Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari being greeted by supporters on his 69th birthday | Photo Credit: -

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said India faces a “significant” shortfall in the production of bitumen and aviation fuel, stressing the need to boost domestic biofuel production to reduce imports and achieve self-reliance.

Addressing a function in Lonavala near Pune, Gadkari said the country requires around 120 lakh tonnes of bitumen annually, while domestic petroleum companies have the capacity to produce about 50 lakh tonnes.

“As a result, we have to import 60 to 70 lakh tonnes of bitumen every year. The price of bitumen has increased from ₹45 per kg to ₹80 per kg,” he said.

The Union Road Transport and Highways minister said India was spending substantial foreign exchange on the import of bitumen and other petroleum products, making it imperative to explore alternative and indigenous sources of production.

Referring to the aviation sector, Gadkari said the country was also facing a shortage of aviation turbine fuel.

“In the next couple of days, five flights operating from Nagpur will be curtailed. The reason is not lack of passengers but shortage of fuel, forcing operators to suspend services,” said the minister, who hails from the city.

Gadkari said efforts to develop bio-aviation fuel in the country had yielded encouraging results and could open new avenues for farmers.

“We should produce bio-aviation fuel domestically. Our efforts in this direction have been successful. Farmers have now become producers of bio-aviation fuel,” he said.

He cited the example of a SpiceJet flight that operated between Delhi and Dehradun using biofuel produced from agricultural sources and said trials conducted on a “Vistara aircraft had also been successful”.

The minister further said some helicopters and fighter aircraft had "recently demonstrated the use of biofuel", underlining its growing potential in the aviation sector.

“Farmers have become energy providers, biofuel providers, bitumen providers and now they are becoming hydrogen providers as well,” Gadkari said.

He said the increased use of biofuels, green energy and hydrogen would transform the country’s economy, strengthen rural incomes and help India become “Aatmanirbhar” (self-reliant).

Published on May 31, 2026