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In Focus by The Hindu

In Focus by The Hindu

Written by: The Hindu
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A podcast from The Hindu that delves deep into current developments with subject experts, and brings in context, history, perspective and analysis.The Hindu Daily Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Election Commission Controversy: Who authorised the modified Form 6?

    Election Commission Controversy: Who authorised the modified Form 6?
    Oct 9 2026
    The big Election Commission of India (ECI) story that made headlines this week is the Form 6 controversy. Who authorised the modifications to Form 6, which is used for enrolling new voters? The Election Commission has been claiming all along that the changes had the Supreme court’s approval. But on October 5th, the Supreme Court clarified that it had not approved any Form 6 modifications. Does this mean the Election Commission had mislead the nation, as is being claimed by the Opposition parties? Also, two out of the three election commissioners had objected to these changes, with one of them calling it “unauthorised and illegal”. Does the CEC have the power to override their objections? So, who authorised the Form 6 modifications? What happened to the written objections of the other two Election Commissioners? Given that a great many eligible voters were affected by these changes, should the entire SIR be annulled? Guest: Vipul Mudgal, a Trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Director of Common Cause, non-profits working for electoral reform Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • In Focus-Parley | Are legal guarantees insufficient in abolishing untouchability?

    In Focus-Parley | Are legal guarantees insufficient in abolishing untouchability?
    Oct 8 2026
    In August this year, the performance of a "purification" ritual by certain Hindu groups in Uttarakhand, at the location where Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who belongs to a Dalit community, addressed a public rally, led to a national conversation on the practice of untouchability. This discourse was shaped as Opposition Congress leaders accused the ruling BJP dispensation of practicing caste discrimination and the Uttarakhand BJP chief defended the ritual saying it was meant to "cleanse" the area of the ideas that Mr. Kharge was espousing at the rally. After a sustained campaign from opposition leaders and civil society actors, an FIR was registered in the matter as well. Are legal guarantees insufficient in abolishing untouchability? Noted scholar and political theorist Valerian Rodrigues and Supreme Court Advocate Disha Wadekar join us in this episode to discuss the question. Host: Abhinay Lakshman Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • From AI to Super Intelligence: Trump's new American AI Agenda

    From AI to Super Intelligence: Trump's new American AI Agenda
    Oct 7 2026
    On September 29, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the country's top technology business leaders as he embarked on a project to rename artificial intelligence (AI) as "Super Intelligence" and "SI”. There, he announced the White House Accord on Super Intelligence, which was signed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, XAI CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman. The AI Accord that they signed is “morally binding”, per Mr. Trump. The Big Tech leaders, known for their liberal, centrist, or even neutral political stances, stood smiling, flanking the President, sharing press-ready messages about balancing AI risks and regulations. But the newly formed Super Intelligence Force (SIF) task force indicates that the federal government is not planning to remain a mere bystander as AI giants try to police themselves. What does the AI-to-SI change mean for the U.S. and the world? What are the dynamics at play amongst the companies that signed the AI Accord? And what is Trump's strategy for keeping America ahead of the world in AI? Host: Sahana Venugopal, The Hindu's Technology Desk Guest: John Xavier, Technology Editor at The Hindu Camera: Shivaraj Producer and Editor: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
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the way they explained the act is so nice..
it gives you deep understanding

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