India’s first application round for its expanded coal gasification scheme has attracted seven proposals, including three from Adani Enterprises and applications from NTPC, Talcher Fertilisers, Gallantt Ispat and Shyam Sel & Power. The response offers an early indication of how the government’s Rs 37,500 crore programme could reshape the country’s industrial feedstock and fuel strategy.
The Economic Times reported that the coal ministry received the applications after opening the process in July, with the first round closing on September 7. The proposals cover urea, direct reduced iron, syngas and synthetic natural gas. Their range is important because the scheme is not designed around a single end use. It is intended to convert domestic coal into industrial inputs and fuels that India currently imports in substantial quantities.
At its centre, coal gasification involves converting coal into a synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be used to produce chemicals, fuels and other industrial feedstocks. The supplied report does not provide the technical specifications, proposed locations, investment amounts or implementation schedules for the seven applications. It does, however, show the breadth of industrial uses being considered in the scheme’s first round.
Adani Enterprises has submitted three separate applications for urea production, according to the report. Talcher Fertilisers has also sought support for a urea project. Gallantt Ispat has proposed a project involving direct reduced iron and syngas, while NTPC has applied for a synthetic natural gas project. Shyam Sel & Power has proposed syngas production.
This mix reflects the government’s stated objective of using domestic coal beyond conventional power generation. Urea production connects gasification to the fertiliser supply chain. Direct reduced iron links it to steelmaking. Syngas and synthetic natural gas could serve as industrial feedstocks or fuels, depending on the technology and project design eventually approved. The applications therefore place coal gasification within a wider industrial infrastructure question: whether domestic coal can be processed into products that reduce exposure to overseas supplies.
The Cabinet approved the scheme in May with a financial outlay of Rs 37,500 crore. The programme aims to support the development of 75 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity, contributing to a broader national objective of reaching 100 million tonnes by 2030. The report estimates that the scheme could catalyse investments of Rs 2.5 lakh crore to Rs 3 lakh crore.
These figures indicate that the public expenditure is intended to support a much larger investment cycle. The scheme’s financial outlay would operate as an enabling mechanism for projects requiring extensive capital, rather than representing the full cost of the proposed industrial build-out. The supplied report does not specify the form or conditions of support for each applicant, so the relationship between government assistance and private or public investment remains to be established through subsequent official documents.
The import-substitution rationale is also substantial. Imports of liquefied natural gas, urea, ammonia and methanol together accounted for around Rs 2.77 lakh crore in the 2025 financial year, according to the report. The scheme seeks to reduce dependence on these imports by creating domestic production capacity based on coal-derived industrial inputs.
That objective brings both scale and complexity. Producing a fuel or industrial chemical from coal is not simply a matter of increasing coal supply. The report notes that coal and lignite gasification projects are large-scale and capital-intensive investments requiring pre-feasibility studies, technology assessments, environmental considerations and detailed financial planning. Each of those stages can influence whether an application moves from policy support to construction and eventual operation.
The seven applications should therefore be read as an initial project pipeline rather than as seven completed investments. An application signals interest and eligibility for consideration, but it does not by itself establish financial closure, land availability, technology selection, environmental clearance, construction commencement or commercial production. The next stages of the scheme will determine how many proposals progress and on what terms.
The programme builds on the National Coal Gasification Mission and an Rs 8,500 crore scheme approved in January 2024. Eight projects under the earlier scheme are currently under implementation, the report said. This continuity suggests that the latest programme is part of an attempt to move coal gasification from a policy objective towards a larger portfolio of industrial projects.
At the same time, the comparison between the earlier and current schemes highlights the scale-up being attempted. The earlier scheme has eight projects under implementation, while the new application round has produced seven proposals at the initial stage. The available information does not establish whether the two groups are comparable in capacity, technology or sector, but the sequence shows that the government is expanding the policy framework while projects from the previous phase remain under development.
For the fertiliser sector, the emphasis on urea is directly linked to import dependence. The applications from Adani Enterprises and Talcher Fertilisers indicate that urea is one of the principal commercial pathways being considered for coal gasification. However, the report does not provide projected output, plant capacity or expected commissioning dates, so the potential contribution to India’s fertiliser supply cannot yet be quantified.
For steel and industrial gas users, the applications from Gallantt Ispat and Shyam Sel & Power point to another pathway: using gasification to create syngas or support direct reduced iron production. This could broaden the relevance of the programme beyond fertiliser manufacturing. Yet the industrial outcome will depend on project-specific technology, the quality and availability of coal, operating costs and the ability of proposed plants to produce commercially competitive products. None of those project-level assessments is available in the supplied material.
NTPC’s application for synthetic natural gas adds a public-sector energy company to the list of applicants. Its participation indicates that the scheme is attracting proposals across both state-linked and private industrial entities. The available report does not say whether NTPC’s proposal is intended for a specific plant, industrial cluster or end-user network.
The central policy question is whether coal gasification can deliver import substitution at a scale that is economically and environmentally viable. The government’s stated targets establish the intended direction: 100 million tonnes of capacity by 2030, including 75 million tonnes developed through the scheme. But capacity targets are only one measure of progress. The more consequential indicators will be the number of projects that secure approvals, reach financial closure, begin construction and operate at planned levels.
The environmental dimension is also part of the project-development framework. The report specifically identifies environmental considerations among the preparatory requirements for coal and lignite gasification projects. It does not provide emissions estimates, water-use figures, pollution-control requirements or environmental-clearance conditions for the proposed projects. Those details will be necessary to assess how the programme fits within India’s broader infrastructure and climate-resilience commitments.
The first application round has consequently established an industrial opportunity, not a final outcome. It confirms interest from seven applicants and identifies the sectors in which the scheme may be applied. It does not yet establish which projects will receive support, where they will be located, how much capacity they will create or when production could begin.
The next phase will be the evaluation of the applications and the development of project-specific technical, environmental and financial plans. Those decisions will reveal whether the Rs 37,500 crore scheme can translate its import-substitution ambition into operating industrial assets, and whether coal gasification becomes a significant part of India’s feedstock and fuel infrastructure by 2030.
