In Focus by The Hindu

In this episode, we go deep into the crisis at Chinese real estate giant Evergrande and examine the reasons and fall-out. The property developer's debt woes have made headlines around the world, and sparked broader fears about the state of China's real estate market, which is a key driver of growth in the world's second largest economy.Will Chinese authorities be able to contain the Evergrande crisis? Are there likely wider ramifications for China's economy, as well as for countries, including India, which counts on China as its largest trading partner with a trading relationship predicated on continued Chinese appetite for commodities? What do the Evergrande crisis, as well as the moves to address the debt problem, tell us about Xi Jinping's broader goals for China's economy? We also discuss other significant recent regulatory moves by Chinese authorities taking aim at the private sector, from the investigations into the Alibaba group and Tencent, to the crackdown on the private education sector, to ask how Xi is remaking China's economy.Guest: Dexter Roberts, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Asia Security Initiative, author of "The Myth of Chinese Capitalism"Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduEpisode NotesThe Hindu Profiles, Evergrande | The 'grey rhino' of China's property boom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can schools, colleges and policy-makers do to tackle this?Even as schools and colleges begin reopening across the country, teachers and educationists are faced not just with the academic challenges of educational institutions having remained shut for over a year, but mental health challenges as well. The lack of access to friend groups, the complete digital mode of learning and the various lockdowns have affected the mental health of our young people. Competitive exams have added to pressure and anxiety -- recently, Tamil Nadu saw a number of young students who died by suicide following the medical admission exam, NEET.India has the highest rate of suicide in SouthEast Asia, and in 2019 alone, over 8,000 children between the ages of 14 and 18 died of suicide as per National Crime Records Bureau data.Guest: Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder, Sneha, a suicide prevention organisation based in ChennaiHost: Zubeda Hamid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Quad has met in person for the first time in Washington and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi has had his first bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden too. A detailed joint statement was issued after the Quad meeting that detailed cooperation on a range of issues, including tackling terrorism, Afghanistan and Myanmar, while talking of increasing cooperation with ASEAN. The “C” word – or China – was missing from the 17-para statement issued by the United States, India, Japan and China – but make no mistake it’s all about dealing with China.China has described the nascent Quad grouping as a “clique” and also hit out on the eve of the meeting at India for triggering the deadly June 2020 Galwan Valley clash.What is the direction that the Quad is taking and what is its relevance in the context of the new alliance in the Indo-Pacific that the U.S. has announced? Has the Quad cooperation been enhanced after the first in-person meetings of the national leaders?We answer these questions in this podcast.Guest: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor and National Editor, The HinduHost: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Punjab was one of the States where the Congress was perceived to have a strong regional leader, with Capt Amarinder Singh leading the party to victory in the 2017 Assembly elections. But now he has been replaced before the end of his term. Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit Sikh MLA, has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister, with just a few months to go for the Assembly elections in early 2022.What prompted this vote of no-confidence, as it were, against Capt Amarinder Singh? Where does the choice of Channi leave Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was widely seen as a contender and alternative to Singh within the Congress party, in the scheme of things? And how does this change affect the party’s chances in the forthcoming elections.Guest: Amandeep Sandhu, author of Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines (2019), and two novels, Sepia Leaves (2008) and Roll of Honour (2012)Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello In Focus listeners, today we are featuring an episode of another podcast from The Hindu, Worldview with Suhasini Haidar.In this episode, with both the SCO and Quad summit meetings within a week, our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar deals with the question: can India walk the non-aligned tightrope or is it attempting to put its foot in two boats?If you like this episode, do not forgot to subscribe to Worldview with Suhasini Haidar.You can follow the series on:SpotifyApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastYouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Days ahead of this week's upcoming first in-person meeting in Washington of the leaders of the Quad -- India, Australia, Japan and the U.S. -- Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. made a surprise announcement of a new landmark trilateral security partnership. Dubbed AUKUS, the initiative will see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines with help from the U.K. and the U.S. The announcement is already making waves, drawing a strong reaction from France, which lost its submarine deal with Australia as a result, and responded by saying it would recall its ambassadors from Australia and the U.S. In this episode, we break down what the AUKUS deal is about, the implications for India and the Quad, and what it means for the broader evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific region. We also look ahead to this week's Quad summit in Washington.Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduGuests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu; Dinakar Peri, Defence Correspondent, The HinduEpisode NotesSuhasini Haidar, Five Main Issues On the Quad AgendaThe Hindu editorial, Three is Company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 9, American automobile major Ford announced that it was shutting down manufacturing operations in India, leading to the loss of around 4,000 jobs. Ford is only the latest in a series of automobile companies who came to India with great expectations, but decided to leave in a few years. This runs counter to our government’s Make-in-India initiative, which aims to turn India into a preferred global destination for manufacturing.What exactly is ailing India’s automobile sector? Is there a mismatch between production capacity and consumer demand? Are there regulatory issues? Or are there other constraints that compel foreign auto majors to pull the plug on India, which, incidentally, is still one of the largest car markets in the world?Guest: Puneet Gupta, Director of Automotive Sales Forecasting at IHS MarkitHost: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What caused these tigers to change their stripes, and in such a short period of time? Is it the result of shrinking habitat and inbreeding? Does this make them more susceptible to extinction? We discuss these in this podcast.More than 50 years ago, when tribals in Similipal reported seeing tigers so dark, their stripes almost fused together in patches, threatening to erase parts of their orange coats, nobody believed them. Since then, there have been numerous sightings of pseudo-melanistic tigers--as they are called-- at Similipal Tiger Reserve, but we didn’t know what caused them to change their stripes. Until now.Scientists at the National Centre for Biological Studies, Bengaluru have unravelled the mystery of these ‘black tigers’ and their findings were published earlier this week in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Guests: Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan, molecular ecologist and professor at the National Centre for Biological Studies, Bengaluru; Vinay Sagar, PhD student and lead author of the paper.Host: Anjali Thomas, City Editor-Bengaluru, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pakistan is a key player in the politics of Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is seen as a strategic victory for Pakistan, one of the three countries that recognised the Islamic Emirate in 1997.How critical is Western recognition and aid for the survival of the Taliban and the Afghan people? Will Pakistan come under pressure from the rest of the world if the Taliban continue to exclude women and minorities from the governance structure? Will the Taliban continue its previous policy of sheltering the Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups? Or will they show a new face to the world?Guest: Shuja Nawaz, distinguished fellow at the South Asia Centre of the Washington-based Atlantic Council. Brother of former Pakistani Army Chief Asif Nawaz, and author of "Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army, and the Wars Within".Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BJP has changed chief ministers four times in three states, in just the last seven months. The latest change happened this week in Gujarat, with Vijay Rupani making way for Bhupendra Patel as CM. Before this, the BJP changed the Karnataka chief minister in July, and the Uttarakhand CM was changed twice, in March and again in July.Where the person occupying the CM post is a senior leader or a veteran who is popular and wields political clout in his region, it would presumably be tough to replace him/her mid-way through a term. But when CMs are changed at will, it is generally seen as symptomatic of a ‘high command’ culture, where a party’s national leadership calls the shots.Has the BJP, known for strong CMs in the past, fully embraced the high command culture – something traditionally associated with the Congress? If so, what are the real reasons behind the replacement of the CMs in these states?Guest: Varghese K George, Resident Editor - Delhi, The HinduHost: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices