Indian Oil's Panipat Refinery becomes first Sustainable Aviation Fuel producer in India

New Delhi [India], August 9 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Saturday announced that Indian Oil's Panipat Refinery has been certified as the country's first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) producer.

Taking to X, he wrote that the production is set to "begin soon as per ICAO's CORSIA standards with an annual capacity of 3 crore litres."

"With more such facilities coming up in the country, we are well on the path to meet the target of 1 per cent SAF blending in all international flights by 2027 and cut our aviation carbon footprint," he said in the X post.

He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this "milestone".

"I believe it is a milestone under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji towards India's commitment to sustainable aviation," he added.

In 2014, the ethanol blending was just 1.53 per cent. By 2022, India achieved 10 per cent blending, five months ahead of schedule. The original target of 20 per cent blending (E20) by 2030 was advanced to 2025 and has already been achieved in the current Ethanol Supply Year.

Ethanol production has surged dramatically, growing from 38 crore litres in 2014 to 661.1 crore litres by June 2025.

This remarkable growth has helped reduce the country's dependence on imported crude oil, leading to a significant saving of Rs 1.36 lakh crore in foreign exchange.

E20 blending in petrol was introduced by the Centre to reduce the country's oil import cost, energy security, lower carbon emissions and better air quality.

India however has no plans to mandate the blending of ethanol with diesel. The issue of blending ethanol with diesel is still at an experimental stage.

Notably, at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to an ambitious five-part "Panchamrit" pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of all energy requirements from renewables, and reducing emissions by 1 billion metric tonnes by 2030.

India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070. (ANI)

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