Overview

• Mid-programme revisions under Phase-I of the National Bioenergy Programme took effect on June 28, 2025, covering both biomass and waste-to-energy components.
• Approval procedures have been streamlined by cutting paperwork, shortening operational tests to 10-hour runs and allowing an 18-month inspection window that the MNRE Secretary may extend.
• The requirement for two-year briquette and pellet sale contracts has been replaced by general sale agreements, with pellet makers in northern states granted the option to select MNRE or CPCB support.
• Central Financial Assistance has been restructured to reward performance, offering full subsidies for plants above 80% capacity, pro-rata aid down to 50% and no funding below that threshold.
• Waste-to-energy norms now deliver CFA in two stages—50% after obtaining Consent to Operate and the balance upon hitting capacity milestones—and mandate joint inspections by NIBE alongside state nodal bodies.