GOBARdhan

Why in News?

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti has introduced a Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan to streamline the registration of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) and biogas plants nationwide. The DDWS, being the Nodal Department for GOBARdhan, announced that over 1163 biogas plants and 426 CBG plants have successfully registered on the portal to date. These registered CBG/Biogas plants are eligible for assistance under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme of the Dept. of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.

What is GOBARdhan?

GOBARdhan, a trailblazing multi-ministerial initiative, is on a mission to transform biodegradable and organic waste, including cattle dung, agricultural residues, and biomass, into high-value resources like biogas, CBG and organic manure. This visionary “Whole of Government” approach not only ushers in the era of high-value Biogas/CBG production but also harnesses the power of bio-slurry – a FOM that turbocharges soil health, carbon content and water retention capacity. When used in conjunction with chemical fertilizers, bio-slurry promotes judicious fertilizer use, slashing urea imports and championing sustainable agriculture. From an economic standpoint, GOBARdhan empowers farmers with organic manure, putting the brakes on their dependence on pricey chemical fertilizers.

Key enablers have played pivotal roles in catapulting the GOBARdhan initiative to new heights, viz. standardizing bio-slurry, RBI’s inclusion of CBG plants in Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) as well as Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Fund (AHIDF), recalibration of CBG plant categories by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), revisions in the categorization of CBG plants based on feedstock type and wastewater discharge by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the revival of the Waste to Energy Scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) etc. The most recent and critical addition to these enablers is the introduction of the MDA scheme for organic fertilizers produced under GOBARdhan plants.