India presents significant opportunities for new businesses to create value by leveraging agricultural, food and biomass waste. Agricultural biomass, which primarily consists of post-harvest crop residue and waste from livestock, is the largest source of waste in India – the country generates approximately 350 million tonnes annually. Agricultural and biomass waste generation is also expected to increase as food production increases, especially for staple and cash crops like rice, wheat, maize and cotton. Biomass is used in diverse applications from fodder for cattle and household cooking to the production of biogas, manure and renewable fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel.
Biomass caters to a substantial portion of India’s rural energy demand, fulfilling approximately 80% of it. Low-cost biomass solutions play a particularly significant role in rural settings, where small-scale energy needs predominate. Conversely, more sophisticated biomass technologies are used in applications such as energy generation or fuel production, especially for large-scale operations. These opportunities relate to improved collection, waste-to-energy solutions, and diverse biomaterials. These cascade into specific opportunity areas across the value chain, which are summarized in this report.