Natural gas should come under GST regime, says GAIL chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta
natural gas in the energy mix to 15% by 2030, said GAIL chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta. In an interview to ET's Sanjeev Choudhary, the former finance chief of Indian Oil Corporation, who took over as the chief of India's largest gas marketer and transporter in 2022, said the government should mandate the use of natural gas in refineries and steel making, and make emissions a factor in the merit order for electricity despatch to help gas-based power compete with coal-based supply. He also said natural gas should come under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, production-linked incentive (PLI) should be extended to LNG-powered vehicles and GST on CNG-powered vehicles should be slashed to 5% from 28%, on a par with electric vehicles (EVs). Edited excerpts:
How does the global gas market look?
The global gas market is well supplied and there is no concern about LNG prices. The OPEC+'s arbitrary production cuts, however, have an impact on LNG prices that are linked to crude oil. The situation can correct if the producer group reviewed its decision and took responsible action.
Global LNG export capacity is set to rise significantly over the next few years and that would put pressure on prices.
Is domestic gas demand rising?
There is no major uptick, especially in the power or the fertiliser sector. In city gas, though, there is some increase. Until refineries, steel and power shift to gas in a big way, the domestic demand wouldn't expand significantly.
What can be done to boost gas demand?
Some policy interventions
