In Focus by The Hindu

Last week, California-based Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the United States, collapsed, sending shock waves through the start-up universe. Then two more banks – the crypto-currency focussed Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital – shut down, sparking fears of wider financial contagion, similar to how the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 triggered a global crisis.The American government and the Federal Reserve acted fast to try and avoid precisely such a scenario by announcing measures aimed at boosting confidence in the banking system. The Biden administration has announced that all the depositors’ savings in the Silicon Valley Bank will be protected, including those deposits over and above the sums that are insured. The Federal Reserve, on its part, has unveiled a new lending program called the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), which would enable banks to borrow directly from the central bank instead of having to resort to loss-making bond sales, as the Silicon Valley Bank did.So, what caused the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank? Could it have been prevented? Is this banking collapse something that can be contained, or is it a harbinger of more such failures in the pipeline? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next month, the Supreme Court of India, will listen to final hearings on the issue of legal recognition for same sex marriages in India. A number of petitions have been filed, seeking this recognition. The case follows the landmark Puttuswamy judgement of 2017, affirming the right to privacy as a fundamental right, and then the Navtej Johar judgement of 2018, which decriminalised same sex relationships. The Centre however, has opposed same sex marriages, stating that marriages in India are holy unions, this would rock societal values and also that, if there is to be a change, it should be through Parliament and not the judiciary.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas. On March 4, a draft international agreement, called the UN High Seas Treaty, was finalised to govern the conduct of governments in ‘open seas’ – the major part of the world’s oceans – two-thirds of it – which lie beyond the jurisdiction of any one country.Once ratified by the signatory countries, the agreement will become legally binding. The treaty, dubbed the ‘Paris Agreement for the Oceans’, will also establish a conference of the parties (CoP) that will meet periodically so that member states can be held accountable for respecting the treaty.So, what exactly does the UN High Seas Treaty propose? How will ensure that biodiversity of the oceans is protected? And what does it say in terms of sharing of marine genetic resources – a key sticking point in the negotiations preceding the agreement? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rare moment for Chinese diplomacy, Beijing used its good offices to broker an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia that should see the two warring West Asian nations re-establishing diplomatic relations and re-opening their embassies within two months.China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, who is a signatory to the “joint trilateral statement”, said the agreement showed that Beijing was a “reliable mediator”. The joint trilateral statement itself said the accord was the consequence of a “noble initiative” by Chinese President Xi Jinping.The announcement, which came on March 10 after four days of talks between Chinese, Iranian and Saudi Arabian officials in Beijing, coincided with a session of China’s National People’s Congress that saw Xi being elected as President for an unprecedented third term.So, what does this agreement signal for Chinese diplomacy? A new confidence? The ability to play a game long dominated by the West? A showpiece that suggests China was now willing to play broker in other parts of the world?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Indian rupee has had an interesting run these past few weeks. It strengthened in response to investor inflows into the markets but started losing steam soon after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to the U.S. Congress in which he said controlling inflation would continue to be the focus area. Does the RBI have a choice beyond keeping step with the Fed in raising interest rates further? What does it mean for our forex reserves?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Stock Exchange (NSE), one of India’s leading stock exchanges, has tweaked the constituents of its major indices such that three Adani Group companies are all set to enter key Nifty indices from March 31. The Adani stocks being included in Nifty indices include Adani Wilmar, which has been added to Nifty Next 50 and Nifty 100, Adani Total gas, which has been added to Nifty Shariah 25, and Adani Power, which has been added to ten different indices.The move has raised concerns given the continuing meltdown in Adani group stocks since January 24 when the US-based firm Hindenburg Research made several allegations about stock manipulation and fraud that the Adani group has denied. On the one hand, the exposure of actively managed mutual funds to Adani stocks is reported be less than 1%. But on the other, nearly 16% of India’s mutual fund industry’s ₹41 lakh crore is parked in index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that mimic indices constructed by the NSE and BSE, and some of this investment will be steered to these Adani stocks from March 31. And earlier this week, the NSE also removed four Adani Group stocks from the Nifty Alpha 50 index.So, what exactly goes into the decision to include or exclude any given stock in an index? How justified is the inclusion of Adani stock in various NSE indices given the recent sharp fall in their prices? And what are the risks and options for ordinary investors? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 and the fear around it may have gone away, but over the past few weeks, India has been rocked by cases of fever and intense coughs. People across States have been falling sick, and some have even had to be hospitalised. Last week, the Indian Council of Medical Research said these cases are linked to Influenza A, the H3N2 subtype virus that causes flu. The Council said surveillance data had shown a spike in these cases in India.So what is the H3N2 virus? Who is vulnerable to it and what symptoms can it cause? Is there a vaccine that can be taken? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2023 is a busy year for state elections, with a total of nine state elections scheduled to take place. We are in March now, and three of those assembly polls have concluded. In all three – Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya – the incumbents have been returned to power.The BJP was voted back in Tripura, although with a reduced vote share, while in Nagaland, the alliance of the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP are back in power. In Meghalaya, interestingly, in its election campaign, the BJP had branded the government of the Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) as the “most corrupt” state government in the country. But after the polls, it has chosen to extend support to the NPP.So what are the implications of these election results for the North-East? With barely 13 months to go for the 2024 general elections, what are the takeaways for the two main national parties – the BJP and the Congress? Were there any lessons to be drawn with regard to Opposition unity?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few days ago, the results of an interesting study were published. The study, conducted in the United Kingdom saw 61 companies and 2,900 employees take part in the reduction of the work-day week, from the standard five days, to four days. At the end of the six-month experiment, employees were less stressed, had better work-life balance and were absent on fewer days. Companies reported no impact on productivity, while revenues remained the same and in some cases, even increased. But can this system work in India, a country that has one of the highest number of working hours in the world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 24th, the Supreme refused to entertain a PIL seeking period leave for students and working women. The three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, observed that the issue had “different” dimensions and asked the petitioner to approach the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to frame a policy.The court also took note of a caveat filed by a law student, which said that compelling employers to grant menstrual pain leave could act as a “disincentive” for employers when it comes to hiring women.Is the question of period leave purely a matter of gender rights – in terms of acknowledging women’s biological difference and accommodating it through affirmative action? Or is it a bad idea because it will increase gender discrimination against women at the point of recruitment? What kind of a policy intervention, if any, would be appropriate in this context? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices