India's INR 375 Billion Coal Gasification Scheme Receives 7 Bids in First Round

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 8, India's Ministry of Coal announced the results of the first round of applications for its INR 375 billion incentive scheme for surface coal/lignite gasification projects, receiving a total of 7 project proposals. Adani Enterprises Limited submitted 3 urea projects, NTPC Limited applied to build a synthetic natural gas project; Gallantt Ispat Limited, Shyam Sel & Power Limited, and Talcher Fertilisers Limited also submitted project proposals respectively.

Among the 7 proposals in the first round, all 3 projects from Adani Enterprises have urea as the final product; the Gallantt Ispat project plans to produce direct reduced iron and syngas, the NTPC project plans to produce synthetic natural gas, the Shyam Sel & Power project plans to produce syngas, and the Talcher Fertilisers project plans to produce urea. The deadline for the first round of applications was September 7. Earlier, the Ministry of Coal had confirmed that NTPC and Talcher Fertilisers submitted their applications through the online platform.

The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 13, with a total financial outlay of INR 375 billion. It targets new surface coal and lignite gasification projects, with support recipients determined through a competitive process. Financial incentives can reach up to 20% of the project's plant and machinery costs, with a maximum incentive of INR 50 billion per individual project and a cumulative cap of INR 120 billion for all projects under the same corporate group. Funds will be disbursed in four equal installments aligned with project construction milestones.

As per the scale set by the Government of India, the scheme is expected to support approximately 25 projects, involving around 75 million tonnes of coal and lignite gasification capacity. Product scope includes syngas, synthetic natural gas, urea, ammonia, methanol, direct reduced iron, synthetic fuels, and other downstream chemical products. Project selection will comprehensively consider indicators such as project cost, coal input volume, and syngas output; the scheme also extends the maximum duration of related coal supply contracts to 30 years.

The Ministry of Coal opened the second round of applications on September 8, and plans to continue opening application windows at two-month intervals thereafter. The first round ran from the issuance of tender documents on July 7 to the deadline on September 7. During this period, the Ministry organized a pre-application meeting on July 20 to explain eligibility criteria, evaluation methodology, financial incentives, and application procedures.