Ep. 562: Active Measures Short of War
Ruturaj Gowaikar joins Aditya Pareek for a discussion on Russian and Western Active Measures.
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.

Ruturaj Gowaikar joins Aditya Pareek for a discussion on Russian and Western Active Measures.
How social media platforms respond in India has been termed as one of the defining battles for free speech on the Internet. Manoj Kewalramani and Prateek Waghre discuss what this means for the information ecosystem in India.
In September 2020, a multi-disciplinary team at Takshashila came out with a policy proposal to vaccinate 80% of India's population by December 2021.
The PLA Navy is now the world's largest in terms of pure numbers. While some of China's rivals enjoy
As urgent requests for convalescent plasma, Remdesivir and Tocilizumab increase, Ruturaj Gowaikar and Shambhavi Naik discuss the application of these therapeutics and the unnecessary shortage caused by poor public engagement
The Indian government is reportedly planning to hike the FDI limit
A new strategy document outlines the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard's joint vision for
Earlier this month, the Union government passed the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service)
Ameera Rao joins Anand Arni and Lt. General Prakash Menon to discuss whether the Taliban and the Afghan government can work out a durable settlement.
Manoj Kewalramani and Rohan Seth discuss what this means for the future of anti-trust regulation in China and the country’s technology ecosystem.
Manoj Kewalramani joins Aditya Pareek and Aditya Ramanathan to discuss US FONOPs and how such actions may affect India-US ties.
From rail connectivity, new dams and border villages to increasing sinicization of religion, Beijing is ramping up efforts to tighten its control over Tibet. In this episode, Suyash Desai and Manoj Kewalramani discuss the Chinese government's
The Democratic Party, which has strongly advocated regulation of large technology corporations, effectively controls Congress and the White House in the US. Anupam Manur and Rohan Seth join Prateek Waghre to discuss recent
India has practiced vaccine diplomacy during COVID-19, engaging its 'Neighbourhood First' policy. But are there advantages in extending this diplomacy beyond COVID-19? Pranathi Rao and Shambhavi Naik discuss the benefits, risks
India performs poorly in most of the health indicators. Yet, there isn't much popular demand for a robust healthcare system. In this episode, Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan look at the state of public health in India and examine why
Google and Facebook have cornered the largest parts of the global digital advertising marketplace. The way these markets operate has a significant impact on privacy. With antitrust action picking up in multiple countries, Prateek Waghre
The UK’s recently published but long-awaited Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, is being hailed as a visionary document.
Why did Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru choose to pursue the 1954 Panchsheel Agreement with China? Was it mere naivete? Or was there realpolitik thinking involved?
India's power generation capacity is underutilized, and the Indian consumer is still underserved. In this episode, Jisha Cherian talks to Sarthak Pradhan about how the Indian power sector works and some possible ways to reform it.
Why didn't everyone switch from WhatsApp to the Signal messaging service earlier this year? Network effects, lock-in, and switching costs shape up our preferences every day. Anupam Manur talks to Rohan Seth about the different kinds of
The past two weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity, from the Quad summit to the US-China talks in Alaska. Listen to this conversation between Manoj Kewalramani and Suyash Desai as they discuss the implications of the
Last week, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare came up with a report on the The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 14 September 2020. The Bill seeks
India's welfare architecture has changed over time. But have these changes been for the better? Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the evolution of welfare systems in India.
Russia recently attempted to throttle Twitter, while China has blocked access to Signal and instituted new rules which require social media users to have government-issued credentials. These moves are in line with global efforts to
The first-ever Quad leaders summit ended with leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia agreeing to work towards furthering shared values and interests. They also outlined an agenda for vaccine deployment, tackling climate change and
A recent report indicates China is doubling the number of its nuclear missile silos. Does this suggest Beijing is moving towards a hair-trigger's launch-on-warning posture? Suyash Desai, Manoj Kewalramani and Aditya Ramanathan weigh the evidence.
A new report from air technology company IQAir concludes that despite an 11% reduction in PM2.5 levels, India emerged as the world's third-most polluted country. India's air quality has serious ramifications for both public health and the
The US military’s Indo-Pacific Command is seeking additional funding to strengthen the US security umbrella in the region under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative(PDI). The funding will partly go towards building a network of precision
As we record this episode, residents in East Delhi are facing an acute water shortage. The shortages come soon after the Delhi Government went to the Supreme Court against the state of Haryana, highlighting the increasingly polluted
In early March, Google announced that it would not support alternatives to third-party cookies to track user behaviour at an individual level. It will also begin public tests for FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts), its proposed standard to target ads