New Delhi, October 2: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has launched National PNG Drive 3.0 with a target of adding 50 lakh new domestic piped natural gas connections by March 31, 2027, as India seeks to expand household access to natural gas.
The drive, which will run from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, also targets converting 40 lakh registered consumers into active PNG users and securing another 50 lakh domestic PNG registrations.
PNGRB also launched MyPNG, a unified national digital consumer portal aimed at streamlining PNG-related services, improving access to information and strengthening interactions between consumers and City Gas Distribution (CGD) companies.
The initiatives were launched on October 1 during PNGRB’s 20th Foundation Day celebrations in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal, senior government officials and industry representatives.
National PNG Drive 3.0 follows the previous edition, under which around 12.10 lakh new domestic PNG connections and 15.31 lakh domestic PNG registrations were recorded during the six-month period from January to June 2026.
The pace of daily domestic PNG additions increased from 4,702 to around 7,000 during the period, while daily additions of billed consumers rose from around 2,781 to around 7,500, according to the government.
The latest drive comes as India seeks to increase the share of natural gas in its primary energy basket from the current level of around 6 per cent.
Nearly the entire country has now been authorised for City Gas Distribution, while approximately 35,000 km of natural gas pipelines have been authorised, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Speaking at the event, Puri highlighted India’s efforts to strengthen energy security and referred to the ₹84,084 crore approved outlay for the Samudra Manthan scheme and ₹23,731 crore for GOBARdhan.
He also said the opening of 1 million sq km of previously restricted sedimentary basins had helped expand opportunities for domestic hydrocarbon exploration and gas availability.
Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal said the success of gas infrastructure should increasingly be measured not merely by the length of pipelines laid but by actual gas consumption, utilisation and the pace at which household PNG connections increase.
Mittal also urged CGD entities to develop special schemes that could reduce cost-recovery timelines from 10-15 years to 2-3 years.
PNGRB also highlighted its National Hydrocarbon Infrastructure Monitoring System, which integrates infrastructure, administrative, transport, geographical and satellite data on a common digital platform to support monitoring, planning and regulatory oversight.
The regulator also presented the PNGRB Excellence Awards 2026 to performers across City Gas Distribution networks, natural gas pipelines and petroleum product pipelines for operational excellence, safety standards and infrastructure delivery.
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