{"id":109411,"date":"2026-06-22T17:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=109411"},"modified":"2026-06-22T17:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:03:02","slug":"indias-first-commercial-scale-coal-to-ammonium-nitrate-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-first-commercial-scale-coal-to-ammonium-nitrate-project\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s First Commercial-Scale Coal-to-Ammonium Nitrate Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a significant step towards strengthening energy security and industrial self-reliance, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of India\u2019s first commercial-scale coal-to-ammonium nitrate project at Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district, Odisha on 20 June 2026. The project marks a major milestone in India\u2019s coal gasification-based industrial development strategy and Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About the <\/b><b>India\u2019s First Commercial-Scale Coal-to-Ammonium Nitrate Project\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project is <\/span><b>India\u2019s first large-scale facility<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that will <\/span><b>convert coal into ammonium nitrate using coal gasification technology<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It represents a shift from traditional coal usage to clean and efficient coal-based chemical production.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Location<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Lakhanpur, Jharsuguda district, Odisha<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Investment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u20b925,016 crore<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Capacity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It will have a production capacity of 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per day.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project will be set up on around 350 acres of land under the possession of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project has already received necessary clearances, and groundwork is expected to begin after the foundation ceremony.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Implementing Agency and Institutional Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project is being implemented through a public sector joint venture model.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bharat Coal Gasification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Chemicals Limited<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the implementing company.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a joint venture between <\/span><b>Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Coal India Limited.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project will use indigenous <\/span><b>coal gasification technology<\/b> <b>developed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlighting India\u2019s growing capability in advanced industrial technologies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Ministry of Coal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is supporting the project through its incentive framework and policy facilitation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About Coal Gasification<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/coal-gasification-upsc\/\" target=\"_blank\">Coal gasification<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a process in which coal is converted into synthesis gas, <\/span><b>also known as syngas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This gas can be used as a raw material to produce a wide range of chemicals and fuels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through this process, <\/span><b>coal can be converted into products such as ammonium nitrate, methanol, urea, synthetic natural gas, and other chemical feedstocks.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This technology is important because it <\/span><b>enables higher value addition from domestic coal, reduces dependence on imported natural gas and chemicals, and supports the development of downstream chemical industries.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Strategic Importance for India<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is endowed with one of the world\u2019s largest coal reserves, estimated at over 400 billion tonnes, and is also among the largest producers and consumers of coal globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>At present, India imports chemical and intermediate products worth approximately \u20b92.7 lakh crore annually. Coal gasification offers a major opportunity to reduce this import dependence.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakhanpur project is therefore significant because it promotes domestic production of critical chemicals, strengthens industrial self-reliance, and improves energy security.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also supports the broader goal of making India a manufacturing hub by developing value chains based on domestic natural resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s first commercial-scale coal-to-ammonium nitrate project in Odisha uses coal gasification to boost energy security, reduce imports, and support Aatmanirbhar Bharat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":109368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109411"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109414,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109411\/revisions\/109414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}