The Takshashila Podcast

Kingshuk Saha discusses with Aditya Ramanathan and Bharat Sharma the Israel-Hamas crisis that has engulfed the Middle East. They talk about how it affects India’s interests and its response to the emerging challenge. (As it is a developing event, please note that the podcast was recorded on October 20, 2023)

Malathi Renati (Head of Takshashila’s Policy School) and Sowmya Nandan (Head of Corporate Affairs at Takshashila ) are in conversation with Gowthami Saraf who shares her first-hand experience of homeschooling, the benefits and challenges, and how government policies, markets and society can support this emerging but niche education segment.

Police raids are search and seizure operations conducted by the police for investigation and evidence collection. They often become media spectacles or are used as intimidatory tactics. Police raids have severe consequences for individual freedoms and privacy. In this episode of Police Chokwi, Javeed Ahmad (former IPS and DGP of Uttar Pradesh) speaks to Shrikrishna Upadhyaya on the use of raids by police, the procedural safeguards available to individuals and the legal gray area around digital evidence from devices like smartphones and laptops.

Using high-resolution satellite images. Dr. Nithiyanandam, Head of Geospatial Research Programme at the Takshashila Institution, analysed three operational dual-purpose airports and two airbases under construction in Central Tibet, namely, Shigatse Peace Airport, Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Nyinghchi Manling Airbase, Shigtase Tingri Airbase, and Damxung Airbase. According to him, “China's rapid construction pace and utilization of cutting-edge technology indicate its commitment to maintaining a long-term presence in the region”, located very close to the Indian borders. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya quizzes Nithiyanandam on China’s PLA Air Force’s capabilities in the region, construction of underground facilities, strategic location of the airbases, and lessons for India. Reading: Takshashila Geospatial Bulletin: Rapid Military Infrastructure Expansion in Tibet: A Satellite Imagery Analysis Join OpenTakshashila, an initiative by the Takshashila Institution, to creat a global and open community with a s

What is 'Open RAN', and why have countries and groupings rushed to advocate for its deployment within the telecom industry? In this episode of All Things Policy, Bharat Sharma speaks with Bharath Reddy on what has made Open RAN attractive, how technology interacts with geopolitics, and current obstacles in Open RAN deployment.

In a significant decision this week, the Supreme Court of India held that there is no fundamental right to marriage and refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya speaks to Saurabh Todi about the failure of the court to recognise marriage or civil union of same-sex couples, the remedies granted by the court, and the implications of the decision for queer rights in the future. Reading: Plea for Marriage Equality: Judgement Matrix - Supreme Court Observer

Growth in global trade has helped reduce abject poverty around the world very significantly. Rising protectionism since 2008 has led to a drop in global trade as a percentage of global GDP and threatens efforts in poverty alleviation. Growing tensions in Europe and the Middle East are not helping. The potential for growth in trade in services is a silver lining. Despite 63% of global GDP comprising of services, only 21% of global trade is in services. Can services trade be the answer to economic growth and progress across the world and what specific lessons do this hold for India? Shrikrishna Upadhyaya deliberates all this with Sridhar Krishna.

The National Statistical Office recently released India's GDP data for the first quarter of 2023-24, and this release prompted debate around the veracity of the data. In this episode, Sarthak Pradhan and Suman Joshi try to make sense of the controversy around India's GDP numbers.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Amit Kumar quizzes Anushka Saxena on her latest book review on Paul Scharre's 'Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence'. The two discuss data, talent, computing, and institutions as the key pillars of the geopolitical quest for technological supremacy in AI.

Last weekend, the Chinese Communist Party concluded a two-day National Ideological and Cultural Work Conference. The big outcome of this was the establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. In this episode, Anushka Saxena and Manoj Kewalramani discuss why the canonisation of such ideas as thoughts matters in Chinese politics and what are the implications of this new thought.

With India achieving its biggest haul ever of 107 medals at the Hangzhou 2023 Asiad games that just concluded, it is important to look at some of the good policies that had been put into place many years prior to make this happen. As a nation, India has a lot of potential and its athletes were able to capitalise on some of the government initiatives. Can the Indian society, markets, and government now work together to take sports to the next level? Malathi Renati, who heads the policy school at Takshashila Institution and has played hockey, baseball, and softball at the national level is in conversation with Carl Jaison, program development manager as they look into some of the success factors behind India breaching the 100 medal mark.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Shambhavi Naik and Saurabh Todi discuss the recent announcement by the European Union to conduct a risk assessment of critical and emerging technologies and how emerging technologies are increasingly being seen through the prism of national and economic security.

On October 7, 2022, the United States Department of Commerce implemented controls related to semiconductor manufacturing in China in order “to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests”. The recent announcement of Huawei’s 7nm Kirin 9000s chip has raised concerns that the kerfuffle created by the sanctions has all been for nothing and China apparently has next to leading-edge fabrication facilities. So, have the sanctions failed to achieve their objectives and will the US double down with additional measures? In this episode of All Things Policy join Aditya Ramanathan and Satya Sahu as they attempt to gauge the effects of the US ChIp sanctions a year later.

In this episode, Sowmya Nandan from Takshashila Institution hosts author Shoba Narayan for a conversation on her latest book Namma Bangalore: The Soul of a Metropolis. They go through the layers of food, language, art, start-up ecosystem, citizen-led movements & homes in Bangalore. And of course, traffic. Buy the book here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0CG6J6V9P/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena and Amit Kumar discuss the structural challenges besieging the Chinese Economy, as well policy responses by the central leadership (or lack thereof).

Over the last two years, China has been working on three global geostrategic initiatives: the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI). Takshashila's Sachin Kalbag and Manoj Kewalramani discuss what they mean for China, for India, and for the rest of the world.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Saurabh Todi and Shambhavi Naik discuss the importance of the Green Revolution and Dr. M.S. Swaminathan's role. They discuss how science and policy intersect and the steps needed to usher in the next green revolution. Recommended readings: MS Swaminathan’s farsightedness for Punjab: Discouraged free power to tackle groundwater crisis, wanted ‘evergreen revolution’ without harming ecology MS Swaminathan’s evergreen revolution: Productivity without ecological harm

India has plans to put one of its citizens on the International Space Station in 2024. But why do governments bother to put people into space when they can use robots? And how should India approach such costly missions? Satya Sahu and Aditya Ramanathan discuss.

In this episode, Amit Kumar quizzes Anushka Saxena on the industrial and policy ecosystem surrounding drone technology in the Chinese military. Anushka describes types of Chinese drones, increasing emphasis on the modularity and autonomy of drones, and the challenges the Chinese ecosystem is currently facing.

After being in discussion for more than a decade, the Women's Reservation Bill has been passed, but could it be a non-starter? What are the implications? Are there other alternatives that could've been explored to increase women's representation? Saurabh Todi and Suman Joshi discuss. Readings: India’s first women MPs punched above their weight | The Indian Express The Women's Lottery Bill NBER Working Paper Series Women As Policy Makers: Evidence From A India-Wide Randomized Policy Experiment by Raghabendra Chattopadhyay