NLC India Limited (NLC) (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited) is a central public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It annually produces about 30 million tonnes of lignite from opencast mines at Neyveli in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India and at Barsingsar in Bikaner district of Rajasthan state. The lignite is used at pithead thermal power stations of 3640 MW installed capacity to produce electricity. Its joint venture has a 1000 MW thermal power station using coal. Lately, it has diversified into renewable energy production and installed 1404 MW solar power plant to produce electricity from photovoltaic (PV) cells and 51 MW electricity from windmills.
It was incorporated in 1956 and was wholly owned by the Government of India. A small portion of its stock was sold to the public to list its shares on stock exchanges where its shares are traded.
History Lignite deposit was found by chance when some 'brown substance' gushed out with water in T. M. Jambulingam Mudaliar's 620 acre own farm artesian well during 1934. He acted swiftly and contacted the then British Raj, which sent geologists to Neyveli. It was later identified as 'Lignite'. He generously extended substantial portion of the sprawling land-bank for soil exploration. Through his effort and donated his 620 acres land to the Madras Government.
NLC has been a forerunner in the country in the energy sector for 62 years, contributing a lion's share in lignite production and significant share in thermal power generation. It was inaugurated by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956.
NLC operates four opencast lignite mines of a total capacity of 30.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Neyveli and Barsingsar; six lignite-based pithead thermal power stations with an aggregate capacity of 3640 MW – at Neyveli and Barsingsar; NLC recently commissioned 2×500 MW New Thermal Power Plant at Neyveli with Asia's largest lignite fired boiler and decommissioned its 600 MW old power plant in 2020.
It has a 1000 MW coal-based thermal power Station at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu through its subsidiary, NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL), a joint venture between NLC and TANGEDCO (equity participation in the ratio of 89:11).
Further, NLC, jointly with the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL), is setting up a 3×660 MW coal-based thermal power plant at Ghatampur in Uttar Pradesh, through its subsidiary company Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL) (equity participation in the ratio of 51:49). Two units of 660 MW each are commissioned and third unit is under construction.
NLC is also setting up Coal Mines at Thalabira and Pachwara in Odisha, to meet the coal requirements of its above power plants.
NLC has also forayed into renewable energy sector with commissioning of a 141 MW Solar Photo Voltaic Power Plant including 1 MW rooftop project at Neyveli and a 51 MW wind energy plant at Kazhuneerkulam village of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. The company has also set up 1209 MW Solar Power Projects at Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu. NLC is the first PSU to achieve 1 GW solar power in India. NLC is aiming to achieve a total renewable energy capacity of 4251 MW, at various locations in India.
NLCIL has a target of becoming a 20,000+ MW company by 2030. Works are under progress for the lignite-based Bithnok TPS and Barsingsar TPS Expansion (each 250 MW) in Rajasthan. Apart from the above, the addition of thermal capacity to the tune of 6040 MW by way of installation of new plants and acquisition of power assets to the tune of 3000 MW is in the pipeline.
NLC has also contributed significantly to the socio-economic development for more than half a century.
The business portfolio of the company is as under:
Chronology of events Year Event1828Occurrence of peat, a low calorific fuel of coal family near Point Calimere is reported to the then Madras Government, by the sub-collector of Thanjavur Mr. Nelson.1870Peat bogs found in Nilgiris (Peat is considered to be the first stage in the formation of coal from vegetable matter accumulating in swamps).1877W. King of the Geological Survey of India takes up a study of artesian wells around Pondicherry. He comes across a carbonaceous strata.1884Mr.Poilay a French Engineer encounters a Lignite seam in a bore hole at Bahoor, the then French territory. Further exploration along the belt indicates possible lignite deposits at Udharamanickam, Aranganur, and Kanniakoil, near Cuddalore. Lignite deposits are indicated at Kasargod and the Collector of South Kanara reports it to the Board of Revenue.1934Industries Department of the then Government of Madras drills bore holes for tapping artesian water in the neighborhood of Neyveli. Lignite particles encountered are taken as "black - clay" by unlettered workmen engaged in drilling.1935 Borewells sunk in Jambulinga Mudaliyar's land in Neyveli and the black particles gushing forth attract the attention of camping geologists engaged in some other mission in the Neyveli Vriddhachalam area.1937-1938Samples of the black substance taken from the above form well sent to the Government of Madras for analysis.1941 M/s. Binny & Co., Madras put down four or five bore holes at Aziz Nagar, near Neyveli. Two of them show evidence of lignite deposits, but further work is given up for want of casing pipes and drilling equipment.1943-1946The Geological Survey of India starts drilling operations near Neyveli. Preliminary investigations indicate the existence of lignite to the extent of about 500 tonnes in that area.1947H.K. Ghose, geologist and mining engineer deputised by the Government of India, arrives in Neyveli and starts his operations.1948 The first bore holes sunk by Ghose have to be abandoned because of waterlogging and sand - beds. The third one "September 1951" yields samples of lignite.1949 Ghose draws an experimental open-cut plan and calls for tenders to start excavation.1951 Sinking 175 borewells in a cluster punctuating the chosen area, Ghose proves the existence of about 2000 Million tonnes of Lignite reserves in the area. State Government's Industries and Commerce Department also sinks over 150 borewells south of Vriddhachalam. Paul Eyrich, a mining engineer, is deputised by the Bureau of Mines, United States, to assist the Government of Madras under point four programme to determine the engineering and economic aspects of lignite mining in Neyveli. Upon his recommendation, the US Government sponsors a study on the subject under the direction of V.F.Parry.1952 The High Power Committee for Lignite Mining recommends the Pilot Quarry project.1953 Pilot Quarry being commissioned by Dr. U. KrishnaRao, Minister for Industries, Madras Government.1954Nehru's visit to the pilot Quarry. Government of India's Committee comprising Mr. C.V. Narasimhan, ICS, Mr. A.C. Guha and Mr. A. Lahiri inspect the Pilot Quarry and submit a report to the Government. Under the Colombo Plan, services of the UK firm PDTS (M/s. Powell Duffryn Technical Services Limited) are availed of for a Project report.1955Neyveli Lignite project's affairs, hitherto managed by the State Government, get passed on to the Central Government with full Financial responsibility. Mr. T.M.S. Mani, ICS, Secretary, Department of Industries, Labour and Co-operation, takes over as the Chief Executive of the project.1956Formation of NLC as a corporate body. NLC is born as a Government-sponsored commercial concern.
Power projects NLC India has five pithead thermal power stations with an aggregate capacity of 4240 MW. Further, NLC India has so far installed 51 wind turbine generators of capacity 1.50 MW each and also commissioned a 140 MW solar photo voltaic power plant in Neyveli, resulting in an overall power generating capacity of 4431 MW (excl. JVs).
Power plantCapacity (MW)TPS - I600 (retired)TPS - II1470TPS - I Expansion420Barsingsar TPS250TPS - II Expansion500Wind Power Plant 51Solar Power Plant1404NTPL1000NNTPP1000Total6695
Thermal Power Station I The 600 MW Neyveli Thermal Power Station-I in which the first unit was synchronized in May 1962 and the last unit in September 1970 consists of six units of 50 MW each and three units of 100 MW each. Power generated from Thermal Power Station-I after meeting NLC's requirements is supplied to TANGEDCO, Tamil Nadu which is the sole beneficiary. Due to the aging of the equipment / high-pressure parts, the life extension programme has been approved by the Indian Government in March 1992 and was completed in March 1999 thus extending the life by 15 years. Given the high grid demand in this region, this power station is being operated after conducting the Residual Life Assessment (RLA) study. The Indian Government sanctioned a 2×500 MW Power Project (Neyveli New Thermal Power Plant – NNTPS) in June 2011 as a replacement for the existing TPS-I.
Thermal Power Station II The 1470 MW second thermal power station consists of 7 units of 210 MW each. In February 1978, the Government of India sanctioned the second thermal power station of 630 MW capacity (3 × 210 MW) and in February 1983, the Government of India sanctioned the second thermal power station Expansion from 630 MW to 1470 MW with the addition of 4 units of 210 MW each. The first 210 MW unit was synchronized in March 1986 and the last unit (Unit-VII) was synchronized in June 1993. The power generated from the second thermal power station after meeting the needs of the second mine is shared by the Southern states viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Union Territory of Puducherry.
Thermal Power Station I - Expansion Thermal Power Station-I has been expanded (2 × 210 MW) using the lignite available from Mine-I expansion. The scheme, TPS I Expansion, was sanctioned by the Government of India in February 1996. Unit-I was synchronized in October 2002 and Unit-II in July 2003. The power generated from this station, after meeting the internal requirements, is shared by the Southern States viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Union Territory of Puducherry.
Barsingsar Thermal Power Station The Government of India sanctioned the Barsingsar Thermal Power Station 250 MW (2 × 150 MW) in October 2005. The units were commissioned in December 2026 and in January 2026. The power generated from this station after meeting internal requirements is shared by the DISCOMS of the state of Rajasthan.
Thermal Power Station II - 1st expansion This project consists of two units of 250 MW capacity each. Unit-II attained commercial operation in April 2015 and Unit-I in July 2015. The lignite requirement is met through expansion of Mine-II. The steam generators of this project employ eco-friendly circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) technology. This technology has been adopted for 250 MW capacity units for the first time in India.
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Mining projects NLC has four open cast lignite mines, namely, Mine I, Mine II, Mine IA and Barsingsar Mine and a coal mine named Talabira II & III OCP, Sambalpur Odisha. The lignite mined out is used as fuel to the linked pithead power stations. Also, raw lignite is being sold to small scale industries to use it as fuel in their production activities. The mines at Talabira currently despatches coal to Tuticorin Thermal Power Plant (NTPL) and sells the balance coal to outside customers. MinesCapacity (in MTPA)Mine I10.5Mine I A3.0Mine II15.0Barsingsar Mine2.1
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Joint venture projects
NLC Tamil Nadu Power Ltd. (NTPL) (2 x 500 MW)