All Things Policy

Local government bodies are essential to grassroots democracy and effective governance in any country, much more so in a large country like India. However, their elections and functioning since the 1990s have been intermittent and delayed. In the first (of two) parts of this episode, Miheer Karandikar talks to Rishvanjas Raghavan about why Indians should care about municipal corporations and what...

Sports in India is at a turning point. We are a young nation, holding alot of potential and promise across sectors. There is no better time than now to capitalise on how Sports can be a catalyst for social development, job creation, and overall wellbeing. Listen in to what Malathi Renati and Nandan Kamath have to say about what’s in store for 2025 from a policy, innovation, and community perspecti...

In this episode,  Sowmya Prabhakar , COO of Takshashila Institution, is in conversation with Bhumika Modh from The Association of People with Disability (APD, India). They talk about the recent developments in the accessibility space. Using the framework of society, markets & government - they dwell on what it takes to make accessibility a reality for PwDs in India. All Things Policy is a dail...

It is a season for one nation, one ‘fill in the blank’. The Government of India, on 25 November 2024, approved One Nation One Subscription — or ONOS for short — as a Central Sector Scheme. Lokendra sits down with Shambhavi — head of research at Takshashila, to unpack the ONOS and discuss its upsides and downsides. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshash...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Vanshika Saraf discusses India’s regional connectivity efforts with Riya Sinha, who has extensively worked on the CSEP Sambandh Database. From the inspiration behind the project to the challenges faced in compiling and maintaining the database, the conversation explores how India has stepped up its integration efforts with the neighbourhood by intensifying inf...

While it may feel strategic, could a political apology be a necessary feature of a healthy democracy? You've seen many a political leader take to a public apology whether it be to address historical injustices or government failures, but what's the value of a political apology anyway? And what are some of the features of a "good" political apology? Join Kripa Koshy and Shreya Ramakrishnan as they...

Aditya R and Shambhavi Naik discuss the ongoing plans for updating the biological weapons convention, a key UN treaty that prevents the development and use of bioweapons. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. The Takshashila Institution has designed the 'Technopolitik: A Technology Geopolitics Survey' to understand and asses...

Join Dr. Y. Nithiyanandam in a thought-provoking conversation with Ms Ingvild Brodtkorb, guest speaker at the United Service Institution (USI) recent annual conference on UN Peacekeeping Missions. This engaging discussion explores how climate change is reshaping the challenges faced by modern peacekeeping operations. Key topics include strategies for adapting peacekeeping efforts, integrating clim...

India and Bangladesh have had cordial relations in various geopolitical frontiers. While a successful Ganges water treaty came into existence in 1996, the Teesta River dispute remains unsolved today. but not so much when it comes to the transboundary river, Teesta. While there was a successful Ganges water treaty that came into existence in 1996, Teesta river dispute remains unsolved till today. I...

After years of delays, India's ambitious Venus Orbiter Mission is set to launch in 2028. Space writer Jatan Mehta joins Ashwin Prasad and Aditya Ramanathan to discuss the incredible challenges of mapping Venus' hellscape. He also provides a fascinating description of subsequent missions planned by the European Space Agency and NASA. Check out Jatan's blogs: Indian Space Progress   Moon Monday All...

In a follow-up to a previous discussion on the Starship, Ashwin and Swathi delve into the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), a cutting-edge rocket recently green-lit by India's Union Cabinet, analysing its potential to revolutionise the country's space program. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. The Takshashila Instit...

Private players in India do not spend enough on Research and Development. India’s in-house industry R&D spending is a mere 36.4 per cent of India’s gross expenditure on R&D, compared to 77 per cent in China and 75 per cent in the US. This underinvestment limits India’s innovation capacity and, consequently, growth potential. In this episode, Suman Joshi and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the key...

India's Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, recently briefed the Parliament on the disengagement deal between India and China in Depsang and Demchok. While he touched upon several aspects of the deal, many questions remain unanswered. In this episode of ATP, Amit Kumar and Anushka Saxena of Takshashila's Indo-Pacific Studies Programme break down Jaishankar's statement and get into the spec...

Large language models (LLMs) generally do not work that well with non-English languages. But why is that the case? What does this mean for India, which has 22 languages recognised by the constitution and, according to different estimates, has total languages running into hundreds? How do we build and deploy LLMs for Indian languages? Should we even do so? Lokendra sits with Adya and Anwesha from t...

Join Rohan Pai and Leah Govias in today's exciting episode of All Things Policy as they dive into the world of deepfakes! Following close on the heels of Trump’s election victory, the soon-to-be head of the latest ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Elon Musk sued the State of California for implementing a new law that would regulate deepfake content shared online, or more specifically, shared o...

To strengthen India’s stance on critical mineral security, the Ministry of Mines in 2023 identified 30 critical minerals deemed essential for the nation's economic development and national security. While the report highlighted India's complete import dependency for ten critical minerals, it did not fully address a more pressing concern - the extent and nature of dependency on China, a strategic a...

It all started with a dream, a vision; to bridge gaps and improve the status quo. Sports entrepreneur and alumna of the #OpenTakshashila "Building a sporting nation" course,  Amita Malhotra , shares her start-up journey with  Malathi Renati . How she found her IKIGAI, combining her interests, mission, and skills into a viable business model,  EqualSportz , the 'new kid on the block' (Debut: July 2...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Miheer and Anisree delve into India's state capacity challenges. They examine the Takshashila Institution's research on the topic and propose solutions to address these challenges in key domains. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. The Takshashila Institution has designed the 'Technopo...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Shobhankita and Avinash discuss deep tech software startups. They ponder how we can measure its impact without software patents as a concept in India. They also discuss software patents and alternative frameworks to classify a startup as deep tech software without relying on patents or IP. Link to our earlier podcast on deep tech startup: https://www.youtube.c...

India faces a significant urban housing crisis, particularly affecting low-income households. Indian cities are overcrowded, lack sufficient infrastructure and offer a low quality of life. Shobhankita Reddy and Anisree Suresh discuss the role that startups can play in addressing some of these challenges. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Instit...

India is on the brink of a demographic transformation. With a rapidly growing elderly population, the nation faces an ageing crisis with far-reaching implications for its economy, healthcare, and social structures. In this podcast, Vanshika Saraf is joined by Leah Govias and Malathi Renati, where they discuss the issue of India's changing demographic and explore the challenges of providing adequat...

In this discussion, Rakshith and Anika explore Azerbaijan's presidency during COP 29, examining how it was organised and assessing the outcomes related to climate finance. They also discuss the implications of Trump's upcoming presidency on U.S. domestic and international climate policies, as well as China's actions during COP 29. Finally, Anika will share a few sources where you can stay updated...

Join Srinivasan Iyengar and Arindam Goswami in this episode of All Things Policy, where we have an absolutely fascinating and insightful discussion about Delhi's air pollution problem, its causes and sources, and look at tools, models and frameworks to do data-backed, source-driven analysis to help policymakers with informed, optimal decision-making when it comes to solving the air pollution probl...

AI has risen to prominence over the last few years, and fears that it will take over jobs has driven narratives around it. In this episode, MIheer Karandikar talks to Sridhar Krishna and Arindam Goswami about their recent paper called 'AI Adoption: Think tasks not jobs' in which they show how AI will replace specific tasks, not whole jobs and propose a framework to think about the impact of this r...

At a time when the labor force participation of women in India continues to lag significantly behind that of men, is a woman’s participation in leisure a challenge? Leisure enthusiasts, Kripa Koshy, Rijesh Paniker, and Shreya Ramakrishnan discuss. What do the women in your life do for leisure? Do you think leisure is necessary? Write to us at contact@takshashila.org.in. Books mentioned in this epi...