An investment of about $60 billion which is more than Rs 4 lakh crore, is being made in the gas infrastructure which includes laying of pipelines, terminals, gas fields said Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan. 

 

He said that the country is moving towards the gas-based economy, which is not only clean and efficient fuel, but will also help in reducing the country’s dependence on imported crude oil. 

 

Pradhan called upon the CGD companies to also invest in the biomass-based plants to produce Compressed Bio-gas, using agriculture residues, forest produce, city waste and Gobar. He said that 500 such plants are already being set up, and the target is to reach 5,000 such plants. 

 

In another development, expanding the reach of environment friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in various areas, Dharmendra Pradhan today dedicated 42 CNG stations and 3 City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas to the service of the community. 

 

Torrent Gas has the authorization to lay City Gas Distribution network in 32 districts across 7 states and one UT. These CNG stations are located across various states, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Maharashtra, 6 in Gujarat, 4 in Punjab and 5 each in Telangana and Rajasthan. The City Gate Stations include one each in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan called upon all CGD agencies to grow into the Comprehensive Energy Retailers. 

 

He said that the government has visualized that consumers, as per their purchasing capacity and their choice of fuel, should be able to buy any type of fuel from the retail outlet - be it petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG or electric charging. 

 

He also said that the government wants to supply fuel through the mobile dispensers so that consumers can get the fuel at their doorstep, as per their convenience. The minister said that the strategy is being made to expand the battery swapping facilities also. The minister advocated adopting the digital platforms on a large scale, in every aspect of the transaction.

 

Pradhan said that the development of CGD network in India is in line with the vision of our Prime Minister to achieve the COP-21 Climate Change goals set for 2030. In the Solar energy sector, India has already become the role model. 

 

Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said, "In India's quest to transform into a gas-based economy, establishment and augmentation of distribution networks is pivotal in order to ensure smooth transition towards the enhanced usage of PNG and CNG."

 

"Number of CNG stations has increased to more than double in the country, from 938 CNG stations in 2014 to around 2,300 CNG stations in 2020. Together with the existing CNG stations and the ones expected under 9th and 10th rounds, India is looking at a robust infrastructure of about 10,000 CNG stations in coming years," added Kapoor.