In Focus by The Hindu

President Donald Trump's new 20-point peace plan promises to end hostilities, free hostages, and rebuild Gaza under a new framework of international oversight. Backed by several Arab nations, it’s being routed as the most detailed roadmap yet to stop the war.

But is this really a plan for peace, or just another political blueprint that sidesteps the core issues fuelling the conflict ? Who gets to decide what Gaza’s future looks like? And with Israel still reluctant to commit to a full withdrawal, can any of this hold on the ground?

Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Edited and Produced by Sharmada Venkatausbramanian

Camera: Shivaraj S

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In the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections, political parties are rolling out several welfare measures for women. On October 3, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar transferred ₹10,000 to the bank accounts of 25 lakh women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Earlier, on September 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced the transfer of ₹7,500 crore under the same scheme to 75 lakh women. This pattern has been seen in other Assembly elections as well. Moreover, the share of women voters has also been steadily increasing over the years. Are women deciding Assembly elections? 

Host: Joan Sony Cherian 

Guests: Ruhi Tiwari and  Rajeshwari Deshpande 

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian 

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For decades, Indian households relied on fixed deposits, insurance, and gold to grow their savings. A large faction still continues to do that. But in the last few years, more and more Indians have opened demat accounts, started SIPs, and entered the stock market.

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Nearly 40 years ago, 14 patients died at Mumbai’s J.J. hospital, as the medication they took was contaminated with diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent that is toxic to human beings. Over the past few weeks, at least 16 children, a majority of them in Madhya Pradesh and a few in Rajasthan have died, and their deaths are suspected to be because of the same issue: a cough syrup, given to them for treatment, contained diethylene glycol. The issue of medicines being contaminated is not new – how it happens and how it can be stopped are both well known. And yet, India, which accredits itself as the pharmacy of the world, providing generic drugs to many parts of the globe, cannot seem to ensure that medicines for its own children are safe.

What are the issues plaguing the drug regulatory system? Why do these deaths continue to take place with little accountability? And are cough syrups necessary at all for children?

Guest: Anant Phadke who is with the All India Drug Action Network, a national network that advocates for rational and affordable drug policies in India

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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Recently, the Supreme Court of India issued guidelines with regard to DNA samples in criminal cases. These guidelines, issued to preserve the integrity of such samples, highlighted the need for chain of custody documentation as well as for proper procedures to be put in place for the collection, packaging of transportation of such samples.

DNA samples can play a tremendously important role in criminal investigations, but in several cases, the evidence has been rejected by the court due to quality control and procedural issues.

How is DNA evidence collected and analysed in India? How do our forensic labs work and what are the gaps that need to be plugged to make such evidence reliable and error-free?

Guest: Shreya Rastogi, Director of Death Penalty Litigation and Forensics, The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, Delhi.

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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On a July morning in 1960, Jane Goodall stepped off a boat onto the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. She was 26, untrained by universities, armed only with binoculars, a notebook and patience. What she saw in the forests of Gombe in East Africa altered science itself: chimpanzees who shaped tools, who mourned, who loved. She gave them names and with that simple act, insisted on their individuality.

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Adding a page to the history of the Israel-Palestine question, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia now formally recognise a Palestinian state. However, data show that the share of people surveyed in the UK who support this decision has decreased since the same time last year. On the other hand, according to a YouGov poll, the share of Americans backing Israelis in this conflict has reached a 25-year low. Both sets of opinions represent a shift away from their respective governments’ stances.

Guest: Stanly Johny, the International Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: Nitika Francis

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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On September 24, Ladakh witnessed unprecedented violence and protests which left four persons dead in police action. Two days later, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was sitting on a hunger strike with 15 others, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and taken to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. The government accused the activist of instigating the violence, a charge denied by Wangchuk.

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The Asia Cup has never been straightforward. Scheduled every two years, it often slips away — undone by border tensions and government quarrels. This year, despite tensions between India and Pakistan, the tournament managed to be held.
The young Indian team, missing the usual veterans, went unbeaten. Pakistan made the final a nail-biting contest: a reminder of why this rivalry endures and is eagerly awaited by people of two countries that were once one.
Sadly, the clashes between these famed rivals were overshadowed by fighter-plane gestures and snubbed handshakes. India lifted nothing but an imaginary trophy. They had won every match but refused the silverware from the Pakistani head of the Asian Cricket Council.

Why do the shadows of politics so often creep onto a field made for sport?

To make sense of this, we turn to KC Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor of The Hindu, who has spent decades tracing this much-cherished rivalry on the pitch and behind the scenes.

Guest: KC Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu

Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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Over the last decade, "Make in India" has been at the heart of the Centre's economic policy and increasing defence manufacturing is a important part of that goal given India is one of the largest importers of defence equipment in the world.

The sector, plagued by bureaucratic delays, budgetary constraints, and corruption, was opened to the private sector. The government streamlined procedures, earmarked weapons and platforms that will be manufactured domestically and allowed more FDI in the sector. Now, domestic manufacturing is booming. Defence expenditure increased from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013–14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025–26. In 2024–25, defence production touched a record ₹1.50 lakh crore, more than triple the 2014–15 level. Defence exports grew thirty-four times over the last decade, reaching ₹23,622 crore in 2024–25. 

What does this mean for our defence preparedness? 

Guest: Dinakar Peri, a fellow in the Security Studies program at Carnegie India

Host: Nivedita V

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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