On Thursday, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced measures to ease the pressure on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. During an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in the region, Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma highlighted the government's commitment to promoting the expansion of piped natural gas (PNG) connections across the country.

Sharma emphasized that the Indian government has implemented several initiatives to encourage the adoption of PNG connections, which is crucial for reducing reliance on LPG. She reminded attendees that the government had instructed states to promote PNG expansion through business facilitation measures. In this context, she noted that an order had been issued stating that if state governments support the expansion of PNG, an additional 10% of commercial LPG would be made available.

According to Sharma, several states have already benefited from this policy. She further mentioned that approximately eight states have received additional allocations, and applications from three states are currently under consideration. Highlighting recent advancements in increasing access to PNG, Sharma reported a significant rise in new connections and registrations over the past month, with around 333,000 PNG connections established. Of these, nearly 290,000 were new connections, and approximately 361,000 new registrations were received.

This initiative to enhance PNG connections comes at a time when the government is striving to diversify energy access and manage domestic LPG demand amid geopolitical uncertainties affecting global energy markets.