Lok Sabha Question No. 5308 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Clean Coal Technology
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Shri Imran Masood

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5308

ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY

## † 5308. SHRI IMRAN MASOOD:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has implemented any new policy in the year 2025-26 to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based thermal power plants;

(b) if so, the details of the provisions made under this policy for the utilisation of clean coal technology;

(c) whether the Government is conducting research projects to promote Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies;

(d) if so, the current status of the said research projects;

(e) whether the Government is providing financial assistance to make thermal power plants compliant with environmental standards; and

(f) if so, the details thereof

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)

(a) & (b): Government has continued to implement various measures to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based thermal power plants through adoption of cleaner and more efficient technologies.  These  include  promotion  of  supercritical  and  ultra-supercritical  technologies, renovation  and  modernization  of  existing  units,  biomass  co-firing  and  compliance  with environmental norms notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CС).

Further, in line with the Budget Speech (2026-27) related to Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage  (CCUS),  technologies  at  scale  will  achieve  higher  readiness  levels  in  end-use applications  across  five  industrial  sectors,  including,  power,  steel,  cement,  refineries  and chemicals which are amongst the largest contributors to CO2 emissions in India. An outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore has been proposed in the scheme over the next 5 years. Under the proposed CCUS Mission, the projects have been categorized into three categories viz. R&D, Pilot and Sizeable. These projects are proposed taking into account the development of each technology area viz. capture, storage and utilization.

(c) & (d): The Ministry of Coal is promoting Research and Development in carbon capture and  Utilisation  (CCU)  technologies  through  coal  PSUs  and  premier  research  institutions.

The following R&D projects, focused on conversion of CO₂ into value-added products such as methanol, are undertaken by coal PSUs and other PSUs:

- A project on scaling up conversion of CO₂ to methanol (500 kg CO₂/day capacity) has been taken up for implementation by Coal India Limited (CIL). Further, an MoU has been  signed   by  CIL  with  Indian  Institute  of  Technology  Hyderabad  for  a  CCUS project, which is currently at a preliminary stage.
- A pilot project on CO₂-to-methanol conversion has been taken up by SCCL at thermal power  plant  level  in  collaboration  with  Jawaharlal  Nehru  Centre  for  Advanced Scientific Research and Breathe Applied Sciences Pvt. Ltd. The erection works have been  completed  and  trial  operations  are  under  progress.  This  project  aims  to demonstrate feasibility for replication across power plants in the country.
- NLC  India  Limited  has  entered  into  an  MoU  with  Indian  Institute  of  Technology Madras for lab-scale research on carbon capture technologies. Under this MoU, work on  electrochemical  CO₂  capture  and  chemical  absorption  using  ionic  liquid-amine blends is currently under progress.
- NTPC Ltd. has undertaken initiatives in the field of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) through pilot and demonstration projects. A 10 Metric Tonnes Per Day (TPD) Carbon Dioxide (CO2)-to-Methanol conversion plant has been commissioned at NTPC Vindhyachal, Madhya Pradesh, with an annual production capacity of 6,000 Metric Tonnes (MT). Further, NTPC has taken up the following pilot projects under Carbon Capture and Utilization domain:

|   S.NoProject Name | S.NoProject Name                                                                                | Status          |
|--------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
|                  1 | 3,000 ТРA Fuel Gas CO2 to Gen-4 Ethanol project at Pudimadaka, Andhra Pradesh Under             | execution       |
|                  2 | Carbonated Fly Ash Brick (C-brick) Plant of 2 Lakh CBrick/Day at NTPC Ramagundam, Telangana     | Under execution |
|                  3 | 1,800 ТРA Fuel Gas CO2 to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project at Pudimadaka, Andhra Pradesh | Under execution |

(e) & (f): No such financial assistance is being provided by the Ministry of Power.

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