UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Ministry of Coal Invites Applications under the ₹37,500 Crore Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects

Q1. Under the ₹37,500 crore Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects, which one of the following incentive ceilings is the HIGHEST?

  • A. Cap on financial incentive for any single project
  • B. Cap on financial incentive for any single product (other than SNG and Urea)
  • C. Cap on financial incentive for any single entity group across all its projects
  • D. Expected annual revenue benchmark per gasification unit

Q2. In the context of the RFP process for the surface coal/lignite gasification scheme, the 'Pre-Application Conference' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A forum convened by the Ministry of Coal to explain the scheme's provisions and enable prospective applicants to seek clarifications before submitting their proposals
  • B. A conclave in which state governments allocate coal blocks to short-listed bidders
  • C. A NITI Aayog review meeting to technically appraise and rank the applications already received
  • D. A ceremony at which selected applicants sign project implementation agreements with the Ministry

Q3. India's national target of gasifying 100 Million Tonnes of coal by 2030 is spearheaded and operationalised by which one of the following ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Coal
  • B. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
  • C. Ministry of Power
  • D. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Q4. Among the key products cited as rationale for the coal gasification programme, which one has the HIGHEST degree of import dependence?

  • A. LNG
  • B. Urea
  • C. Ammonia
  • D. Methanol

Q5. In coal gasification, the 'syngas' produced by the thermo-chemical process is composed principally of which one of the following pairs of gases?

  • A. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen
  • B. Nitrogen and hydrogen
  • C. Methane and carbon dioxide
  • D. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide

Q6. The setting up of a coal-to-Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) plant through surface gasification, as a public-sector initiative, is being operationalised through a joint venture led by which one of the following coal-sector public undertakings?

  • A. Coal India Limited (CIL)
  • B. NLC India Limited
  • C. Singareni Collieries Company Limited
  • D. NTPC Limited

Q7. Which of the following are correctly identified as products whose import dependence the surface coal/lignite gasification scheme explicitly seeks to reduce?

  1. LNG
  2. Urea
  3. Ammonia
  4. Coking coal for steelmaking
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q8. As per the latest official energy statistics, India's total geological resources of lignite are of the order of about:

  • A. 46 billion tonnes
  • B. 15 billion tonnes
  • C. 119 billion tonnes
  • D. 320 billion tonnes

Q9. In 2026, which one of the following was described by the Ministry of Coal as a 'historic first' for India in the coal sector?

  • A. The first-ever tranche of commercial coal mine agreements carrying embedded Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) provisions
  • B. The first surface gasification plant commissioned under the ₹37,500 crore incentive scheme
  • C. The first commercial import of syngas to meet domestic fertilizer demand
  • D. The first coal block reserved exclusively for renewable-hydrogen production