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The move will increase farmers’ income and create more green jobs, Civil Aviation Minister Naidu told News18.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu | File Image
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said the government will very soon come out with a policy on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to help reduce crude oil imports. The move will also increase farmers’ income and create more green jobs, Naidu told News18. A mandate on blending SAF with jet fuel “without incentives”, however, would “hurt airlines”, an official from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.
The minister, while speaking at India Sustainable Aviation Fuel Summit 2025 organised by the Civil Aviation Ministry and industry body FICCI, said the government will very soon come out with a Sustainable Aviation Fuel policy, adding that adoption of SAF demands more innovation, investment and a collective international collaboration.
He said, 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. Private players should also be part of SAF production besides the oil companies, he added.
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.
The representatives from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) present at the event, however, said that a mandate on SAF blending without incentives will hurt airlines.
IATA represents over 300 airlines that includes Indian carriers and account for over 80 per cent of the global air traffic.
Tuhin Sen, Head Sustainability India at IATA, said IATA would prefer to have incentives for a technological push for producing SAF to precede the mandate for the use of SAF.
Mandates for blending sustainable aviation fuel with jet fuel without incentives are a “no-go area” and such a situation would hurt airlines, he said, adding that it will have unintended consequences as airlines are also enablers for connectivity and growth.
Sen also mentioned that for airlines, currently, Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 44 per cent of the overall operating costs while the quantum is around 34 per cent globally.
Asangba Chuba Ao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation who also was a speaker at the summit, said there is need for a multi-pronged approach and that there was no “silver bullet” to address the issues.
The government is open to suggestions, he said, with respect to developing the SAF ecosystem.
(With PTI inputs)
Anvit Srivastava, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, covers crime, security, policing and society in Delhi. His impactful ground reports have helped him make his mark among the select credited journalists i…Read More
Anvit Srivastava, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, covers crime, security, policing and society in Delhi. His impactful ground reports have helped him make his mark among the select credited journalists i… Read More
November 07, 2025, 10:37 IST
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