In Focus by The Hindu

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, is now at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Olympics 2024. This controversy began after Angela Carini from Italy withdrew from her Round-16 bout with Khelif just after 46 seconds. After the decision was announced, Carini didn't shake Khelif's hand but cried in the ring on her knees. Later Carini said she hurt her nose after the opening punches.

This led to a heated debate on social media. Many accuse the Algerian boxer of being male or transgender, calling it unfair to women's sports. J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk also joined the debate, questioning the decision made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Simultaneously, several childhood pictures of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif surfaced on social media, aiming to prove that she is female.

Along with Khelif, Taiwan's double world champion Lin Yu-ting was cleared to compete in Paris despite both being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing the International Boxing Association (IBA) gender eligibility tests.

Why is Khelif at the center of the controversy? What is the current IOC criteria for determining gender? What is the dispute between the IBA and IOC? How will the Olympic matches unfold in the coming days?

Guest: YB Sarangi from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau.

Host: Jude Francis Weston

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The national capital was rocked by student protests last month after three IAS aspirants tragically drowned when the basement library of their coaching centre flooded, following torrential rains. While a police case has been registered and arrests made, the students pointed out that safety norms are routinely violated at coaching centres and stormwater drains in the area were clogged, leading to water inundation. Just this week, a woman and her three-year-old son drowned in a drain in Delhi, again following heavy rains.

India has a massive problem that is not acknowledged or recognised enough: preventable drowning deaths. As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s statistics for 2022, over 38,000 people died in India due to drowning, a little over nine percent of all deaths.

Apart from deaths due to flooding, there are also multiple deaths due to accidental falls into water bodies, due to boats or other vessels capsizing or due to getting washed away in rivers while doing basic household work such as fetching water, washing clothes or bathing.

What is the scenario with regard to drowning in India? Are we doing enough to prevent drowning deaths? What did India’s framework on drowning prevention, released last December say?

Guest: Lopa Ghosh, Senior Communications Advisor at Global Health Advocacy Incubator

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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The Union Budget has announced several changes to the tax regime for Long-term Capital Gains. The most controversial of them is the removal of indexation benefit for the calculation of long-term capital gains (LTCGs), which could have implications for tax obligations in real estate transactions.

Many now fear that the tax obligations of ordinary investors will shoot up, that black money will flood into real estate as sellers seek to lower the paper value of the transaction, and that investors will now prefer short-term holdings rather than lobg-term ones.

Are these apprehensions valid? What do these taxation changes mean for the middle income investor? How will the real estate market be impacted?

Guest: Ravi Saraogi of Samasthiti Advisors, who is also a SEBI-registered investment advisor.

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

Edited by Sharmada venkatasubramanian.

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As the dust settles on the proposals that the Finance Minister made in the Budget earlier this month, some aspects have become clearer while questions remain on others.

Budget 2024-25 saw several initiatives around employment and skilling being proposed. Do these form a good first step in addressing the jobs challenge the country faces? Or should the government have begun addressing the problem at the level of primary school and worked upwards?

Guest: Amit Basole, Professor of Economics at Azim Premji University

Host: K. Bharat Kumar

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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As the dust settles on the proposals that the Finance Minister made in the Budget earlier this month, some aspects have become clearer while questions remain on others.

We will dwell on topics such as: Why did the Minister choose to be less aggressive on the fiscal deficit front than she could have? Why were Andhra Pradesh and Bihar given special consideration when such action was within the purview of the Finance Commission? And what does the changeover from cooperative federalism to competitive federalism mean for the States?

Guest: Lekha Chakraborty is a Professor at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), and Governing Board Member of International Institute of Public Finance, Munich.

Host: K. Bharat Kumar

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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The case of a probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has exploded in the news recently. While a lot has been said and written with regard to Ms. Khedkar’s alleged demand for privileges and her use of a red-blue beacon on her private car made headlines, what has also come under the scanner is the disability quota in the All India Services – Ms. Khedkar has been accused of falsely claiming to have disabilities to use the quota. This was followed by India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant calling for a “review” of the reservations for persons with disabilities, as he claimed they were being misused. And then, Telangana IAS officer, Smita Sabharwal questioned the need for this quota. Even as this continues to rage on social media platforms, what is not making the news quite as much is that there are candidates with disabilities who have qualified in the civil services exams but are yet to be placed. 

So why is the disability quota – and this quota alone – being targeted? What do the rules say with regard to this reservations? What is the certification process like and does this need changes or loopholes to be plugged? And why do there continue to be barriers for persons with disabilities who qualify in the exams? 

Guest: Rahul Bajaj, practicing lawyer, co-founder at Mission Accessibility, Senior Associate Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and adjunct faculty at BML Munjal University School of Law 

Host: Zubeda Hamid 

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian. 

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More than 170 people have been killed in violent clashes following massive protests by student groups seeking a reform of the country’s quota system for government jobs. While this is not the first time students have protested against reservations, the main bone of contention is the 30% reservation for freedom fighters and their descendants – a quota that the Sheikh Hasina government has always wanted to retain but which the protesting students oppose. The situation has somewhat calmed down after a Supreme Court order scrapping this quota.

But what was the immediate trigger for the protests and violence? What do they signify for the Sheikh Hasina government, which has just come back to power for the fourth time? And will Sheikh Hasina publicly apologise for the mass deaths of protesters, as the students are demanding?

Guest: Kallol Bhattacherjee from The Hindu’s Delhi Bureau.

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

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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The BJP-led coalition government has lifted the ban on government employees taking part in activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, an organisation which has been banned three times since India attained independence.

The RSS was banned days after Gandhiji’s assassination by Nathuram Godse in 1948, during the Emergency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and under civil society pressure after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

Interestingly, the restriction on central government employees associating with the RSS remained in force during the first two terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and under Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his 1998-2004 terms.

So, the question that arises is: why now? Is Modi trying to appease the RSS after facing an electoral setback? Didn’t RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat indirectly poke fun at Modi saying he wasn’t biological during the recent election campaign? Does this decision have anything to do with what appear to be efforts to remove Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh?

Guest: Nilanjan Mukhopadyay, independent journalist, columnist and author.

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

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The Olympics are back in Paris, exactly 100 years after the city last hosted it. The opening ceremony will take place on July 26, but competitions will begin two days earlier, from July 24, and go on till August 11. About 10,500 athletes from more than 200 countries will be participating.

India, which came back with its best ever haul of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals in the Tokyo Olympics, will be looking to do even better this time. We are sending 117 athletes, with a massive support staff numbering 140. 

In this preview, we take a close look at the Indian contingent, what to expect in various disciplines, and our best medal prospects. 

Guest: YB Sarangi from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau.

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

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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The assassination attempt on Republican nominee Donald Trump has queered the American Presidential race, and in a manner that wouldn’t please the Democrats. In his speech at the Republican National Convention that got over yesterday, Trump struck a new note by stressing on unity, though not at the expense of his white nativist platform. He also announced that Ohio Senator J.D. Vance would be his running mate as vice presidential candidate.

If two broad themes stood out at the Republican Convention, they were unity, and the deification of Trump. Was the assassination attempt a factor in this? Would all his former primary rivals endorsed him so robustly otherwise? With reports speculating that Biden might withdraw, what are the options for the Democrats?

Guest: Varghese K George, The Hindu’s Resident Editor in New Delhi, who recently travelled through the ‘swing states’ on the campaign trail. 

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

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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