Govt clears ₹37,500 crore coal gasification scheme

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹37,500 crore coal gasification scheme that aims to convert India’s vast coal and lignite reserves into synthesis gas for use as fuel and in the manufacture of fertilisers, chemicals and other products — cutting the country’s dependence on costly energy imports.

The scheme targets gasification of approximately 75 million tonnes (MT) of coal and lignite, advancing the national goal of gasifying 100 MT by 2030. India’s import bill for key substitutable products — liquefied natural gas (LNG), urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia, coking coal, methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) and others — stood at approximately ₹2.77 lakh crore in FY25, a vulnerability the government says has been further exposed by the ongoing geopolitical situation in West Asia.