NIRVIK Scheme & ECGC Export Credit Insurance: 90% Cover and Current Status

What Was NIRVIK?

NIRVIK-commonly expanded as Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana-was announced in September 2019 as an enhanced Export Credit Insurance Scheme implemented through ECGC.

The Government's 2019 policy announcement increased export-credit insurance protection for banks from the earlier average level of around 60% to 90% for principal and eligible unpaid interest. The objective was to give banks greater comfort in extending pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit and to improve credit availability for exporters, especially MSMEs.

The initiative also aimed to reduce capital and provisioning pressure for lending banks and encourage them to pass financing benefits to exporters through more competitive export-credit terms.

Current ECGC Export Credit Insurance Framework

The current framework is operated through ECGC's live export-credit insurance products rather than through a separate public application portal branded only as NIRVIK.

A major current product is the Whole Turnover Export Credit Insurance for Banks (WT-ECIB), through which ECGC indemnifies participating banks against specified risks in export-credit portfolios.

ECGC also maintains exporter policies covering commercial and political risks relating to overseas buyers, letters of credit and other export transactions.

Enhanced 90% Export Credit Insurance Cover

ECGC has progressively expanded enhanced 90% cover for eligible bank export-credit accounts.

The precise coverage percentage, account limit, borrower category and premium must be checked under the current ECGC product or bank cover being used.

Collateral-Free Export Credit Support for MSEs

From 1 July 2025, ECGC introduced a collateral-free cover under WT-ECIB to encourage banks to extend export-credit working-capital facilities to Micro and Small Enterprise exporters that are unable to provide collateral or a third-party guarantee.

The current measure supports eligible export-credit working-capital limits up to ₹10 crore without additional premium under the prescribed ECGC conditions.

How Banks Benefit

• Higher insurance protection against eligible export-credit defaults.
• Lower credit-risk exposure for covered accounts.
• Potential capital and provisioning benefits under applicable regulatory norms.
• Greater confidence in lending to exporters and MSMEs.
• Simplified claims and underwriting procedures under ECGC's current systems.

ECGC has also simplified Short-Term ECIB claim procedures and expanded the value of claims that can be processed under simplified documentation.

How Exporters Benefit

• Improved access to pre-shipment and post-shipment bank credit.
• Potentially lower risk cost for banks financing eligible exporters.
• Greater willingness by banks to extend working capital to smaller exporters.
• Support for exploring new buyers and export markets.
• Access to ECGC insurance against specified commercial and political risks.

Claims and Settlement

Where an insured export-credit account or insured export transaction suffers a covered loss, the bank or exporter may lodge a claim with ECGC in accordance with the relevant policy terms.

Claims are not automatic. The policyholder must comply with conditions relating to premium, declarations, reporting of overdue payments, credit limits, recovery action and documentation.

Current ECGC reforms have simplified claim settlement for specified Short-Term ECIB claims and increased the value threshold for simplified processing.

How an Exporter Can Obtain ECGC-Backed Credit Support

1. Approach a bank for pre-shipment or post-shipment export credit.
2. Ask whether the bank has ECGC WT-ECIB cover and whether your account falls within the enhanced-cover category.
3. Provide the bank's required export, KYC, financial, GST, IEC and credit documents.
4. Review the sanction letter for interest rate, security, margin, repayment and ECGC-related conditions.
5. If buyer-risk insurance is also required, review ECGC's exporter policies separately.
6. Use ECGC's current client portal or contact ECGC for product-specific insurance applications.

Documents Commonly Required for Export Credit

The exact documentation depends on the bank and ECGC product, but exporters may commonly need:

• Importer Exporter Code (IEC);
• PAN and GST registration, where applicable;
• business constitution and registration documents;
• bank statements and financial statements;
• export orders, contracts or invoices;
• buyer details and credit information;
• existing loan and security documents; and
• ECGC policy or declaration documents where applicable.

Key Points to Remember

• NIRVIK originated as the 2019 enhanced export-credit insurance initiative.
• The current operational framework is through ECGC's live WT-ECIB and exporter insurance products.
• 90% cover remains available for specified eligible export-credit accounts.
• From 1 October 2025, eligible loans up to ₹50 crore can receive 90% WT-ECIB cover without incremental premium.
• Collateral-free WT-ECIB support for eligible MSE export credit up to ₹10 crore has been available from 1 July 2025.
• There is no universally guaranteed fixed 7.6% interest rate under the current framework.
• Exporters should verify the latest ECGC product terms and their bank's sanction conditions.