China is a thirsty country desperately in need of water—a lot of it. In order to meet its water and energy requirements in the densely populated and fertile northern plains, it is successively making interventions in the Tibetan rivers in the southern part through dams and diversions. While China is well within its riparian rights to do so, a set of externalities involving the principles of water-sharing and lower riparian needs—stretching from Afghanistan to Vietnam—raise concerns.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

When a resource-deficient country becomes industrialised lifestyles become increasingly energy intensive, compelling it to seek resources overseas.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

China is pursuing an energy policy to alleviate its import dependence, diversify the sources and routes of imported oil and prepare for supply disruption. China's import of hydrocarbons is growing rapidly. Besides sea transport from West Asia and other oil rich countries of both crude and liquefied natural gas, China has also identified diverse import routes for oil and gas by overland pipelines. Some projects are now complete and many are under construction or in the planning stage.

• P. K. Gautam
• July 2011
• Strategic Analysis

South Asian countries, and particularly India, are hydrocarbon-deficient, and given the pace of economic growth in many of these nations, all of them need huge energy resources to sustain their growth. In accordance with their diversification strategies as well as to enhance energy security they are considering alternate sources and means of imports, including via land pipelines.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• September 2011
• Strategic Analysis

India has announced ambitious plans to expand its nuclear energy programme nearly 15 fold in the next 20 years, from the current 4,500 MWe to about 62,000 MWe by 2032. By 2020, India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) plans to install 20,000 MWe of nuclear power generation capacity (the fifth largest in the world). The department has plans beyond 2030 too. According to these plans India will have the capacity to produce 275 GWe (Giga Watt of electricity) of nuclear power by the year 2052.

• Arvind Gupta
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

The present energy crisis in Bangladesh is partly due to over-dependence on gas which fulfils more than 70 per cent of its energy needs. The present gas deficit against the national demand on a daily basis is expected to increase further in the future. The crisis will deepen unless a greater share of indigenous coal is included in the energy mix. The geological and social constraints of an over-populated fertile agricultural land area remain an obstacle to large-scale coal mining and this has to be addressed rationally.

• Badrul Imam
• March 2011
• Strategic Analysis

Following the dispute over the seizure of a Chinese trawler and its crew by Japan in the disputed waters in the East China Sea believed to be rich in oil and gas resources, Beijing has been flexing its muscles against Tokyo in another area. However, this one may have far deeper consequences not only for Japan but for the rest of the world.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• March 2011
• Strategic Analysis

The latest addition to the Chinese ‘enigma’ is its oil potential. There have been various accounts, of late, in influential journals and important documents attempting to unravel the mystery surrounding Chinese oil. As it happens, most of them have helped only to further deepen it.

• P. K. S. Namboodiri
• November 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Development prospects and economic growth in Pakistan, like in most other countries, will hinge on securing sustainable energy supplies. The Pakistan government has developed a strategy to enhance its energy production by 2030. This article explores the problems faced by the Pakistan government in optimising its use of indigenous energy resources and the implications that future plans to strengthen its energy security may have for its domestic and foreign policy.

• Sumita Kumar
• November 2010
• Strategic Analysis

The energy sector since the mid-2000s has acquired top priority in Russian state affairs, but since late 2008 it has also become the epicentre of the economic disaster that still continues to affect Russia. President Medvedev has effectively discarded the notion of Russia as an 'energy super-power' and is now focusing on 'modernisation' for Russia's development. But coherence of this course is problematic because the bulk of new investments must go into the energy sector in order to sustain the high revenues.

• Pavel K. Baev
• November 2010
• Strategic Analysis

An informed scenario would be to release the weight of unsustainable debts, allowing the developing countries to focus on domestic sustainable development aimed at achieving climate neutrality, instead of developed countries’ over-emphasis on fossil fuel in their economic recovery packages.

• Anwesha Mohanty
• May 19, 2020
• Comment

The spectre of climate change and increased global warming has spurred more action in recent years. However, with the global economic outlook not likely to pick up any time soon, the temptation to opt for cheaper but dirtier fuels could further complicate the climate change negotiations.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Nihar R. Nayak
• May 06, 2020
• Issue Brief

Any dichotomy between the individual rights of the people and the powers of the state has to be dealt with through a nuanced approach.

• Prakash Menon , Kajari Kamal
• April 29, 2020
• Comment

The prevailing environment has underlined the importance of a balanced market to the oil producers. India has been consistently reiterating the need for oil to be priced responsibly to ensure the stability of the oil market.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Nihar R. Nayak
• April 24, 2020
• Comment

While there is no immediate shortage of oil as the market is balanced for the time being, there are growing concerns about potential conflict in the region leading to supply disruption and resultant price spike, affecting the already nervous market sentiment.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• October 07, 2019
• Comment

As concerns over a potential conflict in the region grow, the pressing issue of what a conflict would mean for the price of international crude oil needs to be addressed urgently.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , G. Balachandran
• July 04, 2019
• Comment

With US sanctions in place on the Venezuelan oil industry, global oil prices are set to rise once again, which may have major geopolitical and geo-economic consequences.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Chithra Purushothaman
• February 20, 2019
• Comment

A strategic petroleum reserve offers India the leverage to be a serious player in the international oil market, as it will have the option to release supplies when prices spike and recharge the reserve when prices are low.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• November 02, 2018
• Comment

The value of the Caspian energy reserve lies in its potential to add to global reserves of oil and gas, which, in turn, could bring down costs.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Chithra Purushothaman
• September 12, 2018
• Comment

Given that Iran accounts for around 10 per cent of India total oil imports, the immediate factor for New Delhi will be to look at various options to deal with the situation without jeopardising its energy security.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• July 12, 2018
• Comment