Consider the following statements : 1. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is the first regulatory body set up by the Government of India. 2. One of the tasks of PNGRB is to ensure competitive markets for gas. 3. Appeals against the decisions of PNGRB go before the Appellate Tribunals for Electricity. Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. Statement 1 is incorrect. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) was established under the PNGRB Act, 2006. Several other regulatory bodies were set up by the Government of India much earlier, such as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI, 1997) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI, statutory status in 1992). Therefore, PNGRB was not the first regulatory body. 2. Statement 2 is correct. One of the key objectives and tasks of the PNGRB, as stated in the Act, is to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specified activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas, and to promote competitive markets for these products, including gas. 3. Statement 3 is correct. The PNGRB Act, 2006, specifies that appeals against the decisions (orders or directions) of the PNGRB shall lie before the Appellate Tribunal established under section 110 of the Electricity Act, 2003, i.e., the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). 4. Therefore, only statements 2 and 3 are correct.