Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, flagged off India’s first fleet of electric heavy trucks with swappable batteries at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA). With this rollout, JNPA has emerged as the port with the largest electric truck fleet in the country, strengthening its focus on sustainable and efficient logistics.
The ceremony also marked the commissioning of a heavy-duty battery swapping station, designed to support the port’s transition to cleaner operations. JNPA has set an ambitious target of converting 90 percent of its 600-vehicle internal heavy truck fleet to electric by December 2026. Currently, 50 trucks have been inducted, with the fleet expected to reach 80 by year-end.
The initiative aligns with India’s broader decarbonisation and energy transition goals, supporting the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, Maritime India Vision 2030, and Green Ports initiative. It is expected to cut emissions, reduce noise and particulate pollution, and enhance efficiency across cargo movement corridors.
During the event, an MoU was signed between JNPA and the Isaac Centre for Public Policy at Ashoka University, aimed at developing a reference framework for tariff determination through cost and port benchmarking across cargo types and commodities.
As India’s largest container port, handling nearly half of the country’s container trade, JNPA’s transition to EV trucks sets a benchmark for sustainable logistics under PM Gati Shakti and the National Logistics Policy, offering a model for other ports to replicate.