All Things Policy

Secularism is conventionally understood to be the separation of state and religion. However, according to the Indian Constitution, citizens are governed by differing sets of personal laws that depend upon their religion. What, then, is the meaning of Indian secularism? Turkey and France are both secular countries with no official state religions. At the same time, wearing a fez became illegal in T...

Join us in conversation with Satya Sahu, as he quizzes G S Madhusudan, CEO of InCore Semiconductors, on what semiconductor chip design entails in the background of India's growing chipmaking ambitions.

Geospatial technology is expected to be a cornerstone of governance in India, given its civilian applications in satellite technology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), geofencing, and remote sensing. In this episode, Dr Y Nithiyanandanam speaks with Sachin Kalbag on how this emerging tech will help us monitor natural resources, plan development and respond to...

In this second episode of All Things Policy in the new year, Manoj Kewalramani and Anushka Saxena discuss the trends and developments in the Chinese economy from 2023, and what deliberations from China's Central Economic Work Conference tell us about its outlook in 2024. They also discuss some predictions surrounding the announcement of a GDP target for China in the coming months.

This new year, it is time to make predictions once again. The members of Takshashila Institution get together to make their predictions for 2024 on public policy issues and important global and national events that have a bearing on public policy. They also take the opportunity to examine the outcomes of the predictions they made last year for 2023. This episode features Anupam Manur, Anushka Saxe...

In the final episode of the All Things Policy podcast for 2023, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya and Anushka Saxena discuss the challenge of Cyber-enabled IP Theft and provisions to counter it in international law. They also talk about India's preparedness in this regard, and some of the work regional IP protection groupings have done to mitigate the challenge.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Amit Kumar and Harshit Sharma discuss the Levant crisis unleashed by the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea. Do check out Takshashila’s public policy courses: https://school.takshashila.org.in/courses We are @‌IVMPodcasts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. https://twitter.com/IVMPodcasts https://www.instagram.com/ivmpodcasts/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/ivm...

In this episode, R Srinivasan gives a fair idea about the stories that the rocks unfold. This is connected with the Industrial Revolution & the comfortable life we lead. It could be the infrastructure to the appliances we use - all things lead to what earth has in store (minerals, deposits, rare earth elements, etc.).

The UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub is working on the challenge that “finance is not working for people or the planet”. They believe that the the answer is “an architecture for sustainable finance based on the SDGs” and their “target is a $1 trillion “Moonshot”. Shrikrishna Upadhyaya hosts Laure-Anne Parpaleix and Saiyed Kamil, programme analysts at the Sustainable Finance Hub, for a chat on the sign...

Kingshuk Saha and Dr Nithiyanandam Yogeswaran discuss the recent floods in Chennai, triggered by Cyclone Michaung, highlighting the vulnerability of Indian cities to climate-induced disasters and the way forward to mitigate them using technological and policy interventions

This episode delves into the escalating issue of GPS spoofing, especially spotlighting recent incidents in the Middle East. Prof Nithiyanandam dissects the fundamentals of GPS technology, demystifies the mechanics and motives behind GPS spoofing, and explores effective strategies for managing these threats.

sustainable transportation, Bicycle Mayor of Guwahati, Arshel Akther, sustainable mobility, equitable transportation, accessible transportation, inclusive mobility, government perspective, road infrastructure, urban mobility, society and transportation, sustainable cities, eco-friendly commuting, green transportation, alternative transportation, public transportation, urban planning, sustainable d...

While the pharma sector is significant in India it is also plagued by many failures and government interventions have yet to be effective. What can be done to enable the sector to achieve its potential? Kannan and Deepali spoke to Suman Joshi about their sectoral analysis on this.

Economic crimes such as money laundering and corporate fraud affect the country's socio-economic fabric and economic security. India has diverse legislative measures and state agencies in place to tackle such crimes. In this episode of Police Chowki, Shrikrishna Upadhyay quizzes two experts who have worked in the field, Dr. Pravin Tiwari (full-time member of the National Financial Reporting Author...

India is set to host the Quad Leaders' Summit in 2024. Over the years, the Quad has evolved to assume numerous domains as part of its public goods agenda. How does India view the Quad’s role in the Indo-Pacific, and how do other Quad countries see India’s role in the Quad? What is the Quad’s regional role? In this episode of All Things Policy, join Bharat Sharma and Kripa Koshy as they discuss the...

The Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 is a new draft legislation introduced by the government to update a 30-year-old law, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. Its significance lies in its attempt to regulate content on both traditional TV channels and emerging platforms like OTT services and streaming platforms. The Bill proposes more oversight by requiring platforms...

India has regularly seen bans on fireworks during festive seasons, but knee-jerk policy reactions aren't enough. Centralised directives to curb air pollution don't account for contextual differences across states, and give a one-size-fits-all model that doesn't seem to help. Can India adopt pollution policies from other countries? How do we ensure the sustainability of these policies? In this epis...

With active government support, the UPI has become ubiquitous and has changed the way we transact. What are the welfare gains arising from this? Rama, Shihas, and Krishna talk to Sarthak Pradhan and Suman Joshi about how they quantified this as part of the Estimation Exercise in the just concluded Ideas Shala event at Takshashila.

China’s diplomatic efforts since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, indicate a clear decision to lean in favour of the Palestinian side. This decision appears to be driven by a mix of economic and strategic interests, particularly China’s strategic competition with the US. Drawing from his latest working paper, Manoj Kewalramani, Chair of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at Takshashila Insti...

Could the war between Israel and Hamas impact India's tech and defence ties with Israel? And could a broader regional war create an energy crisis? Satya Sahu and Aditya Ramanathan consider potential scenarios that could upend aspects of India's approach to West Asia. Check out the Takshashila Working Paper: The Techno-Economic Impact of the Israel-Hamas War

On November 29, 2023, the US Department of Justice indicted an Indian national Nikhil Gupta in a foiled assassination attempt of a US citizen in New York. The purported target is a Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. This comes a mere two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a listed Khalistani terrorist, on Canadian s...

Tune into All Things Policy for an eye-opening episode on AI Governance. We're dissecting our most recent Takshashila Discussion Document - delving into AI's transformative role in society, the nuances of attempting to govern it, and the complexities of AI supply chains. Join Satya S Sahu, Rijesh Panicker, and Bharath Reddy, as they explore the values guiding AI from democracy to global stability,...

The past few years have witnessed the rapid growth of the India-Australia relationship. The agenda for bilateral partnership has expanded significantly from trade and security to emerging technologies and human capital development. In this special episode, Manoj Kewalramani speaks to Philip Green, the new Australian High Commissioner to India, on the priorities for the two sides going forward.

India has one of the strictest gun control regimes where obtaining a gun license is difficult for ordinary civilians. Gun violence and death numbers are also relatively low. However, India has a vast underground market of illegal firearms operated by criminal gangs, epitomised by the ‘katta’ or the countrymade handgun. In this episode of Police Chowki, Javeed Ahmad (ex-IPS and DGP of Uttar Pradesh...

Australia's recently released cyber security strategy, aims to enhance cyber protection for individuals and businesses. Jade Donney, Counsellor at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi highlighted the key aspects of this comprehensive approach.