India on Thursday offered CNG retailing licenses in seven areas mostly in the North East and J&K for bidding in the latest round, as the government looks to expand the reach of natural gas in the country.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) offered eight geographical areas (GAs) under the 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piping the fuel to household kitchens and industries.The GAs put out for bidding include Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Launching the bid round, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said after this round, gas will be taken to islands which are the only uncovered areas.
Currently, there are 300 authorised GAs by PNGRB covering 88 per cent of the country's geographical area and 98 per cent of its
population.
