In Focus by The Hindu

Customers of private health insurance policies in India have noticed a worrying trend – their premium costs are shooting up, and, going by the many stories on social media, rejection of claims is also on the rise. Add to this the 18% GST that is charged on premiums, and it is no wonder that many say they are choosing to not renew their policies altogether.

Healthcare remains one of those most expensive aspects of an individual’s life in India – with medical inflation rates at 14% and about 60% of the country using private healthcare services, the fear that one episode of illness in a family member could put the family in debt for years, is not unfounded.

So what are the regulations around the medical insurance sector in India? Why are health insurance premiums rising? Will the GST Council meeting next month decrease the rates and will this benefit customers? And is health insurance really the right model for universal health coverage in India?

Guest: Prof. Indranil Mukopadhyay, Professor and Health Economist, at OP Jindal Global University

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new report by the NGO Common Cause and Lokniti- Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) has surveyed the attitudes towards torture by policemen across India. ‘The Status of Policing in India Report 2025: Police Torture and (Un) Accountability’ has, for the first time, produced empirical data on the justifications for torture that permeates the Indian police.

Uniquely, this report approaches torture not from the perspective of human rights activists, but from the standpoint of the most common perpetrator – the police.

Among other things, the survey broadly confirms that the police rely on a culture of fear through the use of “tough methods”, justify torture in all kinds of cases, including minor offences, and that support for torture is high in the highest echelons of the police, the IPS officers.

Yet the Indian constitution prohibits torture in police custody. What explains this anomaly, and what is the roadmap to get the custodians of the law to respect the law when it comes to torture?

Guest: Prakash Singh, former police chief and a leading figure in the advocacy for police reforms in India.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Recorded by Aniket Singh Chauhan and Jude Weston

Edited by Shivaraj S

Produced by Jude Weston

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The internet has been flooded with AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli, the animation studio founded by the famous Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. What made Studio Ghibli’s work so special was not only its distinctive style but also the fact that the images were all hand-drawn.

The contrast between the high skill and hard labour of the original Studio Ghibli images and the Ghibli-style pictures churned out by ChatGPT-4o couldn’t be starker.

The easy proliferation of Studio Ghibli images through Gen AI has once again put the spotlight on questions about what generative AI means for the working classes, and for the value of their intellectual labour.

Is Gen AI another chapter in the history of automation and deskilling? Is it a means to enhance worker surveillance? And what does it mean for the future of the ‘creator-economy’?

Guest: Jason Resnikoff, Assistant Professor of Contemporary History at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Jude Weston

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs against countries that, according to him, charged high tariffs and imposed barriers that made products made in the USA more expensive.

These tariffs are essential to Trump’s plan to reduce trade deficits and increase domestic manufacturing.

The “baseline” tariff of 10% on imports from all countries came into effect on April 5, 2025. A new set of tariffs would come into effect on April 9.

The Trump administration imposed a 26% tariff on imports from India, which is slightly higher than the 20% levy for the European Union, the 24% for Japan and the 25% for South Korea. However, this is lower than the levies on imports from China and other regional manufacturing rivals like Vietnam.

Different countries have responded differently to the tariffs. China has announced retaliatory tariffs, the EU offered a ‘zero-for-zero’ deal to the US, while India has gone for a cautious approach. The Department of Commerce said it is “carefully examining” the implications of the tariff announcements.

It is also engaging with exporters and other stakeholders and taking feedback on their assessment of the tariffs, and assessing the situation.

India and the US are in talks to determine the terms for a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

Guest: Dr. Surendar Singh, Associate Professor, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat.

Host: Nivedita V

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Right to Information Act was a historic piece of legislation that gave ordinary citizens a legally enforceable means to seek information about the government’s functioning – a small step towards accountability.

But over the years, governments have progressively diluted the provisions of this law. The latest blow to the RTI is in the form of Section 44 (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. This law will come into force once the Rules under it are notified, which is expected to happen this month. law’s Rules are notified, and that is expected to happen any time now.

How does Section 44 (3) of the DPDP Act weaken the Right to Information Act? Why is the Opposition demanding that it be repealed? And what are the consequences for citizens if this Section stays?

Guest: Anjali Bhardwaj, founder of the Satark Nagarik Sangathan and co-convenor of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI).

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Shiva Raj

Recorded and Produced by Jude Francis Weston

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 18, 2025, the Election Commission of India announced that its officials will hold talks with UIDAI experts for linking the Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) with Aadhaar. 

This linking is supposed to be voluntary, but there is some confusion as to whether the voter will really have any choice in the matter. 

There are also concerns that linking EPIC with Aadhaar could lead to voter profiling, selective disenfranchisement, targeted campaigns, data privacy violations, and possibly undermine the autonomy of the Election Commission. Are these concerns valid or are they overblown?

Guest: Usha Ramanathan, human rights activist who has worked extensively on Aadhaar-related exclusions and rights violations. 

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cancers are rising and rising fast in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Cancer Registry Programme estimated a 12% increase between 2020 and 2025. This year, cancer numbers were estimated to hit 15.7 lakh. A worrying trend in this rise, is the spike in cancer cases among young persons. We know of and we are battling risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and obesity and while these are still responsible for a significant chunk of cancers in India, other factors such as environmental pollution are now also beginning to play a role. Air pollution, forever chemicals in our water and soil and the increasing consumption of ultra-processed food are all being studied for their links to cancer. How much do we know about these factors? What does the research say about their links to cancer? Could some of these chemicals be responsible for the rise in cancers in India? What can we, as individuals do, about this?

Guest: Dr. Krithiga Shridhar, head, cancer epidemiology unit, Centre for Chronic Disease Control. New Delhi

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices