New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) Indian Railways have achieved another milestone in freight transportation by operating the Niryat Cargo Express, an export-focused, assured transit service, it was announced on Friday.
The double-stack container train was operated from Ichhapuri Container Terminal in Gurugram to Mundra Port in Gujarat. Earlier, 20 trips of assured transit service have been operated from Garhi, Gurugram, according to a Railways Ministry statement.
“Such a time tabled train is being operated for the first time from Ichhapuri, Gurugram. This assured, time-bound weekly service will help exporters by providing faster, reliable, and predictable movement of goods to Mundra Port, reducing delays and logistics costs,” the ministry said in a statement.
It further stated that Delhi Division, Northern Railway has strengthened assured freight movement for exporters.
The train was operated as a crack train, means minimal halts, and uninterrupted movement, allowing faster transit and timely delivery — particularly useful for high-value export cargo.
Meanwhile, the government recently approved an Export Promotion Mission with a total outlay of Rs 25,060 crore for FY 2025‑26 to FY 2030‑31 to consolidate export support and strengthen competitiveness, especially for the MSMEs and labour-intensive sectors.
By merging fiscal incentives, financial facilitation, digital governance and regulatory flexibility into a single mission-mode framework, the government has created a powerful platform to enhance India’s global trade competitiveness.
Two integrated sub‑schemes namely, Niryat Protsahan and Niryat Disha, will operate under the mission.
Niryat Protsahan focuses on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSME exporters through interest subvention, export‑factoring, deep‑tier financing and credit cards for e‑commerce exporters.
Further, Niryat Disha aims to raise market readiness and competitiveness through support for export quality and compliance, international branding and packaging assistance, participation in trade fairs and buyer-seller meets, export warehousing and logistics, etc.
The government also expanded the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE), providing up to Rs 20,000 crore in additional support with 100 per cent government guarantee to member lending institutions. Further, RBI announced several measures such as moratorium on repayments and extension of export credit tenure to 450 days.
--IANS
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