National Bioenergy Programme (NBP)

The National Bioenergy Programme is the Government of India's umbrella scheme — administered by MNRE — for promoting biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy projects. The current version was notified in November 2022 with effect from 2021-22 and runs through 2025-26, with continuation expected under the next planning cycle. It consolidates earlier schemes (Waste-to-Energy Programme, Biomass Power Programme and National Biogas Programme) under a single Central Financial Assistance window.

The programme has three sub-schemes. Waste-to-Energy: CFA of up to ₹4 crore per 4,800 kg-per-day CBG plant (₹0.75 crore per 100 m³/hr of biogas with upgrading), capped at ₹10 crore per project, plus support for biogas-to-power and waste-to-power plants on a per-MW basis. Biomass Programme: support for briquette and pellet manufacturing plants at ₹21 per tonne of pellet capacity capped at ₹45 lakh per plant, and for non-bagasse cogeneration projects at ₹40 lakh per MW. Biogas Programme: rural family-size and medium-size biogas plants with per-cubic-metre CFA varying by region and beneficiary category.

For commercial CBG developers under SATAT the Waste-to-Energy sub-scheme is the most relevant lever. CFA is disbursed in two tranches — 50% on commissioning and 50% after performance evaluation six months later — and is contingent on the plant meeting its rated CBG production at IS 16087:2016 quality. Empanelled Inspection Agencies verify performance and methane content during the testing window. Disbursement is routed through IREDA or designated State Nodal Agencies and reconciled against utilisation certificates.

The strategic trade-offs are timing and conditionality. CFA is back-ended, so the project must be funded in full without counting on the subsidy as construction-phase equity. Targets such as 75% of rated CBG output for at least 75% of operational days during the test window are non-trivial during commissioning ramp-up — many plants experience H₂S spikes, foaming and feedstock variability in the first six months and fall short, losing 30-50% of expected CFA. Building a conservative ramp-up plan, holding feedstock buffer stock, and treating CFA as upside rather than budget is the prudent posture.