Gas Based Economy
The Government of India seeks to increase the share of natural gas in India’s commercial energy basket from 6.3 percent in 2019 to 15 percent by 2030 to make India a ‘gas-based economy’. To reach the target of 15 percent, annual growth in consumption of natural gas has to increase from less than 5 percent in the last decade (less than 3 percent in 2019) to well over 10 percent in the next decade. India’s natural gas consumption in 2019-20 was about 175 mmscmd. To increase consumption to 600 mmscmd by 2030, the annual growth rate in consumption has to be more than 13 percent. This is not an impossible target. In the period 2008-2018, natural gas consumption in China grew by over 13 percent. Behind this double-digit growth rate for natural gas consumption in China was an annual average economic growth rate of over 8 percent, regulatory reform for transparency and flexibility along with focussed policy mandates.