Lok Sabha Question No. 68 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Indigenous Development of Bio-bitumen from the Stubble
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION No. *68 (ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026)

## INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT OF BIO-BITUMEN FROM THE STUBBLE

- *68.  Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- a. Whether Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Central Road  Research  Institute  (CRRI)  have  developed  the  technology  to develop Bio-bitumen from the stubble indigenously and if so, the details thereof;
- b. The amount likely to be saved by the Government which is incurred on import of petro bitumen;
- c. Whether  the Government  has  issued  the licence for  commercial manufacturing of bio-bitumen to 14 private companies;
- d. If so, the details thereof and the terms and conditions of such technology transfer;  the  likely  impact  of  the  adoption  of  bio-bitumen  on  cost reduction, import substitution, carbon emissions and rural/ agricultural waste utilisation; and
- e. The steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  large-scale  adoption, quality  standards  and  commercial  viability  of  bio-bitumen  across  the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES

(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (E) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *68 FOR REPLY ON 04.02.2026 REGARDING INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT OF BIO-BITUMEN FROM THE STUBBLE ASKED BY SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA AND SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO:

| a.      | Yes. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), through its constituent laboratories namely, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), New Delhi and CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun, has jointly developed an indigenous technology to produce bio-bitumen from agricultural residue (notably rice straw) by pyrolysis. The process converts crop residue into bio- oil via pyrolysis which is subsequently upgraded through chemical processing and blended/modified to produce a bio-binder suitable for use in bituminous roads.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (b)     | Bio-bitumen developed indigenously has the potential to partially replace conventional petroleum-based bitumen without compromising pavement performance. Studies and pilot-scale evaluations indicate that bio-bitumen can replace up to 30 per cent of conventional bitumen. Even at a conservative blending level of 15 per cent, the adoption of bio-bitumen across road projects in the country is estimated to result in foreign exchange savings of approximately ₹4,000 crore per annum through reduction in petro- bitumen imports. However, the actual savings will depend on blending                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| (c) (d) | & Yes. The developed technology has been transferred on a non- exclusive basis to 14 industries from different parts of the country for commercial manufacturing and scale-up on 7 th January 2026. The technology transfer, inter alia, includes provisions relating to payment of upfront technology transfer fees (premia) and royalties, adherence to prescribed technical specifications and quality standards, protection of intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligations, and compliance with the scope and conditions stipulated in the licence agreements. The details of the 14 licensees is at Annexure-I. The likely impact of the adoption of bio-bitumen on cost reduction, import substitution, carbon emissions and rural/agricultural waste utilization is as under: |

-  Cost reduction and import substitution: Partial replacement of petroleum bitumen with domestically produced  bio-binder reduces the volume of imported bitumen required thereby result in foreign exchange savings for the country.
-  Reduction  in  carbon  emissions:  Adoption  of  bio-bitumen  is expected to result in a significant reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional petroleum-based bitumen. Biobitumen is derived from renewable agricultural biomass, and its partial substitution for petro-bitumen reduces the consumption of  fossil  fuels  and  the  associated  lifecycle  greenhouse  gas emissions. In addition, utilisation of agricultural residues such as crop stubble for bio-bitumen production helps prevent openfield  burning,  which  is  a  major  source  of  carbon  dioxide, particulate  matter,  and  other  air  pollutants.  The  diversion  of biomass from open burning to productive use, therefore, leads to both direct and indirect reductions in carbon emissions.
-  Rural/agricultural waste utilisation: Use of rice straw and crop residue as feedstock creates an economic use for agricultural waste, opening new value-chains (collection, transport, pyrolysis  units)  in  rural  areas.  This  could  provide  additional income streams to farmers and rural entrepreneurs and reduce the need to burn stubble.
- (e) To enable nationwide production and supply, the developed technology  has  already  been  transferred  to  14  industries  from different regions of the country on a non-exclusive basis to facilitate decentralized manufacturing and commercial scale-up. Further, CSIRCRRI is working with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to evaluate long term performance of Bio-bitumen roads to draft standards and specifications for Bio-bitumen. In addition CSIRCRRI is also working with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the formulation  of  material  specifications,  test  protocols  and  usage guidelines to ensure uniform quality, safety and long-term performance of bio-bitumen in road construction.

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## Annexure - I

|   S. No. | Company Name                                  | City         | State             |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------|-------------------|
|        1 | Bitumenking India Private Limited             | Patiala      | Punjab            |
|        2 | Catalyst Petrochem LLP                        | Delhi        | Delhi             |
|        3 | Engrow Carbon Energy Private Limited          | Erode        | Tamil Nadu        |
|        4 | Future Universal Petrochem Private Limited    | Yamuna Nagar | Haryana           |
|        5 | Jalnidhi Bitumen Specialities Private Limited | Kolkata      | West Bengal       |
|        6 | Kotak Nova Green Energy LLP                   | Jamnagar     | Gujarat           |
|        7 | Negam Care Private Limited                    | Namsai       | Arunachal Pradesh |
|        8 | Neptune Petrochemicals Limited                | Ahmedabad    | Gujarat           |
|        9 | Nexxus Petro Industries Limited               | Ahmedabad    | Gujarat           |
|       10 | Ooms Polymer Modified Bitumen Private Limited | Gurugram     | Haryana           |
|       11 | Rex Fuels Management Private Limited          | Mumbai       | Maharashtra       |
|       12 | RK Truevalue LLP                              | Mumbai       | Maharashtra       |
|       13 | Terra Climate Tech Private Limited            | Jaipur       | Rajasthan         |
|       14 | VR Petrochem India LLP                        | Vadodara     | Gujarat           |