In today’s globalised world where we are connected through technology and where information travels very fast, addressing topics such as sex education has become increasingly crucial. Conservative beliefs on sex are becoming obsolete day by day, especially in India, where the teenage population is expanding and attitudes about sex are changing due to the impact of media. In today’s episode...
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The Seen and the Unseen releases every Sunday. States of Anarchy releases every Tuesday. The Pragati Podcast releases every Thursday. Thalé-Haraté releases every Saturday. PuliyaBaazi releases every alternate Thursday.
After recognising the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in the breakaway part of Ukraine, Russia has now launched a special military operation. With the fog of war and the lively use of the information domain, asymmetric and hybrid tactics the much weaker Ukrainian military is holding its own against the much superior Russian force. Aditya Pareek and Pranav R. Satyanath...
As India tries to figure out how to govern Digital Communication Networks (DCNs), there are already laws applicable to harms which may occur on the internet. In this episode, Rohan Seth, Prateek Waghre and Sapni G K discuss Sapni’s document which maps the current legal landscape on online harms in India. This is the 3rd document in our series on the Governance of DCNs. Links mentioned in...
Over 30 crore people in the world suffer from more than 7000 rare diseases. On Rare Diseases Day, one year after the release of the National Policy for Rare Diseases, Mahek Nankani and Harshit Kukreja discuss India’s response to rare diseases. Suggested Readings: Rare diseases: Small numbers, huge burden by Mahek Nankani, Harshit Kukreja It Will Consume Your Life’: 4 Families Take On Rare...
In 2031, the International Space Station is due to deorbit and crash into the Pacific Ocean. It will be replaced by the state-operated space stations of Russia and China and as well as commercial space stations operated by US-based companies. India also hopes to have an experimental space station in orbit by 2030. But even if it meets this goal, it will remain far behind other spacefarers. Aditya...
All actions have consequences, especially war. But does the success of the desired outcome outweigh these consequences? In today’s episode, Aarthi Ratnam and Megha Pardhi analyze the Just War Theory and how it’s used as an ethical justification throughout historical wars. Suggested Readings: 1. Just War Theory – Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2...
The Biden Administration has come up with the US’ first Indo-Pacific Strategy document which aims to secure a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific. How does the strategy view China? What is the role of India in this US strategy? What are the action plan in the document and the likely challenges towards its implementation? Megha Pardhi talks to Shrey Khanna to...
Last week, reports suggested that the Union Government had issued orders to block an additional 54 apps from China, making it the fifth time such action was taken since June 2020. Prateek Waghre and Sapni GK join Rohan Seth to unpack the app bans, related developments surrounding the use of emergency powers under the 2021 IT Rules, and the need for a higher burden of proof on the Union Government...
What is AI-generated content and why is China worried about it? In today’s episode, Megha Pardhi, Suyash Desai, and Varad Vishwarupe discuss synthetic content generation using AI and the Chinese government’s recent draft to regulate such content. Varad Vishwarupe is currently working as a Data Scientist(AWS) at Amazon’s Research division. He has over 22 international research papers and 4...
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill were passed during the winter session of the Parliament. These two bills bring in new set of rules to regulate two distinct but related medical procedures. Ruturaj Gowaikar and Priyal D’ Almeida discuss these bills.
Not only is the Union Budget a statement of the government’s estimated receipts and expenditure for a particular year, but it is also an account of the government’s performance in the previous years. In this episode, Apurva Kumar, Pranay Kotasthane, Suman Joshi and Sarthak Pradhan, discuss the Union Budget 2022-23. They look at some interesting trends and also some not so promising projections.
India needs 20 million jobs a year but budget speeches have had very low mention of jobs. The state elections are afoot in some big states but jobs are a big focus among the voters. The finance minister mentioned creating 60 lakh jobs over 5 years in this year’s budget and has also increased investment in some sectors that could help create jobs. While this is a start, it is woefully inadequate...
Tensions between Russia and the West are making headlines, with a lot of hysteria around the ongoing negotiations and developments in the European security sphere. With considerable intrigue in the global information ecosystem, current events may have a lasting impact on cyberspace, outer space and public diplomacy. Sapni G K and Aditya Pareek speak to Dr. Elena Chernenko about Russia’s foreign...
Last month, The Lancet Commission on Value of Death released their report, advocating for a return to death as a socio-cultural event. Is death now “over medicalised”? What are the policy implications of this? Should we legalise assisted dying and euthanasia? Listen to this episode with Shrey Khanna and Harshit Kukreja to find out. Suggested Reading: Report of the Lancet Commission on...
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week resulted in a detailed joint statement, proposing a vision for a new world order. What are the commonalities and differences between the two sides? How do they view the future of the world? And what does all this mean for India? Listen to this conversation between Aditya Pareek and Manoj...
Is there a case for humanitarian intervention? In this episode, Aarthi Ratnam and Priyal Lyncia D’Almeida discuss the criteria for intervention and the scope of responsibility. To identify what these cases are, they propose the “conditions of exceptionalism”, by looking at historical examples of mass violence. They also highlight the importance of post...
Recently, the story broke out that the government of Maldives is drafting a bill prohibiting all actions that could affect its relationship with foreign countries. This development has occurred in the backdrop of the country’s growing “India Out” campaign. Especially after the release of former President Abdulla Yameen, the movement has seen considerable growth. What is China’s role in it...
The New York Times recently came out with a detailed investigation on Pegasus, the surveillance tool sold by Israel’s NSO Group to countries around the world. The investigation has chilling details about how the tool was deployed by nation-states. Rohan Seth discusses the findings with Sapni G Krishna and Mr Javeed Ahmed.
Link to the New York Times report:
How is warfare changing in the 21st century with the advent of digital technologies? Are modern wars drifting away from a traditional understanding of violence? In this episode of All Things Policy, Lt Gen Prakash Menon and Megha Pardhi discuss evolving notions of warfare.
Link to our China Tech newsletter: China Tech Dispatch.
China and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) recently came out with their latest strategic publications on space, outlining expectations and the broad policy direction in the domain. India has to date not published a comprehensive space strategy document, leaving a huge gap in its policy communiqués. Aditya Pareek joins Dr. Shrey Khanna to discuss the major features of the latest NATO...
Nutrition programmes in India come in different hues and have undergone sweeping changes in the last few years. From the ICDS to the POSHAN 2.0, we have seen varying successes across the country. What do budgetary trends indicate? Why should we track this? Apurva Kumar and Suman Joshi discuss all this and more.
References:
Over the last 75 years of India’s independence, there has been no dearth of ideas and policies targeting progress. Yet policy progress is dependent on policy implementation. In this episode, Aarushi Kataria talks to Pranay Kotasthane about the gap that exists between policies on paper and what they actually achieve. They talk about the Right to Information Act 2005 and the 2020 Farm Bills in...
The development of quantum technologies has increased exponentially in the last decade. Quantum now covers a wide area of applications from communications to computing. Arjun Gargeyas joins Siddharth Bannerjee, a senior policy advisor with the UK Civil Service, to discuss their upcoming document on the criticality of quantum tech and building India’s quantum ecosystem. Readings:...
For a while now, India has seen a need for Indian Health Services (IHS), akin to other all-India services like IAS, IPS, and IFS. Over the years, successive governments have looked into this issue, yet very little has been done. Mahek Nankani and Priyal Lyncia D’Almeida discuss the history, the need, the concerns and the primary steps that have been taken in this direction.
China is rolling out a new law to regulate algorithms used on apps to bring the country’s Big Tech sector in line with state policies. Rohan Seth talks to Manoj Kewalramani and Sapni G Krishna to discuss the fine print.
A two-front dilemma for a state usually involves external actors. However, Chinese strategists define the two-front war dilemma based on internal and external factors. In this episode, Suyash Desai and Megha Pardhi discuss internal and external drivers of China’s two-front war dilemma.
The Philippines recently announced the procurement of the BrahMos cruise missile for its Shore Based Anti Ship Missile Programme. As the first export customer of the system, the Philippines will gain an important capability to counter threats to its interests in the Indo-Pacific. Aditya Pareek joins Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande(Retd.) and Megha Pardhi to discuss the BRAHMOS weapons system’s...
The internet has become more ubiquitous than ever before. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance defines digital equity as “a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy.” Sridhar Krishna talks to Raghav Rao, a Digital Innovation Fellow at The Cleveland Foundation, and Aarushi...
Earlier this month, Russia led Collective Security Treaty Organisation(CSTO) deployed troops to quell widespread unrest in Kazakhstan. The swift CSTO operation achieved its objective and the deployed Russian, Belarusian, Tajikistani and Armenian peacekeepers are already withdrawing. With a fog of uncertainty and lack of information, many questions about the unrest and the political situation...
The mention of Bihar conjures up images of abject poverty and state apathy. The ground reality, however, has been changing in the past decade. Economist M R Sharan chronicles his time in Bihar with stories from a journey of hope, led by several hundred women, and provides insights from field research on MNREGA, grievance redressal systems, and the politics and dynamics of caste in Bihar and its...
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents the digital arms of a number of legacy media organisations has alleged that Google’s conduct has violated various provisions of the Competition Act. In a recently passed order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has directed the Director-General to investigate these charges. Rohan Seth joins Sapni GK and Prateek Waghre...
Land is an integral part of any economy and is central to individual and community identity. Thus, land disputes can hamper socio-economic development. Many conflicting land laws exist in India, and land disputes are ubiquitous. In this episode, Dr Namita Wahi discusses with Sarthak Pradhan the project of documenting India’s land laws and the potential benefits of a comprehensive land laws...
The Quad Summit which was held in September last year introduced multiple working groups ranging from climate change to information disorder. Shrey Khanna talks to Arjun Gargeyas on the potential of Quad collaboration in the biotechnology field along with the tools and technologies that the Quad can focus on.
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Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have evoked major lifestyle changes among adults and children. Closure of schools and stay-at-home orders has threatened the health and well-being of children, causing an increase in obesity cases. In today’s episode, Aarthi Ratnam and Ruturaj Gowaikar discuss the effect of the pandemic on increasing obesity cases and how digital marketing has only...
The dual-use nature of emerging tech has blurred the line between civil and military applications of technology. How do the PLA researchers view the role of emerging tech in the military? In this episode, Aditya Pareek and Megha Pardhi discuss the latest newsletter in the Takshashila family – “China Tech Dispatch”. Subscribe to China Tech Dispatch here. Check out Takshashila’s...
The World Health Assembly held a Special Session to kickstart a process to draft a global treaty geared towards pandemic management. Priyal and Ruturaj discuss the need, scope, and history of such international instruments. Listen to our episode on Digital Monitoring of Global Public Health Suggested readings: 1. How the world failed to curb COVID 2. Book: Emperor of All...
In August 2021, the Together We Fight Society (TWFS) filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleging that Apple was abusing its dominant position in the app stores market. In a recent order, the CCI noted that the allegations merit further investigation and directed the Director-General to do so. In this episode, Rohan Seth joins Sapni GK and Prateek Waghre to discuss...
2021 has been a long year. One thing that remained constant was Takshashila’s love for books. Manoj Kewalramani talks to Rohan Seth to discuss their reading lists for this year.
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The new COVID-19 variant, Omicron has been in the news since the first case was discovered in November. Despite the rising cases around the world, it is considered mild according to the data from the UK and the US. But, how mild is omicron anyway? In this episode, Dr. Harshit Kukreja and Priyal Lyncia D’Almeida discuss how variants arise, the burden of the incoming third wave and the public...
How do citizens navigate through the complex state apparatus to acquire welfare services? What factors can facilitate this process? What obstacles do they face? In this episode, Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan discuss how citizens “claim the state”. Sources referred to in the podcast: The new social contract by Apurva Kumar How the content of claims shapes government responsiveness:...
Mathieu Duchâtel and Pranay Kotasthane discuss the merits and demerits of government subsidies for building domestic semiconductor industries.
Mathieu is director of the Asia Program at Institut Montaigne, Paris. His current research is focused on the European Union’s policy on semiconductors.
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The talks of China’s ‘2035 Standards Project’ have materialised in the form of a guideline document released by the Chinese government. Arjun Gargeyas talks to Megha Pardhi about the recently released National Standardisation Development Outline document and the key takeaways from the proposed technical standardisation strategy of China. Read Arjun’s articles on this topic here:...
2021 was an eventful year for the technology sector in China. Milestones were reached and regulations were increased. Arjun Gargeyas talks to Megha Pardhi on the progress China made in certain critical and emerging technologies along with some landmark decisions taken by the Chinese government for its tech sector.
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2021 has been very eventful for watchers of Tech Policy developments. Rohan Seth joins Prateek Waghre and Sapni G K to discuss major events and trends in the space and their expectations for 2022.
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NOTE: We won’t have episodes on 30th and 31st December 2021, due to New Year’s Eve.
2021 has been a long year. One thing that remained constant was Takshashila’s love for books. Rohan Seth talks to Nitin Pai and Manoj Kewalramani to discuss their reading lists for this year. You can check out Takshashila’s courses here: school.takshashila.org.in/ NOTE: We won’t have episodes on 30th and 31st December 2021, due to New Year’s Eve. The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence...
With the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR approaching, there is a significant Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border. After a similar crisis in April fizzled out, there are again renewed fears that an offensive may be in the offing. A set of two draft treaties published by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin’s sharp rhetoric about the need for Russia to receive...
Did you know it was approximately 600 years ago when quarantine was used for the first time? Indeed, the origins of public health may be traced back many centuries. In this episode, Mahek Nankani and Harshit Kukreja discuss some fascinating stories about the growth of public health from around the world. Tune in for some engrossing and thought-provoking tale.
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The recent arrest of more than 50 fishermen by the Lankan Navy is bound to exert stress upon the India-Sri Lanka relations. The ongoing feud between the Tamil fishermen on the two sides of Palk Strait has coincided with China’s unprecedented outreach to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. Why is China looking to increase its footprint in northern Sri Lanka? How is this going to impact the larger...
Over the last few years, a number of harms associated with Digital Communication Networks (DCNs) have been documented and extensively reported on. At the same time, we also need to update our understanding of the opportunities and benefits they enable to inform policy decisions about their governance. In this episode, Prateek Waghre and Sapni GK join Rohan Seth to discuss their discussion...
China is building civilian and military infrastructure in Tibet. Based on Takshashila’s recent publication, Suyash Desai and Manoj Kewalramani discuss the details of China’s infrastructure building and implications on the border dispute with India. Read Suyash’s document here – Civilian and Military Developments in Tibet Suggested readings: Infrastructure Development in...