The Pragati Podcast

Genome sequencing and mapping is unearthing new knowledge about the origin of humans and human civilisation. More than that, genome analysis is also yielding new insights about human health, and will be vital for medicines of the 21st century.

It is time to talk about the many Indian genomes, and the great genetic diversity of Indians, 28 years after the Human Genome Project was launched. Since this episode was first aired in September 2018, there has been fascinating new research expanding our understanding of how humans populated India and South Asia. Most recently, the first ancient genome from the Indus Valley Civlisation was analysed and reported in the journal Cell.

Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj joins Pavan Srinath and guest host Dr Shambhavi Naik on Episode 61 of the Pragati Podcast to talk about genes, history and health challenges in India.

Dr Thangaraj is a renowned scientist working at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, CCMB, Hyderabad. He has published extensively on the origin of humans, on genetics and disease and how they affect the lives of Indians. If you have any questions or comments on the episode, write in to [email protected]. You can also ask the hosts anything on twitter at @zeusisdead.

Read his latest research publications, including on ancient DNA from the Indus Valley Civilisation, on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=AYZNs9wAAAAJ&hl=en

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Hong Kong has seen protests since March 2019, triggered by newly proposed legislation that allows Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China or Taiwan. This is the latest round in a long conflict between the People's Republic of China seeking to exert more control over Hong Kong, and citizens of Hong Kong fighting to ensure their personal rights and freedoms.

Manoj Kewalramani returns to Episode 112 of The Pragati Podcast to help us understand the Hong Kong protests and put them in perspective.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Manoj Kewalramani is a Fellow for China Studies at the Takshashila Institution. Before joining Takshashila, Manoj spent several years working in China in journalism, manufacturing and more. He writes a weekly news letter called Eye on China, and he's been on the Pragati Podcast before to bust commonly held myths about China, and has been on the podcast before to help us understand China.

For the best podcast episode on the ongoing Kashmir conflict, listen to Srinath Raghavan on Amit Varma's Seen and the Unseen Podcast: https://www.thinkpragati.com/category/podcast/the-seen-and-the-unseen/

Also listen to: Pragati Podcast #66: Myths About China: https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/the-pragati-podcast/5907/myths-about-china/

Pragati Podcast #67: No, China Isn't Taking Over the World: https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/the-pragati-podcast/5989/no-china-isnt-taking-over-the-world/

Pragati Podcast #77: The US-China Trade Battle: https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/6749/the-us-china-tariff-battle/ Pragati Podcast #78: The US-China War for Technology: https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/the-pragati-podcast/6754/the-us-china-war-for-technology/

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

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Mental health is not a first world concern, but very much an Indian challenge. Social taboos have prevented Indians from confronting mental illnesses head on and now it's estimated that there are over a 100 million people in India who need medical interventions on mental health. Listen to Dr Sabina Rao and Pavitra Jayaraman as they unpack the issue on Episode 111 of The Pragati Podcast.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Dr Sabina Rao is a Psychiatrist with extensive experience in assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a wide spectrum of psychiatric disorders. She currently practices at Columbia Asia and Annaswamy Mudaliar General Hospitals in Bangalore and was previously associated with NIMHANS.

Pavitra Jayaraman heads editorial at White Swan Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that creates and disseminates, well-researched and credible information on mental health. Pavitra is a former journalist who has worked with NDTV and Mint.

Also read:** National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015-16**.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

Follow The Pragati Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/pragatipod Follow Pragati on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinkpragati Follow Pragati on Facebook: https://facebook.com/thinkpragati

Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is happening in India's stock markets right now? How do the stock markets interact with the real Indian economy? Deepak Shenoy is on Episode 110 of The Pragati Podcast to help us make sense of what is happening in India right now.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Deepak Shenoy is the Founder and CEO of Capitalmind, a Bangalore-based investment research and wealth management startup.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Companies around the world have been learning how to manage the safety and security of their digital assets. Can the cybersecurity logic of a private corporation be expanded to that of a nation state? Sandesh Anand joins Pavan Srinath on Episode 109 of The Pragati Podcast to talk about how India can think about cybersecurity.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath. Announcement: New episodes of The Pragati Podcast will be out every Wednesday, starting from this week.

Sandesh Anand is an information security professional and a Managing Consultant at Synopsis Inc. He writes on topics at the intersection of cyber security and other aspects of digital life, including for Factor Daily. He was also previously on the Thale-Harate Kannada Podcast to talk about cybersecurity in Kannada.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

Follow The Pragati Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/pragatipod

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India has fraction of the doctors and medical professionals it needs, even as healthcare is increasingly becoming a politically important issue. In this context, the Government of India recently passed the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act 2019, which wants to usher in a new regulatory apparatus for medical education in the country. A welcome replacement for a corrupt and dysfunctional Medical Council of India, the NMC Act is not without its share of protests and criticisms. Sambit Dash joins Pavan Srinath on Episode 108 of the Pragati to talk about medical education and the NMC Act.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath. Announcement: New episodes of The Pragati Podcast will be out every Wednesday, starting next week.

Sambit Dash teaches biochemistry to medical students at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, and is an alumnus of the Takshashila Institution. He writes extensively on various policy issues, especially various aspects of medical education.

Suggested readings & podcasts:

1. [Podcast] The Medical Council of India: http://www.seenunseen.in/episodes/2017/3/7/episode-8-the-medical-council-of-india
2. [Livemint] Is NEXT the panacea for medical education woes? https://www.livemint.com/Education/MkZvFhKf39vIbKXmlDEfwK/Is-NEXT-the-panacea-for-medical-education-woes.html
3. [The Wire] What's next for the NMC Bill? Confusion. https://thewire.in/health/nmc-bill-mbbs-exit-exam
4. [EPW] Exit Exam in Medical Education: Whatever NEXT? https://www.epw.in/journal/2017/52/commentary/whatever-next.html
5. [The Wire] It's a Bad Idea to Outright Reject Bridge Courses for Healthcare Professionals. https://thewire.in/health/its-a-bad-idea-to-outright-reject-bridge-courses-for-healthcare-professionals

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

Follow The Pragati Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/pragatipod

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DNA samples can today be used for creating a unique fingerprint or ID, for diagnosing cancer and heritable diseases, for telling you your ancestry or even paternity. The cost of sequencing the full genome of any human cost over a $100 million dollars at the start of the 21st century, and today costs just a few hundred dollars.

In this backdrop of DNA sequencing technology being used for criminal, civil, medical and other purposes -- The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 has been reintroduced in the Lok Sabha. Drs Mandira Kala and Shambhavi Naik are on Episode 107 of The Pragati Podcast to tell us all about the DNA bill.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath. Announcement: New episodes of The Pragati Podcast will be out every Wednesday, starting next week.

Shambhavi Naik is a cancer researcher turned bioscience policy researcher and entrepreneur. She is a Fellow for technology and policy at the Takshashila Institution, and the Founder of CloudKrate.

Mandira Kala is the Head of Research at PRS Legislative Research, and has a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Massachussets.

Suggested readings: - Bill Summary & Legislative Brief from PRS: http://prsindia.org/billtrack/dna-technology-use-and-application-regulation-bill-2019 - The DNA Bill is designed to fail, Shambhavi Naik in FirstPost: https://www.firstpost.com/india/dna-bill-is-designed-to-fail-6038751.html

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

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Can India's higher education system thrive when the teaching profession has lost most of its status in society? What is necessary for India to educate millions of its citizens who turn college-going age every year? Pushkar joins Pavan Srinath on Episode 106 of The Pragati Podcast to share his thoughts.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations.

Pushkar is the Director of the Goa International Centre and a political scientist with a PhD from McGill University who has taught in both India and Canada. He writes regularly on higher education for The Wire, and other publications.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

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How has India's anti-defection law undermined democracy in the country? How do we tackle endless horse-trading of elected representatives in India? The Anti-Defection Law stifles intra-party democracy and dissent, and is also undermining the stability of elected governments. How do we fix a solution that has grown bigger than the problem?

Alok Prasanna Kumar returns to Episode 105 of The Pragati Podcast helps us understand this constitutional crisis, and a big political challenge for Karnataka in particular, as well.

The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Alok Prasanna Kumar is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a former Supreme Court lawyer and co-host of Ganatantra Podcast

Anupam Manur is an economist at the Takshashila Institution who works on employment, market regulations and trade, as well as a frequent guest on the show.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

Follow The Pragati Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/pragatipod

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Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

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The Government of India has announced that it will start issuing Overseas Sovereign Bonds, thereby allowing the government to borrow in dollars from foreign lenders. With falling savings rates in India and the little money available to the private sector to borrow locally, is this a solution that can help kickstart the economy? Or are dollar bonds like a drug, addictive and ruinous over time?

Anupam Manur returns to Episode 104 of The Pragati Podcast to tell us how dollar bonds would affect the Indian economy. The Pragati Podcast is a weekly talkshow on public policy, economics and international relations hosted by Pavan Srinath.

Anupam Manur is an economist at the Takshashila Institution who works on employment, market regulations and trade, as well as a frequent guest on the show.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected].

Follow The Pragati Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/pragatipod Follow Pragati on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinkpragati Follow Pragati on Facebook: https://facebook.com/thinkpragati

Subscribe & listen to The Pragati Podcast on iTunes, Saavn, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, AudioBoom, YouTube or any other podcast app. We are there everywhere.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.