India generates nearly 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste annually, creating both an environmental challenge and a major economic opportunity. The circular agriculture approach aims to convert this waste into valuable resources such as bioenergy, organic fertilisers, and bio-based products, with the potential to create a $2 trillion market and millions of jobs by 2050. While the Government has launched multiple initiatives for biomass utilisation, residue management, and infrastructure development, implementation gaps, weak supply chains, limited monitoring, and uneven regional performance remain key concerns. Strengthening outcome-based monitoring, market linkages, and integrated waste management is essential to transform agricultural waste into sustainable rural wealth.
Click to View MoreIndia’s plan to extract rare earths from fly ash under Atma Nirbhar Bharat faces criticism as techno-economically unviable due to very low REE content. Experts warn it undermines fly ash reuse and creates waste challenges, advocating instead for sustainably exploiting high-grade monazite sands, with fly ash extraction limited to long-term research.
Click to View MoreIndia generates over 140 million tonnes of crop residue annually, much of it burned, causing pollution and losses above USD 30 billion. Converting this waste through ex-situ options like CBG and 2G ethanol, and in-situ tools like the Pusa decomposer, can strengthen the bioeconomy, energy security, farmer incomes, and climate action.
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