The Morning Brief

Onerous restrictions on NGOs receiving foreign funds have made it hard for them to provide much-needed aid during the ongoing pandemic. Ingrid Srinath, Director, Centre for Social Impact & Philanthropy at Ashoka University, and Sachin Jain, Founder of Vikas Samvad Samiti, explain the ramifications.The news clip used in the episode belongs to Times Now. Priyanka Chopra's plea for donation for India was posted by her on her Instagram handle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With leading banks stopping payments for crypto-currency traders, will the blockchain entrepreneurs, exchanges, or investors be able to fight back? WazirX Founder and CEO Nischal Shetty discusses this with ET's Sugata Ghosh and Apoorva Mittal.Clips courtesy: Saturday Night Live, Coinswitch Kuber, India Today, TV 18. Music courtesy: Adhesive WombatSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 has struck the rural heart of India badly this time. The economic fallout is manageable so far – with some caution, according to Sunil Kumar Sinha, Principal Economist at India Ratings & Research, and K Ramakrishnan, MD - South Asia, Kantar Worldpanel. But Excel sheets may not be able to capture the distress, says Neelesh Misra, Founder of Gaon Connection.The audio elements used in this episode belong to India Today, CNBC-TV18.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A waiver of intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines and drugs alone may not benefit developing countries including India in the battle against the deadly disease. Murali Neelakantan, Former Global General Counsel of Cipla and Glenmark, and Vikas Dandekar, Editor, Pharma and Healthcare, ET Prime, explain what’s at stake for the patent holders and developing nations. The clip featuring Bill Gates used in the podcast belongs to Sky News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That’s the number to contact to help children orphaned by Covid-19, who are more vulnerable to unscrupulous traffickers, with social media Samaritans unwittingly worsening the situation. Sunil Arora of Bal Asha Trust, Sonal Kapoor from the Protsahan India Foundation and ET’s Devina Sengupta explain how children in this crisis can be helped.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year’s IPL has been indefinitely postponed midway through the tournament after some players contracted Covid-19. Joy Bhattacharjya, Former Director, Kolkata Knight Riders, K Shriniwas Rao, the Times of India’s Senior Sports Journalist, and ET’s Gaurav Laghate tell us how the virus breached IPL’s bio-bubble and the impact of the postponement. The IPL theme music used in this episode belongs to BCCI.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The triumph of regional parties in the West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu elections was a setback for the BJP, which won only Assam and Puducherry. The Congress was marginalised. ET’s political reporters KR Balasubramanyam, Bikash Singh, Vasudha Venugopal and Dia Rekhi analyse the election results.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several countries have come to the aid of India as it battles a devastating Covid-19 wave. How will this affect the global perception of Aatmanirbhar India? Ranjan Mathai, Former Foreign Secretary of India, Tanvi Madan, Director of The India Project at Brookings Institution, Washington, ET Columnist Seema Sirohi and ET’s Manu Pubby give us their insights.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India produces sufficient oxygen, but getting it to Covid-19 patients remains a challenge. How can we get out of this crisis? VR Sharma, MD, Jindal Steel, Rajeev Gupta, Founder Vinayak Oxygen and Sandeep Barasia, CBO, Delhivery tackle the logistical issues, while Pulmonologist Dr. Bornali Datta, and ET's Nabeel Khan recount their experiences in battling oxygen availability.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid the raging second wave of the pandemic, some companies are trying to ensure the wellbeing of their employees by helping them get beds at hospitals, critical medicines and oxygen, among other things. Meeta Gangrade, COO at 1To1Help, and ET’s Rica Bhattacharyya tell us what more they can do. Also: tips on managing anxiety from psychotherapist Meghna Mukherjee.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.