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Centre launches ₹23,731-crore GOBARdhan scheme for compressed biogas

By CAShorts DeskPublished Updated Source: PIB (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Union Cabinet), MoPNG scheme guidelines, US EPA

Centre launches ₹23,731-crore GOBARdhan scheme for compressed biogas
Illustration (AI-generated)

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched GOBARdhan, a Central Sector Scheme for compressed biogas (CBG), on October 1, 2026. With ₹23,731 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36, it aims to raise CBG output nearly ten-fold. City Gas Distribution entities carry a CBG procurement obligation of 3% in FY 2026-27, rising to 5% from FY 2028-29.

Syllabus: Prelims · Environment & Ecology; GS3 · Infrastructure; GS2 · Government Policies

Why it matters

A farmer with leftover crop residue, a cattle shelter with dung or a town with organic waste can sell it to a biogas plant as feedstock. The plant turns it into gas for vehicles and kitchens and sends manure back to the fields. GOBARdhan fixes a price for the gas, makes city gas companies buy it and guarantees part of the loans taken by small firms, so a plant can count on its income and a bank is readier to lend. For the country, gas made from waste replaces gas bought from abroad: India imports nearly half its natural gas. The government expects foreign-exchange savings of over ₹40,000 crore and more than 1.5 lakh jobs.

Prelims pointers

  • GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) began in 2018 under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen); the 2026 scheme's nodal ministry is the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
  • Anaerobic digestion: microorganisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas and a nutrient-rich residue called digestate.
  • Biogas: 50-75% methane, with carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and water vapour. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas.
  • Compressed biogas (CBG): biogas purified of carbon dioxide and other gases, then compressed; it can run vehicles like CNG or be injected into natural gas pipelines.
  • SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation): launched on October 1, 2018; oil and gas marketing companies procured CBG at an assured price. GOBARdhan subsumed it from September 1, 2026.
  • Fermented Organic Manure: bio-manure from CBG plants, brought under the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985 by a notification of July 13, 2020.
  • City Gas Distribution networks supply compressed natural gas (CNG) to vehicles and piped natural gas (PNG) to homes; the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board authorises them.
  • National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 lists bio-CNG among advanced biofuels, along with second-generation ethanol.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to biogas, consider the following statements:

1. It is produced when microorganisms break down organic matter in the presence of abundant oxygen.

2. It consists mostly of methane and carbon dioxide, with small amounts of other gases.

3. The digestate left after its production can be applied to farmland as a fertiliser.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

1 is incorrect: biogas forms through anaerobic digestion, that is, when microorganisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen. 2 is correct: biogas is 50 to 75 per cent methane and most of the rest is carbon dioxide. 3 is correct: digestate is rich in nutrients and is used as a fertiliser and soil amendment.

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