- Russia for the first time sent two trains laden with coal through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to India.
International North-South Transport Corridor
- INSTC is a 7,200-kilometer Multimode Transit Route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.
- It connects ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.
Origin
- It was launched on 12th September 2000 in St. Petersburg, by a trilateral agreement signed by Iran, Russia and India at the Euro-Asian Conference on Transport in 2000 for promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States.