All Things Policy

India's growth in bioeconomy will require strong regional inputs. In this episode, Shambhavi Naik and Saurabh Todi discuss why individual states should have dedicated biotechnology departments and a bioeconomy policy.

In this episode of "All Things Policy," Rakshith explores China's remarkable rise as a green energy superpower with Wanyuan Song, a section editor at the China Desk at Carbonbrief. China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has set ambitious targets to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Wanyuan traces the roots of these climate g...

In this episode of All Things Policy, we are joined by Deepthi Bopaiah who is the CEO of GoSports Foundation, a National award winning non-profit organisation to support elite and emerging athletes across Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. Under her leadership in 2019, GoSports was bestowed with the prestigious ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar’ – National Sports Encouragement Award for identify...

In this episode of "All Things Climate Policy," Rakshith explores the complexities of climate policy and its global impact with Dr Simon Evans from Carbon Brief. As we navigate through a potential shift in the U.S. political landscape, Dr. Evans elaborates on how a Donald Trump victory could significantly increase U.S. emissions by 2030 compared to Joe Biden's plans. We also explore...

India is the second largest mobile phone market in the world and produces 97% of it's mobile phone demand locally. However, the sector is increasingly dependent on the imported components to manufacture it domestically. Mariam Azeemuddin and Anisree Suresh analyse whether the push towards domestic manufacturing is the right step to reduce the growing trade deficit.

The year 2023 was globally the hottest on record. India was no different. Temperature spikes in 2024 are indeed worrying policymakers, but the common citizen is perhaps the worst affected. To understand what is happening in our cities, Dr Y Nithiyanandanam and Sachin Kalbag discuss the Urban Heat Island effect and its impact.

The United States has accused Russia of developing a space-based "nuclear device" capable of targeting other satellites. What could such a device be and why would states want such weapons? Ashwin Prasad and Aditya Ramanathan delve into the frightening rationales for waging nuclear warfare in our orbits.

South Korea's economic trajectory from a low-income, agriculture-based economy in the 1950s to a high-income, technology, and innovation leader is a testament to its remarkable transformation. What facilitated this transition? Were there any unintended consequences?  In this episode of All Things Policy, Anisree Suresh, Anupam Manur and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the insights that India can draw...

Listen to this episode of All Things Policy where Anushka Saxena and Sridhar Krishna question India's stance on digital trade and opposing the moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmission. They ask why a country which is a net exporter and the fourth largest exporter of digital services would seek to impose tariffs on digital trade.

India’s regional connectivity strategy has seemingly focused its efforts on maritime domains. A recent working paper by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) makes the case for greater inland connectivity, particularly between India's Northeast region and the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal sub-region, given the potential it holds for greater economic activity. Join Kripa Koshy a...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Rohan Pai and Anisree Suresh discuss the various knee-jerk responses from educational institutions to prevent academic dishonesty in the ChatGPT era. Should bans be placed on the use of ChatGPT by students? Should schools and universities restructure assignment prompts to circumvent the capabilities of ChatGPT? Or, by contrast, should teachers use ChatGPT ethi...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China in the last week of April in what many feel is a landmark step towards some kind of normalisation of relations between the two superpowers. But, was it really? Blinken's trip is the latest high-level contact between the two nations that have tempered the public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows in 2023. Sachin Kalbag discusses thi...

Join Rohan Pai as he quizzes Satya Sahu on the way in which technology intersects with political parties' strategy within the broader context of elections in an information age. This is the first in a two part podcast series on Technology and Elections.

Cancer is fast emerging as a matter of public health concern in India. Challenges are aplenty with limited access to affordable and quality healthcare and shortage of skilled healthcare professionals. Additionally, for breast cancer, it’s also the cultural barriers, misinformation and stigma associated with this disease. Malathi Renati hosts the award winning oncologist Dr Soumya Holla, a senior b...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Bharat Sharma speaks to Dr. Saya Kiba from the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, on how Japan views the Indo-Pacific, its regional objectives its interests, and the Quad's role in Japanese foreign policy. Dr. Kiba also comments on the trajectory of Japan's relations with India.

The ubiquitous semiconductor chips have acquired huge importance in today’s geopolitical environment. Join Arindam Goswami and Satya Sahu in this episode of All Things Policy as they uncover the intricate world of chip-based hardware backdoors, exploring their implications for cybersecurity, national security and public policy.

The Politburo of the Communist Party of China met in late April to discuss the country’s economic situation. It also announced that the long-awaited third plenary session will be held in July. Third plenums historically have charted the course for economic policy. In this episode, Anushka Saxena and Manoj Kewalramani breakdown the readout of the Politburo meeting, analysing the CPC’s economic prio...

93 percent of India’s workforce is informally employed and migrant workers, who move seasonally from villages to cities, form an extremely vulnerable group in this category. What are some of the chief concerns of such workers and how could India's recent plans to introduce a living wage by 2025 impact them?  Join Kripa Koshy and Divya Varma, Co-founder and Director (Knowledge and Policy) at Wo...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Takshashila Research Analyst Anushka Saxena is in conversation with independent research scholar Suyash Desai. The two discuss the recent reform announced in the Chinese military vis-a-vis disbanding of its Strategic Support Force (SSF), and the institution of a new Information Support Force (ISF). Suyash places this development in the larger context of reform...

Born out of war more than 50 years ago, Bangladesh has hauled itself out of poverty to become one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia Pacific region. But the nation still faces many challenges—climate change threatens to overwhelm its low-lying lands, corruption is endemic, and many critics complain that democracy and freedom of speech are under pressure. In this episode of All Things Pol...

An allegedly unscrupulous one person company has been handling data and infrastructure for DigiYatra, the biometric boarding system used at airports. Anupam Manur and Bharath Reddy discuss the implications.

Join Ashwin Prasad, Shreya Ramakrishnan, and Tanay Ravichandran, three policy enthusiasts sharing their latest discoveries in the world of public policy! A new course on ⁠Unpacking Urban Governance⁠ on OpenTakshashila is now accepting applications. Click ⁠here⁠ for more information.

Is it possible for AI to be racist? When Google's AI chatbot 'Gemini' launched a new text-to-image feature on February 1st, it received a barrage of accusations on social media for possessing an inherent reluctance towards generating images of light-skinned, Caucasian people. These accusations came after instances where the Founding Fathers were shown to be Native American and East Asi...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Kripa Koshy and Saurabh Todi discuss the recent controversy around the high sugar content in Nestle baby food in certain countries. They discuss the need for informed regulation and better compliance in India. A new course on Unpacking Urban Governance on OpenTakshashila is now accepting applications. Click here for more information.

In this episode, Ashwin Prasad quizzes Saurabh Todi on the recent Trilateral Technology Dialogue in Seoul. With a focus on strengthening supply chain resilience and fostering trade partnerships, Saurabh provides insights into the significance of this event. Join them as they unravel the discussions, explore key outcomes, and analyze the implications for technology geopolitics.