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Paper short abstract

This study examines the political economy of CNG in India’s transport sector, tracing how policy, politics, and technology feedbacks institutionally embedded CNG in India's transport sector's green transition.

Paper long abstract

India is one of the very few countries in the world with a sizeable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle fleet. The CNG fleet is expected to grow in the near- to middle-term future, producing complexities and challenges to India’s transport sector’s green transition amidst a global transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Further, the government of India recently began pushing for Compressed Biogas (CBG), greener version of CNG, and adopted policy that mandates CBG blending with CNG. CBG has allowed the government to frame natural gas vehicles as green alternatives to petrol/diesel vehicles, align natural gas expansion with broader sustainable energy transition, and justify investments in expanding gas infrastructure in India.

This study takes a historical-dynamics perspective. It looks at the origin of the CNG technology in India in early 2000’s and examines the feedbacks between policy, politics, and technology that ensued to make CNG a dominant technology for the transportation sector. It analyses the political and economic interests underpinning recent CBG blending mandates and the expansion of gas distribution networks. By situating CNG within competing low-carbon pathways, particularly electrification, the paper interrogates whether natural gas represents a transitional bridge or a path-dependent lock-in.