Question 18 from UPSC CSE 2017 - Current
Affairs

Question

What is the importance of developing Chabahar Port by India?

Accepted Answer

Correct Option: C. India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Strategy: Focus on the core geopolitical importance of the Chabahar Port for India. Identify India's primary driver for investment: creating an alternative route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that completely bypasses Pakistan. Evaluate potential options by prioritizing this fundamental objective and discarding secondary benefits, factual errors (e.g., Iran's ethnic identity), or irrelevant points.

Key Info: ## Chabahar Port

Chabahar Port is located in the Sistan-Baluchestan province on Iran's southeastern coast, along the Gulf of Oman. It is Iran's only oceanic port and consists of two separate ports: Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti.

India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement in 2016 for the development and operation of the port. India is primarily involved in developing the Shahid Beheshti port, aiming to create a reliable transport corridor.

## Strategic Importance for India

*   **Bypassing Pakistan** -- The most significant advantage is providing India with a sea-land access route to Afghanistan and the landlocked Central Asian Republics (CARs), circumventing Pakistan, which denies India overland transit rights.
*   **Counterbalance to China's Gwadar Port** -- Chabahar is located approximately 170 kilometers west of Pakistan's Gwadar Port, which is a key component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The development of Chabahar is widely seen as India's strategic response to Chinese presence in the region.
*   **Gateway to Central Asia** -- The port acts as a gateway to the energy-rich and strategically important CARs, opening up new markets and opportunities for trade and investment.
*   **Role in International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)** -- Chabahar is a crucial node in the INSTC, a 7,200-km multi-modal network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. This corridor aims to reduce transit time and costs compared to the traditional Suez Canal route.

Answer

Option A: India's trade with African countries will enormously increase.

Answer

Option B: India's relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened.

Answer

Option D: Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India.