Synopsis
This suggestion was made in a white paper launched by Nitin Gadkari, which also recommended centralised tracking, standardised benchmarking, and integrated funding to scale up biogas deployment in India.
The Indian Biogas Association (IBA) on Thursday proposed integrating government initiatives like Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), GOBARDhan, and CBG (compressed biogas) blending into a unified national mission to boost the biogas sector. This suggestion was made in a white paper launched by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, which also recommended centralised tracking, standardised benchmarking, and integrated funding to scale up biogas deployment in India.
Key recommendations included mandating phased CBG blending across sectors, creating a green certificate ecosystem and accelerating decentralised biogas infrastructure development. Additional proposals included incentivising waste segregation and feedstock supply chains, improving rural energy access with clean cooking fuel, bridging the skill gap through workforce programs and empowering women through biogas micro-enterprises.
Additionally, it called for promoting biogas as a primary cooking fuel in rural India by introducing targeted subsidies, encouraging the use of LPG-biogas hybrid stoves, and aligning efforts with the Ujjwala Yojana and City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks.
“Approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste lacks proper scientific treatment and goes underutilized annually, while over 80% of rural households still depend on biomass fuels. Meanwhile, India imports over 85% of its crude oil, exposing the economy to global price volatility and straining foreign reserves. Unifying all three missions under one, will bring in synergies and better management and utilization of existing resources,” IBA Chairman Gaurav Kedia said in the statement.
‘Agriculture needs to become economically viable’
Gadkari emphasised that Indian agriculture needs to become economically viable to make the country self-reliant (Atmanirbhar).
