The Government has approved RELIEF, the Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), to support exporters affected by maritime disruptions in the Gulf and wider West Asia corridor. The time bound measure responds to extraordinary freight escalation, higher insurance premia and war related export risks arising from vessel diversions, longer routes and congestion at transshipment hubs. The intervention covers both shipments already dispatched during the disruption period and prospective consignments.

An Inter Ministerial Group on Supply Chain Resilience was operationalised on 2 March 2026 and began daily review meetings. The group brought together multiple ministries, financial institutions, logistics stakeholders and exporter associations to assess ground level challenges. Measures implemented on the basis of its deliberations included procedural relaxations for stranded cargo, waivers of storage and dwell time charges for affected consignments and advisories to promote transparency in shipping line pricing.

The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC) will act as the nodal implementing agency responsible for verification, claim processing, disbursement and monitoring. The intervention has three complementary components. First, exporters with existing ECGC cover will receive up to 100 per cent additional risk coverage for eligible consignments during 14 February 2026 to 15 March 2026. Second, exporters planning shipments between 16 March 2026 and 15 June 2026 will be encouraged to obtain ECGC cover with Government support for up to 95 per cent coverage.

Third, eligible small and medium sized exporters without ECGC insurance during the disruption period may receive partial reimbursement of up to 50 per cent for extraordinary freight and insurance surcharge burdens, subject to documentary verification and notified ceilings of Rs. 5 mn per exporter. Implementation under the Export Promotion Mission will be undertaken with an approved financial outlay of Rs. 4.97 bn and will be reviewed periodically by the steering committee. ECGC will maintain a dashboard based monitoring system to enable real time tracking of claims and fund utilisation. The intervention seeks to protect exporter confidence, prevent order cancellations and safeguard employment in export linked sectors.