Dr Udisha Saklani

 

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Research

Udisha held the role of Margaret Anstee Graduate Scholar. Her research interests lie at the intersection of environmental politics, global development ideas, and international cooperation, with a particular focus in examining India’s narratives, policies, and practices – both as a development assistance provider and as a source of development experience – to its Southern partners. 

Her research on the Indian hydropower sector investigated the processes and effects of internationalization of the Indian hydropower industry and explored the transnational circuits of planning and finance that are facilitating the making of new “hydro nations” in the Himalayas.

Past research has included:

  • Water infrastructure and public-private partnerships
  • The political economy of sanitation and water delivery
  • Shared rivers and inter-state/international water conflicts

Biography

Udisha was a PhD student affiliated to the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge. Udisha took her first degree at the University of Delhi and Masters at the National University of Singapore.

Udisha has been a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (India) and the Institute of Water Policy (Singapore); social media editor, International Journal for Water Resources Development, Routledge; and project co-ordinator, Kriti team (India)

Publications

Peer-reviewed

  • Schulz, C.& Saklani, U. (2021) The future of hydropower development in Nepal: Views from the private sector, Renewable Energy 179: 1578-1588. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.07.138
  • Saklani, U., Shrestha.P., Mukherji, A., & Scott C.A. (2020) Hydro-energy cooperation in South Asia: Prospects for transboundary energy and water security, Environmental Science & Policy 114: 22-34. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.013
  • Saklani, U. (2021) Anti-dam Struggles and the Technopolitics of Hydropower: The Case of Arun-III in Nepal. FutureDAMS Working Paper 017. Manchester: The University of Manchester.
  • Saklani, U. & Tortajada, C. (2019) India’s development cooperation in Bhutan’s hydropower sector: Concerns and public perceptions, Water Alternatives 12(2): 734-759.
  • Tortajada, C. & Saklani, U. (2018) Hydropower-based collaboration in South Asia: The case of India and Bhutan, Energy Policy 117: 316-325.

Book chapters

  • Tortajada, C., Saklani. U. and Biswas, A.K. (2017) Water Scarcity and Regional Security in India, in D. Reed (Ed.), Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy (pp. 237–252). London: Routledge.
  • Saklani, U. (2016) The Indian River-Linking Programme, in Vijay P. Singh (Ed.), Handbook of Applied Hydrology, Second Edition, (pp. 143.1 – 143.10). USA: Tata McGraw-Hill.

Popular media publications

  • Biswas, A.K., Saklani, U. and Tortajada, C. (2017) India’s rural-urban conundrum, Policy Forum.
  • Biswas, A.K., Saklani, U. and Tortajada, C. (2017) India’s rising problem: Urban floods, The Strait Times.
  • Biswas, A.K., Tortajada, C. and Saklani, U. (2017), New Delhi is running out of water, The Conversation.
  • Biswas, A.K., Saklani, U. and Tortajada, C. (2017), Solution to Delhi’s never-ending water problems, India Water Review, Vol.7, Issue.4.
  • Biswas, A.K., Saklani, U. and Tortajada, C. (2017), Delhi: A quintessential example of India’s water mismanagement, The Business Times.
  • Biswas, A.K., Tortajada, C. and Saklani, U. (2017) Pumped Dry: India’s accelerating and invisible groundwater crisis, Policy Forum.
  • Biswas, A.K., Tortajada, C. and Saklani, U. (2016) Water Scarcity a key factor to regional security in India, The Business Times.
  • Saklani, U. and Tortajada, C. (2016) The China factor in India–Bhutan relations, East Asia Forum.
  • Tortajada, C. and Saklani, U. (2016) India and Bhutan: Cross-Country Power Connectivity, The Diplomat.
  • Tortajada, C. and Saklani, U. (2015) India’s River-Linking program highlights costs, opportunities of large-scale water infrastructure projects, OOSKA News.