India’s push for bioenergy, from converting cow dung to compressed bio-gas, highlights its evolving journey toward energy security and climate goals. The country’s tryst with bioenergy began in the 1980s with an ambitious program to turn agricultural waste—particularly cattle dung—into clean cooking gas for rural households. While environmental concerns were not the primary motivator, the initiative was visionary for its time, aiming to provide farmers with a modern, smoke-free energy alternative for cooking and lighting. The Government of India provided financial support for the installation of such units, with the goal of promoting a cleaner and healthier lifestyle.
A major leap forward came in 2003 with the launch of the Ethanol Blending Programme, which mandated up to 5% blending of ethanol in petrol in select states. The objective was to reduce the import of fossil fuels while generating renewable energy. This marked the start of India’s transition from fossil fuel dependency to renewable energy self-reliance. Initially, sugarcane by-products like molasses were used to produce ethanol. In 2005, India expanded its bioenergy vision with the Biodiesel Purchase Policy, setting an ambitious target of increasing the blending of biodiesel with diesel up to 20% by 2012. The Planning Commission’s report primarily relied on non-edible oilseeds, with Jatropha curcas identified as the most suitable tree-borne oilseed for biodiesel production. The National Mission on Biodiesel was also launched to promote its production.
Around the same time, co-generation plants in sugar mills, rice mills, and food processing industries began to flourish, saving costs, reducing emissions, and cutting fossil fuel usage. The government has been supporting the setup of these plants by providing financial assistance.
Despite these efforts, early progress in ethanol and biodiesel blending was slow. Ethanol blending remained below 1.5% until 2014, and for diesel, it was even lower. This was largely due to fragmented policies and a global environment where fossil fuel imports seemed easier. But rising oil prices and the strategic need for energy security demanded a shift. That shift arrived in 2014, when the cost of petrol saw a steep increase from INR 31 to INR 81, making it the highest in a decade.
Recognizing the urgency of a robust energy strategy, the NDA Government revitalized the biofuel sector, leading to the revolutionary National Biofuel Policy in 2018. This landmark policy expanded the feedstock base for ethanol to include sugar syrup, corn, spoiled food grains, and even used cooking oil for biodiesel. It also encouraged investment in advanced biofuels like 2G ethanol and introduced an attractive pricing mechanism, making ethanol production commercially viable. The blending target of 20% ethanol with petrol, originally set for 2030, was ambitiously advanced to 2025–26.
The same year, India launched SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation)—a visionary scheme to set up 5,000 plants producing Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) from agricultural residue, municipal waste, and biomass. This program aims not only to cut crude oil imports but also to create an ecosystem where waste turns into wealth, offering farmers an additional source of income while ensuring cleaner transport fuel.
Progress has been encouraging in ethanol blending, which saw remarkable growth over the past decade, while biodiesel is still facing challenges due to raw material constraints. The Jatropha crop, on which the government initially relied, did not perform as expected. Perhaps there was a huge gap between lab-grown and field-grown crops, which negatively affected yield and efficiency. The collection of used cooking oil also faced issues due to aggregation challenges and its diversion into the adulteration market. Another raw material the industry tried was palm oil. Due to volatile international prices, dependence on imports, and a lower off-take price, the industry was not successful.
The growth of CBG from 2018 to 2023 was very slow, with only 40 to 50 plants having been installed. Taking notice, the Government of India introduced several policy measures, including Market Development Assistance (MDA) for Fermented Organic Manure (FoM), the Biomass Aggregation Machinery (BAM) Scheme, the Direct Pipeline Injection (DPI) Scheme, and Central Financial Assistance (CFA). These policies gave a little push to the industry, and now we have about 120 plants already commissioned in the country, with another 200 to 300 in various stages of construction.
Another promising development is the use of densified biomass in boilers, particularly in the power sector. The Ministry of Power set a target of blending 5% biomass with coal in thermal power plants. To facilitate this, the Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agri-Residue in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH) was set up to create an ecosystem that can help with off-take. Price benchmarking was also introduced, which helped bring positive momentum to the sector.
Looking ahead, India is also investing in futuristic avenues like 2G ethanol, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and biomaterials. These will play a crucial role in meeting India’s bold climate commitments: achieving net-zero by 2070, 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030, and a 45% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030.
The government’s intent is clear, but unlocking the sector’s full potential requires scaling up support and creating a stable ecosystem. The way forward is a broad-based, sustained approach rather than fragmented efforts. Key enablers will be:
• A price-gap support mechanism, ensuring fair returns for producers while keeping fuel affordable.
• A central climate and carbon reduction fund, supported by a cess on fossil fuels, to finance bioenergy growth.
• Mandates and policy certainty to attract long-term private investments.
India’s bioenergy journey is no longer just about reducing oil imports—it is about empowering farmers, managing waste sustainably, creating green jobs, and positioning India as a global leader in renewable energy innovation. With decisive policies, collaborative industry efforts, and strong public support, bioenergy can become a cornerstone of India’s clean energy future.
(Writer is Director General, Indian Federation of Green Energy. Views expressed are personal)