GAIL (India) Limited and Coal India Limited on Tuesday announced the formation of a joint venture, Coal Gas India Limited, to expand the use of synthetic natural gas.

The company has been set up with an authorised share capital of Rs 11 crore, as per a notification to the stock exchanges.

Coal India will hold a 51 per cent stake in the venture, while GAIL will own the remaining 49 per cent.

The main objective of this collaboration is to develop and enhance the necessary infrastructure for processing coal into synthetic natural gas.

This includes captive coal mining, coal beneficiation, coal imports, equipment procurement, and setting up related facilities.

The move comes at a time when global coal policies are evolving. Recently, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for coal-based energy and stated that his administration would encourage the use of "clean coal."

However, environmental regulations in the US have led to the planned shutdown of 120 coal-fired power plants over the next five years, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, the CIL and the GAIL signed a joint venture agreement last year to set up a Coal to Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) plant in West Bengal.

The Ministry of Coal announced the partnership in August, calling it a significant step towards India’s energy security and sustainability goals.

The new plant was to be established in the Raniganj area of Eastern Coalfields Limited.

In Q2, the CIL reported a net profit of Rs 8,491.22 crore. However, this was a 17.5 per cent decrease compared to the Rs 10,291.71 crore profit reported during the same period last year.

The company also rewarded investors by declaring an interim dividend of Rs 5.6 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25.

This dividend was approved by the Audit Committee of CIL and will be paid to shareholders who hold equity shares on the record date, which was set for January 31, 2025.