In this new episode of Chats Over Chai, Research Fellow and Director of Security and Geopolitics, Dr Samuel Bashfield, sits down with Dr. Robert Mizo, a visiting Japan Foundation Fellow from the University of Delhi, to discuss the critical intersection of maritime security and climate change. The pair explored how climate-related challenges reshape security paradigms in the Indo-Pacific region, the role of climate refugees and climate-induced migration and the future of the climate agenda for th...
Jun 11, 2025•28 min
In this new episode of Chats Over Chai, Aii’s defence researcher, Dr Samuel Bashfield, sits down with Rajat Kulshrestha, CEO of Space Machines Company, who has held various roles as an investor, advisor, founder, director and executive across technology-driven sectors and has trained as an aerospace engineer. The pair delve into the evolving space domain, the key opportunities and challenges faced by Australian space firms, collaborations with Indian players to alleviate these challenges, Space ...
May 14, 2025•27 min
The Australia India Institute hosted a webinar on ‘Democracy Decoded: Australia's Election and the Indo-Pacific' on Wednesday, April 30 2025 at 5pm AEDT. As geopolitical tensions rise with US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy and current trade wars, the result of the Australian election in May will have consequences far beyond Australia’s borders. This timely webinar will explore how the outcome of the Australian election will impact relationships with India, the US and Austr...
May 01, 2025•57 min
In a special live recording of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh sits down with the authors of the Institute's landmark defence report, "Building a Resilient Australia India Defence Relationship: Options for the next decade", Mr Kim Heriot-Darragh and Dr Gaurav Saini, to discuss the future of the Australia India defence relationship, amidst the geopolitical uncertainty facing the Indo-Pacific. This recording was part of the official launch of the report in Parliament House, Canberra on March 27. D...
Apr 01, 2025•31 min
In the first 2025 episode of Chats Over Chai , CEO Lisa Singh is joined by India’s Consul General in Sydney, Dr S Janakiraman, a career diplomat, who shares insights on the growing business ties between India and Australia. From the surge in trade to the rise of Indian tech startups, and the strategic role of the Indian diaspora, there's plenty to look forward to in 2025. The pair deep dive into the opportunities in clean energy, agribusiness, and tech collaborations and how India’s growing star...
Jan 28, 2025•27 min
With the election of Donald Trump to the White House, the Quad stands at a critical juncture as the incoming US administration presents significant geopolitical shifts for US engagement in the Indo-Pacific. In this webinar, leading experts in foreign policy examined how these shifts in US foreign policy could reshape one of the region's most consequential multilateral groupings. Drawing on their extensive diplomatic and security expertise, the panel discussed pressing questions about the resilie...
Dec 04, 2024•58 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai , CEO Lisa Singh is joined with Professor T.V. Paul, an expert on international security and South Asian geopolitics at McGill University, Canada to discuss India’s rise as a major global power. Drawing on his recent book The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi , Professor Paul offers a nuanced analysis of India's trajectory toward global influence. They delve into India’s strategic challenges in a changing global order, e...
Nov 22, 2024•37 min
Recorded live at the University of Melbourne, CEO Lisa Singh hosted award-winning author, diplomat, and politician Dr Shashi Tharoor on November 13. They delve into Dr Tharoor's political views, leaders who have influenced him, India and its place in the world, the current global geopolitical shifts and impact of the US election outcome, and the growing significance of the Australia-India relationship. Listen to this insightful panel discussion Shifting Perspectives: The State of the World in 20...
Nov 20, 2024•39 min
Recorded in Chennai, India, Lisa Singh visits Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), Tamil Nadu's Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services. Dr Rajan brings deep insights into Tamil Nadu’s impressive growth story and its growing connections with key states of Australia. They dive deep into Tamil Nadu’s transformation into becoming India’s top investment hub, its leadership in renewable energy and Dr Rajan’s vision for Tamil Nadu as a future IT powerhouse and his efforts in digital trans...
Sep 20, 2024•51 min
CEO Lisa Singh was joined by stalwarts of foreign policy and the Australia-India relationship, Ambassador Anil Wadhwa, Mr Peter Varghese AO, and Dr Pradeep Taneja at a panel event at the University of Melbourne on September 4, 2024, exploring the burgeoning partnership between the two nations amidst the evolving strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific. They delved into how both nations navigate the contested Indo-Pacific region, balancing Beijing-Washington tensions while fostering a trusted par...
Sep 05, 2024•52 min
🎙️The unique cross-border impacts of climate tech start-ups 🎙️ How can a bilateral partnership successfully support start-ups pioneering sustainable change? The India Australia Rapid Innovation and Startup Expansion (RISE) Accelerator is a purpose-built program that helps Indian and Australian start-ups fast-track their cross-border impact. The start-ups focus on solutions to challenges felt by both countries, including clean energy, waste and the circular economy; and climate-smart agricultur...
Aug 13, 2024•49 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh is joined by the Australia India Institute’s new Director of Security and Geopolitics, Darshana Baruah, to discuss the latest geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific, Australia-India, and the Quad as well as her visions for the Institute’s Security and Geopolitics program. Lisa and Darshana explore the criticisms behind the Quad, discuss perspectives on the alliance system, Australia’s foreign policy priorities, and the missing links in th...
Aug 02, 2024•27 min
Following the success of the inaugural Australia India Renewables Dialogue in Sydney, this episode of Chats Over Chai features a key delegate at the dialogue, Mr JP Chalasani, Group CEO of leading Indian wind energy firm, Suzlon. Lisa and JP Chalasani discuss his rich experience in the renewables sector and how Australia and India can continue to place themselves as renewable energy superpowers in the Indo-Pacific. The pair delve into the importance of policymakers and thought leaders in the ren...
Jul 23, 2024•24 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh is joined by Australian-Indian writers hailing from different parts of the diaspora in a powerful panel discussion celebrating our country’s diversity and their unique experiences growing up. The discussion was conducted at the book launch event of “Growing Up Indian in Australia” by Aarti Betigeri in Melbourne. The anthology is a colourful and energetic collection of stories that offers reflections on identity, culture, family, food, and expect...
Jul 12, 2024•43 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh discusses India's rapid modernisation with Dr. Reuben Abraham, CEO of Artha Global. The pair delve into India’s increasing urbanisation and digitalisation and how this transformation is advancing India’s goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047- the 100th year of India’s independence. Lisa and Reuben converse on how urbanisation is unfolding in India through smart cities and people-to-people links. They also discuss how digitalisation has be...
Jul 04, 2024•49 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh and British-Bangladeshi author Mohammad Chowdhury discuss his book “Border Crossings – My Journey as an Outsider”, a life story that intersects cultural and societal differences within countries as well as across borders. Lisa and Mohammad trace the journey that migrants face as they move from one country to another, exploring how it feels to chase down queries and curiosities about one’s ethnicity and faith in the cosmopolitan world. They dive ...
Jun 18, 2024•27 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh unpacks the Indian Election results with India’s High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency, Gopal Baglay. In his first interview on the subject, High Commissioner Baglay discusses the surprise election result for Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The 2024 Indian Election was the largest-ever democratic exercise in the world and saw more than 642 million people voting over a six-week period, to elect 543 MPs to the Lok...
Jun 07, 2024•48 min
In this special episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO Lisa Singh joins Ela Gandhi, a peace activist, politician and granddaughter to Mahatma Gandhi, at the Phoenix Settlement in Durban. Ela Gandhi has devoted her life to carrying forward the legacy of her grandfather, and his values of truth and non-violence. She fought tirelessly to end apartheid and achieve social justice in South Africa. Lisa and Ela Gandhi discuss the significance of the Pheonix settlement in Mahatma Gandhi’s transformation as an ...
May 12, 2024•44 min
This episode of Chats Over Chai discusses the story of the Anzac-India friendship forged amidst the trials of Gallipoli in 1915. Australia’s most distinguished military social historians, Professor Peter Stanley and the Institute’s defence researcher, Samuel Bashfield unpack the little-known details of the Australia-Indian military connection. This episode builds on Professor Peter Stanley’s book ‘ Die in Battle, Do Not Despair: The Indians on Gallipoli, 1915’....
Apr 22, 2024•22 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, Head of Communications, Shuba Krishnan sits down with Melburnian comedian, writer and actor Urvi Majumdar to discuss the impact of the Indian diaspora in Victoria. Urvi moved from India to Australia at the age of 6 and has openly talked about the struggles of juggling two words, having to live up to her parent’s expectations while fill fitting in with the Australian crowd. The pair delve into the findings of the Institute’s report on 'Victorians’ Perceptions o...
Mar 18, 2024•17 min
The Australia India Institute with CUTS International delivered an ‘In Conversation’ for CUTS 40th anniversary on Critical Minerals for Security and Prosperity: The role the Quad should play. This insightful panel featured Mr Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General at CUTS International and Associate Professor Mohan Yellishetty from Monash University and was moderated by Australia India Institute CEO, the Hon Lisa Singh. There is unprecedented interest in critical minerals and how these will help Aus...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chat, CEO Lisa Singh hosts a delegation of Indian female MPs and delves into inclusive governance and women’s political empowerment. Joining Lisa is Agatha Sangma; from Tura, Meghalaya; Heena Gavit from Nandurbar, Maharashtra; and Fauzia Khan from Maharashtra. Under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Canberra Fellowships Program, this visit aims to foster a deeper understanding of Australia’s policymaking context around women’s political participation and...
Oct 09, 2023•23 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, CEO, Lisa Singh and Federal Member for Parramatta, Dr Andrew Charlton MP, delve into his new book, ‘Australia’s Pivot to India’, recently launched by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Recorded in one of the hearts of the Indian diaspora in Australia, Parramatta, they trace the Australia-India relationship from "Acquaintances to Friends to Family to Partners”, and some of the key initiatives required at a business level to increase Australian investment into Ind...
Oct 06, 2023•32 min
The Institute is honoured that this episode of Chats Over Chai comes to you from the spiritual city of Dharamshala in the Indian Himalayas. The beautiful Himalayas are home to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetan diaspora, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and our special guest, Sikyong Penpa Tsering. This follows from the visit the Sikyong made to the Institute earlier this year. Penpa Tsering has had various roles within the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration spanning back...
Sep 18, 2023•49 min
In this episode of Chats Over Chai, the institute hears from a Nagaland leader and senior lecturer in Modern Asia at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Arkotong Longkumer, who highlights intercultural learning and shares Naga stories and experiences. The journey of repatriation of Naga ancestral human remains from the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford invites a process of peace, healing and reconciliation. This is a journey that is initiated by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), and the Recover, ...
Sep 08, 2023•29 min
In this episode of Chats over Chai Ambassador Vohra and CEO Lisa Singh unpack India’s journey since independence, how its relationship with Australia has evolved since that time, and the incredible future for India and its people. Ambassador Vohra's remarkable journey as the Indian High Commissioner to Australia has left an indelible mark on the bilateral relationship. Appointed to role in April 2021, his role in Canberra has been at a crucial time as the world grappled with the challenges of th...
Aug 14, 2023•27 min
In this episode of Chats over Chai, we're celebrating the International Day of Yoga! Join us for a special conversation with Alan Goode, the Director of Yoga Mandir in Canberra, as we dive into his yoga journey. Hosted by Dr. Surjeet Dhanji, Director of Cultural Diplomacy at the Australia India Institute, this episode explores Alan's experiences, teachings, and profound reflections on the transformative power of yoga. As we commemorate the International Day of Yoga under the theme of "Yoga for V...
Jun 20, 2023•37 min
In this episode of Chats over Chai, Dr Surjeet Dhanji, Director of Cultural Diplomacy at the Australia India Institute interviews Poornima Garg, the Country Director of Room to Read India. Room to Read is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to improving literacy and promoting gender equality in education. With a focus on early childhood literacy, Room to Read empowers teachers to teach children to read and write during their early school years, laying a strong foundation for future learni...
Jun 09, 2023•33 min
In this special episode of the Australia India Institute’s podcast, we explore the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi with Professor Bindu Puri, one of the foremost Gandhian scholars in the world. As part of the Institute’s Visiting Fellows Program, Professor Puri visited Australia from Jawaharlal Nehru University for a conversation with Lisa Singh titled ‘Gandhi: on the Good Human Life’ hosted at the Australia India Institute on 20 April 2023. In this live recording, Professor Puri shares he...
Apr 24, 2023•34 min
In this episode of Chats over Chai, Lisa Singh interviews Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution – an independent think tank and school of public policy based in Bangalore. Nitin delves into high tech in geopolitics, Australia-India tech cooperation, U.S-China competition, what AUKUS means for India and the importance of open-source technologies in today’s Information Age.
Apr 04, 2023•37 min
