India and Russia to launch Eastern Maritime Corrido

India and Russia are poised to commence operations on the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) soon, according to Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The EMC is expected to significantly reduce the time required to transport cargo between Indian and Russian ports in the Far East region, potentially cutting the transit time by up to 16 days.Currently, it takes over 40 days to transport goods from India to the Far East of Russia, covering a distance of 8,675 nautical miles between Mumbai and St. Petersburg. The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route under the EMC will span about 5,600 nautical miles. A large container ship travelling at a cruising speed of 20-25 knots (37-46 km/hour) is expected to cover this distance in approximately 10 to 12 days.Minister Sonowal, who is on an official visit to Russia, also highlighted the progress of India's Sagarmala Programme, which includes 802 projects with an investment of over $65 billion to be implemented by 2035. Of these, 228 projects worth $14.6 billion have been completed, while 260 projects worth $27 billion are currently in progress. An additional 314 projects worth $24 billion are in various stages of development.