Even though India and France have had a strategic partnership for twenty-five years now, the bilateral relationship between these countries has received substantial impetus recently. The relationship spans common interests in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific, a robust military and defense partnership, cooperation in high-tech areas such as space and nuclear, and, of course, a growing economic and trade relationship. What lessons can both countries offer each other? And what are some of the commonalities and differences in the French and Indian approaches to global governance and global challenges such as climate change in a multipolar world? What are the challenges in taking this relationship to the next level?In this episode of Interpreting India, Emmanuel Lenain joins Anirudh Suri to discuss these questions.Episode ContributorsEmmanuel Lenain is the Ambassador of France to India. He began his diplomatic career in 1997, serving in the French Foreign Ministry’s United Nations Department, where he took part in peace negotiations on Kosovo. Since then, he has served in France’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, the Embassy of France in Beijing as the Prime Minister’s technical adviser on multilateral affairs, the French Embassy in Washington, DC, as Consul General of France in Shanghai, Director for the Asia-Pacific Division of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister.Anirudh Suri is a nonresident scholar with Carnegie India. His interests lie at the intersection of technology and geopolitics, climate, and strategic affairs. He is currently exploring how India is carving and cementing its role in the global tech ecosystem and the role climate technology can play in addressing the global climate challenge.

In the last decade, there has been a growing convergence of global powers in the Indo-Pacific, evident from the proliferation of multilateral initiatives in the region. It has also emerged as an arena for geopolitical competition between China and the United States. As the competition intensifies, how does China see the Indo-Pacific? How has Beijing's understanding of this region changed over time? What can India learn from the way China sees the Indo-Pacific?In this episode of Interpreting India, Manoj Kewalramani joins Shibani Mehta to answer these questions and more. Episode ContributorsManoj Kewalramani is a fellow in China Studies and the chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution. His research interests range from Chinese politics, foreign policy, and approaches to new technologies to addressing questions on how India can work with like-minded partners to address challenges presented by China's rise. Manoj is the author of Smokeless War: China’s Quest for Geopolitical Dominance, which discusses China’s political, diplomatic, economic, and narrative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shibani Mehta is a senior research analyst with the Security Studies Program at Carnegie India. Her research focuses on the India-China boundary dispute with the purpose of analyzing India’s foreign and security policy decisionmaking.Additional ReadingsSmokeless War: China’s Quest for Geopolitical Dominance by Manoj KewalramaniIndo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the Contest for the World's Pivotal Region by Rory MedcalfKey Moments(0:00); Introduction(2:35); Chapter 1: China’s Role in the Indo-Pacific(8:36); Chapter 2: Changing Threat Perceptions of the Term “Indo-Pacific”(13:25); Chapter 3: Different Interpretations of the Term “Indo-Pacific”(19:55); Chapter 4: The Contradictory Position Undertaken by China(28:36); Chapter 5: Beijing’s Vision for a Global Order(33:59); Chapter 6: India’s Take on China’s View of the Indo-Pacific  (43:16); Closing Comments(44:19); Outro  

The past week has been momentous for those awaiting the enactment of a legal framework for data protection in India. India’s parliament passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the law has now also received the assent of the President of India. This law has been enacted after multiple rounds of deliberations and consultations. Multiple committees have submitted reports on the proposed legislation, and three previous drafts of the legislation have been circulated for public consultation. What changes has this law undergone? How will the cost of data protection and privacy compliance impact Indian businesses?In this episode of Interpreting India, Rahul Matthan joins Anirudh Burman to give us insights into these questions and more.Episode ContributorsRahul Matthan is a partner at Trilegal, one of India’s leading law firms, and heads the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) practice of the firm. He has extensive experience advising on high-value TMT transactions in the country. Rahul’s expertise spans several sectors in the technology space, including data protection, digital finance, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce, and more. Rahul has advised the government on the data privacy law and has served on the Kris Gopalakrishnan Committee on Non-Personal Data. He has authored numerous articles and thought pieces on various topical issues relating to computers, the internet, and other new technologies.Anirudh Burman is an associate research director and fellow at Carnegie India. He works on key issues relating to public institutions, public administration, the administrative and regulatory state, and state capacity.  He has also worked extensively on financial regulation and regulatory governance.He has published works related to parliamentary oversight in India, the freedom of movement and residence, measuring the responsiveness of independent regulators in India, the design of insolvency professionals as a regulated profession, and the right to information.Additional ReadingsGet On with Data Protection Now That the Law’s Enacted by Rahul MatthanCompanies Must Work Hard to Ensure Data Protection by Rahul MatthanResisting the Leviathan: The Key Change in India’s New Proposal to Protect Personal Data by Anirudh BurmanWill India’s Proposed Data Protection Law Protect Privacy and Promote Growth? by Anirudh Burman—-Key Moments:(0:00); Introduction (3:00); Chapter 1: The Journey of This Act(7:03); Chapter 2: Data Protection in India(10:58); Chapter 3: Key Components of the Data Protection Act (14:19); Chapter 4: Applying GDPR Compliance in India(22:00); Chapter 5: Right to Data Portability(27:57); Chapter 6: Consent Manager Framework (32:44); Chapter 7: The Indian Government’s Data Accessing Powers(37:30); Chapter 8: Restrictions on Data Fiduciaries(42:46); Chapter 9: Blocking Data Fiduciaries’ Access to Public Information  (45:18); Chapter 10: Data Localization(46:56); Chapter 11: Establishing a Data Protection Board(49:48); Closing Comments(52:40); Outro

The role of the private sector in facilitating the climate transition journey of our world has been much talked about recently. While many corporations, including those in the fossil fuel sectors, have started drafting out their own journeys to “net zero,” Ajay Banga, the newly appointed president of the World Bank, has also emphasized the need for active private sector finance in the climate transition. There is a growing realization that governments alone cannot do all that is needed to prevent the worst-case scenarios that the world is increasingly faced with. And yet, the full scope of how the private sector can actually expedite this once-in-an-era transition has not been explored enough. In this episode, Suresh Narayanan joins Anirudh Suri to explore the role of the private sector in the climate transition journey.Episode ContributorsSuresh Narayanan is the chairman and managing director of Nestlé India Limited. He has been in this role since August 2015. He also serves as the chairman of the CII National Committee on Food Processing Industries. Under Mr. Narayanan’s leadership, Nestlé India has received several accolades, including, most recently, “MNC in India of the Year” in 2022 by the All India Management Association, “Outstanding Company of the Year 2021” by CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA), and “MNC of the Year” by Business Standard in 2020.Mr. Narayanan joined Nestlé in 1999 as executive vice president for sales in India. His international career commenced at Nestlé Indochina in 2003, and he has also served in the Philippines, Singapore, Egypt, and the Northeast Africa Region. He was honored as the “Entrepreneurial CEO” at the EY Entrepreneur of The Year™ Awards 2020. Business Today awarded him “Best CEO-FMCG” for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.Anirudh Suri is a nonresident scholar with Carnegie India. His interests lie at the intersection of technology and geopolitics, climate, and strategic affairs. He is currently exploring how India is carving and cementing its role in the global tech ecosystem and the role climate technology can play in addressing the global climate challenge.He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations (HarperCollins, 2022) and is currently the managing partner at India Internet Fund, a technology-focused venture capital fund based in India and the United States. He has also written extensively on foreign policy, geopolitics, cybersecurity, climate, technology, and entrepreneurship in publications such as the Indian Express, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Foreign Policy, The Print, The New Republic, Economic Times, MoneyControl, and Asia Times. --Additional ReadingsA Comprehensive Framework for India’s Climate Finance Strategy by Anirudh SuriWhy Banga  Being a Corporate Czar is Good for World Bank by Anirudh Suri—-Key Moments:(0:00); Introduction (4:29); Mr. Narayanan’s Journey(9:45); The Private Sector’s Role in Combating Climate Change(15:49); Nestle’s Application of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (20:09); Nestle’s Science and R&D-Based Approach (27:51); Obstacles to India’s Private Sector Spending on R&D(37:15); On Packaged Foods and Food Security (38:53); Policy Hurdles in Public-Private Collaborations (42:42); India’s Climate Opportunity Strategy (48:41); Concluding Remarks (49:15); Outro   

Defense cooperation is central to the India-U.S. partnership, and it has served as a key enabler for stronger collaboration at the multilateral level. While defense ties between the two countries have gone from strength to strength over the last two decades, defense-industrial cooperation has notably failed to take off thus far. However, of late, the two countries have made a renewed push toward furthering defense-industrial cooperation. They released a roadmap in June 2023, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent state visit to the United States has given the process further impetus.In this episode of Interpreting India, Sameer Lalwani joins Rahul Bhatia to discuss these points and more.Episode ContributorsSameer Lalwani is a senior expert on South Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. His research interests include nuclear deterrence, interstate rivalry, alliances, crisis behavior, counterinsurgency, and Indo-Pacific security. Sameer has been widely published in academic journals and print media alike. He was the co-editor of the book Investigating Crises: South Asia’s Lessons, Evolving Dynamics, and Trajectories, which was published by the Stimson Center in 2018.Rahul Bhatia is a research analyst with the security studies program at Carnegie India. His research focuses on India’s borders and India’s foreign and defense policies. He is currently working on a project that looks at India’s military modernization with a focus on indigenization. He also has a keen interest in the changing geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific.---Additional ReadingsModi’s Trip to Washington Marks New Heights in U.S.-India Ties by Sameer P. Lalwani, Daniel Markey, Tamanna Salikuddin, and Vikram J. SinghA Big Step Forward in U.S.-India Defense Ties by Sameer P. Lalwani and Vikram J. SinghWhat the GE Engine Deal Means for India’s Military Diversification by Rahul BhatiaCan a Defense Innovation Bridge Elevate India-U.S. Defense Cooperation? by Rahul Bhatia and Konark Bhandari---Key Moments:(0:00); Intro(2:10); Chapter 1: The Role of Defense-Industrial Cooperation(4:11); Chapter 2: The Roadmap for Defense-Industrial Partnership(7:07); Chapter 3: Why the DTTI Failed(12:41); Chapter 4: Bureaucratic Differences in the DTTI(16:48); Chapter 5: India’s History of Technology Sharing and Indigenization(24:36); Chapter 7: The Significance of the GE Deal(27:21); Chapter 8: The Role of the Indian Startup Ecosystem(29:03); Chapter 9: India-U.S. Cooperation on Undersea Domain Awareness(31:53); Chapter 10: The Significance of INDUS-X(36:48); Chapter 11: Challenges in India-U.S. Joint Defense Innovation(40:23); Outro---Carnegie India Socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnegieindia/ (@CarnegieIndia)Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarnegieIndiaWebsite: https://carnegieindia.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarnegieIndia/