In Focus by The Hindu

India is up in arms again, over the words of a stand-up comedian known for political jokes. Kunal Kamra’s remarks on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were not liked by the latter’s supporters, who responded with violence – vandalising the venue where Kamra had performed, with the police not intervening to protect private property. Kamra has been inundated with threat calls. The Maharashtra government has also threatened to freeze Kamra’s bank accounts, and has demanded an apology. But Kamra has said will not apologise, and that he is not afraid of “the mob.” Guest: Punit Pania, Mumbai-based stand-up comedian, also known for political humour. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and 22 players have filed a class action lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies in a US court. The case has been filed against the ATP, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The lawsuit alleges that professional tennis players are being exploited and abused by the unfair business practices of the sport’s governing bodies. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the ATP, WTA and others are running the sport in violation of the US’s anti-trust laws. Among other things, it also calls for a more equitable distribution of the revenue generated by the sport, a less gruelling calendar, and more transparency in the anti-doping and anti-corruption investigative processes followed by the ITIA. What are the likely implications of this lawsuit and will it help bring about reform in the way the sport is organised? Guest: Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director of the PTPA. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Blinkit, a quick commerce company was recently in the news after it announced the launch of its 10-minute ambulance service, to be rolled out, beginning in Gurugaon and with plans to expand to other cities over two years. The launch, while praised in some quarters and criticised in others has thrown into focus a larger question: why does India not have a national emergency service helpline and an adequate number of ambulances to cater to its population? Considering that we are a country with one of the highest road traffic accidents in the world and a growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, this critical aspect of medical care seems to be neglected: emergency services at present are provided by private hospitals, at a cost, by emerging services such as Blinkit, also at a cost, and when provided by the government are uneven and fragmented across the country. What are the issues around emergency services in India? Do we have adequate numbers of vehicles for our population and an equal number of trained paramedics and driver? Do we need a framework to regulate this sector? Guest: Rama Baru, retired professor of social medicine and community health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

Ukraine and the US have jointly proposed a 30-day ceasefire deal to Russia. They reached an agreement following a meeting between Ukrainian and American officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to the ceasefire proposal with caution. He has said that he agrees with it in principle but any ceasefire offer must address the root causes of the ‘crisis’. So, what does the ceasefire deal offer Russia and Ukraine? Will Russia agree to this ceasefire proposal in the coming days? And what are the likely key sticking points that could come in the way of a deal? Guest: Stanly Johny, The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

The Trump administration’s trans-Atlantic policy has made a sharp break from that of the Biden administration, and in fact, from the entire post-World War II paradigm where the US was the prime guarantor of European security. Three quick, successive developments have underscored this departure. First came US Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, where he said that the biggest threat to Europe’s security is “from within”. Second, the very public spat between Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, after which President Donald Trump announced that the US was pausing military and intelligence aid to Ukraine. Finally, Zelenskyy buckling under the pressure, and agreeing to a US-sponsored offer of a 30-day ceasefire deal with Russia. All these developments have made it clear that Europe will need to completely rethink its security-related assumptions that governed its relationship with the US under a capacious NATO umbrella. Is the trans-Atlantic alliance due for a comprehensive reset? Can Europe continue to outsource its security needs to the US, or does it need to mobilise more actively to achieve self-reliance? What adjustments does Europe need to make, and what kind of a security architecture does Europe need to work towards? Guest: Marta Mucznik, Senior EU Analyst, Advocacy & Research, International Crisis Group, Brussels. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The United States is India’s biggest trading partner. In 2023, the U.S.-India bilateral trade in goods and services stood at $190.08 billion -- $123.89 billion in goods and $66.19 billion in services trade. 17.7% of India’s exports are to the US. In 2024, India enjoyed a goods trade surplus to the tune of $45.7 billion. American exports into India also face a higher rate of tariffs than India’s exports to the US. Now President Donald Trump has said that the US will mirror Indian tariffs from April 2. This means tariffs on Indian goods will increase substantially. If this does happen, how will it affect Indian industry? Should India get into a trade war or pre-emptively lower its tariffs on US goods? More critically, what are the implications of reciprocal tariffs for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – is the US getting out of WTO? Guest: economist Neeraj Kaushal, Professor at the School of Social Work, Columbia University. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

The Indian rupee is on a downward trend. It logged its fifth straight monthly fall in February, weighed down by foreign portfolio outflows and increased hedging in the onshore and the non-deliverable forward market. Persistent outflows from the stock markets have also hit the rupee. Foreign investors have net sold over $14 billion worth of Indian stocks so far in 2025, playing a role in making the rupee one of Asia's worst-performing currencies. The Reserve Bank of India has a mandate to address the volatility of the Rupee. It has intervened in the markets periodically to slow down the slide. It has many tools to do so. On February 28, the RBI conducted a dollar-rupee buy/sell swap auction for $10 billion with a three-year tenor. The auction was oversubscribed 1.62 times. A Reuters poll shows that analysts expect the rupee to weaken to 87.63 in six months. It suggests that sluggish economic growth, uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff, and the rising possibility of a global trade war have hit foreign investors' demand for Indian financial assets. What can we expect the RBI to do? How does the RBI decide to intervene in the market? How is this volatility different from the volatile periods we’ve seen before? What’s the greater impact of this on our economy? Guest: Smita Roy Trivedi, Associate Professor, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune (the views expressed are strictly personal) Host: Nivedita V Edited by Jude Francis Weston

Earlier this week, the United States recorded its first death due to measles after over 10 years. Why is this significant? The US had declared the eradication of measles, a highly infectious viral disease, from its country in the year 2000. Over 150 people, mostly children, are currently ill in Texas, and the outbreak has now spread to other States, as per US news reports. In Texas, all but 5 cases were in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. The country’s Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has a history of debunking vaccines, has now said that vaccines protect individual children and the community as a whole. Why is one of the most vaccine-preventable diseases surging in a developed country? Is vaccine misinformation becoming a serious public health crisis? What is the situation in India like? Guest: Dr. Rajib Dasgupta, professor of community health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has released documents showing that some voters in West Bengal have the same EPIC numbers as some voters in states like Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab. The elector photo identity card (EPIC) is a unique number, and the fact that it is unique is critical to avoid voter impersonation or other kinds of fraud. The Election Commission has attributed the duplication of EPIC numbers to a manual, decentralised system of allotting EPIC system that predated the current electoral database platform called ERONET. But the TMC and other critics are not convinced by this explanation, and the EC’s own rules state that EPIC cards and numbers can only be issued to those on the electoral roll of a constituency, and can only be issued online, not manually. So, how then was EPIC number issued manually? How did a voter from Gujarat constituency, who was not from a Bengal constituency, have the same alphabets in his EPIC number as someone who was from Bengal constituency? How robust is our existing system for registering new voters and deleting voters from electoral rolls? Guest: MG Devasahayam, Coordinator, Citizens Commission on Elections. Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In the three years since, the US and Europe rallied around Ukraine, supplying it with military and financial support to take on the Russians. Russia was also placed under severe economic sanctions. Russia, when it began its ‘special military operation’, may have hoped for a quick resolution by forcing Ukraine to the negotiating table. But the conflict dragged on, and as of today, Russia holds 20% of Ukrainian territory, and for the first time, the US has turned ‘neutral’ in the conflict. President Donald Trump has also made it clear to Ukraine that joining NATO is no longer on the table. At the same time, he has also said that the war could end in a matter of weeks. What does the present conjuncture mean for Ukraine – which has paid the highest cost, in terms of lives lost, economic losses, and loss of territory? Can the US and Russia sit together and negotiate the end of the conflict, without Ukraine and Europe having a say? What lessons does this conflict hold for smaller countries caught in a proxy conflict between super-powers? Guest: Stanly Johny, The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

About one month ago, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. This was not a completely unexpected decision – Mr. Trump had taken steps during his first term to do so too, but the Biden administration had chosen not to exit. The WHO has called for the US to reconsider its decision – the US is the largest contributor of funds to the WHO. In the weeks since Mr. Trump’s announcement, the WHO has said it plans to cut down on spending significantly – but the larger question remains of how this move is going to impact global health.  Another hit to health has been Mr. Trump’s decision to temporarily suspend all USAID activity – USAID also works in the area of health in a number of countries – and this decision has thrown into turmoil programmes for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, vaccinations, hygiene and sanitation and others. What is the near future of global health going to look like? Is it possible the US will reconsider its decision? Is the world overly reliant on the US and is it now time for other countries to step up? Guest: Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya a medical doctor and a specialist in global health, with nearly 17 years of professional work experience with the United Nations system including the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The doping controversy over world no. 1 Jannik Sinner has divided the tennis world. In March 2024, Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid. As per the rules of the International Tennis Integrity Agency and the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), this would result in an automatic provisional suspension pending an appeal. Sinner, however, appealed the provisional suspension, and an independent hearing convened by the ITIA found that he bore “no fault or negligence” for the positive tests. Subsequently, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed this ruling. WADA’s appeal was supposed to have come up for hearing at the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) on April 16-17, 2025. But now the WADA appeal will not be heard because Sinner and WADA have reached a case resolution agreement. Under this settlement, instead of the one to two-year ban that WADA had wanted, Sinner will serve out a three-month ban, from February 9 to May 4. This means he will not miss any Grand Slams, despite committing a doping offence that, in the case of other players, has caused them to serve out a ban of one to several years. Is tennis’s anti-doping process “broken” as the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios have said? Are there double standards in this process - with top players benefiting while the lower ranked players don’t get the same treatment or benefit of doubt? How transparent is a process where a player can negotiate a “settlement” for a doping offence? Guest: N Sudarshan from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.