BIC TALKS
Bangalore International Centre
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Bangalore International Centre (BIC) is a non profit, public institution which serves as an inclusive platform for informed conversations, arts and culture. BIC TALKS aims to be a regular bi-weekly podcast that will foster discussions, dialogue, ideas, cultural enterprise and more.
Available episodes
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23 hours ago
38. Land in Conflict (with Kumar Sambhav)
Kumar Sambhav from Land Conflict Watch talks to host Pavan Srinath about the trends, nature and root causes of land conflicts in India, with a special focus on urban growth and industrialisation.
Sambhav and Pavan discuss land conflicts that arise from infrastructure and real estate projects around cities, the routine bypassing of progressive land acquisition provisions, the lack of recognition of traditional rights of rural residents over village commons. They also discuss some of the recently announced changes in land laws and rules across the country, and explore how they affect ongoing and future conflicts.
Land Conflict Watch (@LandConflicts) is a data a data-research project, which maps and analyses ongoing land and resources conflicts in India. As of August 2020, they are tracking over 770 ongoing land conflicts in India, affecting over 6.6 million people.
Kumar Sambhav Srivastava (@Kum_Sambhav) is Co-Founder and Research Director of Land Conflicts Watch, who has been in journalist for over a decade, working on issues at the intersection of public policy, business and social justice in India.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
5 days ago
37. Every Creature Has a Story to Tell
Author and writer Janaki Lenin shares tales from her latest book¸Every Creature Has a Story, with host Pavan Srinath. Janaki and Pavan discuss nature writing, the challenges of connecting readers to the strange lives of various creatures, the perils of imbuing animals with human tendences, and more.
Janaki Lenin is a freelance journalist, filmmaker, and conservation policy expert, and has written columns for The Hindu, Firstpost, and The Wire. She currently writes for The Hindu Sunday Magazine and RoundGlass Sustain.
Every Creature Has a Story (HarperCollins 2020) is Janaki’s fourth book. She has also authored My Husband and Other Animals, My Husband and Other Animals 2: The Wildlife Adventure Continues, and Stories from the Wild.
This episode of BIC Talks is shared under a Creative Commons license, CC-BY-SA-4.0. The episode features clips of bird songs from the Common Nightingale (Credit: Benoit Van Henke, Xeno-Canto) and the Asian Koel (Credit: Tushar Bhagwat, Xeno-Canto).
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 27, 2020
36. The Life and Legacy of VKRV Rao
Economists S.L. Rao, Uma Kapila and Ravi Kanbur discuss the life and work of V.K.R.V. Rao.
V.K.R.V. Rao (1908-1991) was an eminent Indian economist, politician and institution builder. Studying under John Maynard Keynes, Rao worked on some of the earliest estimates of India’s national income statistics and published a range of important economic research on poverty, developmental economics, and macroeconomics. Apart from a career in politics, Rao also mentored generations of Indian economists, and helped establish numerous Indian institutions like the Delhi School of Economics, the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi, the Institute of Social and Economic Change Bangalore, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, and many more.
S.L. Rao, Uma Kapila and Ravi Kanbur share their personal reminiscence of V.K.R.V. Rao, discuss his contributions to economics and to institution building.
Dr. SL Rao is a columnist and an emeritus professor who has worked in academia, at think tanks and in the private sector through his life. He was previously the Director General of NCAER in Delhi and Chairman of ISEC in Bangalore. Dr. Uma Kapila is a retired faculty of economics at Miranda House in Delhi, and the co-founder of the Indian publishing firm Academic Foundation. Dr. Ravi Kanbur is a Professor of Economics at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University.
Other readings - The Partial Memoirs of VKRV Rao, SL Rao, 2002; A Passionate Humanitarian: VKRV Rao, Academic Foundation, 2008; Ravi Kanbur’s transcription of VKRV Rao’s Correspondence with John Maynard Keynes.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 23, 2020
35. Identity, Belonging and Dislocation
Author Annie Zaidi and writer Poorna Swami discuss home, belonging, displacement and identity on Episode 35 of BIC Talks. Annie Zaidi won the Nine Dots Prize for 2019-20 by exploring the question, ‘Is there still no place like home?’ and published Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation in May 2020.
Annie and Poorna discuss how where people are born, where they live, what they speak, where they feel safe are all tied to their sense of identity and belonging, sometimes determined by themselves, and sometimes by others.
Annie Zaidi is a journalist, scriptwriter and author, and Bread, Cement, Cactus is her fourth book. The full book is available for free reading as a PDF download, and physical copies can be purchased as well.
Poorna Swami is an independent writer and journalist based in Bangalore. Poorna was also on BIC Talks on Episode 28, where she spoke to Rahul Rao about the politics and the morality of taking down problematic statues.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 20, 2020
34. Nandi Hills through the Ages
Nandi Hills is a popular tourist destination for Bangaloreans. Siddharth Raja talks to Pavan Srinath about how the real history, heritage and the action is at the foot of the Nandi Hills rather than the top.
Siddharth walks listeners through the rich geological history, medieval history, the marvellous architecture of the Bhoganandishwara Temple and its surroundings, and shares glimpses of the past that have survived to this day. Siddharth and Pavan also briefly discuss challenges to heritage conservation at the edge of a growing metropolis like Bangalore.
Siddharth Raja is a corporate lawyer by weekday, and runs a Nandi Valley Walks over weekends along with his wife, Priya. Nandi Valley Walks is a successful historical walking tour company. In his free time, Siddharth pursues historical research on the Princely State of Mysore, through the biographical prism of one of its Dewans, Sir Albion Rajkumar Banerji. He was also a member of the Bangalore Tourism Advisory Committee established by the Government of Karnataka.
For more about the geology underlying the Nandi Hills and the formations underlying India, do listen to Episode 23 of BIC Talks, Glimpses of India’s Deep Natural History, with Pranay Lal. For a larger history of medieval India and the Deccan, listen to Richard Eaton and Prashant Keshavmurthy on Episode 32 of BIC Talks, India and the Persianate Age.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 16, 2020
33. Women who shaped the Indian Republic
Priya Ravichandran and Shruti Viswanathan explore the role of women in the Constitution making and nation building process on Episode 33 of BIC Talks.
Priya and Shruti explore the rise of political feminist consciousness in the Indian national movement, looking at the influence of global, and home grown, suffragette movements on the Indian independence movement. They also discuss the roles of individual women in the Constituent Assembly and their political and personal struggles.
While political rights were granted to women under the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly and the Indian Republic fell short of guaranteeing equity in public life and in personal law. They critically examine sexism in the Indian national movement and within the Constituent Assembly.
Priya Ravichandran (@binaryfootprint) has been a student and analyst in the field of politics and policy making for the last 14 years. She has written extensively about the women in the Indian constituent assembly in a number of publications and in her blog, 15 for the Republic.
Shruti Viswanathan runs ‘The Equals Project‘, which conducts workshops for children and young adults, teaching Constitution creation through experiential learning. Shruti is a graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. She has a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 14, 2020
32. India in the Persianate Age
Historian Richard Eaton talks to Prashant Keshavmurthy about his latest book, India and the Persianate Age: 1000 to 1765. Richard and Prashant discuss how the complex interaction, coexistence, and clash of Persian and Sanskritic worlds shaped the Indian subcontinent for nearly 800 years. They discuss how it was the linguistic and cultural spheres, and not just modern views of religions, that defined society, statecraft and culture in india.
Richard and Prashant also discuss different amalgam of ideas on statecraft and worldviews, the role of military recruitment in driving caste formations and caste identities, of Sufism and its equations with kingship, and a lot more.
Richard M. Eaton is a Professor of History at the University of Arizona who focuses on the social and cultural history of pre-modern India. He has previously written monographs on the social roles of Sufis (Muslim mystics) in the Indian sultanate of Bijapur (1300-1700), on the growth of Islam in Bengal (1204-1760), and on the social history of the Deccan from 1300 to 1761, and on the interplay between memory and art in the Deccan plateau between 1300 and 1600.
Prashant Keshavmurthy is an Associate Professor of Persian-Iranian Studies at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University. His first book was published in 2016 titled, Persian Authorship and Canonicity in Late Mughal Delhi: Building an Ark (Routledge). He is currently making an English verse translation of Amir Khusrow's poem of 1302, Hasht Bihisht (Eight Paradises) as well as other works.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 9, 2020
31. Trans Lives: Quest for Dignity
Trans rights activist Bittu and Tejas AP discuss the challenges faced by the Trans community in India, the politics and policies around trans rights and gender equity, and the quest for marginalised individuals to live a life of dignity.
This is the second of 2 episodes on BIC Talks discussing trans rights, trans lives and the long road to true gender inclusion and equity in India. Previously on Episode 27, lawyer Jayna Kothari had spoken to Tejas AP about the important legal judgments in India that have promoted trans rights, and the for positive rights for gender minorities.
Bittu and Tejas take the conversation forward and discuss the deeply problematic politics and policymaking process that led to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and subsequent actions. They also discuss more progressive legislative moves at the state level in South India. In the end, Bittu and Tejas discuss how people can become better allies, and help build a more equitable society.
Bittu is an Associate Professor of Biology and Psychology at Ashoka University, and a genderqueer transman who believes in the annihilation of caste, class and gender.
Tejas AP (he/him/his) (@tejasap) lives and works in Bangalore. He heads Research Communications at Azim Premji University.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 6, 2020
30. Navigating the US Visa ban
Noted US Immigration Attorney Sheela Murthy talks to Strategic HR Advisor Hema Ravichandar on navigating the latest ban and restrictions of US Visas.
In June 2020, the Trump Administration used record unemployment figures in the United States of America to push through further Visa restrictions on H-1B, L-1, L-2 and various other visa categories. These visas as well as accompanying permits and authorisations are the means by which hundreds of thousands of Indians are currently studying, working or seeking employment in the US.
Sheela and Hema not only discuss the impact of the latest set of visa restrictions, but also recommend the best routes and options for Indians who are stuck in a variety of complex situations and are concerned about uncertain futures that lie ahead of them.
Sheela Murthy is the founder and president of the Murthy Law Firm in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School, and has been admitted to practice as an attorney in New York, Maryland, and the U.S. Supreme Court. With a strong focus on U.S. immigration law, Sheela also works on immigration in the policy and the academic space.
Hema Ravichandar is a Strategic HR Advisor based in Bangalore, with over 35 years of industry experience.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jul 4, 2020
29. Japan and the Writer's Life
Pico Iyer talks to fellow author and journalist Samanth Subramaniam about his 32 years of living in Japan, learning from an ancient culture that remains hauntingly familiar and entirely impenetrable in the same breath. This is the second episode of BIC Talks as a part of the WorldLit series in collaboration with the Bangalore Literature Festival.
In 2019, Iyer published twinned books about his adopted home, A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations and Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells, addressing ping-pong and the art of trying to find hope in a time of uncertainty. These are the latest of Iyer’s 15 books, translated into 23 languages, and he has been a constant contributor to Time, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s and more than 250 other periodicals for more than thirty years. His four talks for TED have received more than 10 million views so far.
Samanth Subramanian is the author of, most recently, “A Dominant Character,” a biography of the scientist and communist JBS Haldane. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, BusinessWeek, Granta and WIRED. He lives in Cambridge, England.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jun 29, 2020
28. The Statues are Falling!
Rahul Rao (@thariel) and Poorna Swami discuss whether cities, nations and communities should retain statues honouring 18th and 19th century slave traders and imperialists.
There are movements to bring down the statues of Confederate Generals in the United States of America, Colonial rulers in Europe, Gandhi in Africa. Rahul and Poorna explore if they are morally justified. If they are, where does one draw the line?
Rahul Rao is a senior lecturer at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and the author of ‘Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality’ (Oxford University Press 2020). Poorna Swami is an independent writer and journalist based in Bangalore.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Jun 25, 2020
27. Winding Path to Trans Equality
Supreme Court Advocate Jayna Kothari and Tejas AP talk about trans rights, important legal judgments in India, the US and elsewhere in recent years, and the path towards gender equity and inclusion.
This is the first of two episodes hosted by Tejas on gender equity, and here Jayna unpacks the recent US Supreme judgment on LGBTQ workers’ discrimination, the decriminalisation of Section 377 in India, the 2014 NALSA vs. Union of India judgment on gender-based discrimination in India, and more. They discuss how India needs to now move beyond decriminalisation and start affirming positive rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, and pass new equality laws.
Jayna Kothari is a Senior Advocate who practices in the Supreme Court of India. She is the co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research in Bangalore. Jayna had argued in the Supreme Court in the recent constitutional challenges to Section 377 and adultery, which were both decriminalized.
Tejas AP (he/him/his) lives and works in Bangalo…
Jun 22, 2020
26. Mapping the India - China border
Aeronautical engineer and retired test pilot Joseph Thomas talks to host Pavan Srinath about aerial survey and mapping of the India-China border, about the evolution of mapping technology in the subcontinent, and about the longest contested border in the world.
Mr Thomas discusses how maps were drawn and land was measured between the 19th century and today, the advent of aerial mapping in India, to where we are today. He elaborates on his time in aerial mapping using Canberra aircraft, a time when India had better maps of the border areas and a technological lead over China for almost two decades. He also discusses how international borders are delineated and demarcated, and provides context for the full long India-China border, as well as the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
Joseph Thomas is an Indian Air Force pilot who flew transport and logistics during the 1962 Indo-China War. From 1967 to 1971 he flew in the reconnaissance and aerial survey squadron, taking part in border surv…
Jun 18, 2020
25. Discovering a New Species in 2020
Evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Ishan Agarwal talks to host Pavan Srinath about discovering new species of geckos and other wildlife in India.
India’s ecosystems and biodiversity are facing new threats every day, but dedicated researchers are finding large numbers of new species of lizards, frogs, insects and more in the last decade or two.
Ishan Agarwal has helped discover about 40 new species of small animals till date, and shares how new species are found, identified and named. He shares stories of naming geckos after his mother who inspired his love for nature, after places where the species were found, and how scholars pay homage or have fun while naming new species. Ishan also discusses modern scientific tools and modern understanding of what constitutes a species. He links these discoveries to larger ideas of studying biodiversity, environmental conservation and climate change.
Ishan Agarwal (@geckoella on Instagram) is an evolutionary biologist by training and stu…
Jun 15, 2020
24. Novels and Writers are Here to Stay
Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat talks to Journalist Shrabonti Bagchi about the COVID-19 pandemic, his reactions to it as a writer, and about the future of books and publishing beyond 2020.
This is the first podcast in a new WorldLit series, a collaboration between the Bangalore Literature Festival and the Bangalore International Centre. The BIC-BLF WorldLit series will feature podcast episodes here on BIC Talks, and live events on BIC Streams.
In this episode of BIC Talks, Chetan Bhagat talks to Shrabonti Bagchi about his reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which it is changing the world around us. How does the life of a successful writer change during a pandemic, and how are the current and long-term impacts of the pandemic influence fiction? What is the future of publishing, literature festivals, book launches, and books and entertainment in general?
Chetan Bhagat is the author of eight novels and three non-fiction books, most recently, The Girl in Room 105 (Westlan…
Jun 12, 2020
23. Glimpses of India's Deep Natural History
Did you know that ostriches originated in India, and co-existed with the first humans in the subcontinent? Or that early ancestors of whales and dolphins lived in the present-day Kutch and the Himalayas? Did you know that the granite countertop in your kitchen is likely two billion years old?
Pranay Lal returns to BIC Talks and regales host Pavan Srinath with numerous stories from India and the World’s deep past, with geological tales of wonder that are as old as the Earth, to stories of microscopic life that changed the world as we know it, to stories of elephants of rhinoceroses competing in the Indian subcontinent. Pranay takes listeners on a journey through the wonders of the natural world and makes a compelling case for how natural history appreciation can deepen our thinking on climate change, environmental conservation, and more.
Pranay Lal is a biochemist and an artist, who works on public health and the environment. He is the author of Indica, A Deep Natural History of the…
Jun 8, 2020
22. A Chief of Defence Staff for India
Admiral Arun Prakash and Lieutenant General (Dr) Prakash Menon discuss the creation of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) position in India in 2019-2020, a reform idea that is even older than the Republic of India. The Admiral and the General discuss the history of the CDS story, how the idea got new life after the Kargil war, and what was finally implemented in 2019 and 2020. They also discuss the path ahead for India’s first CDS, and the challenges that need to be tackled in defence policy, planning and strategy, as well as other defence reforms such as the creation of theatre commands or regional commands.
Admiral Arun Prakash served as India’s 20th Chief of Naval Staff, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, and was a naval aviator. He also served on the 1999 Arun Singh taskforce as well as the Naresh Chandra Committee on national security reforms. He is on twitter at @arunp2810.
Lt General (Dr) Prakash Menon is Director of the Strategic Studies Programme at The Takshashila I…
Jun 4, 2020
21. Re-wilding Cities
Author and scholar Harini Nagendra joins host Pavan Srinath and BIC’s Raghu Tenkayala to discuss how to re-wild India’s cities, for the World Environment Day episode of BIC Talks. The discussion moves beyond stale formulations of environment pitted versus development. The conversation centres around how urban jungles can also allow for nature in all its glory and ‘wildness’ to coexist and become an integral part of any city, from roadside trees, to essential lakes to green zones and protected areas at the edge of growing cities.
Harini Nagendra is a Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, and is the author of numerous books and several papers on the role of nature in cities. Her books include Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities (2019, authored with Seema Mundoli) and Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present, and Future (2016)
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more…
Jun 1, 2020
20. Treating Cancer
Oncologist Dr. Hari Menon talks to host Pavan Srinath about how treatable cancer is today, and a how cancer diagnosis is no longer always terminal.
Dr. Hari Menon is the director of hemato-oncology at Cytecare Cancer Hospital in Yelahanka, Bangalore. Previously, he was a Professor at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
Don’t miss filmmaker and theatre practitioner Ranjan Kamath’s readings of his poems, ‘Planet Under Repair” and ‘Home Thoughts from Unknown Indians’ in this episode of BIC Talks.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about our guests.
May 28, 2020
19. The Natural History of Viruses
Author, environmentalist and biochemist Pranay Lal talks to host Pavan Srinath about the fascinating world of viruses, their natural history, their biology, and their role in maintaining human and global systems.
Humans have only discovered about 5,600 species of viruses till date, and a small number of them are known to cause lethal diseases in humans. During the COVID-19 epidemic, it is useful to take a step back and understand how sub-microscopic, not-fully-alive viruses shape so many aspects of the world as we know it.
Pranay Lal takes listeners on a rhapsodic journey through the world of viruses and paints vivid pictures of them as cosmopolitan colonisers, as regulators of global Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide, of microbes in our own digestive systems, and as even the cause of one of the oldest economic bubbles in human history – Tulip Mania.
Pranay Lal is a biochemist and an artist, who works on public health and the environment. He is the author of Indica, A Deep Natural History…
May 25, 2020
18. The Search for a Coronavirus Cure
Medical Scientist Dr. Gagandeep Kang talks to host Pavan Srinath about ongoing drug development efforts against COVID-19. She discusses the challenges of developing antiviral medicines and lays out the unprecedented efforts taking place to test drugs old and new, against the novel Coronavirus.
In case you missed it, Dr. Kang was previously on Episode 8 of BIC Talks, ‘A Quest for Immunity’, to talk about vaccine development against COVID-19.
Dr. Gagandeep Kang is a 2016 Infosys Prize laureate, and is currently the Executive Director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute. Dr Kang is a key contributor to the understanding of diarrhoeal diseases, rotavirus epidemiology and vaccinology in India, with a stellar career at Christian Medical College Vellore. She is also the Chair of the National Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation and the Vice Chair for the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore Intern…
May 21, 2020
17. Cultural Metaphors
Indian Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao and Pakistani singer/writer Ali Sethi engage on the meaning of South Asian identity today. Is there a logic that makes for greater South Asian integration?
South Asia is an integer despite the political and security issues that create divergent narratives concerning the region. But there are numerous historical, cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties that link people across the region. This podcast explores the connections.
In collaboration with The South Asian Symphony Foundation.
May 18, 2020
16. Being a Smart City CEO
Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited, talks to host Pavan Srinath and Ravichandar about his life as an outsider, now working in an executive role within government. Raj Cherubal is the first Smart City CEO who is not from the Government services. Raj shares what they have been able to accomplish so far, and situates the smart city programme within the larger governance system of a metropolitan city like Chennai.
Chennai Smart City Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV that was set up to house all the smart city initiatives in the city. Before Raj’s appointment as its CEO in 2017, he was the director of projects at Chennai City Connect. With a background in physics and nuclear engineering, Raj has been actively involved in civic projects in Chennai and in Indian civil society for over a decade. His past stints include key positions at the Centre for Civil Society and Janaagraha.
Ranjan Kamath is a filmmaker and a theatre practitioner, and at the end of the episode,…
May 15, 2020
15. Aarogya Setu protocol
Arghya Sengupta from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, talks to host Pavan Srinath about the Aarogya Setu app. He discusses how the Aarogya Setu (“Health Bridge” or “Bridge to Health”) app works, how it can benefit health services as well as app users, its trade-offs on privacy, and how its use should be voluntary and not mandated by rules.
Aarogya Setu is a COVID-19 tracking app launched by the Government of India on April 2, 2020 and has been downloaded over a 100 million times till date.
Arghya and a team from Vidhi assisted the government in drafting a Data and Knowledge Sharing Protocol for the app, which was released on May 11, 2020.
Arghya is the Founder and Research Director of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a legal think tank based in Delhi and Bangalore. Arghya was also a member of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna-led committee of experts on a data protection framework for India.
Visit the Bangalore International Centre website for more links and show notes for th…
May 11, 2020
14. Legislating a Pandemic Response
M.R. Madhavan, President of PRS Legislative Research, talks to host Pavan Srinath about how the Indian State and Union legislatures have been missing in action during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the UK, New Zealand and other democracies have had an active legislature, the Indian parliament was not addressing the pandemic until the lockdown, and has not acted since. Madhavan suggests how India can pass new laws, oversee the executive and carry out its constitutional role during the ongoing pandemic.
MR Madhavan is the President and Co-Founder of PRS Legislative Research, one of India’s most unique and impactful think-tanks. PRS tracks the functioning of the Indian Parliament and works with MPs across political parties and MLAs from various states. PRS provides research support to legislators via analysis of legislative issues, by providing fellowships to research assistants and more.
During COVID-19, PRS has been tracking over 4,000 government orders and rules till date across Sta…
May 7, 2020
13. Migrants in Torment
Journalist Rohini Mohan talks to Clifton D’Rozario and Rajendran Narayanan on the dire challenges faced by millions of migrant workers stranded across India during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
Rohini Mohan (@rohini_mohan) is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangalore, writing on human rights and politics.
Clifton D' Rozario (@clifroz) is a practicing advocate with Manthan Law, and is the National Secretary, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) and the State Secretary CPI (ML) Liberation.
Rajendran Narayanan (@rajendran_naray) is an assistant professor at Azim Premji University, and a volunteer for the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN).
Errata: 50 crore (500 million) migrants mentioned is ~ 10 crores (100 million)
Visit the Bangalore International Centre website for more links and show notes for the episode, and to stay up to date on livestreams, upcoming podcast episodes and future events.
May 4, 2020
12. WhatsUp With Media
Journalist Krishna Prasad talks to Ravichandar about the disturbing present and future of news media in India.
India needs better news now more than ever, but media houses have been struggling with business models and with credible journalism well before the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. Reporters without Borders ranks India at 142 out of 180 countries on press freedom in 2020.
KP discusses challenges such as regulated newsprint, disappearing ad revenue, reduced readership, poor pricing and choked distribution networks. He discusses how Indian news outlets can remain relevant in 2020 and beyond, how they can shift online, invest in good journalism and more.
Krishna Prasad is a journalist and was the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook Magazine from 2012-2016. Since 2006, he has been the force behind Churumuri, Indian Journalism Review and Kosambari, some of India's most popular and insightful blogs. Churumuri and Indian Journalism Review (formerly, Sans Serif) remain active to this day…
Apr 30, 2020
11. The Fiscal Action We Need Now
Economist Dr. Indira Rajaraman talks to host Pavan Srinath about what immediate fiscal action can be taken by Union and State governments in India, as the month of May 2020 begins, and India exits the COVID-19 lockdown in a phased manner.
Dr Rajaraman shares how disaster relief funds can be used and deployed rapidly to all states, how governments in India need to gain the trust of the trucking and transport industry, and enable them to resume the movement of goods across the country and within states, with a priority on foodgrains and perishable food like fruits and vegetables. She also shares her thoughts on setting fiscal targets for economic recovery, government support for the private sector, the dynamic deployment of testing resources and more.
Dr. Indira Rajaraman is an eminent Indian economist and was a Member of the Thirteenth Finance Commission. From 1994 until her retirement in 2007, she held the Reserve Bank of India Chair at the National Institute of Public Finance and Po…
Apr 27, 2020
10. Pandemics in Prose
Samhita Arni and Gautham Shenoy share their thoughts on pandemic literature and science fiction, and what light they can shed on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, with host Pavan Srinath.
Stories set during pandemics can reveal a lot about human society, conflict, power and politics – from The Iliad, to UR Ananthamurthy’s Samskara, to recent science and speculative fiction books written by Cory Doctorow, Emily St. John Mandel, James SA Corey and many others.
Samhita Arni is the author of four books, and retells mythological stories. Her most recent book is The Prince. Gautham Shenoy is a columnist and critic, and writes the SpecFix column in the Bangalore Mirror, and used to write a science fiction column in Factor Daily. Both are avid and enthusiastic readers of science fiction.
While neither Sam nor Gautham recommend reading excessive pandemic fiction during the summer of 2020, here are some of their favourite stories. We welcome our listeners to share the most poignant pandemic fi…
Apr 23, 2020
9. The Future of Performing Arts
Arundhati Nag, Nandita Das and V Ravichandar join host Pavan Srinath for a conversation on the future of arts and culture.
They discuss how artists from all walks of Indian society are managing in these challenging times, and what the future might hold for artists, art spaces, philanthropy and funding, for what many may see as a low priority.
Arundhati Nag is an celebrated film and theatre actor, a Padma Shree and a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recipient, and the founder of Ranga Shankara in Bangalore. Nandita Das is an actor, director and social advocate, a two-time jury member at the Cannes Film Festival, a recipient of the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government, and the first Indian to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame of the International Women’s Forum in Washington, DC.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more inf…
Apr 20, 2020
8. Quest for a Vaccine
Medical Scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang talks to host Pavan Srinath about the development of vaccines, ongoing efforts on COVID-19, and the challenges of developing immunity and resistance against the pandemic.
More than a hundred vaccine candidates are being developed across the world, with several novel vaccine efforts entering human clinical trials in April 2020. Dr. Kang unpacks this unprecedented effort at vaccine development, and discusses the limits of our existing scientific knowledge about COVID-19. Dr Kang shares her thoughts on India’s role in global vaccine security, and discusses our current knowledge on human immunity to the SARS-COV-2 virus.
Dr Gagandeep Kang is the Executive Director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute. She is an award-winning medical scientist who is a key contributor to the understanding of diarrhoeal diseases, rotavirus epidemiology and vaccinology in India, with a stellar career at Christian Medical College Vellore. She is a…
Apr 16, 2020
7. A Pandemic and American Politics
Washington D.C. based journalist Chidanand Rajghatta talks to V Ravichandar and Pavan Srinath.
New York City and the United States of America have become the global centre of the Coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, with over half a million people testing positive for SARS-COV-2 across the US, and a loss of over 20,000 people. New York City alone accounts for nearly half the affected people in the USA.
Chidanand Rajghatta is a journalist, foreign affairs columnist and a Bangalorean – who has been writing for Indians from Washington DC for about 25 years. He discusses how the world’s largest economy and greatest power has responded to the pandemic threat so far. He shares his views on the kind of leadership that has been seen at the State and Federal level in the United States. He also talks about the upcoming US presidential elections, and US-India relations during this crisis.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show note…
Apr 14, 2020
6. Locked in: Mental Health, circa Covid-19
Dr. Shyam K. Bhat and Anna Chandy in conversation with host Pavan Srinath.
Mental health remains a stigma for most Indians today. How can Indians overcome anxiety and depression? What are the new challenges posed by a global pandemic, economic uncertainty and an indefinite lockdown? Episode 6 of BIC Talks explores various questions and misconceptions around mental health in India.
Dr. Shyam K. Bhat is a Physician and Psychiatrist with over 20 years of experience, and has a special interest in holistic and integrative methods of treatment. Anna Chandy is a social psychologist and counsellor. Shyam and Anna are both trustees of the Live Love Laugh Foundation against depression.
Visit the BIC Talks home page on the Bangalore international Centre website for show notes, links and more information about the guest. You can also find it at https://bit.ly/3ce8Tzp
Apr 10, 2020
5. Double Trouble: A Pandemic meets India's Banking Crisis
The world in 2020 is facing an unprecedented health crisis and a daunting economic crisis. India has a festering banking crisis that makes dealing with the economic fallout of COVID-19 all the more difficult.
Narayan Ramachandran talks to host Pavan Srinath and unpacks the twin economic crises and draws useful historical parallels. On Episode 6 of BIC Talks, Narayan argues for an Indian Marshall Plan, extensive reforms, broad approaches, and charts a path ahead for India. Narayan writes a fortnightly column in Mint called ‘A Visible Hand’.
Visit the BIC Talks home page on the Bangalore international Centre website at https://tinyurl.com/seoknpo for show notes, links and more information about the guest.
Apr 6, 2020
4. A Reformer We Forgot: VP Menon
Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao talks to historian Narayani Basu about Narayani’s latest book: VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India.
Who was VP Menon, and how did history forget the legendary civil servant and statesman?
They discuss VP Menon’s life and work, his relationships with Nehru, Jinnah and Patel, his involvement in early constitutional reform, the integration of princely states, and his legacy in the creation of modern India.
Apr 2, 2020
3. Hospital Preparedness for Covid-19 in India
Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman Manipal Hospital in conversation with host, Pavan Srinath.
How is a COVID-19 infection different from all the other respiratory illnesses prevalent across India? How can we ensure the maximum availability of medical professionals, hospital beds, ventilators, masks and personal protection equipment (PPEs) needed for a large-scale outbreak?
The BIC Talks Podcast is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre.
Mar 30, 2020
2. Ramping up India's Covid-19 testing
Dr. Vijay Chandru, Chairman Strand Life Sciences is in conversation with Pavan Srinath. Dr. Chandru talks about the nature of the SARS-COV-2 genome and the race to ramp up testing in India.
Mar 27, 2020
1. Tackling Covid-19 with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw talks to Pavan Srinath on day 1 of the 21 day lock down in India. She talks about the need for the lock down, the need for more focussed testing, the availability of test kits, vaccine development, treatment drugs and the opportunity for the Indian biotech sector to rise to the challenges.
Mar 26, 2020
Episode 0: Starting Out
BIC Talks continues the BIC ethos - to inform, engage and delight listeners.
Episode 1 is a soft launch of the platform. Ravichandar, Raghu Tenkayala and Lekha Naidu of BIC are in conversation with host, Pavan Srinath. They provide the rationale for BIC Talks and what can be expected in the podcasts in the weeks, months and years to come.