"India's Coal Gasification Promotion Scheme Draws Seven Applications in Round One"
Coal Gasification
thermochemical conversion of coal or lignite into syngas (CO + H₂) using steam and oxygen at high temperatures.
Syngas
a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by gasification; feedstock for methanol, ammonia, urea, ethanol, and hydrogen.
Coal has long been central to India's energy economy, supplying roughly 55 per cent of primary energy needs and powering over 70 per cent of electricity generation. India holds the world's fifth largest coal resource base and ranks as the second largest producer and consumer of coal globally. The sector was nationalised in the early 1970s under Coal India Limited (CIL), which remains the world's largest coal producer. The constitutional basis for central regulation of mines lies in Entry 54 of the Union List (Seventh Schedule), and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 governs the broader mineral framework.
Despite abundant domestic reserves, India has historically imported significant quantities of coal, LNG, urea, ammonia, and methanol, commodities that together cost approximately ₹2.77 lakh crore in imports during FY 2024-25. This import dependence reflects a structural gap: India's coal has largely been burned directly for power, rather than converted into higher-value industrial feedstocks. Coal gasification addresses this gap by converting coal or lignite into syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen), which then serves as a versatile feedstock for producing methanol, ammonia, urea, ethanol, and hydrogen. The 2025 Prelims paper tested exactly this point, that coal gasification technology can be used in the production of ethanol, urea, and other downstream chemicals, underscoring how central this conversion chain is to understanding the scheme's industrial logic.
The Coal Controller's Organisation (CCO), which functions as the major source of coal statistics for the Government of India and monitors the progress of captive coal and lignite block development, plays an important institutional role in tracking the ecosystem within which gasification projects operate. The broader policy trajectory moved from administrative block allocation (cancelled by the Supreme Court in its landmark ruling on 204 arbitrarily allocated coal blocks) to competitive auctions under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, and now extends to value-addition through gasification.
Coal gasification is a thermochemical process in which coal or lignite reacts with steam and oxygen at high temperatures to produce syngas. This syngas is not an end product. It is a building block. Through established industrial processes, the Haber-Bosch process for ammonia, catalytic synthesis for methanol, and further conversion for urea and hydrogen, syngas can replace imported petrochemical feedstocks across fertiliser, chemical, and fuel industries. This is the core import-substitution logic of the scheme.
The Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects was approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2026 with a total financial outlay of ₹37,500 crore. Its stated targets are ambitious: achieving 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030, with 75 million tonnes of that capacity developed under this scheme alone. …
Consider the following substances:
I.Ethanol
II.Nitroglycerine
III.Urea
Coal gasification technology can be used in the production of how many of them?
In India, what is the role of the Coal Controller's Organization (CCO)?
1.CCO is the major source of Coal Statistics in Government of India.
2.It monitors progress of development of Captive Coal/Lignite blocks.
3.It hears any objection to the Government's notification relating to acquisition of coal-bearing areas.
4.It ensures that coal mining companies deliver the coal to end users in the prescribed time.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements:
1.Coal sector was nationalized by the Government of India under Indira Gandhi's tenure.
2.Currently, coal blocks are allocated on lottery basis.
3.India, till recent times, imported coal to meet the shortages of domestic supply, but now India is self-sufficient in coal production.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following products can be produced using syngas derived from coal gasification?
1.Methanol
2.Ammonia
3.Urea
4.Ethanol
5.Hydrogen
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements regarding the Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects:
1.The scheme has a total financial outlay of ₹37,500 crore.
2.It targets 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030.
3.The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2024.
4.It builds on an earlier ₹8,500 crore Financial Incentive Scheme under which eight projects are under implementation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The National Coal Gasification Mission of India has set a target of achieving coal gasification capacity of:
With reference to the Coal Controller's Organisation (CCO) of India, consider the following statements:
1.It is the major source of coal statistics for the Government of India.
2.It monitors the progress of development of captive coal and lignite blocks.
3.It hears objections to government notifications relating to acquisition of coal-bearing areas.
4.It ensures coal mining companies deliver coal to end users within prescribed timelines.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Match the following coal gasification policy instruments with their correct financial outlays:
List I (Scheme)
A.Financial Incentive Scheme (approved January 2024)
B.Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects (approved May 2026)
List II (Financial Outlay)
1.₹8,500 crore
2.₹37,500 crore
3.₹2.77 lakh crore
4.₹2.5–3 lakh crore
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