The Union Cabinet has approved the ₹23,731 crore GOBARdhan National Circular Bioenergy Scheme to significantly expand India’s compressed biogas sector. The scheme aims to increase domestic CBG production, strengthen energy security, promote private investment, and create a unified national bioenergy framework through 2035–36.
The Union Cabinet has approved the GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) National Circular Bioenergy Scheme with a total outlay of ₹23,731 crore, providing a major policy boost to India’s compressed biogas (CBG) sector.
The scheme will be implemented from FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36 under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and aims to increase domestic CBG production nearly tenfold over the next decade by promoting the conversion of agricultural residue, cattle dung, press mud, municipal organic waste and other biomass resources into compressed biogas and organic manure.
The programme consolidates multiple existing bioenergy initiatives into a single national framework covering the entire CBG value chain. It includes provisions for assured offtake, administered pricing, capital assistance, pipeline connectivity, access to finance and ecosystem development, addressing key structural challenges that have constrained the sector’s growth.
A central feature of the scheme is the creation of a predictable pricing and demand framework designed to encourage large-scale private investment. The government aims to provide long-term revenue visibility for developers while improving infrastructure access and financing for both new and expansion projects.
The scheme is also expected to strengthen India’s energy security by reducing dependence on imported natural gas. Higher domestic CBG production could help substitute imported LNG while diversifying the country’s clean energy mix.
In addition to energy benefits, the programme is expected to generate significant rural economic opportunities by enabling farmers, cooperatives and rural entrepreneurs to monetise agricultural waste and biomass resources. The government expects the initiative to create substantial employment across the bioenergy value chain.
The approval builds on earlier initiatives such as the SATAT programme, the Market Development Assistance scheme for organic manure, the Biomass Aggregation Machinery scheme, and the Development of Pipeline Infrastructure scheme, which laid the foundation for India’s emerging CBG industry.
With implementation extending until 2035–36, the GOBARdhan scheme is expected to become one of India’s most significant bioenergy policy initiatives, accelerating investment in compressed biogas infrastructure while integrating waste management, renewable energy production and rural development into a unified national framework.