'One Nation, One Grid, One Tariff' — "Noteworthy Reform," Says PM Modi On Unified Gas Pipeline Tariff Move

India has taken another step towards becoming a gas-based economy.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has introduced the implementation of a unified tariff, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called "a noteworthy reform in the energy and natural gas sector."

The regulator amended its regulations to allow unified tariff for natural gas pipelines.

The downstream regular notified a tariff of Rs 73.93 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal unit) and three tariff zones based on the distance from the source of gas — up to 300 km, between 300 km and 1,200 km, and beyond 1,200 km.

The zonal tariffs will come into force from 1 April.

The Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, took to Twitter on 30 March to say that the "much awaited reform in natural gas sector" is in line with the objective to take economic development to all parts of the country.

The move "will help India to achieve the ‘One Nation One Grid One Tariff’ model & also propel the gas markets in distant areas," Puri said in his tweet.

The tariff in India's North East is set to reduce by a quarter, and in the East it will be halved, Puri added.

The Government of India aims to signficantly raise the consumption of natural gas in the country, increasing its share in the overall energy basket from 6.2 per cent now to 15 per cent by 2030.