South Asia Chat

Episode 173: State Elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh

In the recently held Indian state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in Gujarat for the seventh consecutive time, seeing a jump in its vote share to 52.5 per cent. On its part, the Aam Aadmi Party’s entry into Gujarat dramatically changed political equations in the state. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress returned to power, continuing the state's tradition of anti-incumbency. In this episode, Dr Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Politics, Society and Governance), spoke to Professor Sanjay Kumar, Professor and Co-Director of Lokniti, a Research Programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, India. They discussed the recent election results, the performance of the various parties, and its implications in the coming days.

Episode 172: India-Russia Relations

Russia is one of India's strongest strategic partners and its principal defence supplier. However, Russia's war in Ukraine has catapulted this relationship to public scrutiny like never before. Despite harsh criticism from the Western countries, New Delhi has defended its public position which remains averse to openly criticising Russia. India has also used the current situation to fulfil its national interests, particularly through the import of national resources from a heavily sanctioned Russian economy. In this episode, Dr Yogesh Joshi, Research Fellow, ISAS, discusses the contemporary developments and its implications with Mr Nandan Unnikrishnan, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, India.

Episode 171: The Quad and Ransomware

The Quad members – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – recently announced their joint efforts to combat cyber-attacks with an added focus on ransomware. Their aim is to create a safer and concrete cyber-world, primarily in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad members are very focussed on their vision and amongst their six verticals, cyber-security appears to take precedence. Ms Harpreet Kaur, Editor, at ISAS, speaks to Dr Karthik Nachiappan, Research Fellow, ISAS, to understand the motivation behind the Quad’s focus on ransomware and how this cooperation will benefit the Quad alliance.

Episode 170: G20 in Bali - Analysis

In November 2022, the G20 leaders met for a two-day summit in Bali, Indonesia. Under the theme of this year, 'Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, the leaders, in a joint common declaration, raised important issues such as food and energy security, climate and biodiversity, health and digital transformation. In this episode, Ms Ramita Iyer, Research Analyst, ISAS, speaks to Ms Sharon Koshy, Research Associate, Centre for Public Policy Research in Kochi, India. They discuss the G20 summit and related developments.

Episode 169: The 1962 War - Reflection of Sino-Indian Relations

In October 1962, India and China fought their only war. Sixty years later, the border dispute remains unresolved with Delhi and Beijing confronting multiple crises over the past decade. The rivalry is not only underlined by the United States-China contestation but also by an increasing competition between India and China. In this episode, Dr Yogesh Joshi, Research Fellow, ISAS, speaks to Dr Jabin Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India, and Adjunct Research Fellow, National Maritime Foundation, India. They discuss the implications of the 1962 India-China war and its shadow on the developments in contemporary bilateral relations.

Episode 168: The Crises in Pakistan

Pakistan currently faces gargantuan political, economic, and social challenges. The ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan in April 2022 continues to produce ongoing political turmoil, uncertainties, and violence across the country. A fragile economy, recent devastating floods and mounting cost of living have compounded social distress and unrest. In this episode, Dr Imran Ahmed, Visiting Research Fellow, ISAS, discusses recent developments in Pakistan with Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea, Director, ISAS, and unpacks the causes and consequences of Pakistan’s current political and economic crises.

Episode 167: G20 Bali Summit - What to Expect

The G20 summit will take place in Bali, Indonesia on 15 and 16 November 2022. The G20, an intergovernmental forum to maintain economic stability and foster economic growth, represents more than 80 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product, 75 per cent of international trade and 60 per cent of the world population. In this episode, Ms Ramita Iyer, Research Analyst, ISAS speaks to Dr Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economics), ISAS. They discuss potential issues that are likely to be raised at the summit, prospects of economic recovery post-COVID, challenges posed by the Russia-Ukraine war and the role of developing market economies, including India.

Episode 166: Renewable Energy in India

A report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis noted record levels of investment in India’s renewable energy sector, with a total of US$14.5 billion (S$20.6 billion) invested in FY2021-2022. These figures reflect a 125 per cent growth compared to FY2020-2021 and are 72 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic levels of FY2019-2020. In this episode, Ms Disha Agarwal, Senior Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India, speaks on the growth of the renewable energy sector in India, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. She is in conversation with Ms Ramita Iyer, Research Analyst, ISAS.

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Episode 165: Food Security in India and South Asia

Global food prices have risen sharply after the COVID19 pandemic and Ukraine conflict. Food shortages have also exacerbated due to crop failures arising from extreme weather events. More shortages have arisen due to restrictions on cross-country movements of food. In this episode, we join Dr Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade & Economics) at ISAS-NUS and Dr Bornali Bhandari, Senior Fellow, NCAER, as they discuss and analyse policies for tackling food inflation, the challenges arising for affordable food distribution through public distribution systems, consequences of extreme weather events on food supplies and the role of technological solutions in addressing the food supply issues.  

Episode 164: Bangladesh’s Economy and Growing Chinese Investments

Bangladesh’s economy, like many countries around the world, is challenged by multiple macro-economic issues induced due to the aftermath of the pandemic and the continuing geo-political conflicts. While the country tries to deal with the economic issues by actively forging economic partnerships in and around the region, it is noticeable that the Chinese investments in the country has steadily risen. In this episode, Ms Divya Murali, Research Analyst, ISAS, spoke to Dr Mohammad Masudur Rahman, Visiting Research Fellow, ISAS, to understand this growing nexus between Bangladesh’s economy and the rising Chinese investments.