In Focus by The Hindu

The Education Ministry has released the pre-draft of the National Curriculum Framework for school education, or NCF-2023, for public feedback and comments. The document, which was last revised in 2005, has a critical role to play in determining pedagogical approaches and how textbooks are designed.Some key recommendations of NCF-2023 that have made headlines include: board exams twice a year, a semester system for Class 12, and giving students the option of pursuing a mix of courses from science, humanities and commerce rather than splitting them into exclusive streams.What are the implications of the changes proposed by NCF 2023? Are they what the Indian school system needs? How will they get reflected in the schooling experience of students going forward? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mafia-style execution of former legislator Atiq Ahmed and his brother, Khalid Azim, by three assailants on the night of April 15 in Prayagraj, while speaking to reporters on camera has again turned the spotlight on the absence of the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. Two days earlier, on the 13th of April, Atiq’s son, Asad Ahmed, was killed in an alleged encounter with the police in Jhansi.The killings come days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told the State Assembly that he would smash the mafia in his state to the ground.In March this year, Atiq Ahmed wrote to the Supreme Court that he might be killed in a fake encounter with the U.P. police. His fears were proven correct. Both Atiq and Asad were accused in the murder of a political rival in February. Atiq, a former leader of the Samajwadi Party and the Apna Dal, had more than 100 criminal cases against him.More than 180 alleged criminals have been shot dead in so-called police encounters in the last six years that Adityanath has been the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.So, what does the sensational execution of Atiq and his brother tell us about the state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh? Can the rule of law be restored in a state where the police has been seen as aggressive and high-handed?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's back in the news and it's back everywhere. Covid-19, which seemed to be going away, has had a resurgence in India recently, with the data as of April 14, showing that over 11,000 new cases have been recorded. While this particular sub-variant, XBB.1.16, is believed to be mild and not as virulent as last 2021's Delta variant, the government is taking the surge in cases seriously, and has asked States to remain prepared, in terms of beds, oxygen and adequate testing kits. The country has so far administered over 220 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, though booster dose coverage remains low at about 16%.Do we need to worry about this current surge in cases? Who needs to take the booster? Will Covid-19 continue to lie low and emerge occasionally with a spurt in cases, and what precautions should we take? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May 2022, Finland, along with its Nordic neighbor Sweden, applied for NATO membership. It took less than a year for it to formally become NATO’s 31st member. With this, NATO’s border with Russia has more than doubled – from 1,200 km to 2,500 km.How does this development change the security architecture of Europe? Will it lead to a militarization of the Russia-Finland border? How big a strategic setback is this for Russian President Vladimir Putin? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There have been some dire predictions about how hazardous the heat is going to be this summer. India this year experienced its warmest February since 1877, and in November last year, the World Bank warned that India could become one of the first places in the world where wet-bulb temperatures could increase beyond the survivability threshold of 35°C.Furthermore, last month, Peter Dynes, chief strategy officer at Mirrors for Earth's Energy Rebalancing (MEER), tweeted that India this summer is at “serious risk of wet-bulb” if global temperatures continue to rise.So, what exactly is the wet bulb phenomenon, and what does it mean when it is said that summer temperatures in India could cross the wet bulb threshold? Have heat wave conditions in India worsened due to climate change? What should we be doing to mitigate the effects of heat wave conditions and protect the most vulnerable? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By quashing the Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s order ceasing operations of the Malayalam news channel, Media One, the Supreme Court appears to have sent a clear message to the government of the day – that the freedom of the press is a key pillar of Indian democracy.At a time when the press is under pressure to toe the Government’s line, the judgment is also a signal to members of the media – that they should do their job without fear or favour.The press, the Supreme Court held, had a duty to speak truth to power.Is the press performing this duty today? What are the larger implications of this April 6 verdict? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A survey of nearly 10,000 people carried out for the Status of Policing in India Report 2023 suggests a high level of support for certain forms of government surveillance but reveals a lack of public awareness regarding critical issues such as the Pegasus spying scandal.The report, prepared by the NGO Common Cause and Lokniti, CSDS, finds that three out of four people believe CCTVs can help monitor and reduce crime. The poor, Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims are the least trusting of the police.Interestingly, 44 per cent of those surveyed across 12 states and union territories believe that the police should not have the freedom to check people’s phones without a warrant. So, what is the bigger picture from the survey? Why choose this theme at this time? How does surveillance impact dissent?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, Rajasthan became the first state to enact a Right to Health Act. The legislation sparked massive protests from the medical community, with the protests finally being called off on April 4, after an agreement was reached, on the applicability of the law. The Act gives every resident of Rajasthan the right to emergency treatment care without prepayment of fees at designated health centres -- a provision that was contentious. The private healthcare sector had called the Act "draconian" and was apprehensive of the government’s interference in their functioning after the enforcement of the law.But does the private medical sector, which forms a huge segment of the healthcare sector in our country, need legislation? Should emergency care be provided to every resident in need of it at any hospital that is able to provide it? Should the Right to Life, enshrined in our Constitution, also guarantee all citizens the Right to Health in India? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All four persons, who had been given the death sentence by a trial court for the May 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts that killed 71 persons, were acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court on the 30th of March. Those acquitted of all charges were: Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Salman, Saifur and Mohammed Sarver Azmi. The State of Rajasthan plans to file an appeal against the acquittal in the Supreme Court. The two-judge bench ruled that the prosecution had been unable to establish a conspiracy between the now-acquitted persons, pointing out that for a conspiracy to be established there had to be a meeting of minds. The judges were of the view that nefarious means were used by the investigating agencies and even fabrication had been done during the course of the investigation. They directed the Rajasthan Director-General of Police to initiate an appropriate inquiry / disciplinary proceedings against erring officers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 21, was single parents day, commemorating mothers and fathers, who parent alone. And while in India, families are still widely seen as that of two biological parents and their children, this is rapidly changing: families can come in all sorts of forms – from single parents, to parents who are not married but live together, adoptive parents, step-families, queer families and more. However, while some laws and court judgements are clearing the path towards easier access to procedures and systems for non-traditional families, there are still multiple hurdles faced by single parents and others for even basic procedures such as school admissions and banking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices