Source: India Express
The India Express published an article titled "India Needs to Adopt the 'Chinese Way' for Dams" on October 4, which argues that India's dam construction lags behind China's and may struggle to meet the needs of its economic and social development in the future. The authors of this article are Asit K. Biswas, a Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Glasgow and a Visiting Professor at the New Delhi Policy Research Centre, and Cecilia Tortajada, a Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow and a Visiting Professor at the New Delhi Policy Research Centre.
Looking back at history, both China and India started large dam construction projects almost simultaneously, but the differences between the two countries have become increasingly pronounced. In 1957 and 1963, India completed two major dams, Hirakud and Bhakra, which operated successfully. At the same time, China also completed the Sanmenxia Dam in 1960, but due to severe siltation, it lost 17% of its reservoir capacity during the first flood. Since the late 1980s, the differences in large dam policies between China and India began to emerge, mainly concerning the resettlement of displaced people. In the 1990s, India's dam construction stagnated, often referred to as the "lost decade." During this period, the Indian government advocated the idea that "small is beautiful, and big is bad," encouraging small-scale projects such as rainwater harvesting and small dams instead of large dams. The Supreme Court even halted the Sardar Sarovar Dam for six years when it was nearly completed, and the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank also suspended investments in large dam projects in India. In contrast, China continued to build large dams, viewing them as key infrastructure for economic development, and adopted a pragmatic approach, assessing problems after constructing several large dams and revising policies to avoid repeating mistakes in subsequent projects.
After 2000, the capabilities of China and India in dam construction became clearly differentiated. China made significant breakthroughs in planning and constructing large dams, rapidly becoming a leading country in dam construction, far surpassing countries like India. In particular, China recognized that large dams not only enhance water security but also ensure energy security. In 2000, China foresaw that it would become the world's largest oil importer, so it accelerated dam construction to achieve multiple goals such as flood control, stable water supply, and renewable energy generation. During this period, the gap in hydropower development between China and India quickly widened: India's total installed capacity was 218 GW (21.8 GW), while China was 770.8 GW (77.08 GW). By the end of 2024, India's installed capacity increased to 427.2 GW (42.72 GW), while China surged to 435.95 GW (435.95 GW), more than ten times that of India. Currently, no country in the world can match China in the field of dam construction. In 2024, the global new hydropower capacity added was 246 GW (24.6 GW), of which China contributed 144 GW (14.4 GW), accounting for nearly 60%.
Both China and India have monsoon climates, with highly concentrated annual rainfall. Intense short-term rainfall means that efficient interception and storage are necessary to ensure water supply throughout the year, which requires the combined efforts of large, medium, and small dams, groundwater, and rainwater collection facilities. However, India's dam construction has performed poorly since the 1980s, leading to serious water shortages over the past few decades. Even in cities with abundant rainfall, there is still a shortage of water supply during the dry season due to the lack of water storage facilities. Considering that India's population will increase to about 1.7 billion by 2050, and its GDP is planned to grow multiple times before 2047, with people's expectations for their standard of living generally rising, if India does not quickly build various water storage facilities, the risk to social and economic development may be great.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558514629157143080/
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