According to this policy brief, although India has sizeable water resources, the country faces huge challenges in the water sector as water distribution varies widely by season and region. Pressure on and competition around water resources are increasing, not least from climate change. This policy brief gives an overview of the challenges India is facing in the water sector, and their potential to transform into local conflicts, by outlining some of the common and possible worsening conflict dynamics around water. To identify ways forward and actions to prevent these challenges from turning into conflicts, a number of innovative approaches and initiatives to solve and prevent water conflicts are illustrated.