In Focus by The Hindu

Since good health is both a pre-condition and an outcome of sporting activity, is there a case to be made for linking sports policy to public health? Can this be done in a way that makes commercial sense as well? And most critically, does it make sense for a nation like India, with limited means but high Olympic ambitions, to concentrate public money on elite sports and success in elite competitions? Or should it focus more on building a sporting culture as such, by boosting community participation in sports and ‘physical literacy’, as we have seen in sporting nations such as Australia, which also tend to do better in elite events such as the Olympics?Guest: Hans Westerbeek, Professor of International Sport Business and Head of the Sport Business Insights Group at Victoria University, Melbourne.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The return of the Taliban and the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan has raised a lot of new questions. We’ve discussed some of them in different InFocus podcasts over the past week. We’ve looked at why the Afghan army almost melted away, what the Taliban’s likely course of action is going to be, what are India’s options in Afghanistan now, especially the nature of the relationship with a Taliban-controlled regime.One of the things we haven’t covered so far is the geo-political ramifications of the American withdrawal. The exit of a superpower is bound to create a power vacuum that the other big powers in the region, most notably Russia and China, and regional powers such as Iran and Pakistan, would be scrambling to fill. And each of them has their own set of priorities. It’s a rather complicated strategic scenario. We unpack the web of macro-level geo-political issues linked to the U.S.’s withdrawal from Kabul in this podcast.Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, 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

In the wake of the Taliban takeover and U.S. exit, attention has focused on what role China is likely to play in Afghanistan. Beijing was among the first countries to say it "stands ready" to work with the new Taliban regime, while in late July, China hosted a Taliban delegation committing economic cooperation. What will China's game plan be? Will Beijing remain cautious or step up its presence, particularly in the economic domain? What of China's long-standing concerns of the Taliban's links to Jihadist groups, including those blamed for attacks in China's Xinjiang region, which borders Afghanistan? Will the new situation in Afghanistan see a deepening China-Pakistan nexus, and what will be the implications for India?Guest: Andrew Small, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and author of "The China Pakistan Axis"Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Parliament cleared the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 on August 11th. The Bill seeks to amend the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972, and thereby enable the privatisation of the public sector insurance companies regulated under the 1972 Act.Apart from privatization, the Bill’s stated objectives include enhancing the penetration of the insurance sector, providing social protection by securing the interests of the policyholders better, and contributing to faster economic growth. It is not quite clear how this Bill would manage to achieve all these objectives. Also, is the Bill driven purely by an impulse to generate funds through disinvestment, or does it also further consumer interest?Guest: Harsh Roongta, founder and head of Fee Only Investment Advisers, LLP, a SEBI-registered Investment Advisory firm.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With events moving so fast in Afghanistan, officials and analysts have all been caught napping. The Taliban took their first provincial capital on August 6 and by August 15 they had taken over Kabul. Why did the Afghan Army, which the Americans had spent billions of dollars on, disappear without a resistance in this period? The UN has said that the Taliban will have to shed its terror links. But will the Taliban do that? What is Pakistan's role now? And what should India's strategy be now? Guest: Jayant Prasad, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan and Nepal, and Director of the Manohar Parikkar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Write to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fall of Kabul and the Taliban's rapid takeover has plunged Afghanistan into uncertainty. In this episode, we look at the return of the Taliban and what it means for the country, for India, and for the region. How did Kabul fall so rapidly? Is Afghanistan set to return to the dark days of the late 1990s? What will the Taliban's links to jihadist groups mean for the region's security? What does the dramatically changed landscape mean for India's relations with Afghanistan and for its broader neighbourhood?Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu;Stanly Johny, Foreign Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.inHost: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The HinduEpisode NotesAnalysis | How Kabul fell by Stanly JohnyTaliban takeover: 5 issues facing the Modi government by Suhasini HaidarWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of August 16, 8.8 % of India's population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 30.9% has received at least one dose. Earlier this month, the country saw a huge achievement in coverage -- the 50-crore mark in vaccine doses administered was reached. But as India continues to report over 30,000 new cases a day, and concerns mount about the Delta variant in other parts of the world, how much faster does our vaccination campaign need to be? Can we meet the government's estimated deadline of covering all beneficiaries over the age of 18 by December 2021, and do we have enough supply to meet this target? Can our two main vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin be mixed for better results? And what is the latest on that tricky subject, herd immunity?Guest: Dr. K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of IndiaHost: Zubeda HamidWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 amends the Constitution to allow states and union territories to prepare their own list of socially and educationally backward classes. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 9, 2021 and passed unanimously by the Lower House of Parliament on August 10. It was passed with cross-party support in the Rajya Sabha on August 11.The 127th Amendment Bill restores the system prior to the Supreme Court judgment of May 2021. The "state list" will be completely taken out of the ambit of the President and will be notified by the State Assembly as per the proposed Bill. The passage of the Bill meets the demands of regional parties that have sought autonomy in determining their own list of socially and economically backward classes.In this podcast, we discuss what this means for the OBC communities across the country, and how it will affect social justice as well as caste politics.Guest: Prof Badri Narayan, Director and Professor, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad.Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked India’s stint as a rotating president of the UN Security Council for the month of August by presiding over an open debate on enhancing maritime security. In this episode, we look at the significance and main takeaways, and India's message on maritime security. We also examine India's broaderagenda at the UNSC under its Presidency, from terrorism to peacekeeping, and ask what the status of the long pending reform to expand the UNSC's permanent members is.Episode notes:PM Modi outlines five-point framework for maritime security debate at UNSCBiden administration non-committal on support for permanent UNSC seat for IndiaGuest: Sriram Lakshman, U.S. correspondent, The HinduHost: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tokyo Olympics is finally done and dusted. The Indian contingent has come back with its best ever Olympic haul – of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. This edition of the Games has been historic for India not only for its highest ever medals tally but also for its first ever track and field gold.While these are great positives, there have also been near-misses, and some disappointments. We take a step back from the celebrations to take a dispassionate look at two aspects: Did our athletes perform to their potential? And does the performance at the Tokyo Olympics herald something new for Indian sport?Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor, Sports at The Hindu.Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The HinduWrite to us at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices