In Focus by The Hindu

Kerala’s success in tackling COVID-19 stands out among Indian States and has been hailed globally as an example of how sustained planning and investment in a robust healthcare system, and a decentralised model of operation, can allow a State of its size to bring a pandemic under control without breaking the bank. How has investment in healthcare in the State been sustained across various administrations, what lessons can other States learn, and to what extent does Kerala still need to be on guard? Guest: Vinod Thomas, Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore and formerly a Senior Vice President at the World Bank Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fifth video call with Chief Ministers to discuss life after the lockdown and possible extensions was still ongoing while we were recording this episode, but we are able to bring you the major highlights and themes. We also give you an update on the huge spike in coronavirus numbers over the last 24 hours and developments on antibody tests, strategy for community surveillance and vaccine development by the ICMR.Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, 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 weekly data update for the week comes at a time when India has crossed the 50,000 mark in COVID-19 cases, and our economy and workers continue to suffer. We’ll discuss the latest numbers — on how India now compares with other countries around the world, on how individual States are doing with containment, and on the unemployment numbers which are continuing to rise. We also have a quick update on the government’s repatriation mission.Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National 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

A running theme during this lockdown period and of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in general so far is that decision-making has been largely centralised while the fact is that it is the States that bear responsibility for the real frontline battles against the pandemic.So we’ll look at the sharing of funds between Centre and State governments and take both a long-term and short-term view. What was the balance like between State and Centre before the pandemic hit? At different phases in our history there are ebbs and flow toward greater decentralisation or greater Central control. At which juncture in that curve do we happen to be in now? More immediately, States are desperately short of funds, especially now with economic activity being almost absent for the past month-and-a-half. How can this problem be addressed?The key strategy is fiscal empowerment of StatesOur guest today is M. Govinda Roa, an economist who was a former member of the 14th Finance Commission. He is a regular columnist for The Hindu on these issues.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

India’s largest repatriation exercise amid the lockdown began on Thursday and we have all the details of the operation in this episode. Plus, from the science front, we have some updates on the testing of a new combination of drugs to treat severely affected patients, and on vaccine trials from Israel and Italy.Guest: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, 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 this episode, we take a detailed look at aspects of our healthcare system that are being neglected while all of our resources are directed toward battling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are issues like the immunisation of children, antenatal care of pregnant women, treatment of chronic illnesses and other infectious diseases that still require urgent attention. And the concern is that many of these may suffer as the healthcare system is burdened by COVID-19.Guest: Rajib Dasgupta, Professor of Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the daily rise in the number of cases in India has been around the 2,000 mark for the last few days, the past 24 hours have seen a huge spike with the new cases numbering reportedly around 3,900. We’ll discuss that spike in numbers as well as some detailed plans being put out by the government to bring back Indians stranded abroad, including the number of flights and how much passengers will have to pay.Guest: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we begin the third phase of lockdown, the big news is that the government has laid out plans to bring back thousands of Indians who have been stranded abroad. We also discuss how the lifting of restrictions will affect the rise in the number of cases, which have been spiking over the last few days.Guest: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two weeks ago, United States President Donald Trump had signed an immigration order restricting certain categories of immigration for a period of 60 days. The ostensible reason for this action was to save American jobs — more than 26 Americans signed up for unemployment benefits between early March and April 18. However, the executive order’s impact is questionable. We examine the deeper roots of this EO, analyse its fallout and discuss what we can expect with regard to Green Cards and skilled workers with H1-B visas, going into election season in the U.S. and beyond. Guest: Doug Rand, co-founder, Boundless Immigration, a U.S.-based firm that provides support for those seeking to immigrate to the U.S. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Franklin Templeton, one of India’s top 10 mutual fund houses, announced last week that it would be winding up six of its debt schemes. The move has resulted in about ₹30,000 crore of investor money being locked up.The development sent shockwaves through the mutual funds industry, and this week, the RBI announced a ₹50,000-crore “liquidity window” specially for mutual funds, to help them tide over redemption pressures.What exactly went down at Franklin Templeton? Will the investors in those debt funds ever get their money back? And what does this mean for the aam aadmi with money in other mutual funds — especially people who have invested in debt funds thinking they are “safer” like FDs? For many, mutual fund investments are not just investments, they are their savings. What does the future look like for people who are looking to redeem their mutual fund investments at this time of pandemic-induced emergency?To answer these questions and more, we have with us Vivek Kaul, well-known business columnist, personal finance expert, and bestselling author of the Easy Money trilogy.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices