The Ministry of Coal has signed Coal Mine Development and Production Agreements for four coal blocks that include provisions for Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), the first use of UCG in India's commercial coal mining. UCG converts coal into synthetic gas, or syngas, underground without physical mining. Syngas contains hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane and is used to make fertilisers, petrochemicals and fuels. The method helps exploit deep or unworkable reserves and reduces reliance on imported natural gas and naphtha.