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An Inter-Ministerial Group under the Department of Commerce — spanning MEA, MoPSW, Petroleum, RBI, CBIC, DPIIT, APEDA and CONCOR among others — monitors how disruptions like those at the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea affect India's maritime trade and coordinates relief measures.
Steps taken include extending EPCG/Advance Authorisation export-obligation deadlines to 31 August 2026, a 100% ground-rent/demurrage waiver at major ports, extended export credit (270 to 450 days) and ECLGS 5.0 for MSME liquidity.
The Cabinet also approved a sovereign guarantee of about US$1.5 billion for a domestic maritime insurance pool to cut freight and insurance costs for exporters.
Integrated rail-sea-energy-digital connectivity linking India, the Gulf and Europe
Key: Announced 9 September 2023 at the G20 Summit, New Delhi; signatories include India, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the EU; positioned as a transparent alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative
Guaranteed additional credit to MSMEs facing liquidity stress
Key: Originally launched May 2020 under Aatmanirbhar Bharat; ECLGS 5.0 introduced in 2026 to shield businesses from geopolitical/shipping shocks
Indian state agency operating the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port, Iran, under a 10-year contract signed 13 May 2024 with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation
Waived charges on containers stranded by disruptions; ran double-stack container services on the Dedicated Freight Corridor to help clear about 10,000 containers
Chabahar gives India an Iran-based route to Central Asia and Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan, complementing IMEC's Gulf-Europe corridor as part of India's broader connectivity diversification amid Red Sea/Hormuz disruptions.
GS Paper 3 > External Trade > Maritime Logistics & Connectivity
When was the Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) announced by India?
Answer: 2008
Recurring theme amid ongoing Red Sea/Gulf shipping disruptions
India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor — a multi-modal transport, energy and digital connectivity initiative announced at the G20 Summit 2023, linking India to Europe via the Gulf.