India and Russia are ready to begin operations on the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) soon, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said. The EMC is expected to significantly reduce the time it takes to transport cargo between Indian and Russian ports in the Far East, potentially reducing transit time by up to 16 days.

Currently, it takes more than 40 days to transport goods from India to the Far East of Russia, over a distance of 8,675 nautical miles between Mumbai and St. Petersburg. The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route under the EMC will cover approximately 5,600 nautical miles. A large container ship sailing at a cruising speed of 20-25 knots (37-46 km/h) is expected to cover this distance in about 10 to 12 days.

Minister Sonowal, who is on an official visit to Russia, also highlighted the progress of India's Sagarmala program, which includes 802 projects with an investment of more than $65 billion to be implemented by 2035. Of these, 228 projects worth $14.6 billion have been completed, while 260 projects worth $27 billion are currently in progress. Another 314 projects worth $24 billion are at various stages of development.