India launches GOBARdhan scheme with guaranteed CBG purchase and decade-long price support
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry issued guidelines for the GOBARdhan programme, guaranteeing off-take and fixing CBG prices for ten years.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas released detailed guidelines on September 15 for the GOBARdhan initiative, a program that converts cattle dung, agricultural residues and other organic waste into biogas, CBG and organic manure. Running from 2026-27 to 2035-36, the rules guarantee CBG purchase through firm contracts involving producers, a city-gas-distribution (CGD) entity and GAIL, which will manage pooling and synchronisation.
An administered price of Rs 2,110 per MMBtu (about Rs 98 per kg at 95% methane) is fixed for a minimum of ten years, with up-to-Rs 10 per kg affordability support for the synchro operator. Capital grants of up to Rs 30 crore per project are available, tied to milestones such as approvals and first commercial sales. The framework supersedes the earlier SATAT scheme, aiming to boost domestic CBG production ten-fold and attract private financing while integrating waste-to-energy into India’s gas system.
Why it matters
The policy gives investors certainty, potentially expanding renewable gas production and reducing waste across India.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the launch of the GOBARdhan scheme with its ten-year price support and capital grants, but right-leaning coverage adds emphasis on the scheme’s total cost of ₹23,731 crore.
CENTER
Reports the launch and detailed guidelines of the GOBARdhan scheme, noting the guaranteed purchase, ten-year price support and capital grants.
RIGHT
Highlights the scheme as a large-scale ₹23,731-crore effort, stressing guaranteed off-take of producers’ output and the government-administered price and subsidy.
The right emphasises
- ₹23,731-crore effort to turn organic waste into biogas and manure
- eligible producers can secure guaranteed off-take of their entire output
- government-administered price of ₹2,110 per MMBtu with up to ₹10 per kg subsidy
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