China and India represent two of the most important forces reshaping the global economy, but they have arrived at this moment having followed very different paths. China surged ahead through manufacturing, exports, and an activist, but authoritarian state. India, by contrast, followed a more uneven path, shaped by democracy, a robust services sector, and a different relationship between government and markets.

A new book, Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World, by the British economist Sir Vincent Cable examines the bigger question of what the rise of China and India means for the future of the world economy—and the international order.

Vince Cable is a British economist, author, and former politician who has spent decades thinking about the changing global economy. He served as Britain’s secretary of state for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015 and later as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Before entering politics, he worked in government, international organizations, academia, and the private sector—including as chief economist at Shell. Today, he is a Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics in the School of Public Policy.

To talk more about his new book, Vince joins Milan on the show this week. The two discuss Vince’s first visit to India as a student in the mid-1960s, the contrasting reception to his writings on China and India, and the concept of “superstates.” Plus, the two discuss the ability of India to shape global order, Indian democracy’s “fork in the road,” and three possible futures for an emerging world of superstates.

Episode notes:

1. Martin Wolf, “Best books of 2025: Economics,” Financial Times, November 19, 2025.

2. “A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation (with Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2025.

3. Devesh Kapur, “Why Does the Indian State Both Fail and Succeed?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 34, no. 1 (Winter 2020): 31-54.

This week, Grand Tamasha is launching a new four-part series on energy and climate issues in collaboration with CASI—the Center for the Advanced Study of India—at the University of Pennsylvania.

Over the next several months, we will be putting a spotlight on some of the most pressing energy and climate issues facing India—from India’s green transition to the effect of climate on its coastlines, and India’s multilateral climate diplomacy. And we will be doing so by leveraging the expertise of many CASI experts and affiliates.

The first part of this new series looks at the connection between pollution and politics. Air pollution is often treated as an environmental or public health problem. But it is also a deeply political one—shaped by what voters demand, what politicians believe they will get credit for, which sources of pollution governments choose to target, and which institutions are capable of compelling action.

To discuss why toxic air has proven so politically challenging in India—and what it might take to change that—Milan is joined on the show this week by Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar and Tariq Thachil.

Vaishnavi is an award-winning science and environment journalist based in Mumbai, and a former Visiting Fellow at CASI. She is a Contributing Correspondent for Science and an editorial consultant with The Times of India. She has previously worked as a staff editor at the Christian Science Monitor and editor of the magazine Time Out Mumbai.

Tariq is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2020-2025, he served as the Director of the Center for Advanced Study of India (CASI). Tariq has worked on political parties and political behavior, identity politics, urbanization and migration, but he is also developing a new research agenda on the political consequences of air pollution.

The trio discuss why India and South Asia sit at the epicenter of the global air pollution crisis, why toxic air produces such little political pressure, and what politicians actually know about India’s dirty air. Plus, they discuss the role of civil society, the courts, and ordinary citizens in holding politicians accountable on climate issues.

Episode notes:

1. Shikhar Singh and Tariq Thachil, “Why Is Air Pollution Not a Political Issue? Evidence from India,” Working Paper, March 13, 2026.

2. Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar, “Climate Change is Stretching Mumbai to its Limits,” The Atlantic, February 7, 2022.

3. Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar, “Optics, Ambition, and a Genuine Transition: Reflections from the Inaugural Mumbai Climate Week,” CASI India in Transition, August 4, 2026.

4. Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar, “Mumbai's air quality: ‘Time to look at city’s airshed & not just localised pollution,’”Times of India, October 30, 2023.

Few subjects are as central to the functioning of government—or as likely to make the average citizen’s eyes glaze over—as how governments collect and spend the public’s money. But public finance shapes nearly every interaction Indian citizens have with the state.

How much tax revenue will my state receive from the Centre? Will my local government have the resources to invest in the urban amenities I value? And how can I distinguish between an expensive freebie and a purposeful, targeted cash transfer?

A new book, Fiscal Fables: A Citizen’s Guide to Public Finance, demystifies India’s public finances for a lay audience—and explains public finance concepts using relatable stories and examples.

The book is co-written by two public policy researchers, Sarthak Pradhan and Pranay Kotasthane. They join Milan on the podcast this week to discuss their joint work.

Sarthak is a fellow at the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy. He also serves as assistant editor of the Indian Public Policy Review.

Pranay is deputy director at Takshashila, where he chairs the High-Tech Geopolitics Programme. He also co-writes Anticipating the Unintended, a weekly newsletter on public policy, and co-hosts Puliyabaazi, a Hindi–Urdu podcast on politics, policy and technology.

Sarthak, Pranay, and Milan discuss why every active citizen should care about public finance, the competing visions in India of the purpose of government, and the vagaries of the Indian tax system. They also talk about the much-maligned Goods and Services Tax, the tensions in India’s fiscal federalism, and the rise of ‘competitive populism.

Episode notes:

1. “India's Tryst With Policymaking” (with Pranay Kotasthane), Grand Tamasha, January 25, 2023.

2. “India and the Emerging Chip Race” (with Pranay Kotasthane), Grand Tamasha, January 30, 2024.

3. Khyati Pathak, Anupam Manur, and Pranay Kotasthane, We, The Citizens: Strengthening the Indian Republic (New Delhi: Penguin, 2024).