All Things Policy
1,398 episodes - English - Latest episode: 26 days ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsEver wondered how automation will change the world? Maybe you puzzle over what India could do to ease traffic congestion, or how China's aircraft carriers will transform Indian Ocean geopolitics? All Things Policy, a daily podcast brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, brings you all the answers. Every weekday, our researchers break down complex economic and geopolitical ideas through the lens of current events. For everyone from the busy executive to the curious student, All Things Policy is all you'll need to understand the world (and appreciate your breakfast) better.
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Episodes
Capital Punishment Jurisprudence in India: Reform Vs Retribution
April 06, 2023 00:30 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBKingshuk Saha speaks to Anubhav Raj Shekhar, Assistant Professor of Law at BML Munjal University (on sabbatical at the University of Oxford where he is researching South Asian societies) on the capital punishment jurisprudence in India.
Fifty Years of Project Tiger
April 05, 2023 00:30 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MBOn April 1, 2023, India celebrated 50 years of Project Tiger, arguably the most important ecological conservation programme in the country, and easily the most successful large carnivore protection initiative in the world. Yet, policy challenges abound: development vs ecology, human-animal interaction, habitat loss. Dr Anish Andheria, president and CEO of Wildlife Conservation Trust speaks to Sachin Kalbag on both the success of Project Tiger and the opportunities ahead
Indian Legal Sector Needs More Reforms
April 04, 2023 00:30 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBThe Bar Council of India recently allowed the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms in India to practice foreign law, diverse international issues, and international arbitration. In this episode, Saurabh Todi speaks to Shrikrishna Upadhyaya about the significance of the reform, its reception, and future prospects. They also discuss other bottlenecks in the growth of the legal sector, namely, restrictions on capital such as FDI and bar on solicitation and advertisement.
Private Security Military Companies
April 03, 2023 00:30 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBIn this podcast, Anushka Saxena and Amit Kumar discuss the mandates of Private Security and Military Companies operating in situations of armed conflict, debates surrounding their proliferation in international law, and repercussions for UN peacekeepers and the state monopoly on coercive power.
Incentivising Property Ownership Amongst Women
March 30, 2023 00:30 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBThe extent of female property ownership impacts women and their families, society, and the economy. Governments provide gender-based tax incentives to increase female property ownership. Suman Joshi and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the effectiveness of these measures as outlined in a recent World Bank working paper. Here are the papers referred to in the episode: World Bank Working Paper Which women own land in India? Between divergent data sets, measures and laws - Impact of Intergovernmental ...
Nordic Air Force Agreement
March 29, 2023 00:30 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBDenmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have recently signed the first Nordic Air Commanders' Intent to create a unified Nordic air defence alliance, pooling the resources of their air forces. In this episode, Saurabh Todi and Pranav Satyanath unpack this development and analyse its implications.
Xi Jinping’s Russia Visit
March 28, 2023 00:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBIt came as no surprise that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first diplomatic visit after the commencement of his unprecedented third term was to Russia. In this episode, Manoj Kewalramani dissects Xi’s visit to Russia and its strategic importance and gets quizzed by Shrikrishna Upadhyaya on its implications for India-Russia relations.
The New START Treaty on Life-Support
March 27, 2023 00:30 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBIn February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country will suspend its participation in the New START Treaty. But does this mean the end of bilateral arms control between Russia and the United States? Not quite so. In this episode, Aditya Ramanathan and Pranav Satyanath discuss the nuances of the New START treaty's suspension and its implications for future arms control treaties.
Biotechnology Cooperation Within Quad
March 24, 2023 00:30 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBIndia needs to grow its bio-economy and work with other countries to bolster its research and development capabilities and its manufacturing capacity. In this episode, Shambhavi Naik and Saurabh Todi discuss how India should work with like-minded partners across the globe, including with plurilateral groupings such as the Quad to seize this opportunity.
Banking Trouble
March 23, 2023 00:30 - 38 minutes - 35 MBDoes the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse herald wider troubles for banks? Anupam Manur talks to Shrikrishna Upadhyaya and Aditya Ramanathan about how a combination of macroeconomic factors, monetary tightening, and bad management have conspired to create a major crisis.
Concluding the Two Sessions: Developments and Reforms
March 21, 2023 00:30 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBIn this episode of All Things Policy, Amit Kumar and Anushka Saxena discuss key developments and sweeping institutional reforms that took place at the Two Sessions of the 14th NPC, as well as in the follow-up 'Party and State Institutional Reform Plan' released by the CPC Central Committee
Rebooting AI in India
March 20, 2023 00:30 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBIn the past year we have seen AI go from powering prediction algorithms in the background to now having seemingly intelligent conversations, answering questions, or even creating art. AI is going to transform our lives in big ways. Shailesh Chitnis and Bharath Reddy talk about where India stands in AI innovation and how can we get better at it. Reading: Rebooting AI in India — The Takshashila Institution
Green Economy and Entrepreneurship in India
March 17, 2023 00:30 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBAccording to a joint report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency and the ILO, India created 8,63,000 green jobs in 2020-21. But what constitutes a green job? What kind of efforts can be made by governments, establishments, and citizens to ensure sustainable growth? Tulshe Chowdhury, Founder of Zero2Positive joins Anupriya Mohta and Sudisha Mishra to answer these questions.
Women in STEM: Breaking the Glass Ceiling
March 16, 2023 00:30 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBKingshuk Saha and Dr. Tripti Kumari, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Gargi College, a constituent college of Delhi University. They discuss the women in STEM, challenges, and opportunities.
Labour Productivity: Importance & Challenges
March 15, 2023 00:30 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBProductivity as a measure is often overlooked in public discourse. Why is it important to track this metric? What are the implications of improving labour productivity for the economy? Anupam Manur and Sarthak Pradhan join Suman Joshi to discuss this.
Opportunities in India-Australia Ties
March 14, 2023 00:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBAustralian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visit to India marked a new chapter in the bilateral relationship between India and Australia. Along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders suggested that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is in the works and are hopeful it could be finalised this year. As it has been a couple of months since the India-Australia trade agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA) came into effect, Carl Jaison spoke with former Ambassador ...
Regulation of e-Pharmacies
March 13, 2023 04:07 - 23 minutes - 22 MBThe Pharmacy Council of India and All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists have opposed e-pharmacies and demanded they be banned. In this episode, Saurabh Todi and Dr. Harshit Kukreja examine the need for e-pharmacies and reasons behind their opposition.
Can India Afford Internet Shutdowns?
March 10, 2023 00:30 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBFor the fifth year in a row, India topped the world in internet shutdowns, according to an international report by Access Now and KeepItOn Coalition. Why do internet shutdowns happen in a democracy like India? What is the economic, social and academic fallout of such shutdowns?
National Geospatial Policy 2022
March 09, 2023 00:30 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBKingshuk Saha and Dr. Nithiyanandam Yogeswaran analyse National Geospatial Policy 2022 in this episode. They discuss the key features of the policy paper and its immense economic and governance potential.
What’s Happening at China’s Two Sessions?
March 07, 2023 00:30 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBThe first week of March is always key to the Chinese political calendar, with the beginning of the Two Sessions. The annual NPC and CPPCC meetings help frame the key policy priorities for the Party and state each year. So what’s been going on at the Two Sessions this year? Listen to this discussion between Anushka Saxena and Manoj Kewalramani.
Sex-Ed in India's School System
March 06, 2023 00:30 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBTalking about sex is taboo in India. This means schools don't teach students about reproduction, contraception, and consent. In this episode of All Things Policy, Leah Govias and Harshit Kukreja discuss Sexual Education, its need, the effects, and the way forward.
PLA reforms and military drills
March 03, 2023 00:30 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBIn this episode of All Things Policy, Amit Kumar quizzes Anushka Saxena on the reforms of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the relevance and scope of the PLA's military drills and power projection at home and abroad, and lessons for India.
Digital IDs as a Digital Public Good
March 02, 2023 00:30 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBWorld Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative estimates that around 850 million people in the world do not have official legal identification. That is not to say the rest of the 7 billion are covered under robust identification systems. Lack of identification leads to denial of services, benefits, and opportunities. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya and Ritul Gaur (IIC Fellow, MEITY) speak to Jonathan Marskell (Senior Program Officer, ID4D) on ID4D initiatives around pro...
A Recurring Payments Nightmare
March 01, 2023 00:30 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MBHave you ever tried to subscribe to something on an international platform only to find that your Indian credit or debit card gets declined? It’s been over a year since RBI’s mandate on recurring payments kicked in, but there are still issues in processing some payments. Shrikrishna Upadhyaya and Bharath Reddy discuss the recurring payments nightmare
Casually Banning Films Committee
February 28, 2023 00:30 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBThe Censor Board in India enjoys a wide remit of powers to not only certify films but also demand cuts and modifications in movies and even refuse certification. It has come under criticism for hampering freedom of expression, demanding unreasonable cuts in movies and infantalising audience choices.
High-Tech Geopolitics in the Post-Pandemic World
February 27, 2023 00:30 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBIn today’s world, high technology is directly linked to national power. Hence, it will have an outsized role in geopolitics. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhayaya hosts a conversation with Pranay Kotasthane on the trends in the next decade as governments focus more on the competition in the high technology domain.
Financing Climate Action: Sovereign Green Bonds
February 24, 2023 00:30 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBIn this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya speaks to Shantanu Srivastava, Energy Finance Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis on sustainable financing and sovereign green bonds. They discuss India’s huge climate financing needs, Government of India’s recent first & successful sovereign green bond issuance, and incentives for investors to finance climate action through green bonds.
Great Power Competition in a Multipolar World
February 23, 2023 00:30 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBIn this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya quizzes Manoj Kewalramani on his characterisation of the post-pandemic world order as a great power competition in an increasingly multipolar world. Manoj explains the reasons behind the fluidity in the word order today, the areas that will witness great power competition between the U.S. and China, and the opportunities middle powers can exploit amidst this volatility.
US-China Semiconductor Competition
February 22, 2023 00:30 - 21 minutes - 20 MBIn this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena discusses with Amit Kumar the recent developments in the semiconductor supply chain as a result of the U.S.-China rivalry and its implications.
Global Pandemic Treaty: What to Expect?
February 21, 2023 00:30 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBThe World Health Organisation is working on a Global Pandemic Treaty which will seek to address the gaps in global pandemic identification, preparedness, and response. The proposed treaty is comprehensive in nature and seeks to promote equitable access to resources during a pandemic, among other things. In this episode, Shambhavi Naik and Saurabh Todi discuss the provisions of the proposed treaty and what to expect from it.
Women's Reservation Bill
February 20, 2023 00:30 - 32 minutes - 30 MBIndia needs more female representation in politics and the Women's Reservation Bill can be an effective tool to implement this. Anurpiya Mohta and Sudisha Mishra discuss the need for the Bill, what else will it take to ensure women's participation in politics, and whether or not other countries have had success with political reservations.
How China Negotiates
February 17, 2023 00:30 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBIn this episode,Manoj Kewalramani, in conversation with Aditya Ramanathan, offers us a rare glimpse into how China’s diplomacy actually works and the challenges it presents for those on the other side of the negotiating table.
The GST Appellate Tribunal Opportunity
February 16, 2023 00:30 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBIn this episode, Sarthak Pradhan & Shrikrishna Upadhaya speak to Jatin Christopher (Partner, JCSS, Bengaluru) & Surya Prakash B.S. (Programme Director, DAKSH, Bengaluru) on the work of the Coalition of GSTAT in advocating for institutional design, operating model, and legal framework for a truly modern GSTAT.
Bridging the Gap Between Survivors and Support Systems
February 15, 2023 00:30 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBIn this episode of All Things Policy, Suman Joshi and Shrikrishna Upadhyaya host Tanima Kishore, Project Coordinator - Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Migration and Asylum Project, who discusses her work in identifying, building and implementing community-based approaches to bridging the gap between survivors and formal institutional mechanisms.
Biological Reasoning: COVID-19 Crisis
February 14, 2023 00:30 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBCOVID-19 was at a macro level a social dilemma of human cooperation and prosociality. In this episode of All Things Policy, Harshit Kukreja and Carl Jaison discuss COVID-19, human cooperation, misinformation, biological reasoning and much more.
The Mumbai Cricket Conundrum
February 13, 2023 00:30 - 27 minutes - 25.7 MBMumbai has won 41 Ranji Trophy titles in the tournament's 88-year history, making it the winningest cricket team in India. But it has not won a single title in the last seven years, and it did not even make it to the knockout stage this year. What ails Mumbai cricket and what policy interventions can help the team of Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Shastri and Tendulkar return to its primacy? Sports Editor Clayton Murzello provides the answers.
The Ballooning Sino - U.S. Crisis
February 10, 2023 00:30 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBIn this episode, Manoj Kewalramani, Aditya Ramanathan, and Pranav Satyanath discuss the recent Chinese spy balloon crisis between U.S. and China.
AtmanirBharOS
February 09, 2023 00:30 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBDeveloped by a startup incubated out of IIT, BharOS is being pitched as an answer to Google's Android and Apple's iOS. Can BharOS overcome the network effects to challenge the might of the tech giants? Bharath Reddy and Pranav Satyanath talk about how this could play out.
China’s Diplomacy 2023
February 08, 2023 00:30 - 34 minutes - 32.1 MBEver since the 20th Party Congress, the tone of Chinese diplomacy appears to have undergone a change. Is this a tactical shift or is something substantive in the offing? Manoj Kewalramani discusses with Anushka Saxena and Amit Kumar.
Challenges for Local Government Bodies in India
February 07, 2023 00:30 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn this episode, Carl Jaison is joined by Pranav Gupta, Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. He discusses his field research where he spoke with sarpanches and local bureaucrats to assess the extent of decentralisation of powers to panchayats.
Budget 2023 and Job Creation
February 06, 2023 00:30 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBWhat does the 2023 budget do for jobs in India? What would the experts like to have seen? Will India's bets on skilling, infra, and green jobs pay off? Join Anupriya Mohta, Sridhar Krishna, and Sudisha Mishra to discuss the budget and its potential to impact job creation.
Trends in the Chinese Economy: What to look forward to in 2023
February 03, 2023 00:30 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBIn this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena and Amit Kumar explore the trends and developments taking place in the Chinese Economy in the past decade since Xi Jinping's ascendance to power in 2012-13, and what they indicate for the trajectory of the country's economic policy in the months to come.
Japan's Security Strategy in a Changing World
February 02, 2023 00:30 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBKingshuk Saha and Manoj Kewalramani discuss Japan's Security Strategy, background, and its impact.
A Deep Dive into the Digital Public Goods Revolution
February 01, 2023 00:30 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBThis episode of All Things Policy features IIC fellows (University of Chicago Trust), Ritul Gaur and Arjun Gargeyas, who are joined by Liv Nordhaug (Co-Lead at Digital Public Goods Alliance) to discuss the concept of digital public goods, the challenges and opportunities they present, and how they can be used to benefit society at scale.
1000 Not Out
January 31, 2023 00:30 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBIn the thousandth episode, Nitin Pai and Pranay Kotasthane discuss the macro-changes in the world order over the last three years. They also discuss the frames of references useful to analyse the current world disorder. In the second half, they respond to listener questions.
Views on Heritable Gene Editing
January 30, 2023 00:30 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBWe at Takshashila Institution have released our findings of our survey on Heritable Gene Editing. In this episode of All Things Policy, Shambhavi Naik and Harshit Kukreja discuss gene editing, India’s viewpoint, our survey’s results and much more.
Biological Reasoning: Climate Change
January 27, 2023 00:30 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBGlobal temperatures are expected to rise by 1.5℃ by 2050 and 3℃ to 4℃ by 2100. This will have disastrous consequences for us. In this episode of All Things Policy, Harshit Kukreja and Carl Jaison discuss climate change, global cooperation, biological reasoning and much more.
What The New PIB Fact Check Rule Could Mean for Media Freedom
January 25, 2023 00:30 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBJency Jacob, Managing Editor of Boom Live, India's first and largest fact-checking newsroom, dissects the new draft rule that makes the Press Information Bureau the final arbiter of the truth when it comes to journalism related to Central government decisions.
India Needs A Declassification Policy
January 24, 2023 00:30 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBIndian research and scholarship are significantly impacted by the lack of a proper declassification policy for government documents. This prevents a holistic assessment of crucial issues, especially in foreign policy, military history, public policy, and modern history. In this episode, Aditya Ramanathan, Manoj Kewalramani, and Saurabh Todi discuss the impact of this lacuna and the need to improve access to national archives.