India Targets 4 Million New Piped Gas Connections This Fiscal Year
· India · LiveMint, Wall Street Journal
India’s Centre has announced a target to triple the number of new household piped natural gas (PNG) users to 4 million this fiscal year. Anil Kumar Jain, chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, said city gas distribution companies should report not only connection counts but also billed and gasified users. As of the end of March 2026, 6.2 million of the 16.9 million existing PNG connections lacked active gas supply. Starting 1 September, the petroleum ministry will award an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically produced gas for each incremental billed PNG connection above a set threshold, to replace more expensive LNG used for vehicle CNG. The incentive is expected to lower sourcing costs for city gas firms while increasing domestic gas consumption. As of 30 June, there are 17.4 million PNG connections in total, 11.5 million of which are supplied, and last year about 13.4 lakh were gasified.
Why it matters
The policy is aimed at reducing India’s reliance on LPG imports from West Asia amid supply disruptions and lowering costs for city gas operators, which could translate to more affordable cooking gas for households.
Read the original report — LiveMint
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