PNG Drive 3.0 targets 50 lakh new connections, shifts focus to gas network utilisation
The third phase of the National PNG Drive would be in force until end of fiscal year 2027.
The Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated National PNG Drive 3.0 on Thursday, aiming to boost the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) for households across the nation. This phase of the drive will persist until the conclusion of the fiscal year 2027-28, with a target to establish 50 lakh new domestic PNG connections, convert 40 lakh existing connections into active consumers, and onboard an additional 50 lakh domestic PNG registrations.
The second phase of the drive, which ran from January 1 to June 30, 2026, managed to add approximately 13.4 lakh billed connections and generated over 15.3 lakh domestic PNG registrations. Notably, there was a significant surge in adoption during this phase, with average daily additions of domestic PNG connections rising by 43% to 6,690 from 4,702, and daily additions of billed consumers increasing more than two-and-a-half times to 7,392 from 2,781.
The third phase of the drive will concentrate on optimizing the utilization of existing city-gas infrastructure. The government also intends to expedite PNG adoption in newly connected regions, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas. As per the PNGRB, about 6.9 lakh inch-kilometers of pipeline infrastructure has been laid across the country, comprising roughly 2.5 lakh inch-kilometers of steel pipelines and 4.42 lakh inch-kilometers of MDPE pipelines. This network has the capacity to accommodate around 1.3 crore domestic PNG connections.
In a social media post, Puri expressed that this initiative will bolster India's aspiration to increment the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy mix from the current 6%, while offering a cleaner, dependable, and economical energy source.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
