National PNG Drive 3.0

National PNG Drive 3.0 aims to expand clean cooking access and India’s Gas Economy. Read here to learn more.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) launched National PNG Drive 3.0 on 1 October 2026, coinciding with its 20th Foundation Day.

Running until 31 March 2027, the initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of Piped Natural Gas (PNG), activate unused connections and maximise the utilisation of India’s existing city gas distribution infrastructure.

What is National PNG Drive 3.0?

The initiative promotes the transition from Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders to Domestic Piped Natural Gas (D-PNG), while expanding access to piped gas in new areas.

Its three principal targets for the campaign period are:

• 50 lakh new domestic PNG connections.
• 40 lakh conversions of unbilled connections into active users.
• 50 lakh additional domestic PNG registrations.

The drive builds on National PNG Drive 2.0, conducted from January to June 2026, which recorded 12.10 lakh new connections, 13.37 lakh billed consumers and 15.31 lakh registrations.

Key Features and Policy Support

1. Better utilisation of existing infrastructure

• India has laid approximately 6.88 lakh inch-kilometres of pipeline infrastructure, with the potential to support around 1.3 crore additional connections.
• The initiative prioritises activating connections that have not started receiving billed gas supply, alongside expanding coverage in semi-urban and rural areas.

2. Incentives for city gas distribution companies

• The government’s Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic PNG Connections, effective from 1 September 2026, offers eligible City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities an additional allocation of 200 standard cubic metres (SCM) of lower-priced, domestically produced APM gas for each qualifying incremental billed domestic connection above the prescribed threshold for a geographical area.
• The additional allocation can substitute for costlier imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) used in the companies’ CNG transport segment, reducing overall sourcing costs and improving the commercial viability of household connections.
• The government estimates that this could reduce the payback period for connection-related capital expenditure from around ten years to approximately three years.

3. Digital consumer services

• The launch of the MyPNG Portal is intended to streamline access to information and improve interactions between consumers and gas distributors.
• Such digital services can help households track applications, address service-related issues and make the transition to piped gas more accessible.

4. Regulatory and affordability measures

• Accelerated approvals for pipeline infrastructure, standardised Right-of-Way charges and efforts to rationalise state-level VAT on natural gas complement the expansion drive.
• These measures aim to reduce infrastructure delays and improve the affordability of PNG for households.

Why is the Shift from LPG to PNG Important?

1. Household convenience and safety

• PNG is supplied through a pipeline, eliminating the need to book, store and replace LPG cylinders.
• Metered billing allows households to pay for the gas consumed. Pipeline delivery can also improve convenience in high-rise buildings and densely populated urban areas, although safe installation, maintenance and leak detection remain essential.

2. Energy security

• India’s natural gas share in its primary energy mix remains around 6%, and the government seeks to expand the role of gas in the energy system.
• Greater use of domestically produced natural gas can support diversification, but the overall security benefit depends on domestic production, import exposure, infrastructure reliability and competing demand from industry and transport.

3. Environmental benefits

• Natural gas generally produces lower combustion emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of energy than coal or oil and can reduce certain pollutants compared with some conventional fuels. PNG can therefore contribute to cleaner household energy use.
• However, natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Methane leakage during extraction, processing and transportation can erode its climate advantage.
• Expanding PNG should complement, rather than replace, the long-term development of renewable electricity, sustainable biogas and other low-carbon energy options.

4. Progress towards development goals

The initiative supports aspects of:

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
• SDG 13: Climate Action, provided lifecycle emissions are controlled.

5. Geopolitical resilience

• Disruptions in West Asia and maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz can affect international energy markets and supply chains.
• A shift towards PNG may reduce household dependence on LPG-cylinder logistics, but it does not automatically eliminate geopolitical vulnerability: natural gas supplies and prices can also be affected by global LNG markets and regional disruptions.

Major Challenges

• High upfront costs: Pipeline extension, household installation and metering require investment. The economics may be unfavourable in low-density settlements.
• The connection-consumption gap: A connection does not guarantee active use. Households may retain LPG because of cost, supply concerns, incomplete installations or limited awareness.
• Uneven geographical coverage: Existing infrastructure is concentrated in areas where distribution is commercially viable, leaving remote and dispersed communities harder to serve.
• Price competitiveness: PNG must remain affordable relative to LPG, especially for low-income households. Taxes, distribution charges and fluctuations in gas prices affect consumer choices.
• Import dependence: Imported LNG can expose the gas system to international price volatility, limiting the benefits of switching fuels if supply costs rise.
• Methane leakage and fossil-fuel lock-in: Poorly maintained infrastructure can release methane, while long-lived gas investments may compete with future low-carbon alternatives.
• Implementation capacity: The ambitious targets require coordination among PNGRB, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, CGD companies, local authorities and consumers.

Way Forward

• Prioritise active connections: Focus on installation completion, timely gas supply, transparent billing and responsive customer service rather than measuring success only through registrations.
• Target infrastructure investment: Expand networks according to local demand, settlement density and cost-effectiveness, with suitable alternatives for areas where pipeline connections are impractical.
• Protect affordability: Improve price transparency, review avoidable charges and ensure that incentives for distributors translate into tangible benefits for consumers.
• Strengthen supply resilience: Diversify gas sources, improve storage and pipeline reliability, and expand sustainable domestic production.
• Control methane emissions: Adopt leak detection and repair programmes, robust safety inspections and transparent emissions monitoring.
• Integrate low-carbon alternatives: Develop biogas and compressed biogas where feasible and plan gas infrastructure in a manner consistent with India’s longer-term decarbonisation pathway.
• Measure outcomes: Track active billed connections, sustained consumption, service reliability, household affordability and lifecycle emissions alongside the number of new registrations.

Conclusion

National PNG Drive 3.0 seeks to transform India’s existing gas-distribution network into a more widely used household energy service. Its success will depend on whether infrastructure expansion is accompanied by affordable supply, reliable connections, consumer trust and effective regulation.

PNG can support cleaner cooking and diversify household energy access, but a durable energy transition must also reduce methane leakage and progressively integrate genuinely low-carbon alternatives.