In view of the evolving geopolitical situation in West Asia and its impact on maritime logistics across the region, the Government has approved a time-bound and targeted intervention called RELIEF- Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM). The intervention aims to support Indian exporters affected by extraordinary freight escalation, heightened insurance premia and war-related export risks arising from disruptions in the West Asia maritime corridor. India is coordinating with port authorities in West Asia to address concerns of exporters amidst a sharp spike in logistics cost.The Commerce Ministry noted that recent developments, including heightened security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, have led to vessel diversions, longer sailing routes, congestion at transshipment hubs and emergency conflict-linked surcharges, which has increased logistics costs and created operational uncertainty for export consignments moving to or through the region.
RELIEF has been structured to provide support across the export cycle by covering the shipments that already left during the disruption period as well as prospective exports planned to the affected region. Under the approved framework, ECGC (Formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) has been designated as the nodal and implementing agency responsible for verification, claim processing, disbursement and monitoring of export credit risk cover against commercial and political risks, including war-related contingencies.
The RELIEF intervention comprises of the following 3 complementary components covering delivery or transshipment consignments destined to countries in the region like United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran and Yemen.
Exporters who have already obtained ECGC credit insurance cover for eligible consignments will benefit from up to 100% risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover, during the eligible period (14th February 2026 to 15th March 2026) by ensuring enhanced protection without additional financial burden.
Exporters planning upcoming consignments, during the next three months (16th March 2026 to 15th June 2026) will be encouraged to obtain ECGC cover with Government’s support for up to 95% risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover, to help sustain exporter confidence and facilitate continued shipment flows despite logistics uncertainties.
Recognition of MSME exporters who didn’t avail credit insurance (from 14th February 2026 to 15th March 2026), but are facing extraordinary freight and insurance surcharge burdens. RELIEF includes a partial reimbursement (upto 50%) mechanism for eligible non-ECGC-insured MSME exporters. This support will be extended subject to prescribed conditions, documentary verification and notified ceilings (upto Rs. 50 lakhs per exporter), and intends to provide timely relief against conflict-related logistics cost escalation.
Implementation of RELIEF under Export Promotion Mission will be undertaken with an approved financial outlay of Rs. 497 Crores under the Mission. ECGC will maintain a dashboard-based monitoring system to enable real-time tracking of claims and fund utilisation. The EPM Steering Committee will periodically review the operation of the intervention in light of evolving geopolitical conditions and may recommend calibrated modification, continuation or withdrawal as necessary. Through RELIEF, the Government aims to mitigate the immediate impact of logistics disruptions, protect exporter confidence, prevent order cancellations and safeguard employment in export-linked sectors.
As part of response to the crisis situation, an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Supply Chain Resilience was operationalised on 2nd March to monitor the situation and coordinate facilitation measures. The IMG commenced daily review meetings from 3rd March by bringing together multiple Ministries/Departments, financial institutions, logistics stakeholders and exporter associations. Based on IMG deliberations, several operational measures were implemented, including procedural relaxations for stranded cargo movement, enhanced coordination at ports, waivers of storage and dwell time charges for affected cargo at the ports, advisories to promote transparency in shipping line pricing, and strengthened monitoring of insurance risk developments and inland logistics movement. The Commerce Ministry has said that coordinated efforts have helped ensure real-time assessment of ground-level challenges to support a targeted financial-risk mitigation intervention.(Edited by : Srabastee Biswas)
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