politically sensitive. In fact the Railways is increasingly relying on borrowings and Budget support for their capital investments. In this episode, we unpack the data behind the crisis, examine why even premium classes are losing money, and ask the big question: can fare hikes save the Railways without driving passengers away? Guest: A. Madhukumar Reddy, a 1987-batch Indian Railway Traffic Service officer who retired as Principal Executive Director of the Railway Board. Host: Vignesh Radhakrishnan Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 futures. It wasn’t the first such disaster in this region. It began with regular monsoon rain tapping on roofs, creating thin streams down the hillsides. Hours later, a wall of water, rock and mud tore through Dharali. Nestled in Uttarakhand’s upper reaches near Gangotri, Dharali lies close to a sacred source of the Ganga River. But on that day, the river smashed into homes, ripped apart roads and swept away everything in its path. Families fled with nothing. Lives were lost.The Himalayas are young mountains that shift, crack and shed rock. But our choices make them more dangerous: carving roads into fragile slopes, building too close to rivers and the warming the climate. In this episode, a scientist explains the forces shaping the mountains, and an environmentalist shows how our actions magnify the risk. Together, they trace the path from an ordinary day’s rain to a disaster and reveal how to stop the next tragedy before it strikes. Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced by Sharmada venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 show how, in one assembly segment of a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, more than 1 lakh fake votes were cast. Mr Gandhi said a team in the Congress spent six months sifting through voter rolls data in hard copy format sourced from the Election Commission, and they identified five ways in which fake votes were cast: duplicate voters, fake and invalid voters, bulk voters in a single address, invalid photos, and misuse of Form 6 to add so-called new voters. Mr Gandhi also alleged that this was a template, and it can be, and has probably been, replicated in elections across the country. Mr Gandhi has made two demands to the Election Commission (EC): that it share voter data in electronic text readable format, and that it make available CCTV footage of polling booths. The EC has asked Mr Gandhi to formally submit his charges under oath. How credible are these charges? And how justified are Mr Gandhi’s demands? What is the road to accountability in the context of these specific charges? Guest: Poonam Agarwal, investigative journalist and author of ‘India Inked: Elections in the World’s Largest Democracy’. Host: G Sampath Produced and edited by: Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced its decision to lay off 12,000 employees, Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies) said that the tech industry is at an “infliction point” due to the increasing integration of AI and automation into core business operations. Meanwhile, the All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC), in conjunction with IT employee unions and forums, is pursuing strategies to address the issue of layoffs in the IT sector. It plans to raise this matter in Parliament, advocating for a policy that would cap the pay disparity between top leadership and average employees. Should there be a ceiling on salaries of top management? In this In Focus-Parley episode, we discuss the question. Guests: Praveen Chakravarty, chairperson, All India Professionals’ Congress; Sridhar Kundu, consultant economist, World Bank Host: A.M. Jigeesh Edited by: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 that a quick bilateral trade agreement could soften the blow, if not prevent it. Trump has justified his move with a number of complaints: he has spoken of India’s high tariffs, non-tariff barriers, India buying oil and defence hardware from Russia, and India’s membership of BRICS, which he considers as anti-US coalition. Exports to the US constitute 18% of India’s overall exports. If the tariffs kick in, they are expected to lower India’s GDP growth by 20-30 basis points. Are these tariffs just a pressure tactic aimed to extract concessions from India on the trade deal? What are India’s options? Would India be better off without a rushed trade deal? Guest: Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Host: G. Sampath Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices