Government brings SAF-blended aviation fuel under the ATF Control Order
The Government amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001 by a notification dated 17 April 2026, bringing ATF blended with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) under the ATF Control Order.
Summary
The Government amended the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, known as the ATF Control Order, by a notification dated 17 April 2026, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced on 23 April. The amendment brings ATF blended with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) under the Order. Earlier, ATF was defined only as petroleum-based fuel meeting BIS specifications; the definition now also covers SAF co-processed with ATF in refineries as per IS 1571, and SAF conforming to IS 17081 blended with ATF meeting IS 1571. The Ministry said this is an enabling provision for India's indicative SAF blending targets for international flights of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% in 2030. The mandatory phase of ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) begins in 2027, and using SAF can reduce airlines' offsetting requirements.
Key facts
- Instrument
- ATF (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, amended
- Notification
- Dated 17 April 2026 (announced 23 April)
- Change
- ATF definition now includes SAF co-processed (IS 1571) and SAF blended (IS 17081 + IS 1571)
- India's SAF targets (intl flights)
- 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028, 5% in 2030 (indicative)
- CORSIA
- ICAO scheme; mandatory phase from 2027
- Comparisons
- EU 2% (2025), 6% (2030); UK 2% (2025), 10% (2030)
Practice MCQs 3 questions
India's indicative Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blending target in ATF for international flights for the year 2030 is:
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Correct answer: C — 5%
The indicative targets are 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% in 2030.
The amendment notified on 17 April 2026 to bring SAF-blended fuel under regulation was made to which instrument?
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Correct answer: D — Aviation Turbine Fuel (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001
The Government amended the ATF (Regulation of Marketing) Order, 2001, the ATF Control Order.
Consider the following statements about CORSIA, cited in the April 2026 ATF Control Order amendment: 1. CORSIA is a scheme implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organization to control emissions from international flights. 2. The mandatory phase of CORSIA begins from 2030. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the mandatory phase begins from 2027, requiring international flights to offset emissions above a baseline.