India has been winding up its operations at Chabahar port after Trump, upon his return to the White House, upped the ante on Iran, removing sanctions waiver for the port.
India is making its decisions on the basis of a third party's interests, for all the election-time braggadocio of the Prime Minister. 'Desh nahi jhukne doonga', anyone remember?
After Taliban foreign minister's visit, acting minister of commerce & industry Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi is currently on a five-day trip to India, along with a high-powered delegation.
For the project, India first received a sanctions waiver in November 2018 from Trump 1.0, but his administration rescinded it last month, threatening to complicate India's involvement.
India Ports Global Limited had signed a 10-year long term contract with Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization in May 2024 to develop the Chabahar port.
India's trade with Tehran has cratered since 2018 after US sanctions were reimposed on the West Asian country, and China has stepped into the resulting vacuum.
India has been using Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar to ship humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. The 10-year deal will allow India to operate the terminal at the port.
Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is in Iran to sign a ‘crucial contract’, which Jaishankar said would clear the path for bigger investment in the port.
Jaishankar’s 2-day visit to Iran saw push to energise International North-South Transport Corridor connecting Indian ports to Russia via multi-modal transport corridor.
UCBs accounted for 1.8% of total industry credit in September 2025—down from 2.2% five yrs ago—showing that they are losing ground to faster PSU banks.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
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