PNG Drive 3.0: Piped natural gas (PNG) is set to reach the kitchens of 5 million new homes throughout the country. On October 1, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched National PNG Drive 3.0, a central government initiative designed to boost PNG availability as an alternative to LPG.
Beyond connecting 5 million new households to PNG, this campaign also aims to reactivate approximately 4 million inactive connections. Running through March 31, 2027, the initiative emphasizes expanding PNG usage and maximizing the existing gas pipeline infrastructure.
Three main objectives of PNG Drive 3.0
This campaign targets both new customers and households with existing but unused PNG connections.
50 lakh new domestic PNG connections
Reactivation of 40 lakh inactive connections
50 lakh new PNG registrations
Capacity for 1.30 crore additional connections nationwide
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, PNGRB, city gas distribution companies, government oil companies, and related organizations are collaborating to execute this campaign.
According to Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the country has already laid 6,87,966 inch kilometers of gas pipeline.
The current network and its planned expansion can potentially support approximately 13 million additional PNG connections. The government is prioritizing PNG expansion in semi-urban and rural regions.
Why is the government promoting PNG usage?
The government seeks to increase natural gas’s share in India’s energy portfolio. Natural gas currently represents roughly 6% of India’s primary energy mix.
PNG Drive 3.0 is encouraging the use of piped gas instead of LPG at the domestic level and also emphasizing more efficient use of the existing gas network.
What did the previous campaign PNG Drive 2.0 achieve?
The government has previously launched PNG Drive 2.0, which provided 1.21 million new connections. A total of 1.33 million connections have been activated for billing. Approximately 1.53 million registrations were received for new connections. During the campaign, a 43% increase was recorded in the number of daily new domestic PNG connections and a 166% increase in the number of consumers who initiated billing.
Now focus on villages and small towns
With PNG Drive 3.0, the government aims to build on the momentum gained from the previous campaign. The focus will be on connecting new consumers to the gas network, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.