Vital Signs Ep 3 | Does NEET's curriculum serve only as entry filter or does it offer more? | Data Point podcast

In this episode, The Hindu Data Team delves into the severe food shortages in Gaza and the ICC’s intervention, analysing the intersection of international law and humanitarian aid. Vignesh Radhakrishnan discusses the war’s humanitarian impact, while Stanly Johny examines the global response to the ICC warrants.

In this episode, The Hindu speaks to doctors to understand the link between HPV and cervical cancer, and why screening rates are so low in India, compared to other countries. They say one major reason why women don’t get screened often, or at all, is because while women are predominantly viewed as caregivers, they often do not prioritise their own needs. While on the one hand, they want more women to get screened, when it comes to vaccination against HPV, they want it to be gender-neutral. They also discuss the need for greater awareness and a structured state intervention programme to boost screening and vaccination. Guest: Dr Aravind Krishnamurthy: Head of Surgical Oncology at the Cancer Institute, Chennai Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar: President-Elect of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI)  Credit to Sonikka Loganathan and Rebecca Rose Varghese

Earlier this month, a Qatar court issued the death sentence to eight former Indian Navy personnel. The former officers were arrested in August of 2022, allegedly for espionage. It’s a case that has brought the issue of Indian’s arrested abroad, back into the forefront. According to the latest data, taken from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha answers, there are about 9,500 Indians in prisons across 89 countries. Most of these Indian prisoners are in West Asian jails, over 2,000 are in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In this episode, The Hindu speaks to Prabhash Ranjan, who teaches at the Faculty of Legal Studies at South Asian University, about what to do, if an Indian national is arrested in another country. Guests: Prabhash Ranjan, Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University

Debating the 70-Hour Work Week: Are Long Hours the Answer for Young India? Featuring experts from diverse fields, this episode tackles the recent statement by Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy on young Indians' work ethic. We delve into the merits and drawbacks of extended work hours, the realities of such a commitment, and the validity of comparisons to post-war economies like Germany and Japan. Join us as we unpack the intricate balance between working longer hours and enhancing productivity, and explore what India should prioritize for its burgeoning workforce.

On June 24th, the Madras High Court held that homemakers are entitled to an equal share in properties purchased by the husband. The Hindu talks to Shaji Paul Chaly, former Justice of the Kerala High Court, and Ashok G.V., a practising advocate at the Karnataka High Court and Partner at Factum Law, to delve into the ramifications of this ruling. We discuss its potential as a legal precedent and explore whether it can be applied to husbands who are homemakers and working wives.

Doctors and MBBS students from diverse specialisations, age groups, and geographies believe that the medical profession has increasingly come to look more like a business, rather than a vocation. The impact of this, and where the medical profession stands now, is explored in this episode.

Doctors and MBBS students from diverse specializations, age groups, and geographies believe that the preparation required and done for the NEET examination, does not actually help or provide any added advantage when they start their MBBS course. In fact, they claim that during the MBBS program, every student starts from the same level. Given this, they also told The Hindu that States, rather than the Centre, should make decisions on how medical entry is conducted, to ensure that the State's medical needs are met-- in line with India's federalist structure.  Credit to Sonikka Loganathan and Vignesh Radhakrishnan

Doctors and MBBS students from diverse specializations, age groups, and geographies believe the notion that “rural students will naturally serve in rural areas” is flawed. Most argue that compelling students to work in rural areas might not be effective. Instead, integrating rural healthcare exposure into the MBBS curriculum and showcasing role models who work in remote areas could be more effective in bridging the rural gap. In this episode of “Vital Signs,” The Hindu Data Team consults various stakeholders in the medical field to understand the challenges preventing doctors from serving in rural settings and potential solutions.

Doctors and MBBS students, in various fields of specialisation, across various age-groups, from diverse geographies, say they believe that while common entrance examination for medical seats is a necessity, the coaching industry skewed it in favour of urban and richer students. Unaffordability of quality coaching classes and the luxury that richer students have to drop a year to prepare for the exam, make it increasingly difficult for students from poorer and more rural backgrounds to get a seat, they said. In this episode of Vital Signs, The Hindu Data Team speaks to various stakeholders in the medical field to understand the issues plaguing India's medical education, over the years.

On May 28, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the run-off elections, extending his rule for another five years. Erdogan has been president since 2003. Over the past twenty years, he’s used religion to come to power, and maintain it, in a country where popular politics previously had a largely secular flavour. Erdogan, and his Development Party (AKP), used religious nationalism to create the new Islamic Turkey. In this episode, The Hindu speaks to Sathish Deshpande, to understand, how much of this is a result of Erdogan and his policies, and identify the similarities between Turkey’s trajectory and what we are seeing in India.