AEPC Welcomes RELIEF Scheme to Support Exporters Amid West Asia Crisis
27 March 2026: Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), has welcomed the Government’s approval of the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme. The initiative, introduced under the Export Promotion Mission, is intended to support exporters affected by the ongoing West Asia crisis.
He noted that geopolitical developments in the Gulf region, including disruptions around key maritime routes, have resulted in increased freight costs, higher insurance premia, and operational uncertainties for exporters. In this context, he said the RELIEF initiative reflects the Government’s approach to supporting India’s export sector amid global uncertainty.
The AEPC Chairman referred to the structure of the scheme, which covers consignments already impacted during the disruption period and also includes provisions for future shipments. He highlighted that ECGC-backed risk coverage has been extended up to 100% for past shipments and up to 95% for prospective exports.
He also pointed to the reimbursement mechanism included in the scheme for MSME exporters who have not availed ECGC cover but are affected by higher freight and insurance costs. According to him, this provision is expected to address the challenges faced by smaller exporters.
Dr. Sakthivel further mentioned the formation of an Inter-Ministerial Group on Supply Chain Resilience and additional measures such as procedural relaxations, port-level facilitation and logistics coordination aimed at addressing supply chain disruptions.
He added that ECGC will act as the nodal implementing agency and that a monitoring framework has been established for execution of the scheme. The Government has allocated Rs.497 crore under the Export Promotion Mission for this initiative.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Sakthivel stated that the RELIEF scheme will help mitigate the impact of the West Asia logistics crisis, reduce the risk of order cancellations, and support the continuity of India’s apparel exports.
