Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday launched GOBARdhan, a Rs 23,731-crore Central scheme to expand India’s compressed biogas (CBG) sector.

The Union Cabinet had approved the scheme on August 6. It sets a 10-year framework running from 2026-27 to 2035-36, aimed at raising domestic CBG production nearly 10-fold to about 5 million standard cubic metres a day (MMSCMD).

The scheme provides an integrated framework covering assured offtake, pricing support, capital assistance, pipeline connectivity and credit guarantees. It links city gas distribution companies to blending targets of 3 per cent in 2026-27, 4 per cent in 2027-28 and 5 per cent from 2028-29 in the CNG and PNG segments.

An administered CBG price of Rs 2,110 per million British thermal units will give producers long-term revenue visibility. The ministry also released a GOBARdhan handbook and a unified digital portal for applications.

India currently imports about half of its natural gas needs. CBG is produced from organic waste such as cattle dung and crop residue, turning waste into clean domestic energy and organic manure.