Takshashila Institution

The Takshashila Institution is an independent centre for research and education in public policy. It is non-partisan and non-profit, and advocates the values of freedom, openness, tolerance, pluralism and responsible citizenship. Its stated aim is to transform India through better public policies and to bridge the governance gap by developing better public servants, civil society leaders, professionals and informed citizens. Its own summary of how it works is simple: connecting good people, to good ideas and good networks.

Headquaters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Major Areas of Work

• International Relations, Defence, and National Security: Policy research and commentary on geopolitics, strategic affairs, and defence.
• Technology and Geopolitics: Research on the intersection of technology with global politics, including AI, semiconductors, space, and cyber.
• Economic Policy: Research and public commentary on economic reasoning and governance.
• Public Policy Education: Structured programmes that build policy evaluation, communication, and analytical skills.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP): A 12 week programme training working professionals and students in public policy fundamentals.
• Post Graduate Programme (PGP): A 48 week in depth public policy education programme.
• NAS Fellowship: A fellowship with dedicated tracks on technology, China, and Pakistan studies for scholars working on India's strategic priorities.
• OpenTakshashila Courses: Open access courses that extend public policy education beyond the institution's core programmes.
• Publications, Podcasts, and Newsletters: Regular research papers, blogs, daily podcasts, and newsletters covering technology, geopolitics, defence, and economics.

The flagship fellowship is the NAS Fellowship, run under the Takshashila Network for Advanced Studies with three specialised tracks. NAS-Technology covers the intersection of technology and geopolitics, from AI and semiconductors to space, cyber and quantum. NAS-China produces original scholarship on China's political system, economy, foreign policy, military modernisation and India-China relations. NAS-Pakistan covers Pakistan's military and strategic culture, political economy, federalism and domestic politics.

Impact

Takshashila's research and commentary regularly appear in national and international media, and its fellows and scholars are cited in outlets including The Hindu, The Indian Express, and The Diplomat. The institution has trained a large alumni base through its Policy School programmes, supported by a network of Lighthouse Keepers who anchor alumni communities in cities including Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. It maintains active research and events partnerships with institutions such as the U.S. Consulate General and the Munich Security Conference.

Leadership

• Nitin Pai, Co-Founder and Director
• Narayan Ramachandran, Co-Founder
• Sowmya Prabhakar, Chief Operating Officer
• Pranay Kotasthane, Deputy Director

For a job seeker, the appeal is the nature of the work rather than scale. Research here is published under the author's own name, argued in public, and carried into national newspapers and international journals, which means early-career analysts build a visible body of work rather than internal memos. The subject matter is unusually specialised for India, particularly the China, Pakistan and deep-tech geopolitics tracks, and the mix of research, teaching and convening means most people work across writing, public speaking and network building rather than one narrow function. Takshashila is a small, independent, ideas-led organisation for people who want to shape how India thinks about security, technology and governance, and who are comfortable defending their arguments in the open.