“Biogas Will Be the Next Rural Energy Revolution”
An in-depth conversation with Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), on the sidelines of the World Biogas Association Annual Meet (India Congress 2025) in New Delhi
Q: What is NDDB’s overarching vision for the country?
A: NDDB’s vision is rooted in empowering the small and marginal dairy farmer, who forms the backbone of the rural economy. We seek to build a nation where farmers achieve sustainable prosperity through cooperative-led, technology-driven growth. At its core, the vision is about creating a self-reliant dairy sector that delivers nutritional security, rural empowerment, and environmentally responsible development. Our model is designed to ensure that prosperity flows not only to markets but reaches the grassroots where it matters most.
Q: Biogas has emerged as a major theme at this year’s global meet. How do you see NDDB’s role in scaling up biogas across India?
A: NDDB sees biogas as a natural extension of our dairy development mission. We play a pivotal role in India’s biogas ecosystem by connecting dairy cooperatives, rural households, gaushalas, and milk producers into an integrated waste-to-energy chain. Our approach ensures that renewable energy and dairy-sector development go hand in hand. Biogas is no longer just a clean fuel—it is becoming an economic opportunity, a climate solution, and a supplementary source of income for millions of rural families.
Q: One of NDDB’s flagship efforts is the Manure Management Initiative. How does this programme work on the ground?
A: The Manure Management Initiative (MMI) is built on a simple yet transformative idea: cattle dung is not waste—it is a valuable resource. Under MMI, we promote the scientific collection of dung, establish household, community and cooperative-run biogas plants, and ensure the production of high-quality bio-slurry and organic manure. Importantly, it creates an additional revenue stream for farmers, who are paid for the dung they supply. What MMI really does is convert dairy waste into a high-value circular economy product that supports energy, agriculture and livelihoods simultaneously.
Q: NDDB is also involved in larger biogas and Bio-CNG plants. What does that landscape look like?
A: NDDB facilitates biogas plants at multiple scales. At the village level, we help set up small digesters for households and milk producers. At the cooperative level, we support medium-sized plants run by milk unions or federations. At the commercial level, we enable large Bio-CNG/CBG units under the SATAT programme, focusing on transport-grade CNG and bulk thermal energy. These plants supply clean cooking fuel, clean mobility fuel, and high-quality organic fertilizer. We aim to build a fully integrated ecosystem where every unit of dung and every litre of slurry is productively utilised.
Q: How are dairy cooperatives being reimagined as hubs for the biogas economy?
A: The cooperative model lies at the heart of NDDB’s strategy. Milk societies are being transformed into centres where farmers can supply dung, receive payments, access biogas or buy organic slurry. Biogas collection, distribution and slurry marketing are all integrated with the existing milk procurement network. This approach keeps the value addition within the village and ensures that the energy economy is owned by the community. It creates a powerful incentive structure where both farmers and cooperatives benefit financially.
Q: What is the nature of NDDB’s collaboration with government schemes like SATAT and GOBAR-Dhan?
A: NDDB works in close coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the Department of Animal Husbandry, and state governments. Our collaborations help align policy frameworks, secure feedstock, establish financial viability and ensure market linkages for compressed biogas. Such inter-agency cooperation is vital for scaling up the biogas sector nationally. Together, we are creating an enabling environment where renewable energy, climate action and rural development reinforce each other.
