What Reliance's Rs 1 Lakh Crore Biogas Plan and Its Projected 3 Lakh Jobs Mean for Andhra Pradesh Farmers and Plant Workers

Reliance Industries plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in Andhra Pradesh to set up compressed biogas (CBG) plants, and executive director Anant Ambani said the projects are expected to create more than 3 lakh jobs. That number is an expectation tied to a proposed investment, not a set of open vacancies and not a counted headcount like the clean energy totals in Why the 2026 Green Jobs Collapse Is a Myth and Where Clean Energy Hiring Is Headed. This guide looks at the plan from the side of farmers with spare or barren land, rural youth, plant operators, drivers and organic manure workers in Andhra Pradesh. For Metaintro readers, the useful detail sits in the primary pages beyond the speech, namely the Reliance release on the first of its 500 planned Andhra Pradesh CBG plants, the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy, 2024 and the new national GOBARdhan scheme. Here is what those pages show.

What Did Reliance Announce in Madanapalle?

The announcement came at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Rayalaseema Horticulture Hub and the Indian School of Agriculture in Madanapalle on October 2, with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also at the unveiling of the foundation plaques. The proposed investment is expected to create more than 3 lakh jobs and generate nearly ₹60,000 crore in revenue for the state over the coming decades, Ambani said.

Farmers who ensure India's food security will now strengthen its energy security too, Ambani said, and he thanked the state government for the opportunity to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in the state.

CBG is made by processing agricultural residue, animal dung, food waste and other biomass into methane-rich gas. The fuel can replace conventional natural gas in transport, industrial and commercial uses.

The same event covered a proposed Rs 40,000-crore horticulture hub for Rayalaseema. Citing state government data, Ambani put the state's pipeline at 388 mega projects approved since June 2024, with investment commitments exceeding Rs 14 lakh crore and potential employment of nearly 11 lakh people.

Through Reliance’s green energy businesses, I see an opportunity to help our Anna Daatas become Urja Daatas, Reliance executive director Anant Ambani said on October 2, according to the Business Today story.

How Is This Different From the 500-Plant Deal Signed in 2024?

The state signed a memorandum of understanding with Reliance Industries to set up compressed biogas plants at a cost of Rs 65,000 crore in November 2024, in the presence of the Chief Minister at the Secretariat. At that signing, Chief Minister Naidu said the 500 compressed biogas plants would be set up in three years with each plant costing Rs 130 crore.

The MoU carried the potential to generate a revenue of Rs 57,650 crore to the state and employment to an estimated 2.5 lakh people, while the new plan is Rs 1 lakh crore, which Ambani said would create over 3 lakh jobs and bring nearly Rs 60,000 crore in revenue to the State over the next decades.

What did not come with the new figure matters too. No plant count, project timeline or plant capacity appears in the Business Today story, the Business Standard story, the Hans India story, the Free Press Journal story or the Bioenergy Business story on the October 2 speech. The plant count in Reliance's own release is the series of 500 projects involving a total capital outlay of Rs. 65,000 crores, dated April 2025. It is not clear from coverage of the speech whether the Rs 1 lakh crore replaces, extends or adds to that series.

Are the 3 Lakh Jobs Open Vacancies Yet?

No. The jobs are expected from a proposed investment, with no start date given in the Business Today story.

At the November 2024 MoU signing, the 500-plant project was put at direct or indirect employment to 2.5 lakh people, so that count was not limited to staff inside the plants. The 500-plant initiative is expected to create 250,000 jobs for rural youth, a figure from Reliance's April 2025 release. Neither total is split into plant jobs and farm jobs in the Deccan Chronicle MoU story or the Reliance release.

Reliance's construction of two biogas plant units in Dommeru village in East Godavari district, covering 36 acres, a project with an investment totalling Rs 256 crore that is also aimed at generating employment opportunities for 270 individuals was set out in an official announcement in February 2024. The local MLA put the Kapavaram unit at job opportunities for approximately 100 individuals. Those are estimates from one older project, not a rule for the new plants.

Where Will the Plants and the Grass Fields Be?

The first plant in the 500-plant series is at Kanigiri in Prakasam district, where Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh laid the foundation stone on April 02, 2025. It is the first of that series, not Reliance's first biogas project in the state, since the two East Godavari units had their foundation stone laid in a ceremony covered in February 2024. In April 2025, the Kanigiri plant was being developed with a capital investment of Rs. 139 crores.

The Kanigiri plant will use Napier grass grown on barren and waste lands to produce bio-gas. Around 500,000 acres of barren and waste lands in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa will be utilised for the integrated CBG hubs. At the 2024 signing, the state's power minister put the plants in eight districts.

Reliance's April 2025 target is that once all the plants are fully operational, they will produce 40 lakh tonne of green, clean CBG and 1.1 million metric tonnes of organic fertiliser annually. The state's approval under its clean energy policy, made public in January 2025, gave the 500 plants a combined capacity of 11,000 metric tons.

Together, we will turn waste into green wealth, energy into empowerment, and land into livelihood, Reliance executive director P M S Prasad said in April 2025, according to the Reliance release.

What Do Farmers Get From the Napier Grass Model?

For the Kanigiri plant, Reliance describes two income streams for farmers, payment of lease revenues to the farmers, and additionally, a fixed price for the grass grown by farmers. No fixed grass price is printed in the April 2025 Reliance release, and whether the same terms will apply at the other plants is not spelled out there.

In April 2025, Reliance executive director P M S Prasad gave the estimate that the byproduct from these plants will yield one crore tonne of Fermented Organic Manure to support farmers with a reduction of chemical fertilisers consumption and will transform 15 lakh acres of barren land into fertile farmland. Prasad's one crore tonne figure sits apart from the estimate of 1.1 million metric tonnes of organic fertiliser annually in the release text.

Under the plan Ambani set out, Jio would collaborate with the Indian School of Agriculture to take training programmes to millions of farmers in Indian languages through virtual classrooms in villages, and that educated rural youth could become digitally enabled extension workers who help farmers apply that knowledge, a role that is also part of the plan in Papua New Guinea Cocoa Growers and Rural Youth Get a Ten-Year Plan to Process More Beans at Home, and that Reliance would share its bio-energy expertise from its R&D centre in Jamnagar.

What Does the State's Clean Energy Policy Say About Land and Feedstock?

The rules for CBG land sit in the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy, 2024, notified by G.O.Ms.No.37 of the Energy Department and valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue. The state target for biofuels includes Bio CNG/CBG of 10,000 TPD.

• Lease rate on revenue or government land. For biofuel projects on revenue or government land, the lease paid to the government is INR 15,000/acre/year with 5% escalation for every 2 years.
• Private land. If a project is set up on private land, the eligible Developer shall procure the land from the landholder on their own. The policy text is inconsistent on private land. Under clause 5.3(f), the biofuel rate of INR 15,000/acre/year with 5% escalation for every 2 years for biofuels projects (only for revenue/government land) applies only to revenue or government land, while under the biofuel incentives, land lease charges of revenue/government/private/patta land are INR 15,000 an acre a year with 5% escalation for every 2 years.
• Lease length. Government land is allotted on lease up to a maximum 30 years, including the construction period.
• Feedstock collection centres. Local bodies, farmers and other stakeholders get support for setting up of feedstock collection centres with storage, and manufacturers shall be mandated to procure feedstock from such centres.

For the plant owner, a CBG plant set up during the policy operative period can get a capital subsidy of 20% on Fixed Capital Investment, subject to a maximum of INR 1 Cr for each TPD of capacity, paid over a period of 5 years post COD, for plants of at least 10 TPD, and only for the first 1,000 plants or up to 10,000 TPD capacity, whichever is achieved first. The state's approval of the Reliance plants, made public in January 2025, offered to lease available revenue lands at ₹15,000 an acre each year, with a 5% biennial escalation.

What Does the New National GOBARdhan Scheme Add?

The Union Cabinet approved GOBARdhan, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, with a total outlay of Rs.23,731 crore, to be implemented from FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched GOBARdhan earlier in the same week as the Madanapalle speech.

• A stable price. The scheme sets a stable administered CBG price of Rs.2,110 for each Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU).
• Capital help. Eligible greenfield projects will receive capital assistance of up to Rs.2 crore for each TPD of installed CBG capacity.
• Assured buyers. City gas distribution procurement supports a CBG Obligation trajectory of 3% in FY 2026-27, 4% in FY 2027-28 and 5% from FY 2028-29 onwards in the CNG (Transport) and PNG (Domestic) segments.

The SATAT initiative, launched in October 2018, envisaged 5000 CBG plants producing 15 Million Metric Ton of CBG a year by 2023-24, and 38 CBG/biogas plants had been commissioned as on 31st October 2022. By the August 2026 Cabinet release, earlier schemes had enabled the commissioning of over 200 CBG plants.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy notified the National Bioenergy Programme for a period 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2026, with a biogas component, and bioenergy can also create local jobs, and business opportunities.

What Kind of Work Does a Biogas Plant Create?

A CBG plant generates opportunities in feedstock supply, transportation, plant operations and organic manure production.

• Napier grass growers and feedstock suppliers. At the Kanigiri project, farmers are to be paid through lease revenues and a fixed price for the grass.
• Feedstock collection centres. Local bodies and farmers can get support for setting up feedstock collection centres under the state policy.
• Transport workers. Transportation is one of the plant-linked opportunities.
• Plant operators. Plant operations is another.
• Organic manure workers. The plants are planned to turn out 1.1 million metric tonnes of organic fertiliser annually once fully operational.
• Digital extension workers. Rural youth could be trained as digitally enabled extension workers.

Other CBG plants are planned too. In a government order covered in March 2026, Andhra Pradesh sanctioned around 60 crore rupees to establish five CBG plants in urban local bodies, with new plants in Rajamahendravaram, Nellore, Guntur and Ongole and an upgrade of an existing facility in Vijayawada. Those plants will be implemented with technical support from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, and Swachh Andhra Corporation will serve as the nodal agency.

How Can You Avoid Fake Reliance Job Offers?

Certain fraudsters have been approaching innocent job seekers and promising them lucrative job offers in Reliance group companies, then asking for payments to a designated bank account.

• No fees. Reliance does not charge any job seeker any money or deposit for giving employment offers and interviews, or for an initial start-up kit such as a laptop, a uniform, a security deposit or COVID tests.
• No agents. It does not appoint any Agent, Agency or Individual to make or issue offers of employment, or to provide any kind of benefits, on its behalf.
• No WhatsApp documents. It does not ask for personal documents like marksheets, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card, CV to be shared through WhatsApp or through online forms.
• Check the email address. Official employment emails use an email address ending with “@ril.com” or “@jiobp.com”, never Gmail, Yahoo or other personal accounts.
• Verify and flag. You can verify an offer letter through the official website of Reliance Industries Ltd., Retail or JIO, as applicable, and flag suspicious activity to recruitment.fraud@ril.com.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

Our take is that the new jobs figure comes with little detail so far. The jobs are projected, the plant count for the new money is missing from the Business Today story on the speech, and Naidu's November 2024 timeline was that the 500 plants would be set up in three years. National targets have also run ahead of building before, since SATAT envisaged 5000 CBG plants by 2023-24 while over 200 CBG plants had been commissioned under SATAT and the related schemes by August 2026. The firm parts a farmer or worker can plan around are the land and feedstock rules in the state's clean energy policy and the national price and subsidy set out in the GOBARdhan Cabinet release.

Here is what we would do:

• Farmers with barren land in the named districts. The hubs are planned on barren and waste lands in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa. Before signing anything, ask for the lease rent and the grass price in writing. The policy text is inconsistent on private land, with the rate limited to revenue/government land in one place and revenue/government/private/patta land listed at the same rate in another.
• Village groups and local bodies. Look at the state support for feedstock collection centres, since manufacturers shall be mandated to buy from them.
• Plant and maintenance workers. Watch the areas where plants are planned, such as Kanigiri in Prakasam district, where a foundation stone has been laid and the urban plants in Rajamahendravaram, Nellore, Guntur and Ongole.
• Rural youth. Keep an eye on the Jio training planned with the Indian School of Agriculture, which could train rural youth to help farmers use digital services.
• Everyone. Never pay for a Reliance job, and check that any offer comes from an @ril.com or @jiobp.com address.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs will Reliance's biogas plan create in Andhra Pradesh?

A: Ambani said the Rs 1 lakh crore plants would create over 3 lakh jobs, but that is a projection, not a count of open vacancies.

Q: Where are Reliance's compressed biogas plants in Andhra Pradesh?

A: The first plant in the 500-plant series is at Kanigiri in Prakasam district, and around 500,000 acres of barren and waste land in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa will be utilised for the CBG hubs.

Q: How much land lease do biofuel projects pay in Andhra Pradesh?

A: For biofuel projects on revenue or government land, the lease paid to the government under the state policy is INR 15,000/acre/year with 5% escalation for every 2 years. The policy text is inconsistent on private land, since under its biofuel incentives, revenue/government/private/patta land is also listed at INR 15,000 an acre a year with 5% escalation for every 2 years.

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