Parley by The Hindu

The Supreme Court of India goes on vacation for a week during Holi, 45 days during summer and for around two weeks during Deepavali and winter. This practice came into the news recently when Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said that no vacation Benches in the apex court would be available this winter break. He said this a day after Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju spoke of “long vacations” of the court and the inconvenience it caused to litigants. Here we discuss whether courts should close for vacations amid the overall burden of cases on them.Guests: Indu Malhotra, a retired judge of the Supreme Court; Devadatt Kamat, a senior advocate of the Supreme CourtHost: Sonam Saigal

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) concluded on November 20 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt. Nearly 200 countries pledged to set up a ‘loss and damage fund’ to help vulnerable countries affected by climate change. Developing countries have welcomed this development, which has been a long-time demand. Developed nations, however, are not satisfied with the level of commitment that poor countries have shown towards cutting down greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out fossil fuels. Here we discuss issues surrounding the cost of going green. Guests: Navroz K. Dubash, a professor at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi; Tejal Kanitkar, an associate professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, BangaloreHost: Prashanth Perumal

On November 7, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution Amendment which provides 10% reservation to the economically weaker sections (EWS), but excludes from this quota the ‘poorest of poor’ among the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Here we discuss whether reservation should be used as a means to alleviate economic backwardness.Guests: Satish Deshpande, Professor of Sociology, Delhi University; Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, DelhiHost: Abhinay Lakshman

With the rise in instances of tension, and even stand-offs, between State governments and Governors, there is once again a debate on the role of the Raj Bhavan. In a discussion moderated by Sonam Saigal, Margaret Alva and M.R. Madhavan discuss the role and conduct of Governors, the relation of Governors with the Centre and State government, and whether Chief Ministers should have a say in the appointment of Governors in their respective States.Guests: Margaret Alva is a former Minister and belonged to the Congress party. She also served as Governor of Rajasthan, Goa, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. She was the Opposition’s candidate for the 2022 election for the post of Vice-President of India; M.R. Madhavan is the president and co-founder of PRS Legislative Research, an independent public policy research institution

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan recently criticised the State government for relying heavily on liquor and lottery to generate revenue. He said the State government was making poor people spend their earnings on lottery tickets and getting them addicted to alcohol. Should governments sell liquor and run lotteries? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Nimai Mehta, an economist and statistician at the American University, Washington, D.C.; Jayan Jose Thomas, a professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Technology-DelhiHost: Prashanth Perumal

Recently, the Union government formed a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, to examine whether Scheduled Caste (SC) status can be accorded to Dalits who have over the years converted to religions other than Sikhism and Buddhism. Here we discuss the question. Guests: Sukhadeo Thorat, former chairman of the University Grants Commission and Professor Emeritus at JNU; Subhajit Naskar, Assistant Professor at Jadavpur UniversityHost: Abhinay Lakshman

Earlier this year, the United Nations published data to show that India would surpass China as the world’s most populous country by 2023. According to the 2018-19 Economic Survey, India’s demographic dividend will peak around 2041, when the share of the working age population is expected to hit 59%. Here we discuss whether India needs a population policy. Guests: Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India; Sonalde Desai, Professor at the National Council of Applied Economic ResearchHost: Sreeparna Chakrabarty

On October 1, when India abstained from voting at the United Nations Security Council on a draft resolution against Russia for conducting referendums and annexing four regions of Ukraine, it was a reminder of New Delhi’s precarious tightrope walk on ties with Moscow. In the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and in the face of Western sanctions against Russia, India has continued to carry on oil and defence trade with Russia, even as it remains committed to deepening its relations with the West, including the U.S. Here we discuss India’s choices and actions in a changing geopolitical landscape, especially with regard to ChinaGuests: Anuradha Chenoy, Adjunct Professor at the Jindal Global University and former Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ashok Kantha, former Ambassador of India to China and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies and Distinguished Fellow with Vivekananda International Foundation, New DelhiHost: Kallol Bhattacherjee

Last week, the rupee weakened against the dollar past the 81-mark to a record low. In recent months, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been intervening in the forex market to smoothen the decline. With the RBI dipping into its kitty for this purpose, Indian foreign exchange reserves have fallen by about $94 billion in 12 months to about $545 billion until mid-September. How much more forex can the RBI afford to use in reducing currency volatility? Does the benchmark interest rate, as a policy tool, have a role to play? Here we we discuss these questions.  Guests: Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL Ltd; Lekha Chakraborty, Professor, NIPFP; and Member, Governing Board of Management of International Institute of Public Finance, MunichHost: K. Bharat Kumar

The Congress is set for elections for the post of party president. Since 1998, barring her son Rahul Gandhi’s two-year term in the interim, Sonia Gandhi has been party president. This has revived the debate on whether internal elections should be mandated for all political parties. Here we discuss the current situation and what can be done.Host: Sobhana K NairGuest: S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India; Rahul Verma, fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi