Enhancing Disaster Resilience of India’s Undersea Cables in India

Implementing Partner: Build Change

Project name:Enhancing Disaster Resilience of India’s Undersea Cables in India

This study assesses disaster risks to cable landing infrastructure in Mumbai, Chennai, Port Blair, and Digha, recognizing undersea communication cables as critical assets amid climate threats.

It aims to establish a robust policy framework integrating resilience into design and construction.

By developing customized building codes and standards, the project enhances infrastructure durability, ensuring secure and adaptive communication networks that withstand environmental hazards and safeguard India’s coastal connectivity against future disruptions.

Global undersea cable
outages caused by disasters
0 %
Increase in coastal
floods in India in
recent decades
0 %

Impact and Key Findings

1

This project evaluates national and international standards for undersea cable infrastructure, identifying a critical gap: current guidelines largely neglect onshore components like landing stations and beach manholes, exposing them to disaster risks and compromising coastal network resilience.

2

Critical onshore facilities, such as cable landing stations and beach manholes, lack dedicated resilience standards. Developing disaster-focused construction guidelines is crucial to fortify these infrastructures, ensuring long-term durability and uninterrupted operational performance in extreme conditions. 

3

This project establishes a forward-looking policy framework that embeds disaster risk management into national building codes for undersea cable infrastructure. By strengthening resilience standards, it ensures uninterrupted digital connectivity during natural and climate-related disasters, reducing operational vulnerabilities.

Resources

Aishwarya Pillai

Lead Specialist

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes. 

Alpana Saha

Director, Partnerships, Governance, and Resource Mobilisation 

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes.