The story so far: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), along with city-gas distributors and oil-marketing companies, on Thursday (October 1, 2026) launched the National PNG Drive 3.0 with the target of enrolling 50 lakh domestic-piped natural gas (D-PNG) connections by the end of the fiscal year 2027. The broader objective is to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas, facilitate transition from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to PNG and further ensure the existing infrastructure for PNG is effectively utilised to attain these objectives.
What is the push for piped natural gas all about?
The government’s objective for promoting piped natural gas across consumer segments primarily rested on spurring access to cleaner fuels and increasing the role of natural gas in the national energy basket.
This directly aligns with India’s broader net-zero commitments and sustainable development goals, as well as ensuring access to cleaner, reliable and sustainable energy, it had stated.
The PNG Drives therefore were conceived as a structured intervention that sought to bridge the gap between network creation and consumer adoption, two imperative pillars that were to expand the adoption of piped gas ecosystem.
Transitioning to piped natural gas received a further impetus during the West Asia crisis with varied government orders that sought to expedite potential transition.
This was primarily aimed at easing off pressure on LPG, supplies of which were bothered because of the conflict spanning across the energy route, Strait of Hormuz.
What is Drive 3.0 all about?
The National PNG Drive 3.0 is not only targeting to add 50 lakh new domestic-PNG connections but also to convert 40 lakh connections into active users and register another 50 lakh users.
As on June 30, India has 1.74 crore PNG consumers of which 1.15 crore are billed consumers.
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