Can India Really Turn Coal Into Fertilizer, Gas, and Chemicals?
Posted On Wednesday, May 27, 2026
India’s energy story starts with a contradiction. It can power itself but not fuel itself...
India’s total energy demand is ~ 9.32 lakh KTOE1 (kilo tonnes of oil equivalent).
This can broadly be classified into two buckets: Direct fuels (coal, oil, gas, biomass) ~85% or Electricity (secondary energy) ~15%. On the grid, India is remarkably self-reliant. It meets ~256 GW of peak demand largely using domestic sources: coal, hydro, solar, wind, nuclear.
But step outside the grid, and the equation turns. The fuels that actually drive the economy - oil for transport, gas for industry, LPG for kitchens are overwhelmingly imported by India.
Warm regards,
Team Quantum Mutual Fund
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