Can biogas aid India’s energy security?
India imports close to 85% of its crude oil requirement, leaving it exposed to global energy price and supply shocks
The government has run multiple initiatives over several years to promote compressed biogas (CBG) as a domestic alternative fuel
Deployment of CBG production capacity has fallen well short of original targets despite these initiatives
Industry assessments point to the need for stronger financial incentives, assured offtake, and consistent regulatory support to scale up the sector
SATAT Scheme (2018) — Compressed Biogas as a Transport Fuel
SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) was launched on October 1, 2018 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to build an ecosystem for producing Compressed Biogas (CBG) from biomass, agricultural residue, cattle dung, sewage, and municipal solid waste, and marketing it as an automotive fuel alongside CNG.
Key Details
- Original target: 5,000 CBG plants by 2023-24, with an estimated production potential of 15 million tonnes per annum
- Actual progress has lagged sharply: only around 130-plus CBG plants are operational as of early 2026, against roughly 1,000-plus Letters of Intent issued to prospective developers
- Key implementation bottlenecks identified include unreliable feedstock supply chains, high upfront capital cost, and financing uncertainty
- CBG produced under SATAT is intended for sale through Oil Marketing Company (OMC) retail outlets, similar to CNG
The gap between SATAT's 5,000-plant target and the roughly 130 plants actually operational illustrates the "limited progress" the article highlights, despite the scheme now being in its eighth year.
GOBARdhan — Waste-to-Energy from Organic and Cattle Waste
GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) is a Government of India umbrella initiative that converts cattle dung, agricultural residue, and other organic/biodegradable waste into biogas and organic fertiliser (Fermented Organic Manure), primarily to support rural sanitation and farm-waste management alongside energy generation.
Key Details
- Originated under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin as a village-level biogas initiative before being expanded into a dedicated umbrella scheme covering CBG plants using cattle dung and organic waste
- The Market Development Assistance (MDA) component provides financial support of ₹1,500 per tonne to help market the organic fertiliser by-product from biogas/CBG plants
- GOBARdhan and SATAT are complementary — SATAT focuses on private-sector CBG plant investment and fuel marketing, while GOBARdhan emphasises rural waste management and farmer-linked feedstock
GOBARdhan represents the feedstock and rural-linkage side of the biogas push referenced in the article's account of "several initiatives" that have so far delivered limited scale.
CBG Blending Obligation (CBO) — From Voluntary Push to Mandatory Blending
To convert weak, voluntary demand for CBG into assured offtake, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced a Compressed Biogas Blending Obligation, mandating that City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities blend a rising percentage of CBG into the CNG (transport) and PNG (domestic) supply.
Key Details
- Mandated blending trajectory: 1% for FY 2025-26, rising to 3% (FY 2026-27), 4% (FY 2027-28), and 5% from FY 2028-29 onward
- This shifts CBG uptake from a voluntary, market-dependent model (as under SATAT) to a legally mandated obligation on gas distribution entities
- The obligation is expected to underpin bankable, assured demand for CBG plants, addressing one of the key viability gaps that limited SATAT's uptake
The blending mandate is the specific policy lever the article frames as a potential fix for the sector's stalled progress — converting CBG demand from voluntary to compulsory.
National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 (amended 2022) — Biofuels and Energy Security Strategy
The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 sets the umbrella framework for India's ethanol and biofuel-blending strategy, aimed at reducing petroleum import dependence, providing an assured market for domestic biomass, and cutting vehicular emissions. Its 2022 amendment advanced the target for 20% ethanol blending in petrol (E20) from 2030 to 2025-26.
Key Details
- E20 (20% ethanol-blended petrol) was achieved ahead of schedule, reported in December 2025
- Ethanol blending targets petrol via sugarcane/grain feedstock, distinct from CBG, which targets CNG/PNG via organic waste and cattle dung feedstock — together forming India's two-track biofuel-substitution strategy
- Energy security in this policy context is framed as reducing the import share of the country's total crude oil and gas consumption by substituting a growing share with domestically produced biofuels
The article situates CBG within this broader biofuels-for-energy-security strategy, alongside the more advanced ethanol-blending track, as India seeks to cut its ~85% crude import dependence.
- India's crude oil import dependence: approximately 85% of total consumption
- SATAT launched: October 1, 2018, by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
- Original SATAT target: 5,000 CBG plants by 2023-24; actual: roughly 130-plus plants operational as of early 2026, with over 1,000 Letters of Intent issued
- CBG Blending Obligation trajectory: 1% (FY2025-26) → 3% (FY2026-27) → 4% (FY2027-28) → 5% (FY2028-29 onward)
- GOBARdhan Market Development Assistance: ₹1,500 per tonne for organic fertiliser by-product
- E20 (20% ethanol blending in petrol) achieved: December 2025, ahead of the original 2030 target under the 2018 policy (advanced to 2025-26 by the 2022 amendment)