Should privacy be a tradable right?

India is a poor country, but it is ‘data-rich’. The dominant consensus today holds that data – including personal data -- should be exploited for economic growth. Is it possible that this consensus is wrong? One outcome of this consensus is the ‘consent regime’, which paves the way for monetisation of personal data. You tick a box to give your ‘consent’ and that’s it, so far as your privacy is concerned – it’s now a tradable commodity. But is it ok to have markets for privacy? Or, is it similar to having markets for organs, or for blood donation, or for child labour? A new scholarly paper titled, ‘Data and Privacy: Putting markets in (their) place’ uses the economic concept of “noxious markets” to question whether privacy should be a tradeable commodity at all. What if it isn’t something that should be traded? Guest: Reetika Khera, Professor of Economics at IIT, Delhi Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Shot by Jude Weston & Almas Mohammad Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Bengal is gearing up for assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee will face her toughest challenge, given the anti-incumbency factor of three terms. The BJP, in 2021, had cemented its position as the primary opposition, winning 77 seats to the Trinamool’s 215 seats. This time, unusually, but no longer surprisingly, the Election Commission has become a key character in the political narrative. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ended up deleting more than 60 lakh voters. And in many constituencies, the number of voter deletions is greater than the margins of victory in previous elections. Another issue is the mass transfers in the state bureaucracy, which are unprecedented, and were challenged in court by the TMC. Mamata has used these developments to frame the polls as a fight between a besieged Bengal and Bengali ‘asmita’ on one side, and a BJP-led Centre on the other. The BJP has been playing the anti-migrant card to polarise voters, and has also sought to target the TMC on corruption and misgovernance. Whose narrative will gain the upper-hand? What is happening with the lakhs of voter deletions? How will the SIR impact the outcome? We speak with Shiv Sahay Singh, The Hindu’s Chief of Bureau in Kolkata. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With elections in Tamil Nadu gearing up, one development drawing sharp attention is the entry of Vijay, whose political debut is expected to command a significant share of the vote. He comes from a long line of figures in the State who have transitioned from cinema to politics. In Tamil Nadu, the film world and politics have mutually benefited each other. The Dravidian movement changed the face of cinema. C. N. Annadurai, founder of the DMK, and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi deeply influenced Tamil cinema. Cinema became a medium to propagate ideas of social reform. The dialogues Karunanidhi penned for Parasakthi, starring Sivaji Ganesan in the lead role, marked a clear departure from a cinema that had been largely dominated by songs. This helped the DMK secure power in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, M. G. Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, used cinema to meticulously cultivate an image that later helped him in politics, going on to become the Chief Minister of the State. But does entering politics necessarily guarantee success? And how crucial has cinema been in defining the political landscape of Tamil Nadu? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 on March 25. The Bill aims to amend the FCRA Act, 2010. The main thrust of the amendment is the introduction of a ‘Designated Authority’, which will have the power to take over the assets of an NGO, if it fails to renew its FCRA-certificate on time, or even if it voluntarily surrenders it. The Bill has sparked outrage from Opposition parties and minority organisations. The CPM has said that the Bill represents an “attack on minorities” and that “the provisions of the Bill could result in takeover of minority places of worship and educational institutions.” Does this Bill violate the principles of natural justice? Are the fears of minorities justified? What will its impact be on civil society organisations and on human rights groups, if it goes through? We unpack the implications of this Bill in this episode of InFocus, and joining us is Noshir H. Dadrawala, a consultant who advises NGOs on compliance and regulatory issues. Host: G Sampath Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Left Front has been in power in Kerala since 2016. It is looking for a historic third consecutive term in power. But can it overcome the anti-incumbency that has built up over these ten years? The poor performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and in the recent  local body elections might indicate that the LDF (Left Democratic Front) faces an uphill task. Does this mean that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is the frontrunner? Many, however, would argue that the BJP is also a key player. Does that mean the electoral field in Kerala is now tripolar? What conclusions can we draw from the patterns of ticket distribution by the three major parties? Will the BJP’s Christian outreach work? What would it mean nationally if the Left were to lose in the only state where it’s in power? We speak with Dr J Prabhash, former professor of Political Science and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kerala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashok Vardhan Shetty is one of the three members of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee, appointed by the DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to study Union–State relations. The committee recently submitted Part 1 of its report to the Chief Minister, who has since tabled it in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.  Tamil Nadu has historically been very vocal about issues such as decentralisation, state autonomy and federalism. As early as 1969, the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi appointed the Justice Rajamannar Committee to examine the relationship between the Centre and the States.  Against this backdrop, we speak to Mr. Shetty understand the recommendations and ideas presented in the report.    Guest: Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Fomer IAS, Member of Justice Kurian Joseph High-Level Committed on Union-State Relations  Host: Bhagavathi Sampath K J  Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gold usually rises during geopolitical crises, but this time, it’s falling. Why? In this episode of In Focus, we unpack what’s driving the recent drop in gold prices, from shifting interest rate expectations and a stronger U.S. dollar to liquidity pressures in global markets. Has gold lost its safe-haven appeal, or is this just a temporary price correction after years of growth? Here we discuss the question. Guest: Kavita Chacko, Research Head for India at the World Gold Council and B. Bhagwan Das, Former associate professor of Economics at Loyola College, Chennai Host: Areena Arora Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the growing importance of the care economy – a rising demand for caregivers globally and an opportunity to train and skill young people to meet this demand. India stands at a unique position here – despite having the largest youth population in the world, it is also a rapidly ageing country. Estimates indicate that by 2050, we will have over 300 million people aged over 60. With this, will come an increasing number of medical conditions related to old age. The question now is, do we have the health and care resources to cater to these growing population segment? Do we have enough geriatricians? Does our medical curriculum focus enough on geriatric medicine? Do we have adequate community care-based systems to take care of our senior citizens? Guest: Dr Arvind Kasthuri, Head of Unit, St John's Geriatric Centre and Professor, Department of Community Health, St John's Medical College, Bengaluru Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court’s recent verdict in the case of Harish Rana, allowing for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, as the 32-year-old had been in a persistent vegetative state for over a decade is a landmark judgement. It builds upon the framework of the Court’s own 2018 Constitution Bench guidelines, and it upheld the right to die with dignity. Following this, there has been a lot of discussion about advanced medical directives or living wills, documents in which people can set out how they would like to be cared for, in the event of a terminal illness or in a situation where they cannot decide for themselves. So, what exactly is a living will? What do you need to do before you make one? And how do you go about making one? Guest: Dr M R Rajagopal, chairman Emeritus of Pallium India and Adjunct Professor of Global Oncology, Queen’s University, Canada Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, in a ruling on maternity leave for adoptive and surrogate mothers, the Supreme Court called on the Union government to examine the need for a formal law recognising paternity leave for all fathers, adoptive or biological. It noted that though parenthood is not a solitary function, fathers are often relegated to the periphery of their children’s lives, especially in infancy and early childhood, The Court termed this “a kind of injustice”. Should men be given paternity leave? Here, we discuss the question. Guests: Professor Ashwini Deshpande, who heads the Economics Department at Ashoka University, specialising in development economics, including gender and labour issuesSanjoy Ghose, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India with extensive experience in labour law.  Host: Priscilla Jebaraj Edited by Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices