THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
NEW
DELHI, JULY 20, 2026
The Centre's
ambitious ₹37,500-crore
surface coal and lignite gasification incentive scheme has drawn strong
industry interest, with public sector enterprises, private companies, technology
providers and prospective investors participating in a pre-application
conference organised by the Ministry of Coal on Monday.
The conference,
chaired by Sanoj Kumar Jha, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, focused on
familiarising stakeholders with the operational framework of the scheme and
addressing industry queries ahead of the application deadline.
Officials provided
detailed clarifications on the Scheme Guidelines and the Request for Proposal
(RFP), including eligibility criteria, evaluation methodology, financial
incentives and the application process, while comprehensively addressing
queries raised by participants.
Approved by the Union
Cabinet on May 13, 2026, the ₹37,500-crore
Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects is aimed at
accelerating commercial deployment of coal gasification technologies and
boosting production of value-added products such as
synthetic natural gas, ammonia, methanol, direct reduced iron (DRI), synthetic
fuels and chemicals.
The government expects the scheme to catalyse investments of around ₹2.5-3 lakh crore, enable utilisation of nearly 75 million tonnes of coal annually and generate about 50,000 jobs. The initiative is also expected to reduce India's dependence on imported energy and chemical products while supporting cleaner utilisation of domestic coal resources.
The robust participation at the conference reflects growing industry confidence in the policy framework and the commercial potential of coal gasification projects. The Ministry of Coal said applications under the scheme will be accepted until September 7, 2026, and urged eligible entities to submit proposals within the prescribed timeline.
