RELIEF at Sea!
The Government has approved RELIEF — Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation — a targeted and time-bound intervention under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) to support Indian exporters affected by ongoing disruptions across the Gulf and wider West Asia maritime corridor. Recent geopolitical developments, including heightened security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, have resulted in vessel diversions, longer sailing routes, congestion at transshipment hubs and the imposition of emergency conflict-linked surcharges. These factors have significantly increased logistics costs and created operational uncertainty for export consignments moving to or through the region.
The approval of RELIEF reflects the Government’s commitment to respond swiftly to external disruptions impacting India’s trade flows. In parallel, an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Supply Chain Resilience was operationalised on March 02, 2026, to monitor the evolving situation and coordinate facilitation measures. The IMG commenced daily review meetings from March 03, 2026, bringing together multiple Ministries and Departments, financial institutions, logistics stakeholders and exporter associations.
Based on IMG deliberations, several operational measures were implemented to ease the impact on exporters. These include procedural relaxations for stranded cargo movement, enhanced coordination at ports, waivers of storage and dwell time charges for affected cargo, advisories promoting transparency in shipping line pricing, and strengthened monitoring of insurance risks and inland logistics movement. These coordinated efforts have enabled real-time assessment of ground-level challenges and informed the design of a targeted financial risk mitigation framework.
RELIEF has been structured to provide support across the export cycle, covering both consignments already shipped during the disruption period as well as prospective exports planned for the affected region. ECGC, wholly owned by the Government of India under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has been designated as the nodal and implementing agency. The organisation will be responsible for verification, claim processing, disbursement and monitoring. Its established experience in providing export credit risk cover against commercial and political risks, including war-related contingencies, is expected to ensure credible and timely delivery of assistance.
The intervention comprises three complementary components covering consignments destined for countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran and Yemen, whether for direct delivery or transshipment.
First, exporters who have already obtained ECGC credit insurance cover for eligible consignments will benefit from up to 100 per cent risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover, during the eligible period from February 14, 2026 to March 15, 2026. This ensures enhanced protection without imposing additional financial burden.
Second, exporters planning upcoming consignments over the next three months — from March 16, 2026 to June 15, 2026 — will be encouraged to obtain ECGC cover with Government support of up to 95 per cent risk coverage, over and above existing coverage. This is expected to sustain exporter confidence and facilitate continued shipment flows despite prevailing logistics uncertainties.
Third, recognising that some MSME exporters may not have availed credit insurance during the disruption period from February 14, 2026 to March 15, 2026, RELIEF includes a partial reimbursement mechanism. Eligible non-ECGC-insured MSME exporters can receive up to 50 per cent reimbursement for extraordinary freight and insurance surcharge burdens, subject to prescribed conditions, documentary verification and notified ceilings of up to Rs 50 lakh per exporter. This component is aimed at providing timely relief against conflict-related logistics cost escalation.
The implementation of RELIEF under the Export Promotion Mission will be supported by an approved financial outlay of Rs 497 crore. 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 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 across export-linked sectors. The intervention reinforces India’s commitment to maintaining resilience and competitiveness in global trade during periods of uncertainty.
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