Dam at the Great Bend: Implications for Yarlung Tsangpo and Brahmaputra

This brief examines the motivations behind China’s dam project at Medog county, its implications for India and the broader South Asian region, and proposes pathways for cooperative engagement. The author argues that India needs to strengthen its hydrological data infrastructure, expand diplomatic engagement on river governance, and develop anticipatory policy. response. The author is of the view that the Brahmaputra’s transnational nature requires a trilateral cooperation (India–China–Bangladesh) or even a South Asian River basin initiative to ensure a sustainable pathway forward.