The Suno India Show

On this episode of Suno India, reporter Prashant Rathod profiles a rap band from Amravati. The band, Raptoli, includes Vipin Tatad, Tausif Khan, Mangesh Ingole and Gaurav Ingole. All four have grown up in Amravati's slums living the hard life as daily wage labourers.  The group sings about living in a slum, casteism, communalism, living in poverty, and even touches on national issues such as the farmers’ protest, lockdown woes of labourers and other issues. See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

Indian films with hero cops often glorify police violence. At times, encounter killings are celebrated by the public at large. According to NHRC data, there are five custodial deaths in India every day. The minister of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai has said that there have been 151 custodial deaths in 2021.  On this episode of the Suno India Show, reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Ameya Bokil, a legal researcher and co-founder of Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project. They discuss how custodial violence started in India, why it is so common and what some of the legal remedies are. Tune in. Show notes: Death Due To Custodial Torture: State Government To Pay 5 Lakhs To Family Of Minor Victim; Madras High Court Adjourns The Matter | Live LawProblems of Violence, States of Terror: Torture in Colonial India – Anupama RaoPolice’s Continued Victimisation of ‘Denotified’ Tribal Communities Can No Longer Go Unchallenged | The WireOver-policing in India is not the answer to COVID-19 | OpenGlobalRights See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In November this year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the National Health Accounts estimates for 2017-18. These estimates reveal that the total government health expenditure has decreased from 3.8% in 2016-17 to 3.3% in 2017-18 and that the share of government health expenditure in the Gross Domestic Product or GDP of the country has increased to 1.35% in 2017-18 from 1.15% in 2013-14. According to these estimates, the out of pocket expenditure or money spent by households on healthcare decreased from 58.7% in 2016-17 to 48.8% in 2017-18.  To make sense of the national health accounts estimates 2017-18 and to get a health economist’s perspective, host Kunika Balhotra spoke with Dr Indranil Mukhopadhyay.  Dr Mukhopadhyay is an Associate Professor at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat. He has a PhD in public health and health economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.  He has led several research studies supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; WHO, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and has several international and national publications. Show NotesNational Health Accounts EstimatesSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

Over 10% of undertrials in Indian jails were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The Supreme Court has said that the bail provision under UAPA is “comparatively less stringent” than that under the NDPS Act. Majority of people booked under this law are not traffickers.  In this episode of The Suno India Show, we will see how the NDPS Act affects not just the few celebrity names that pop up on news headlines, but thousands of common people who languish in Indian jails. Our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Dr Atul Ambekar, a psychiatrist and a Professor at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi. They discuss how the criminalisation of drug use discourages those who need help from seeking it. Show notes: As Modi govt plans NDPS Act changes, 27,072 drug case undertrials in India rot in jails | The PrintFrom Addict to Convict: The Working of the NDPS Act (1985) in PunjabCalcutta HC Grants Bail To NDPS Accused In Custody For 6.5 Yrs Noting Inordinate Delay In Trial, Violation Of Article 21 | Live LawPortugal’s Drug Laws: Decriminalisation in action | The Feed SBSSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The Cabinet has approved a bill to repeal the three farm laws in the upcoming winter session. In this episode of The Suno India Show, we will get an expert view on why the laws are being repealed and what’s in store for the future of farmers.  Our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Surinder S Jodhka, an author and a Sociology professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. They explore how the repeal will help BJP in upcoming state elections, how Sikhs played a crucial role in the protests and what are the reforms needed in agriculture now.   Show Notes: Woman farm leader reacts to laws repealed, fight for MSP guarantee to continue | TSIS Why are the farmers of Punjab protesting? Surinder S Jodhka Farm laws repeal wasn't about UP, Punjab elections. The answer lies in what Savarkar wrote | The Print  Daasi - Nooran Sisters (Full Video) Guru Ravidass Bhajan See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The school closures in India due to the COVID-19 Pandemic have been among the longest in the world. For close to 18 months, 265 million students have not been to school.  The report, “A FUTURE AT STAKE -Organizing the Education Recovery for the Most Vulnerable”  states that India is facing an education emergency like none other since independence. The report was released by The National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE), a network of  like-minded organisations that have come together to address the problems created by school closure for the past nearly two years. And as the schools are gradually re-opening, a new concern has crept up in the minds of educators and parents alike, how will children cope up with the vast gap that has developed in their academics?  This is the second episode in the two-part series on schools reopening all over the country. In this episode of The Suno India Show, host Kunika Balhotra speaks with Dr Sajitha Bashir, the author of the report, to understand what steps schools and governments should take to address this education emergency. Dr Bashir is a former Adviser in the Office of the Global Director of the Education Practice in the World Bank, where she led the work on Digital Skills. She co-authored the regional publication The Converging Technology Revolution and Human Capital: Potential and Implications for South Asia. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was head of the national research and evaluation unit within the Government of India’s national District Primary Education Program. She is a core member of the National Coalition on the Education Emergency in India.  Show Notes A FUTURE AT STAKE -Organizing the Education Recovery for the Most Vulnerable Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2021 Locked Out: Emergency Report on School EducationSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

For about 18 months, children in India have not gone to school. The school closures have been among the longest in the world. This month, many state and local governments opened physical schools for children. Yet, private schools have not fully reopened as parents are reluctant to send their children to school and want to continue online education. We at Suno India want to address the various questions that parents, school staff and administrators have in mind when it comes to school reopening. How do we ensure that children, school staff and people at home are safe. What should be a cause of worry and what should not be To answer these questions, Suno India’s Menaka Rao spoke to Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, a medical doctor who works in the field of public health policy and health systems. He has co-authored the book Till We Win: India's Fight Against The COVID-19 pandemic, with Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of AIIMS, New Delhi and Dr Gagandeep Kang, professor of Microbiology at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. He has recently been writing and tweeting extensively advocating for schools to reopen. Show Notes: Delhi’s private schools take cautious steps towards reopening Online Education: कोरोना काल में कैसे पिछड़े स्कूल जाने वाले बच्चे Delhi’s private schools take cautious steps towards reopening https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/reopening-schools?utm_source=website&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=category&utm_content=Covid-19 Kids and COVID: why young immune systems are still on top Science Brief: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs - Updated Over 70% patients above 40 yrs in both waves: ICMR SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in India, August–September, 2020: findings from the second nationwide household serosurvey 6th Delhi sero survey shows 97% prevalence of antibodies covid-19 update https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-children-and-masks-related-to-covid-19  See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

November 19, 2021, on Guru Nanak Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the three controversial farm laws will be repealed in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament. In this episode of The Suno India Show, our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Jasbir Kaur Nat, a state committee member of Punjab Kissan Union. Jasbir was on a bus to Chandigarh to organise more women protestors when she heard the announcement. She says that it is a partial victory as farmers have also been demanding Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee. Tune in.  Show notes: Samyukt Kisan Morcha welcomes repealing of farm lawsCentre brings in new law to tackle Delhi air pollution, Rs 1 crore fine, 5 years jail for non-complianceSee sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In December 2020, three academic publishing giants—Elsevier, American Chemical Society and Wiley—moved the Delhi High Court against Sci-Hub and LibGen. These pirate websites make academic papers free for all. Academic publishers do not pay authors and make more profits than tech giants. Developing countries like India cannot afford the bulk of this research and the prices keep rising. India has the second-largest number of Sci-Hub users in the world. On this episode of The Suno India Show, reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to SciHub founder Alexandra Elbakyan, her lawyer Nilesh Jain, science activist and Newsclick editor Prabir Purkayastha who is an intervenor in the case, and also Suno India editor Menaka Rao who is an avid user of SciHub and LibGen. Tune in as we explore what this case means for the future of Indian research. Show notes: Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? The GuardianShould Knowledge Be Free? Medlife CrisisLawrence Liang: “The Delhi University Photocopy Case”See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

The Indian food industry is the third-largest in the world. But the country’s awareness related to food safety is severely lacking. When you enter a store and pick up a food item, do you wonder if the claims made on the label are true? To find out who regulates India’s food safety and how effective the regulatory mechanisms are, Suno India's Co-founder Tarun Nirwan spoke to Ramesh Bhat. Bhat is a former scientist working at the Drug Toxicology Research Centre at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. He has worked with the World Health Organization and other United Nations agencies in various aspects of food safety. He has also consulted government organizations from Asian countries on how they can enhance food safety mechanisms. He has co-edited a book called Street Foods on street foods of the world.See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.