Coal India, on Tuesday, 28 May, incorporated a new subsidiary firm, Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Ltd, to undertake a coal-to-chemical business. 

In this new entity, Coal India holds a 51% majority stake, whereas Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd holds the remaining 49% stake.

Earlier in February, the company signed a joint venture agreement with BHEL to undertake a coal-to-chemical business. 

According to the filing, NITI Aayog and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) have approved the formation of a joint venture company between BHEL and CIL. The newly incorporated Bharat Coal Gasification & Chemicals Ltd aims to enter the coal-to-chemicals business, producing ammonia and nitric acid as intermediate products and ammonium nitrate as the end product.

Furthermore, CIL has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GAIL to establish a coal-to-synthetic natural gas project in the Sonepur Bazari area of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Burdwan district. The estimated project cost stands at Rs 13,052 crore. It’s worth noting that Coal India is responsible for more than 80% of the domestic coal output.