New Delhi: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Akasa Air have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in India, supporting the country’s efforts to build a domestic low-carbon aviation fuel ecosystem.
The partnership aims to increase the availability and offtake of SAF at selected airports across the country while exploring long-term supply arrangements and a phased increase in SAF blending, NDTV Profit reported.
The agreement comes as India moves towards introducing mandatory SAF blending for international flights. The Centre has set indicative blending targets of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% by 2030, in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s decarbonisation roadmap.
To facilitate the rollout, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, in April 2026, allowing the blending of Sustainable Aviation Fuel with conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
Under the revised regulations, ATF is defined as a mixture of hydrocarbons that may also include synthesised components in accordance with Indian fuel standards, creating the regulatory framework for SAF adoption in the country.
The government expects wider use of SAF to reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil while helping lower greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector.
Before the regulatory amendment, airlines primarily operated on conventional jet fuel without renewable blending.
However, the aviation industry has pointed out that SAF remains considerably more expensive than conventional aviation turbine fuel. Industry stakeholders have therefore called for targeted policy support and incentives to accelerate commercial adoption.
Rohit Kumar of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Association India said the phased introduction of blending mandates would enable airlines, fuel suppliers and producers to gradually scale up production and consumption while building a robust domestic SAF ecosystem.
The BPCL-Akasa Air partnership is expected to support this transition by strengthening the supply chain and improving the availability of SAF as India prepares for higher blending mandates over the coming years.
