GOBARdhan Scheme Crosses 500 Biogas Plants Milestone, CBG Push Gathers Pace

India’s push to convert organic waste into energy under the GOBARdhan (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme has gathered pace, with more than 500 community biogas plants completed across the country, according to the latest Budget 2023–24 delivery review released by the Ministry of Finance.

Implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the scheme forms a key part of the government’s waste-to-wealth strategy, aimed at strengthening the circular economy while expanding the use of cleaner fuels such as compressed biogas (CBG).

Under the original announcement, the government committed to setting up 500 new waste-to-wealth plants, comprising 200 compressed biogas plants, including 75 in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based biogas facilities, with a total estimated investment of ₹10,000 crore. The roadmap also includes a planned 5% mandatory blending of CBG for entities marketing natural gas and biogas.

On-Ground Execution Gathers Momentum

As per the latest data, 529 community biogas plants have been completed, of which 470 are currently functional under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen). In addition, 222 community biogas plants are under construction, indicating a continuing expansion of capacity.

Progress is also visible in the compressed biogas segment. Thirty-seven CBG plants are operational, while 133 plants are under various stages of construction. To streamline implementation and tracking, the government has launched a Unified Registration Portal for biogas and CBG plants. As of now, 792 CBG plants and 1,413 biogas plants have been registered on the portal.

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Policy Reforms To Support Scale-up 

To support market development and improve offtake, several enabling measures have been rolled out. The government has extended the CBG–City Gas Distribution (CGD) synchronisation scheme until 2034, allowing better alignment between biogas producers and gas distribution networks. Sixty-two CBG plants have been notified to permit bulk sales of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM) and Liquid FOM (LFOM) for a period of three years.

Financial assistance is also being provided to CBG producers for procuring Biomass Aggregation Machinery (BAM). Further, notifications have been issued for phase-wise mandatory blending of CBG in CNG (transport) and PNG (domestic) segments within the CGD sector. To prevent double taxation, the central excise duty exemption has been extended to CNG blended with CBG.

Fertiliser Norms, Carbon Markets and Pipelines

Regulatory changes under the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) aim to boost the use of organic manure from GOBARdhan plants. These include exemptions from authorisation requirements for FOM and LFOM for three years, revised moisture norms for FOM, an expanded carbon-to-nitrogen ratio ceiling, and a broader permissible pH range.

The government has also introduced Market Development Assistance of ₹1,500 per tonne for FOM and LFOM produced from GOBARdhan facilities. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed application practices for organic manure across 10 crops.

In parallel, CBG has been included under carbon credit trading mechanisms, and a dedicated scheme for pipeline infrastructure development is under implementation to facilitate CBG injection into the CGD network.

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