All Things Policy

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), steered by India’s National Health Authority (NHA), is building the digital public infrastructure for healthcare in India. It aims to leverage technology to improve healthcare services and delivery in the country by enabling healthcare players to build on the digital foundation. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya hosts Surbhi Arul (Associate Director, In...

The roots of China’s space ambitions go back to 1957 when the Soviet Union successfully launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, into space. That year, Chairman Mao Zedong declared China would also launch its own satellite. With the help of Soviet technology and scientists such as Qian Xuesen, who studied and initially worked in the United States but was deported for allegedly b...

Last week, the Union Government liberalised the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the space sector and introduced graded automatic route approval for different space sub-sectors. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya quizzes Ashwin Prasad on the implications of the government’s move, a brief history of the space reforms in India, and the role the government should play in creating demand...

What does India’s Agni-5 test really mean for its competition with China? What exactly are MIRVs and how do they affect the nuclear balance? Saurabh Todi and Aditya Ramanathan delve into the politics of atomic catastrophe.

A recent advisory by MeitY about the deployment of AI models which has caused a lot of angst and pushback from industry. Satya Sahoo and Bharath Reddy discuss why its hard to put guardrails on gen AI and some of the consequences from the advisory.

Between March 5 and 11, the 'Two Sessions', which is an annual meeting of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has been underway. The 14th NPC and CPPCC have met to discuss the economy, foreign policy, national defence, domestic politics, and more. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena quizzes Manoj Kewalramani on the key deliber...

As January drew to a close, the users of X were greeted with a startling announcement by the owner, Elon Musk. His company 'Neuralink' had successfully implanted its brain chip prototype in a human being for the first time, and the patient in question could manoeuvre a computer mouse using only their thoughts. But what about the risks? What helps a quadriplegic express their thoughts today may tra...

The data on Monthly Per capita Consumption Expenditure was released last week. How should we read this data?  How can it inform policy making at various levels? Sarthak and Suman discuss in this episode of All Things Policy.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Carl Jaison speaks to Sudhanshu Kaushik, author of “The Future is Ours: The Political Promise of India’s Youth”. Sudhanshu is an international youth activist and the founder of Young India Foundation (YIF). With a focus on youth empowerment, the highlights of his work at YIF included initiatives registering over 2.5 million youth voters, lobbying with over 200...

In this episode of ATP, Saurabh Todi and Shambhavi Naik discuss the state of research and development funding in India, what ails it and what can be done to improve the situation.

The Supreme Court of India (SC) is entertaining a public interest litigation (PIL) asking for fixed rates for medical services in all hospitals in the country and has directed the Union Government to develop rates for each medical service. Otherwise, it proposed to fix rates charged under the Central Government Health Scheme as an interim measure. In this episode, Anupam Manur and Shrikrishna Upad...

As contemporary Indian foreign policy evolves to navigate an increasingly complex regional and global geopolitical environment, the China factor bears heavily upon some of its choices and priorities. In this episode of 'All Things Policy', Takshashila's Anushka Saxena seeks insights from Mr. Manoj Joshi (Distinguished Fellow at ORF Delhi) on military security perspectives in India’s foreign policy...

Get ready for an insightful journey with Dr Y Nithiyanandam and Shreya Ramakrishnan as they dive into the future of road travel with a focus on India's new Satellite-based toll collection system, set to launch in March 2024. This engaging podcast uncovers the effectiveness of this innovative system compared to the existing FASTag, addressing its technical challenges, limitations, and the necessary...

The world's largest democracy is going to the polls this year. As much as a logistical challenge it will be given the sheer size, it will also be a test for the Indian media. Will the media be fair? Will it be able to remain neutral amidst the audio-visual assault? What about fake news and misinformation? What about ideological balance? All of these questions and more, in a discussion between  Sac...

In this episode. Manoj Kewalramani and Shambhavi Naik discuss the ongoing property crisis in China, the developing story of the Evergrande decline and the measures taken by the Chinese government to stem the impact of this crisis.

Lant Pritchett has described India as "flailing state", one where the limbs are not in sync with the head and the outcomes sought are not delivered. Sridhar Krishna talks to Bharat Reddy on how AI can be used to bridge the gap in state capacity and help Indians get the goods and services they desire from the government. Readings: Why does the Indian state both fail and succeed? By Devesh Kapur Is...

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has released regulations on studying the Party's history. It outlines the key objectives and principles embedded in the newly introduced regulations, emphasising the need for regular, long-term study of the Party’s history. Comprising six chapters and 34 articles, the document outlines general principles, leadership structures, responsibi...

Recently, the Karnataka government fixed uniform kilometre-based fares for all types of cabs plying in the state. In this light, Saurabh Todi speaks to Anupam Manur, Assistant Professor, Takshashila Institution, on the consequences of this policy.

The 2024 Munich Security Conference has recently concluded on February 18, and key discussions surrounded both traditional and non-traditional security issues such as China's military capabilities, the Russia-Ukraine war, leaps in technology, and climate change. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena quizzes Manoj Kewalramani on the important insights from the Conference, and what th...

Music has played a complimentary role in all our lives. In this tuneful episode, Malathi Renati has a chat with Lakshmy Iyer, a music exponent in carnatic classical, veena and musical whistling. They talk about the importance of music education from primary to higher education and touch upon its resonating impact across a wide spectrum of areas from learning difficulties and therapy to neurologica...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena interviews Kerry Brown, professor of China studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London, on the nature and drivers of Chinese Foreign Policy under Xi Jinping. Professor Brown shares keen insights on everything – from how Xi's supposed "all-powerful" authority manifests itself in policymaking, to the fundamental facto...

Article 23 of India's constitution allows the union government to mandate conscription to secure the nation’s interest and public well-being. There are various social as well as political arguments on why we should or should not enforce such conscription, but what would either option mean for India's contemporary security approach? Should the military focus on officers' quantity or quality, or on...

In her interim budget speech, the finance minister announced that a high-powered committee will be constituted to consider the challenges arising from "fast population growth and demographic changes". In this episode, Suman Joshi and Sarthak Pradhan delve into India's population growth trajectory, examining future challenges and exploring potential solutions.

Technologies like Solar PVs have become critical to enabling shifts towards the use of more renewable energy. In this episode, Anushka Saxena quizzes Amit Kumar on the supply chains of the solar PVs, and China's role in it. Amit also highlights the key factors behind China's dominance of the supply chains.

The Quad's rise as a strategic grouping has received much attention in recent years. In this episode of All Things Policy, Bharat Sharma hosts Arzan Tarapore, a Research Scholar at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation, to discuss what binds the grouping today, where the Quad countries stand in relation to China, and the Quad's prospects in the Indian Ocean Region. In this v...