Air India-Vistara merger: What’s in store for flyers?

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is a Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation that advocates for democracy worldwide. It has come out with a report on the health of democracies. Titled, ‘The Global State of Democracy 2024: Strengthening the Legitimacy of Elections in a Time of Radical Uncertainty’, the report has found that while one in four countries have improved in democratic metrics, a greater proportion – four out of nine – have declined. It also says that electoral participation has declined, one in three voters live in countries where the quality of elections has declined, and in what is clearly a dangerous trend, between 2020 and 2024, in one out of five elections, the losing candidate or party rejected the electoral outcome. Interestingly, the Report also found that disputes about the credibility of elections centred mostly on voting irregularities and vote counting. Coming to country rankings, the Report finds that India has declined on all four major categories of evaluation – Representation, Rights, Rule of Law and Participation. India is ranked 71 on Representation (a year-on-year decline by 1 place), 116th on rights (slipping down by 6 places), 80th on Rule of Law (down by 4), and 104 in Participation (down by 13 places). What is behind this democratic erosion – not just in India but across the globe? Why is voter turnout falling worldwide? And what can be done to reverse these worrying trends? Guest: Leena Rikkila Tamang, Director for Asia and the Pacific at International IDEA. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Many African and Asian countries, including India, are leaning towards biofortification of crops. It is the process by which the nutrient density of food crops is increased by various means without sacrificing characteristic that is preferred by consumers or farmers. Thus, biofortified crops are more nutrient-dense than non-biofortified varieties.   Experts believe that these crops can help end 'hidden hunger' or micronutrient malnutrition.  Research is underway to add iron, Vitamin A, and Zinc to humble staple foods. Iron-biofortification of beans, cowpea and pearl millet, zinc-biofortification of maize, rice, and wheat, and pro-vitamin A carotenoid-biofortification of cassava, maize, rice, and sweet potato are currently underway and at different stages of development across the world.  In August, PM Narendra Modi released 109 high yielding, climate resilient and biofortified varieties of crops at India Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. So, How can India get the best use of the process? And, what are the challenges involved in it?    Guest: Suneetha Kadiyala, Professor of Global Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine  Host: Nivedita V  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Jammu and Kashmir is set to hold its first assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370. The polls will take place in three phases, on September 18, 25th and October 1. The counting of votes will happen on October 8. Given that these are the first assembly elections in ten years, what is the mood on the ground? What are the poll promises being made by the contending parties, and how do they stack up against each other in different parts of the Union Territory? Guest: Peerzada Ashiq, The Hindu’s Srinagar correspondent. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Last July, a whistleblower in Kenya posted on social media that the country’s main international airport would be taken over by India’s Adani Group. The news sparked widespread outrage in Kenya. It has since emerged that the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA), which runs the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, has signed a $2.5 billion build-and-operate deal with the Adani Group. Under the agreement, the Adanis would renovate the airport and add a new runway and terminal, and in exchange, they would manage the airport for 30 years, after which they would get an 18% equity stake in it. Hundreds of airport workers protested against the deal on Wednesday, causing flight cancellations and leaving passengers stranded. Meanwhile, the Law Society of Kenya, the country’s bar association, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission have filed a joint application against the deal in the high court. The court on Monday issued an order suspending any action on the Adani proposal until the court case is settled. Why are Kenyans upset with this airport expansion project? Did the deal follow due process, in terms of transparency and bidding procedures? What are the demands of the Kenya Airport Workers Union? Guest: Senator Richard Onyonka, Member of Kenyan Parliament representing Kisii county. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

In this episode, we dive into the Uttar Pradesh government's new social media policy, which encourages influencers to promote the state's initiatives and achievements with incentives. However, this move has sparked controversy, with opposition parties criticizing it as an attempt to sway public opinion ahead of the upcoming elections. How does UP’s policy compare to other states? What are the rules for government advertising, and how does this new policy affect influencers and current practices? Guest: Apar Gupta, a lawyer, tech policy expert, and co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston

The merger of Air India and Vistara would be complete by November 12. From this day, all of Vistara’s bookings would be automatically transferred to Air India, and the same goes for Vistara’s crew and air craft. This merger has been in the works for a while now. But mergers in the aviation sector don’t always go down smoothly, and the Air India-Vistara case faces many challenges. What would be the fallout of killing a successful brand like Vistara, which commands considerable flyer loyalty? Can Air India deliver the premium experience that Vistara passengers have come to expect? What would be impact of this merger on the competitive landscape in the domestic aviation sector? Guest: Jagriti Chandra, The Hindu’s aviation correspondent. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

There were two recent court proceedings in the country that related to divorce and maintenance: in July, the Supreme Court once again upheld a divorced Muslim woman’s rights to claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code or the secular law ruling that this applies to all women “irrespective of religion.” And then just a couple of weeks ago, questioned a woman who had asked for over Rs. 6 lakh per month as maintenance from her ex-husband. The court advised the woman to provide a more reasonable account of her expenses if she wanted the court to consider her application further. So what exactly is a divorced person entitled to as maintenance – spousal and child support if children are involved, under the divorce laws in the country? How is this amount calculated? Why do so many women have to approach the higher courts for maintenance? Does the principle of being able to live in the same position as prior to the divorce apply? And does there need to be a fairer, more sensitive system for all involved? Guest: Guest: Mihira Sood, a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India and a visiting professor at the National Law University, Delhi Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston

X (formerly known as Twitter) has gone offline in Brazil. The country’s Supreme Court issued an order to block X in Brazil after Elon Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the company in the country. This defiance came on the heels of repeated flouting of the court’s orders to block certain far-right accounts that were allegedly spreading disinformation. X has more than 22 million users in Brazil, who suddenly find themselves cut off from their accounts. The judge who ordered the ban, Alexandre de Moraes, has also said in his order that those who use VPN to access X will face a fine of 50,000 reais, or $8,850 per day. Musk, meanwhile, has gone all out vilifying Judge Moraes, calling him an “evil dictator” ‘Darth Vader’ and Voldemort’. The ban on X has raised several questions about the global governance of social media. For instance, does this ban amount to some form of censorship, as Musk is claiming? Is it okay for an American tech platform owner to publicly back a particular political faction in another country, as Musk has been doing? Can an MNC expect to operate in a given country without complying with local laws? What lessons does the Brazilian court’s action hold for other nations in the Global South, such as India? Guest: Jyoti Panday, who is with the Internet Governance Project at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

For nearly a month now, the country has been rocked by protests by medical professionals – services at many hospitals stalled, at many others, healthcare staff wore black badges while working and in Kolkata, the epicenter of the protests, doctors have now begun telemedicine services to help patients while they continue their protest. The agitations began after the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.  The protesting healthcare workers are demanding, among other things, speedy justice for the victim as well as a Central law that protect healthcare workers and spaces. The Kolkata case, they point out is not the first: there have been scores of incidents of violence against healthcare workers across the country and the problem is escalating.  What are the reasons behind violence in healthcare spaces in India? How many States have laws to protect healthcare professionals and why is there no Central law despite a 2019 draft bill? How can the government, the medical community and other stakeholders help build trust in the medical system once again?    Guests: Aatmika Nair and Uma Gupta of the Association for Socially Applicable Research (ASAR)  Host: Zubeda Hamid  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heightened military strikes over the August 25 weekend. While Israel carried out large scale ‘pre-emptive’ air strikes on southern Lebanon in response to what it claimed were preparations by Hezbollah to strike Israel, Hezbollah still went ahead and launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel.  The attacks left one dead in Israel and three dead in Lebanon, and raised fears of the conflict escalating into a wider regional war. But Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that their strikes on Israel had completed their retaliatory response to avenge the killing of their commander Fuad Shukr, and with Israel, too, indicating satisfaction with its strikes, tensions have reduced to a low simmer for the time being.  How do we make sense of this tit-for-tat exchange? Can the asymmetric war that Iran and Hezbollah are waging against Israel help in moving the needle towards a ceasefire? And why has Israel launched a major military operation in the West Bank even as it’s bogged down in Gaza?  Guest: Stanly Johny, The Hindu’s International Affairs Editor.  Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Jude Francis Weston