India, a continent-sized country, exhibits profound regional economic disparities, with some regions having economic outputs comparable to upper-middle-income countries, while others resemble the impoverished regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Dore discusses how these disparities affect development and the importance of focusing on regional nuances to foster equitable growth across India. The book provides a deep dive into these issues, offering lessons and insights on leveraging regional strengths and addressing challenges through targeted development strategies. The episode highlights the need for precise regional analysis and development policies that consider the unique economic landscapes of India’s diverse regions. 

What is more conducive to the economic development of a nation—specialisation or diversification? What is the role of data in harnessing regional potential effectively? How can India implement lessons from global economic governance to improve its regional development strategies?

Episode Contributors

Poornima Dore is a practicing economist, driving impact through finance, innovation and digital transformation. She previously served as director of analytics, insights and impact at Tata Trusts and is a highly sought-after advisor for leaders across diverse sectors. With a management degree from Xavier School of Management and a PhD in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, she has, over the years, driven large programs at the intersection of business, philanthropy, academia and government, activated private sector investments in data-driven governance, digital public goods, regional growth, urbanization, and migration, and designed special institutional programs on impact and SME financing. She serves on the board of select institutions as well as ministerial committees and has been recognized as one of the top 100 Analytics Leaders in South Asia. 

Suyash Rai is a deputy director and fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms, and the performance of public institutions in India. His current research looks at the financial sector, the fiscal system, and the infrastructure sector.

Suggested Readings:

Regional Economic Diversity: Lessons from an Emergent India, by Poornima Dore and Krishnan Narayanan

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

In the realm of space exploration, there's a growing focus on extracting resources from celestial bodies like the Moon and asteroids. This calls for a strong governance framework to ensure responsible and sustainable practices. International laws such as the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement provide the foundation, while initiatives like the Artemis Accords support commercial ventures. The UN's COPUOS Working Group is dedicated to addressing the legal and technical aspects of space resource activities, aiming to develop guidelines for their responsible use. Multilateralism is crucial for consensus among nations, with countries like China, Russia, and India actively participating. India, as a respected spacefaring nation, has a pivotal role to play, leveraging its expertise to shape global discussions on space resource governance.

However, it is important to ensure that such activities are carried out per obligations under international law. For example, Article II of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits the appropriation of outer space including celestial bodies. There are also concerns that if space resource activities are not governed properly, conflicts may arise in outer space and back on Earth. To facilitate an inclusive and multi-stakeholder dialogue on this issue, the UN COPUOS established the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities.

How will this multilateral initiative function? What promises does this initiative hold in shaping the norms and future of space resource activities? And what is India’s possible role in this initiative?

Episode Contributors

Steven Freeland is an emeritus professor at Western Sydney University and a former dean, specializing in international law. He represents Australia at UN COPUOS meetings and is a member of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board. With extensive experience as a commercial lawyer and investment banker, Freeland has advised on space law and policy internationally and has authored numerous publications on international law. | https://www.weforum.org/people/steven-freeland/ 

Tejas Bharadwaj is a research analyst at Carnegie India, focusing on space law and AI applications in the military. He is involved with Carnegie India's Global Technology Summit and is a prospective member of the International Institute of Space Law. Bharadwaj has worked on global initiatives addressing light pollution from satellites and contributes to various international space law groups. | https://carnegieindia.org/experts/2199

Introduction - 00:00 
Relevance of International Law - 11:21 
The Working Group on Space Resource Activities - 26:26 
The Need for Governance in Space Resource Activities - 34:09 
The Importance of Multilateralism in Space Resource Governance - 45:58 
Challenges of Reaching Consensus in Space Resource Governance - 57:40

Suggested Readings

1. Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities, UNOOSA
2. The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World by Tim Marshall
3. Space Resource Activities and the Evolution of International Space Law by Melissa De Zwart, Stacey Henderson and Michelle Neumann
4. International Conference on Space Resources 

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

The recent war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East have provided valuable lessons when it comes to the nature of future military modernisation and defense innovation. While traditional warfare remains relevant, we are seeing a shift towards multi-domain operations that are more kinetic and are increasingly utilizing autonomous weapons. 

As India seeks to boost its defence exports, its domestic industry will have a role to play. Several factors have played a role in the recent spike in defence exports—regulatory initiatives, enhanced capability of the private sector, and the desire among other countries to diversify away from their traditional defence partners and look at India instead. Additionally, the INDUS-X initiative between India and the U.S. has also been noted as a welcome mechanism to encourage further defence cooperation in other emerging technologies such as quantum computing, space, cyber-security, and deep-sea technology.

What are the potential opportunities that international collaborations present? Will India's domestic industry be able to meet the armed forces' requirements? 

In this episode of Interpreting India, Ajay Kumar and Konark Bhandari talk about the current status of defence innovation in India and the emerging trends in this space.  

Episode Contributors

Ajay Kumar is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India. He served as the defense secretary of India between August 2019 and October 2022 and is the longest serving secretary in the Ministry of Defence, where he also served as secretary in the Department of Defence Production. As defense secretary, Ajay Kumar was the key architect for several major transformations, including the restructuring of higher defense management in the country and formation of the chief of defense staff in the Indian Armed Forces; the launch of the Agniveer scheme—a historic reform in recruitment, training, and retention of personnel in the Armed Forces. 

Konark Bhandari is a fellow with Carnegie India. He is a lawyer who has researched certain areas in the digital economy, focusing primarily on approaches to antitrust regulation of companies in the digital realm. He had earlier worked at India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), where he worked closely with senior officials on a variety of matters. He is also an avid follower of the regulation of the space technology ecosystem and is keen to contribute to that discipline. 

Additional Readings

INDUS-X: Charting the Way Ahead for India-U.S. Defense Industrial Cooperation, by Konark Bhandari. 

Can a Defense Innovation Bridge Elevate India-U.S. Defense Cooperation? by Konark Bhandari. 

Sameer Lalwani on India-U.S. Defense-Industrial Cooperation.

U.S.-India Defense Innovation Collaboration: Building on a Promising Start by Konark Bhandari.

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

South Asia is a region of remarkable diversity, encompassing countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Typically, India has been considered the power most capable of exercising its influence in the region. Yet, in recent years, there has been another power that has laid claim to South Asia as part of its periphery and has sought to expand its influence in the region. For the past decade and a half, China has made deeper inroads into South Asia, not only offering capital and infrastructure, but also deepening political ties and people-to-people relations. 

When did we begin seeing China’s interest in the region? How does China interact differently with South Asia compared to other powers like the United States? How does China’s slowing economy affect its economic engagement in the region?

In this episode of Interpreting India, Jabin Jacob joins Saheb Singh Chadha to answer these pressing questions and discuss recent developments in South Asia. 

Episode Contributors

Jabin Thomas Jacob is associate professor at the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies at the Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, a nonresident fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, and adjunct research fellow at the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. Jacob holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and has spent time as a researcher in Taiwan, France, and Singapore. His research interests include Chinese domestic politics, China-South Asia relations, Sino-Indian border areas, Indian and Chinese worldviews, and center-province relations in China.

Saheb Singh Chadha is a research analyst in the Security Studies Program at Carnegie India. His research focuses on China’s foreign and security policies, India-China relations, and India’s military modernization. He is broadly interested in the geopolitics of South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. He is also a researcher on a project examining the nature and dynamics of cross-border violence and its impact on civilian communities.

Additional Readings

How China Engages South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools, edited by Constantino Xavier and Jabin Jacob

G20 in Delhi, US Ties, Global South Leadership: Decoding Beijing Worldview Through Chinese Press by Jabin Jacob

A Fresh Look at India’s Neighborhood First Policy, by Constantino Xavier and Milan Vaishnav

China’s Influence in South Asia: Vulnerabilities and Resilience in Four Countries by Deep Pal

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

One of the guiding norms that has shaped the internet over the last few decades is that of online free speech. This norm is protected in many countries by exempting online platforms and intermediaries from liability for the user-generated content published on these platforms. For example, in India, Section 79 of the IT Act of 2000 protects intermediaries from such liability. However, over the last few years, these exemptions have been under scrutiny. Many have called for greater regulation of the practices of platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Reddit. Some reasons for this are the problems related to disinformation, instances of incitement to violence through these platforms, and the censorship of free speech in some cases. To address such concerns, some legislation has been floated or enacted in jurisdictions such as the United States, India, and the European Union. 

How will these laws alter the digital economy and the norm of protecting free speech online? What are the risks associated with implementing such legislation? What should policymakers keep in mind as these developments pan out?

In this episode of Interpreting India, Anupam Chander joins Anirudh Burman to discuss these pressing questions.

Episode Contributors

Anupam Chander is the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown University Law Center. He is the author of The Electronic Silk Road and an expert on the global regulation of new technologies. He practiced law in New York and Hong Kong with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. He has been a visiting law professor at Yale, the University of Chicago, Stanford, Cornell, and Tsinghua. He previously served as the director of the California International Law Center and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis. 

Anirudh Burman is an associate research director and fellow at Carnegie India. He works on key issues relating to public institutions, public administration, the administrative and regulatory state, and state capacity. He has also worked extensively on financial regulation and regulatory governance.

Readings:

Facebookistan by Anupam Chander

Free Speech by Anupam Chander and Uyên P. Lê

Googling Freedom by Anupam Chander

The Electronic Silk Road by Anupam Chander 

Gonzalez v. Google LLC, 598 U.S. ___ (2023)

The Digital Services Act

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

In this episode of Interpreting India, we delve into the often-overlooked history of India's early relationship with China. Author Vijay Gokhale former Indian Foreign Secretary, takes us back to the 1940s and 50s, exploring pivotal moments like India's quick reaction of the People's Republic of China and its involvement in the Taiwan Straits crises. Beyond familiar narratives of border disputes and Tibet, Gokhale sheds light on a "forgotten" rivalry: the struggle between a declining British Empire and a rising United States, which powerfully shaped India's diplomatic dance with both China and the West. We navigate the complex alliances under Prime Minister Nehru, gleaning valuable lessons for understanding India's present approach to Asia and China. Gokhale's book, "Crosswinds," offers a new perspective on this crucial period, prompting us to reconsider the forces that shaped a nation's foreign policy. So, tune in as we unpack the past, revealing its enduring relevance for the present and the future.

EPISODE CONTRIBUTORS

Vijay Gokhale is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India. Mr. Gokhale retired from the Indian Foreign Service in January 2020 after a diplomatic career that spanned thirty-nine years. From January 2018 to January 2020, he served as the foreign secretary of India.

Srinath Raghavan is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India. He is also a professor of International Relations and History at Ashoka University. His primary research focus is on the contemporary and historical aspects of India’s foreign and security policies.

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Crosswinds: Nehru, Zhou and the Anglo-American Competition over China, by Vijay Gokhale 

After Tiananmen : The Rise of China by Vijay Gokhale

The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India, by Vijay Gokhale

Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest, by Vijay Gokhale

The Security Dilemma and India-China Relations, by Srinath Raghavan

Vijay Gokhale on China's India Policy and India-China Relations 

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

India has seen superlative progress in electrical connectivity, achieving 96.7 percent connectivity to the grid as of 2020 from around 67 percent over a decade ago. For context, the electricity sector can be broadly split between generation, transmission, and distribution. Despite recent progress, electrical connectivity is still racked by problems such as irregular supply and voltage fluctuations, and distribution companies face losses. Much of the electricity generated is derived from coal, which serves to impede our climate goals, and renewable alternatives require energy storage mechanisms that are technologically complex and depend on locally unavailable raw materials.

In this episode of Interpreting India, Karthik Ganesan joins Sayoudh Roy to delve further into the issues ailing electrical connectivity in India.

Episode Contributors

Karthik Ganesan is a fellow and director for research coordination at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, where he ensures cross-team coherence for CEEW's research direction and imperatives. He also acts as an internal adviser across research teams and creates institutional platforms that spur innovation. In addition, he holds a master's degree in public policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, and an MTech in infrastructure engineering from IIT Madras.

Sayoudh Roy was a senior research analyst with the Political Economy Program at Carnegie India. His work focuses on the macroeconomic implications of frictions in labor and financial markets and how interactions between them can affect macroeconomic aggregates.

Additional Readings

State of Electricity Access in India, by Shalu Agarwal et al.

What Smart Meters Can Tell Us, by Shalu Agarwal et al. 

Mapping India’s Energy Subsidies 2021, by Balasubramanian Viswanathan et al.

Developing Resilient Renewable Energy Supply Chains for Global Clean Energy Transition, by Akanksha Tyagi et al.

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

There are similarities between the UN’s efforts to pursue a disarmament strategy for nuclear weapons and the regulation of the military applications of AI. Given the multiple parallel initiatives on this issue, inputs would also have to be gathered from a range of stakeholders already working on the issue, such as the REAIM participants, the United States, and other countries, in order to regulate AI in the military domain. The private sector has a role here to drive governance on this topic as well, given that most of the technology emanates from their R&D efforts. Here, more regulation should not be seen as a roadblock to innovation; instead, it can accelerate it. This is because empirically-based regulations would allow the adoption of such AI systems to be faster. The lack of any such regulation could even lead to undesirable outcomes, which may hamper the growth of the industry.  

In this episode of Interpreting India, Izumi Nakamitsu joins Konark Bhandari to discuss the military applications of AI.

EPISODE CONTRIBUTORS

Izumi Nakamitsu assumed her position as under-secretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs on May 1, 2017. Prior to taking on this post, she served as assistant administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development Programme since 2014. She has many years of experience within and outside the UN system, most recently as special adviser ad interim on follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants between 2016 and 2017. She was previously director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2012 and 2014 and director of the Department’s Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training from 2008 to 2012. She holds a Master of Science degree in foreign service from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Law degree from Waseda University, Tokyo.

Konark Bhandari is a fellow with Carnegie India. He is a lawyer who has researched certain areas in the digital economy, focusing primarily on approaches to antitrust regulation of companies in the digital realm. He had earlier worked at India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), where he worked closely with senior officials on a variety of matters. He is also an avid follower of the regulation of the space technology ecosystem and is keen to contribute to that discipline. 

While at the CCI, he was a member of the Internal Coordination Committee on the Think Tank on Digital Markets. Konark was also attached to the office of the chairperson of CCI, where his duties involved providing a briefing on live cases as well as speechwriting responsibilities. 

Konark has published papers in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property, and corporate law. 

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

With the onset of winter, severe levels of air pollution have reemerged as a concern in North India. Various factors have been put forth to explain this malaise: stubble burning in farms, vehicular pollution, and pollution due to the construction sector. But even outside of the winter months, the National Capital Region maintains poor air quality, with an AQI of over 200. Can clean transportation help?

To speak of clean transportation, which is key to addressing the issue of vehicular pollution, we must first speak of electric passenger and commercial vehicles, low-emission zones, and so on. Each option comes with its own set of challenges. Electric vehicle uptake is low in India and hovers at around 2 percent owing to relatively higher prices, range anxiety, lengthy charging times, a lack of standardized charging points, and a lack of charging infrastructure. However, there are concerted efforts to promote electric vehicles and alternative forms of cleaner transportation in India. The auto PLI scheme and Delhi’s electric vehicle (EV) policy provide incentives that can potentially spur the uptake of electric vehicles. Delhi’s EV policy also addresses the issue of scarce charging infrastructure. This appears to have had results since Delhi’s electric vehicle sales rose to 9 percent in the September–November quarter of 2021 from around 1 percent in 2019–2020. Nor is price as much of a deterrent as it may initially appear, since initial high costs may be offset by long-term gains from heavy usage, such as low fuel and running and maintenance costs.

In this episode of Interpreting India, Amit Bhatt joins Sayoudh Roy to discuss these key questions around clean transportation.

Episode Contributors

Amit Bhatt is the India managing director at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). He is based in New Delhi and has over twenty years of experience in transportation, urban development, and management. Before joining ICCT, Amit was executive director for integrated transport at WRI India for twelve years. Prior to this, he worked with the Urban Mass Transit Company, India’s leading urban transport consultancy, and with infrastructure leasing and financial services. 

Sayoudh Roy is a senior research analyst with the Political Economy Program at Carnegie India. His work focuses on the macroeconomic implications of frictions in labor and financial markets and how interactions between them can affect macroeconomic aggregates.

Additional Readings

India's Path to Clean Transport is Electric, Strong Central Policies on Zero-Emission Vehicles by Amit Bhatt and Harsimran Kaur

Where Are India's Electric Trucks? by Amit Bhatt and Aviral Yadav

Battery Swapping for Electric Two-Wheelers in India: Strategy Hinterlands, by Pramoda Gode, Sumati Kohli, and Jennifer Callahan 

How Delhi Is Becoming a Lighthouse City for Electric Mobility in India by Amit Bhatt

Improving Air Quality in Cities Through Transport-Focused Low- and Zero-Emission Zones: Legal Pathways and Opportunities for India by Anuj Dhole, Sandra Wappelhorst, and Amit Bhatt

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

The last publicly available nation-wide caste census in India was conducted in 1931. Now, a state-wide caste census has become available from the government of Bihar. Even though we know the Indian state collects data on a variety of markers and indicators, whether socioeconomic or health-related, there seems to be a reluctance when it comes to collecting data on caste. 

What is the reason for this? What are the complexities involved in capturing caste in India? How should we think about the categorization and sub-categorization of caste? What will the politics of caste look like going forward? What are the ways in which a caste census can be conducted more efficiently? What are the different aspects of the politics of social justice in India? What have been the successes and failures of social justice in India?

In this episode of Interpreting India, D. Shyam Babu joins Suyash Rai to discuss these questions and more.

Episode Contributors

D. Shyam Babu is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. His current research interests include socioeconomic mobility among Dalits, liberalization and social justice, and the role of entrepreneurship in mobility. He has also collaborated with Devesh Kapur and Chandra Bhan Prasad to conduct socioeconomic surveys to map social change and its linkages with public policies and entrepreneurship among Dalits. Their 2014 co-authored book, Defying the Odds, has received critical acclaim.

Suyash Rai is a deputy director and fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms and the performance of public institutions in India. His current research looks at the financial sector, the fiscal system, and the infrastructure sector.

Additional Readings

Mandal’s Original Sin, Surveyed by D. Shyam Babu

Rethinking Inequality: Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in the Market Reform Era by Devesh Kapur, Chandra Bhan Prasad, Lant Pritchett, and D. Shyam Babu

Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs by Devesh Kapur, D. Shyam Babu, and Chandra Bhan Prasad 

Reimagining Merit in India: Cognition and Affirmative Action by D. Shyam Babu, Chandra Bhan Prasad, and Devesh Kapur

Dalits in the New Millennium by Sudha Pai, D. Shyam Babu, and Rahul Verma

Key Moments

(00:00); Introduction

(01:47); Chapter 1: Why Was There Hesitance in Conducting Caste Census?

(10:43); Chapter 2: The Complexity of Caste and Its Relationship With the State

(15:45); Chapter 3: Potential Purposes of Caste Census

(20:49); Chapter 4: Scope of Improvement in Politics of Caste Census

(23:29); Chapter 5: Ways to Mitigate the Negative Consequences of Caste

(30:13); Chapter 6: Public System and Caste 

(35:35); Chapter 7: Consequences and Limitations of Economy on Social System

(42:18); Chapter 8: Caste Issues and Public

(44:28); Chapter 9: The Making of Citizens: Social Identity and Community 

(52:08); Chapter 10: Structural Incompetence of Caste on Social System

(54:16); Chapter 11: Cultural Determinism and Nationalism

(57:24); Chapter 12: Social Justice in Relation to Caste

(58:25); Chapter 13: Recommended Books 

(59:10); Outro

---

From December 4–6, 2023, Carnegie India will convene the eighth Global Technology Summit, co-hosted with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This year, we will discuss key technology policy issues concerning digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, critical and emerging technology, space, semiconductors, national security and technology, data protection, and more.  

To register for the summit, visit gts2023.com. Make sure you follow our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts for more updates on the event.

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.

One of the most visible signs of India’s economic development in the past seventy-five years has been the growth of its cities. Some of them are now among the largest on the planet, both in terms of area and population. However, Indian cities are far from perfect. They’re often not well planned, coping with problems of rapid growth and inefficient use of land and other resources. Indian cities are also plagued by a lack of basic amenities, such as clean drinking water, sanitation, and solid waste management systems, as well as safety-related problems.

What is the scale of the challenges facing India’s cities? What are some of the ideas and themes that are unique to India’s experience of urbanization? What is the global significance of the trends underway in Indian cities?

Devashish Dhar discusses many of these questions in his recent book, India’s Blind Spot: Understanding and Managing Our Cities. In this episode, he joins Anirudh Burman to unpack them further.

Episode Contributors

Devashish Dhar is a former public policy specialist at NITI Aayog. He is a Mason Fellow from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Li-Ka Shing Scholar from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Anirudh Burman is an associate research director and fellow at Carnegie India. He works on key issues relating to public institutions, public administration, the administrative and regulatory state, and state capacity. He has also worked extensively on financial regulation and regulatory governance.

Additional Readings

India’s Blind Spot: Understanding and Managing Our Cities by Devashish Dhar

Understanding Indian Cities by Anirudh Burman

Key Moments

00:00); Introduction

(02:25); Chapter 1: What Prompted Devashish to Study Indian Cities?

(04:55); Chapter 2: Why is Urbanization a Binding Constraint?

(07:17); Chapter 3: Transforming Cities: Economic Growth and Socio-Economic Factors 

(11:50); Chapter 4: Unique Features of India’s Urbanization and Cities 

(21:49); Chapter 5: Infrastructure, Housing, and Utility Issues in India 

(29:10); Chapter 6: Are There Any Solutions to High Rents? 

(36:18); Chapter 7: Causes of Failure to Redevelop Land Property 

(42:45); Chapter 8: Urban Governance

(51:23); Chapter 9: Urban Reforms in Small Cities

(54:54); Chapter 9: Children as Figures of Urban Research

(01:01:45); Closing Comments 

(01:02:55); Outro 

Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage.

As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade.

Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world.

Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.