Coal India has raised concerns with the government that rules for the ₹37,500 crore coal-gasification incentive scheme could disadvantage the state-run company against private sector competitors. According to The Economic Times, CIL has flagged the 60-day bidding window and exclusion of captive power plants from eligible project costs as potential disadvantages. The company sought six months for the first round of applications, arguing that the proposed 60-day window could favour companies that already have project reports ready. However, the coal ministry rejected this request, stating that subsequent bidding rounds will begin immediately after previous rounds close, with each round having a two-month application period.
Coal India has incorporated CIL Global Pte. Ltd. in Singapore as a wholly owned subsidiary to explore overseas critical minerals opportunities and manage future international investments. The new entity was incorporated on August 24, 2026, with Coal India making a 100% equity investment of 5 lakh shares at 1 Singapore Dollar each. As per the latest exchange filing, CIL Global will focus on overseas opportunities involving critical minerals assets and provide a separate structure for future acquisitions, though no specific overseas mineral assets are currently being pursued. The Singapore subsidiary will also handle overseas investments and provide flexibility for future acquisitions, giving Coal India a dedicated vehicle for exploring international critical minerals opportunities beyond its domestic mining operations.
Coal India Ltd plans to invest nearly ₹48,000 crore in rail connectivity and mechanized coal evacuation as it works towards producing 1 billion tonnes of coal annually by fiscal year 2030 (FY30), chairman and managing director B. Sairam said in an interview. The state-run miner is also committing ₹50,000 crore with joint-venture partners to three coal gasification projects and exploring more projects with the governments of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. The investment push comes as rising industrial diesel and ammonium nitrate prices linked to the West Asia war put pressure on mining costs, with industrial diesel prices used in mining and logistics climbing as high as ₹155 a litre by the end of May.
CIL's infrastructure programme includes 72 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects, which mechanize coal evacuation and reduce reliance on road transport. The projects will add 994 million tonnes a year of handling capacity at around ₹24,560 crore by FY30, taking CIL's FMC capacity from 432 million tonnes currently. The company is also developing seven major railway links spanning 553 km at an investment of around ₹23,463 crore, in partnership with Indian Railways and the governments of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Industry executives are seeking freight support and land allocation near mines or ports for gasification projects supplying fertiliser and steel plants, citing that logistics costs could further weaken project economics.
The investment push comes as rising industrial diesel and ammonium nitrate prices linked to the West Asia war put pressure on mining costs. Industrial diesel prices used in mining and logistics climbed as high as ₹155 a litre by the end of May, from around ₹92 a litre for retail diesel, before moderating. Ammonium nitrate prices have risen as much as 70% to more than ₹72,000 a tonne since February, with CIL consuming about 400,000 kilolitres of diesel and 8 million tonnes of ammonium nitrate annually.
Coal prices are not revised regularly in line with input costs, with CIL last revising the price of non-coking coal by ₹20 a tonne effective 16 April 2025, after a gap of two years. Sairam said there is currently no proposal to raise prices, citing that coal is a critical commodity and even a marginal increase can have significant cascading impact on power costs and the broader economy.
CIL is stepping up its diversification into coal gasification and critical minerals, with the company planning to invest ₹50,000 crore in its first three coal gasification projects with joint-venture partners. The company has acquired five domestic critical mineral blocks through Ministry of Mines auctions and aims to begin commercial production from its first such mine within two years, with the Oranga–Revatipur Graphite block in Chhattisgarh at an advanced stage. The experience of the Talcher fertiliser project in Odisha has highlighted some of the execution challenges associated with coal gasification, underscoring the need for assured market demand and pricing certainty for these capital-intensive projects.
