No allocation for Chabahar project in Budget amid US' sanctions on Iran

India is a major partner in development of the Chabahar port and in the last few years, New Delhi has been making an annual outlay of ₹100 cr to the mega connectivity project

In a departure from the past, India has not allocated any funds for the Chabahar port project in its Union Budget, a move that came against the backdrop of Washington's fresh sanctions on Iran.

In the last few years, India has been making an annual outlay of ₹100 crore to the mega connectivity project in the Sistan-Balochistan province in Iran's southern coast. India is a major partner in development of the Chabahar port.

In September last year, the US imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran but had granted India a six-month exemption from the punitive measures on the Chabahar port project.

 

The waiver will come to an end on April 26.

Last month, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New India is engaged with the US on the issue related to the Chabahar port project.

It is learnt that India was mulling various options relating to the project after Trump administration threatened a 25 per cent additional tariff on countries doing business with Tehran.

The Chabahar port is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties. Both the countries are also strongly pitching for making Chabahar port an integral part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.