Pranay Kotasthane

Deputy Director and Chairs HTG Programme

Pranay Kotasthane is deputy director of the Takshashila Institution and chairs the High Tech Geopolitics Programme.

Pranay co-writes Anticipating the Unintended, a newsletter on public policy ideas and frameworks, and co-hosts Puliyabaazi, a popular Hindi-Urdu podcast on politics, policy, and technology. He is the co-author of three books - Missing in Action: Why Should You Care About Public Policy, When the Chips Are Down, and We, the Citizens. He has co-edited India’s Marathon: Reshaping the Post-Pandemic World Order.

Before joining Takshashila, he had stints with two Fortune 500 companies working on integrated circuit design for mobile processors. Pranay tweets at @pranaykotas.

Areas of research

High Tech Geopolitics

Geoeconomics

Indo-Pacific

Recent publications

Geopolitics of Bengaluru's Yellow Metro Line

Environmental Cooperation: An Imperative for Subcontinental Thinking

India’s Climb up the Innovation Ladder: Policy Enablers and Impediments

Takshashila Working Paper - The Techno-Economic Impact of the Israel-Hamas War

Book Chapter - Interrogating Power and Legitimacy in the Information Age from an Indian Perspective

Time to Launch the US-India Trade Relationship into Another Orbit

Think20 Policy Brief - The Case for a G20-Led Climate Change Relocation Insurance System

Takshashila Working Paper - High-Technology Geopolitics in the Post-Pandemic World

Takshashila Issue Brief - The Rare Earth Elements Opportunity for India

Clingendael Report – Enhancing India–EU Engagement on ‘Meta-Critical’ Technologies: A Case for Collaboration on Semiconductors

An Open Tech Strategy for India

Book Chapter - Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing

Takshashila Issue Brief - Killing of al-Zawahiri Raises More Questions than Provides Answers

Takshashila-Hudson Blue Paper - Restarting the Post-Pandemic Indian Economy

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Comments on NITI Aayog’s Draft Battery Swapping Policy

Harnessing Trade Policy to Build India’s Semiconductor Industry

Complement to Succeed: A Case for India-Taiwan Collaboration on Semiconductors

Takshashila Issue Paper - The Semiconductor Question in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Comments to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Demand for Grants in the Union Budget for FY 2022-23

India's Semiconductor Ecosystem: A SWOT Analysis

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Managed Reopening After Lockdown: Recommendations for State Governments

Siliconpolitik: The Case for a Quad Semiconductor Partnership

IPPR Journal Article - A COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Strategy for India

CLAWS Journal Article - Constraining the Pakistani Military-Jihadi Complex In a Post-COVID World

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Supplementing State Policing Capacity for COVID-19 Duties

IPPR Journal Article - COVID-19 Warrants Long Overdue Doctrinal Shifts in Military Planning

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - National Security Preparedness & Planning for COVID-19

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - India in the Post COVID-19 World Order

Takshashila Strategic Assessment - The Economics and Politics of Pakistan’s COVID-19 Response

Takshashila Discussion Document - A Human Capital Investment Model for India’s National Security System

Takshashila Discussion Document - India's External Intelligence Agency: Managing the Human Resources Challenge

Takshashila Working Paper - The Regressive Nature of Central Transfers for Health

Takshashila Working Paper - A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Public Health Expenditure in India

Takshashila Discussion Document - Deriving India's Strategies for a New World Order

Takshashila Working Paper - Differentiating Unintended Consequences from Unanticipated - A Policy Framework

Book Chapter - The Other Pakistan: Understanding the Military-Jihadi Complex

Takshashila Working Paper - A Framework to Model the India-Pakistan Conflict Escalation

Book Chapter - Individual Liberty vs Public Security in a Radically Networked Society

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - Analysing India Post-Uri Through a Conflict Escalation Framework

EPW Journal Article - Karnataka’s Changing Fiscal Landscape after FFC

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Quality of Service Based Differential Pricing for Data Services

Takshashila Discussion Document - Sustained Dialogue Process as India’s Pakistan Policy: An assessment

Takshashila Policy Brief - A Global Climate Change Relocation Insurance Framework

Takshashila Discussion Document - The looming United States pivot towards containing China’s influence

Takshashila Discussion Document - The India-Pakistan Conflict Escalation Framework

Takshashila Working Paper - ICT Governance Agenda For BRICS: An Eightfold Path

Takshashila Discussion Document - The Eightfold Path to Nuclear Fuel Supply Security

Takshashila Strategic Assessment - Risks to India’s national security from tensions along the Iran-Pakistan border

Takshashila Discussion Document - Resolving the Indo-Bangladesh Maritime Dispute

Yo-yoing is the New Normal

Geopolitics

Sep 8, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

Open Source AI Becomes a Strategic Priority

HTG

Jul 28, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

Rethinking Proportional Representation

Public Policy

Politics

Jul 24, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

Implications of H20 Sale Resumption to China

HTG

Geopolitics

China

Jul 23, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

The Iranian Bomb That Wasn’t

Geopolitics

Jul 21, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

English is the MP3 format of Scripts

Technology

Languages

Jul 6, 2025

Pranay Kotasthane

Digging Deep: Tunnel Boring Machines and India’s China Challenge

China

Geoeconomics

Economic Policy

Trade and Industrial Policy

Jan 22, 2025

Amit Kumar, Pranay Kotasthane

Recent publications

Geopolitics of Bengaluru's Yellow Metro Line

Environmental Cooperation: An Imperative for Subcontinental Thinking

India’s Climb up the Innovation Ladder: Policy Enablers and Impediments

Takshashila Working Paper - The Techno-Economic Impact of the Israel-Hamas War

Book Chapter - Interrogating Power and Legitimacy in the Information Age from an Indian Perspective

Time to Launch the US-India Trade Relationship into Another Orbit

Think20 Policy Brief - The Case for a G20-Led Climate Change Relocation Insurance System

Takshashila Working Paper - High-Technology Geopolitics in the Post-Pandemic World

Takshashila Issue Brief - The Rare Earth Elements Opportunity for India

Clingendael Report – Enhancing India–EU Engagement on ‘Meta-Critical’ Technologies: A Case for Collaboration on Semiconductors

An Open Tech Strategy for India

Book Chapter - Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing

Book Chapter - Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing

Takshashila Issue Brief - Killing of al-Zawahiri Raises More Questions than Provides Answers

Takshashila-Hudson Blue Paper - Restarting the Post-Pandemic Indian Economy

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Comments on NITI Aayog’s Draft Battery Swapping Policy

Harnessing Trade Policy to Build India’s Semiconductor Industry

Harnessing Trade Policy to Build India’s Semiconductor Industry

Complement to Succeed: A Case for India-Taiwan Collaboration on Semiconductors

Takshashila Issue Paper - The Semiconductor Question in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Comments to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Demand for Grants in the Union Budget for FY 2022-23

India's Semiconductor Ecosystem: A SWOT Analysis

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Managed Reopening After Lockdown: Recommendations for State Governments

Siliconpolitik: The Case for a Quad Semiconductor Partnership

IPPR Journal Article - A COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Strategy for India

CLAWS Journal Article - Constraining the Pakistani Military-Jihadi Complex In a Post-COVID World

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Supplementing State Policing Capacity for COVID-19 Duties

IPPR Journal Article - COVID-19 Warrants Long Overdue Doctrinal Shifts in Military Planning

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - National Security Preparedness & Planning for COVID-19

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - India in the Post COVID-19 World Order

Takshashila Strategic Assessment - The Economics and Politics of Pakistan’s COVID-19 Response

Takshashila Discussion Document - A Human Capital Investment Model for India’s National Security System

Takshashila Discussion Document - India's External Intelligence Agency: Managing the Human Resources Challenge

Takshashila Working Paper - The Regressive Nature of Central Transfers for Health

Takshashila Working Paper - The Regressive Nature of Central Transfers for Health

Takshashila Working Paper - A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Public Health Expenditure in India

Takshashila Discussion Document - Deriving India's Strategies for a New World Order

Takshashila Discussion Document - Deriving India's Strategies for a New World Order

Takshashila Working Paper - Differentiating Unintended Consequences from Unanticipated - A Policy Framework

Book Chapter - The Other Pakistan: Understanding the Military-Jihadi Complex

Takshashila Working Paper - A Framework to Model the India-Pakistan Conflict Escalation

Book Chapter - Individual Liberty vs Public Security in a Radically Networked Society

Takshashila Discussion SlideDoc - Analysing India Post-Uri Through a Conflict Escalation Framework

EPW Journal Article - Karnataka’s Changing Fiscal Landscape after FFC

Takshashila Policy Advisory - Quality of Service Based Differential Pricing for Data Services

Takshashila Discussion Document - Sustained Dialogue Process as India’s Pakistan Policy: An assessment

Takshashila Policy Brief - A Global Climate Change Relocation Insurance Framework

Takshashila Discussion Document - The looming United States pivot towards containing China’s influence

Takshashila Discussion Document - The India-Pakistan Conflict Escalation Framework

Takshashila Working Paper - ICT Governance Agenda For BRICS: An Eightfold Path

Takshashila Discussion Document - The Eightfold Path to Nuclear Fuel Supply Security

Takshashila Strategic Assessment - Risks to India’s national security from tensions along the Iran-Pakistan border

Takshashila Discussion Document - Resolving the Indo-Bangladesh Maritime Dispute

Recent blogs

Yo-yoing is the New Normal

Open Source AI Becomes a Strategic Priority

Rethinking Proportional Representation

Implications of H20 Sale Resumption to China

The Iranian Bomb That Wasn’t

English is the MP3 format of Scripts

Digging Deep: Tunnel Boring Machines and India’s China Challenge