Book excerpt: Historically in India, gas has not enjoyed the same strategic significance as oil. That picture is gradually changing. India imports 82 per cent of its oil needs and aims to bring that down to 67 per cent by 2022 by replacing it with local exploration and alternative energy sources. Natural gas is set to play a key role, with ambitious plans to increase its share in the energy mix from 6.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Increasing natural gas usage can also help India overcome several challenges such as meeting its development objectives, fulfilling mitigation efforts on the climate change front, providing energy security while reducing fiscal imbalance and so on. Needless to say, it will also have a significant bearing on India's geopolitics. Edited by Vikram Singh Mehta, an authority in the energy domain, and with essays by a number of global experts, this anthology lays out a comprehensive roadmap for India's natural gas sector by analysing supply, demand, infrastructure, pricing, regulations, finance, technology, policy and a host of other issues. The Next Stop is an essential overview of the country's emerging energy sector in the twenty-first century