Central Asia — the five republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan — occupies a position in India's strategic geography that is simultaneously important and neglected. The region borders Afghanistan, borders China's Xinjiang, sits astride the Eurasian landmass through which energy, trade, and strategic competition flow, and is home to approximately 75 million people whose economic development trajectories are being shaped, in India's absence, by Russia, China, and increasingly Turkey.

India has a civilisational and historical connection to Central Asia — Mughal lineage, Buddhist heritage, Silk Road trade — and virtually no modern strategic presence. That gap is a strategic error that compounds annually.

The Connectivity Problem

India's most fundamental Central Asia challenge is geography. Pakistan stands between India and Central Asia — blocking the land routes that would make India a natural economic partner for the landlocked republics. The Pakistan problem has no near-term resolution, and India has responded by investing in the International North-South Transport Corridor — a multimodal route connecting India to Iran's Chabahar port, through Iran by rail and road, and northward through Azerbaijan and Russia to Central Asia.

The INSTC is India's most important connectivity investment for Central Asian access — and it is working, albeit slowly. Chabahar's development — in which India has invested $500 million — has reduced transit times for Indian goods reaching Central Asia by approximately 40% compared to the traditional sea route through the Suez Canal. The activation of the INSTC's full routing, including the rail links through Iran that are still incomplete, would make India a genuinely competitive trade partner for the Central Asian republics.

The problem is pace. China's Belt and Road Initiative has already built the rail and road infrastructure that connects Central Asia to Chinese markets — in both directions. The China-Central Asia-West Asia corridor is operational. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan railway is under construction. China is building connectivity in Central Asia at a speed that India's INSTC programme has not matched.

The Strategic Opportunity

Central Asia's strategic value to India extends beyond trade access. The region is the northern flank of the Afghanistan problem — and the stability of the Central Asian republics, all of which border Afghanistan, directly affects the spillover of Taliban-linked extremism, narcotics trafficking, and weapons flows that affect India's own security environment.

India's relationship with the Central Asian security establishments — particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which have the most capable armed forces in the region — is underdeveloped relative to the shared interest in Afghan stability. The SCO framework provides a platform for this engagement, but its China and Pakistan membership limits how far India can go within that forum on security cooperation.

Bilateral defence relationships — training programmes, joint exercises, and equipment supply — outside the SCO framework are the more productive channel. India's defence industry, now capable of exporting artillery, helicopters, and small arms, has products that Central Asian militaries need and cannot easily procure from either Russia, whose supply chains are under sanctions pressure, or China, whose equipment comes with political strings.

Energy and Critical Minerals

Kazakhstan is among the world's top uranium producers and holds significant oil and gas reserves. Uzbekistan has natural gas, gold, and uranium. Turkmenistan has the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves. The energy and mineral resources of Central Asia are a natural complement to India's import requirements — and India's engagement with them has been limited to early-stage exploration agreements that have not translated into the commercial partnerships that India's energy security requires.

India's state energy companies — ONGC Videsh, Oil India — need a more aggressive Central Asia mandate, backed by the diplomatic investment that converts exploration agreements into producing assets. The window is narrowing as Chinese and Gulf capital secures the most attractive positions.

Central Asia is India's forgotten frontier. The connectivity, the security cooperation, and the resource partnerships that India needs in the region are all within reach — if India decides to reach for them.

The Hind covers policy, power, and strategic affairs from India's perspective. Views expressed are analytical and editorial. Slug: india-central-asia-forgotten-frontier-2026