The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) officially notified the Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules 2025 in December 2025, replacing a fragmented regulatory framework with a single consolidated rulebook for the exploration and production (E&P) sector. The new rules modernise India's upstream oil and gas governance and align it with the country's energy transition goals. A landmark provision allows carbon capture and storage (CCS) — the geological storage of greenhouse gases — for the first time under Indian law, making India one of the few countries globally to explicitly permit CCS in its hydrocarbon legislation. The rules also allow operators holding petroleum exploration licences to undertake renewable energy projects on leased blocks, enabling a dual-use model that supports the green energy transition without abandoning proven fossil-fuel infrastructure. The consolidation of E&P licensing under one framework is expected to reduce procedural complexity, improve investor confidence, and accelerate exploration in India's sedimentary basins. Industry observers have noted that the CCS provision is critical for India's net-zero ambitions, as it provides a legal pathway for sequestering CO2 from industrial sources. The rules align with the G20 Clean Energy Transitions framework endorsed during India's G20 presidency.