All Things Policy
Takshashila Institution
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
Mentioned books
Mar 5, 2026 • 45min
The War That Changed West Asia Overnight
Colonel K.P.M. Das, a senior military officer and intelligence analyst, and Air Marshal T.D. Joseph, a retired air marshal and defence strategist, break down a massive US–Israel strike on Iran. They dissect the planning and scale of the air campaign. They explain the intelligence that enabled leadership targeting. They analyse Iran's missile counterstrikes, Gulf impacts, and what it means for India’s security and diplomacy.
Mar 3, 2026 • 33min
Congress and the Making of India-U.S. Relations
Abhishek Kadiyala, researcher on Indo‑Pacific congressional perspectives and curator of the DC Dossier newsletter. He traces how Congress shaped India–U.S. ties from Cold War alignments to diaspora lobbying and the 2008 nuclear deal. Short takes on congressional powers, caucuses, sanctions, rising partisanship, and practical steps for India to engage lawmakers.
Mar 2, 2026 • 40min
Technology Denial Regimes and the Limits of Containment
Arindam Goswami, a policy researcher on tech-statecraft and export controls, joins to discuss technology denial regimes. He traces lessons from nuclear, space, and supercomputing controls. Topics include how blockades spur domestic catch-up, choke points like SWIFT and ASML, standards battles, talent mobility, and why AI’s software diffusion complicates containment.
8 snips
Feb 27, 2026 • 29min
Analysing India's AI Ecosystem
Anwesha Sen, a technology policy researcher focused on AI infrastructure, and Bharat Reddy, a tech policy analyst on AI strategy and governance, unpack India's AI ecosystem. They discuss AI sovereignty as strategic autonomy. They examine data residency ideas like visit-don't-move, GPU and subsidy tradeoffs, data-center and power constraints, edge AI for frugal innovation, and shared compute hubs.
Feb 26, 2026 • 39min
Samaj, Sarkar, Bazaar: Why Domestic Founders Are Winning
Shobhankita Reddy, research analyst focused on startups, VC, and India’s innovation ecosystem. She discusses how deep local market immersion and trust networks give domestic founders an edge. She contrasts Silicon Valley pedigree effects with long‑term domestic outperformance. Topics include digital public infrastructure, tier‑2/3 growth, talent geography, funding for deep tech, and regulatory bottlenecks.
Feb 25, 2026 • 27min
Takeaways from Munich Security Conference
Manoj Kewalramani, chair of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme and policy researcher, shares on-the-ground impressions from the Munich Security Conference. He discusses how Trump-era ideology shaped conversations in Europe. He analyzes reactions to Marco Rubio, Europe's strategic posture, sectoral plurilaterals for India, supply-chain diversification thresholds, and opportunity-driven biotech cooperation.
Feb 24, 2026 • 30min
Key Provisions in the India-US Trade Deal
Anisree Suresh, research analyst at the Takshashila Institution specializing in trade policy, walks through the India–US interim trade agreement. She outlines the tariff shift to 18% and its short-term relief for exporters. She discusses ambiguity around agricultural concessions, comparisons with other US deals in the region, and why this should be treated as a limited, strategic window rather than a final settlement.
Feb 23, 2026 • 33min
The Momentum of Japan’s New Mandate
Vanshika Saraf, research analyst at the Takshashila Institution, unpacks Japan’s political turning point. She discusses how electoral rules shaped a decisive win. Short segments explore coalition shifts, a bold economic tax pledge, a tougher defence stance, and evolving ties with the US, China, and India.
Feb 20, 2026 • 42min
Understanding India's Mineral Diplomacy
Anindita Sinh, a research associate at CSEP specializing in critical minerals and supply-chain resilience. She walks through why mineral diplomacy matters geopolitically. They cover India’s international partnerships, mapping current agreements, opportunities in Africa and Latin America, and what to push for in plurilateral forums. Practical gaps and onshore processing, R&D and recycling also come up.
Feb 19, 2026 • 35min
What Could Model High Court Rules Look Like?
Atishya Kumar, lawyer and senior research associate at DAKSH who works on human rights, gender rights and court reform. She discusses reforming High Court rules: expanding registrar powers to ease judges, fixing service of notice with multiple methods, and digitizing district records with integrated e-filing and dashboards for transparency.
