India is one of the founding members of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect

Answer: (a) India to Central Asia to Europe via Iran

Mumbai → Iran’s ports (Bandar Abbas, Chabahar) by sea → rail and road through Iran to the Caspian, Central Asia and Russia → Europe.

The idea

Multimodal transport combines sea, rail and road within one journey. The INSTC uses Iran as the link between India’s sea route and the routes towards Russia and Central Asia. Its branches can use different countries, so a branch and the whole corridor are not the same thing.

Cargo leaves India by sea → Reaches an Iranian port → Moves inland by rail or road → Uses a Caspian crossing or a land branch → Reaches Russia or Central Asia → Connects onward towards European markets

Why the others are wrong

(b) The INSTC avoids China; China’s own scheme is the Belt and Road Initiative.

(c) That describes the Kaladan project and the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway.

(d) Azerbaijan lies on one branch, but the corridor’s spine runs through Iran.

The trap

(d) is half true — Azerbaijan is a member and the western branch runs through it. But no route skips Iran.

Elimination technique

The founding India–Iran–Russia link rules out the China route in (b) and the South-East Asian route in (c). Azerbaijan in (d) is a real western-branch location, so geography alone cannot reject it as imaginary; (a) gives the broader connection through Iran asked here.

Also know

Bandar Abbas faces the Strait of Hormuz, while Chabahar lies on the Gulf of Oman outside that strait. The western INSTC branch passes through Azerbaijan; the eastern branch uses Central Asian land routes. Compare the Suez sea route with the Kaladan project, which links India with Myanmar through Sittwe and the Kaladan river.