India, Aug. 18 -- The Government of India has issued a release:

The Government of India has today approved the an Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic PNG Connections, a major initiative aimed at bringing clean, safe and affordable piped cooking gas to households across the country. Effective from 1 September 2026, the Scheme is designed to fast-track the expansion of active PNG connections ensuring that more families can start using piped natural gas in their kitchens at the earliest.

How this will benefit the common people

Currently, there are 1.74 crore Domestic PNG connections across the country. The new Scheme directly incentivises the City Gas Distribution (CGD) companies to actively convert unbilled connections into working gas connections, and expand the PNG network to new areas.

Benefits of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for households

Piped Natural Gas offers households a safer, cleaner and more convenient alternative to LPG cylinders and traditional cooking fuels:

Government's continued push for PNG expansion

This Scheme builds on a series of steps the Government has taken over the past few months to accelerate PNG expansion and make the transition to clean cooking fuel easier for households:

The APM/NAPM Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic PNG Connections is a major initiative in this direction, further strengthening the Government's sustained efforts to expand household access to clean, safe and affordable piped cooking gas across the country.

Scheme structure

Under the Scheme, eligible CGD entities will be allocated an additional 200 SCM of domestically-produced, lower-priced (APM) gas for every incremental billed Domestic PNG connection achieved during the performance period, over and above the Threshold Level determined for the respective Geographical Area (GA). The Scheme will be implemented over two Tranches spanning six months. The additional gas allocation will substitute the costlier Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that CGD entities currently procure for their Compressed Natural Gas (Transport) segment, thereby lowering their overall gas-sourcing costs.

The resulting cost savings are expected to shorten the payback period for capital expenditure incurred on D-PNG connections from around 10 years to approximately 3 years - giving CGD entities a strong financial incentive to expand household PNG connectivity more rapidly, bringing the benefits of clean, safe and affordable piped cooking gas to a larger number of Indian households in the months ahead.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.