"I am going to Tehran in June and hope this would act as a catalyst for concluding the agreement between India and Iran for sourcing gas through a pipeline," Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told reporters after meeting Iranian diplomatic officials in New Delhi.

India's cabinet, after years of dithering, Wednesday gave the oil ministry the go-ahead to enter discussions with countries in the region for supply of gas by pipeline to meet the ever-growing needs of the country's billion-plus population and burgeoning economy.

The ministry said it was looking afresh at plans which have been in abeyance for years for a pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan.

It is also looking at the feasibility of bringing a pipeline from Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan, or from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh.