In Focus by The Hindu

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked health insurance companies to offer their products to everyone, regardless of their age. Until now, health insurance was readily available for anyone up to the age of 65, with companies under no obligation to cover those older. But now IRDAI has said insurance firms can extend their health coverage to everyone regardless of their pre-existing medical conditions.Both these changes are part of a wider set of reforms under the long term goal of “Insurance for All by 2047”, and they have mostly been welcomed as a positive development. But there is always the fine print, and questions remain about how these measures will pan out in real life. Health coverage tends to get more expensive with age. Will senior citizens be able to afford the packages designed by private insurers? What do the norms say regarding the ‘waiting period’ for pre-existing conditions? And will these measures be enough to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenditure, which is one of the highest in the world in India?Guest: Professor T Sundararaman, a public health expert, who has served as Executive Director of National Health Systems Resource Centre and as Dean and Professor at the School of Health Systems Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a setback to the Opposition INDIA alliance in Delhi, which is basically the alliance between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Arvinder Singh Lovely has resigned from his post, and one of the reasons he has cited is his party’s tie-up with AAP.Lovely’s resignation letter has put the spotlight on what is widely recognised as a big contradiction – an alliance between the Congress party, and a party that came into being to combat the kind of political decadence that the Congress allegedly represented. In fact, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal has spent much of the last ten years targeting the Congress more than any other party, and in turn, the Delhi state leadership of the Congress has spent much of its energies targeting AAP. Furthermore, it is the Congress that’s the original complainant in the alleged liquor scam case that has landed Kejriwal in jail.So, how does this alliance square with the founding credo of the Aam Aadmi Party? How can AAP explain this alliance to its supporters? Given that the two parties have suddenly found ‘anti-BJPism’ more attractive as a political plank than anti-corruption, does this alliance then indicate that the founders of AAP – several of whom are currently in jail on corruption charges – were fundamentally wrong in their understanding of political corruption?G. Sampath is joined by Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court advocate and a former leader with AAP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This March was the hottest on record globally, the 10th month in a row to hit this peak. This has led to a 1.58 degree Celsius spike in the global average temperature, compared to pre-industrial levels. This doesn’t feel surprising – most parts of India have been sweltering since last month, the India Meteorological Department or IMD hadd forecast heatwave conditions in parts of at least 10 States last week and it's only going to get worse in May. This year, the heat is even believed to have impacting voting in our crucial general election, and the Election Commission has now set up a taskforce to oversee heatwave conditions. We’re used to scorching summers in India – but experts say that heatwaves are now arriving earlier in the year, are more frequent and are also lasting longer – which means they have a huge impact on the health of humans and animals, on our agriculture and food, on our cities, our water resources and our energy supplies. How does the unrelenting heat affect our bodies and our long-term health into the future? Do our food crops become less nutritious as temperatures rise? Do India’s standards for heatwaves need updating? Where is our country placed, globally, when it comes to extreme climate events and can we expect more of these in the near future?  Guest: Poornima Prabhakaran, Director, Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends (CHART), Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The delay in conducting the 2021 census seems to have sparked a data crisis, with major implications for the social sector, especially public health policy. This crisis, according to public health analysts, has been worsened by the government’s reluctance to put certain types of data in the public domain, over concerns they might show it in an unflattering light.In the context of public health, the census is important because it forms the basis for national and state health surveys. So, how are the country’s policy-makers and social scientists managing with 2011 census data in 2024? What are the problems seen in the implementation of government welfare schemes such as PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) due to unavailability of up-to-date data? What’s the status today with regard to transparency and professional autonomy in the collection, scrutiny and publication of data that’s central to the public health discourse?Guest: Professor T Sundararaman, a public health expert, who has served as Executive Director of National Health Systems Resource Centre and as Dean and Professor at the School of Health Systems Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discussion on Nestle's baby cereals containing added sugar in India but not in European markets, implications on health. Government's actions on misleading health claims of products, rise of childhood obesity, need for stricter regulations on processed foods. Exploration of controversies on mislabeled health foods, advocacy for transparency in nutritional information and clear criteria for labeling products as healthy

17-year-old Indian chess prodigy, Gukesh Dommaraju, discusses his historic win at the Candidates tournament. Journey from nearly missing qualification to nail-biting victory. Insights on the evolution of the Candidates tournament and the challenges faced in the world of chess.

Elon Musk's upcoming visit to India sparks discussions about Tesla's entry into the Indian EV market. The podcast explores topics like the implications for local manufacturers, India's evolving EV policies, challenges in infrastructure, and the potential impact on the market dynamics. Key questions include the readiness of the price-conscious Indian market for expensive EVs and the implications for 'Make in India' initiatives.

The Indian government recently brought in an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act with regard to captive elephants. This amendment, the rules for which came in last month, regulates the transfer or transport of captive elephants, and has sparked an outcry from animal rights activists. Elephants are, according to the Wildlife Protection Act, a Schedule 1 species – offered the highest protection under the law. Captive elephants however, because of their historical role in India where they have been part of royal estates, used in timber logging and still used in temples for religious festivals, come under a special category, but there were still strict rules governing their transfer. Now however, with this new amendment, the transfer of elephants is allowed for ‘religious or any other purposes’ – this vague definition, researchers say can revive illegal commercial trade and trafficking of elephants, something the country has been trying to curb for decades. Concerns have also been raised about Vantara, Anant Ambani’s rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which has come under criticism for its housing of a large number of elephants. Why was this amendment brought in? What does this mean for the 2,600-or so captive elephants across the country? Are wild elephants continuing to be captured and illegally sold? And what is the way forward to rehabilitate captive elephants in the country? Guest: Alok Hisarwala, lawyer and researcher, founder of Centre for Research and Animal Rights, Goa Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada venkatasubramanian.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was expected that Iran would respond to the bombing of its consulate in Syria on April 1 in an Israeli strike. The retaliation came last Saturday when Iran launched a direct attack on Israel. Israel claims to have intercepted 99% of the 300-odd drones and missiles fired by Iran, but a few of the missiles did sneak through its defences and hit sensitive military targets on Israeli territory.Iran has said that it would take no further action unless Israel chooses to escalate. Israel has vowed to “exact the price from Iran” when the time is right. What are the strategic implications of Iran’s unprecedented direct strikes on Israel? How serious are the risks of a wider regional war, and where does this leave the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s election time in India. The Modi government is touting India’s strength abroad as one of its achievements. Earlier in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally that India today kills terrorists in their own homes.Asked about a report in the Guardian newspaper that India had killed 20 alleged terrorists in recent years in Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Delhi would pursue and kill terrorists in Pakistan if they staged attacks in India.In 2023, Canada accused Indian agents of being responsible for the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its territory.So, what does all this mean for India’s foreign policy and standing in the world? Is this the right approach to adopt? What are the potential dangers of such actions sparking a wider conflict with Pakistan? Or create foreign policy fissures with other countries?Guest: Nirupama Subramanian, senior journalist and former correspondent of The Hindu in Pakistan.Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices