Government Steps Up Support for Exporters with RELIEF Expansion and Faster DGFT Approvals

The government has taken two major steps to support Indian exporters who are currently facing challenges due to global tensions and slow approval processes. These moves aim to reduce costs, speed up approvals, and make exporting easier, especially for small businesses.

First, the government has expanded the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme. This scheme was launched on March 19, 2026, to help exporters affected by rising shipping costs, expensive insurance, and risks caused by the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Due to disruptions in key sea routes, exporters have been struggling to send goods smoothly.

Now, the government has added Egypt and Jordan to the list of countries covered under this scheme. This means exporters sending goods to these countries, or through them, can also get financial and insurance support. The scheme offers help like partial reimbursement of high freight and insurance costs, support for both past and future shipments, and easier access to insurance cover.

The RELIEF scheme is being implemented through ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation). The government has also clarified that exporters who take a new ECGC policy on or after March 16, 2026, will also be eligible for benefits. This is expected to encourage more exporters, especially MSMEs, to take advantage of the scheme.

At the same time, the government has introduced reforms to speed up approvals under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Exporters often need approvals under schemes like Advance Authorisation (AA) and Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA), which allow them to import raw materials without paying duty.

To make this process faster, the government has strengthened the Norms Committees that handle these approvals. Earlier, there were delays due to a shortage of technical experts. Now, more members have been added, increasing the total from 12 to 22.

The government has also introduced fixed schedules for meetings, faster decision-making, and a special drive to clear pending applications. As a result, between January and early April 2026, nearly 4,000 cases were reviewed and over 1,700 were cleared.

Overall, these steps are aimed at reducing delays, cutting costs, and helping exporters continue their business smoothly despite global uncertainties. MSME exporters, in particular, are expected to benefit the most from these changes.