Compressed Biogas is central to India's waste-to-energy transition. Discuss the policy instruments (pricing, offtake obligations, capital assistance) used to de-risk private investment in this sector.

Compressed Biogas (CBG) converts cattle dung, agri-residue and municipal organic waste into transport-grade fuel and manure. Yet the SATAT initiative (2018), targeting 5,000 plants and 15 MMT annually by 2023-24, under-delivered [2] because private capital faced price, demand and finance risks. The GOBARdhan National Unified Scheme (Cabinet approval, August 2026; outlay Rs. 23,731 crore, FY2026-27 to FY2035-36) answers each risk with a distinct instrument [1].

Pricing — removing revenue uncertainty

• Administered price of Rs. 2,110 per MMBTU with minimum 10-year revenue certainty, replacing negotiated, volatile OMC pricing [1].
• Bankable cash flows let promoters raise debt against a predictable tariff, not a speculative one.

Offtake obligations — creating assured demand

• Phased blending mandate on City Gas Distribution entities: 3% (FY2026-27) → 4% (FY2027-28) → 5% from FY2028-29 [1].
• Converts a voluntary market into a regulated one; the plant knows its buyer before it breaks ground.

Capital assistance and finance — lowering entry cost

• Up to Rs. 2 crore per tonne-per-day of installed capacity for greenfield projects, brownfield expansion also eligible [1].
• Credit Guarantee mechanism for MSMEs eases the collateral barrier for rural entrepreneurs.
• Pipeline connectivity support and an Ecosystem Challenge Fund for district-level feedstock aggregation address evacuation and supply-chain risk [1].

Feedstock (dung/stubble/MSW) → Anaerobic digestion → CBG + organic manure
        ↑ Challenge Fund          ↑ Capital subsidy      ↓ CGD blending mandate
        ↑ Credit guarantee        ↑ Pipeline support     ↓ Rs. 2,110/MMBTU
Caption: instruments mapped to the CBG value chain

Together these instruments de-risk the full chain — feedstock, capital, evacuation, price and demand — rather than any single link, which is why over 200 operational plants can now scale toward a ten-fold output rise [1][3]. Sustained gains will still need feedstock aggregation discipline and manure market development. Anchored in circular-economy logic, the scheme advances SDG-7 and SDG-12 while converting rural waste into farmer income.