Govt to soon come out with SAF policy, says Civil Aviation Minister

New Delhi: The government will very soon come out with a policy on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which can help reduce crude oil imports, increase farmers’ income and create more green jobs, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Thursday.

Addressing a summit in the national capital, the minister stressed that adoption of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) demands more innovation, investment and a collective international collaboration.

India aims to have 1 per cent blending of SAF in jet fuel by 2027, 2 per cent blending by 2028 and 5 per cent blending by 2030. SAF can be used as a drop-in fuel in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which powers aircraft.

The minister said that private players should also be part of SAF production besides the oil companies.

Globally, the requirement for SAF is estimated at 183 million tonnes by 2040.

“From feedstock to fuel, from farmers to flyers, and from frying to flying, who would have actually imagined that (those) frying samosas also can participate in this whole global aviation movement (on SAF),” Naidu said.

India has more than 750 million tonnes of available biomass and nearly 213 million tonnes of surplus agricultural residue.

Naidu said the government will very soon come out with a SAF policy.

Apart from reducing carbon emissions, the minister said SAF can empower farmers by increasing their incomes by 10-15 per cent.

Along with reducing our crude oil import bill by USD 5-7 billion every year, SAF production can also help create over 1 million green jobs across the SAF value chain, Naidu said.

At present, global SAF is very less.

Naidu said that the country can produce SAF at highly competitive rates and the fuel can also help address challenge of growth versus sustainability.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing civil aviation markets and domestic carriers have placed orders for more than 1,700 planes.