Delhi: Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri emphasised on the need of India becoming self-reliant on energy by 2047. “It goes without saying that the petroleum sector will have to contribute immensely to realize the vision of Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Bharat”, added Puri.

He was addressing the august gathering comprising the captains from the industry and media fraternity, in New Delhi on Friday. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas was also present on the occasion.

In a significant development towards decarbonizing of the aviation sector, India’s first commercial passenger flight using indigenously produced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend was successfully flown earlier today.

Air Asia flight (I5 767) flew from Pune to Delhi powered by SAF blended aviation turbine fuel (ATF) produced by Praj Industries Ltd by using indigenous feedstock, supplied by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and used by Air Asia. Puri received this special flight at the airport.  

Describing the occasion as a significant milestone in the country’s efforts towards Net Zero emissions by 2070, Puri said, “I am glad to witness this historic occasion and receive the first commercial flight fuelled by SAF blended ATF. This would be the first domestic commercial passenger flight with SAF blending up to 1% as demonstration mode”.

“By 2025, if we target to blend 1% SAF blending in Jet fuel, India would require around 14 crore litre of SAF/annum.  More ambitiously, if we target for 5% SAF blend, India required around 70 crore litre of SAF per annum”, the minister informed.

Congratulating the home grown giants in their respective sectors, Indian Oil, Air Asia, and Praj Industries, Puri reiterated the vision of Prime Minister for an Atmanirbhar Bharat by developing indigenous solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation and pave the way for the widespread adoption of SAF in India.