Ideas of India

Latest Episodes:

Taking Stock of the Indian Economy with Prachi Mishra Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Prachi Mishra, who is a Professor in the Department of Economics, and Director and Head of Isaac Center for Public Policy at Ashoka University. Prior to joining Ashoka, Prachi was Chief of the Systemic Issues Division and Advisor in the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund.

We spoke about the current state of the Indian economy, India's growth trajectory, if the rupee is overvalued, India's fiscal consolidation, and much more. We also spoke about Trade, but this episode was recorded before the big tariff announcements on April 2.

Recorded March 31st, 2025.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Sajith Pai on India's Digital Divides Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Sajith Pai, who is a Partner at Blume Ventures, an early stage Indian venture fund. He is also a well known writer, and the author of the annual Indus Valley Report. We spoke about the trends in the latest Indus Valley Report, the stratifications in Indian consumer markets, investor sentiment, policies and infrastructure to foster the AI boom in India, the AI start-up scene and much more.

Recorded March 6th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:04:32 - 2025 Trends

00:24:30 - Last Year vs. This Year

00:32:25 - The Role of Artificial Intelligence

00:45:59 - Artificial Intelligence Startup Scene

01:16:40 - Sajith's Reading Habits

01:22:20 - Outro

Jasti Chelameswar on Constitutional Interpretation and Judicial Independence Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Justice Jasti Chelameswar, who is a former justice of the Supreme Court of India. Prior to his elevation, he served as chief justice in High Courts in Gauhati and Kerala and as a justice in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

We spoke about his judgments on electoral qualifications, judicial conduct, transparency in judicial appointments, the constitutional right to privacy, separation of powers, and how dissent shapes constitutional interpretation, and much more.

Recorded February 25th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:27 - Election Law Cases

00:17:15 - Process of Writing Opinions

00:25:38 - Misconduct of Judicial Officers

00:31:34 - NJAC Opinion

00:44:47 - Fundamental Right to Privacy

01:06:29 - Death Penalty Matters

01:15:36 - Outro

Akshay Jaitly on India's Energy Sector Challenges, Reforms, and Future Pathways Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Akshay Jaitly, one of the founders of Trilegal, one of India's leading law firms. He specializes in advising on energy and infrastructure projects. His research interests include power sector reform, the energy transition and public-private contracting.

We talked about the top-down nature of electricity regulation and pricing in India, the dysfunctional DISCOMS, the reforms required for an energy transition towards renewables and nuclear energy, and much more.

Recorded February 11th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:06 - Electricity in India 00:15:31 - DISCOMs 00:41:26 - Open Access 00:44:31 - Expanding Capacity 00:46:52 - Renewable Energy 00:50:04 - Technology Diffusion 00:59:11 - Nuclear Power 01:17:18 - Outro

Christopher Coyne on War, Conflict, and the Quest for a Stable Peace Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Christopher J Coyne, who is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, the Associate Director of the F.A. Hayek Program at the Mercatus Center. We talked about the economics of conflict and peace, history of the US security state, the US intervention in Afghanistan, domestic consequences of militarism abroad, and much more.

Recorded January 15th, 2025.

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Katherine Schofield on The Hidden History of Music in Mughal India Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest Katherine Butler Schofield who is a professor of South Asian Music and History at King's College London. She is the author of the recent book Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748–1858. She also hosted a podcast series called The Histories of the Ephemeral on the same theme.

We talked about the history of classical music in India - from Natyasastra to Dhrupad and to khayals and qawallis. about Aurangzeb's relationship with music, the sacking of Delhiand it's influence on hindustani classical music, the powerful tawaifs of that time, and much more.

Recorded January 24th, 2025.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:17) - The Nāṭyaśāstra and Tasting Music

(00:09:29) - Raga Style and Persian Influences

(00:18:35) - The Influence of Intoxicants

(00:19:42) - Aurangzeb and Other Courtly Characters

(00:33:37) - Aurangzeb's Demise and Its Effect on Music

(00:43:15) - Traveling Musicians and the Spread and Rise of Different Forms

(00:49:49) - Development of Tomri

(00:55:37) - What Makes Punjab So Different

(00:59:17) - The Tawaif

(01:02:06) - The Stories of Sophia Plowden and Khanam Jan

(01:18:07) - Outro

Anton Howes on Trade, Innovation, and the Forgotten History of Salt Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Anton Howes head of innovation research at The Entrepreneurs Network, and the historian-in-residence at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. He is the author of Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation and the excellent Substack Age of Invention. We talked about salt trade in India, the Dutch culture of innovation, the Royal Society of Arts, endogenous versus O-ring theories of growth, why the Industrial Revolution took place in Britain, and much more.

Recorded November 11th, 2024.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:29) - History of the Salt Trade and Salt Tax in India

(00:11:12) - Harvesting Salt in Bengal

(00:17:140 - The Great Hedge of India

(00:23:58) - The Rationale for Taxing Salt

(00:25:49) - The Western European Salt Trade and Land Control

(00:34:22) - The Dutch Golden Age

(00:39:44) - Baltic Salt and New Forms of Sleeching

(00:45:51) - Maritime Trade

(00:48:24) - Why Did the Industrial Revolution Take Place in Britain and Not Elsewhere?

(01:03:14) - Solving the Problem of Debasement in Britain

(01:08:33) - The Path to the Royal Society of Arts

(01:16:39) - A Culture of Tinkerers and Improvers

(01:20:49) - The Society of Arts' Aims and Legacy

(01:31:15) - Theories of Progress

(01:40:20) - The Society of Arts and the Tool of Status

(01:47:43) - Outro

Anant Sudarshan on Market Solutions to Air Pollution, Energy Policy, and Ecological Disruption Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

Today my guest is Anant Sudarshan, an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). We talked about air pollution in India, crop burning, subsidizing electricity, depleting ground water, the impact of the collapse of keystone species and much more.

Recorded November 25th, 2024.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:52) - Air Pollution in India

(00:06:00) - Causes of Pollution in Delhi

(00:07:32) - Addressing Crop Burning as a Source of Pollution

(00:14:11) - Regulatory Frameworks for Pollution in India

(00:18:16) - Creating a Market for Pollution

(00:39:52) - Vehicular Pollution and Rationing

(00:53:56) - How Subsidies Complicate the Pollution Problem

(01:02:44) - Pigouvian Subsidies

(01:08:19) - Electricity as a Right

(01:26:04) - The Near-Extinction of Vultures in India

(01:38:41) - Outro

2024 in Review Dec 26, 2024

Show notes

Today the roles are reversed. Producer Dallas Floer interviews Shruti for the annual end of year episode where they look back at key themes and episodes from the past year, address listener questions, discuss the job market series, and share some questions from previous guests.

On behalf of Shruti and the entire Ideas of India team, thank you for listening to the podcast this year. We're excited to bring you more episodes in 2025.

Recorded November 26th, 2024.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:23) - Listener Questions

(00:02:27) - Essential readings on the Indian economy

(00:04:19) - The economy of eastern India from 1970 to today

(00:06:18) - Achieving a "Developed India"

(00:09:20) - Alternate paths for economic students

(00:014:56) - Suggested dissertation topics for PhD students

(00:18:57) - Revising stances on COVID shutdowns

(00:24:42) - Problematic TV news programs in India

(00:27:57) - Predicting the economic impact of AI

(00:30:11) - The South Korean chaebol model

(00:38:24) - Karthik Muralidharan: reimagining state capacity

(00:41:02) - Aparna Chandra: institutional checks on judicial bias

(00:44:03) - Arjun Ramani and Thomas Easton: critical reforms to maintain growth

(00:47:29) - Ruchir Sharma: the state of American capitalism

(00:51:00) - The Job Market Series

(00:54:01) - Questions from Past Guests

(00:56:59) - Shifting stances on schooling and drugs

(01:02:11) - Law and economics

(01:05:36) - "Home" when living in many cultures

(01:09:44) - Next up for The 1991 Project

(01:11:31) - Personal goals for 2025

(01:16:26) - Thanks and Good Wishes

(01:18:29) - Outro

Pravin Krishna on the Political Economy of Multilateral and Preferential Trade Agreements, Trade Liberalization, and the Future of Global Trade Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

Today my guest is Pravin Krishna is the Chung Ju Yung Distinguished Professor of International Economics and Business at Johns Hopkins University, at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Department of Economics. We talked about history of preferential trade agreements, India's approach to trade liberalization, whether such agreements are trade creating or diverting, and much more.

Recorded November 12th, 2024.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:59) - Essential Components of the Postwar Multilateral Trade System

(00:04:38) - India's Role in the GATT and the Special Status of Developing Countries

(00:06:31) - India in the Global Trade System After 1991

(00:09:10) - The Decline of the WTO and New Trade Dynamics