In Focus by The Hindu

As the last week of the 40-day lockdown begins, the Prime Minister held a video conference with Chief Ministers on April 27, and indicated that any exit from the lockdown would be gradational in terms of resuming economic activity, with particular emphasis still being placed on bringing down the case load in ‘red zones’. The ICMR, meanwhile, has asked States to stop using antibody test kits supplied by two Chinese companies. We will discuss that with National Editor Suhasini Haidar, who has also interviewed India’s ambassador to China.

Plus, a quick update on Tamil Nadu imposing more stringent lockdown measures in five cities and the reasoning behind it with T.N. Bureau Chief Ramya Kannan.

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The Coronavirus pandemic has posed huge political and economic challenges to China, the country where the virus originated. While the Chinese government has touted its massive national response as an example of how strong its political system is, questions have been asked, even within China, about the ruling Communist Party’s handling of the initial stages of the outbreak. What do we make of the public criticism levelled against Chinese premier Xi Jinping by the likes of party-member and former real-estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang? And how will China’s foreign relations take going forward? 

Host: Ananth Krishnan, former China Correspondent, The Hindu

Guest: Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute, author of The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers, and former foreign correspondent in China for The Australian and Financial Times.

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On World Malaria Day, we get a perspective on India’s battle with a disease that still remains a significant challenge even if it’s very much out of the news at the moment. We also have reports on Indian citizens from the Gulf who will be repatriated first after flight restrictions are lifted and on a government panel projection on the slowing of new coronavirus cases thanks to the lockdown.

Recorded on April 25, 2020

Guest: Kaushik Sarkar, India technical lead, Malaria No More India; Suhasini Haidar, National Affairs Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu.

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As we complete one month of the national lockdown, we look at the government's recent statement that the growth of cases in India has been linear and not exponential thanks to the lockdown having being imposed. And while talk of national numbers is well and good, the more important datasets, perhaps, are how individual States are handling the spread of the virus, and the testing rates and strategies they are deploying. We map those divergent trajectories in this episode and look ahead to what we need to analyse moving forward.

Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu.

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Also track: 

https://www.thehindu.com/data/covid-19-state-wise-tracker-for-coronavirus-cases-deaths-and-testing-rates/article31248444.ece?homepage=true

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As we complete one month of the national lockdown, we look ahead to probable changes in labour market dynamics. Will there be an imbalance between rural and urban economies in the short run? Will the scars of the COVID-19 crisis deter labourers who have returned to their villages from migrating long distances in search of employment? And what can be done by government and private sector do provide more security for labour.

Guest: K.R. Shyam Sundar, labour economist, professor at XLRI, Jamshedpur.

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In this episode, we’ll get an update from The Hindu's United States Correspondent Sriram Lakshman on the overall situation with regard to the Coronavirus in the U.S. and the reasoning behind President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on immigration, on which he signed an executive order on April 22.

We’ll then move on to Ministry briefings — from the External Affairs Ministry, National Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar will give us an update on medical supplies coming into India from other countries and particularly on whether there has been any response to rapid testing kits imported from China being largely inaccurate. Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy has an update from the Health Ministry on some rather detailed numbers put out by the government to show that the growth in the number of cases in India has been linear and not exponential.

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After a five-member Central team projected that the number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai would touch an estimated 42,604 by April 30 and spiral to 6,56,407 by May 15, the Maharashtra government has contested the methodology and tools used for the projection. We will discuss that story and also take a detailed look at the various problems the ICMR and state governments are facing with the rapid antibody test kits that have come in from China.

Guests: Sharad Vyas, Deputy Editor, Mumbai, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu.

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Today’s rather diverse episode covers issues ranging from the BMC in Mumbai revealing that several journalists in the city have tested positive for COVID-19, blood banks across the country running short as thalassemia and dialysis patients are the worst hit, and a developing situation in the Gulf countries where thousands of Indian immigrant workers could find themselves without jobs as the economic effects of the pandemic grow more acute. We also have an update from the Health Ministry briefings.

(Recorded on April 21, 2020)

Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu.

Regional despatches from Health reporters Jyoti Shelar and Bindu Shajan Perappadan

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The WHO is facing arguably its biggest-ever crisis, with questions being raised over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States has said it will cut its funding to the WHO while many other nations are calling for reforms. Is the criticism being mounted against the WHO justified and where does the world body go from here?

Interview by Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu

Guest: Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations.

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Despite its large population, the South Asia region has recorded low figures of the virus. The eight SAARC nations, for instance, account for approximately 1.1% of the world total of nearly 23,00,000 coronavirus cases. In this episode, we pause to look at these numbers, the initial projections for the region and ask thr question — does a separate study need on COVID-19 impact in South Asia? if a separate study needs to be carried out for the region and ask if this variance needs to be studied more closely. We also have a discussion on India revising FDI policy to shield firms from takeovers during the pandemic — a move that seems to be pointed toward China, and updates from the Health Ministry briefings.

(Recorded on April 18, 2020)

Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National Editor, The Hindu; Jacob Koshy, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu

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