Army, CGD firms to complete PNG connections at 41 establishments by end of FY 2026-27

New Delhi: The Indian Army and six city gas distribution (CGD) companies have set the end of FY 2026-27 as the deadline for completing piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure and connections at 41 Army establishments, according to a statement issued on Thursday. Eight Army stations signed letters of understanding with the six companies at an event in New Delhi, covering more than 20,000 households.

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The letters were signed at the Indian Army PNG Transition Webinar 2026, held at the Manekshaw Centre under the theme "Sena Sampark – Nirantar Urja, Nirantar Suraksha." Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) organised the programme on behalf of the CGD industry, in association with the Indian Army and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

Six distributors on board

The participating CGD entities are BPCL, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), Think Gas, Torrent Gas, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Central U.P. Gas Limited (CUGL).

Rahul Tandon, business head, gas, at BPCL, said the initiative "brings together the Army, regulator and CGD industry towards a common objective of enabling a structured transition to PNG". He said BPCL "is committed to facilitating this collective effort and supporting the Army through the transition journey."

Twelve establishments already active

Of the 41 establishments identified for the first phase, 12 are already participating and another 29 are being taken up, the statement said. The Army has committed to carrying the initiative forward in what the statement described as a structured and time-bound manner.

The work will cover network readiness, statutory permissions, regulatory requirements, infrastructure development, retrofitting and customer service, according to the statement. A PNG handbook was released at the programme as a reference for Army establishments undertaking the conversion.

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Ahead of PNG Drive 3.0

The statement said the initiative comes ahead of the launch of PNG Drive 3.0 from October 1. PNGRB runs the national PNG Drive as a time-bound push on CGD rollout across domestic PNG, commercial PNG and compressed natural gas (CNG) stations. The second edition ran from January and was extended to June 30 this year. As of March 31, infrastructure had been developed for 6.5 lakh connections, with close to 5.29 lakh domestic consumers and 2,457 commercial consumers connected, and 11 new geographical areas brought onto the natural gas pipeline network, taking the total to 250.

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