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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026

 

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--Trade secy:Inter-ministerial group looking into issues faced by exporters
--CONTEXT: Comments by Trade Secretary Rajesh Agrawal at a press briefing
--Trade secy: Govt to announce new scheme focused on exports to West Asia
--DGFT's Agarwal: Launching logistics intervention scheme for exports
--CONTEXT: Comments by DGFT's Lav Agarwal at a press briefing

--Trade secy: Focus on protecting domestic supply, exports second priority

--Trade secy: Some air cargo, ship movements taking place in Gulf region

--Govt official: Working on more steps to provide relief to exporters  

 

NEW DELHI - The government Thursday launched a scheme with a total outlay of around INR 5 billion, aimed at providing support to exporters hit by ongoing war in West Asia.

 

Named 'Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation', the relief scheme will have three components. ECGC Ltd., formerly known as Export Credit Guarantee Corp. of India Ltd., will implement the relief scheme.

 

"Exporters are suffering because of the crisis in West Asia," Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said at a press conference. A calibrated support package is needed to stabilise export flows and protect India's market share during the crisis period, officials at the briefing said.

 

The US-Israel war on Iran has pushed energy prices higher and halted cargo movement in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

 

The scheme is aimed at supporting exports by covering the shipments already left during the disruption period as well as prospective exports planned to the affected region. Under the approved framework, ECGC will be 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," a government release said.

 

The relief scheme comprises three components covering consignments destined to countries in the region such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. In the first component, 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 period of Feb. 14 till Mar. 15. In the second component, exporters planning upcoming consignments till Jun. 15 will be encouraged to obtain ECGC cover with government support for up to 95% risk coverage, over and above the existing ECGC cover.

 

The third component focusses on micro, small, and medium enterprises exporters who have not availed credit insurance between Feb. 14 and Mar. 15 but are facing extraordinary freight and insurance surcharge burdens. The scheme includes a partial reimbursement of up to 50% for eligible MSME exporters who don't have ECGC insurance.

 

The government has set up an inter-ministerial group on supply chain resilience, which has been meeting daily since Mar. 3. The group monitors the situation and coordinates facilitation measures. Based on the group's deliberations, several operational measures have been implemented such as procedural relaxations for stranded cargo movement, enhanced coordination at ports, and waivers of storage and dwell time charges for affected cargo at the ports, the release said.

 

The government is working on more steps to provide relief to exporters, a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity.

 

Agrawal said that the government's focus is on protecting domestic supply of products and exports are second priority. He also said that some air cargo and ship movements are taking place in the Gulf region.  End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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