Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regional approach under the 'Neighbourhood First' policy promotes regional stability and prosperity, recognising the importance of a secure and cooperative neighbourhood for South Asia's overall development and security. PM Modi's outreach to neighbours has resolved longstanding issues and developed closer economic and cooperation ties.

The landmark Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh in 2015 settled a complex border dispute, facilitating the exchange of enclaves and improving connectivity. Diplomatic efforts with Nepal helped address misunderstandings and ensured cooperation on trade and infrastructure projects. With Sri Lanka, India worked to address concerns related to Tamil fishermen and economic collaboration, strengthening bilateral trust.

The focus of New Delhi's South Asia policy has shifted from Pakistan to the more productive Bay of Bengal continental and maritime neighbourhood, which offers robust linkages between South and Southeast Asian states. The Uri and Pathankot attacks, which led to India and Pakistan's decoupling, are the most significant achievement of PM Modi's foreign policy. It has allowed strategic minds in New Delhi to focus on challenges thrown at it by Beijing. India has checked China's assertiveness in the region through regional and sub-regional initiatives such as BIMSTEC, circumventing Pakistan's obstacles to regional integration. Moreover, the Act East policy, launched in 2014, has deepened India's engagement with Southeast Asian nations.

A key aspect of India's Neighbourhood First policy is connectivity, which has become central to New Delhi's regional integration over the last decade. New Delhi is pursuing the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway project, which is developing multimodal linkages with Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) initiative aims to enhance logistics efficiencies in the South Asian region.

Recognising that India is the region's largest and most important transit country for its neighbours in the East and West, the Modi government has shown a remarkable commitment to these projects, to which its neighbours have responded positively. Using India as an East-West transit route, states in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) will be able to use the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which New Delhi has been vigorously promoting, allowing these nations to diversify their sources for crucial goods and supplies. Alternatives to Western-dominated routes will increase their operational flexibility and establish new markets and cheaper energy imports from Eurasia while mitigating the adverse economic impact of Western sanctions on states that do not fit their interests and perceptions.

The turnaround has been due to the shredding of a "siege mentality" by PM Modi that had shrouded decision-making in New Delhi in the previous decades and opened up spaces for distant players to come in.

This integration is an Indian project, and New Delhi has presented itself as the preferred partner in the region. Although there are cross-border security concerns, New Delhi has shown resolve and devised ways to address them. India is leveraging its advanced technology apparatus for a safer movement of people, goods, and even ideas across borders.

India has played a crucial role in maintaining the safety and freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean region, extending it to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden during the Red Sea crisis that began in November 2023. The safety of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) is crucial for the economic prosperity of states in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as they are vital for trade, energy security, and global connectivity.

However, New Delhi's regional stability and prosperity objectives have also faced challenges from the neighbourhood in the last decade. Partisan foreign policy by the states in the region, fueled mainly by domestic politics in Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, presented a challenge for New Delhi in the last decade.

Domestically, some parties in the neighbourhood criticised India-friendly regimes and politicised Indian development projects and initiatives in their country to appease their voter base. They have used extra-regional powers to embolden their anti-India stance and try to reduce their country's engagements with India.

Yet, the people-to-people connection, cultural affinity, and density of relations that New Delhi has developed over the last decade with the states in the region have ensured that India remains the most preferred partner in the region, maintaining strong diplomatic, economic, and strategic ties despite these challenges.

Instead of looking at the political developments in the neighbourhoods, in black or white, India showed a significant resolve to accommodate these parties as New Delhi followed a calibrated approach to its foreign policy of continued engagement. India's primary focus has now been on its domestic development, which requires a comprehensive and collaborative approach to foreign relations and in its neighbourhood. Indian diplomacy today, more than anything in the past, is aligned with these developmental goals. A pragmatic approach in New Delhi's external outreach, not just any preferential ideology, shapes its engagements.

On the other hand, people in the neighbouring states, such as the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, have become increasingly aware of the negative fallout of engagement with the non-regional powers and are now willing to avoid them. The policymakers in these states are now exercising their agency in keeping their national interest in mind while dealing with them. It includes rejecting specific projects found to be untenable or that jeopardise regional security. Countries in the neighbourhood have begun to recognise that their security is entwined with ours. For instance, Sri Lanka has affirmed that it will ensure their territory is not used in any manner that could threaten India's stability, as it directly impacts their security.

Moreover, India has now also been the first responder to non-conventional security challenges confronting neighbours. For the first time in the last decade, there has been an understanding within the foreign policy establishment in New Delhi that natural disasters and humanitarian crises can destabilise the entire region. They lead to mass displacement, economic disruption, and regional and global security challenges. The aid has included support in response to natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, and floods (in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal) during long-term complex political and geopolitical emergencies (in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka) and pandemic situations. Therefore, by providing timely assistance, India helped affected states recover and ensure regional stability.