Takshashila-Hudson Panel Discussion on 75 Years of India-US Partnership
Dear Reader,
We hope you are doing well. In this edition, we bring to you our latest on the upcoming event on the India-US partnership, the new National Logistics Policy, opportunities for seeking climate justice during India’s G20 presidency, combating different types of malnutrition, preserving Indian languages and updates from Takshashila’s Academic Conference.
Takshashila-Hudson Panel Discussion on 75 Years of India-US Partnership
The Takshashila Institution and the Hudson Institute are organising an online panel discussion to mark the 75th anniversary of India-US diplomatic relations. The session will bring together experts from India and the US to discuss the relationship's trajectory and more importantly, how this is expected to evolve in the future. The discussion will explore areas of mutual collaboration and mechanisms to address existing challenges.
The event is being held online over Zoom on Wednesday, 19th October 2022 from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (IST) / 9.00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (ET).
India’s New National Logistics Policy
Last month, the Union Government released the National Logistics Policy which seeks to reduce logistics costs and make India a manufacturing powerhouse and a regional logistics hub. In an opinion for the Hindustan Times, Anupam Manur writes that while the scale and ambition of the policy are impressive, much depends on the implementation:
While some of the digital innovations and systems can help in better coordination among different departments and modes of transport, the biggest challenge will be a physical one. In India, transport development is heavily focused on roadways, which carry more than 60% of freight. While the construction of highways may be breaking records, railways and waterways are left far behind. In countries that handle as much cargo as India, most of it is moved through high-speed rail networks, which are quicker, cheaper, and have a far lower environmental footprint than other options.
India’s G20 Presidency & Preventing Climate Disasters
The G20 countries make up two-thirds of the world population and 80% of the global GDP. In an article for News18, Mahek Nankhani and Dr. Harshit Kukreja argue that during its upcoming G20 presidency, India has an opportunity to implement measures to combat climate change:
Existing climate change commitments by G20 are not enough to prevent the catastrophic climate effects. It is now India’s opportunity to make climate change a centre stage of G20’s agenda following the “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities” approach. Climate change has been worsening the way of life in the Global South. There are issues surrounding food security, livelihoods and extreme weather events. There is an imperative need for not only immediate climate action but also for climate justice. India can be the voice of unheard because currently it is in the developed world where the decisions are taken for the Global South. This would give India the leeway to bring millions out of poverty and also help prevent rise in global temperature.
Combating Malnutrition in India
Today, India faces a double whammy of malnutrition, with the younger population being affected by undernutrition and the older population being affected by malnutrition related to obesity. In an article for News18, Dr. Harshit Kukreja writes on why a clinical or personalised approach is better suited to combat the latter, as opposed to public nutrition:
The second approach is clinical or personalised nutrition. In this we focus on the individual. This starts at a healthcare facility. It includes modifying dietary factors of outpatient and hospitalised patients. Nutrition modification is also quite important in patients suffering from chronic diseases. Patients suffering from lifelong diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases require constant support and guidance to be able control them. Clinical nutrition plays an important role in that. This is currently not happening in our country even in private establishments in tier-1 cities. We need to focus on this non communicable disease burden. The main aim of this approach is preventing progression and recurrence of diseases.
Preserving Indian Languages
Indian languages have survived foreign invasions and colonial homogenisation efforts. But now with globalisation, our languages are losing their ground, as native speakers migrate to languages linked to economic opportunity. However, a band of silent workers is striving to promote and spread the scope of vernaculars. In last Wednesday’s All Things Policy episode, Ritul Gaur and Sowmya Nandan are joined by Vasant Shetty (Co-Founder, MyLang) and Aakash Athawasya (Co-host, Kannada Gothilla Podcast) to discuss their work in widening the reach of Kannada.
Takshashila Academic Conference
The Takshashila Institution conducted the Academic Conference for its 33rd cohort of GCPP students on October 8th & 9th last week. The event was designed to mimic a physical conference with some keynote sessions that everyone attends and other parallel breakout sessions on various public policy topics. A part of the conference was held on Takshashila’s Virtual Campus on Gather Town where the students could meet and hang out with each other and also discuss engaging policy questions.
The keynote speakers were Jayraj Pandya, Amb. P.S. Raghavan, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon, Rahul Matthan, Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Dr. Kajari Kamal, Prof. Johanna Weaver, and Nitin Pai.
The breakout sessions were addressed by Prof. Sabyasachi, Sachin Kalbag, Kadambari Shah, Mihir Mahajan, and Prof. Ashish Kulkarni, among others. The conference also witnessed a few ‘spontaneous order’ sessions where the discussions were led by students based on topics voted on earlier.
Click on the live threads below for more details:
Day 1 (October 8, 2022)
Day 2 (October 9, 2022)
Special Credit Course: Ethical Reasoning in Public Policy
Ethical Reasoning is a new course where you will learn to use concepts and frameworks to examine and resolve ethical questions in public policy. Although the course incorporates moral principles, the emphasis is pragmatic: evaluating policy choices through ethical reasoning.
You will learn to assess the trade-offs inherent in public policy problems. By extension, you'll also start seeing these choices in your professional life.
The course faculty is Nitin Pai, Co-Founder, and Director of Takshashila Institution.
That’s all for this week. Take care!