New Delhi: The Union government has announced a fresh set of incentives for producers of compressed biogas (CBG) under the Gobardhan programme, offering an option for eligible units to secure up to 100% assured offtake of their production. The government-fixed purchase price will remain in force for at least 10 years.
Launched in 2018 as part of the Swachh Bharat initiative, the Gobardhan (National Circular Bio-energy Programme) aims to collect cattle dung, agricultural residue, and kitchen and market waste, converting them into CBG and organic manure. The Centre is implementing the Gobardhan programme with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore to scale up CBG production.
According to new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the scheme will be implemented from the current financial year through 2035-36. For new plants, the government will provide direct capital support of up to Rs 2 crore per tonne of daily production capacity, linked to plant capacity. The support will also cover equipment such as tractors used to transport dung from villages and waste-handling tools.
Under the revised rules, city gas distribution companies will be required to directly procure CBG, with the government effectively buying the output under the assured offtake option. Action, including reworking gas allocation, may be taken against city gas firms that do not sign procurement agreements within the stipulated time.
To create steady demand, CBG blending in vehicle-use CNG has been mandated at 3% in the current financial year, 4% in the next, and 5% by 2028-29. A fixed procurement price of Rs 2,110 per million British thermal units (equivalent to 294 kWh) has been set; based on 95% methane content, this works out to Rs 98 per kg, valid for 10 years up to March 31, 2036. Each project can receive up to Rs 30 crore in capital assistance, disbursed in instalments, and GAIL has been appointed as the aggregator for CBG procurement and coordination, alongside provisions such as credit guarantee support and pipeline infrastructure facilitation.
