Question 77 from UPSC CSE 2025 - Geography

Question

India is one of the founding members of the International NorthâSouth Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: A. India to Central Asia to Europe via Iran

Strategy: Identify key geographic and transit linkages in the options. INSTC incorporates Iran as a crucial node between India, Central Asia, and onward to Europe. Option (a) captures the definitive countries—India to Central Asia to Europe via Iran—matching the established route and its original design. Other options either introduce non-viable connections (e.g., via China, or via Bangladesh & Myanmar) or are too narrow (option d focuses only on Azerbaijan, missing the corridor's broader Eurasian scope). Thus, option (a) aligns with the official multimodal route of the INSTC.

Key Info: The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal trade corridor established by an inter-governmental agreement in 2000 between India, Iran, and Russia, now enlarged to 13 members, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman, and Syria. Bulgaria is an observer. The INSTC is designed to facilitate the movement of goods via a combination of sea, rail, and road, reducing both time and costs for trade between India, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe.

The primary route runs from India's western ports (e.g., Mumbai, Mundra) to Iran's Bandar Abbas or Chabahar, overland through Iran into Azerbaijan, the Caspian region, and onwards to Russia and Northern/Western Europe. An eastern branch extends connectivity from Iran into Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan). Azerbaijan, though part of the corridor, is not the exclusive or principal link to Europe; Iran and Russia are just as significant. The INSTC improves access to Central Asia and the Eurasian continent, supporting energy, trade, and strategic connectivity for India, reducing dependence on longer maritime routes through the Suez Canal. Recent pilot shipments (e.g., Mundra to Kazakhstan via the eastern route) demonstrate the corridor's operationalization. China and Southeast Asian connections are wholly separate from the INSTC. Major institutions involved in the implementation of INSTC include the ministries of transport/railways of all member states and the Coordinating Council on Trans-Eurasian Transport.

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Option B: India to Central Asia via China

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Option C: India to South-East Asia through Bangladesh and Myanmar

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Option D: India to Europe through Azerbaijan

India is one of the founding members of the International NorthâSouth Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect?

India is one of the founding members of the International NorthâSouth Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect?