Explore every episode of the podcast All Things Policy
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How China Makes Policy | 09 Oct 2026 | 00:35:09 | |
China is often seen as a highly centralised system where policy is decided at the top and simply implemented by the bureaucracy. But is Chinese policymaking really that straightforward? In this episode, Shreya Ramakrishnan speaks with Shobhankita Reddy about how policymaking actually works in China. They explore the iterative nature of the policymaking process, the different stakeholders who shape it, and how these dynamics are reflected in China’s approach to AI. The conversation then looks at the broader domestic economic trends shaping China’s technology ecosystem, and what these could mean for the country’s future technological ambitions. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| A New Congress, A New Challenge for India-US Ties? | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:30:54 | |
In this episode of All Things Policy, Aditi Palo speaks with Abhishek Kadiyala about the impacts of an altered US Congress composition on India-US ties. In the past, the US Congress has proven to be a relatively consistent element in India-US ties and a reliable institution in times of political uncertainty. But early trends in the midterm elections indicate a shift towards a more ideologically divided composition of Congress, which could potentially erode this very reliability. Aditi and Abhishek unpack the uncertainties a fragmented Congress would bring in, and delve into the measures India could take to preserve the institutional foundations of this relationship. Explore: US Mid-Term Tracker - https://dcdossier.github.io/Generational-Mid-terms/ DC Dossier - https://dcdossier.github.io/
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| America Votes | Why should India care? | 07 Oct 2026 | 00:35:23 | |
In this inaugural episode of 'America Votes', All Things Policy's series covering the US mid-terms, Brigadier Anil Raman and Abhishek Kadiyala cover the early trends in November elections. They discuss the process, the politics and its relevance for India. It frames the midterms as a contest for Congress, whose powers over war, tariffs and aid outlast any executive action. Tracing the President's record-low approval and Republican fears, the episode shows how American domestic politics now sets the cost and tone of ties with India. It argues that India remains strategically essential but politically disposable, and that a Democratic House will not undo American protectionism. Ultimately, it asks whether New Delhi must stop treating Congress as insurance against the executive and build constituencies on Capitol Hill. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| The Limits of US-China Cooperation on AI Safety | 06 Oct 2026 | 00:28:07 | |
Can the US and China cooperate on AI safety while competing to lead the technology’s development? Bharath Reddy and Shobhankita Reddy examine what the Trump–Xi summit revealed, why calls to slow the AI race face resistance and what areas they might possibly cooperate on going forward. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| The Medical Wild East | 05 Oct 2026 | 00:29:36 | |
A Chinese company engaged in semi-invasive brain-computer interface became the first firm globally to get regulatory approval for commercial use. Within 12 days, different arms of the Chinese government - both at the national and local level - worked together to assign the product a medical insurance code, add it to the government’s consumables catalogue, and list it for hospital procurement. In contrast, it may be 2029 when Elon Musk's Neuralink gets its regulatory clearance. Shobhankita Reddy sits down with Shambhavi Naik to discuss what all this means and its potential impact for China and the rest of the world. Read Shobhankita's op-ed here - https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/opinion/china-s-laissez-faire-approach-to-cutting-edge-medical-technology-has-set-the-cat-among-the-pigeons-14021687.html Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Should Governments Read Science Fiction? | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:28:17 | |
Science fiction has a habit of describing inventions decades before they're built: the submarine, the mobile phone, even the phrase "atomic bomb." Astha Rastogi and Ashwin Prasad Rao ask whether that same imaginative power can help governments make sense of technologies that don't yet exist. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Civic Innovation: What Works, What Doesn’t | 30 Sep 2026 | 00:36:08 | |
In this episode, Sowmya Prabhakar is in conversation with Kuldeep Dantewadia about Civic Innovation: What Works, What Doesn't. The framework and tools that Kuldeep shares give enough pointers to convene people to bring about change. We also discuss how this works at the intersection of society, government, and markets. We delve into what it takes to keep the learning muscle active by gathering, growing and repeating this process. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Cross-Border Strikes and Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:22:58 | |
In this episode of All Things Policy, Aishwaria Sonavane joins Adya Madhavan to unpack Pakistan’s escalating military strikes in Afghanistan. They discuss the deep-rooted ideological and tribal ties binding the Afghan Taliban to the TTP, the limits of regional mediation by actors like China and Saudi Arabia, and whether Islamabad and Kabul are entering a protracted, low-intensity conflict. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Saudi Arabia’s Houthi Problem | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:33:22 | |
In this episode of All Things Policy, Aishwaria Sonavane speaks to Raja Karthikeya about the origins of the Saudi-Houthi conflict, the evolution of the Houthis' military capabilities, and why Saudi Arabia’s considerable military and financial resources have not translated into an easy victory. They examine the strategic significance of the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, Washington’s reluctance to enter another regional conflict, the options available to Riyadh, and what the Mecca Pact could mean for the conflict. Tune in for a deep dive into the conflict in just 30 minutes. This episode was recorded on 21/09/2026 All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Mining, Money and the States | 25 Sep 2026 | 00:23:52 | |
Mining in India is subject to a remarkably high number of levies, from royalty and auction premiums to DMF, NMET, cess and state-level charges. A new amendment has raised even more questions. In this episode, Suman Joshi, along with Sarthak Pradhan and Shobhankita Reddy, unpacks the recent legal and policy changes, what they mean for miners, state finances and communities living around mines. Here is the piece Sarthak and Shobhankita wrote recently: https://theprint.in/opinion/excess-levies-india-mining-industry-minerals-council/3031226/
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Who Owns the View from Above? | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:33:14 | |
Satellite imagery is no longer just about having better satellites or sharper images. In this episode of All Things Policy, Gopal Tomar speaks to Dr Y. Nithiyanandam about how commercial satellite access, AI, and private companies are changing who can see and interpret the Earth. They look at what “sovereign Earth intelligence” means for India, whether strategic autonomy requires self-reliance, how India’s geospatial policy has evolved, and the risks around surveillance and privacy. They also discuss what India needs to build a resilient Earth-observation ecosystem and what that capability could look like by 2035. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Senior Citizen Policies: The Kerala Model | 23 Sep 2026 | 00:46:21 | |
Kerala's 60-plus population has grown from 12.6% in 2011 to 18.7% today. The state's own projections put it near 30% by 2051. India as a whole won't reach that share for decades. In the first episode of a series on active ageing, Malathi Renati speaks with Dr Praveen Pai, gerontologist and the WHO Global Network's Focal Point for age-friendly Kochi, about what it actually takes to govern for a population living longer rather than simply growing older. The conversation moves through three layers of government: what the Union has built since 1999, what Kerala has added on top, including a state senior citizen policy; and what Kochi did to become India's first age-friendly city. The key is the design and how the problem is framed: "ageing" and "living longer" are not the same policy problem, and that difference shows up in what actually gets built.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| India's Electricity Woes & Solutions | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:47:23 | |
Over the last decade, India's power sector has done few things correctly. Almost every household is connected, and we're adding solar and wind faster than most countries. But if you talk to someone who runs a distribution company, a solar park or a factory, you hear a different story. DISCOMs struggle to pay their bills. Solar gets switched off in the afternoon while another state scrambles for expensive power at night. And a unit of electricity costs the same at noon as it does at 8 pm, even though it's worth very different things at those two times. Today Arindam Goswami is talking to Srinivasan Iyengar about what's broken in how India buys and sells electricity, what other countries got right and wrong, and what a sensible Indian electricity market could look like. Srinivasan was the CTO for the Energy and Resources Industry in Asia at a major multinational technology company. His research focused, among other things, on Smart Cities and Energy. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| The Real Economics of Innovation Hubs | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:36:33 | |
State governments love lobbying for premier institutes, hoping they'll magically turn into the next Silicon Valley. But without the right ecosystem, top talent just takes the first flight out. In this episode of All Things Policy, host Kavya and guest Arindam unpack the real blueprint for building a tech hub. From state-backed venture capital and regulatory sandboxes to the live-test of India's Semiconductor Mission, discover the foundational policy levers required to turn a shiny campus into a thriving innovation economy. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| What If Your Biggest Launch Customer Is Yourself? | Space Launch 4 | 18 Sep 2026 | 00:37:03 | |
Rockets need things to launch. Increasingly, that demand comes from large satellite constellations whose spectrum and orbital filings are mediated by states. Lokendra Sharma and Ashwin Prasad Rao discuss how Starlink and China’s megaconstellations are reshaping launch demand, why orbital rights matter to launch capacity, and whether India can use its own emerging constellation plans to strengthen its domestic launch industry. If you often think about space and India's foray into it, then we think you may like to take the Technopolitik survey designed by the Takshashila Institution. It aims to assess what people think about how India should navigate high-tech geopolitics. Take the survey here: tinyurl.com/technopolitik All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Brahmaputra: The Risk of a River Changing Slowly | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:26:42 | |
China’s mega-dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo has raised concerns about downstream risks for India. Beyond the prospect of sudden floods, how could gradual changes in river flows and sediment reshape the Brahmaputra and the lives that depend on it? In this episode of All Things Policy, Kavya Rai speaks with Dr Y. Nithiyanandam about Himalayan hazards, climate change and the implications of upstream development for downstream states in India. They also discuss the role of geospatial monitoring, data sharing and scientific cooperation in strengthening India’s preparedness. The original op-ed about this was published in Times Now. The link to the original article (https://www.timesnownews.com/opinion/india/the-brahmaputras-real-risk-is-a-river-that-changes-slowly-article-156022924)
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| What Happens After a Rocket Fails? | Space Launch 3 | 16 Sep 2026 | 00:30:16 | |
Failure is an unavoidable part of developing launch vehicles, but not every launch company survives it. Lokendra Sharma and Ashwin Prasad Rao discuss why states sometimes continue supporting launch firms after expensive failures and sometimes allow them to disappear. Drawing on cases from the United States, China and elsewhere, they ask what India’s first serious private-launch failure will reveal about the state’s willingness to preserve domestic launch capability. The discussion draws on this newsletter: https://orrery.ashwinprasadrao.com/p/still-on-the-umbilical Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Laughs and SCO-ffs At Bishkek | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:39:39 | |
In this episode of All Things Policy, Anisree Suresh sits with Manoj Kewalramani and Anushka Saxena to unpack the 26th SCO Summit. They analyse the key takeaways from the Summit and its Bishkek Declaration, the utility of the Organisation itself from an Indian perspective, and its wider impact on regional security and cooperation. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| What India Gains from BRICS and the SCO | 11 Sep 2026 | 00:25:26 | |
India’s participation in BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation often appears contradictory. New Delhi shares the table with China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan even as it deepens ties with the United States, Europe and other Indo-Pacific partners. In this episode, Vanshika Saraf and Bhumika Sevkani examine what India actually gains from being on the table, where these groupings fall short, and whether continued participation strengthens India’s influence across regions and institutions important to a multipolar world. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| NPC Watch: China's Defence in Jeopardy? | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:35:51 | |
In this episode of 'All Things Policy', Aditi Palo quizzes Anushka Saxena on her takeaways from the recently concluded session of the 14th Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress. They discuss the revisions to China's National Defence Mobilisation Law, removals of key members from the Central Military Commission, and the budget report introduced at the NPC session. Anushka also addresses a question often asked by watchers of the NPC: Is it just a rubber-stamp parliament, or something more relevant? Tune in to find out her reasoning. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Reading the Himalayan Warning Signs | 09 Sep 2026 | 00:31:33 | |
The devastating floods in Nepal are a reminder of how hazards in one part of the Himalayas can cascade into disasters hundreds of kilometres downstream. In this episode, Nithiyanandam Y, Head of Takshashila’s Geospatial Programme, speaks with Shreya Ramakrishnan about what triggered the recent disaster, what geospatial intelligence can tell us before such events occur, and how better observation, preparedness and cross-border cooperation can help India manage the risks of a changing Himalayan region. As promised, read and listen to Nithiyanandam Y's analysis of these events: Nepal Floods: What Happened & What India Must Learn - https://youtu.be/wvpBI_D_G7U?si=_r1gV_5WRg5xIwDh The Science of Mountain Signs - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/environment/the-science-of-mountain-signs/articleshow/133631628.cms All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Navigating the Ice Silk Road | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:38:16 | |
A Chinese shipping company – Sea Legend- announced that it will be starting container shipping services between China’s east coast and the UK through the 'Ice Silk Road'. In this episode, Bhumika Sevkani and Anushka Saxena talk about the potential of the alternative route, the China-Russia partnership in the Arctic and the leverage that the Ice Silk Road could provide going ahead. Tune in to understand the global implications of exploring this trade route as well as the interests and actions of various geopolitical actors in the Arctic. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| What Does The Mecca Pact Actually Change? | 07 Sep 2026 | 00:30:47 | |
What does the emerging Mecca Pact mean for regional security and, more crucially, for India? In this episode of All Things Policy, Research Analysts Aishwaria Sonavane and Adya Madhavan deliberate on the trilateral defence arrangement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, analysing its capabilities, strategic asymmetries, and the gap between collective-defence commitments on paper and immediate operational realities. From the perspective of a Pakistan-Saudi nuclear umbrella to questions of military interoperability and Pakistan's long-term capability development, they examine what India should and should not be anxious about. https://aishwariasonavane.github.io/Mecca-Pact-Dashboard/ https://pakistanpaigham.substack.com/ https://grammarofwar.substack.com/
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Semicon 2.0 Focuses on Getting India's Chip Design Game Right | 04 Sep 2026 | 00:50:02 | |
On 31 August 2026, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) notified Semicon 2.0 – Scheme for the development of Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing Ecosystem in India. To discuss the hits and misses of this new architecture, Pranay Kotasthane speaks to Sunil Acharya, Management Director of the Semiconductor Future Accelerator Lab Foundation (SFAL). Sunil breaks down the incentives for chip design firms and explains how investors and entrepreneurs might perceive these changes. Read more: https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2026/275860.pdf
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| You Can Have a Rocket and Still Lose Access to Space | Space Launch 2 | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:29:14 | |
A rocket is only useful if it has somewhere reliable to launch from. Lokendra Sharma and Ashwin Prasad Rao discuss how geography, launch ranges, sea launch and access to foreign spaceports shape national launch capacity. They also examine India’s dependence on Sriharikota, the role of Kulasekarapattinam, and whether Technology Safeguards Agreements and overseas launch sites could give India more resilient access to orbit. The discussion draws on this recent newsletter edition discussing global space launch: https://orrery.ashwinprasadrao.com/p/still-on-the-umbilical For those interested in exploring these questions further, Takshashila Institution’s Space Power Course: Advancing India’s Interests in the Orbits and Beyond covers the strategic, commercial and military dimensions of space power: https://takshashila.org.in/pages/policy-school/ecc-space-power.html All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Who Pays for Private Rockets? | Space Launch 1 | 02 Sep 2026 | 00:28:55 | |
Private rockets may be built by companies, but who gives them enough demand to survive and scale? Lokendra Sharma and Ashwin Prasad Rao discuss how government procurement has shaped launch capacity in the United States and China, why India has largely supported the supply of rockets rather than buying launches, and how anchor contracts could help build a stronger domestic launch industry. The discussion draws on this recent newsletter edition discussing global space launch: https://orrery.ashwinprasadrao.com/p/still-on-the-umbilical For those interested in exploring these questions further, Takshashila Institution’s Space Power Course: Advancing India’s Interests in the Orbits and Beyond covers the strategic, commercial and military dimensions of space power: https://takshashila.org.in/pages/policy-school/ecc-space-power.html All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Should India Aspire to Have 15-Minute Cities? | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:28:25 | |
A 15-minute city is an urban planning concept where all daily essential services are accessible within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from any resident's front door. Developed by Franco-Colombian scholar Carlos Moreno and popularised in Paris, the model aims to reduce car dependency, lower carbon emissions, and boost local quality of life. But would this concept play out well in the average Indian city? To unpack this question and more, Kripa Koshy (Staff Programme Manager) is joined by Sarthak Pradhan (Assistant Professor, Economics) and Suman Joshi (Staff Programme Manager) in this latest episode of All Things Policy.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| How Is The Iran War Impacting US Midterms? | 31 Aug 2026 | 00:37:37 | |
In this episode of All Things Policy, Vanshika Saraf and Abhishek Kadiyala examine what the war on Iran means for the November 2026 midterm elections in the U.S. The joint U.S. and Israeli strikes that began on 28 February 2026 have not become a campaign issue in their own right, with only 4 per cent of Americans naming foreign policy as their top concern by July. The conversation applies a test drawn from Iraq in 2002 and Afghanistan in 2010, which is that American wars seldom rank as voter priorities yet often worsen the issues that do. The episode works through the evidence, including inflation at 4.2 per cent, petrol at USD 4.65 a gallon, record-low congressional approval of 10 per cent, and the repeated collapse of War Powers Resolution votes. The argument advanced is that the war reaches voters through prices and institutional distrust rather than as a war. It concludes by discussing certain indicators beyond inflation and institutional mistrust that might highlight the electoral and political impact of the war. Learn more: US midterm tracker: https://dcdossier.github.io/Generational-Mid-terms/ DC Dossier: https://dcdossier.substack.com/ ECC: The American System: https://takshashila.org.in/pages/policy-school/ecc-american-system.html Early Bird closes on 31st August. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Where Will Future Growth Come From? | 28 Aug 2026 | 01:40:09 | |
Since 1950, only a handful of countries have made the jump from poor to rich, and nearly all of them did it in a similar way. Put a lot of people in factories, sell cheap goods into open Western markets, and climb, one rung at a time, for forty years. Today, the tariff walls are going back up, the trade rulebook is fraying, and China sits on every rung of that ladder. The fashionable verdict is that India's window has closed. Has it? In this final episode of Turbulence, Anupam Manur is joined by Shruti Rajagopalan, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and host of Ideas of India, who refuses the premise. The path to prosperity, she argues, is not controlled by Washington or Beijing. It is blocked closer to home by what she calls India's regulatory cholesterol, and by the land conversion certificate you need before a factory can go up on a field. The conversation ranges across China, services beyond software, women and work, land, and state capacity, before landing somewhere unexpectedly hopeful: the biggest levers are still in India's own hands.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| The Great Indian Tournament | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:32:56 | |
In this episode, 'The Great Indian Tournament' — Only a few "win" India's white-collar job market while millions compete for a shrinking number of prizes. Sowmya Prabhakar & Shobhankita Reddy use tournament theory to figure out why India's middle class is hitting a breaking point. It points to real openings in the semiconductor design and entrepreneurship sectors where prizes are going unclaimed for want of the right people. However, this means the old rulebook- study hard, get a degree, get a job, retire safely needs rewriting for individuals and for policy alike.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| The State of Fiscal Decentralisation in Karnataka | 26 Aug 2026 | 00:33:35 | |
Karnataka has long been seen as a leader in fiscal decentralisation, giving local governments both responsibilities and resources to deliver public services. But as the state urbanises rapidly, is this changing? In this episode of All Things Policy, Sarthak Pradhan speaks with Manisha Marulasiddappa from Janaagraha, co-author of the report A Slow Reversal of Karnataka’s Fiscal Decentralisation, to unpack what is happening to fiscal decentralisation in Karnataka. Manisha discusses the role of State Finance Commissions, the growing gap between Karnataka’s urbanisation and its fiscal transfers to cities, and what Karnataka can do better. The report can be found here: https://www.janaagraha.org/resources/a-slow-reversal-of-karnatakas-fiscal-decentralisation/
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Pakistan in the Middle: Mediating West Asia | 25 Aug 2026 | 00:25:58 | |
Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the conflict in West Asia, balancing its relationships with Iran, Saudi Arabia, the US and China. In this episode of All Things Policy, Suman Joshi speaks with Aishwaria Sonavane about what has enabled Pakistan to play this role, the limits of its diplomatic leverage, and what its growing relevance could mean for India. This is based on Aishwaria's recent paper titled: SWOT Analysis of Pakistan’s Mediation in West Asia - takshashila.org.in/content/publications/20260811-swot-analysis-of-pakistans-mediation-in-west.html All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| State Equity In AI Companies | 24 Aug 2026 | 00:34:33 | |
In August, Sam Altman floated the idea of handing the US government about five per cent of OpenAI, dressed up as a sovereign wealth fund for ordinary Americans. Around the same time, and with far less noise, the Indian government moved towards taking a one to two per cent share in Sarvam, the Bengaluru startup building foundation models, in exchange for a compute subsidy under the IndiaAI mission. While the sums are small, what these arrangements set up needs to be analysed for its unintended consequences. MeitY writes the rules for AI in India. It also runs the mission that decides who gets subsidised GPUs. Government departments will buy some of what these companies build. And now the same ministry will also get a place at the table. Join Arindam Goswami and Bharath Reddy as we discuss all of this. Bharath has been following this, and he has argued that India should hold back even as Washington, Beijing and others reach for equity. In this episode, we work through why, and where the argument runs into trouble. You can read Bharath's oped on this topic here: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indian-government-invest-ai-openai-sarvam-sam-altman-10810106/ All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Risk and Resilience: Built in Peacetime | 21 Aug 2026 | 01:36:26 | |
Sooner or later, every country gets hit — a pandemic, a war, a shipping lane that closes, a bank that fails. And there is a comfortable belief in Indian public life that crisis is when things finally get fixed. 1991 is the proof, we tell ourselves. The fashionable verdict is that a crisis is an opportunity, and a terrible thing to waste. Is it? In this episode of Turbulence, Anupam Manur is joined by Ajay Shah — co-founder of the XKDR Forum, formerly of the Ministry of Finance and NIPFP, and co-author with Vijay Kelkar of In Service of the Republic — who calls that idea drawing-room chatter. In a crisis, he argues, checks and balances peel away, and the worst ideas get their hearing. What actually protects a country is built long beforehand: prices free to move, institutions able to refuse bad ideas, and what he calls strategic depth — the fiscal room to respond when something goes wrong. The conversation runs from social media's role in breaking an old political settlement, through China, to why India could not spend its way through the pandemic.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Why Swimming Is A Policy Issue | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:43:32 | |
India recorded 38,503 drowning deaths in 2022, 9.1% of all accidental deaths in the country (source: NCRB). Yet swimming is still treated as a summer hobby for the urban few, not the public-health and sporting priority the numbers demand. On this episode of All Things Policy, Malathi Renati is in conversation with Hakimuddin Habibulla OLY, 2000 Sydney Olympian and founder of Swimming Matters, about the importatance of swimming: why water safety has no real home in Indian policy, why the sport with the most Olympic golds on offer stays under-resourced, and whether India's swimming pool market ($204.6M in 2024) is a demand problem or a supply one. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| India’s Sovereign AI Stack: Beyond the GPU Race | 19 Aug 2026 | 01:06:11 | |
India’s AI ambitions are often framed around chips, GPUs, and the race for cutting-edge models. But AI is much more than hardware. In this episode, Gopal Tomar and Dr Dheeraj Dwarakanath examine India’s AI stack from the ground up — from electricity, data centres, and semiconductor manufacturing to models, applications, languages, and digital public infrastructure. The discussion explores what “sovereign AI” should mean for India, where India’s actual strengths and constraints lie, and whether the country should try to compete with the US and China on their terms or build an AI ecosystem around its own advantages. We also discuss India’s talent base, research capacity, UPI and digital public infrastructure, multilingual AI, frugal innovation, data governance, and the geopolitical implications of the global AI and semiconductor race. The central question is simple: Does India need to win the cutting-edge AI race, or can it build a different and more consequential model of AI for scale?
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Navigating India's Subsea Cable Governance | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:31:29 | |
Subsea cables are the fibre-optic networks laid across the ocean floor that carry approximately 95% of all intercontinental digital communications, serving as the essential, yet often invisible, backbone of the modern global internet. In India, the subsea cable ecosystem is constrained by regulatory gaps, procurement hurdles, and structural commercial barriers, resulting in significant vulnerabilities in the nation’s digital connectivity. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anisree Suresh and Anwesha Sen explore these vulnerabilities and discuss ways to mitigate the same. Check out our paper on "Navigating India's Subsea Cable Governance" for the detailed policy roadmap: takshashila.org.in/content/publications/20260720-subsea-cable-governance.html All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| FCRA: A Potential US-India Irritant? | 17 Aug 2026 | 00:17:43 | |
In this episode of the All Things Policy podcast, Kavya Rai and Abhishek Kadiyala examine India's 2026 amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and why a domestic funding law has drawn attention in Washington. The conversation frames the issue as a collision between Indian regulatory sovereignty and the rising force of religious-freedom politics in the United States. It traces the money at stake, from American donors to Indian recipients, and situates the debate within USCIRF hearings, Congressional interest, and the evangelical turn in US politics. The episode argues that while the executive has shown limited appetite for action, having moved only against Nigeria, the FCRA question retains real nuisance value as a Congressional and electoral lever. It ultimately asks whether this issue becomes an active irritant in India-US ties, or remains a low-grade friction ahead of the midterms. To track the latest trends in the 2026 US midterm elections, follow the Election Racebook here: https://dcdossier.github.io/Generational-Mid-terms/ To stay updated on the latest developments in US domestic politics and US-India relations, subscribe to our DC Dossier here: https://dcdossier.substack.com/ All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| China: Weaker at Home, Stronger Abroad? | 14 Aug 2026 | 01:47:35 | |
China's population is shrinking. Its property sector has collapsed, and taken local government finances down with it. Prices at the factory gate have been falling for years. By most conventional measures, the Chinese economy is in real trouble. And yet, last October, China made a change to its rare-earth export licensing, which sent countries scampering to think about economic statecraft. How does a weakening economy end up with more leverage than ever? In this episode of Turbulence, Anupam Manur is joined by Manoj Kewalramani, who chairs the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution, writes a daily newsletter tracking the Communist Party's own People's Daily, and is the editor of Taming the Dragon: A Manifesto for a New Modus Vivendi with China. The conversation traces China's domestic slowdown, how Beijing exports its overcapacity through outward investment and green tech, what its rare-earth and critical-mineral controls are actually built to do, and how China has quietly de-risked its own economy from the US since 2018.
Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| "We Feel Free" — India's Geospatial Sector Since the 2022 Policy | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:35:19 | |
Companies now tell Srikant Sastri that their chains have been removed. Dr Y. Nithiyanandam speaks with the GDPDC Chairman about whether that feeling amounts to an inflection point, what Operation Dronagiri proved in its pilot districts, where geospatial data pays off in agriculture, logistics and infrastructure; whether India can build sovereign capability in GeoAI and hardware; what students should learn now; and why this industry resists measurement entirely. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Geospatial Technology and India's Monsoon Crisis | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:34:38 | |
Geospatial data can predict where a flood will happen. Satellite imagery can identify vulnerable settlements before disaster strikes. Real-time mapping can guide evacuation decisions. India has all these tools. Yet our early warning systems remain fragmented, slow, and disconnected. In this episode of All Things Policy, host Kavya Rai sits with Dr Y. Nithiyanandam as he explains what needs to change in how we coordinate disaster response and what works in other countries. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Pakistan and the Taliban: From Allies to Adversaries | 11 Aug 2026 | 00:23:51 | |
Five years since the Taliban's returned to power in Kabul, ties between Pakistan-Afghanistan have steadily deteriorated reaching a new low. In this episode of All Things Policy, Aishwaria Sonavane speaks to Islamabad-based scholar and investigative journalist Natasha Matloob about what went wrong between the traditional allies. They look beyond the capitals to understand how communities along the border are experiencing the conflict, whether Kabul’s diplomatic promises holds up on the ground, who bears the economic costs of the confrontation, and whether this is a permanent rupture or just another cycle in a relationship that has survived decades of turbulence. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Indian Radius | Europe’s New Place in Indian Foreign Policy | 10 Aug 2026 | 00:28:03 | |
In this episode of The Indian Radius series, Vanshika Saraf joins Shobhankita Reddy to examine the progress of the India–EU Trade and Technology Council. The discussion looks at cooperation on open source technologies, start-up ecosystems, critical minerals, and a prospective association with Horizon Europe. They also briefly discuss the Indian President’s visits to Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania. These engagements reflect India’s effort to diversify its European outreach and create new opportunities in trade, investment, technology and institutional cooperation. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Sanctions and Economic Statecraft | 07 Aug 2026 | 01:23:38 | |
More than a quarter of the world's countries now live under sanctions. They have become the West's instrument of choice—the thing governments reach for when war is unthinkable and doing nothing is unacceptable. Freeze the reserves, cut off the banks, choke the exports, and force a government to change course without firing a shot. The fashionable verdict, after Russia's economy failed to collapse, is that sanctions simply don't work. In this episode of Turbulence, Anupam Manur is joined by Mark Harrison, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Warwick, one of the world's foremost economic historians of war and coercion, and co-editor of Economic Warfare and Sanctions since 1688. Reading three centuries of evidence, Harrison finds an interesting pattern: economic pressure has worked only when backed by force or the credible threat of it, which is the one thing the modern sanctions regime was built to avoid. The conversation runs from Napoleon's blockades to the chip war, asks why targets adapt faster than senders expect, and turns on an uncomfortable question for a country like India, caught between the sanctioners and the sanctioned. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| China Gives India "Strategic Breadcrumbs" | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:41:47 | |
As India and China navigate the paradoxes of their post-Galwan ties, stressors ranging from Delhi-Washington ties to a competition over influence in the Indo-Pacific continue to plague a strategic "reset." In this episode of 'All Things Policy', Anushka Saxena quizzes Saheb Singh Chadha on his latest research paper explaining China's India policy of "Strategic breadcrumbing." Saheb delves into the boundary question and the challenges posed by Beijing's sustained use of economic coercion, while arguing that the current thaw is nothing more than a pause before a new storm takes over the ties. Read his full paper, 'Threading The Needle', here: https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/07/threading-the-needle-indias-path-forward-with-china. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Aboard Starship, The Largest Rocket Ever | 05 Aug 2026 | 00:28:37 | |
SpaceX, which has built the largest satellite internet constellation and has also made history with the largest IPO in the world is now testing the largest rocket ever developed. Recently, the Starship, as the rocket is being called, completed its 13th test flight. But what is Starship? What does its success mean for the space sector in the US and beyond? And, what does it mean for the space race? To unpack these questions, Takshashila's tech geopolitics researcher Lokendra Sharma is joined by Ashwin Prasad, Takshashila’s space researcher who closely follows SpaceX related developments. The Takshashila Institution runs a four-week Expert Capsule Course on Space Power, covering India's space reforms, the Outer Space Treaty, megaconstellations, and the military space strategies of India and China. Cohort 4 runs 5 September to 10 October 2026. Applications close 31 August. Apply here: https://takshashila.org.in/pages/policy-school/ecc-space-power.html If you often think about space and India's foray into it, then we think you may like to take the Technopolitik survey designed by the Takshashila Institution. It aims to assess what people think about how India should navigate high-tech geopolitics. Take the survey here: tinyurl.com/technopolitik All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Thorny Security Relations Between India and the US? | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:27:29 | |
U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy, Elbridge Colby, recently critiqued what he called a "collective “middle powers” strategy". In this episode, Kripa Koshy (Staff Programme Manager) sits down with Brigadier Anil Raman (Retd) (Head, Defence Fellowship Programme) to analyse the U.S.' shift toward a more transactional, burden-sharing approach to global security and examine how India can navigate these evolving expectations. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Can China's Open-Weight Models Help India's AI Sovereignty? | 03 Aug 2026 | 00:36:07 | |
Last month, China hosted the ninth iteration of its World AI Conference in Shanghai. Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the event for the first time in nine years, and teasing out his speech beyond the rhetoric leaves some important takeaways. Meanwhile, companies around the world are turning to open-weight models from China that increasingly deliver near-frontier capability at a fraction of the cost. Join three researchers from the Takshashila Institution - Shobhankita Reddy, Amit Kumar and Bharath Reddy - as they make sense of what all this means for India. Read on - https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/lets-make-china-work-for-us-securely-building-indias-domestic-compute-keeping-good-terms-with-us-pax-silica-anthropic-101784679849823.html and https://eyeonchina.substack.com/p/the-symphony-of-global-ai All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Technology & Geo-Economic Disruption — The AI Shock | 31 Jul 2026 | 01:26:59 | |
Artificial intelligence is being sold as the biggest economic shock in a generation, a productivity revolution that will decide which countries grow rich and which fall behind. The machinery of it has already become a contest of power: chips have become chokepoints, compute is rationed by export controls, and the routine coding and back-office work that lifted millions across the developing world is squarely in the crosshairs. In this episode of Turbulence, Anupam Manur is joined by two guides to the two halves of the story. Pranay Kotasthane maps the geopolitics of AI, including the chips, the compute, and the contest for power. Economist Ashish Kulkarni brings in the economics and answers whether the productivity boom is real or overhyped, and who actually captures the gains. Together, they work through the question that matters most for India: does AI offer the developing world a shortcut up the ladder, or kick it away? Also, whether export controls actually work, and whether India should build its own "sovereign AI" or simply buy it in. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||
| Whose Forest Is It Anyway? | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:41:37 | |
The science of population biology and the coexistence debate with predators, how protected areas actually get expanded and monitored on the ground, and whose voices are heard in that process. This episode walks us through the science, the governance mechanics, and the on-the-ground reality of making any of this actually work. All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.Find out more on our research and other work here: https://takshashila.org.in/research-areas Check out our public policy courses here: https://school.takshashila.org.in | |||