In Focus by The Hindu

Recently, the producers of a Netflix movie titled ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ were taken to court. A PIL had been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a ban on the movie. The PIL had been filed by a man claiming to be the National Organisation Secretary of the Brahman Samaj of India. His petition argued that the movie portrayed the Brahmin community in a negative light, by “equating” bribe-taking with the title ‘Pandat’. It said it would provoke disharmony, and a law and order problem.

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As Mumbai hosted its first Climate Week, the spotlight is on how India’s fast-growing cities will navigate the accelerating energy transition. Renewable power is now cheaper than ever, electric vehicles are expanding globally, and India has emerged as one of the world’s largest generators of wind and solar energy. Yet the shift away from fossil fuels is proving uneven. Regulatory bottlenecks and financing gaps are slowing the pace of change even as electricity demand surges.

That demand is set to climb further with the rapid expansion of AI and data centres, raising fresh questions about energy sources and long-term lock-ins. At the same time, Mumbai faces intensifying heatwaves, heavier rainfall and the long-term threat of sea-level rise, vulnerabilities that sit uneasily alongside large-scale infrastructure projects and rising air pollution levels. Urban planning choices made today, from coastal development to transport electrification, could determine whether the city builds climate resilience or compounds future risk.

Can India’s growth story remain compatible with its climate commitments? Will rising power demand from technology and infrastructure revive fossil fuel dependence, or accelerate clean electrification? Can India’s financial capital turn climate pressure into an opportunity to lead?

Guest: Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

Host: Vinaya Deshpande Pandit

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Rare earth elements (REEs), a group of 17 minerals, have become central to global industry and geopolitics. They power electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, semiconductors, consumer electronics and advanced defence systems. While moderately abundant, they are difficult and expensive to extract and process.

Guest: Shobhankita Reddy, Research analyst for the High Tech Geopolitics Programme, Takshashila Institute

Host: Nivedita V

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The Indian men’s hockey team has begun 2026 — a year of major stakes — on a worrying note. Four matches in the Rourkela leg of the FIH Pro League ended in four defeats, including a humiliating 8–0 loss to Argentina. With the Asian Games in Japan and the Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium just months away, the results have raised uncomfortable questions.

Are these early-season stumbles merely part of a longer preparation cycle, or do they point to serious issues in defence, goalkeeping, fitness and mentality? Should youngsters have been blooded in earlier? And how much pressure is mounting on coach Craig Fulton?

In this episode of In Focus, we examine what went wrong in Rourkela, the search for stability in goal after P.R. Sreejesh, and why the core group of players who have been in the team for years need to be pulled up for the poor run of form.

(Editor's note: This episode was recorded ahead of the Hobart leg of the FIH Pro League games)

Host: Reuben Joe Joseph

Guest: Uthra Ganesan, The Hindu's hockey correspondent

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This week a landmark trial is underway in the United States, where Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is being accused of deliberately getting young users addicted to its platforms. Google-owned YouTube is also part of the trial, which hinges on the mental health problems faced by a 20-year-old who has used social media and video content platforms since childhood. Two other similar trials are scheduled for later this year, as thousands of lawsuits blame social medial for the epidemic of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and suicide amongst young persons. So what does social medial really do to the young brain? Is its addiction similar to the addiction of other substances? And how can parents and youngsters safely navigate the increasingly digital and connected world we live in now?

Guest: Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar

Host: Zubeda hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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In his speech at the Munich Security Conference last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the MAGA vision of American foreign policy -- which has been dubbed by some as ‘Make the West Great Again’. At one level, it marked a clear shift from the speech that Vice President JD Vance gave last year, when he accused Europe of suppressing freedom of speech and democracy. Rubio, in contrast, played up the shared history and civilisational values between the US and Europe. He painted a future where the West, under American leadership, will boldly assert itself as the dominant geopolitical force on the planet. He also spoke fondly of the five centuries of Western domination right up to the Second World War. What does the vision outlined by Rubio, and the seeming nostalgia for Western empire signify for the Global South? Does it mark the start of another phase of colonial-style extraction mounted on unilateralism and economic coercion? Where does a middle power like India figure in this scheme of things?

Guest: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: G. Sampath

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Last weekend, the Indian Super League (ISL), the highest league in Indian football, kicked off after months of uncertainty. The disruption, which compelled some clubs to halt their operations and consigned the players and coaches to a state of desperation, emanated from the absence of a commercial partner for the league once the Master Rights Agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) expired in December.

The Indian football team, which is 141st in the FIFA rankings, failed to even qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup after a loss to Singapore last October. The contrast with cricket in India could not be starker. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the richest and most powerful cricket board in the world right now, and India’s cricketers enjoy demigod status across the length and breadth of the country. Does football suffer because of cricket?

Guests: Abhik Chatterjee, CEO of ISL club Kerala Blasters; Yannick Colaco co-founder of FanCode (the media rights partner of the ISL)

Host: Vivek Krishnan

Producer: Jude Weston

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Japan’s strategic posture is undergoing one of its most consequential transformations since the end of the Second World War. Long defined by its pacifist Constitution and its reliance on the United States for security guarantees, Japan built its global identity as an economic power that exercised influence largely through trade, technology and diplomacy. Over the past decade, however, shifting regional dynamics, particularly China’s rise and growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific, have prompted a reassessment in Tokyo about the country’s defence capabilities, alliance structures and strategic autonomy.

This reassessment has accelerated under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose leadership marks both a symbolic and political milestone as Japan’s first woman prime minister. Often associated with the conservative legacy of Shinzo Abe, Takaichi has signalled continuity in strengthening Japan’s security architecture while also projecting a more assertive political style. Her tenure raises important questions about how far Japan is willing to reinterpret constitutional constraints, expand defence spending and recalibrate its role within the U.S.–Japan alliance.

At the same time, Japan finds itself navigating an increasingly complex external environment. Strategic competition between the United States and China, evolving regional security partnerships and debates over economic security and supply chain resilience have all influenced Tokyo’s policy choices. For countries such as India, which views Japan as a central pillar of its Indo-Pacific strategy, these shifts carry significant diplomatic and economic implications.

In this episode, we explore what Japan’s changing strategic identity means in practical terms: whether Takaichi represents continuity or disruption in Japan’s post-war trajectory, how Tokyo is balancing alliance commitments with a desire for greater autonomy, and what these developments signal for the broader Indo-Pacific order.

Guest: Sanjaya Baru, Policy Analyst, economist, and writer.

Host: Shikha Kumari

Producer: Jude Weston

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The expiration of the New START treaty, the last active nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, marks a significant shift in the global security landscape. For more than a decade, the treaty placed verifiable limits on deployed strategic nuclear warheads and maintained inspection and data‑exchange mechanisms between the two countries. With these provisions no longer in force, longstanding channels of transparency and communication have effectively paused, raising practical questions about how both nations will approach strategic stability going forward. 

The end of New START comes at a time when U.S.–Russia relations have been strained by broader geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the suspension of inspections since 2023. At the same time, evolving technologies such as hypersonic weapons, missile defence systems, and cyber capabilities are reshaping the strategic environment. These developments, combined with shifting political dynamics, have influenced both the relevance and limitations of traditional bilateral arms control frameworks. 

In this episode, we examine what the absence of New START means in practical terms: how the two major nuclear powers might adapt their policies, how emerging powers like China factor into future discussions, and what this moment indicates about the broader state of global arms control. Ambassador Rakesh Sood provides context on the treaty’s history, the factors leading to its expiration, and the considerations that may shape future approaches to managing nuclear risks in an increasingly multipolar environment.

Guest: Rakesh Sood, Former Ambassador

Host: Shikha Kumari A 

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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