Coal gasification offers a bridge between India's coal endowment and its decarbonisation pledges.

Q. Coal gasification offers a bridge between India's coal endowment and its decarbonisation pledges. (15 marks, 250 words)

India holds the world's fifth-largest coal reserves yet imports over half its LNG, ~100% of ammonia and 80–90% of methanol [1]. Coal gasification—converting coal into syngas (CO+H₂) for cleaner fuels and chemicals—seeks to monetise this endowment while easing the transition toward net-zero-2070.

How it bridges endowment and climate goals - Cleaner value-addition: routes coal to methanol, SNG, urea and hydrogen instead of raw combustion, cutting emission intensity versus direct burning [1]. - Energy security: substitutes high-import inputs, narrowing the current account deficit [1]. - Scale & investment: the ₹37,500 crore Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification (2026) targets ~75 MT gasification toward the 100 MT-by-2030 goal, mobilising ₹2.5–3 lakh crore and ~50,000 jobs [1]. - Feedstock certainty: coal linkage extended to 30 years, de-risking projects—a bankability bottleneck [1]. - Productive non-power use for lignite, a low-rank coal otherwise burnt at mine-mouth [1].

Where the bridge is fragile - Gasification is itself carbon-intensive; without CCUS it delays rather than delivers decarbonisation. - Water- and capital-heavy; commercial viability hinges on sustained incentives—hence the milestone-linked 4-tranche disbursal [1]. - Risks locking in coal infrastructure, competing with the renewables-and-green-hydrogen pathway.

Coal gasification is a transitional bridge, not a destination: it valorises domestic coal and trims strategic imports, but its climate credibility rests on mandatory carbon capture and eventual convergence with the Green Hydrogen Mission. Anchored to CCUS, it can reconcile self-reliance with India's NDC commitments.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. Cabinet approves Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects (₹37,500 crore), PIB, 2026 — outlay, 75 MT/100 MT-by-2030 target, import-dependence figures, incentive caps, 30-year linkage, investment and jobs. 2. Cabinet approves scheme for Coal/Lignite Gasification of PSUs and Private Sector under three categories (₹8,500 crore), PIB, 2024 — predecessor incentive framework. 3. Ministry of Coal Year End Review-2025, PIB — gasification as flagship initiative.