I'll discuss the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, concentrating on what we know and what we don't. I'll then go on to discuss how studying models can help us address a number of questions of current relevance: How should we structure testing, how can we think of reopening schools, what happens if a new variant appears, what is the best way to pace a vaccination program and so on. I'll describe two major models I have been involved in developing: INDSCI-SIM and BharatSim, and will discuss how they are applied to the Indian pandemic.