India, April 14 -- The natural gas supply crisis stemming from the war in West Asia has underlined India's under-preparedness for such disruptions. Part of the blame lies with the inexcusable delays in rolling out the country's coal gasification programme - announced in 2020, it has seen little traction since, with its entire FY26 budget lying unspent till as late as January 2026.

The benefits of coal gasification - conversion of solid coal into a gaseous fuel - are well known. It can lower import dependence for liquefied natural gas and lighten the country's import bill. A clutch of obvious environmental benefits also accrue - gasified coal emits significantly lower levels of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide than solid coal, and thou...