UPSC Podcasts

India may have reduced extreme poverty far more effectively than most of  us are aware of. The last official data is eight years old. In 2011,  268 million people were surviving on less than $1.90 a day, the World  Bank measure for extreme poverty. The next round of data on household  consumption is likely to come out in June, and it may well show a  drastic drop in the number of poor. According to the World Data Lab —  which monitors global poverty using advanced statistical models — less  than 50 million Indians may be living on less than $1.90 a day now.  Economists said rapid economic growth and the use of technology for  social sector programs have helped make a significant dent in extreme  poverty in the country. The BJP on Monday cited global think tank  reports to say that India is moving fast towards a poverty-free  situation and gave credit to policies of the Narendra Modi-led  government for it. On this edition of the big picture we analyse what  more needs to be done to eradicate poverty   

Guests -

Abhinav Prakash, Assistant Professor, Delhi University,           

K. A. Badarinath, Editor-in-Chief, Financial Chronicle,           

Ajay Dua, Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce &  Industry,  

Anchor - Frank Rausan Pereira

In this Episode of India's World focuses on the warming of ties between  India and South Africa. India and South Africa on Friday sealed a three  year strategic programme to further boost cooperation in a number of key  areas after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South  African President Cyril Ramaphosa. In his media statement, PM Modi said  both sides discussed all aspects of the bilateral ties with an aim to  further expand cooperation in diverse areas. Ramaphosa said his country  was looking at a "result oriented" partnership with India through  implementation of the three-year strategic exchange programme. The  strategic programme will cover cooperation in a range of areas including  defence and security, trade and investment, the blue economy, tourism,  IT and agriculture. Ramaphosa, who arrived in Delhi on Friday morning,  was the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade on Saturday. It was the  fourth meeting between PM Modi and President Ramaphosa within a year.   

Guest: 

Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, Former Ambassador,        

Maj. Gen. Dhruv Katoch (Retd.), Director, India Foundation,          

Dr. Sreeram Chaulia, Dean, Jindal School of International  Affairs, 

Anchor: Frank Rausan Pereira

U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has shared details of  his recent talks with the Taliban with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani  and other government officials. A January 28 statement quoted Khalilzad  as saying he had held talks about a possible cease-fire, but nothing was  agreed upon. Khalilzad also confirmed that no agreement had been made  on the withdrawal of foreign troops, adding that any such decision would  be coordinated with the Afghan government.  The statement comes after  both the Taliban and Khalilzad said "progress" was made in the latest  set of talks in Qatar aimed at ending the 17-year conflict in  Afghanistan. The Western-backed government in Kabul has struggled to  fend off a resurgent Taliban and other militant groups, nearly two  decades after a U.S.-led coalition drove the Taliban from power in  Afghanistan in 2001. The Taliban has so far refused to hold direct  negotiations with the Afghan government officials, whom they dismiss as  "puppets."

Anchor- Frank Rausan Pereira 

Guest- Dilip Sinha, Former Ambassador 

Maj. Gen. Ashwani Siwach (Retd.), Foreign Affairs Expert 

Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times

In September 1960, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani  President Mohammad Ayub Khan signed a water sharing agreement concerning  the use of waters in the Indus Rivers system. The treaty came to be  known as the Indus Water Treaty. Orchestrated by the World Bank, the  agreement took nine years of negotiations. Under the treaty, the control  of six rivers in the Indus Water System was divided between the two  countries.   But, between India and Pakistan, the treaty has been a major source of  conflict due to its interpretation and implementation. Since its  inception, there have been multiple disagreements and differences  between both countries over the treaty.  Today in IN DEPTH, we try and understand the Indus Water Treaty in  detail, the disputes regarding water sharing between India and Pakistan,  in particular the current conflict  Anchor - Teena Jha

Guests: 

Gurjit Singh, Former Diplomat            

Manish Gupta, Joint Secretary, Ministry Of External Affairs

Piyush Singh, Advocate, Supreme Court 

 Anchor: Kriti Mishra