NEW DELHI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- India Monday received its first-ever consignment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, under a long-term deal aimed at meeting its growing energy needs.
The LNG cargo arrived from Russia at Dahej port in the western state of Gujarat, which is also Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.
"Our government aims to make India a gas-based economy," Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the media.
"We are committed to Paris Accord of carbon emissions reduction," he added.
The LNG cargo arrived in India under a re-worked deal between the state-owned Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Russia's Gazprom.
As per the re-worked deal, GAIL will import an additional six million tonnes of LNG, apart from the already agreed 2.5 million tonnes a year.
India is the fourth-largest LNG importer in the world.
The LNG import from Russia came barely three months after the country imported the gas from U.S. under another long-term deal.