In Focus by The Hindu

As Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry head to the polls, India's vibrant democracy is on full display once again. But behind the rallies and roadshows, there’s a growing concern: elections are becoming increasingly expensive.With political parties spending heavily on campaigns, advertising, and outreach, the role of money in shaping electoral competition is under scrutiny. Data shows that nearly 93% of India’s Members of Parliament are crorepatis, raising questions about whether access to political power is becoming more unequal. What does this mean for smaller parties and independent candidates? Is the system still a level playing field — and what would it take to fix it? Guests: M.R. Madhavan, Co-founder and president of the PRS Legislative Research and Rangarajan R is a former IAS officer and author of ‘Courseware on Polity Simplified’ Host: Nivedita V Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a dramatic 24 hours that saw U.S. President Donald Trump shift from a stark warning of mass destruction to announcing a two-week pause in military action, a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is now in place. With Tehran calling it a victory, Washington framing it as mission accomplished, and Pakistan emerging as a key mediator, questions remain over what really changed, what the deal contains, and whether this is a genuine de-escalation or just a temporary pause before the next phase. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Smriti Sudesh Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 28, millions of people took to the streets across the U.S. under one banner — “No Kings” — marking one of the largest protest mobilisations in recent American history. What began as a loose coalition of advocacy groups has rapidly evolved into a broad-based movement cutting across issues such as civil liberties, immigration enforcement, foreign policy and the cost of living.With organisers claiming participation in the millions across thousands of events, the protests represented one of the most significant expressions of political dissent since the return of Donald Trump to the White House.Is “No Kings” a genuinely grassroots uprising or a network-driven mobilisation? What role have issues like the Iran conflict and global democratic anxieties played in expanding its reach beyond the U.S.? And ultimately, can a decentralised protest movement convert its momentum into real political influence? Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Guest: Anisha Dutta, New York-based journalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India is a poor country, but it is ‘data-rich’. The dominant consensus today holds that data – including personal data -- should be exploited for economic growth. Is it possible that this consensus is wrong? One outcome of this consensus is the ‘consent regime’, which paves the way for monetisation of personal data. You tick a box to give your ‘consent’ and that’s it, so far as your privacy is concerned – it’s now a tradable commodity. But is it ok to have markets for privacy? Or, is it similar to having markets for organs, or for blood donation, or for child labour? A new scholarly paper titled, ‘Data and Privacy: Putting markets in (their) place’ uses the economic concept of “noxious markets” to question whether privacy should be a tradeable commodity at all. What if it isn’t something that should be traded? Guest: Reetika Khera, Professor of Economics at IIT, Delhi Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Shot by Jude Weston & Almas Mohammad Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Bengal is gearing up for assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee will face her toughest challenge, given the anti-incumbency factor of three terms. The BJP, in 2021, had cemented its position as the primary opposition, winning 77 seats to the Trinamool’s 215 seats. This time, unusually, but no longer surprisingly, the Election Commission has become a key character in the political narrative. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ended up deleting more than 60 lakh voters. And in many constituencies, the number of voter deletions is greater than the margins of victory in previous elections. Another issue is the mass transfers in the state bureaucracy, which are unprecedented, and were challenged in court by the TMC. Mamata has used these developments to frame the polls as a fight between a besieged Bengal and Bengali ‘asmita’ on one side, and a BJP-led Centre on the other. The BJP has been playing the anti-migrant card to polarise voters, and has also sought to target the TMC on corruption and misgovernance. Whose narrative will gain the upper-hand? What is happening with the lakhs of voter deletions? How will the SIR impact the outcome? We speak with Shiv Sahay Singh, The Hindu’s Chief of Bureau in Kolkata. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With elections in Tamil Nadu gearing up, one development drawing sharp attention is the entry of Vijay, whose political debut is expected to command a significant share of the vote. He comes from a long line of figures in the State who have transitioned from cinema to politics. In Tamil Nadu, the film world and politics have mutually benefited each other. The Dravidian movement changed the face of cinema. C. N. Annadurai, founder of the DMK, and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi deeply influenced Tamil cinema. Cinema became a medium to propagate ideas of social reform. The dialogues Karunanidhi penned for Parasakthi, starring Sivaji Ganesan in the lead role, marked a clear departure from a cinema that had been largely dominated by songs. This helped the DMK secure power in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, M. G. Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, used cinema to meticulously cultivate an image that later helped him in politics, going on to become the Chief Minister of the State. But does entering politics necessarily guarantee success? And how crucial has cinema been in defining the political landscape of Tamil Nadu? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 on March 25. The Bill aims to amend the FCRA Act, 2010. The main thrust of the amendment is the introduction of a ‘Designated Authority’, which will have the power to take over the assets of an NGO, if it fails to renew its FCRA-certificate on time, or even if it voluntarily surrenders it. The Bill has sparked outrage from Opposition parties and minority organisations. The CPM has said that the Bill represents an “attack on minorities” and that “the provisions of the Bill could result in takeover of minority places of worship and educational institutions.” Does this Bill violate the principles of natural justice? Are the fears of minorities justified? What will its impact be on civil society organisations and on human rights groups, if it goes through? We unpack the implications of this Bill in this episode of InFocus, and joining us is Noshir H. Dadrawala, a consultant who advises NGOs on compliance and regulatory issues. Host: G Sampath Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Left Front has been in power in Kerala since 2016. It is looking for a historic third consecutive term in power. But can it overcome the anti-incumbency that has built up over these ten years? The poor performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and in the recent  local body elections might indicate that the LDF (Left Democratic Front) faces an uphill task. Does this mean that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is the frontrunner? Many, however, would argue that the BJP is also a key player. Does that mean the electoral field in Kerala is now tripolar? What conclusions can we draw from the patterns of ticket distribution by the three major parties? Will the BJP’s Christian outreach work? What would it mean nationally if the Left were to lose in the only state where it’s in power? We speak with Dr J Prabhash, former professor of Political Science and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kerala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashok Vardhan Shetty is one of the three members of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee, appointed by the DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to study Union–State relations. The committee recently submitted Part 1 of its report to the Chief Minister, who has since tabled it in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.  Tamil Nadu has historically been very vocal about issues such as decentralisation, state autonomy and federalism. As early as 1969, the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi appointed the Justice Rajamannar Committee to examine the relationship between the Centre and the States.  Against this backdrop, we speak to Mr. Shetty understand the recommendations and ideas presented in the report.    Guest: Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Fomer IAS, Member of Justice Kurian Joseph High-Level Committed on Union-State Relations  Host: Bhagavathi Sampath K J  Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gold usually rises during geopolitical crises, but this time, it’s falling. Why? In this episode of In Focus, we unpack what’s driving the recent drop in gold prices, from shifting interest rate expectations and a stronger U.S. dollar to liquidity pressures in global markets. Has gold lost its safe-haven appeal, or is this just a temporary price correction after years of growth? Here we discuss the question. Guest: Kavita Chacko, Research Head for India at the World Gold Council and B. Bhagwan Das, Former associate professor of Economics at Loyola College, Chennai Host: Areena Arora Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the growing importance of the care economy – a rising demand for caregivers globally and an opportunity to train and skill young people to meet this demand. India stands at a unique position here – despite having the largest youth population in the world, it is also a rapidly ageing country. Estimates indicate that by 2050, we will have over 300 million people aged over 60. With this, will come an increasing number of medical conditions related to old age. The question now is, do we have the health and care resources to cater to these growing population segment? Do we have enough geriatricians? Does our medical curriculum focus enough on geriatric medicine? Do we have adequate community care-based systems to take care of our senior citizens? Guest: Dr Arvind Kasthuri, Head of Unit, St John's Geriatric Centre and Professor, Department of Community Health, St John's Medical College, Bengaluru Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court’s recent verdict in the case of Harish Rana, allowing for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, as the 32-year-old had been in a persistent vegetative state for over a decade is a landmark judgement. It builds upon the framework of the Court’s own 2018 Constitution Bench guidelines, and it upheld the right to die with dignity. Following this, there has been a lot of discussion about advanced medical directives or living wills, documents in which people can set out how they would like to be cared for, in the event of a terminal illness or in a situation where they cannot decide for themselves. So, what exactly is a living will? What do you need to do before you make one? And how do you go about making one? Guest: Dr M R Rajagopal, chairman Emeritus of Pallium India and Adjunct Professor of Global Oncology, Queen’s University, Canada Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, in a ruling on maternity leave for adoptive and surrogate mothers, the Supreme Court called on the Union government to examine the need for a formal law recognising paternity leave for all fathers, adoptive or biological. It noted that though parenthood is not a solitary function, fathers are often relegated to the periphery of their children’s lives, especially in infancy and early childhood, The Court termed this “a kind of injustice”. Should men be given paternity leave? Here, we discuss the question. Guests: Professor Ashwini Deshpande, who heads the Economics Department at Ashoka University, specialising in development economics, including gender and labour issuesSanjoy Ghose, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India with extensive experience in labour law.  Host: Priscilla Jebaraj Edited by Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just months away, an escalating war in West Asia has put FIFA in an unprecedented bind. With co-host United States directly involved in the conflict, uncertainty now surrounds the participation of the Iran national football team. Iran’s request to move its matches to Mexico underlines how deeply geopolitics is beginning to affect the tournament. If Iran is forced to withdraw, it would be the first such instance since 1950, raising serious questions about precedent, fairness and the limits of sporting neutrality. In this episode of In Focus, we examine what this means for FIFA, the host nations and the World Cup itself. Guest: Vijay Lokapally, veteran sports journalist Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump’s five-day pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure does appear like a tactical U-turn—but not a full reversal. Just days after issuing a 48-hour ultimatum, he cited “productive” talks and stepped back, signalling possible de-escalation. However, U.S. attacks on other Iranian military targets continue, suggesting this is a limited pause rather than a policy shift. Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Smriti Sudesh Edited and produced by Sharmada VenkatasubramanianCamera: Thamodharan B Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Iran–Israel conflict intensifies, a deeper question emerges: can the United States and its allies sustain this war? In this episode, The Hindu’s data team examines the hidden economics and industrial limits behind modern warfare. From the cost mismatch between Iranian drones and U.S. interceptor missiles, to the strain on American stockpiles, the numbers tell a story of a conflict that may be harder to sustain than it appears. Are U.S. weapons systems being used faster than they can be replaced? And could these vulnerabilities have wider geopolitical consequences, especially with China controlling key resources used in missile production? Host: Nitika Francis Guest: Air Marshal Ravi Kapoor (Retd.), former AOC-in-C of the Indian Air Force’s Central Air Command, to unpack the data, the strategy, and the risks ahead. Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The war in West Asia has now entered its fourth week. US and Israel have continued their aerial bombings of Iran, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and the GCC countries are ongoing.  This is a war of choice for US and Israel, but a war of survival for Iran. So far, much of the commentary on the conflict has been coming from Western sources – and even in India, it’s largely been from the perspective of energy security – India’s and everyone else’s.  In this podcast, we try and understand the conflict at the level of the people, the situation, the mood, and the thinking within Iran – as it endures daily, and unrelenting, attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and political assassinations. Also, how can India secure safe passage of its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz?  Guest: Mehdi Razmahang, Assistant Professor with the Parliamentary Research Center of Iran Host: G. Sampath Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026 has sparked nationwide protests and a constitutional debate. In this exclusive interview, Kalki Subramaniam, Southern Regional Representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons, reveals how the Union Government drafted these changes without consulting the council itself. We dissect the "red flags" of the amendment—from the removal of self-identification in favor of mandatory medical exams to the disproportionate sentencing for crimes against the community. Kalki explains how these regressive changes ignore the realities of poverty and healthcare access, effectively stripping away rights granted by the landmark NALSA judgment.From the exclusion of trans men to the "symbolic" nature of current policy-making, this discussion covers why Kalki is prepared to resign if this bill becomes law and her urgent plea to Members of Parliament to reject it. Guest: Kalki Subramaniam, Southern Regional Representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons. Host: Ragavi M Edited and produced by Ragavi M and Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As governments begin deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in public administration, national security and policymaking, questions about its safe usage and accountability have taken centre-stage. The issue came into focus in the U.S. after reports revealed a dispute between the Pentagon and AI company Anthropic, which refused to remove safeguards that were in place to prevent mass surveillance and the usage of autonomous weapons. The incident underscored a deeper tension between governments seeking to deploy AI systems and the companies that control them. As states collaborate more closely with AI companies, who ultimately governs the systems that govern us? Guests: Isha Suri, Research Lead at the Centre for Internet and Society, and Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director and Senior International Counsel at Access Now, a nonprofit committed to defending digital rights Host: Areena Arora Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BJP has been in power in Assam for ten years. As the state goes to the polls, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is looking for a second term. Surprisingly, there has been little talk of anti-incumbency. Will the elections pivot on identity politics, or will economic issues take centrestage? How will the 2023 delimitation exercise impact the elections? Will the death of Zubeen Garg be a factor? Will the Congress’s focus on personal corruption of the state CM pay off?  Guest: Angshuman Choudhury, Researcher and writer from Assam, currently undertaking doctoral research jointly at the National University of Singapore and King’s College London. Host: G. Sampath Edited by Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices