International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development

This paper examines the evolution, current status, key challenges and emerging opportunities in India’s City Gas Distribution (CGD) sector, and offers a set of policy and industry recommendations to accelerate CGD rollout in a financially sustainable and environmentally meaningful way. Using a mix of policy-document analysis, secondary data from regulatory and industry reports, and comparative literature, the paper highlights (i) the rapid expansion ambitions and regulatory framework driving the sector, (ii) structural constraints — financing, infrastructure, feedstock security and pricing volatility — that dampen project economics, (iii) demand-side and technological opportunities (CNG/LNG for transport, PNG for households and industry, RNG/CBG and LNG bunkering), and (iv) practical policy levers to balance growth, investor returns and energy-transition objectives. The analysis stresses that while CGD networks are critical to India’s aspiration for a larger gas share in the energy mix, success will require durable gas supply contracts, tariff rationalisation, targeted subsidy / viability-gap support for Tier-2/3 regions, and fostering market mechanisms for RNG and small-scale LNG. Key policy suggestions include long-term offtake contracts, phasing exclusivity carefully, pipeline financing innovations, and integration of CGD planning with urban and waste-management policies.