The history of gas connection in India

Gas connection started to spread its roots in India with the challenge it faced with Kerosene and coal gas stoves. It wasn’t easy for the first-ever gas connection, LPG, to increase in market share because this concept was new for the people in India. Adopting this new technology was challenging for people back in the 50s and 60s. The price of an LPG cylinder was Rs 19/15 kg in 1956. People were reluctant to adopt this new way of cooking, also according to that time, this price was high, and people weren’t ready to spend their money on this.  

Urban Area Vs. Rural Area

The gas companies that brought this method to market faced challenges in rural and urban areas. Urban areas and cities accepted and adopted this connection to a certain extent, but people in villages and rural areas weren’t ready at any cost. First, the reasons were high prices of LPG connections and refill costs of cylinders, and secondly, people didn’t want to switch from their traditional methods of cooking even though this new technology provided them with more ease of living. 

Major Gas Companies

Indian Oil, one of the major players in LPG gas, started its production in 1965, and the brand name Indane was introduced in 1964. Indian Oil released its first-ever LPG gas connection on 22 October 1965. This was a major step in the industry bringing modern cooking to every household in India. 

Initial Days and Revolution

When the LPG connections started, it was produced in bottled forms. However, the market for gas connections started to change dramatically in the 1970s. People started to adopt this technology as it was comparatively more feasible than in previous decades. The importance of healthy cooking also gained prominence. Primarily in cities, the rise in installations of LPG gas was at its best between the mid-1970s to 1990s. 

According to the facts and figures, only 3.2 million households had LPG gas connections which were only 2.5% of the total population. However, this picture changed drastically. In the mid-1980s, the number of people who installed these gas connections doubled to 8.8 million people, which was 5% of the population till India reached the 90s and the connection rose to 19.6 million. This was 11% of the total Indian population. 

To promote more LPG gas connections, the government started to provide subsidies on cylinders. This reduced the cost of LPG cylinders to half of the current prices. This became the main reason people shifted their traditional cooking method with this modern adoption because they were now getting cylinders at a very reasonable price. 

Natural Gas

With the increase in the trends, several companies like Mahanagar Gas Limited (a joint collaboration of GAIL and the Government of Maharashtra) started their operations and then the trends of Natural gas came into existence. People were in the process of adopting LPG gas connections, while enterprises like MGL started with the idea of Natural gas. 

Natural gas is considered one of the cleanest gases, comparatively free from inflammation than LPG gas. If the 90s era saw the adoption of LPG gas in high numbers, it also saw more evolved technology. National companies like GAIL collaborated with several state governments like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In 2005, Central UP gas Limited started its operation as a joint venture of two Maharatna companies, GAIL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. Now, people need to make an Up Central Online Gas bill payment, and they can use natural gas for cooking.

When this came out in the market, it wasn’t spread to many states and areas. The installation cost was slightly high, but the after-operating cost was far more feasible than the LPG gas connections. So, the Natural gas connections didn’t face much resistance to adoption as the LPG gas faced in the major transition phase of the cooking gas industry. Consumers simply made a Mahanagar Online Gas bill payment or offline payment and enjoyed the facility.

Also, with technological developments, the gas connections which used to get booked through physical stores started to be available for all bookings. As time changed, people were at ease in getting the booking and payment done of gas bills. Platforms like MobiKwik gave the accessibility to make an Up Central Online Gas bill payment directly at the ease of their homes. 

Conclusion

India has seen lots of transition phases from Kerosene to LPG gas cylinders to Piped Natural gas. Everything had undergone a development phase, and India timely evolved with these concepts. Their presence makes it easy for people to lead a more affordable and healthy life. You only need to make a Mahanagar online Gas Bill Payment and can enjoy the service with no restrictions.