NDDB Partners with NGO to Establish 10,000 Biogas Plants in 15 States.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has partnered with Bangalore-based NGO Sustain Plus to launch a large-scale circular dairy programme aimed at installing 10,000 biogas plants across 15 states in India, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

The initiative was unveiled at the ‘Workshop on Sustainability and Circularity in the Dairy Sector’ in New Delhi, hosted by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD). The programme, launched in the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, seeks to create climate-smart dairy villages and promote scalable, sustainable farming practices nationwide.

Over the next four years, the installed biogas digesters are expected to generate 3 lakh tonnes of organic slurry annually, improving soil health and reducing dependence on chemical fertilisers. Additionally, the digesters will produce more than 7 million cubic meters of biogas each year, providing clean cooking fuel to 10,000 rural households. The programme will also enable the production of nearly 60,000 tonnes of Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) annually, replacing an equivalent amount of chemical phosphate fertilisers and promoting cost-effective, sustainable farming.

The NDDB-Sustain Plus partnership is set to directly benefit dairy farmers by enhancing manure management, encouraging renewable energy adoption, and improving dairy infrastructure. By integrating biogas plants with solar-powered dairy operations and efficient milk collection systems, the programme aims to reduce input costs, enhance soil health, supply clean cooking fuel to rural households, and create new income streams through organic fertiliser sales and carbon credits.

Ganesh Neelam, Director of Sustain Plus, highlighted the impact of the partnership, stating, “Since 2021, our collaboration with NDDB has demonstrated the potential of integrating circularity into the dairy value chain by strengthening and scaling the gobar economy. This latest project aims to empower dairy farmers, particularly women, by providing access to clean cooking fuel and nutrient-rich bio-slurry for soil enrichment. With Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed with over 26 milk unions across 15 states, the dairy cooperative network provides a robust platform for scaling this initiative. This model can be replicated across states, making India’s dairy sector not only the largest in the world but also one of the most sustainable.”

Sustain Plus, a collaborative platform founded by Social Alpha, CInI, and the SELCO Foundation, is committed to deploying sustainable innovations to improve rural livelihoods in India.

HBL