- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) secured India’s first certification to produce SAF at Panipat refinery
- Plans: ~35,000 tonnes annual production
- IATA: SAF could provide nearly 65% of emissions reductions for aviation net-zero by 2050
India’s Blending Mandates
- 1% SAF blending in international flights by 2027
- 5% by 2030
- 15% in domestic flights by 2040
Feedstock Challenge — The UCO Crisis
- India generated 3.4 million tonnes UCO (used cooking oil) in 2024
- Theoretical potential: 2.5 billion litres; actual collection: only ~250 million litres
- India’s strategy relies on co-processing UCO (cost-effective, minimal refinery upgrades)
- Weak collection ecosystem means UCO is excessively reused in cooking — generating toxic, cancer-causing trans fats — or dumped into drains, polluting water
- This creates massive supply uncertainty, rendering commercial SAF scaling highly risky
RUCO Initiative (FSSAI, 2018)
- Mandates food businesses must not reuse cooking oil more than 3 times; must hand over UCO to licensed collectors for biodiesel conversion
- Critical evaluation: Implementation weakened post-launch; without strict audits and formalisation of local “ragpicker” supply chains, massive volumes bypass the clean-energy transition
Way Forward
- Treat UCO as a strategic energy resource rather than waste
- Introduce economic incentives for safe UCO disposal; strict penalties for reselling degraded oil
- Broaden SAF production pathways: Fischer-Tropsch (agricultural residues), Alcohol-to-jet (India’s ethanol base) — not solely HEFA pathway (requires UCO/fats)
UPSC Angle
- GS3: Environment, energy, aviation policy, circular economy
📌 Facts Corner — Knowledgepedia
SAF Core Data:
- IOC Panipat: India’s first certified SAF producer
- IATA target: SAF = 65% of aviation emission reductions by 2050
- India SAF mandates: 1% (2027), 5% (2030), 15% (2040)
- India UCO generation: 3.4 million tonnes (2024)
- UCO collection rate: ~250 million litres vs 2.5 billion litres potential
RUCO Initiative:
- Launched by: FSSAI (2018)
- Rule: Max 3 reuses of cooking oil
- Purpose: Divert UCO to biodiesel/SAF production