India and Japan have launched the Japan-India Compressed Biogas (CBG) Initiative to promote clean energy production from cattle dung and agricultural biomass, with an ambitious target of setting up 1,000 biogas plants across India by 2030.
The announcement was made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi while addressing the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in New Delhi during her three-day official visit to India, ANI reported.
Takaichi said she and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to jointly promote compressed biogas production through cooperative institutions by utilising cattle dung, rice straw, sugarcane residue and other agricultural biomass available in rural India.
She said India possesses vast biomass resources that remain largely underutilised and noted that the initiative reflects the shared commitment of both countries to strengthen rural economies, expand clean energy production and deepen bilateral cooperation.
“My attention has been drawn to the vast biomass resources available in India’s rural areas that remain largely underutilised. These include cattle dung, rice straw, sugarcane residue and other agricultural biomass,” Takaichi said.
She added that Prime Minister Modi has long promoted the idea of converting rural resources into energy through cooperative institutions and said the approach could play an important role in supporting both rural development and India’s energy security.
“Based on this shared vision, Prime Minister Modi and I agreed to launch a new project, the Japan-India CBG Initiative, which will utilise cooperative institutions to generate energy from cattle dung and other biomass resources in the form of compressed biogas,” she said.
According to Takaichi, the initiative aims to establish up to 1,000 biogas plants across India by 2030.
She also announced that India and Japan had signed a Letter of Intent following her meeting with Prime Minister Modi to jointly develop a market for around 2.5 million CNG vehicles powered by compressed biogas produced under the initiative, ANI stated.
“This initiative aims to establish as many as 1,000 biogas plants across India by 2030. Moreover, through the Letter of Intent signed today, we shall jointly create a market of approximately 2.5 million CNG vehicles powered by this biogas,” she said.
Prime Ministers Modi and Takaichi attended the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in New Delhi, where they also visited an exhibition highlighting bilateral economic and technological cooperation.
Takaichi is on a three-day official visit to India from July 1 to 3 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.
During the visit, the two leaders participated in the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, where they reviewed bilateral cooperation and discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest.
India and Japan share long-standing ties based on cultural and civilisational exchanges, democratic values and cooperation across multiple sectors, including clean energy and technology.
