Tech-à-Tête

In this episode of Tech-à-Tête, host Tanea Bandyopadhyay explores one of the most important questions in the future of digital public infrastructure: can digital identity systems work across borders?Joined by Tanusree Deb Barma, Deputy Director General, Technology Division, at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and Steve Pannifer, Senior Vice President at FIME, the conversation takes a closer look at the possibilities and challenges of interoperability between India’s Aadhaar ecosystem and the European Digital Identity Wallet.From verifiable credentials and trust frameworks to data protection, levels of assurance, and real-world use cases in education, tourism, financial services, and business, this episode unpacks what it will take to make digital identity portable, secure, and useful across jurisdictions.As the EU and India deepen their digital cooperation, the discussion highlights how interoperable identity systems could support smoother mobility, stronger trust, and more efficient cross-border exchange for individuals, institutions, and businesses alike.The EU–India Digital Policy Dialogue’s digital identity interoperability study is currently ongoing. If you would like to learn more or engage with this work, we warmly invite you to contact us via the email address provided below.Get in Touch! Email | LinkedIn | Website

In Episode 2 of Tech-à-Tête, hosted by Tanea Bandyopadhyay, we move beyond policy frameworks to ask a more fundamental question: what does it actually take to build AI that is safe, sovereign, and scalable?Titled “The Infrastructure Behind Trustworthy AI: What the EU and India Are Building,” this episode features Aalekh Sharan, Head Agentic AI and Head Public Sector at Sarvam AI and a key contributor to India’s National AI Strategy. Drawing on his experience across both policymaking and real-world deployment, Aalekh unpacks what “trustworthy AI infrastructure” truly means in practice. The conversation takes listeners inside India’s evolving AI ecosystem; from building full-stack, multilingual models trained on domestic infrastructure to the realities of working with limited compute, talent constraints, and rapidly scaling demand. Along the way, we tackle some of the biggest questions shaping global AI today:What separates having infrastructure from actually using it well?Can open, sovereign AI models create a more trusted and equitable ecosystem?And where do India and the EU’s approaches to AI infrastructure complement each other, particularly in areas like multilingual and inclusive AI?From DPI-inspired thinking to the economics of compute and the geopolitics of AI, this episode offers a grounded, practitioner-led perspective on what it really takes to build trustworthy AI.

In this inaugural episode of Tech-à-Tête, we sit down with Amaia Sánchez, Non-Resident Senior Fellow for the Asia Programme at Institut Montaigne, and Shyam Krishnakumar, Co-Founder of The Pranava Institute, to unpack what tech diplomacy really means for the EU–India partnership at a pivotal moment.With the EU–India Summit scheduled for January 2026, join us as we reflect on where cooperation stands today and what needs to happen next. The discussion dives into key questions:Where do the EU’s values-driven approach and India’s interests-led strategy collide — and where do they align?How can standards-setting and scale come together to shape global rules?And what pathways exist for moving from dialogue to real-world collaboration, in both the short term and beyond? If you would like to be part of the conversation beyond the airwaves, follow us on LinkedIn. Please also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, for fresh insights to be delivered straight to your inbox.