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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 708
( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23rd July 2026 )
ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
708. SHRI YOGENDER CHANDOLIA
SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH
SHRI AMAR SHARADRAO KALE
SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO
SHRI ANUP SANJAY DHOTRE
SHRI BAPI HALDAR
SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO
SHRI DILIP SAIKIA
SHRI JASWANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR
SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA
DR. MANNA LAL RAWAT
SHRI LUMBARAM CHOUDHARY
SMT KAMLESH JANGDE
SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA
SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE
SHRI RAVINDRA SHUKLA ALIAS RAVI KISHAN
SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT
SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL
SHRI KHAGEN MURMU
DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY
SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH
Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION
be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the Government has taken any steps to promote the adoption of
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the civil aviation sector during 2026 and if
so, the details thereof;
(b) the policy or regulatory framework formulated for the production,
certification and use of SAF in the country;
(c) whether any pilot projects or initiatives have been undertaken with airlines,
airports or oil companies for SAF integration and if so, the details thereof;(d) the roadmap prepared for scaling up SAF adoption in commercial aviation
sector and reducing carbon emissions including the targets or timelines fixed in
this regard;
(e) whether any SAF-related production facilities, research initiatives,
investment proposals or skill development programmes have been planned or
implemented in Haryana, particularly in Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Lok Sabha
Constituency and if so, the details thereof; and
(f) the positive impact of the said promotion of air connectivity and operation of
flights in near future in Dahod Lok Sabha Constituency?
ANSWER
Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Murlidhar Mohol)
(a) to (d): The Government has taken several steps to support the development
of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) ecosystem in the country. These include:
(i) Recognition of the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies
(NABCB) for accreditation of SAF certification bodies under the International
Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme,
(ii) Facilitation of long-term SAF supply arrangements between Oil Marketing
Companies (OMCs) and airlines, including the signing of Memoranda of
Understanding between OMCs and Airlines,
(iii) Support for setting up pilot and commercial-scale SAF production facilities
under Pradhan Mantri Jaiv Indhan-Vatavaran Anukool Fasal Awashesh Nivaran
(PM JI-VAN) Yojana,
(iv) Conducting stakeholder consultations and awareness programmes on SAF.
Indian Oil Corporation limited (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Limited (BPCL) have received ISCC Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme
for International Aviation (ISCC CORSIA) certification for SAF production at
their Panipat and Mumbai refineries, respectively. Further, in June 2026,
financial assistance was approved under the PM JI-VAN Yojana for three
commercial-scale and two demonstration-scale SAF projects.
To advance SAF use, Indian carriers have operated following trial flights with
blends of SAF with traditional Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF):
i. M/s Vistara operated ferry flight of B-787 from USA to India using 28% of
SAF blended fuel on 29th March 2023;
ii. M/s Air Asia operated first commercial domestic flight (Pune to Delhi) with
0.75% SAF blended fuel on 19th May 2023;iii. M/s Spicejet flight operated with 25% SAF (Biofuel produced by Indian
Institute of Petroleum, CSIR lab) blended with ATF from Dehradun to Delhi in
August, 2018.
Further, all Airbus ferry flights fly on 5% SAF blended fuel from Toulouse to
India.
The Government has approved indicative blending targets of 1% by 2027, 2%
by 2028, and 5% by 2030 for SAF in conventional Aviation Turbine Fuel for
international operations. Public sector Oil Marketing Companies are actively
engaged in achieving the stated blending targets.
(e): IOCL is engaged in the production of SAF at its Panipat Refinery in
Haryana using Used Cooking Oil (UCO) as feedstock. Further, under the PM JI-
VAN Yojana 2019, amended in 2024, Government provides financial assistance
for setting up Advanced Biofuels projects including SAF. However, so far, no
investment proposal for establishing SAF-related production facilities, research
initiatives has been received for the Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Lok Sabha
Constituency.
(f): Use of SAF supports cleaner aviation, reduce carbon emissions in
international operations and contribute to environmentally sustainable air
connectivity.
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