Darcha Padum Road Below Shinku La Lahaul Oct22 A7C 03533

India–China Border Roads (ICBRs, ICB Roads) is a

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

project for developing infrastructure along the

Sino-Indian border The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

by constructing strategic roads, including bridges and tunnels. The ICBR project is largely in response to Chinese infrastructure development along the borderlands with India. Several entities are responsible for constructing ICBR, including

Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This include ...

(BRO) which handles the bulk of the ICBR road construction work,

National Highways Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI () is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National highways out of 1,32,499 ...

(NHAI),

National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited The National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India Government of India, set up in 2014 and is resp ...

(NHIDCL),

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic developm ...

(MoDNER),

Central Public Works Department The Central Public Works Department (CPWD, ) is a department under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India and is in charge of public sector works. It serves as the builder, developer and manager of Central government properties. Wit ...

(CPWD), public works departments of respective states and others. At least 67 per cent of the road network assigned to BRO falls under ICBR. Three phases of ICBR roads have been approved entailing 177 roads of over total length along the

Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

(LAC) with China under the "Border Infrastructure and Management Fund" (BIMF) of

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, including 73 roads of length under Phase-I and Phase-II approved since 2005 and additional 104 roads of more than length under ICBR-III approved in 2020. As of August 2024, the work on Phase-III had commenced, and the Phase-I and Phase-II were complete except some residual work from Phase-II.Border Road Organisation starts phase 3 of India, China Border Roads Project
MSN, 2024. ICBR covers construction of several roads, 18 feet wide foot tracks and border out posts (BoPs) connecting several LAC

patrol point The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

s (PP) and Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points. For example, in 2021 India was building 57 roads, 32 helipads, 47 BoPs, 12 staging camps for

ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s border with Tibet . It was formed in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Hi ...

and many 18 ft tracks in Arunachal Pradesh under various ICBR phases. India has set up an inter-departmental "Empowered Committee" (EC) headed by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

to expedite the issue resolution and timely completion of ICBR infrastructure after the delay in forest/wildlife clearance and land acquisition, rugged terrain, limited working season due to winter and rains, scarcity of construction material, etc. resulted in the missed deadlines in the past. Some of the important already completed projects include the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie Road (DS-DBO) and

Atal Tunnel Atal Tunnel () is a road tunnel connecting Manali and Keylong. It helps in bypassing the Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. It carries two lanes of National Highway 3. It is the longest highwa ...

under

Rohtang Pass Rohtang Pass (Rohtang , literally meaning "pile of corpses"Polgreen, Lydia. ''New York Times''. Accessed 31 July 2010.) is a high mountain pass (elevation ) on the eastern end of the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around from Manali, Himac ...

; and the under-construction important projects include the

Sela Tunnel Sela Tunnel is a road tunnel at which ensures all-weather connectivity between Guwahati in Assam and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. This tunnel is the longest bi-lane tunnel in the world at 13,000 feet. Situated 400 metres below the Sela Pass, t ...

in Arunachal Pradesh and a road-cum-rail tunnel under the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...

in Assam.

Overview

Strategic infrastructure requirements

In the wake of heightened road and track construction work undertaken by China along India's northern and eastern frontiers, India constituted a China Study Group (CSG) in 1997, to study the requirement of road communication, along the China border for brisk movement of troops in the event of armed conflict. At the end of the study, the CSG identified a network of 73 roads, called the India–China Border Roads (ICBR), to be developed along the Indo-China border. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1999 approved the construction of these roads by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the Ministry of Defence. The project was to be completed by 2006 but the deadline was then extended to 2012. The

Standing Committee on Defence Standing Committee on Defence (SCOF) is usually a parliamentary committee of parliaments of nations following a parliamentary system of governance. It generally scrutinises the government's actions on defence-related matters. List of Standing Com ...

, a body for legislative oversight, appraised strategic road connectivity in 2018. With regard to the slow pace of construction of border roads, the Border Roads Organisation stated to the committee:

(February 2019
Fiftieth Report: Provision of all weather road connectivity under Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and other agencies up to International borders as well as the strategic areas including approach roads- An appraisal.
Ministry of Defence, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Government of India
Archived
from the original on 19 June 2020. Reasons such as climate, geography, land acquisition and natural disasters also accounted for the delays. In 2013 the

United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...

(UPA) government took multiple administrative decisions to speed up construction. The 2017 Doklam standoff further raised the profile of the issue with the

Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the member of parliament (MP) for Varanas ...

government for border infrastructure along the China border. ICBRs are present in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Border Infrastructure Management Authority (BIMA)

In May 2022, Indian govt sources announced establishment of the ''Border Infrastructure Management Authority'' (BIMA) which is responsible for the integrated development of the border areas including road, rail, water, power, communications infrastructure, and the ''Vibrant Village Program'' for improvement of living conditions of natives in these areas to prevent their out-migration as the border villages are considered strategic assets.

ICBR project phases

ICBR-I (Phase-1) and ICBR-II (Phase-2)

Phase-1 or ICBR-1 project was conceived in 1999 with a target completion date of 2012 to construct 73 strategic ICBRs of nearly 4000 km length. It was approved in 2005. Of the 73 ICBR in Phase-1, the construction of 61 roads was assigned to BRO and remaining 12 to

CPWD The Central Public Works Department (CPWD, ) is a department under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India and is in charge of public sector works. It serves as the builder, developer and manager of Central government properties. Wit ...

. Of the 61 roads assigned to BRO, 12 roads of 1,064.14 km length in Ladakh, 5 roads of 116.99 km length in Himachal Pradesh, 14 roads of 355 km length in Uttarakhand, 3 roads of 61.98 km length in Sikkim, and 27 roads of 1,725.46 km length are in Arunachal Pradesh. ICBR-I is seen as a successor of BRO's

Project HIMANK Himank, also known as Project HIMANK is a project of the Border Roads Organisation under the Ministry of Defence of India. It was established in August 1985 to facilitate the construction of road infrastructure in Ladakh and parts of Jammu and K ...

which was initiated in 1985 for the construction of border roads in Ladakh. As of March 2021, of the 61 ICBR-I and ICBR-II roads assigned to BRO, connectivity on 59 roads of 3,205.16 km length had been achieved. Of these 61 roads where connectivity has been achieved, 42 roads of 1,530.38 km have been black topped.

ICBR-III or Phase-3

ICBR-III was approved in 2020-21 fiscal budget, to construct additional 104 roads of more than 6,700 km length. The proposal for the Phase 2 was first conceived in 2013 with the goal of constructing 32 roads along the border, expanded version of which was approved in 2020 with inclusion of additional roads. Amid the India-China skirmishes, the government asked all bodies to speed up the construction of the roads. Additional labour was also sent to these areas to assist in speeding up construction.

BIMF funding and progress of construction

ICBR infrastructure is funded by the "Border Infrastructure and Management Fund" (BIMF) which provides funding for India's border infrastructures along Bangladesh, Pakistan and China borders. Spending on ICBR tripled between 2016 and 2020, from to . Annual funding was as follows: INR 11,800 crore in 2020–21, INR 8,050 crore in 2019–20, INR 6,700 crore in 2018–19, INR 5450 crore in 2017–18, between INR 3,300 crore to INR 4,600 crore annually from 2008 to 2016. Due to significantly increased annual funding, the ICBR construction picked up pace after 2014: * Road length construction completed: 4,764 km roads during 2014-20 versus 3,610 km during 2008–14. * Mountain formation-cutting completed: 470 km during 2017-20 versus 230 km during 2008–17. * Surface-clearing completed: 380 km during 2017-20 versus 170 km roads during 2008–17. * Bridges completed: 14,450 metres length during 2014-20 versus 7,270 metres during 2008–14. * Road tunnels completed: 6 tunnels during 2014-20 including

in the Himachal Pradesh versus 1 tunnel during 2008–14. Funds were also diverted from "General Staff (GS) roads" to ICBRs.

Types of ICBRs

Of the 73 ICBR of 3812 km, 61 of 3323.57 km were assigned to BRO, which have been subdivided based on their usage type. China Study Group had identified roads vital for defending the whole LAC at national level. Ministry of Defence had identified sub-national level inter-state and regional roads vital for larger military logistics, which were assigned to CPWD and state PWDs. ITBP which mans the forward staging areas and frontier posts on the LAC had identified strategic roads to connect the individual posts to the main trunk and arterial roads. Other roads include connecting inter state and state level.

(February 2021
Defence Committee Action Taken Report
Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India
Archived
on 27 August 2021. The work structure for the ICBRs is divided among different agencies including the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC),

(CPWD), National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) and state public works departments.

List of ICB Roads

Phase 1

Phase-I consists of 3812 km roads.

Key

* Maplink: Interactive map with road. *OSM ID: Provides a link to road on

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

(OSM) in the form of a relation. *Status: Status does not represent current state of the road. *Length: Present / planned *Comments and citation: Further information about the road including bridges and tunnels.

Arunachal Pradesh

In Arunachal Pradesh the ICBR project, in coordination with other government programmes, has connected a number of

border outpost A border outpost, border out post, border observation post or BOPKharsang La,

Taksing Taksing is a village and headquarters of an eponymous Circle in the Upper Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. The region of Taksing is populated by Tagin people. The village is on the bank of the Subansiri River, shortly after the riv ...

, Lamang, Gelling,

Kibithu Kibithu, also spelled Kibithoo, is a village in Arunachal Pradesh in Anjaw district, India. It is one of the easternmost permanently populated towns of India, located on the LAC (line of actual control) at . It is nearly 70 km north of d ...

and Dichu. Major road projects in Arunachal Pradesh include the '

Sela Pass The Sela Pass () ( more appropriately called ''Se La'', as La means Pass in Tibetan language) is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng districts in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It has ...

project' which consists of the under construction

Uttarakhand

In Uttarakhand, the border most points of

Pulam Sumda Pulam Sumda is a small hilly village which lies in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India. Pulam Sumda is a part of Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India, and claimed by Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, China. The Jadh Ganga, an i ...

Mana Pass Mana Pass (; ) or Chongnyi La (‌; ) is one of the Extreme points of Earth, highest vehicle-accessible passes in the world, containing a road constructed in the 2005-2010 period for the Indian military by the Border Roads Organisation and visibl ...

Niti Pass Niti Valley is a remote valley located in the northernmost region of Uttarakhand, India at a height of 3, 600 m (11, 811 ft). It is close to the Chinese border and Niti is the last village in the valley before the border with south Tibet. The Niti ...

, Lapthal and Rimkhim, and

Lipulekh The Lipulekh Pass () is a Himalayan pass on the border between Uttarakhand, India and the Tibet region of China, near their trijunction with Nepal. Nepal has had ongoing claims to the southern side of the pass, called Kalapani territory, wh ...

have been connected.

Ladakh

The forward most localities and border outposts of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), Hotspring, Demchok and Zursar have been connected. Roads connectivity has reduced their reliance on air transport.

Sikkim

Related geo-strategic projects

Geostrategic initiatives include the

Andaman and Nicobar Command The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is a integrated tri-services command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic in ...

and the

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue The Quad is a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries. The grouping follows the "Tsunami Core Group" and its "new type of diplomacy" developed in response to the 2004 2004 ...

Vibrant villages Border Area Development Plan

Under the 2022-23 budget, India intends to repopulate, upgrade or establish 500 villages near the zero-line border along the LAC from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh,government to open villages along China border
the Hindu, 12 March 2022. while China has already established 628 villages by 2021 at a cost of $6.4 billion with heavily subsidized telecommunication, internet, electricity and utilities, etc. According to this report, out of 172 (incl. 24 3G & 78 4G) out 236 villages in Ladakh had telecom connectivity. For example, 19 border villages in Chushul had no or partial communication infrastructure.

Border airport and ALG projects

The

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

Western Theater Command The Western Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing. Guizhou ...

is responsible for the defense of China along the whole

line of actual control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

with India. The

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

has divided the LAC into 3 sectors - the ''western sector'' across

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

and the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin, the ''central sector'' across

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

and

Uttrakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the northwest, Tibet to the north, Nepal to the east, Uttar Pradesh to the south and sout ...

, and the ''eastern sector'' across

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

. Similarly, the

Indian Airforce The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

has the

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

-based

Central Air Command Central Air Command may refer to: * Central Air Command (India), one of five operational commands of the Indian Air Force * Central Air Command (Pakistan), one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force *Central Air Command (Sweden), on ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

-based

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

, and

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

-based Eastern Air Command to cover the LAC. *

airports and advanced landing grounds (ALGs) at

Daulat Beg Oldi Daulat Beg Oldi (also Oldie, DBO) is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh, India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and the Tarim Basin, and is the last c ...

Fukche Fukche Advanced Landing Ground is an airfield in the Demchok sector of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It was built shortly before the 1962 Sino-Indian War and was revived in 2008. It is located adjacent to Koyul, 34 km northwest of Demc ...

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

Nyoma Nyoma is a principal village of southern Ladakh in India, the headquarters of an eponymous subdivision, tehsil, community development block and Indian Air Force Base in the Leh district.Padum Padum (also known as Padam) is the main town and the administrative centre of the Zanskar tehsil in Kargil district, Ladakh, India. Named after the Buddhist guru Padmasambhava, it was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kin ...

Thoise Thoise or Thoise Air Force Station is a military airfield and small village in Nubra region of Ladakh, India, occupying the only large piece of flat land in the area. The airstrip is a critical facility enabling a quick inflow of men and materia ...

and the proposed Parma Valley ALG. *

shares 250 km border with China. Airports include Shimla Airport, Kullu-Manali Airport, and the proposed Rangrik. *

has 350 km border with Tibet. Airports and ALGs include

Chinyalisaur Airport Chinyalisaur Airport, also known as Maa Ganga Airport and Dharasu Airport or Bharkot Airport, is located in Chinyalisaur of Uttarkashi district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The airport is situated 35 kilometres away from Uttarkashi and ...

and Pithoragarh Airport ALG. *

consists of the

Pakyong Airport Pakyong Airport is a domestic airport serving Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, India. It has been operationalized under the UDAN Scheme of the Government of India. Spread over , the airport is located at Pakyong, about 31 km (22 m ...

ALG. *

has a number of airports and ALGs at

Aalo Aalo, formerly Along, is a census town and headquarters of the West Siang district of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located from Likabali, which is at the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also an Advance Landing Gr ...

Mechuka Mechuka or Menchukha is a town, assembly constituency and subdivision, situated above sea level in the Menchukha Valley of Yargyap Chu/ Siyom River in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Before the 1950s, Mechuka valley was ...

Pasighat Pasighat is the headquarters of East Siang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Situated at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas at above mean sea level, Pasighat is Arunachal's oldest town. The Government of India included Pas ...

, Tawang Air Force Station,

Tuting Tuting is a town and headquarters of an eponymous circle in the Upper Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is situated on the bank of Siang river (Brahmaputra) at a distance of south of Line of Actual Control and north of Yingkion ...

Vijoynagar Vijoynagar (also known as Vijay Nagar and Vijaynagar) is a remote town and Tehsil, circle headquarter in the Changlang district of south Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India, known for its pristine natural beauty and unique geographical position ...

Walong Walong is an administrative town and the headquarters of eponymous circle in the Anjaw district in eastern-most part of Arunachal Pradesh state in India. It also has a small cantonment of the Indian Army. Walong is on banks of Lohit River, whi ...

Ziro Ziro is a town in and the district headquarters of the Lower Subansiri district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is included the Tentative List for UNESCO's World Heritage Site for the '' Apatani cultural landscape''. The part of t ...

Daporijo Daporijo is a census town in the Upper Subansiri district in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Demographics As of the 2001 India census, Daporijo had a population of 15,468. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 4 ...

and the proposed Alinye (ALG),

Border bridge projects

* Teesta River road bridge in Sikkim, already completed in 2020 will serve Doklam sector. *

Teesta River Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal and subsequently enters Bangladesh through Rangpur division. In Bangladesh, it merges with Jamu ...

railway bridge, under construction in July 2020 and on target for completion by December 2020. * New bridges on Brahmaputra River in Assam will serve Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern Sector.

Border railway projects

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has identified at least 15 new geostrategic rail lines to be constructed near the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

borders for troop deployments. In comparison, China has built lines up to

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...

in Tibet, with plans to connect it to Nepal and further to India. After these lines were proposed by the ministry of defense in 2013, the

approved the initial surveys of all 14 lines in 2014, Some of these as well as other related projects are as follows:

Other border road projects

* Ladakh-Himachal-Uttrakhand **

Char Dham Highway Char Dham National Highway, is an under construction two-lane (in each direction) 889 km long National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the Indian state of Uttarakhand under Char Dham Pariyojana. The under construction highway wi ...

, not part of ICBR **

Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

–

Chumar Chumar or Chumur () is a village located in south-eastern region of Ladakh, India and the centre of nomadic grazing. It is in Rupshu block, south of the Tso Moriri lake, on the bank of the Parang River (or ''Pare Chu''), close to Ladakh's bor ...

Road &

Harsil Harsil is a village, tourist hill station and army area located on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, on the way to Gangotri, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Uttarkashi district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Situated at an altitude of 9,005& ...

- Kharcham Road. Both were announced in September 2020 in addition to the ICBR phase 1, and each will cost between INR2,000 cr to INR3,000 cr.Modi govt's infra push along China border — 2 new roads, alternate route to Daulat Beg Oldie
The Print, 15 sept 2020. * Sikkim **

Bagrakote Bagrakote is a village in the Mal CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India. The main reason behind Bagrakote being called as a Tea Garden is that it was by the virtue of the Duncan Goe ...

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

Highway: 250 km-long road originating from NH17 (NH31 as per old numbering) near Bagrakote in the

Dooars The Dooars or Duars () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India and southern Bhutan that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the Brahmaputra River basin. This region is about wide and stretches ov ...

to Gangtok is being upgraded to national highway standard in July 2020 by the

(NHIDCL). It passes through

Algarah Algarah (also known as Algarah Bazar) is a town in Lava CD block in the Kalimpong subdivision of the Kalimpong district of West Bengal, India. The town lies on National Highway-717A connecting Bagrakote to Gangtok. Geography Location Alg ...

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

Rishyap Rishyap (also spelled Rishop) is a village in the Kalimpong II CD block in the Kalimpong subdivision of the Kalimpong district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Rishyap was developed as a tourist destination in 1998. There are many myths ...

(in West Bengal on Sikkim border)-

Rhenock Rhenock () is a town, just 29 km from Pakyong, Pakyong City in the Pakyong district in Sikkim, India, located on the border with the Kalimpong district of West Bengal. It lies 63 kilometres east of Gangtok, and 47 kilometres north of Kalimpong on ...

Rorathang Rorathang is a town situated in the bank of Rangpo River on National Highway-717A, in Pakyong District of Sikkim, India. Transport Roadways Rorathang lies on National Highway-717A connecting Bagrakote to Gangtok via Labha- Algarah. Nat ...

Pakyong Pakyong () is a city and district headquarters of Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Pakyong Airport is the only airport of Sikkim. The "National Research Centre for Orchids" ( ICAR Insti ...

Ranipool Ranipool is a small suburban town located in the bank of river Ranikhola at the junction of National Highway 10 and National Highway 717A in Gangtok District of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is 12 km before from Gangtok capital. It has ...

to Gangtok. In addition to the existing landslide-prone NH10 Sevoke-Gangtok Highway, this will provide alternate access to the state capital Gangtok and beyond to the India-China border. * Arunachal Pradesh **

Arunachal Frontier Highway Arunachal Frontier Highway, officially notified as the National Highway-913 and also called Bomdila-Vijaynagar Highway, connecting Bomdila in northwest to VijaynagarQ in southeast including 800 km greenfield section and network of new tunnels & ...

, proposed along the India-China border and is not part of ICBR. ** Arunachal East-West Corridor, proposed across the foothills of lower upper Arunachal Pradesh, not part of ICBR. **

Trans-Arunachal Highway The Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH), which includes an existing route comprising NH-13 () and parts of NH-15 (), NH-215 () and SH-25, is an under-construction 2-lane more than long highway passing through 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh st ...

, existing operational highway.

Border tunnel projects

As of sept 2021, India is constructing 31 road tunnels (up from 17 tunnels of 100 km total length planned in 2017), 20 in J&K and 11 in Ladakh, at the combined cost of INR1.4 lakh crore (~US$17.5 billion), this includes tunnels constructed by

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in al ...

(MoRTH).Zojila, Z-Morh tunnels: All you need to know about
Economic Times, 30 Sept 2021. As of January 2023, of the tunnel projects assigned to BRO, 5 were complete, 9 were under construction ( 6 - Arunachal Pradesh, 4 - Jammu and Kashmir, 1 - Ladakh), 11 were in DPR phase, the rest have been assigned to other entities. CITY Border Roads Organisation blazes a trail in most testing conditions
Times of India, 18 nov 2022. BRO keeps 27 mountain passes open and plans to build tunnels under all of those so that traffic remains open throughout the year and the army will save several hundred crores of rupees annually presently spent on airlifting logistics supplies. Of the 13 highest motorable mountain passes in the world, 10 are in India, and out of which 8 are in Ladakh only. Out of 27 mountain passes maintained by BRO, tunnels are being constructed under 11 and the detail project report of tunnel under 9 is being prepared, tunnels will also be built under the remaining 7 mountain passes so that the army can reach the border at a faster pace with year-around all-weather connectivity through all 27 passes. Some of these tunnels have dual road and rail usage, such as the world's longest three tube rail and road tunnel under Brahmaputra. Modi government doubled the BRO's budget of GS Roads (General Staff roads for military) of BRO in 2 years, Rs2500cr in fy2021-21 to Rs3500cr in fy2022-23 to Rs5000cr in 2023–24.
Bews18, 23 Jan 2023. BRO has been constructing tunnels the strategic ICBR roads on Sino-Indian border to provide the year-round all-weather connectivity. Without these tunnels, the road access to high altitude posts on Sino-India border is closed for six months every year due to snowfall and rain, and supplies are through airlift only. These tunnels will reduce the travel time and operational costs, and eliminate the risk of avalanche and landslide. List of tunnels, from west to east along the Indo-Chinese border, is as follows: Tunnel construction in Himalayan areas have picked up the pace. For example, Uttrakhand has 18 existing tunnels in January 2023 and 66 more tunnels will be built in next 10 years, some of which are already under construction and others are either in DPR or planning phase.Uttarakhand- Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail-project tunnel उत्तराखंड बनेगा सबसे ज्यादा सुरंगों वाला पहाड़ी राज्य
www.rajyasameeksha.com, 23 Jan 2023. In May 2023, India had 1641 ongoing tunneling projects, of which national highways had 144 tunnels of 357 km costing ₹200,000 crore including 30 tunnels (45 km) completed, 16 (120 km) under construction to be completed by fy2024-25, 54 (192 km) under the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage.Tunnelling projects worth ₹2-lakh crore on NHs underway in India: Minister Nitin Gadkari.
18 may 2023.

Sea ports and waterways projects

Sagarmala The Sagarmala Programme () is an initiative by the Government of India to enhance the performance of the country's logistics sector. The programme envisages unlocking the potential of waterways and the coastline to minimize infrastructural in ...

port development project and the National Waterways projects will also enhance geostrategic capabilities along LAC and elsewhere. Waterway projects in Assam on Brahmaputra River and its tributaries are of geostrategic importance for the movement of military assets, these include National Waterway 2 and

Subansiri River The Subansiri (Chayul Chu in Tibet) is a trans- Himalayan river and a tributary of the Brahmaputra River that flows through Tibet's Lhuntse County in the Shannan Prefecture in Southwestern China, and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and A ...

Under-river tunnel

Gohpur–Numaligarh under-river tunnel, is an under construction tunnel under the Brahmaputra river.

Mobile and internet connectivity

In June 2020, it was announced that 54 villages in the Ladakh region; including the Demchok is among the 19 in Kargil, 11 in Zanskar and 7 in

Nubra Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan nam ...

Valley; will receive mobile phone connectivity from

Jio Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (d/b/a Jio) is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai. It operates a national LTE (telecommunication), LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom ...

via the satellite connected towers under the Universal Service Obligation Funding (USOF) programme.

Radars

* Uttarakhand **

Doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the fre ...

at Mukteshwar and Surkanda Devi ** Air defence radars, under construction, at

Chamoli Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by China's Xizang Autonomous Region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to ...

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan town with a Municipal corporation in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the largest hill town in Uttarakhand. Etymology "The district is named after its hea ...

and

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi is a town and the headquarters of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Geography Uttarkashi is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is t ...

Northeast connectivity projects

* Northeast Connectivity projects * Look-East Connectivity projects * North-South and East-West Corridor * India-Myanmar-Thailand Friendship Highway *

BCIM Economic Corridor The Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM) was a proposed road, rail, water and air link connecting India and China through Myanmar and Bangladesh as a corridor. In 2015, China proposed including the corridor as part ...

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

List of bridges on Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...