News Excerpt:

Recently, the government of India announced that 198 green energy plants had been set up so far this fiscal, which includes 12 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants and 186 biogas plants. 

• While 556 plants - 129 CBG and 427 biogas - are under construction.

More on the news:

• During the Budget 2023-24, the finance minister announced the establishment of “500 new waste to wealth” plants with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore under the Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme.

About Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme:

• It was launched by the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation in 2018 as a part of the Solid and Liquid Waste Management component under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. 
• The main focus of GOBARDHAN is to keep villages clean, increase the income of rural households, and generate energy and organic manure from cattle waste. 
• As rural India has already attained the Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, the importance of GOBARDHAN has increased as it supports the villages in achieving ODF-plus status, which is an important objective of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II.
• This scheme aims at converting biodegradable/ organic waste, including cattle dung and agricultural residues and other biomass, into valuable resources such as biogas, compressed biogas (CBG), and organic manure.
• It is a niche initiative to promote a circular economy through a novel “Whole of Government” approach.

Government effort to promote implementation of the GOBARdhan initiative and Green Energy:

• Central excise duty exemption has been provided to CNG blended with CBG to prevent double taxation.
• A Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) amendment notification has been issued to promote bio fertiliser. 
• Exemption granted for requirement of Authorization letter for sale of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM)/Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM) (organic manure produced from GOBARdhan plants) for a period of three years to boost uptake of these crop nutrients. 
• The government has also raised the moisture content norms from 30-40 per cent to 30-70 per cent in FOM.
• Besides, it has increased C/N ratio (Carbon : Nitrogen Ratio) from “less than 20” to “up to 30” and pH content in LFOM/FOM from “6.5-8.0” to “6.5-8.4”.
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has prepared a report on “Utilisation of Bioslurry in various cropping systems” as well as a package of practices for the application of FOM/ LFOM for various crops to popularise these and to improve soil health and farm productivity.
• The Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme has been approved to incentivise the sale and marketing of FOM/LFOM (a by-product from GOBARDhan plants), promoting organic farming.
• National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) has approved the wise introduction of mandatory 5 per cent CBG blending to strengthen the production and consumption of CBG.

Conclusion:

This is a big push to the cow dung and other wastes generated in the agriculture and allied sectors to get higher value in the market and help raise farmers’ income.