We The People

It is time society takes notice of how ugly the quest for beauty really is. This is where Dove India's #StopTheBeautyTest campaign comes in. On this special edition of We The People, we are joined by Hindustan Unilever's Priya Nair, Edelweiss AML's MD and CEO Radhika Gupta, content creator Sakshi Sindwani along with Ameya and Pallavi from the "Fat. So? Podcast" and cosmetic surgeon Dr Debraj Shome to celebrate beauty in all shapes, colours, and sizes and pledge to create a more accepting society where there is no one particular definition of beauty.

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference has kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland. From October 31 till November 12, leaders from almost 200 countries will gather at this summit, aiming to strengthen the climate targets set in the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015. Watch this episode of 'We The People' for all this and more.

Petrol is above Rs 100-a-litre mark in all major cities, and diesel has crossed that level in more than a dozen states. While the government is reportedly in talks with oil exporting countries to keep the prices under check, the surging petrol and diesel prices are now becoming a major concern for the common man. The cascading effect of rising fuel prices can be seen in the prices of vegetables. Vegetable prices are at an all-time high in wholesale and retail markets due to crop damage because of heavy rainfall and high fuel rates. So, will the government ease the burden on the Aam Aadmi? Watch as panelists share their perspectives.

The arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has once again thrown the spotlight on the drug menace in India. High-profile drug busts make for great headlines, but are we missing the forest for the trees? Drug use, especially among the youth, is a pervasive phenomenon. Does India's youth have a drug problem? Do we need to nip it at the source instead of focusing on the consumer?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by electricity, not fossil fuel. EVs have little or zero tailpipe emissions and are also more stable in case of collisions. However, there are few choices. The initial investment in EVs is steep and some governments do not provide subsidies. EVs are also not suitable for cities facing shortage of power. On the other hand, the service costs of fossil fuel vehicles increase significantly over the years while the fuel efficiency tends to decrease. Recently, a Bengaluru EV owner hauled his e-scooter to the 5th floor kitchen for charging. Efforts though, are being made to make up for lack of charging points. The world's highest EV charging station was installed in Himachal Pradesh's Kaza this month. Green mobility firms have also been demanding that GST on input components be reduced. The future is electric, we ask industry experts and EV users about the challenges ahead and what India needs to do.

The clamour against NEET refuses to die down. The only single-window exam for any medical college is mainly based on CBSE curriculum. However, there is large scale variation in syllabus of CBSE and state boards. Most coaching centres are in cities, rural and socially weaker sections are unable to afford coaching classes. Many minority institutions are unable to fill their seats due to centralised counselling. There have also been instances of question paper leaks. This month, Tamil Nadu registered three NEET-related suicides in a week. A high-level committee led by former High Court judge found that NEET skewed results in favour of English-medium students and that there has been a dip in proportion of rural students post-NEET. We ask aspirants, medical students and doctors about all the issues surrounding NEET and the way ahead.

In a watershed moment for the Indian Army, in a landmark decision this week, the Supreme Court has allowed women to sit for the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam. What are the implications of the Supreme Court's order? Is this a big push for gender equity? Will it attract more women to the armed forces? Will women now be able to look forward to a long and ambitious career in the armed forces?

The renovated Jallianwala Bagh memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week -- the project was carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India and NBCC. However, historians say the new memorial is a distortion of history of the site where British troops killed hundreds of Indians on April 13, 1919. On NDTV, we discuss whether the Jallianwala Bagh makeover is a distortion of history or a renovation.

With the devastating second wave of Covid-19 now receding, schools have already reopened in several states, at least for senior classes. Schools in most other states are scheduled to open from September 1. In this episode, we have Dr Naresh Trehan from Medanta-The Medicity and Dr Naveet Wig, chairman of the AIIMS COVID-19 task force, joining us with a panel of students and parents to discuss whether going back to school is rushed or long-overdue.

Amid a decline in fresh COVID-19 cases across India, several states have started the process of unlocking and relaxing the restrictions imposed. Is it high time we send India's children back to school too? Is it time to prioritise opening up our schools in a planned and safe manner? If we can design protocols to open malls, pools and bars without risking lives, why not schools? On the show tonight, along with students, we discuss whether it is time to learn to reopen schools with precautions in place.

As the Taliban make rapid gains in Afghanistan, women in the country are concerned about their future. As Afghan women on Twitter plead for help, on the show tonight we ask, will the Taliban roll back freedom won by women? And are Afghan women's rights on the verge of a roll back? The Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and imposed strict rules on women during that period. Along with voices from Afghanistan on the show, we are joined by Mariam Wardak from HER Afghanistan, Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch, Nishtha Satyam representing UN Women India, Lisa Curtis from the Centre for a New American Security and Aishe Ghosh from JNU's Students' Union.

For the second straight Games, women athletes continue winning medals for India as witnessed at the Tokyo Olympics. While India celebrates, it is important to put our women athletes' victories in context - in a world of sport that is largely dominated by men in India. In this episode, we celebrate our athletes who have won despite an uneven playing field. We are honored to have Bhavani Devi, the first Indian Olympic Fencer, Nisha Millet who is the first Indian swimmer to qualify for swimming in the Olympics, Nikhat Zareen, a Junior World Boxing Champion, Jyoti Ann Burrett a former Indian footballer and currently Delhi state captain along with John Gloster, Ex-Indian Cricket Team physiotherapist as well as the head physio for Rajasthan Royals, Shagun Chowdhary, the first woman to represent at the Olympics in Shotgun and Sumitra Nayak, Captain of the U-18 Women's Rugby Team on the show.

CBSE Class 12 results were declared this week and recorded a 99.37 per cent pass percentage - a huge leap from last year's 88.78 per cent. In the absence of written exams due to the ongoing pandemic, CBSE formulated a 40% + 30% + 30% formula to evaluate marks. The formula rewarded consistency, students who performed well in classes 10 and 11 stood to benefit, with over 1,50,000 students scoring above 90 per cent. This year the cut off marks for undergraduate courses are also likely to go higher, with many students scoring over 95 per cent marks in CBSE Class 12 results. On this edition of We The People, we speak to the class of 2021.

As covid cases recede, we are not asking should schools reopen? Are schools safe for children? The question needs to be - when are schools opening and how can we make our schools safe for children? With 15 months lost, how do we get India's children safely back in school and learning again?

In India, large gatherings leading to an increase in Covid cases have taken place several times. A deadly and virulent second wave tore through the country in April-May bringing the health infrastructure to its knees with massive shortages of key medicines, hospital beds and oxygen supplies. Now, after months of anxiety and being cooped up at home as Covid raged outside, Indians are wasting no time in heading outdoors. Everyone wants fresh air to recharge one's batteries. It's only human but are we throwing caution to the winds, and inviting a third wave to hit India hard? Experts warn that this violation of Covid rules can lead to grave results.

Pregnant women in India can now get vaccinated against coronavirus. Accepting the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to allow pregnant women to make an 'informed choice' on taking the vaccine, the government said that pregnant women can now register on the CoWin platform or visit any vaccination centre for their shots. But how do you make an informed decision about the risks of Covid infection during pregnancy? In this edition of We The People, we bring to you an expert panel of doctors to answer all your questions and concerns.

The coronavirus pandemic has shut schools around the world, affecting millions of students. Countries around the world have now opened schools safely, ensuring minimal risk to children. But in India, most schools continue to remain shut. For 15 months students have been out of classrooms, the longest interaction that they have had is with their computer screens and that too if they were privileged enough to have one. Now as offices, malls, bars and gyms are reopening, the focus needs to shift to re-opening classrooms. On We The People we ask students and experts the one pertinent question on all our minds: "How do we prepare to reopen schools safely?"

From June 21, India will shift to a centralised procurement and supply of Covid vaccines, which means all the three available vaccines will be free for everyone above the age of 18 years. In the last one month, many states have struggled to procure vaccines despite many of them floating global tenders. Now, the Centre will buy and give the jabs to the states free of cost. After a few months of a slowdown in its vaccination drive, India is now rebooting.

As India crosses another milestone of administering more than 25 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, government data shows that more men are receiving the shots as compared to women in the country. A look at the gender gap in vaccination, its implications and whether policy makers are aware of this.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is going to be felt for years but the immediate impact of the second wave in India is glaring when it comes to unemployment. Just as the economy was showing signs of recovering from the pandemic's first wave, a ferocious second wave has led to India's job market plunging. A study done by the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) says over 2 crore jobs were lost in April and May due to the second wave, and India's unemployment figures hit double digits for the month of May 2021. On We The People, we look at these numbers, as we try to understand what they mean for the common people.