Left, Right & Centre

As fighting intensifies in Afghanistan, Indian diplomats have been evacuated from the Kandahar consulate. Fighting is now being reported in many major centres in the country, and the collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban appears to be imminent. NDTV speaks to a leading Afghan member of parliament, the head of international affairs and regional cooperation of the National Security Council of Afghanistan and a former Indian Ambassador to Kabul, on what the future holds for the country.

The continuing reportage of a large number of Covid infections in Kerala is part of its strategy in fighting the pandemic and is no cause of alarm, the state's new Health Minister Veena George has said. Overall, infections have plateaued and a similar trend was seen in the first wave, too, according to her. She termed the phenomenon "dragging the wave".

According to a draft of the proposed population control bill, anyone violating two-child policy in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies elections, from applying for or getting promotion in government jobs, and receiving any kind of government subsidy. On this episode of Left, Right & Centre, a look at UP's proposed policy and the need to focus on literacy and healthcare as well as family planning in the state.

Amid concerns of a third covid wave, India's prominent expert on vaccination, Dr NK Arora, head, Covid-19 Working Group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, speaks to NDTV on whether the country will be able to achieve the vaccination target in time.

Fuel prices have been hiked again. Petrol is at Rs 100.56 per litre in Delhi and diesel at Rs 89.62. Without major tax concessions from the Centre, common man continues to suffer. Tonight on Left, Right and Centre, we ask: will Modi 2.0 cushion the crude shock?

After all the buzz, it's now clear there will be a major expansion of the union cabinet at 6 pm. There are some obvious contenders - perhaps Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sarbananda Sonowal - but there are details coming in of what the top leadership of the BJP are looking at - educated, professional leaders, many who are young and there will be more women. Not only will there be representation of states, with an eye on the state elections, there will also be sub-regional representation which becomes crucial in the context of bigger states such as Uttar Pradesh. So, we discuss on LRC, which are the big names? What are the expectations and how will this expansion help in the state elections?

Germany is the first major country in Europe to begin the process of removing restrictions which will facilitate the entry of Indians, possibly without the need to quarantine if they are double vaccinated. On the show, the German Ambassador to India Ambassador Walter J Lindner.

With US soldiers leaving and the Taliban making battlefield gains, the clock seems to be turning back on Afghanistan. 20 years ago, NDTV's Vishnu Som and defence analyst Ajai Shukla, who was then with NDTV, were right on the frontline when the US forces invaded Afghanistan. Take a look at these special reports.

84-year-old Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy who was accused of being a Maoist terrorist has died in custody. He had repeatedly asked for bail on medical grounds since he had severe Parkinson's disease, but the requests were turned down each time. Has India's criminal justice system failed Father Stan Swamy?

The Rafale controversy is back in the limelight after a French news report said that a probe into the deal has been ordered in France. The Congress while hitting out at the Centre asked if an investigation is being conducted in France, why not in India? But while the Congress has demanded a joint parliamentary panel probe, the BJP says that the top court ruled twice on Rafale, throwing out a plea to order an inquiry. So, should there be a joint parliamentary probe into the Rafale deal?