International North-South Transport Corridor

The International North-South Transport Corridor is a roughly 7,200-km multimodal freight network connecting India with Iran, the Caspian region, Russia and Europe. It combines shipping, railways and roads to provide India with an alternative route into Eurasia.

Route and institutional basis

The corridor originated in an agreement signed by India, Iran and Russia in 2000. Its broad alignment runs from Indian ports across the Arabian Sea to Iran, then through road, rail and Caspian Sea links towards Russia and northern Europe.

• The network can use different alignments, including routes through the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan.
• Iran serves as the principal geographical bridge between the Indian Ocean and inland Eurasia.

Strategic significance for India

The INSTC addresses India's lack of direct overland access to Central Asia because transit through Pakistan is unavailable. It therefore strengthens India's continental connectivity and complements its maritime reach.

• It provides an alternative to the longer maritime route through the Suez Canal for trade with Russia and parts of Europe.
• It can diversify supply chains and improve access to markets and resources in Iran, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia.
• The corridor complements Chabahar Port, which gives India a maritime gateway to Iranian and wider Eurasian transport networks.
• It deepens India's economic engagement with Eurasia while reducing dependence on any single transit route.

Conditions for effective connectivity

Its strategic value depends on converting a mapped corridor into a reliable commercial route. This requires completion of missing transport links, regular freight services and coordination among several jurisdictions.

• Efficient operation requires customs harmonisation, common documentation and predictable transit procedures.
• Infrastructure gaps, financing constraints and differences in rail and logistics systems can reduce competitiveness.
• Regional instability, sanctions exposure and wider geopolitical risk can disrupt investment, insurance and freight movement.