In Focus by The Hindu

In today's podcast we continue our discussion around the new rules that the government has introduced to regulate the digital space, called the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media) Ethics Code Rules of 2021. These rules seek to provide a grievance redressal mechanism for users of social media platforms, messaging applications, streaming services as also digital news publishers. These are much stricter and broader in scope compared to the existing rules.To discuss the implications of these guidelines across several different spaces we have with us, Pranesh Prakash, co -founder of the Centre for Internet and Society, and an affiliated Fellow at the Yale Law School’s Information Society project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we will discuss the new rules that the government has introduced to regulate the digital space, called the information technology guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code rules of 2021. These rules seek to provide a grievance redressal mechanism for users of social media platforms, messaging applications, streaming services as also digital news publishers. These are much stricter and broader in scope compared to the existing rules.To discuss the implications of these guidelines we have with us Pranesh Prakash, co-founder of the Center for Internet and Society, and an affiliated Fellow at the Yale Law School’s Information Society project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 1, India launched the second phase of its Covid-19 vaccination programme, targeting 27 million citizens above the age of 60 and those above 45 with co-morbidities. Looking back, how did the country perform in phase 1 of its vaccination drive that was launched in January for healthcare and frontline workers? With the country seeing a surge in cases after a few months of a decrease in numbers, do we need to accelerate the pace of our vaccine coverage. To speak to us about this and more, we have with us Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining us for this special episode today is Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mr Vaishnav’s research is centred around the Political Economy of India, for instance, state capacity, corruption, governance and electoral behaviour. He is the author of When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics, and has edited a number of books. Milan is also an adjunct professor at the Edmund a Walsh School of foreign service at Georgetown University. Today he joins us to discuss the results of a survey on how Indian Americans view India.Hosted by Sriram Lakshman, U.S. Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we will discuss the sweeping changes made by India in the regulation of geospatial data and maps.The rules governing the sector have been liberalized in a complete reversal of the government's approach till date. According to the new guidelines, entities and individuals required no prior approval or security clearance, or a license for collecting, processing, publishing or storing data. India currently relies quite heavily on foreign technologies in mapping. And so the new policy seeks to spur innovation on the ground in this sector in India.Many experts have welcomed this move and in this podcast we’ll discuss the significance of the new guidelines and what impact they could have on the ground.Our guest today is Devdatta Tengshe. He is a geographic information systems professional who works with both private and public sector clients in the mapping industry. He earlier worked with ISRO as a remote sensing scientist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we discuss the India Pakistan agreement for a ceasefire or a re-observance of the 2003 ceasefire agreement. Was the announcement of the agreement a surprise, is there something still going on behind the scenes and should we expect more? And is there potential now to use this agreement as a stepping stone to build on India-Pakistan ties?Guests:TCA Raghavan, Director Indian Council of World Affairs, Former High Commissioner to PakistanHappymon Jacob, Associate Professor, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 19, China said for the first time that it had lost four soldiers in the June 15, 2020 clash in the Galwan valley, breaking its silence eight months after the incident. The announcement has triggered an outpouring of national sentiment in China, coupled with a media blitz on the clash from the State-run media. In this episode, we analyse how China's official media is rewriting the narrative on the border crisis, the timing of the announcement after the beginning of the disengagement process and coming amid criticism among some within China on the terms of the agreement, and what China's broader strategic community is saying about the future of relations with India. Guest: Antara Ghosal Singh, Research Associate, Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi, and formerly a Chinese language fellow at the National Central University, Taiwan Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her Budget speech this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman announced that the government will set up a ‘Bad Bank’ to better manage the ‘bad loans’ (non-performing assets) of public sector banks. The idea, apparently, is to transfer the NPAs of public sector banks to the books of this Bad Bank, which will function as a two-in-one institution – an asset reconstruction company and also an asset management company. It will focus solely on asset recovery, freeing up the banks to concentrate on lending. At least that’s the theory.But will it actually work in practice? Will the Bad Bank be effective in cleaning up the NPA mess? If cleaning up the books is the objective, how is a bad bank a better option than, say, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code? We explore these questions and more in a discussion with Vivek Kaul, the author of the bestselling Easy Money trilogy. Vivek’s most recent book is Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How it Threatens the Indian Banking System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India’s decision to agree to a “phased” withdrawal of troops rather than a package deal for a complete disengagement across the Line of Actual Control could become a cause for concern in the future said former National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) Chairperson and former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran in this special interview for the In Focus Podcast with The Hindu's Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar.Mr Saran says that setting up a buffer zone or “no man’s land” in the Finger area of North Pangong Tso lake, even if temporarily, means that the troops would not return to the “status quo ante” or positions prior to April 2020, Mr. Saran said that the future would depend on how “smoothly” the rest of the disengagement process that began last week will go.Hosted by Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India mustn't reduce its interest in the Quad as the challenges from China will continue despite the disengagement at the Line of Actual Control, says Lisa Curtis, who served as the Deputy Assistant to former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021), in this special interview for the In Focus Podcast with The Hindu's Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar.Ms Curtis was the key American official on South Asia in the US National Security Council through much of the LAC tensions in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices