Takshashila Institution
Connecting good people, to good ideas and good networks.
A live tracker on the conflict's evolving fronts, supply-chain disruptions, the geopolitical aftershocks reshaping the region and India's interests.
Ambassador Latha Reddy
We mourn the passing of Ambassador Latha Reddy, former Deputy National Security Advisor of India. At Takshashila, we will remember her as a generous mentor who brought decades of real diplomatic experience into the classroom. She guided and helped give students a grounded, practitioner's understanding of statecraft.
Over 6 years, she taught "Tools of Statecraft: Diplomacy" to successive cohorts of our GCPP — Defence & Foreign Affairs programme, mentoring students through the practicalities of negotiation and statecraft. Her association with Takshashila also ran deeper, through her family's long-standing partnership with us in hosting the annual Dr. HGV Reddy Memorial Lecture in honour of her father.
Earlier, Amb. Reddy served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1975 to 2011, with postings in Lisbon, Washington D.C., Kathmandu, Brasilia, Durban, Vienna and Bangkok. She was India's Ambassador to Portugal (2004–2006) and to Thailand (2007–2009), and Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (2010–2011).
In 2011, she was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, with responsibility for cybersecurity and other critical security matters. She held that post till 2013. Beyond government, she served as a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Internet Governance and remained engaged with think tanks in India and abroad following her retirement.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and the many students and colleagues whose understanding of statecraft she influenced. We thank her for her contributions to India, Karnataka, and Bengaluru.
Recent publications
The Takshashila Institution is an independent centre for research and education in public policy. It is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation that advocates the values of freedom, openness, tolerance, pluralism and responsible citizenship. It seeks to transform India through better public policies, bridging the governance gap by developing better public servants, civil society leaders, professionals and informed citizens.
Takshashila creates change by connecting good people, to good ideas and good networks. It produces independent policy research in a number of areas of governance, it grooms civic leaders through its online education programmes and engages in public discourse through its publications and digital media.
Learn more about us →What we do
Policy Research
We conduct policy research in international relations, defence, national security, and technology. Our objective is to influence and shape policy while working in the public domain.
Research areas →Policy School
Our public policy programmes prepare students to navigate complex policy challenges — building core knowledge in policy evaluation, economic reasoning, communication and public persuasion.
Browse programmes →Fellowships
The fellowship programmes at Takshashila build high-quality scholarship and knowledge networks in India across various domains of public policy and governance.
View fellowships →Recent convenings
Roundtable | Building Capability in Deep-Space
Dr. Swati Mohan of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was in conversation at the Takshashila Institution, co-hosted with the U.S. Consulate General Chennai, on the science of autonomous space exploration and the evolving New Space economy.
Read more →Purva Paksha | Should India Ban Social Media for Children?
The discussion was structured in the Purva-Paksha format that emphasises presenting the opposing viewpoint before advancing one’s own argument. The tradition is rooted in the ancient Indian method of analytical reasoning. Nitin Pai argued in favour of the proposition, while Anupam Manur presented the opposing perspective. Moderated by Vanshika Saraf, the aim of the dialogue was not to win the debate but to understand the issue with greater clarity and depth.
Read more →Takshashila Network for Advanced Studies Conference 2026
The Takshashila Network for Advanced Studies (TNAS) Conference 2026 convened a diverse community of fellows, experts, and practitioners in Bengaluru for three days of intensive dialogue on India’s most pressing national security challenges.
Read more →Takshashila hosts discussion on India-China relations at Munich Security Conference
Takshashila Institution and the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) and co-hosted a Munich Security Conference side event, “Reevaluating the India-China Relationship in a New Geopolitical Landscape”
Read more →From the blog
Reimagining India’s Biotechnology Governance Shambhavi Naik
27 JUL 2026The Sea Heats Up Anushka Saxena
27 JUL 2026Takeaways from China's H1 Growth Data Amit Kumar
27 JUL 2026The Wars Revealed Some Uncomfortable Vulnerabilities for India Anupam Manur
25 JUL 2026Airports Running an Airline is like Referee Fielding a Team Anupam Manur
23 JUL 2026China Touts AI Clout, But Its Openness Won't Last Pranay Kotasthane
23 JUL 2026IndiGo increases market share, worsening concentration Anupam Manur
22 JUL 2026Available Isn't Accessible Gopal Tomar
20 JUL 2026The PLA's Burden of Finished Tasks Anushka Saxena
20 JUL 2026The Effects of a Sudden Stop in Low-Skilled Immigration Anupam Manur
17 JUL 2026In the news
India must lead in securing the Bab el-Mandeb
The Paradox of China’s Military-Industrial Statecraft
The Geography India Cannot Escape
Let’s make China work for us, securely: Building India's domestic compute, keeping good terms with US
Don’t let China tie us down in the Himalaya. Maritime deterrence is the key
Not Just Jets, China Is Developing A '5-Piece' Carrier Set, And India Should Worry
Stay in the loop
Newsletters. In your inbox.
Weekly digests of original research, commentary and curated reads from across the institution.
Explore all newsletters →Podcasts. Daily conversation.
Daily conversations on the topics shaping the country – technology, geopolitics, defence and economics.
Explore all podcasts →
