South Asia Chat

Episode 104: Unravelling India‘s Economic Data

The Indian government recently released the economic growth numbers for the first quarter of 2022, with the gross domestic product growth standing at 20.1 per cent. But do these indicate a real revival of the economy? Dr Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow; and Research Lead (Trade and Economics) discusses the impact of several key issues such as inflation, low consumer spending, revival of key sectors and government's recent measures to boost the economy.

Episode 103: BIMSTEC – The Way Ahead

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. While it was set up on 1997, it became active only in the late 2016. Recently the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi, brought out an edited volume titled BIMSTEC: The Journey and Way Forward, which examines various aspects of this grouping. We spoke to Dr Sreeradha Datta, editor of this book to discuss the organisation’s growth and success, the China factor,  the recent Myanmar coup and the Rohingya crisis, amongst other issues. Dr Datta is Centre Head and Senior Fellow, Neighbourhood Studies, VIF. She is also a Non Resident Senior Fellow at ISAS.

Episode 102: Political Churn In Nepal

In the recent weeks, Nepal has witnessed many political changes with Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba replacing Mr KP Sharma Oli as Prime Minister. A new Common Minimum Programme was also launched which touched upon issues relating to national interest, such as the border dispute with India, water resources and unfavourable treaties. To discuss the political and economic implications of these developments and what the future holds for Nepal, we spoke to Dr Nischal Pandey, a Non Resident Senior Fellow at ISAS. He is also Director at the Centre for South Asian Studies; and Convener, Consortium of South Asian Think-Tanks Kathmandu, Nepal.

Episode 101: Destination Lakshadweep

A slew of proposals were recently announced by Lakshadweep’s new administrator Praful Khoda Patel, which included land transfers without guaranteed compensation, banning panchayat poll aspirants with more than two children and inviting global tenders to develop eco-tourism. These proposed measures have invited opposition from all around. To discuss the implications of these announcements, Nithya Subramanian, Editor, ISAS spoke to Mr Shakti Sinha. Non-resident Senior Fellow at the institute. Mr Sinha is also, honorary director of two institutes, the Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance as well as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies.

Episode 100: The Return of the Taliban

With the Taliban taking over Kabul, Afghan politics and society will witness many challenges and changes. However the rapid pace of Taliban takeover was something that was not fathomed by either the United States or any other country. Discussing the run up to these developments, explaining the Taliban leadership structure and also the issues faced by the erstwhile Ashraf Ghani's presidency, Dr Imran Ahmed, Visiting Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to Dr Haroun Rahimi, Assistant Professor of Law, The American University of Afghanistan.

Episode 99: Subscribe, Unsubscribe?

The Indian government recently announced a new set of rules to hold social media companies and OTT platforms accountable for content. While the government believes that these will prevent the "misuse and abuse" of these platforms, others feel that they are aimed at policing the Big Tech companies. To discuss various facets of these new guidelines, Dr Karthik Nachiappan, Research Fellow at ISAS spoke to Dr Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, the Hindu and Prof Nalin Mehta, Dean, School of Modern Media, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies; and Advisor, Global University Systems. The two experts are also Non-Resident Senior Fellows at ISAS.

Episode 98: The Kashmir Issue

Territorial disputes over the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan have been going on since 1947. To discuss the current situation in the four major regions of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan as well as the recent initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, we spoke to Mr Sanjeev Tripathi, former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency. Mr Tripathi not only provides a good background to the problem here but also makes some suggestions for the way forward.

Episode 97: The Future of Afghanistan

Following President Joe Biden's announcement in April, more than 90 per cent of its troops have been withdrawn from Afghanistan. With no substantial progress in the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, the country faces an uncertain future. In this epsiode, Dr Imran Ahmed, Visiting Research Fellow, ISAS, speaks to Dr Srinjoy Bose on the impact of the American withdrawal, an advancing Taliban and other recent developments in the region. Dr Bose is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Politics at the University of New South Wales. His research focuses on critical peace studies including political order and violence, and state formation and democractisation in fragile states and societies.

Episode 96: Disaster in the High Seas

On 20 May 2021, Sri Lanka witnessed the worst marine environment disaster in its waters. The X-Press Pearl, a cargo ship carrying chemicals that caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka, has left in its wake an environmental disaster that the island nation will have to live with for several decades. To discuss the environmental and economic consequences of the incident, Dr Chulanee Attanayake, Research Fellow at ISAS, spoke to Dr Ranil Nanayakkara. Dr Nanayakkara is a conservation biologist specialising in terrestrial and marine mammals. His research mainly focuses on the lesser studied species of marine mammals such as Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphins, Indo-pacific Finless Porpoise, Sperm Whales and Dugongs. He currently serves as a Regional Member of the IUCS-SSC Sirenia Specialist Group.

Episode 95: Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Currency Swap

Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh’s central bank, has in principle approved a S$200 million currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka, which will help Colombo deal with its foreign exchange crisis. This is unusual since Bangladesh, which has only recently qualified for graduation from the list of Least Developed Countries, has not been viewed so far as a provider of financial assistance to other countries. To discuss various aspects of the currency swap arrangement, including the changing economic balance of power in South Asia, Sri Lanka's debt profile and economic trajectory, Bangladesh's trade and export strategy, and both countries' position and prospects in the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economics), ISAS spoke to Dr Sanjay Kathuria, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, ISAS. Dr Kathuria is also Senior Visiting Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, India and holds Adjunct Professor positions at Georgetown University, USA and Ashoka University, India. Prior to this, Dr Kathuria was Lead Economist, South Asia Region at the World Bank.