The government on Tuesday approved an incentive scheme to promote domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections, aimed at accelerating the expansion of clean and affordable piped cooking gas to households across the country.

The scheme will come into effect from September 1, 2026, and is designed to encourage city gas distribution (CGD) companies to activate unbilled connections and expand PNG networks into new areas, the government said.

Under the scheme, eligible city gas distribution (CGD) companies will receive an additional allocation of 200 standard cubic metres (SCM) of lower-priced, domestically produced APM gas for every incremental billed domestic PNG connection above the threshold set for their respective geographical areas.

The scheme will be implemented in two tranches over six months. The additional domestic gas allocation will allow CGD companies to substitute costlier liquefied natural gas (LNG) currently procured for their CNG transport business, reducing their overall gas-sourcing costs.

The resulting savings are expected to reduce the payback period on capital expenditure for domestic PNG connections from around 10 years to about three years, providing CGD companies with a stronger financial incentive to accelerate household PNG connections.

India currently has around 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections.