NEW DELHI, March 9 -- India builds some of the world's fastest expanding highway networks but depends on imports for a large share of the bitumen used to bind asphalt.

The country needs about 9 million tonnes of bitumen each year for road construction. In FY25, domestic production was 5.3 million tonnes, with the rest imported-largely from West Asia, a region currently facing conflict.

Against this backdrop, bio-bitumen, an alternative derived from biomass, could replace up to a third of petroleum-based bitumen, potentially reducing India's import dependence. Mint explains.

Conventional bitumen is a heavy residue left over after crude oil is refined into fuels such as petrol and diesel. It acts as the binding material in asphalt, holdi...