# Reliance shares up on Rs 2.73 lakh crore Andhra coal gasification plan 2026-08-20T07:19:03+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Reliance Industries shares rose 0.45% in early trade on Thursday after media reports said the company has proposed a Rs 2.73 lakh crore underground coal gasification complex in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru district, spread over 30 years. The Times of India group reports the project would use deep coal reserves from the Chintalapudi and Recherla blocks, which Reliance acquired through the government's commercial coal mining auction earlier this year. The proposal is conditional on exploration results. If feasibility is established, Times Now reports exploration could begin later this year, while the Economic Times details three stages: Rs 3,000 crore for exploration from Q3 2026 to Q4 2027, Rs 1.2 lakh crore for development during 2028-30, and Rs 1.5 lakh crore for production from 2030 onward. The Economic Times frames the project as potentially reducing India's dependence on imported gas, LNG, and chemical feedstocks, noting India's import bill for substitute products was about Rs 2.77 lakh crore in FY2025. Reliance has not commented on the reports. The project remains at the proposal stage and depends on technical and commercial viability assessments. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Times Now leads with the stock market reaction and reports the investment as a corporate development, sticking to neutral wire-style reporting. The Economic Times, by contrast, leads with a strategic frame: how the project could reduce India's vulnerability to imported energy and chemical feedstocks, citing government import data. It also provides detailed technical explanation of underground coal gasification and the phased investment plan. The pro-government element in the Economic Times piece is the emphasis on the project's national energy security benefit, aligning with official import-reduction goals. Neither source questions the viability or environmental impact. A careful reader should note that the Rs 2.73 lakh crore figure is a 30-year proposal conditional on exploration, not a committed spend. The key number to watch is whether exploration in 2026 confirms commercially recoverable reserves. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 neutral - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Leads with stock movement, reports investment as corporate news with no strategic framing. - energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com (pro government) Emphasises national energy security benefit and import substitution, citing government data. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-21T08:16:07+00:00. Tags: Andhra Pradesh, coal gasification, Eluru, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/reliance-shares-gain-on-rs-2-73-lakh-crore-andhra-coal-gasification-plan/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/reliance-shares-gain-on-rs-2-73-lakh-crore-andhra-coal-gasification-plan/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/