Asha Jadeja in conversation with Dr. Alyssa Ayres
On 16 October 2020, Asha Jadeja spoke to Dr. Alyssa Ayres. In their conversation, available now on Youtube, Asha Jadeja and Dr. Ayres talk about foreign policy issues surrounding the growth of the Indian tech industry. Dr Ayres provides important insights into relations between the Indian government and Indian entrepreneurs, and how to move forward. Asha Jadeja and Dr. Ayres discussed in depth how the COVID-19 pandemic and related global economic distress has raised new questions about global order, not least due to a weakening of the United States, tensions between Washington and Beijing, and a sense that the world as we know it has changed.
Indian foreign policy leaders have long argued that a more multipolar world would be favorable for India, as it would play a role as one among several powers able to exercise influence in the world. Yet the shifts we may be witnessing as a result of the pandemic come at a time of increased fragility in India, particularly economically. Discussing the challenges and opportunities that have therefore arisen now, Asha Jadeja and Dr. Ayres revealed some important insights that we can use to improve and expand the tech industry in India.
About Alyssa Ayers
Dr. Alyssa Ayers a senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia in the Obama administration. Dr. Ayers is an award-winning author with senior experience in the government, non-profit, and private sectors. Her book about India’s rise on the world stage, Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World was selected by the Financial Times for its “Summer 2018: Politics” list. At CFR her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Dr Ayres is also interested in the emergence of subnational engagement in foreign policy, particularly the growth of international city networks; her current book project, Bright Lights, Biggest Cities: The Urban Challenge to India’s Future, explores India’s urban transformation in the decades ahead.
