Thermal power generation in India is carried out mainly by burning

India's thermal power comes overwhelmingly from burning coal, its most abundant and cheapest fossil fuel.

Natural gas fuels some plants but supplies only a small share of thermal generation.

Oil-fired plants are rare and used mainly for peaking or backup because oil is costly.

Since coal dominates by far, treating all three fuels as equal would misstate the picture.

Coal-based plants account for the bulk of India's total electricity generation.

These plants are also the largest source of the country's carbon dioxide emissions.