New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) The government on Thursday launched the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme with an outlay of Rs 497 crore to provide relief to India's exporters facing disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Addressing a press conference, Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Rajesh Agarwal said, "We are announcing a new scheme under the Export Promotion mission, especially focused upon exporters exposed to these 17-18 geographies which have been impacted by the conflict to assuage some of the challenges that our exporters are facing." He also informed that an inter-ministerial group (IMG) has been set up comprising various government departments, including the commerce ministry, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ports and Shipping, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of External Affairs, the RBI, CBIC, etc, which meets daily to assess the evolving situation based on cargo movement.

The package under the RELIEF scheme, with ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) as the implementing agency, includes automatic extension of export obligations, logistical support, and potential financial measures to manage shipping delays.

The RELIEF scheme mainly includes consignments destined for delivery or trans-shipment to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Yemen.

The scheme has three key components. Component I includes Export Obligation Extensions: Automatic extension for Advance Authorisations and EPCG authorisations (due between March 1 and May 31, 2026) until August 31, 2026, without penalty. It protects already insured shipments by ECGC in the immediate one-month window from February 14-March 15.

Component II is aimed at encouraging and facilitating ECGC coverage for upcoming exports consignments over three months from March 16 to June 15.

The Component III specifically targets MSMEs to shield them from surcharge shocks and partly reimburses extraordinary freight and insurance costs over one month period from February 14 to March 15. It is applicable for MSME exporters who have not taken ECGC coverage. PTI RSN TRB

Export relief scheme extends export obligations and offers logistical and financial support to exporters affected by West Asia conflict. The government launched a targeted export support scheme to assist exporters disrupted by the West Asia conflict, with ECGC as implementing agency and an inter ministerial group coordinating daily. The scheme covers consignments to specified West Asia destinations and comprises three components: automatic, penalty free extension of Advance Authorisation and EPCG export obligations and protection of insured shipments over an immediate one month window; measures to promote ECGC coverage for upcoming consignments over a three month period; and targeted partial reimbursement of extraordinary freight and insurance costs for MSMEs not covered by ECGC during a specified one month period.