Written by PPL Newsroom• October 4, 2026• 7:00 am• Business & Sustainability

Reliance plans Rs 1 lakh crore biogas push in Andhra Pradesh using farm waste

Announced at Madanapalle, the compressed biogas plan promises over 3 lakh jobs, and it follows a new Rs 23,731 crore central scheme for the sector.

Reliance Industries plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in compressed biogas (CBG) plants in Andhra Pradesh. Executive director Anant M Ambani announced this on 2 October at Madanapalle. The company says the plants will turn agricultural residue and other organic waste into fuel, and will create new income for farmers.

According to Ambani, the plants would create more than 3 lakh jobs and generate nearly Rs 60,000 crore in revenue for the state over the coming decades. The figures are company projections. The source material gives no project timelines, individual plant capacities or commissioning schedules.

What compressed biogas is

CBG is made by processing organic waste such as crop residue, animal dung and food waste into methane-rich gas. It can replace conventional natural gas in transport, industry and commercial use. In practice, stubble, husks and dung that farmers might otherwise burn or leave to rot become a product with a buyer. Supporters say this can also cut fossil fuel imports and yield nutrient-rich bio-manure.

Ambani spoke at the foundation-stone ceremony for the Rayalaseema Horticulture Hub and the Indian School of Agriculture. He said the hub involves an investment of Rs 40,000 crore. Reliance also plans to share expertise from its bio-energy research centre in Jamnagar with farmers through the school. He said he wanted farmers to become “Urja Daatas” (energy providers) while they continue to supply food, according to a report by APAC Media.

A policy tailwind

The announcement came days after the Centre backed the sector. The Union Cabinet approved the GOBARdhan central sector scheme last month, with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore and a ten-year framework from 2026-27 to 2035-36. According to Business Standard, it aims to raise domestic CBG production nearly ten-fold, to around 5 million standard cubic metres per day. The report says the long-term framework gives investors and lenders more certainty.

Andhra Pradesh is also building public-sector capacity. In March, the state government sanctioned around Rs 60 crore for five CBG plants in urban local bodies, to improve waste management and generate clean energy. Each plant will process 25 tonnes a day, taking the total to 125 tonnes a day.

What this means for India

India imports much of its natural gas, and many farms still burn crop residue. The Andhra plan is a proposed test of whether waste can become a steady rural income source. Its scale sits alongside the Rs 23,731 crore GOBARdhan scheme, which aims to raise national CBG output to about 5 million standard cubic metres a day. The jobs and revenue numbers are company estimates, so the real measures will be how many farmers sign supply contracts, how many plants are commissioned, and whether the residue is collected reliably.

What to watch next

Plant details: locations, capacities and construction schedules have not been published.
Feedstock supply: the model depends on aggregating residue from many farms at harvest time.
Farmer terms: prices and contract design will decide how much income reaches rural households.