The government is working to introduce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the country’s aviation sector, with blending targets set at 1 per cent by 2027, 2 per cent by 2028, and 5 per cent by 2030 for international operations, the Ministry of Civil Aviation told the Lok Sabha.
Responding to an unstarred question from Shri Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said public sector Oil Marketing Companies were actively working towards meeting these blending targets.
Citing the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the minister said SAF is a drop-in fuel produced from sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, agricultural residues, and municipal solid waste, among other renewable or non-fossil sources, and does not require crude oil as its primary feedstock. This distinguishes it from conventional Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which is derived from petroleum.
Being a drop-in fuel, SAF can be blended with conventional ATF and used in existing aircraft engines and fuel systems without requiring any modification, the minister said. He added that SAF has the potential to significantly cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional ATF, supporting decarbonisation efforts in the aviation sector.
However, the minister acknowledged that SAF currently costs more to produce than conventional ATF, attributing this to developing production technologies, limited production capacity, and constrained availability of sustainable feedstocks.
The written reply did not specify whether crude oil imports would be required for SAF production, though it reiterated that SAF, by definition, is not dependent on crude oil as a primary input.
With agricultural residues and used cooking oil listed among approved SAF feedstocks, the sector’s blending roadmap could open a fresh demand avenue for biomass and used cooking oil suppliers as Oil Marketing Companies scale up procurement to meet the 2027-30 targets.
