The Government of India has approved the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme to support exporters facing severe maritime disruptions in West Asia. Triggered by heightened security concerns in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf region, the intervention addresses extraordinary freight escalation, rising insurance premia, and war-related risks.
Operative under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) with an outlay of ₹497 crore, RELIEF is implemented by ECGC Ltd. to provide financial risk mitigation for shipments to countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Iran. This move is a coordinated response by the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Supply Chain Resilience, which has been conducting daily reviews since early March to stabilize India’s trade flows amid geopolitical instability.
Key Components of the RELIEF Framework
Enhanced Risk Coverage (Past Shipments): Exporters with existing ECGC cover for shipments between 14 February and 15 March 2026 receive up to 100% risk coverage for additional conflict-linked losses.
Support for Prospective Exports: For shipments planned between 16 March and 15 June 2026, the government supports up to 95% risk coverage to maintain exporter confidence.
MSME Reimbursement: Non-insured MSME exporters can claim up to 50% reimbursement (capped at ₹50 lakh per exporter) for extraordinary freight and insurance surcharges incurred during the initial disruption month.
Regional Scope: Applies to all consignments destined for or transshipped through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen.
Operational Reliefs: Includes waivers of storage and dwell time charges at ports and procedural relaxations for stranded cargo coordinated by the IMG.
Real-time Monitoring: ECGC will maintain a dashboard-based system for tracking claims and fund utilization, with periodic reviews by the EPM Steering Committee.
What is the "Export Promotion Mission (EPM)"? The Export Promotion Mission is a flexible, high-level government framework designed to provide a "whole-of-government" response to external trade disruptions and export growth challenges. It plays a role in enabling rapid policy pivots, such as the RELIEF intervention, to protect India's global competitiveness during periods of international crisis. The mission is supported by the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), which brings together financial institutions, logistics stakeholders, and multiple ministries to assess ground-level challenges in real-time. By providing targeted financial-risk mitigation and procedural relaxations, the EPM reflects growth in India's institutional capacity to safeguard employment and prevent order cancellations in export-linked sectors during geopolitical shocks.
Policy Relevance: Safeguarding Trade Resilience
Scaling Conflict-Risk Mitigation: The use of ECGC Ltd. as the nodal agency for RELIEF ensures that seasoned experts in political and war-risk insurance handle the claims, providing high-fidelity support to affected firms.
Internalising Logistics Costs: By offering partial reimbursements for MSMEs, the policy prevents small-scale exporters from being squeezed out of the market by emergency surcharges they cannot absorb.
Bypassing Supply Chain Bottlenecks: The IMG's daily review meetings ensure that bottlenecks at transshipment hubs are mechanically identified and addressed through inter-ministry coordination.
Supporting Long-term Export Confidence: Providing up to 95% coverage for future shipments encourages exporters to fulfill existing contracts rather than retreating from high-risk markets.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What specific process will be followed for non-insured MSMEs to access the ₹50 lakh relief ceiling for shipments made during the February-March disruption period?
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