



Mint Explainer: Why is India’s natural gas consumption falling despite the government’s push?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Despite the government’s stated policy goal of increasing the share of natural gas in India’s energy basket, consumption of the environmentally friendly fuel fell 8.6% annually in the April-October period of FY26, according to data from the petroleum planning and analysis cell (PPAC). In absolute terms, consumption declined to 40,068 million metric standard cubic metres (mmscm) during the first seven months of FY26, compared to 43,583 mmscm over the same period in FY25.
Mint takes a close look at why natural gas consumption is declining, and how the government's plan to increase its share in India's energy consumption basket from 6% at present to 15% by 2030 is likely to shape up. India’s natural gas consumption has weakened so far in FY26after seeing strong demand in FY25. In October 2025, about 5,722 mmscm of natural gas was consumed, 14.58% lower than 6,699 mmscm in October 2024.
A total of 71,314 mmscmd was consumed in all of FY25, 5.6% higher than the 67,512 mmscmd consumed in FY24 amid high demand from the power sector. India’s key sectors for natural gas consumption are the fertilizer (30.7% of consumption in FY25), refinery (12.6%) and power (13.8%) sectors, as well as the city gas distribution (CGD) network (20.9%), which carries compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles and piped natural gas (PNG) for homes. Experts said the primary reason for the drop is the almost complete lack of demand from the power sector, owing to a prolonged monsoon and power demand remaining below expected levels.
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