In Focus by The Hindu

Everything that can go wrong with a country is in full play in Sri Lanka. Anger and violence at food and fuel shortages, power cuts, collapsing purchase power, and above all a demand for the ruling Rajapakse clan to quit the island nation’s politics is growing.President Gotabaya Rajapakse has sacrificed his brother, Mahinda, to cling onto power as the Go, Gota Go, cries in the streets of Sri Lanka continue to be heard. In desperation, the United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed Prime Minister in place of Mahinda Rajapakse.Can this six-time Prime Minister get Sri Lanka out of its current economic and political mess? Can the President continue in office? Is Mr. Wickremesinghe serious about abolishing the executive presidency in Sri Lanka, which many believe lies at the root of the country’s problems.Guest: Dr. Paikiasothy Sarvanamuttu, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives.Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, and former Sri Lanka correspondent, The HinduEdited by Ranjani Srinivasan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The still unofficial victory of Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in the Philippine presidential election, is both comprehensive and complete. A family that had to flee the country is now back in power.For those familiar with the country’s politics, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Powered by Facebook and other forms of social media, the narrative around the Marcos family was carefully altered over the years.Bongbong replaces strongman President Roberto Duterte, a polarizing figure in the country’s politics. Will Bongbong be like his father or Duterte in his political practice? Or will he prove to be a surprise package?The Philippines, which has had a long-standing alliance with the United States, has to contend with an increasingly assertive China. What will be Bongbong’s foreign policy?Guest: Ravi Velloor, Singapore-based columnist and Associate Editor of .The Straits TimesHost: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, and former Southeast Asia Correspondent, The Hindu. Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Lee, a former security chief of Hong Kong, has been appointed as the city’s new Chief Executive. He will replace the current leader Carrie Lam on July 1. Known to be a pro-Beijing administrator, he oversaw the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019.His appointment comes at a significant time in Hong Kong’s history --- this year marks 25 years since Hong Kong’s was handed over by the British to China, under the broad governance principle of ‘one country, two systems’. What does John Lee’s term mean for the future of civil liberties in Hong Kong? And what’s the mood like in the city in the year of the 25th handover anniversary?Guest: Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu’s China correspondent.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduEdited by Reenu Cyriac Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The semiconductor ecosystem in India has been abuzz with energy ever since the government announced a ₹ 76,000 crore scheme to incentivise semiconductor and display system manufacturers to set up shop in India. Corporate announcements have also started trickling in. Vedanta has allied with Foxconn for its foray. The ISMC of Israel has signed an MoU wit Karnataka. In all this, there still lingers the question, should India seriously spend its funds and effort over setting up such an ecosystem? After all, semiconductor manufacturing requires consistent power supply and a significant amount of clean water.If India should, indeed, get in manufacturers, what lessons could it take away from similar efforts made in the past, which had largely fizzled out?Guest: Niju Vijayan, Partner at Avanteum Advisors. He has had long years of exposure to the ESDM (Electronic System Design & Manufacturing) industry, of which semiconductors are a part.Host: K. Bharath Kumar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five months have passed without the Government appointing a Chief of Defence Staff. The post fell vacant after Gen. Bipin Rawat died in a tragic helicopter crash on December 9. It was speculated that the former Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane would be appointed the new Chief of Defence Staff but he retired from service at the end of April.Why has the Government not appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff? Can a retired chief be appointed to the job? Or will the post created with much fanfare go to either the serving Air Force or Navy chief given that Gen. Manoj Pande has just been appointed the chief of army staff?Guest: Rahul Bedi, senior Journalist and defence analystHost: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The HinduEdited by Reenu Cyriac Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March this year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his counterpart from Meghalaya Conrad Sangma signed an agreement in New Delhi to partially resolve the 50-year-old border dispute between the two states. Reports indicate that matters have been resolved in six out of the 12 border locations that had disputes. At the same time, Home Minister Amit Shah has said that 70% of the border disputes between the two states have been resolved by this agreement. Subsequently, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam decided to form district-level committees for settling their boundary disputes.There are now hopes that, following the ‘50-50’ model that Assam and Meghalaya followed, the disputes between Assam and Arunachal will also see resolution.Assam has border disputes with most of its neigbouring states. But in this edition of InFocus, we take a closer look at the causes of its disputes with Meghalaya and Arunachal, and whether the Assam-Meghalaya agreement can serve as a template for resolving all the other border disputes in the North-East.Guest: Patricia Mukhim, the editor of Shillong Times.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduEdited by Reenu Cyriac Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last week of April, Twitter’s Board of Directors unanimously accepted billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s buyout offer of $44 billion. The deal is currently pending regulatory approval. But as and when it goes through, it will allow Musk to take Twitter private, giving him complete control over what he has described as a “de facto public town square”.Will the SpaceX and Tesla CEO do a good job of managing a politically sensitive platform like Twitter? Musk has said that he is a ‘free speech absolutist’ but many have interpreted it to mean that Twitter may stop censoring hate speech and flagging disinformation the way it does now. As Twitter changes hands, what are the likely implications for users?Guest: Apar Gupta, advocate and Executive Director at the Internet Freedom FoundationHost: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduEdited by Ranjani Srinivasan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wheat procurement in the country by the Food Corporation of India and State government agencies is expected to be about 22 million tonnes – just half of the 44 million targets set for this season. News reports suggest that exports are causing wheat prices to rise beyond the Rs. 20 per kilo of the minimum support price fixed by the Central government.What are the challenges for wheat procurement and production and will exports impinge in any way on the country’s food security?Guest: Devinder Sharma, distinguished writer and commentator on food and agricultureHost: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The HinduEdited by Ranjani Srinivasan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political entrepreneur, politician, election guru – there are many ways to describe Prashant Kishore – who clearly enjoys a larger than life status in the country’s politics. Is he really that important that party after party is courting him to help them win elections? Are there any others like him? Why did he decide not to join the Congress party despite a firm offer?Guest: Javed Ansari is a Delhi-based political journalist and analyst.Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.Edited by Reenu Cyriac Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is now exactly two months since the start of the Ukraine war. What many expected to be a quick assault resulting in Russian control over Ukraine has devolved into a grinding war of attrition.While Russia has made territorial gains, it has also suffered heavy losses. The Ukrainian armed forces have been putting up a stiff fight, especially around urban centers, and the national capital of Kyiv is still free. In the meantime, the West, led by the U.S. and NATO, has been supporting the Ukrainian resistance in two ways: by keeping up a steady supply of military and economic aid, and by imposing heavy economic sanctions on Russia. Russia, on its part, has been recalibrating its military strategy. So far, diplomatic efforts – including the Istanbul talks, which raised hopes of a ceasefire — to broker peace have failed. Meanwhile, civilian casualties continue to mount.So, where do the parties to the conflict stand after two months of heavy fighting? How have their stakes changed? Have their political positions hardened or softened, compared to two months ago?Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The HinduHost: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduEdited by Ranjani Srinivasan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices