India is one of the founding members of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect
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Answer: A. The INSTC was agreed in 2000 by India, Iran and Russia. It links Indian ports (like Mumbai) by sea to Iran (Bandar Abbas/Chabahar), then by rail and road through Iran, Azerbaijan and Central Asia to Russia and Europe. So it connects India to Central Asia and Europe via Iran.
Watch for: Azerbaijan is on one INSTC branch, which makes option D look tempting, but the defining route is through Iran.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. China is not part of the INSTC route.
- C. Bangladesh and Myanmar belong to eastward links like the Kaladan project, not the INSTC.
- D. Azerbaijan is only one transit country on one branch; the core link is via Iran.
Source to check: Ministry of External Affairs, India (INSTC briefs); Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.