The case for building India’s coal chemistry capability

There are two ways a country can survive an energy shock: by managing it skilfully through diplomacy, diversification, and fiscal measures, or by reducing dependence on the disrupted resource. India excelled at the first during the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz in 2026, with its refineries demonstrating exceptional technical flexibility in adapting to crude supply disruptions. The crisis reaffirmed that indigenous scientific capability and technological self-reliance are the decisive forms of insurance against energy market volatility — far more durable than any diplomatic or military arrangement alone. However, India has yet to reduce its underlying dependence, and coal offers a key opportunity to begin.