All Things Policy
Takshashila Institution
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A daily podcast from the Takshashila Institution that breaks down complex economic and geopolitical ideas through the lens of current events. Each weekday, researchers explore topics such as automation, urban congestion, and shifting regional geopolitics. Designed for busy professionals and curious students alike, it offers accessible insights into global affairs.
Episodes
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Mining, Money and the States 25.09.2026 23mMining 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/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 Owns the View from Above? 24.09.2026 33mSatellite 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 23.09.2026 46mKerala'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.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 Electricity Woes & Solutions 22.09.2026 47mOver 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 21.09.2026 36mState 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 18.09.2026 37mRockets 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/technopolitikAll 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 17.09.2026 26mChina’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) 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 Happens After a Rocket Fails? | Space Launch 3 16.09.2026 30mFailure 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-umbilicalAll 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 -
Laughs and SCO-ffs At Bishkek 15.09.2026 39mIn 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 11.09.2026 25mIndia’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? 10.09.2026 35mIn 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 09.09.2026 31mThe 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_5WRg5xIwDhThe Science of Mountain Signs - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/environment/the-science-of-mountain-signs/articleshow/133631628.cmsAll 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 08.09.2026 38mA 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? 07.09.2026 30mWhat 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/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 -
Semicon 2.0 Focuses on Getting India's Chip Design Game Right 04.09.2026 50mOn 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.pdfAll 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 -
You Can Have a Rocket and Still Lose Access to Space | Space Launch 2 03.09.2026 29mA 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-umbilicalFor 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.htmlAll 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 02.09.2026 28mPrivate 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-umbilicalFor 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.htmlAll 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? 01.09.2026 28mA 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.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 -
How Is The Iran War Impacting US Midterms? 31.08.2026 37mIn 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? 28.08.2026 1h 40mSince 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.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
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