India

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Akshay Jaitly on the Making of a Modern Indian Law Firm

• January 29, 2026

Jaitly and Rajagopalan discuss how liberalization, regulation, and partnership design shaped Trilegal and the rise of modern Indian law firms

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Renuka Sane on Regulatory Frameworks, Rule of Law, and Pensions Reforms in India

• January 15, 2026

Sane and Rajagopalan discuss India’s pension reforms and financial regulation

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Snigdha Poonam on the Political Economy of Transnational Scams

• January 2, 2026

Poonam and Rajagopalan discuss scam economies, digital infrastructure, and the dark side of Indian aspiration

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

2025 in Review

• December 23, 2025

Floer and Rajagopalan look back at key themes and top episodes from the past year, address listener questions, and take a look forward to what’s in store for Shruti and the show in 2026

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Ammu Lavanya on How Foreign Capital Changed Indian Bank Lending

• December 4, 2025

Lavanya and Rajagopalan discuss the 2004 increase in foreign equity limits for Indian banks, its effects on credit allocation, loan screening mechanisms, and aggregate productivity growth in manufacturing

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Nayantara Biswas on Demand- and Supply-Side Interventions in India's Maternal Health Policy

• November 20, 2025

Biswas and Rajagopalan discuss supply-side interventions in reproductive health, the impact of community health workers on maternal healthcare utilization, and evidence from India's public health landscape

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Karthik Narayan on Measuring the Effects of Unscheduled vs. Scheduled Monetary Policy Announcements

• November 6, 2025

Narayan and Rajagopalan discuss monetary policy surprises, central bank communication, and how financial markets distinguish between scheduled and unscheduled rate decisions

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Asad Tariq on Electoral Redistricting and Public Goods Provision in India

• October 23, 2025

Tariq and Rajagopalan discuss how electoral redistricting affects public goods provision for Muslim communities in India, the mechanics of delimitation commissions, and the political economy of serving minority voters in a first-past-the-post system.

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Chetana Sabnis on The Intimacy Contract and the Indian State

• October 9, 2025

Sabnis and Rajagopalan discuss how Indian courts navigate extramarital relationships, polygamy, and the contested boundaries between legal marriage and social recognition in Hindu law

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Sunny Rai on Using Large Language Models to Understand the Depiction of Shame and Pride in Bollywood versus Hollywood

• September 25, 2025

Rai and Rajagopalan explore the cross-cultural analysis of shame and pride in film

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Kartik Srivastava on Referral-Based Hiring, Caste Networks, and Breaking Barriers in India's Labor Markets

• September 11, 2025

Srivastava and Rajagopalan discuss large-scale experiments on how strategic referral allocation improves worker retention, team productivity, and inclusion while challenging traditional hiring practices in Indian manufacturing

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Narayani Basu on K. M. Panikkar: India’s Impossible Man

• August 28, 2025

Basu and Rajagopalan discuss K.M. Panikkar, who shaped modern India's unity, foreign policy, and constitutional vision

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Yamini Aiyar Schools Us on Education Policy in India

• August 14, 2025

Aiyar and Rajagopalan discuss Delhi's school reforms, the agency-accountability tradeoff, and building state capacity from the ground up

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Rathin Roy on How India Slices the Fiscal Pie

• July 31, 2025

Roy and Rajagopalan discuss India's fiscal federalism, unequal growth, and the politics of redistribution

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Chitrakshi Jain and Prashant Reddy T. on the Dysfunction in India's District Courts

• July 17, 2025

Jain, Reddy T., and Rajagopalan discuss judicial corruption, compulsory retirement, and jury trials

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

M.R. Sharan Examines Decentralization and Local Representation in India

• July 3, 2025

Sharan and Rajagopalan explore the complexities of local democracy in India

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Rakesh Mohan Reflects on Dismantling the License Permit Raj

• June 19, 2025

Mohan and Rajagopalan explore how India's control system actually worked, the miracle of 1991's comprehensive reforms, and the structural transformation still needed today

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Ramachandra Guha on the Origins of Indian Environmentalism

• June 5, 2025

Guha and Rajagopalan discuss India's forgotten environmental thinkers and local solutions

• | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
• | Ideas of India Ideas of India

Taking Stock of the Indian Economy with Prachi Mishra

• April 24, 2025

Mishra and Rajagopalan discuss trade shocks, fiscal consolidation, and the future of Indian growth

• | India Political Economy Program India Political Economy Program
• | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary

India's Proposed Digital Competition Framework: The License Raj by Another Name | The 1991 Project

• • Shruti Rajagopalan
  • Shreyas Narla
• July 8, 2024