Government unveils financial support programme to aid CBG producers for purchase of BAM

The Indian Government has sanctioned a programme to offer financial aid to compressed bio gas (CBG) producers. The scheme aims to facilitate the acquisition of Biomass Aggregation Machinery (BAM), supporting the collection of biomass. The allocated budget for this initiative is Rs 5.64 billion for the fiscal years 2023-24 to 2026-27. The main objective of this programme is to streamline the aggregation and marketing of biomass, discouraging the burning of excess biomass and creating additional revenue opportunities for farmers. Additionally, the initiative seeks to harness economic value from underutilised biomass resources and agricultural residues, such as paddy straw, by transforming them into CBG and bio-manure. The scheme will aid the collection of biomass for the first 100 biomass-dependent CBG plants by offering financial assistance to CBG producers for the acquisition of BAM.