All Things Policy
Ever 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.
Episodes
Recently, a researcher at a Siberian anti-plague institute died of severe pneumonia of unknown cause. Two weeks later, the US Army announced a shift to AI-driven predictive biosurveillance. Both raise a question for India, a densely populated country with a growing biotech sector: how prepared are we?
Sarthak Pradhan is joined by Aditi Palo, Research Analyst with the Advanced Biology Programme at Takshashila, to unpack terms such as...
In this episode of All Things Policy, Adya Madhavan and Aishwaria Sonavane break down how the Knesset election works, why winning the most votes does not necessarily mean forming the government, and how coalitions, the Haredi parties, Arab voters, security concerns and the Palestinian question will influence the next Israeli government.
All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Instituti...
In the fourth episode of America Votes, Professor Jared McDonald of the University of Mary Washington explains how partisan identity, economic concerns and political emotions shape the American vote. We discuss the possibility of a Democratic blue wave, the voters and key contests that could determine the outcome, and whether dissatisfaction with the Trump administration will translate into electoral losses for Republicans. Drawing...
As the EU’s CBAM reshapes global trade, India is preparing to launch its Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). In this episode of All Things Policy, Bhumika Sevkani and Lasya Nadimpally explore lessons from the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme, implementation challenges, and how carbon markets could drive industrial decarbonisation while strengthening India’s manufacturing and export competitiveness.
All Things Po...
On 8th October, the US Labour Secretary, with Vice President JD Vance beside him, suspended eight companies from PERM. This is the first step towards an employer-sponsored green card. Four of the eight are India's largest IT firms. Microsoft and Adobe are on the list too. The same day, a US admiral ended a six-day visit to Delhi after major joint military exercises.
Join Arindam Goswami and Brigadier Anil Raman in this episode of Al...
The United Nations was created to make the behaviour of states more predictable through dialogue, law, and multilateral cooperation. Yet, the UN today faces a trust deficit of its own. In this episode, Vanshika Saraf joins Raja Karthikeya, who has worked within the UN in various capacities over 15 years. They explore why confidence in the UN has weakened, how Security Council paralysis and donor influence shape its credibility, and...
Tariffs of nearly 50%, Washington warming up to Pakistan after Pahalgam, and a sanctions bill aimed at India’s Russian oil purchases. Is the US still betting on India in our neighbourhood? Astha Rastogi speaks with Abhishek Kadiyala about his new Takshashila discussion document, Trump 2.0’s Indian Subcontinent Strategy. They look at what Washington wants from the region and where cooperation on security, trade and aid h...
Are the 2026 US midterm elections a referendum on Donald Trump, or will local candidates and electoral dynamics shape the outcome? In this episode of America Votes, Takshashila speaks to Professor Jim King about presidential popularity and its influence on congressional elections. We examine how national political sentiment translates into seats, and what losing control of Congress would mean for Trump. Why do midterm defeats not n...
Malathi Renati is in conversation with Asheesh Gupta, co-founder of Samarth, one of India’s leading eldercare organisations, about how India is building, staffing and paying for care for its senior citizens.
Fact: India has close to 16 crore people aged 60 and above, and that number is expected to reach about 35 crore by 2050. From a senior citizen demographic of 7-10% currently to 20-25%.
More of their care is now bought: home...
India has an ambitious target of 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047. The historic SHANTI Act of December 2025 and the second-stage PFBR reaching criticality in April 2026 have added the necessary momentum. But recent parliamentary committee reports reveal the troubles facing the nuclear establishment, including major delays in key projects and the third-stage that uses abundant thorium. In this episode of All Things Policy, hos...
In this episode, Aditya Ramanathan and Ashwin Prasad Rao discuss the ongoing debate over Starlink’s entry into India and the national security questions it raises. Beyond market competition and internet access, they examine the risks of relying on a foreign-controlled satellite network, the limits of India’s regulatory powers, and lessons from Starlink’s use in Ukraine and Iran. They also discuss what India can do...
In this second episode of America Votes, the All Things Policy series on the 2026 US midterm elections, Brig. Raman speaks with Professor Ryan Williamson of the University of Wyoming about what the 3 November vote may reveal. The conversation focuses on President Trump's push to nationalise his party's campaign, the Republican tilt of the Senate map, strategic retirements and the growing weight of primaries. It also flags the races...
India’s power system is becoming more complex as renewable energy grows and electricity demand becomes harder to predict. In this episode of All Things Policy, Gopal Tomar speaks to Dinker George Mattam about how AI and machine learning could make India’s electricity markets smarter. They explore the role of forecasting, automated decision-making, storage and demand flexibility; who benefits from more dynamic power mark...
How does a young officer’s “Why not?” become a senior officer’s “Better not”?
In this episode of All Things Policy, Dr Y. Nithiyanandam, Professor at the Takshashila Institution, speaks with Cmde (Dr) Arun Pratap Golaya (Retd) about The Inverse Law of Innovation: the idea that openness to new ideas in government declines with years of service. Drawing on his experience in naval innovation, Golaya ...
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 ref...
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, whic...
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 ...
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 resea...
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 ...
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 a...
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