The Sambandh Database and Map: India’s Regional Connectivity Links is a dynamic platform developed by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) that consolidates and visualises data of India’s cross-border, infrastructure connectivity links with its immediate neighbouring countries. Currently, the project is in its first phase which includes infrastructure connectivity links between India and Bhutan. CSEP aims to expand the project to track India’s infrastructure connectivity links with other neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Maldives.

With a primary emphasis on transportation and energy infrastructure connections, this database and map allows users to seamlessly explore the diverse network of regional connectivity links. It is the first of its kind repository of India’s growing cross-border infrastructure and connectivity links.

Objectives

1. 1. To develop a longitudinal database for India’s connectivity links with its neighbouring countries in South Asia and beyond;
   2. To enable the first cartographic aggregation and visualisation of India’s infrastructure linkages with its immediate neighbourhood;

1. To aggregate India’s infrastructural links under four sectors (energy, land, border and waterways) and six types.

Relevance

• Builds an Indian knowledge repository that will benefit researchers focused on South Asia, which remains one of the world’s least integrated regions.
• Informs government and private sector decision-makers from India, neighbouring countries, as well as bilateral and multilateral partners invested in regional integration.
• Supports evidence-based research and analytical insights that map progress and opportunities of India’s cross-border connectivity projects

About the Sambandh Initiative

The Sambandh Regional Connectivity Initiative, launched in 2020, analyses India’s deepening partnerships in South and Southeast Asia within the broader Indo-Pacific region. The program focuses on India’s connectivity with its land and maritime neighbours, including Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. It aims to bridge India’s geoeconomic connectivity gap with these countries, aligning with the “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies. This research is vital for enhancing India’s regional connectivity with the Indian subcontinent, the Bay of Bengal, and the Eastern Indian Ocean regions.

Under the Initiative, the scholars at CSEP have been conducting an extensive data analysis of India’s connectivity patterns with the neighbouring countries including in areas such as education, trade, tourism, humanitarian assistance and disaster management, border check posts etc. Our research findings have informed and guided various stakeholders, including the Indian government and international policy-makers, private sector and scholars.

Scholars

Acknowledgements

We extend our thanks to Dr. Laveesh Bhandari, President,  and Amb. Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP,  for their invaluable support in the development of the Sambandh Database and Map. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of our former Research Analysts and Interns—Anahad Kaur, Nadine Monteiro, Ritika Kaila, Keya Kalra Gupta, Aishwarya Jha, and Dhruv Banerjee—whose efforts were instrumental in building the database. Lastly, we are grateful to the Communications Team  – Aruna Bose and Trishna Wahengbam – for their ongoing support.