The International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC): What Lies Ahead? – Analysis
Russia and India have been collaborating in a wide range of fields. One important area of cooperation between the two nations is in the field of connectivity. A big connectivity project between the two nations is the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) which runs from St. Petersburg to Mumbai via Iran. It is worth mentioning here that both India and Russia have good relations with Iran and India has already invested in a big fashion in the Chabahar port in Iran.
In the aftermath of Western sanctions on Russia after the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, India has become one of the most important purchasers of Russian oil, thereby helping shoring up the Russian economy too.
What Is The INSTC?
The INTSC is a 7,200-km (4500 mile) long multi-modal network of ship, rail, and road routes for freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The objective of the INSTC is to increase trade connectivity between major cities like Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc. To test the effectiveness of the INSTC, dry runs of two routes were conducted back in the year 2014. While the first route tried out was between Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas, the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali.
What is worth noting here is that the results showed transportation costs were reduced by “$2,500 per 15 tons of cargo” by the use of the INTSC. The INSTC will also be complementary to the Ashgabat agreement, a multimodal transport agreement signed by India (2018), Oman (2011), Iran (2011), Turkmenistan (2011), Uzbekistan, (2011) Kazakhstan (2015) for creating an international transport and transit corridor. In the past, agreements had been reached for the TAPI(Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India) pipeline, though there has been no noticeable progress in the same because of a whole lot of factors.
What Are The Major Challenges For INSTC?
There are quite a few challenges for India and Russia too, especially in the light of India’s growing relations with the West. In addition, Russia’s close ties with China are also a concern for India since China also uses some of the same weapon platforms as India (of Russian origin).
In addition, there could be other challenges too—for example Russia’s ties with Iran. While Iran has close ties with Russia, it is different for India since it is also trying to inch closer to the West at the same time and the West does not have good ties with Iran.
Then there is the issue of Azerbaijan, which has come out in support of Pakistan in the recent clashes with India. New Delhi has taken note of these and hence relations between India and Azerbaijan could head in a downward spiral.
Another key challenge will be managing the China factor in this, since Beijing may not be very happy with these developments.
Advantages
As seen during the trial run, it will directly reduce costs. In addition, it will open up new opportunities for both India and Russia. For India, it will allow it to reach the Central Asian countries and Russia, while for Russia it will open up new avenues. Already Russia has been hit with sanctions in the aftermath of its war with Ukraine and hence it is looking at increasing its connectivity options.
New Delhi needs alternatives too, since Pakistan does not allow it overland access to Afghanistan. In the past, India has helped build the Zaranj-Delaram road in Afghanistan, but things have taken a turn for the worse after the earlier Afghan government was overthrown by the Taliban, although now the Taliban has sent feelers to New Delhi.
Another advantage is that India and Russia have already been collaborating in a wide variety of fields, right from the time of India’s independence in 1947.
The Road Ahead
The INSTC could link up with the IMEC, wherein India has been reaching out to the countries of the Middle East and also includes the United States. In the wake of attacks by Houthis on international shipping passing through the Red Sea, it gives one more reason for India and Russia to push the INSTC. In addition, Indian companies are invested in a big way in Russia, especially in the Russian Far East. There is another maritime corridor between Russia and India—the “Chennai Vladivostok Maritime Corridor” and it has already become operational. Hence, there is no wonder that the road ahead is full of promises for Russia-India collaboration in the field of connectivity. The INSTC could just be the harbinger of bigger and better things to come.
- The views expressed here are personal.
