Cabinet clears Rs 23,731 crore GOBARdhan scheme: Big push for India’s compressed biogas revolution

GOBARdhan marks a defining moment in India’s clean energy journey. It will transform the country’s abundant agricultural residue, cattle dung, press mud, municipal organic waste and other biomass resources into clean fuel, organic manure, rural income and national economic value.

The Scheme will be implemented from FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36 and will establish Compressed Biogas as a major pillar of India’s future energy mix.

Through assured demand, remunerative and stable pricing, capital assistance, pipeline infrastructure, credit support and technology development, GOBARdhan will provide the strong and predictable framework required to take India’s CBG sector to national scale.

The Scheme aims to increase domestic Compressed Biogas (CBG) production nearly ten-fold, mobilize large-scale private investment and create a vibrant circular bioeconomy across the country.

Over the past several years, the Government of India has systematically built the foundations of the CBG sector through the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative, the Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme for organic manure, the Biomass Aggregation Machinery (BAM) Scheme, the Development of Pipeline Infrastructure (DPI) Scheme and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for CBG plants under the National Bioenergy Programme.

Together, these initiatives have enabled the commissioning of over 200 CBG plants, established production and offtake systems, strengthened the organic manure value chain and demonstrated the potential of CBG across feedstocks and geographies.

GOBARdhan now takes this progress to the next level. Administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Scheme creates one integrated platform across the entire CBG value chain. This will enable faster implementation, stronger project economics and greater certainty for investors, lenders and developers.

A Strategic Opportunity for India:

India’s demand for natural gas is expanding across transport, households, industry and commercial sectors. CBG can meet a growing share of this demand through domestic renewable production, strengthening energy resilience and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.

CBG is chemically equivalent to natural gas and can be seamlessly integrated into the existing gas ecosystem. It therefore combines the benefits of a renewable fuel with the reach and utility of India’s expanding gas infrastructure.

Each CBG plant also creates a local circular economy around agricultural residue, cattle dung and other organic resources. It generates opportunities in feedstock supply, transportation, plant operations and organic manure production, while supporting cleaner waste management and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Impact:

GOBARdhan is designed to convert the strong sectoral foundation created over recent years into a nationwide scale-up of CBG. The Scheme is expected to deliver:

Nearly ten-fold growth in domestic CBG production, creating a new pillar of India’s clean gas economy.

Greater energy security through increased domestic production of renewable gaseous fuel and lower dependence on imported fossil fuels.

A new wave of private investment supported by stronger project viability, stable pricing and improved access to institutional finance.

Stronger rural livelihoods through new income opportunities for farmers, feedstock aggregators, cooperatives and rural entrepreneurs.

Scientific waste management through productive use of agricultural residue, cattle dung, municipal organic waste and other biomass resources.

Lower greenhouse gas emissions through replacement of fossil fuels and productive utilization of organic waste.

A larger organic manure economy through greater production, value addition and utilization of FOM and LFOM.

Faster and easier project implementation through one national framework, digital governance and simplified institutional arrangements.