India’s National Coal Gasification Mission targets conversion of 100 million tonnes of coal into methanol, ammonia, and fertilizers by 2030. Coal gasification is often described as cleaner use of coal, but that depends on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage being implemented at scale. Biomass gasification also supports a different deployment model. Biomass gasification can be deployed at commercial scale today using established technologies. Biomass gasification aligns better with feedstock availability, process requirements, and technology readiness and is more likely to deliver scalable outcomes, while coal gasification on Indian lignite still faces unresolved technical constraints.