What lies ahead for Britain under Starmer? | In Focus podcast

A few weeks ago, the richest family in Britain, the Hinduja family, was convicted in a Swiss court and four of its members were given a prison sentence for exploiting their domestic workers, brought from India to a villa in Geneva. They were accused of paying the workers a pittance, making them work long hours and not allowing them to leave the premises. The family has said it will appeal the verdict, but the case throws a spotlight upon an issue that has long been neglected in India – the rampant exploitation of domestic help in the country and abroad. India has not ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Domestic Workers Convention No. 189 which advocates for their rights nor the ILO’s Forced Labour Protocol which would make it mandatory for countries to safeguard the interests of workers. India is estimated to have about 50 million domestic workers, largely women, primarily drawn from the five states of Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, with hundreds of thousands migrating within the State, to other States and abroad, but a law to protect their rights – which would cover their wages, working hours, holidays and other rights – has been pending with the Central government for some years now. So what is the legal situation of domestic workers in the country? Why is the government dragging its feet on bringing about a national legislation to protect them? Are the many recruitment agencies that have mushroomed across the country, subject to regulation? What happens when our workers go abroad? How do other countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines protect their workers? Guest: Sonia George, national vice president, of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and Asian executive member, International Domestic Workers Federation Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The Labour Party has scored an emphatic victory in the July 4 British general elections and Keir Starmer is all set to be the new Prime Minister replacing Rishi Sunak. Ending 14 years of Conservative rule, Labour look all set to win about 410 of a total of 650 seats, with Sunak's party way behind at 144, BBC reported. Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform Party won a paltry number of seats but picked up 14 per cent of the vote. Farage won a seat in Parliament on his 8th attempt. The Liberal Democrats are expected to win 58 seats. Labour's vote percentage only increased by about four percentage points over 2019, adding up to a little over 36 per cent of the votes cast. On their part, the Conservatives lost as much as 20 per cent of their vote from 2019. So, what lies ahead for Britain under Starmer? Guest: Andrew Whitehead, historian, lecturer and journalist. Former Editor of the BBC World Service. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

India’s historic triumph at the T20 World Cup has laid many ghosts to rest for a generation of stalwarts, who have now passed on the baton. It has also earned Rohit Sharma a place in the pantheon of world-conquering captains, alongside the likes of Kapil Dev and M.S. Dhoni. Was there anything that set this team apart from the others in the past that came too close, only to miss, such as the one that lost the ODI World Cup final last year? What does the retirement of Kohli, Sharma and Ravindrea Jadeja from the T20 format mean for Indian cricket? What’s in store for Indian cricket fans, with the Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for October? And will the victory in Barbados inaugurate a phase of Indian domination in world cricket, as is being suggested by many commentators? Guest: Amol Karhadkar from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Earlier this month a train accident in West Bengal killed 10 people and injured over 40. This comes just a year after the devastating multi-train collision that killed 275 people in Odisha last year.  Railway accidents have decreased significantly over the past decade -- only 0.03 accidents took place per million km in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. But this number loses meaning in light of the numbers of lives lost in rail accidents over the past couple of years.  After a train accident, there’s almost always several things that happen – human error or signal malfunctions are blamed, there is talk about the deployment of Kavach, India’s own automatic train protection system, and there is talk about whether the government is spending enough on safety and maintenance of the railway system, even as big ticket railway projects are unveiled.  The Indian Railways moves a staggering 24 million passengers a day. What are the safety challenges it is currently encountering? What is the status on the deployment of Kavach and why is it taking so long? Are lower-level staff disproportionately blamed for accidents while responsibility should rest elsewhere? What is India’s safety track record and what can be done to improve it?  Guest: Sudhanshu Mani is Retired General Manager/Indian Railways, Leader of Train 18/Vande Bharat project and independent rail consultant  Host: Zubeda Hamid  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Wimbledon 2024 kicks off from July 1, promising some really exciting match-ups. This would also be the first time 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner will enter a Grand Slam as the world no. 1, 24-time Grand Slam champ Novak Djokovic is racing against time to get fit after a knee surgery, and with French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, rounds out the Big Three of title contenders. Among the women, there is a lot of anticipation around the return to form of home favourite Emma Raducanu. World No 1 Iga Swiatek will once again hope for a breakthrough on grass – the one surface that she has not been able to adapt to so far. This Wimbledon will also be special for Indian fans as Sumit Nagal makes his main draw debut, and they can also cheer on Rohan Bopanna in the doubles. What does the draw look like? Who are the greats we might not see again at this venue? And how are the key contenders doing with regard to form and fitness? Guest: N Sudarshan from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

It is safe to say that Artificial Intelligence isn't just a fantasy anymore, we are using AI more and more in our day to day life, be it on our phones or for work.  This year, every smartphone manufacturer, be it Samsung, Apple, Google to Oppo, Nothing, are placing their bets on the technology. They have announced plans to integrate generative AI in phones to provide a personalised user experience. What does this mean?  The thing is, we have been using AI in our phones for a while already. We use it in various ways, be it video stabilization, image enhancement, editing, as a personal assistant, for transcribing, in various apps etc. So, what's next?    Host: Nivedita V  Guest: Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang earlier this month, his first visit to North Korea in 24 years. The two countries have signed a comprehensive co-operation agreement that includes a mutual defense pact – that is, if one country is attacked, the other will come to its defense militarily. It is also expected that Russia will help North Korea with technical assistance for its military, ballistic missile and satellite programs. This meeting and the security pact, coming close on the heels of a similar summit between Xi Jinping and Putin, is not likely to go down well with others in the region, especially South Korea and Japan. US officials have also said that it could create some friction between Russia and China, as it would undermine China’s more or less exclusive leverage over North Korea. But Russia-North Korea relations haven’t been great until recently. What has sparked this revival? Is there a deep ideological convergence between the two authoritarian leaders, or is it just a transactional relationship? How would China view this pact? And what would be the impact of this agreement in South Korea and Japan? Guest: Professor Sandip Kumar Mishra from the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston

Last week, on June 15, the world marked Elder Abuse Awareness Day. How well are senior citizens in India doing? A report that was released by the NGO HelpAge India reveals that a large majority of them are not doing very well – their study conducted across 20 cities in 10 States surveying over 5,000 elderly citizens found that nearly 65% reported that they were not financially secure. Over half of those surveyed suffered from two or more non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension and at least 7% admitted to being victims of abuse. India’s demography is changing – while senior citizens now constitute around 10% of the population – this number is expected to touch 20% by 2050. Family continues to play the role of primary caregiver, but also faces challenges, physically and financially. What happens if the family is from another city or country? While India has launched programmes such as the National Programme for the Healthcare of the Elderly and has enacted legislation like the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, implementation on the ground remains. Are the current social security nets sufficient to take care of senior citizens? Does the health infrastructure need to focus on geriatric care? How can their financial challenges be addressed? And how can the country work towards providing comprehensive care for our elderly population? Guest: Anupama Datta, Head, Policy Research and Advocacy, HelpAge India Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

In September 2022, India launched an ambitious project to restart a self-sustaining, cheetah population in the country by importing African cheetahs. In all, about 20 adult cheetahs were translocated to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Of these 20, 13 have survived, and with another 13 cubs born, there are now 26 cheetahs at Kuno. Obviously, Kuno is not big enough to accommodate this many animals in the wild. So Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary – much smaller in area than Kuno, also located in MP -- is being prepared to become the second home of the imported cheetahs. According to the government, the preparations are almost done, and plans for importing more cheetahs from Africa to Gandhi Sagar will be finalised after the monsoons. While the government has said that the Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary is a perfect home for the cheetahs, there are concerns about prey density, space, and adaptability. What preparations have been made to make Gandhi Sagar a suitable home for the African cheetah? Are these preparations, including large-scale relocation of prey animals from elsewhere, sound from a conservation viewpoint? How will the authorities ensure that the cheetahs don’t stray into human habitations? Guest: Ravi Chellam, Bengaluru-based wildlife biologist and conservation scientist. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The Supreme Court, in May this year, directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to ensure that advertisers and ad agencies submit self-declarations for every ad they put out. In these self-declarations, the advertisers would have to certify that their ads contain no ‘misleading’ content and are in compliance with all applicable regulations. With the Ministry complying with the apex court directive, starting from June 18, no new ad campaigns can be released without this self-declaration. This mandate seems well-intentioned – the objective is to curb misleading ads and protect consumer interest. But it has not found favour with industry bodies. It is expected that for the next three weeks, there might even be a slowdown in the launch of new ads. So, what exactly triggered this new mandate? Why is the ad industry unhappy about it? And if this is not the best way to protect consumers from fake claims, what are the alternatives that India could explore? Guest: Gowree Gokhale, lawyer with Nishith Desai and Associates, who specialises in Technology, Advertising, Media and Entertainment, and Data Protection law. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston