Srinivas Chokkakula

Srinivas Chokkakula, Ministry of Jal Shakti research chair at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, India, holds the inaugural Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair for Indian Studies. Dr. Chokkakula is based at the School of Public Policy where he will teach a seminar on public policy and water governance during the fall 2022 semester. The course focuses on India, South Asia and draws from comparative cases in Europe and the United States.

Dr. Chokkakula focuses on Water Conflicts and Governance at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, where he leads the Transboundary Rivers, Ecologies, and Development studies (TREADs) programme. His research and policy interests lie primarily in water sector, focusing on transboundary/interstate water conflicts and governance. His interests extend to federalism and politics of infrastructure development - including dams, smart cities, and rural roads. Dr. Chokkakula is currently a Member of the Drafting Committee of India’s National Water Policy.

Chokkakula’s earlier work as a professional engaged with wide ranging topics including urban and regional planning, local governance in India; disaster response and reconstruction; and, indigenous knowledge systems. He was a Chevening Scholar in the British Council’s Young Indian Environmental Managers programme in 2000.

Dr. Chokkakula has an interdisciplinary training in geography, planning and engineering with his PhD from the Department of Geography, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

The Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair for Indian Studies is part of a new, joint initiative between the university and the United States-India Education Foundation (USIEF) to host distinguished scholars and practitioners from India to teach, research and contribute to the academic life at UMass Amherst. The university is one of two campuses to host this prestigious Fulbright program, the other being Emory University.