Assessing India’s Engagements in the INSTC and Analysing its Implications on India’s Commercial and Strategic Interests

The INSTC formalised by India, Iran and Russia at the start of the new millennium to develope an alternative transport system linking India with Central Asia and Eurasia floundered for long due to scepticism and neglect by its member states. However, the withdrawal of the UN sanctions against Iran, the steady expansion of the Chinese influence in the region through the OBOR, and the urgent requirement of the land-locked Central Asian countries to gain maritime access offer new incentives for the member states to reinvigorate the project. This article explores the commercial and the strategic implications of the INSTC for India in the present context.