All Things Policy

Last week, the Union Government liberalised the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the space sector and introduced graded automatic route approval for different space sub-sectors. In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya quizzes Ashwin Prasad on the implications of the government’s move, a brief history of the space reforms in India, and the role the government should play in creating demand for space services in the country. Reading: How private sector can propel a new wave of space revolution in India – Firstpost

Delving into India's recent Agni-5 missile test with MIRV capability and its implications on nuclear competition with China. Exploring the evolution and strategic significance of MIRVs in modern warfare, highlighting their role in shaping global military dynamics. Analyzing India's nuclear doctrine, regional dynamics, and the delicate balance of power between India, China, and Pakistan in the nuclear realm.

A recent advisory by MeitY about the deployment of AI models which has caused a lot of angst and pushback from industry. Satya Sahoo and Bharath Reddy discuss why its hard to put guardrails on gen AI and some of the consequences from the advisory.

Between March 5 and 11, the 'Two Sessions', which is an annual meeting of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has been underway. The 14th NPC and CPPCC have met to discuss the economy, foreign policy, national defence, domestic politics, and more. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena quizzes Manoj Kewalramani on the key deliberations that took place at the 'Two Sessions', and what China's growth agenda looks like for 2024.

Elon Musk's Neuralink implants brain chip in human allowing mind-controlled devices. Discussion on risks, human rights, and need for neuro rights legislation. Ethics, regulations, and future of brain implants explored. Podcast covers collaboration with AI, privacy concerns, and global legislation hesitance.

The data on Monthly Per capita Consumption Expenditure was released last week. How should we read this data?  How can it inform policy making at various levels? Sarthak and Suman discuss in this episode of All Things Policy.

In this episode of All Things Policy, Carl Jaison speaks to Sudhanshu Kaushik, author of “The Future is Ours: The Political Promise of India’s Youth”. Sudhanshu is an international youth activist and the founder of Young India Foundation (YIF). With a focus on youth empowerment, the highlights of his work at YIF included initiatives registering over 2.5 million youth voters, lobbying with over 200 sitting MPs and five state governments to decrease the age to contest elections as an MP/MLA and building the Centre for Youth Policy. With a focus on youth rights and representation, Sudhanshu’s book is at its very heart a passionate call to lower the age of candidacy from 25 to 21 — a campaign that covers all sides of the political spectrum and, if successful, will bring a huge number of India’s young directly into the democratic process.

In this episode of ATP, Saurabh Todi and Shambhavi Naik discuss the state of research and development funding in India, what ails it and what can be done to improve the situation.

The Supreme Court of India (SC) is entertaining a public interest litigation (PIL) asking for fixed rates for medical services in all hospitals in the country and has directed the Union Government to develop rates for each medical service. Otherwise, it proposed to fix rates charged under the Central Government Health Scheme as an interim measure. In this episode, Anupam Manur and Shrikrishna Upadhyaya break down the implications of the Supreme Court’s order to impose price caps for hospital services. They argue that this is, both legally and economically, an unsound measure and the SC should refrain from intervening to impose price caps, despite its good intentions. Price caps will inevitably create distortionary effects, leading to poorer quality and a shortage of healthcare in the country.

As contemporary Indian foreign policy evolves to navigate an increasingly complex regional and global geopolitical environment, the China factor bears heavily upon some of its choices and priorities. In this episode of 'All Things Policy', Takshashila's Anushka Saxena seeks insights from Mr. Manoj Joshi (Distinguished Fellow at ORF Delhi) on military security perspectives in India’s foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis tensions along the LAC and India’s expanding partnership with the US. In addition, Mr. Joshi provides context to the geopolitics of the region, and how India's smaller neighbours hedge between India and China.