Logistics & Mobility

The headline is that India wants to manufacture shipping containers. The strategic signal is larger: India is beginning to localize a physical layer of global trade infrastructure, with spillovers into steel, coatings, rail freight, ports, cold chain, defence logistics and containerized infrastructure.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest container carrier, has moved its first import shipment as a full train rake through the newly launched Adani ICD Malur near Bengaluru - a milestone for South India's shift from port-centric road haulage to rail-led inland terminals.

Indian Railways is pressing ahead with its Hydrogen for Heritage initiative to deploy 35 hydrogen fuel-cell trains on hill and heritage routes where electrification is impractical. After the Jind–Sonipat pilot crossed 2,500 km of commercial service, the transporter is now chasing lower-cost green hydrogen suppliers and offering offtake guarantees to bring down operating costs.

India's freight decarbonisation has stalled on financing and utilisation risk, not vehicle availability. NITI Aayog's new PACT platform and ZET Marketplace try to pool scattered freight demand into bankable electric-truck deployments - as heavy e-truck numbers rose from 201 in FY25 to 826 in FY26.

At the PM E-DRIVE industry dialogue on 25 September 2026, the Centre sanctioned Rs 776.29 crore to upgrade four national automotive testing agencies - ICAT, ARAI, GARC and NATRAX - for EV, battery and clean-technology work, as electric two-wheeler penetration reached 9.9% in April-August FY27. Adoption is rising, but testing capacity is the qualification gate that decides how fast domestic batteries and power electronics can be certified and scaled.