Since May 2014, the City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network in India has expanded from 34 Geographical Areas (GAs) to 300 GAs after successful completion of 11th round of PNGRB bidding, covering around 88% of the country’s geographical area and 98% of its population. In order to further expand the reach of natural gas in the country, PNGRB is already in the process of inviting electronic bids from interested parties for 12th CGD bidding round offering 7 Geographical Areas (GA) covering five North East states viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland & Sikkim and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

After completion of upcoming 12th CGD bidding round, City Gas Distribution network will have its presence in almost all parts of the country, providing access to cleaner cooking fuel to households, industrial and commercial facilities & a green fuel for transportation. The push for City Gas expansion is a part of GOI’s plan to reduce emission intensity of GDP (Carbon emission per unit of GDP) by 33%- 35% of 2005 level in the country by 2030 and transform India into a gas-based economy by increasing the share of natural gas in India’s primary energy mix from 5.78% to 15% by 2030.

The CGD sector has been growing at very good pace and promises to emerge as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country. With its latent potential coupled with multiple programs and initiatives being taken by Government of India to bolster city gas demand, CGD sector seems well poised to take centre stage as a priority sector in the country in foreseeable future.

`CGD Helpdesk’ name was first phrased during National Conclave on ‘Emerging Opportunities in Natural Gas Sector’ held on 23rd January 2020 in New Delhi to sensitize stakeholders about a host of opportunities emerging with expansion of CGD Sector. This conclave was co-chaired by the then Hon'ble Minister, P&NG and Steel along with 13 State Ministers. During the interaction with various shareholders, it was decided that a centralised Helpdesk would be created in FIPI for resolving various issues being faced by CGD entities for expeditious development of CGD infrastructure in the country.

CGD Helpdesk portal was started in Year 2020, under guidance from MoP&NG at the office of FIPI, with an aim to extend a helping hand to all CGD network operators in the form of a centralised platform for escalating their Government Department / Ministry related issues at the level of MoP&NG for required intervention. Since its inception in December 2020, CGD Helpdesk has not only been playing a very crucial role in prompt resolution of various Govt. permission related issues, but also successfully organising meetings with various stakeholders of CGD Industry for better coordination among them.

Going forward, CGD Helpdesk further aims to keep evolving with time so as to tackle forthcoming challenges in CGD industry and play a pivotal role towards building a robust ecosystem for faster and smoother growth of CGD Sector in the country.