The Government has approved a time-bound and targeted intervention called RELIEF – Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), which is aimed at supporting Indian exporters affected by extraordinary freight escalation, heightened insurance premia and war-related export risks arising from disruptions in the Gulf and wider West Asia maritime corridor.
An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Supply Chain Resilience was operationalised on March 02, 2026, to monitor the situation and coordinate facilitation measures.
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.
Under the approved framework, ECGC Ltd. (Formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd.), wholly owned by the Government of India (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), has been designated as the nodal and implementing agency responsible for verification, claim processing, disbursement and monitoring.
ECGC’s 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 RELIEF intervention comprises the following 3 complementary components covering consignments destined to countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran and Yemen, meant either for delivery or for trans-shipment:
- First, exporters who have already obtained ECGC credit insurance cover for eligible consignments will benefit from upto 100% risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover, during the eligible period (February 14, 2026, till March 15, 2026), thereby ensuring enhanced protection without additional financial burden.
- Second, exporters planning upcoming consignments, during the next three months (March 16, 2026, till June 15, 2026), will be encouraged to obtain ECGC cover with Government support for upto 95% risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover, which will help sustain exporter confidence and facilitate continued shipment flows despite logistics uncertainties.
- Third, recognising that some MSME exporters may not have availed credit insurance (February 14, 2026, till March 15, 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 is intended to provide timely relief against conflict-related logistics cost escalation.
Implementation of RELIEF under the 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.
