With the impeachment of Pakistani President Nawaz Sharif and India's preoccupation with the Doklam standoff, little of the national mindspace is being occupied by Pakistan. To weigh in on current relations with our western neighbour, Ambassador TCA Raghavan joins Hamsini Hariharan. Ambassador Raghavan is the former High Commissioner of India to Singapore and Pakistan.

His second book, The People Next Door is an anecdotal chronicle of India s strange and often obsessive relationship with its neighbour.

Have any follow up questions or comments? Tweet them to us at @HamsiniH or @zeusisdead.

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While India has successfully sent a mission to Mars and has a globally competitive tech sector back home, we still struggle to do great scientific research in the country. In this episode of the Pragati Podcast, Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan discuss how to increase the batting average of science in India with Sunil Laxman from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

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Why should Indian cities consider paid parking as a solution to improve traffic? Should curbside parking be priced? In this episode of of the Pragati Podcast, hosts Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan discuss the practicalities of paid parking in India. Have questions or comments? Share them with us at @HamsiniH and @zeusisdead on twitter.

Also, we have a huge announcement: The Pragati Podcast is now weekly!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5

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Can we use sand in India without having to deal with a sand mafia? Why do Indians have toilets at home, but defecate outside? And does anyone ever use a toilet for health reasons? Thejaswi Udupa and Nidhi Gupta join hosts Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan for episode 15 of the Pragati Podcast. Starting with a look at sanitation in India three years after the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, the podcast features how the construction sand market is evolving in Karnataka.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5

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Is the Indian economy doing alright? Is it suffering from something worse than the painful effects of demonetization? Is 2017 the beginning of a new chapter between India and Afghanistan? Did Trump actually say something good for a change? You'll find all this and more on the fourteenth episode of the Pragati podcast. Hosts Hamsini Hariharan and Pavan Srinath sit down with their colleagues Anupam Manur and Pranay Kotasthane from the Takshashila Institution. Starting with a roundup of where the Indian economy today, they also discuss what Trump's latest Afghanistan policy might mean for India in the region.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5

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How do we stop urban flooding year after year? What is this mysteriously named pyjama-laadi scheme? Why should more Indians learn Mandarin? You'll find all this and more in episode 13 of the Pragati Podcast, where Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan sit down for a fortnightly catch-up. The episode also features a new segment called Cheat Sheet, which looks at innovative attempts to squander public money. In the second half, Hamsini talks to Dr Alka Acharya, one of the foremost Indian experts on China, and Pranay Kotasthane, the Head of Geostrategy at The Takshashila Institution, on why we need an overhaul in our approach towards China.

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How can cities protect their heritage when growing rapidly? Why is India deporting 40,000 refugees? How should we think of the trajectory of India's foreign policy? All of this in the twelveth episode of the Pragati Podcast where Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan sit down for a fortnightly catch up. In the second half, Hamsini and Aparna Pande, a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC, look at the roots of India's foreign policy.

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How do the recent job losses in the IT industry impact the economy? Did Nawaz Sharif really lose prime ministership over a font? What's with the inflation targeting mechanisms? In the first half of the 11th episode, Hamsini Hariharan and Anupam Manur catch up on fortnightly happenings. In the second half, Saurabh Chandra comes on board to talk about the future of information technology in the country.

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Do you own your data? What do you give up every time you sign up for something new on the interweb? In the 10th episode of the Pragati Podcast, Hamsini Hariharan discusses what a new law on data protection could look like with Rahul Matthan and Manasa Venkatraman. In the second half, Nitin Pai comes onboard to talk about the almost month long border standoff between India and China.

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Have the photos of food on your timeline been replaced by photos of bills? In the ninth episode of The Pragati Podcast, Hamsini Hariharan sits down with Anupam Manur, Research Fellow at the Takshashila Institution to break down the Goods and Services Tax (GST). In the second half of the podcast, Pavan Srinath and Madhav Chandavarkar discuss the church, the state and how we draw the line between the two.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.