Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

It is a CSEP platform that consolidates and visualises India’s infrastructure and connectivity linkages with neighbouring countries through a structured geo-spatial project database and interactive portal.

The project began with Bhutan in 2025. The 2026 phase adds Nepal and updates Bhutan. Bangladesh is the upcoming phase.

Sambandh 2.0 covers Transport, Energy, and Communication. Project records organise information by sector and sub-sector.

The database focuses on infrastructure relevant to India’s connectivity with neighbouring countries across Transport, Energy, and Communication. It covers assets that cross an international boundary, sit at a border-control point, or directly carry bilateral traffic, power, fuel, or communications; assets that channel traffic, cargo, electricity, or other flows to or from a named border gateway or export corridor without themselves crossing the boundary; and broader domestic or regional network assets that materially improve access, capacity, or resilience for those connections. A project need not itself cross an international boundary to fall within this scope. These descriptions explain connectivity roles, rather than formal project classifications used in the database.

The platform is intended to support policy-makers, government and border agencies, private-sector decision-makers, bilateral and multilateral partners, researchers, academia, and think tanks interested in India’s regional connectivity.

Use the available filters for countries, sectors, project status, funding patterns, timelines, key actors, key challenges, and locations. The How to Navigate page explains how to explore map results and detailed project records.

A PDS is a structured project record generated from the master database. It brings together the project code and name, country, sector and sub-sector, location and alignment, coordinates, objectives and description, status, challenges, cost, funding pattern, key actors, and timelines.

Each project has a unique code that identifies its record and can be used to search the database. Country identifiers use two-letter country codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), such as BT for Bhutan and IN for India. The project code follows the format Primary Country Code–Counterpart Country Code–Final Sector Code–Project Sequence Number.

Sambandh uses XX when no country is recorded in a country-code position, including when there is no counterpart country; XX is a database convention, not an assigned code for a country. The four-digit final sector code combines the two-digit primary-sector code and the two-digit sub-sector code. A final sector code identifies a classification, not an individual project. The last three digits represent the project sequence number, with leading zeros retained.

For example, BT-IN-0201-001 identifies a Bhutan–India project classified under Energy (02), Electricity Transmission Line (01), with sequence number 001. IN-XX-0303-001 illustrates a project with India as the primary country and no counterpart country recorded.

Country, Sector and Sub-Sector Code Reference

A dash means that reliable information was unavailable for documentation. It should not be interpreted as zero, no funding, or confirmation that a project phase did not occur.

Check “Last Updated” for the month and year of the record’s latest update. “Project Status” gives the last recorded status as of that update, rather than a guarantee of the project’s present-day status.

Project Status gives the last recorded status at the date of update.

Project Lifecycle (Year Initiated) records the initiation years for Concept, Planning & Design, Construction, Operations, Suspension, and Dismantling, where reliable information is available.

Project Timelines provides year-by-year accounts of key milestones, activities, and decisions. Read “Reason for Suspension / Dismantling” for documented reasons where applicable, with linked sources supporting the explanation.

It covers estimated construction costs, excluding project preparatory activities and operations and maintenance. Costs are presented in Indian rupees (INR), based on reliable documents and their respective reporting years. They should not be assumed to be adjusted to a common present-day value. Consult the sources and notes before comparing projects.

It records the shares of estimated construction cost attributed to India, the counterpart country, and other partner countries or agencies. Read “Note” for additional responsibilities or costs absorbed by a country, such as land acquisition, approvals, clearances, and administrative coordination.

Not necessarily. Locations may be approximate where specific details were not publicly available. Dotted lines illustrate connections between points and do not represent geographical routes. Maps are illustrative and are not official representations of international boundaries. Independently verify information before official or critical use.

Use the “Recommended Citation” provided in the PDS. It identifies CSEP, the record’s last-updated date, project code, project name, and the Sambandh Database and Map.

Records provide links to the sources used to populate and document the database. These include official government announcements, portals and social media handles, reports and documents, parliament queries, multilateral and bilateral documents, reputed think tanks, periodicals, and newspapers.

A Maker – Checker – Approver protocol provides multiple checks to support verification, standardisation, and quality assurance of project information.

Country and sector-specific policy briefs can inform MEA, NITI Aayog, LPAI, border agencies, and other stakeholders. Auto-generated PDS briefs can support Joint Working Groups, Project Steering Committees, and periodic analysis of implementation delays, funding patterns, and corridor development.

Verified PDS dossiers and downloadable datasets can support empirical research, case-study development, internships, fellowships, blogs, briefs, working papers, and policy notes. Public access arrangements and download functionality should be confirmed on the platform before use.

Project records can be linked with CSEP publications to connect the evidence base with policy analysis. Till November 2026, four analytical blogs have already been generated from the dataset, providing a foundation for further policy outputs.

Sambandh can complement India’s infrastructure planning approach by offering a structured view of cross-border connectivity. It can also inform discussions with partner countries about project geography, financing, status, and common implementation challenges. This describes its potential relevance, not a claim of formal integration with PM GatiShakti.

The PDS architecture can be adapted to High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), Health, Education, Lines of Credit, and other development cooperation initiatives, including India’s engagement across Africa and the Global South. These remain potential extensions.