Summary

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and it is projected to reach great power status in the coming decades. Yet India’s road to international prominence is paved with several challenges that it must overcome to realize its aspirations. Among them is ensuring adequate water supply to its huge and continuously-expanding population. This problem – epitomized by the Chennai water crisis – is a real threat to India’s rise, as persistent water shortages risk undermining the country’s economic development and even sparking domestic and international conflicts over increasingly scarce resources.