Dharmendra Pradhan unveils India’s first CNG bus which can run 1000 kms in one fill
New Delhi, December 24, 2019: In a major step towards making India a gas based economy and making CNG as the eco-friendly option for long distance transport in the country, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, unveiled India’s first long distance CNG bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, which can travel around 1000 kms in a single fill. The project has been executed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the largest CNG distribution company of India and has been achieved through pioneering design of Type IV Composite Cylinders in buses replacing traditional very heavy Type-I Carbon Steel cylinders.
Also present on the occasion were Dr. M.M. Kutty, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Gajendra Singh, Chairman, IGL & Director (Marketing), GAIL (India) Ltd., Mr. Manoj Jain, Director (Business Development), GAIL (India) Ltd., Mr. D.K. Saraaf, Chairman, PNGRB, Mr. Manoj Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Mr. E.S. Ranganathan, Managing Director, IGL, Mr. Amit Garg, Director (Commercial), IGL, Mr. Manoj Chugh, President, Mahindra Group Public Affairs, fleet owners, senior government officials and media persons.
Lauding the initiative, Shri Pradhan described it as a milestone in ease of living for the people of country. He said that these CNG buses are being run on pilot basis, but soon they will be scaled on commercial basis. “Delhi has witnessed revolution in shift towards cleaner, gas based fuels. Over 500 CNG stations are operating in Delhi NCR today and about 12 lakh piped natural gas connections have been provided. Over 1,000 PNG connections are being provided daily in the NCR. Long haul CNG buses originating from Delhi to other locations will further drive this shift towards cleaner gas based fuels. This will improve overall ease of living of people by mitigating the problem of air pollution, ensuring a cleaner environment and reducing waiting time at CNG stations.”, Shri Pradhan said.
He said that the Government wants to have Green corridor around the national capital, with the buses from here to Chandigarh, Dehradun, Agra and Jaipur running on CNG. Congratulating the agencies involved in the long distance CNG bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, he said that cost of such cylinders should be brought down, and economies of scale used to make them more popular and acceptable.
Shri Pradhan said that India is not a pollutant nation when compared with many others, but being a responsible nation, the Prime Minister has promised to bring down the country’s carbon footprint. The Minister said that the Government is committed to promote the gas-based economy, and in this regard $100 billion investment is being made in the energy infrastructure. He further said that the Government wants to begin door-to-door delivery of Petrol, CNG and LNG, as is being done for Diesel by Mobile dispenser. The Minister added that LNG will also be added as the transportation fuel. Shri Pradhan said that a pilot project of Hydrogen-blended CNG fuel is already running in the city, and it will soon be scaled up. He said that the Government is promoting the Waste-to-wealth efforts, and all sources of energy will be used to bring down India’s oil import dependency and make environment better.
