Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri Launches GOBARdhan Scheme to Accelerate Development of India’s Compressed Biogas Sector

Key Highlights:

• Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, launched the GOBARdhan Central Sector Scheme.
• The scheme, approved on August 6, 2026, has an outlay of ₹23,731 crore for FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36.
• It aims to increase domestic Compressed Biogas (CBG) production nearly 10-fold to around 5 MMSCMD.
• The scheme provides a long-term framework to accelerate CBG development, ensuring investor and lender certainty.
• A GOBARdhan Handbook and a Unified GOBARdhan Portal were unveiled to streamline processes and enhance transparency.

Detailed Insights:

• The scheme addresses India's energy requirements by converting organic waste like crop residue and cattle dung into clean energy.
• It supports the "Waste to Wealth" and "Annadata to Urjadata" vision by generating organic manure and creating rural economic opportunities.
• The CBG Obligation (CBO) mandates City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities to procure CBG: 3% in FY 2026–27, 4% in FY 2027–28, and 5% from FY 2028–29 onwards.
• An administered CBG price of ₹2,110 per MMBtu provides revenue visibility for producers.
• Capital assistance of up to ₹2 crore per TPD is available for eligible greenfield CBG projects.
• A dedicated credit guarantee mechanism for MSME-based CBG projects covers up to 85% of the outstanding amount, with higher limits for women-led projects.
• The scheme is projected to generate over ₹40,000 crore in foreign-exchange savings, add ₹75,000 crore to GDP, and create 1.5 lakh jobs.
• It is also expected to replace 10 million tonnes of fossil fuel, reduce over 40 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and support 250 million tonnes of organic manure production.

Key Concepts Involved:

• GOBARdhan Scheme: A Central Sector Scheme to accelerate the development of India's Compressed Biogas (CBG) sector.
• Compressed Biogas (CBG): A purified form of biogas, similar to natural gas, produced from organic waste and used as a clean fuel.
• City Gas Distribution (CGD): A network of pipelines and infrastructure for distributing natural gas (and now CBG) to domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers in urban areas.