The controversy over Katchatheevu is back in the media spotlight. With just a few weeks left for the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue by claiming that the Congress “gave away” Katchatheevu. He also claimed that the DMK, in contrast to its public posturing, was fully kept in the loop as the Congress “ceded” Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. The PM’s claims were further amplified by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.The controversy revolves around two bilateral agreements, one signed in 1974, and another in 1976, pertaining to maritime boundaries and fishing rights in the Katchatheevu region. The Opposition has responded to the Prime Minister by citing the Modi government’s own reply to an RTI query in 2015 where it had said that Katchatheevu belonged to Sri Lanka.How did Katchatheevu – a tiny, uninhabited patch of land – become a contentious issue? What is its significance for the fishing rights of Indian fishermen? And are the fishing-related issues, such as the detention of Indian fishermen, really linked to the territorial claims over Katchatheevu?Guest: K Venkataramanan, Senior Associate Editor at The Hindu.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

The India Employment Report 2024, released recently by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), paints a grim picture. The news is particularly bad on two critical counts: joblessness is particularly high among the youth, and its worse for the educated youth. According to the report, India’s youth account for 83% of the unemployed workforce, with the share of the educated youth among the total unemployed doubling - from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022.Among other things, the report also flags a reversal of the expected transition of the workforce from agriculture to non-farm sector, and says that India’s female labour force participation rate (LFPR) declined by 14.4 percentage points between 2000 and 2019.What does all this mean for India’s ‘demographic dividend’ that people keep talking about? Why are 82% of the workforce in the informal sector, with nearly 90% informally employed? And why is the share of manufacturing in employment stagnating at 12-14%?Guest: Professor Ravi Srivastava, Director, Centre for Employment Studies, at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

On March 10th, India signed a free trade agreement with a group of four European nations, committing to reduce tariffs. In return, India would receive $100 billion in investments over the next 15 years. The non-EU bloc, known as the European Free Trade Association, consists of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. This agreement has come on the back of protracted negotiations of 21 rounds spread over 16 years. While the balance of trade heavily favors the EFTA, with India importing about $22 billion in 2023 from the bloc, India exported only about $3 billion to the bloc. While India hopes to attract investments in railways, the financial sector and automobiles, it is expecting a growth in exports of pharma products, garments, chemicals and machinery to the EFTA. This pact comes just two years after India signed similar agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Australia, but such free trade deals have not largely helped India's export growth. In fact, it has generally been more beneficial to the other nations or blocks who have signed such deals with India. For instance, India's 2011 comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan enabled Japan to double its exports to more than $16 billion in 2023 from $8 billion in 2011. On the other hand, India's exports to Japan remained static at $5.46 billion in 2023, a tad up from $5.09 billion in 2011. This mirrors other trade pacts like the one signed with the 10-member Southeast Asian block, the ASEAN in 2010. In 2022-23, India exported goods worth about $44 billion to the region, while its imports were valued at $87 billion. The trade deficit in 2022-23 was $43 billion compared with $7.5 billion in 2010. Why is India then entering into more such agreements? How different is the EFTA from those signed with other nations and blocs? And are such deals a substitute to larger WTO led trade frameworks, where India tends to have a larger say because of the backing of other developing nations. Guest: Professor Dinesh Abrol, retired professor at the Institute for Studies in industrial development. Host: Kunal Shankar, Deputy Business Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian. 

After several failed efforts, the United Nations Security Council managed to pass a resolution on March 25 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. Resolution 2728 passed because unlike in three previous occasions the United States chose not to use its veto power but abstained. The resolution passed 14-0.In a related development, the International Court of Justice warned on March 28 that the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food by Israel to the Palestinians meant that famine was setting in in Gaza.Also, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Francesca Albanese said on March 26 there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.Since October last year, Israel has killed at least 32,000 Palestinians and injured another 71,000 following the Hamas attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. So what does the UNSC resolution and ICJ order mean?Guest: Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, from 2016 to 2020.Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Exploring the mechanism and side effects of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and semaglutide, endorsed by celebrities for rapid weight loss. Discussing the potential implications for India's diabetes and obesity rates, as well as the importance of long-term research and monitoring for drug safety.

A deadly terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22 left more than 130 people dead and nearly 200 injured. This was the deadliest mass shooting incident in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege. The Islamic State—Khorasan Province (IS-KP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.President Vladimir Putin has said that radical Islamists were behind the attack, and hinted at Ukraine’s involvement.So, why are radical Islamists, and the Islamic State in particular, targeting Russia, and why now?G. Sampath is joined by MK Bhadrakumar, a strategic analyst and former diplomat who has served in West Asia.

It’s hard to imagine a world without plastic now – plastic exists in almost every sphere of our life. Microplastics, the tiny toxic particles that plastics shed and that are scattered across the environment have been found everywhere – from clouds, to the bottom of the ocean, in Antarctica and even in our bodies – we swallow them and we breathe them in. In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine however, researchers found microplastics and nanoplastics – which are even smaller particles – inside our innermost organ -- in the fatty deposits or plaques that can accumulate in the blood vessels of the heart. They also found that those with these plastics in their blood vessels had a greater risk of experiencing heart attacks, strokes or death. However, they have cautioned this was only a link and not proof that plastics led to bad health – much more research is needed to establish how plastics really affect our health.The study comes at a time when the world and India is attempting to ban plastic and encourage people towards sustainable, plastic-free options – but this is happening very slowly, as we can see all around us, in daily life and in the massive landfills in our city.What can micro and nanoplastics do to the human body? What is the direction research into this must take? And how can we minimise our exposure to plastic pollution?Guest: Dr Sanjay Rajagopalan, one of the authors of the study and Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief Academic and Scientific Officer at University Hospitals, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, Ohio, United StatesHost: Zubeda Hamid

Exploring the revelations of electoral bond details, concerns about quid pro quo relationships, questionable company donations, controversies surrounding political donations, and the need for thorough investigations into irregularities in electoral bond practices.

Pre-dawn air strikes by Pakistan on Afghan territory targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban, or TTP, militants on the 19th of March mark a new low in relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan claims that it retaliated against TTP strongholds in Afghanistan following a terror strike in North Waziristan on the 16th of March in which 7 Pakistani security personnel were killed. The Taliban claim that eight women and children were killed in the Pakistani air raids. A spokesman for the group warned of dire consequences even as Taliban border forces attacked Pakistani positions. What do these events spell for Pakistan-Taliban relations? Has the wheel come full circle for Rawalpindi which was responsible for the creation of the Taliban and was vociferous in welcoming the return of the group to Kabul in 2021? What can we expect in the weeks and months ahead?

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be held from April 19 in seven phases across the country. In Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, voting will take place in all the seven phases. Assembly elections will also be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. The last phase of voting will be on June 1 and counting will take place on June 4.This parliamentary election will be the second longest polling exercise in India’s electoral history. The longest one was the country’s first general election, which was held over a five-month period from September 1951 to February 1952. But the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, for instance, were held in four phases – between April 20 and May 10 – they were over in 20 days. The 1998 elections took place in just three phases – on February 16, 22nd and 28th – over two weeks.So what has changed between 1998 or 2004, and 2024 -- that we seem to have become so much slower?Why does India need seven phases and one-and-a-half months to hold general elections? How do other big democracies like Indonesia manage it in one day? And what are the pros and cons of having a multi-phase election?To discuss, we are joined by MG Devasahayam, a former IAS officer who is also Coordinator, Citizens Commission on Elections.