India has reached an overall 52% readiness level for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption, according to a new assessment by Boeing and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), which identifies significant production and feedstock potential but points to gaps in market demand, financing, infrastructure and policy development.
The India SAF Readiness Assessment, launched on 29 September 2026, evaluates the country’s preparedness to scale SAF against its indicative blending targets of 1% by 2027, 2% by 2028 and 5% by 2030. RSB says the assessment is intended to provide a common evidence base for policymakers, fuel producers, airlines, investors and other stakeholders involved in developing India’s SAF market.
The assessment evaluates nine dimensions of SAF readiness: feedstock availability, production capacity, policy and regulation, supply chains and logistics, market demand, investment and financing, research and development, technology readiness, and enabling infrastructure and services.
India’s SAF readiness assessed at 52%
The 52% overall score indicates what RSB describes as a moderate but advancing level of readiness, with development varying considerably across the nine dimensions.
The assessment identifies feedstock availability, production capacity and technology as areas where India has significant foundations for SAF development. At the same time, it highlights market demand, investment and financing, policy, infrastructure and sustainability assurance as areas requiring further development.
This distinction is important because the assessment indicates that India’s ability to produce SAF may not be the principal constraint on achieving its near-term blending ambitions. Instead, the challenge is developing the wider commercial and regulatory ecosystem required to turn production potential into a functioning SAF market.
RSB’s assessment specifically points to the need for continued development of infrastructure and testing capacity to support high-integrity sustainability certification.
SAF production potential far exceeds projected 2030 demand
The report estimates India’s potential SAF production capacity at 14 million to 33 million tonnes per year, based on existing feedstock studies.
By comparison, meeting the 5% blending target in 2030 is projected to require approximately 720 million litres of SAF, equivalent to around 0.6 million tonnes per year, according to RSB.
The wide difference between estimated production potential and near-term projected demand suggests that feedstock and technical production capability alone will not determine the pace at which India’s SAF industry develops.
The assessment instead highlights the importance of creating sufficient market demand, securing investment, establishing supply chains and infrastructure, and ensuring that SAF can meet the sustainability and certification requirements of relevant aviation markets.
India’s SAF targets remain indicative
India has announced indicative SAF blending targets of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% in 2030 for international flights. Government documents describe these as indicative targets rather than binding blending mandates.
India is also entering the mandatory phase of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from 2027. RSB’s assessment considers the interaction between these international requirements and India’s emerging domestic SAF ecosystem.
The policy framework has also continued to evolve. In 2026, the government amended the regulatory framework governing aviation turbine fuel to accommodate SAF co-processed in petroleum refineries and SAF blended with ATF, helping establish a regulatory basis for SAF integration into India’s aviation fuel supply chain.
Investment and infrastructure emerge as key priorities
The RSB assessment suggests that closing India’s SAF readiness gap will require coordinated action beyond construction of production facilities.
Investment and financing are among the areas identified for further development. This is particularly relevant because SAF projects can require significant upfront capital while relying on emerging markets, evolving policy frameworks and long-term fuel offtake arrangements.
Market demand is another priority. RSB notes that much of India’s SAF activity so far has involved pilot and demonstration flights rather than established, long-term bankable offtake arrangements.
Infrastructure and sustainability certification are also important. SAF producers need access to appropriate logistics, blending and distribution infrastructure, while airlines and international markets increasingly require robust evidence that fuels satisfy applicable sustainability criteria.
Boeing and RSB call for coordinated SAF ecosystem development
Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India & South Asia, said India’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets gives it an important role in sustainable aviation and that a deliberate, research-based approach to SAF adoption is needed.
According to Gupte, the assessment identifies the areas where India already has foundational capacity as well as the opportunities that remain to be developed.
RSB Executive Director Bettina Paschke said the assessment provides stakeholders with a common evidence base for developing India’s SAF opportunity and emphasised the importance of continued collaboration.
The assessment was developed with input from a Project Advisory Group and is intended to support stakeholders including refiners, SAF producers, airlines, investors, policymakers and other participants in India’s aviation transition.
India’s SAF development enters an ecosystem-building phase
India already has several elements of a SAF ecosystem in development, including refinery-based production and certification activity. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has identified production capacity, certification, regulation, feedstock availability, infrastructure and financing among the issues that need to be addressed as the country scales SAF blending.
The new Boeing-RSB assessment places these issues within a broader readiness framework. Its central finding is that India’s SAF opportunity is not limited by a single factor. Production potential, feedstocks and technology provide a foundation, but commercialisation will depend on how effectively those capabilities are connected to demand, finance, regulation, logistics and sustainability assurance.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
The 52% SAF readiness assessment provides a useful distinction between technical potential and market readiness. India’s estimated production potential of 14–33 million tonnes per year is substantially higher than the roughly 0.6 million tonnes of SAF projected to be required for the 5% blending scenario in 2030. This indicates that the immediate challenge is less about demonstrating that India can theoretically produce SAF and more about building a commercially viable system around that production potential.
For project developers and investors, the more consequential issues are therefore likely to include long-term offtake visibility, financing structures, feedstock sustainability, certification, logistics and regulatory certainty. The fact that India’s 2027–2030 blending levels remain indicative also creates an important distinction between announced policy ambition and guaranteed market demand.
The assessment consequently places India’s SAF transition at a stage where ecosystem development becomes as important as individual production projects. How policymakers, refiners, airlines, financiers, feedstock suppliers and certification bodies address these gaps will determine how much of India’s identified production potential can ultimately translate into commercial SAF supply.
