GOBARdhan Scheme: Hardeep Puri Launches Rs 23,731 Crore Push For Compressed Biogas

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri launched the GOBARdhan Scheme on Wednesday to accelerate the development of India’s Compressed Biogas (CBG) sector.

The Central Sector Scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet on August 6, carries an outlay of ₹23,731 crore and will operate from FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36. It aims to raise domestic CBG production nearly ten-fold to around 5 MMSCMD.

The launch saw the release of the GOBARdhan Handbook and the Unified GOBARdhan Portal, designed to simplify applications, improve transparency and provide stakeholders with a centralised digital platform.

The scheme combines six major interventions covering assured CBG offtake, a pricing framework, capital assistance, pipeline infrastructure, credit guarantees and an ecosystem challenge fund.

Under the procurement framework, CBG plants will be linked with City Gas Distribution areas or designated clusters.

The CBG Obligation requires CGD entities to procure CBG at 3 per cent in FY 2026–27, 4 per cent in FY 2027–28 and 5 per cent from FY 2028–29 for the CNG transport and PNG domestic segments.

Pricing and Capital Support

The scheme provides an administered CBG price of ₹2,110 per MMBtu.

Eligible greenfield projects can, however, receive capital assistance of up to ₹2 crore per TPD of installed capacity.

The framework provides pipeline support of up to 80 per cent of eligible capital expenditure for connecting CBG clusters to trunk networks and up to 50 per cent for standalone plants linked to CGD networks.

Eligible MSME-based projects can, however, access credit guarantees covering up to 85 per cent of the outstanding amount at default.

India had 217 commissioned CBG plants as of August 2026, with installed capacity exceeding 1,700 TPD.

The scheme aims to scale up production while supporting rural incomes and waste-to-energy initiatives.

Government projections indicate the framework could save more than ₹40,000 crore in foreign exchange, add over ₹75,000 crore to GDP, and generate more than 1.5 lakh jobs.

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