The Takshashila Podcast

What kind of products should a state-run PSU produce? Do PSUs make a profit? In this episode, Anupam Manur, Pranay Kotasthane and Sarthak Pradhan talk about the persistent role of state PSUs in India's economy and what can be done about them.

What power does the government have over your data? How should India approach global data sharing agreements? With the Joint Parliamentary Committee due to give its recommendations on the Data Protection Bill before the Budget Session, Prateek and Rohan s

Though people on average live longer today, there remain serious threats to global health. But do we know what these are? In this episode Anirudh Kanisetti talks to Shambhavi Naik to get her insights into a World Health Organization report on ten major ri

With the rise of China and the slow decline of the international system, how should countries think about the balance of power? In this special episode, Aditya Ramanathan and Manoj Kewalramani talk to Professor TV Paul from McGill University about soft

What is the role of news media in India today and how do we assess its health? In this episode, Manoj Kewalramani and Suyash Desai sit down with veteran journalist and Rajya Sabha member Kumar Ketkar to discuss media governance, censorship, and alternate

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen won a second four-year term in an historic election on January 11. Suyash Desai and Manoj Kewalramani join Anirudh Kanisetti to discuss the impact of Tsai’s re-election on the China-Taiwan relationship and its implications

Should the government be allowed to know whom you’re texting? Should it be able to pressure social media companies to silence voices? With the IT Act due to be amended this month with rules on intermediary liability, Rohan and Utkarsh sit down with Torsha

Do countries really need a grand strategy? Can volunteers transform journalism? And what's up with the curious phenomenon of 'flight shaming'? In this episode, Sarthak Pradhan, Nischitha Suresh and Pranav R. Satyanath join Aditya Ramanathan for a lively

A high profile confrontation at sea between China and Indonesia comes even as countries in the region try to come up with a common code of conduct. Manoj Kewalramani and Suyash Desai join Aditya Ramanathan to discuss what 2020 holds for the South China S

What books did people at Takshashila read in 2019? What is the significance of these books? In this episode, Manoj Kewalramani, Nitin Pai and Rohan Seth list their favourite books from last year, and talk about how each book has influenced their thinking.

A strange revolution, a catastrophic invasion, a dramatic terrorist attack, and an economic transformation. Few years in modern history have been as consequential as 1979. Four decades on, Mano Kewalramani joins Aditya Ramanathan and Sankalp Gurjar to dis

The killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds expeditionary force, is a pivotal moment in the history of modern West Asia. Aditya Ramanathan and Manoj Kewalramani join Anirudh Kanisetti to understand the man’s career, his influence on Ira

Anirudh Kanisetti and Utkarsh Narain join Aditya Ramanathan to discuss the most interesting stories of the week: China and the US are undergoing a divorce in hi-tech industries, Brazil’s Bolsanaro might have some upsides, and Australia is...

Four years after its inception, China's Strategic Support Force (SSF), which is responsible for cyber, space and electronic warfare, has become central to the PLA's military capabilities. How has the SSF developed and how does it compare against its...

How does someone who wants to influence policy actually do so outside of government? How does a policy career help transform the country, and for that matter, how do you get into the policy space anyway? Anirudh Kanisetti talks to Apurva Kumar,...

V. K. Krishna Menon is probably India's most famous defence minister - especially for his role in the 1962 Sino-Indian War. But it turns out there's a lot more to him than just that. From his role in the Freedom Struggle to his remarkable career as...

How has the Indian economy fared in 2019? From agricultural output to the GDP calculations, Apurva Kumar, Pranay Kotasthane, and Anupam Manur try to figure out the year's hits and misses.

How did India’s foreign policy hold up in 2019? From the ASAT test to Howdy Modi, Manoj Kewalramani, Pranay Kotasthane, Sankalp Gurjar and Suyash Desai discuss and debate the hits and misses in Indian foreign policy this year. You can listen to this...

What did 2019 mean for the Indian tech space? Rohan Seth talks to Utkarsh Narain and Prateek Waghre about how the debate has progressed in policy circles around data protection, facial recognition, social media, misinformation and other things tech....

The Union government is asking for inputs on a cybersecurity strategy for a new India. Takshashila’s Tech Team, Prateek Waghre, Utkarsh Narain, and Rohan Seth talk about the shortcomings of the 2013 national cybersecurity policy and debate on what...