Despite the global push for clean energy and India's own ambitious climate goals, the story of coal in the country is far from over. The Viksit Bharat 2047 pathway projects India's electricity demand increasing nearly fivefold, reaching approximately 8,515 billion units by 2047. Along with renewable energy sources, India's energy transition pathway calls for technologies such as coal gasification and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) to help reduce emissions from coal.

With NITI Aayog acknowledging the need for coal in its recently released reports on 'Scenarios Towards Viksit Bharat 2047' and 'Net Zero 2070', high-level deliberations are needed to address a pressing question: Can coal gasification be a bridge technology in the energy transition roadmap to support India's long-term energy security?

NITI Aayog reports affirm coal's two-to-three-decade role in India's growth to net-zero by 2070, with coal gasification key via coal-to-chemicals, CCUS, and the national 100 MT target by 2030. Coal can be a bridge for India's energy security amid vast reserves and a fivefold increase in energy needs by 2047. The need of the hour is a stronger private-sector engagement that will help overcome barriers such as capital and regulation. This would then pave the way for a scaling up of coal gasification projects in the country.

Government backing is propelling efficient coal utilization amid declining domestic gas production, with coal gasification emerging as the hero, producing vital syngas (synthesis gas). What is required are demand-side policies that would help pivot steelmaking from blast furnaces to the syngas-hungry Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) process.

Coal gasification has several benefits: seamless CCUS integration, especially underground plants for superior environmental gains, and its potential for power, methanol, ammonia, and other chemicals production. Several factors can facilitate the responsible, indigenous and commercially viable deployment of coal gasification in India. Successful models in Odisha and Maharashtra underscore the importance of incentives for state-level policies, such as subsidies on power tariffs, land allocation, and round-the-clock water access for industrial projects.

At the national level, projects must be granted infrastructure status, long-term offtake assurances must be provided for downstream products such as methanol and ammonia, production-linked incentive (PLI) support should be given for coal-to-chemical value chains, custom duty waivers given to early adopters, and a composite gas policy must mandate blending targets, such as 10% of LPG to be blended as dimethyl ether (DME), a synthetically produced alternative fuel.

Policies must encourage inter-ministerial coordination for coal linkages, technology partnerships that blend 'Make in India' with imports, and comprehensive cost-benefit analyses incorporating environmental externalities to reflect long-term economic and environmental considerations. Demand-side measures include providing incentives to shift industries, such as steel, toward DRI processes, positioning gasification to meet the 100 MT target by 2030 while aligning with Viksit Bharat 2047 and Net Zero 2070 goals. India needs to prioritize fluidized bed systems (which convert coal to syngas) that are suited to India's high-ash coal, integrating CCUS to reduce emissions, and develop industrial clusters focused on coal-to-chemicals, methanol, ammonia, and green hydrogen production to enable economies of scale and value-chain optimization.

The country must also develop indigenous capability, create clearer frameworks and greater incentives for private-sector participation. Because of high capital intensity and technological access constraints, the industry today requires enhanced viability gap funding (VGF), streamlined disbursement processes, innovative risk-sharing mechanisms between governments and private players, and risk-mitigated financing models inspired by past thermal power reforms.