Watch | What is the Northern Sea Route and how important is it for India? 

A ship carrying cargo from St. Petersburg takes around 25 days to reach Mumbai. The ship has to pass through the Suez Canal. A man-made marvel, the Suez Canal, is heavily influenced by geopolitical factors, and any disruption can impact global trade significantly.

But over the years, the Arctic ice has been melting at a rate faster than in the past, opening up a new shipping route for India. And the newly proposed Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor, or CVMC, will soon change everything.

Instead of 25 days, ships on this new route will only take 12 days to reach India from Russia. While the harsh weather conditions and limited infrastructure in the Arctic region has made the route dangerous for maritime transportation, this is now changing.

Murmansk, known as the capital of the Arctic region, is seeing a rise in Indian maritime traffic. In the first seven months of this year, India accounted for 35% of the total cargo handled by the Murmansk port. And its interest in the Northern Sea Route is only increasing.

So what is the Northern Sea route, and how important is it for India?

Read the full story: Explained | India and the Northern Sea Route  

Reporting: T. Ramakrishnan (in Murmansk)

Production: Richard Kujur

Videos: Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation

Photos: T. Ramakrishnan