Seeking to further fuel its push for adoption of piped natural gas (PNG), the government on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) evening announced eligible city-gas distributors (CGDs) would be allocated an additional 200 standard cubic metres (SCM) of the lower-priced Administered Price Mechanism (APM) natural gas for every incremental billed domestic-PNG connection they scale, effective September 1.

Further, the government informed that this would be “over and above” the threshold level determined for the respective geographical area.

The objective here is to help CGDs offset their LNG-sourcing costs – by allocating additional APM gas – centred on accelerating domestic PNG connections. At present, the price of LNG continues to stay elevated because of the episodic tensions in West Asia.

The natural gas produced by India’s upstream majors, OIL and ONGC, from their conventional fields is referred to as APM gas.

The incentivising mechanism would be implemented over two tranches spanning six months.

“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,” read the government statement.