The Suno India Show

This is part three of our miniseries on disability and technology on The Suno India Show, where we talk to people across a range of disabilities. In this episode, host Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Nandita Venkatesan who is a journalist. Nandita was struck with tuberculosis twice and lost her hearing because of side effects of  toxic tuberculosis medicines. She talks about how technology can exclude the hearing imparied like her when she is trying to watch a movie, or watch television news or travel by train. She also spoke about the kind of apps that are helping her.  Full transcription References Deafness and hearing loss | WHO Accessibility Standards for TV Programmes for Hearing Impaired Hearing Aids Market to Hit Value of USD 13.0 Billion by 2028Meaningful Gesture: All Govt Press Conferences, Meetings May Soon Have Sign Language Interpreters प्रज्ञप्ति - youtube channel for primary school students with disabilitySee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

This is part two of our miniseries on disability and technology on The Suno India Show, where we talk to people across a range of disabilities. In this episode, host Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Sai Prasad Vishwanathan, the first Indian with a disability to set foot on and live on the Antarctic continent. He is also the first Indian with a disability to skydive which went down in the Limca Book of Records. He has won a host of awards, including the Helen Keller Role Model Person Award 2010 given by the Home Minister. He talks about the infrastructural issues he continues to face in his daily life and how technology perpetuates such exclusions. The protections for passengers with a disability on flights and the latest amendment - The HinduSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

This is part one of our miniseries on disability and technology on The Suno India Show, where we talk to people across a range of disabilities. In this episode, host Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Apurupa, a neuroqueer sexuality educator. Apurupa talks about how they realised they have autism thanks to the internet and how different kinds of technology help them navigate the world more comfortably. In India, Autism was recognised as a disability in 2016 under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. More people globally are being diagnosed with autism, with a 178 per cent increase in the past 20 years. In India, 1 in every 100 children below the age of 10 has autism.  Assistive technology can be any item, equipment, or product system that helps people with disabilities. In this miniseries, we let our guests define what assistive tech means to them. So we have people talking about things from stim toys to larger infrastructural challenges like a lack of elevators.  Autism StatisticsPrevalence of autism spectrum disorder in Indian children: A systematic review and meta-analysis Telemedicine Practice GuidelinesWomen Are Discovering They May Have ADHD Or Be On The Autism Spectrum From Trending TikTok Videos See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The Indian Constitution is a result of debates and deliberations by the Constituent Assembly over three years between 1946 to 1959. As a barely formed nation, what were the issues that bothered our leaders and intellectuals and how did they debate these issues. These debates are a reflection of the idea of India as a nation and the country’s aspirations  On the occasion of the 75th year of Independence, we at Suno India are releasing a podcast series on the raging Constituent Assembly debates and the Constitution–Contested Nation. It is researched and hosted by the Equals Project. The Equals project is an initiative that helps bring awareness about constitutional history and process by which constitution was written.  In this episode, Suno India’s Menaka Rao hosting speaks with Shruti V, the founder of Equals Project.See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

On July 21, HIV positive persons started protesting outside the National AIDS Control Organisation’s office in Delhi. They are protesting the stock outs of different medicines all over the country. Stock outs of anti HIV medicines have been reported for years now. HIV activists ask: Why can’t NACO fix this problem?In this episode, we speak with HIV positive activists such as Hari Shankar from Delhi Network of Positive People, Loon Gangte from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), Jhanabi Goswami from Assam Network of Positive persons who tell us about the different problems people are facing due to stock outs. One is that some people have been asking to come within days to collect their medicines, instead of getting a month’s doses making it harder for patients to follow their regimen. Some children’s parents have been asked to cut tablets meant for adults into many parts. For some people, their regimen has been changed because of stock outs. Reference https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240038608https://scroll.in/pulse/810086/maharashtras-hiv-patients-battle-an-acute-shortage-of-drugsDrug shortage – not HIV – is killing children in ChhattisgarhA crucial drug used to treat HIV in children is fast running out in many parts of IndiaHIV AIDS: Patients face unprecedented shortage of crucial drugs as government body stops supplyWHO recommends dolutegravir as preferred HIV treatment option in all populationsInterview: How South Africa pushed through major reforms to make medicines more affordableSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The West Bengal government is working on opening a coal mine in the district of Birbhum. The mine in the Deucha Pachami area will be the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world. It will displace around 21,000 people, majority of whom belong to scheduled castes and tribes.  India is one of the governments around the world that have signed the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change. This year, the Union Ministry of Coal set up a Just Transition division for which the World Bank is supposed to provide an aid of $1.15 million. We have committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2070. So why are we increasing coal production while promising to phase it down?  To understand these contradictions, our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Pradip Swarnakar in this episode of The Suno India Show. He is a professor and the founder of the Just Transition research centre at IIT Kanpur. See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The World Health Organisation has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. Nearly 70 countries have reported cases of Monkeypox so far. In July, India had its first known case of monkeypox in Kerala when a 35-year old man who returned from the Middle East was detected with the disease. Since then four cases have been detected, including one in Delhi from a person with no travel history abroad. Suno India’s Menaka Rao speaks to Dr Giridhar Babu on this issue. He is a professor and head of Life Course epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health, which is a constituent of the Public Health Foundation of India. References First case of monkeypox in India reported from Kerala - The Economic TimesDelhi reports first Monkeypox case, India's fourth | India News - Times of IndiaClinical management and infection prevention and control for monkeypox: interim rapid response guidance, 10 June 2022India's fourth monkeypox case in Delhi; patient went to Himachal, no history of foreign travelSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

From Hyderabad police snatching phones on streets to check for ‘ganja’ to Delhi police seizing journalist Mohammed Zubair’s devices for a tweet, such seizures have become a routine part of policing. After all, with modern technology, our personal devices have become repositories of our whole lives. So it gives the police easy access to all our information in one place, making investigations that much easier.  But do you want the police to have access to everything about you? Not only is it a concern because of our right to privacy, but also there have been allegations of the police planting evidence on such devices. So where does the law stand on this and what are our rights? To find out, host Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to tech and legal researcher and human rights activist Usha Ramanathan in this episode of The Suno India Show.  This interview happened before the Supreme Court upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s powers relating to arrest, attach property, search and seize under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). References  Criminal Procedure Bill: Break a law and the police can store your personal information - Suno IndiaCriminal Procedure Bill: Data collection can lead to surveillance by different govt bodies - Suno India  How the Tarun Tejpal verdict set back the rape law reforms - Suno India Zubair’s arrest: Can a journalist be forced to hand over his electronic devices to the police? | Scroll Bhima Koregaon: Forensic report says key evidence against jailed activist was planted | The News Minute Riley v. California (06/25/2014)See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In celebration of 75 years of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced free booster doses at government vaccination centres for 75 days from July 15 to September 30, 2022. A few days after this announcement, the news website The Wire published a shocking story on how the Central Drug Standards Control Organisation - the CDSCO - the country’s drug regulatory agency- never approved of precautionary doses. In this episode, we speak to Banjot Kaur, the reporter who broke this important story this July. Early this year, a Telangana court asked The Wire to take down several articles related to vaccine policy based on a defamation suit by Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin. One of these stories pulled down was Banjot’s story. She has been writing on science and public health for 12 years, and has worked at Down to Earth Magazine and Times of India. References PM Modi's address to the nationExclusive: Nobody Approved India’s ‘Precautionary’ Doses – The Wire SciencePress briefing on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19, Dated: 24.12.202110 Questions the Indian Govt Must Answer About Vaccines for Minors and BoostersDCGI clears Bharat Biotech, SII COVID-19 vaccines but efficacy question unansweredhttps://www.sunoindia.in/the-suno-india-show/why-a-covaxin-controversy-in-bhopal-is-worrying-trial-participants-activists-and-experts/See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The Reuters Digital Report 2022 which surveyed 46 countries around the world to find out what is the state of news consumption today. It has several interesting findings. For example: Trust in news has decreased globally as people suspect political biases. Young people are especially likely to selectively avoid news because of it being depressing. Can’t really blame them can we?  But surprisingly, India is one of the countries where trust has increased compared to the previous year. India is also more mobile-focused than other countries with 72% of Indians surveyed accessing news through their mobile phones.   Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022 Don't jail journalists for what they say… India a democracy: Germany | Indian Express How India's Media Landscape Changed Over Five Years | The India Forum67 journalists arrested, detained, questioned in India in 2020 for their work | The News Minute See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.