India started intense coal gasification drive to reduce emissions: Joshi

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said that India is committed towards meeting its obligation on climate change and has already started intense coal gasification drive

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said that India is committed towards meeting its obligation on climate change and has already started intense coal gasification drive involving public sector units and plantation to reduce carbon emissions.

Climate change is also going to be one of the key agendas at G-20 of which India is assuming presidency from December 1.

The minister, in an interview to PTI, said besides meeting its climate change commitment, India will also have to take care of its energy security and has to do a balancing act.

"Whatever prime minister has given the commitment to the world that will definitely follow. For that we are going in a huge way for gasification where comparatively there will be less pollution. And also, we are going in a huge way for plantation," the minister said.

The process of partially oxidizing coal with air, oxygen, steam or carbon dioxide to form syngas is called coal gasification.

He said that to strengthen the technology on coal gasification, the coal ministry has requested all PSUs (public sector units) to participate, and added that BHEL is taking a lead in this regard.

"And along with that we have entered into an MoU with many PSUs, and we are involving private sector also."

He added that the government is providing Rs 6,000 crore towards viability gap funding for the gasification.

Joshi said that net-zero does not mean that India will stop emissions, but it will create capacity to absorb it, and added that as compared to the western world India's per capita emission is not even one-third.

"We are a responsible country, responsible society and responsible political party," he said, adding that India will take all steps required to reduce emissions.

For setting up four large-scale coal-to-chemical projects through surface coal gasification route, Coal India Limited (CIL) recently signed three separate agreements, one each with three major PSUs of the country -- BHEL, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd.

With an estimated cost of Rs 35,000 crore, the proposed surface coal gasification (SCG) projects are planned to be set up in West Bengal, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

As the country's four major PSUs huddle together, the move is aimed at reduced forex outgo, promoting self-reliance and capitalisation of indigenous resources.

Another upside will be employment generation with direct employment of around 1,200 personnel and indirect employment to the tune of over 20,000 persons.

The coal ministry on a mission mode is fast-tracking utilisation of coal and has targeted to achieve 100 million tonnes coal gasification by 2030.