Episodes

  • Should doctors be kept out of the Consumer Protection Act? | The Hindu parley podcast

    Should doctors be kept out of the Consumer Protection Act? | The Hindu parley podcast
    May 23 2024
    Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that advocates cannot be held liable under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, for deficiency in service. The Court also indicated that its 1995 decision that held medical professionals accountable under the Act may need to be revisited. It suggested that the definition of the term ‘services’ under the Act, which includes the medical sector, be re-examined. The issue will be placed before a larger Bench. Should doctors, like lawyers, be kept out of the Consumer Protection Act? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Rajeshwari Sekar, a medico-legal expert in Chennai with over 18 years of experience handling consumer court cases and medical cases; Saroja Sundaram, executive director of the Chennai-based Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group Host: Aroon Deep You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
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    24 mins
  • Should reservation in jobs only be in proportion to the population?

    Should reservation in jobs only be in proportion to the population?
    May 16 2024
    During his election campaign, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has often used the slogan ‘Jitni abadi, utna haq’ (the rights of a group are proportionate to the group’s share in the total population). The Prime Minister has lashed out at him for the slogan and others have argued that it is against the spirit of the Constitution. Should reservation in jobs only be in proportion to the population? Here we discuss the issue. Guests: Sukhadeo Thorat, the former chairman of the University Grants Commission and Professor Emeritus at JNU; Sudheendra Kulkarni served as an aide to Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the Prime Minister’s Office Host: Abhinay Lakshman
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    49 mins
  • Are independent journalists on YouTube replacing TV journalists?

    Are independent journalists on YouTube replacing TV journalists?
    May 9 2024
    In 2022, a Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)-Lokniti survey in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung showed that TV channels dominate as the news source in India, despite poor trust levels in them. In 2023, a Global Fact 10 research report showed that more and more Indians are now placing their trust in YouTube and WhatsApp for news. Are independent journalists on YouTube slowly replacing TV journalists in India? Here we discuss the issue. Edited by Jude Francis Weston
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    48 mins
  • Does PMJAY need a design change? | The Hindu parley podcast

    Does PMJAY need a design change? | The Hindu parley podcast
    May 2 2024
    Ayushman Bharat, the government’s flagship programme to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), was launched in 2018. The scheme has two inter-related components: health and wellness centres and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) that aims to provide a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 12 crore families that form the bottom 40% of the population. PM-JAY has issued 34.27 crore cards. About 6.5 crore have received treatment and there are over 30,000 empanelled hospitals. However, over the past year, hospitals in some States have reported they are owed hundreds of crores in dues, and some are reportedly turning away or taking in fewer PMJAY patients. Does PMJAY need a design change? Here we discuss the issue. Guests: Nachiket Mor is Visiting Scientist, Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health; Avani Kapur is Senior Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research and Founder-Director, Foundation for Responsive Governance Host: Zubeda Hamid You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
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    56 mins
  • Can green credits benefit India’s forests?

    Can green credits benefit India’s forests?
    Apr 25 2024
    The Green Credit Programme, announced by the Environment Ministry in October 2023, is a market-based mechanism where individuals and companies can claim incentives called ‘green credits’ for contributions to environmental and ecological restoration. However, there is criticism that these initiatives may be used to circumvent existing laws, particularly those that deal with forest conservation. Jacob Koshy is joined by Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water and Debadityo Sinha, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
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    35 mins
  • Is the government justified in targeting terrorists outside the border? | The Hindu parley podcast

    Is the government justified in targeting terrorists outside the border? | The Hindu parley podcast
    Apr 18 2024
    Earlier this month, following a report in The Guardian stating that the Indian government had killed about 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to eliminate terrorists on foreign soil, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh responded that India will enter Pakistan to kill terrorists. A few days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, said that under a strong government, “atankwadiyon ko ghar mein ghus ke mare jata hai (terrorists are being killed in their homes)”. Is the Indian government justified in targeting terrorists outside the border? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Rakesh Sood, a former diplomat who served as Ambassador to Afghanistan, France, and Nepal. He was also Special Envoy of the Prime Minister on Disarmament and Nonproliferation until 2014; Tara Kartha, the director for research at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She spent 17 years at the National Security Council Secretariat, which sits at the apex of India’s national security architecture Host: Suhasini Haidar.
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    29 mins
  • Is the urban water system breaking? | The Hindu parley podcast

    Is the urban water system breaking? | The Hindu parley podcast
    Apr 4 2024
    Bengaluru, often celebrated for being a ‘garden city’, the ‘IT capital’ of the country, and its pleasant weather, has been making headlines this year for facing a severe water crisis following the drought of 2023. The water crisis is also likely to hit other urban centres and rural areas. According to a recent weekly bulletin by the Central Water Commission, even as peak summer is around the corner, most of the major reservoirs in the southern States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are filled to only 25% of their capacity or less. Is the urban water system breaking? Here we discuss the question. Guests: T.V. Ramachandra, Coordinator of the Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Science, Indian Institute of Science; S. Vishwanath, a water conservationist Host: K.C. Deepika You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
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    35 mins
  • Did the electoral bonds scheme enable extortion? | The Hindu parley podcast

    Did the electoral bonds scheme enable extortion? | The Hindu parley podcast
    Mar 28 2024
    Many companies that faced regulatory action from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Income Tax (IT) Department donated electoral bonds worth crores of rupees to ruling parties via the electoral bonds route, show data submitted by the State Bank of India (SBI) to the Election Commission of India (ECI). Some companies which got huge government contracts purchased bonds for large amounts. Some new companies, which were incorporated during the COVID-19 pandemic, purchased bonds worth crores of rupees just months after starting out. Was the electoral bonds scheme used as an extortion tool? Here we discuss this question. Guests: Subhash Chandra Garg, former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary, Government of India; Anjali Bhardwaj, a Right To Information activist and founder of Satark Nagrik Sangathan, a citizens’ group working to promote transparency and accountability in government functioning Host: Vignesh Radhakrishnan Read the parley article here. You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
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    1 hr and 7 mins