All Things Policy

In this episode of All Things Policy, Sridhar Krishna (Senior Scholar), Suman Joshi (Staff Programme Manager, GCPP) and Kripa Koshy (Staff Programme Manager, PGP) take a high-level look at the state of Indian society vis-à-vis inequalities and contradictions that pervade it. They pay particular attention to the story beyond economic indices, with particular attention to privilege and the role of i...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Amit Kumar and Anushka Saxena discuss the scenarios to witness during the succession of the 14th Dalai Lama. Given the importance of the issue to the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the believers of Tibetan Buddhism, and Beijing, there is both a religious and geopolitical vantage point from which to assess India and China's responses and counter-responses. Do check...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Anisree Suresh and Swathi Kalyani unpack India’s agricultural trade policies, examining where the country holds export potential and what it must do to maximise gains from its agriculture sector. They discuss India’s farm trade policy and suggest calibrated liberalisation, tariff easing, and leveraging strengths in products where India is competitive to balanc...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Swathi Kalyani, Geospatial Research analyst at the Takshashila Institution and Mr. Vipul Anand, Consultant to the Water Resources Division, Bureau of Indian Standards, Government of India discuss about the critical world of flash flood management. They explore what distinguishes these sudden, devastating events from regular floods and examine the risks they po...

More than two decades after 9/11, al-Qaeda continues to quietly rebuild, embed in local conflicts, and sustain a decentralised global network. In this episode, Aishwaria Sonavane speaks with Kabir Taneja to unpack where al-Qaeda stands today, its regional affiliates, and what its evolution means for the Indian subcontinent. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by th...

The recent blanket ban of online real money gaming in India has upended a multi-billion dollar industry and raised urgent questions about jobs, user protection, and market regulation. In this episode of All Things Policy, Adya Madhavan and Anwesha Sen break down the new law’s impact on platforms, players, and policymakers—and explore whether this radical change is a path to reform or a case of reg...

The Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Tianjin, China, concluded with many substantive agreements between 'partner' countries surrounding the creation of a new bank, the addition of new members, and the creation of a global economy that suits the interests of developing countries. But does it create the trajectory for the charting of a new world order? Did the Summit really throw up the real p...

In a world of shifting power dynamics, who controls access to AI? Join us as we unpack the critical issues of AI sovereignty and access. In this episode of All Things Policy, our expert guest, Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, discusses with Bharath Reddy on how open AI, software, hardware, data, and standards might hold the key. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by t...

How did China become a tech superpower, and can it last? Join Shobhankita Reddy and Ashwin Prasad as they explore the foundations of China's technological rise—from its achievements to the hidden fragilities that threaten its future. If you are keen to learn more, check out the chapter co-authored by Shobhankita Reddy and Pranay Kotasthane in a recent book published by The Hindu Group: China:...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Bharath Reddy chats with Arindam Gowsami on how geopolitics is increasingly shaping tech decisions. A US software company blocked services to a Russian-backed Indian oil refiner to comply with EU sanctions. An evolving tech landscape for companies and governments alike. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Ins...

In this episode of 'All Things Policy', Anushka Saxena interviews Dr. April Herlevi, CNA-affiliated expert on PRC security and foreign policy. Dr. Herlevi highlights the thinking behind security-related decision-making in the Trump administration, and how China's pan-securitisation of geopolitics, geoeconomics and technology exchanges is a primary motivator. She further discusses the c...

Over the past decade, FOSS has become a significant component of modern technology, powering a large percentage of software solutions used regularly. FOSS offers the ability to study, adapt, share, and re-use software without the constraints of proprietary licensing. Beyond cost savings, organisations across sectors like healthcare, education, finance, and IT are discovering deeper benefits such a...

As negotiations with Beijing continue, relations with Moscow strengthen, and contentions with Washington become evident, New Delhi finds itself navigating the 'impossible trinity' of its diplomacy. I.e., it cannot maximise one relationship in this superpower triad without creating concerns in at least one of the other two ties. Hence, delicately balancing relations with China, the US, and...

As India charts its trajectory to build in-house AI/ ML capabilities, data centres emerge, quite literally, as central to the ecosystem-building exercise. What role must industry play to bring capabilities home? How do challenges pertaining to power transmission and renewability affect data centre operations? Tune into this episode of 'All Things Policy', wherein Anushka Saxena quizzes Anwesha Sen...

What happens when you mix a towering reading list, a looming recording date, and three policy nerds? You get the first episode of All Things Policy: Reads . Join Shreya Ramakrishnan, Shobhankita Reddy, and Arindam Goswami as they dive into two books on Indian public finance, covering the making of India’s fiscal union, subnationalism in Peninsular India, the northern population surge, delimitation...

On May 25, Liberia-flagged MSC Elsa 3 sank around 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Only a few days later, a Singapore-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 caught fire off the coast of Kerala. Two such incidents around India's coastal waters are not a rare phenomenon. There have been multiple such incidents in the seas and oceans surrounding India’s long coastline, posing various risks to marine li...

In conversation with Anushka Saxena, Amit Kumar busts the myths surrounding China's H1 trade figures for 2025. He explains how there can co-exist an apparent contradiction between rising export numbers and slowdown in the contribution of trade to China's economy. Amit further argues that rebalancing of the Chinese economy toward domestic consumption will be a long and tumultuous road, and...

What are world leaders really like behind closed doors? In this episode of All Things Policy, Aishwaria Sonavane speaks with veteran foreign correspondent Shyam Bhatia about his candid encounters with figures like Benazir Bhutto, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, and others. Bhatia offers insights into the charisma, vulnerability, and private facets of world leaders. All Things Po...

China is the world’s largest hydrogen producer — but how much of that is truly green? With national and provincial policies now in place, we explore how different regions are shaping their hydrogen roadmaps, the challenges slowing adoption, and whether these strategies could give China a first-mover advantage in the global clean energy market. In this episode of All Things Policy, Bhumika Sevkani,...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Vanshika Saraf sits down with Mr. Peter Varghese, former Australian Foreign Secretary, to understand how Australia views the intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China. As a longstanding ally of the U.S. and a major trading partner with China, Australia finds itself delicately balancing economic interests on one hand and alliance co...

Mobility is never just about roads and metro lines—it’s about people, governance, and markets coming together to shape how we live. In this episode of All Things Policy, MOD’s Anvitha Nambiyar and Amrita Ganapathy join Sowmya Prabhakar , COO, Takshashila Institution, to explore Bengaluru’s mobility challenges: equity, institutional coordination, PPPs, and the question of liveability. Can the city...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Surat Parvatam, Senior Strategist from the Humane World for Animals chats with Malathi Renati (Head of Policy School, Takshashila), about the global shift that’s underway to replace animal testing with cutting-edge, human-based research methods. Backed by advances in stem cells, organ-on-chip, and AI modelling, this approach promises greater accuracy, ethics,...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Aishwaria Sonavane speaks with Atul Mishra about why the shadow of Partition continues to shape and constrain India-Pakistan relations. Moving beyond the conventional geopolitical lens, they delve into the deep historical roots of identity politics, the processes of national homogenisation, the “hostage minority” phenomenon, and the idea that the two nations a...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Abhishek Kadiyala is in conversation with Prof. Paul McGarr to unpack the evolution of the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) and its often strained, adversarial relationship with President Donald Trump. From allegations of “deep state” sabotage to growing public mistrust of intelligence briefings, we explore how this friction impacted the global strategic lan...

In today's episode of All Things Policy, Swathi Kalyani, research analyst and Dr. Y. Nithiyanandam, Head of Geospatial Research Program, discuss how today's geopolitical intelligence depends on high-resolution satellite imagery—capable of revealing infrastructure damage and military assets in conflicts like India-Pakistan or Israel-Iran. They talk about how Foreign imagery providers can cr...