Turn Cow Dung and Farm Waste Into Money! Government Approves Massive ₹23,731 Crore GOBARdhan Scheme to Boost Clean Gas and Stop Stubble Burning!

In a huge boost for farmers, rural families, and clean energy, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially approved the GOBARdhan (National Circular Bioenergy Scheme) with a massive budget of ₹23,731 crore. As reported by the Official PMO Announcement, this 10-year scheme will run from FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36 with the main goal of increasing India's domestic Compressed Biogas (CBG) production by nearly 10 times. Instead of letting crop straw burn in fields or leaving organic waste in landfills, the project will convert cattle dung, paddy straw, sugar mill waste, and city organic garbage directly into clean fuel and organic manure.

To make this scheme a total success and create a reliable market, the government has put strict buyer and seller rules in place.City gas companies will be legally required to blend CBG into regular CNG for vehicles and PNG for homes-starting at 3% in FY27 and reaching 5% by FY29. To protect factory owners and investors from market losses, the government has fixed a stable buying price of ₹2,110 per MMBTU for 10 years, while giving up to ₹2 crore in direct financial assistance per tonne of daily capacity to set up new biogas plants, alongside pipeline connectivity and easy bank loans for small entrepreneurs.

India currently relies on foreign imports for nearly half of its natural gas needs, making local prices vulnerable whenever international conflicts arise. The GOBARdhan scheme directly solves this crisis by turning local waste into national wealth. It stops heavy air pollution from stubble burning, creates a steady extra income for dairy farmers selling cattle dung, restores depleted farmland with high-grade organic fertilizer, and makes India far more self-reliant in clean energy.