India’s energy future depends on a balanced and realistic transition strategy—one that ensures Affordability, Availability, Accessibility, and Acceptability (AAAA) while advancing sustainability and energy security. This book presents a compelling case for positioning natural gas as India’s primary transition fuel for the next three decades, supported by renewables and hydrogen—together conceptualized as “Happy Fuel.”
Anchored in PNGRB Vision-2040, the book examines the strategic importance of transnational gas pipelines as long-term enablers of affordable, reliable, and diversified energy supply. Drawing on global experience and India-specific realities, it evaluates the techno-commercial, regulatory, and geopolitical dimensions of major pipeline initiatives, including TAPI and prospective deepwater pipelines between the Middle East and India.
Beyond infrastructure, the book advances a forward-looking vision of India emerging as a regional gas-trading and price-discovery hub, thereby strengthening supply security, market efficiency, and regional cooperation. Reconnecting with the author’s pioneering concept of the Asian Gas Grid, it argues that shared energy infrastructure can transcend borders—transforming pipelines into instruments of stability, trust, and peace.
Blending engineering insight with policy analysis and strategic foresight, this book serves as a reference for regulators, ministries, public sector enterprises, investors, and energy professionals, while offering a broader message: that energy, when planned wisely, can become a foundation for prosperity, cooperation, and a sustainable future.
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Dr Ashutosh Karnatak
The author is a distinguished energy-sector professional, policy expert, and thought leader with over four decades of experience in India’s petroleum and natural gas industry. He served as Chairman & Director (Projects) at GAIL (India) Limited, where he was associated with the planning and execution of major gas pipeline and infrastructure projects critical to India’s energy growth. He later served as Technical Member (Petroleum & Natural Gas) at the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), contributing to regulatory jurisprudence and policy interpretation.
The author has completed a postdoctoral program and holds an M.Tech. in Energy Studies from IIT Delhi. He earned his Ph.D. in 2009 with a doctoral thesis titled “Asian Gas Grid – A Critical Analysis,” which proposed a structured framework for a transnational gas pipeline network to enhance energy security across Asia. The research was subsequently published as a book and continues to influence strategic energy policy discussions, regulatory thinking, and regional cooperation initiatives.
The author (who has authored 12 books to date) has a deep interest in energy geopolitics, sustainability, and regional cooperation. He regularly participates in national and international energy forums and advocates the use of shared energy infrastructure to promote peace and economic stability.
Through this book, he shares a lifetime of experience and optimism, expressing confidence that the transnational gas pipelines would help shape India’s secure, affordable, and sustainable energy future by 2040, aligned with the Vision of the Indian regulator PNGRB.
“India’s energy future lies in balance—where natural gas anchors the transition, renewables expand sustainability, and hydrogen shapes tomorrow.
