In Focus by The Hindu

On September 20, the government introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 in the Lok Sabha, and it was passed in the Lower House on September 21. The Bill amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, a.k.a. FCRA. The FCRA regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign funds by individuals, associations and companies. Civil Society organisations and NGOs are unhappy with the changes proposed in this new Bill. Some of the terms they have used to describe it include “draconian” and “cumbersome”.What exactly are the changes proposed, and why are civil society organisations concerned? To answer these questions, we have with us Venkatesh Nayak, a development sector veteran who has worked on issues of social justice and public audit mechanisms, and is currently with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi. His views and observations are personal.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a massive scientific discovery, a team of international scientists has detected traces of phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus. On Earth, phosphine is produced by bacteria thriving in oxygen-starved environments. Crucially, it is considered as a marker for life. The researchers said that their research provided evidence “for anomalous & unexplained chemistry" on Venus. The possibilities for what this means for science, for the long search for life outside earth, are endless.Guest: Prajval Shastri, astrophysicist, Indian Institute of Astrophysics.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our episode today looks at the joint statement issued by the Foriegn Ministers of India and China after a two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting on September 10 in Moscow that went into the night, and which now contains a five-point course of action to de-escalate the four-month-long stand-off at the Line of Actual Control. In previous episodes, we have discussed the stand-off in detail at various junctures and why, for months, despite meetings at various levels, the de-escalation process was really making very little headway. What’s more, there only seemed to be more flare-ups.Will this new five-point course of action make any difference at all? Where do things stand now and are they headed?Guest: Ananth Krishnan, former Beijing Correspondent; Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs EditorFind the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we focus on strategic affairs and, in particular, on the quad alliance between India, the United States, Japan and Australia. The occasion for doing so is statements made by India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Monday, September 3, where he said that the ‘Quad’ alliance among India, U.S., Japan, and Australia could be a mechanism to ensure ‘Freedom of Navigation’ in the Indian Ocean and surrounding regions. He said this would ensure that there is “no fear of any other nation singularly trying to dominate the oceans”.These are, of course, not-so-subtle references to China. And General Rawat’s statement introduces the idea of introducing a militaristic aspect to the ‘Quad’. And that’s where things get interesting, because although the Quad forum goes back as far as 2006, the alliance has refrained from exhibiting a military purpose, largely because China has always viewed the alliance with suspicion. Indian thus far has also always been wary of joining any kind of military alliance that would be choosing sides between any of the world’s superpowers. On the other hand, though, could the unprecedented situation playing out in the LAC with China force a rethink?Guests: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor; Dinakar Peri, Defence Correspondent, The Hindu.Host: Jayant SriramFind the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With less than two months to go before the U.S. presidential election not only Americans but people across the world are asking what policy paradigm the winner would bring to the White House.Whether in terms of economic policy, including trade and investment, or immigration, geopolitics, and climate change, there could be major differences between the possible presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.We explain these differences and why they matter to India, and the relevant policy and political attributes of the Republican and Democratic agendas.Guest: Dhruva Jaishankar, U.S. Director of the Observer Research FoundationHost: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we follow up on a report that we carried in the paper last week and that merits a deeper discussion on an important legislation that is being discussed in Parliament right now. It’s on the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Act, 2019. And our story on it was about a draft report on it by the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, which said the provisions in the Bill, as they pertain to what kind of information can be collected through DNA sampling, could be misused. And, in particular, it flagged the possibility that it could be used for caste-based profiling.Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, Advocate, Madras High Court.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention now over, how is the race for the U.S. presidency shaping up and what are the issues that will dominate the campaign ahead of the crucial November elections? We review the major discussion points for each party in this podcast and get a perspective from a former U.S. Ambassador to India on how each side could approach diplomatic equations in the South Asia region.Guest: Richard Verma, former U.S. Ambassador to India (2014-2017) and currently the Vice-Chair of strategy advisory firm, The Asia Group.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the legacy of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who just a couple of days ago on August 28 announced that he would be resigning from office because of health problems?The news came as something of a shock — over the last eight years, Mr. Abe brought stability and continuity to a country that had grown used to political churn. In the five years in between Mr. Abe’s first stint as Prime Minister — a short-lived one-year term in office that ended in 2007 and his coming to power in 2012, Japan had seen five different Prime Ministers. It’s that sense of stability now that may represent Mr. Abe’s greatest contribution to Japan’s politics — both domestic and in the field of its international relations.Guest: Ananth Krishnan, former Beijing Correspondent, The Hindu.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We turn our attention to the health of the economy in this episode and we do that analysis by looking at the RBI’s assessment of the economy, presented in its annual report released earlier in the week, and then look ahead to what we can expect when GDP numbers are expected to be released on Monday, August 31.Guest: Suresh Seshadri, Business Editor, The Hindu.Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest meeting the Congress party’s working committee ended with another thumbs-up for the Gandhi family with Sonia Gandhi continuing on as interim president. This is despite 23 senior party leaders writing to Sonia Gandhi stating that the party needs overhauling from top to bottom and that there should be a new leadership which can be more visible on the ground. The party’s dynasty dilemma looks no closer to being resolved but can any meaningful change come from this latest episode?Also read: Sound and fury: On the Congress and the GandhisGuest: Varghese K. George, Associate Editor, The Hindu.You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices