In Focus-Parley | Should commercial speech on digital platforms be regulated?

On september 9, 2025, Israeli forces launched an attack in Qatar in what is being seen as an unprecedented escalation beyond the Gaza conflict. The strike rattled Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political office for years and positioned itself as a key mediator in ceasefire and hostage negotiations. While Israel claims the strike was aimed at Hamas’s leadership, it has triggered wider concerns — about violations of sovereignty, the safety of negotiators, and the future of diplomacy in West Asia. So, what does this escalation mean for Qatar’s role as mediator? How does it affect the future of negotiations with Hamas? Is Israel signalling a new phase in its regional strategy, and what might this mean for U.S. allies and European powers navigating the fallout? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington’s new tariff regime, an extra duty on India-origin imports and the end of the $800 de minimis exemption, is already rippling through India’s textiles and apparel supply chain. Export margins are being squeezed, small businesses have maxed out working capital loans and inventories have piled up as orders have stalled, and mills are facing a major shortage of cotton. In the next part of a series on In Focus, looking at the impact of the United States’ 50% tariffs on goods imported from India, we unpack who gets hit, how jobs are affected, and what policy support could cushion the blow for the textiles and apparels sector – a sector for which close to a third of its export orders come from the U.S. Guests: Soundariya Preetha M, Deputy Chief of Bureau, The Hindu Thivya Rakini, State President, Tamil nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) Host: Kunal Shankar Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nepal is the most politically unstable democracy in the world since 1990 with 30 government tenures in 35 years. In this episode, we’re going beyond the breaking news regarding the recent upheaval in the country using numbers: What do they tell us about inequality, youth anger, and the failures of Nepal’s political class? And what reforms might actually make a difference? Click here to listen to Part 1 Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu Host: Nitika Francis Recorded by Thamodharan B and Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On 8 September 2025, the quaint Himalayan town Kathmandu saw violent scenes. A ban on 26 social media platforms sparked protests that turned anti-corruption rallies deadly—19 people including school children were shot. The next day, offices of political parties, ministers’ homes and parliament itself were attacked. Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli resigned. How did it come to this? Why are young Nepalis losing patience? What does this mean for the country’s future? Guest: Roman Gautam, Editor, Himal Southasian Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Private coaching in India has grown into a parallel education system. It is no longer just extra help after school, but the backbone of learning for millions of students. In the last seven years, tuition has surged across all levels - from primary to higher secondary. Among rural girls in higher secondary, the rise is especially sharp, while States in the east like West Bengal, and Odisha are seeing some of the highest numbers, with coaching starting as early as Kindergarten. In some cases, families are spending more on tuition than on school itself. The podcast explores the factors contributing to this dependence on private tuition in the east. What does it say about the state of our schools? And how is this reshaping education in India? Guest: Sabir Ahamed, Programme Director at the Pratichi Institute Host: Devyanshi Bihani Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rajetha Damisetty explains how the entry of unqualified practitioners and a lack of regulatory oversight is impacting patient safety when it comes to skin and hair procedures being performed in India. The wellness sector is booming in India. Aesthetic, skin and hair clinics are everywhere, social media feeds are filled with advertisements and procedures such as hair transplants, skin lightening, botox and others are becoming increasingly common. In a few cases that have been reported in the news however, some of these treatments have gone horribly wrong – in May this year, two men from Kanpur died after botched hair transplants and another man in Kerala contracted a serious bacterial infection. Experts say that the problem is the lack of regulatory oversight – who is supposed to be able to perform these procedures and who is actually performing them in India? Are clinics where these procedures take place fully licensed and equipped to deal with emergencies? Are misleading claims and exaggerated advertisements contributing to the problem? And what is being done to ensure patient safety? Guest: Rajetha Damisetty, a senior dermatologist based in Hyderabad and national chairperson of the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) Anti-Quackery, Legal and Ethics Committee. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India’s rocks hold an extraordinary record of life: the earliest traces of plants, dinosaur bones, and even fossils of ancient horses, whales, and humans. This wealth comes from the subcontinent’s geological journey after it broke away from the supercontinent Gondwanaland and later its collision with Asia that formed the Himalayas. Yet today, fossils face mounting threats: theft, commercial trade, and the absence of strong legal safeguards. In this weekender episode, we explore how India became such a rich ground for fossils, why these discoveries matter for both our past and our future, and what it will take to preserve them. Guest: Professor Ashok Sahni, one of India’s most distinguished palaeontologists, whose discoveries have reshaped our understanding of India’s ancient world. Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday morning, a 45-year-old man died in Kerala of amoebic meningocephalitis. This is the fourth death reported in Kerala in less than a month of this rare but deadly infection, colloquially known as brain-eating amoeba. This year alone, over 40 cases have been reported in the State, with 11 people undergoing treatment in hospitals at present. The Health Department has invoked the Kerala Public Health Act to launch preventive and control measures, as it emerges that perhaps all waterbodies — wells, ponds, canals, swimming pools, water theme parks — could be a potential source of amoebic infection for people using them, unless these are regularly cleaned and maintained in good condition. What is this brain-eating amoeba? Why is a rare infection being seen in dozens of people across one Southern state? How is it diagnosed and treated? And how can water be used safely? Guest: Dr Aravind Reghukumar, Head of department of infectious diseases, Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, KeralaConvenor of Kerala State Medical Board Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, the United States let low-value parcels enter duty-free under a rule called the de minimis exemption—literally “too small to matter.” By 2016, the limit had risen to $800, among the highest in the world, opening doors for Indian exporters to sell cheaply to American buyers. Now that rule is gone. The U.S. says it was abused, hurting local businesses and even enabling shipments to make synthetic drugs. With India’s government-run postal system halting most parcels, what was once too small to matter is now a big question for India’s small businesses: how will they cope? Guest: Movin Jain Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 25, 2025, the Supreme Court urged the Union government to frame guidelines for regulating social media, noting that influencers often commercialise free speech in ways that may offend the sentiments of vulnerable groups. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed that these regulations be drafted in consultation with the National Broadcasters and Digital Association. The order stemmed from an intervention application filed by a non-profit representing persons with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which alleged that comedians Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar had made derogatory remarks about those living with the disorder. Should commercial speech on digital platforms be regulated? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Apar Gupta and Jay Vinayak Ojha Host: Aaratrika Bhaumik. Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices