Centre taking steps to ease container movement at JNPA amidst West Asia crisis

The Indian government has implemented measures to ease container movement at JNPA and address global supply chain challenges amid the West Asia crisis.

The Union government is taking steps to ease container movement at JNPA amidst rising global supply chain challenges due to the West Asia crisis, an official statement said on Friday.

The statement further said that Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the global supply chain challenges with EXIM industry stakeholders.

According to the statement, rail evacuation, waiver of handling charges, Green Channels and trailer pooling among measures are rolled out to sustain Ease of Doing Business (EODB).

The statement pointed out that the government of India has initiated a coordinated ''Whole of Government'' response to address concerns raised by the EXIM community.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal held a high-level meeting with representatives of the All India Liquid Bulk Importers and Exporters Association to review the evolving situation and discuss immediate and long-term measures to ease operational bottlenecks for smooth and swift cargo movement.

The meeting focused on better container movement as the Gulf-bound containers have also been rerouted to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), placing additional pressure on port and logistics infrastructure.

Responding swiftly to the situation, the statement said JNPA implemented a series of operational interventions to relieve terminals and expedite cargo evacuation.

''Containers were evacuated through rail movement even to nearby Container Freight Stations (CFSs) equipped with railway sidings, while simultaneous scanning of double containers was introduced to reduce processing time,'' it said.

To provide relief to trade stakeholders, Intern-Terminal Railway Handling Operation (ITRHO) charges and Change of Mode of Transport charges were waived, the statement said.

Port terminals also extended waivers and discounts on ground rent charges on a case-by-case basis.

According to the statement, dedicated green channels for empty trailers were established across terminals to facilitate faster turnaround.

In another major initiative, leading CFS operators pooled nearly 100 trailers to lift entire container stacks, enabling the evacuation of long-pending and buried containers from congested yards. These coordinated efforts have significantly improved yard management, reducing the number of relatively old containers lying at terminals.

As part of a long-term resilience strategy, JNPA has also outlined a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen logistics preparedness and future cargo handling capabilities.

The measures include intensified efforts by CFS operators and transporters to increase driver availability, enhanced cargo evacuation through railways, and engagement with motor driving training schools to build a larger pool of trained trailer drivers, the statement said.