India has taken a major step towards ensuring safety and resilience in its cooking gas supply chains, with the oil regulator clearing nearly 1,800km of new liquefied petroleum gas pipelines at an estimated investment of ₹7,000 crore.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has authorised three LPG pipeline projects to be developed by GAIL (India) Ltd, stretching across Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Goa.
Once built, these lines will take the "regulator‑authorised common‑carrier" LPG pipeline network from about 7,700km to roughly 9,500 km, increasing its capacity by a fourth.
This is particularly important for a country that imports the bulk of its LPG through coastal terminals and then hauls cylinders inland by road. The pipeline model is infrastructure-heavy but light on the logistics bit.
The projects include a 556‑km line from Cherlapally near Hyderabad to Nagpur, a 611‑km Jhansi–Sitarganj pipeline linking central Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand, and a 633‑km corridor from Shikrapur in Maharashtra to Goa and Hubli in Karnataka.
Add to that the earlier approved 2,757‑km Kandla–Gorakhpur trunk line, and these form the backbone of a national LPG grid, connecting coastal import points to bottling plants and consumption centres across a major chunk of India.
PNGRB, in its statement, doubled down on how pipeline transportation was globally recognised as safer, cheaper and more environment‑friendly than long‑distance road movement for hazardous fuels such as LPG.
Recently, the regulator has been under pressure to reduce the number of LPG tankers on highways after a series of serious accidents. It seems the new authorisations are also part of an agenda to “eliminate the primary movement of LPG by road” to bottling plants.
Beyond road safety, shifting volumes to steel pipelines should cut logistics costs, ease congestion and lower emissions, as per the regulator.
Then, there is the strategic aspect of it all, connected to India’s dependence on imported LPG. Any disruption at coastal terminals or on key highways can quickly ripple through the system.
Pipelines effectively provide an additional layer of resilience because they act as “line‑pack” storage, allowing LPG to remain within the system while product continues to move. That could prove helpful during short‑term supply shocks, extreme weather or demand spikes.
In many parts of India, LPG delivery has transformed from the good old cylinder still that used to arrive by delivery minitruck. Over time, this denser pipeline network is expected to make its way to many more households, especially under‑served rural areas.
