Knowledge Nugget | Bitumen in Spotlight: Why ‘Black Gold’ behind India’s roads is making headlines

Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC Current Affairs knowledge nugget for today on Bitumen.

The ongoing conflict in West Asia has hit India’s push to expand road infrastructure. Bitumen, crucial for road construction, was also caught in the crossfire just like oil and gas, with an import dependency ranging between 30 to 40%.

In this context, let’s know what Bitumen is. How is India dependent on its imports? Is there any way out of reducing import dependency.

1. Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in Carbon Disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

2. Bitumen, derived from crude oil, is mainly used as a binder in road construction where it holds together materials like sand, gravel, and crushed stone, to form asphalt. Waterproof, adhesive, and flexible, it helps roads withstand traffic load and various weather conditions. Thus, it is known as black gold in the pavement industry.

3. Almost 85% of the paved roads in India are of flexible type and hence the research in the area of bitumen is soaring sky high.

How is bitumen produced?

1. Crude oil is essentially a natural mixture of hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane and propane. It is heated at different temperatures to extract usable products.

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2. In a refinery, crude oil is first heated to about 350-400°C to separate LPG, petrol, kerosene, diesel, jet fuel, and similar products. After this process, a large amount of residue collects at the bottom of the distillation column, which is called atmospheric residue.

3. The huge tower often seen in photos of refineries is the distillation column, while the large cylindrical tanks around it store products after distillation. This residue is then sent to a vacuum distillation unit, where the pressure is reduced to much lower than atmospheric pressure, so that very heavy hydrocarbons (vacuum gas oils) can vaporise at a lower temperature.

4. Under controlled conditions, the residue is further heated to 380-425°C and heavy Vacuum Gas Oils are removed. What remains is vacuum residue, also known as bitumen. It is further blended and adjusted to meet different viscosity specifications like VG-10, VG-30, VG-40, which are road-paving bitumens.

5. According to analysts, one tonne of crude oil can result in 3-8% (30-80 kg) of bitumen, depending on the type of oil. Light crude yields more petrol and diesel but very little bitumen. Heavy crude results in more vacuum residue and, therefore, more bitumen. It is stored in a tank at 150-170°C to keep it pumpable.

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How dependent is India on bitumen imports?

1. India requires almost 90 lakh tonnes of bitumen annually. Of this, around 54 lakh tonnes are produced domestically in the refineries of oil companies like IndianOil and Bharat Petroleum.

2. The shortfall is met by imports from West Asia. Over 99% of India’s bitumen imports come from Iraq, UAE, Iran, Oman and Bahrain.

3. Notably, India was not always as dependent on imports. The change has been driven by the mega road projects undertaken within the last decade, through schemes like Bharatmala (for enhancing road connectivity via expressways and economic corridors) and PMGSY.

4. National Highways have grown from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1.47 lakh km currently (a 61% increase), while the length of expressways increased from 93 km to 3,052 km. However, domestic bitumen production has not kept pace. Imports have more than doubled, and consumption increased by almost 50%.

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Bitumen: India's Black Gold Under Pressure

What is Bitumen? How It's Made Demand vs Supply Import Dependency Light vs Heavy Crude Bio-Bitumen

EXPLAINER

The 'Black Gold' of pavement

Bitumen is a highly viscous, black, sticky mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons derived from crude oil. It acts as a binder in road construction — holding together sand, gravel, and crushed stone to form asphalt. Waterproof, adhesive, and flexible, it helps roads withstand traffic loads and weather extremes.

85%

of India's paved roads are flexible type — bitumen-dependent

30–40%

of India's bitumen requirement met through imports

3–8%

of crude oil yields bitumen per tonne

PROCESS

From crude oil to road-grade bitumen

Bitumen is the final residue of a two-stage distillation process. Crude oil is heated, stripped of lighter fuels first, then subjected to vacuum distillation — yielding the heavy black material graded for road use.

1

Atmospheric distillation (350–400°C)

Crude oil is heated to separate LPG, petrol, kerosene, diesel, and jet fuel. A heavy residue collects at the bottom — called atmospheric residue.

2

Vacuum distillation (380–425°C)

Reduced pressure allows heavy vacuum gas oils to vaporise at lower temperatures. What remains is vacuum residue — raw bitumen.

3

Blending to grade — VG-10 / VG-30 / VG-40

Vacuum residue is blended to meet viscosity specifications for different road-paving conditions. Stored at 150–170°C to remain pumpable.

SUPPLY GAP

India needs 90 lakh tonnes — produces only 54

India's annual bitumen requirement stands at 90 lakh tonnes. Domestic refineries of IndianOil and Bharat Petroleum produce around 54 lakh tonnes. The ~36 lakh tonne gap is met by imports — a shortfall driven by road projects like Bharatmala and PMGSY outpacing refinery capacity.

90L

tonnes needed annually

54L

tonnes produced domestically

36L

tonnes shortfall — filled by imports

IMPORT PROFILE

99% of imports from five West Asian nations

India's bitumen imports began in 2001–02 at just 9,000 tonnes. By 2014–15 they crossed 5 lakh tonnes — and kept rising. Today virtually all imports come from Iraq, UAE, Iran, Oman, and Bahrain, making India acutely vulnerable to regional conflict.

◆

Iraq, UAE, Iran, Oman, Bahrain

99% of India's bitumen imports originate from these five West Asian countries — a dangerous single-region concentration.

→

Road expansion outpaced domestic supply

National Highways grew 61% (91,287 km → 1.47 lakh km); expressways surged from 93 km to 3,052 km. Imports more than doubled to keep pace.

●

West Asia conflict hit Apr 2026 imports

Imports fell to 2.36 lakh tonnes (Apr 2026) from 2.97 lakh tonnes (Apr 2025) — a 21% year-on-year decline.

CRUDE OIL SCIENCE

Not all crude gives bitumen equally

A tonne of crude oil yields only 30–80 kg (3–8%) of bitumen. The proportion depends critically on whether the feedstock is light or heavy crude — a factor that shapes which countries can supply India.

LIGHT CRUDE

More petrol & diesel

Produces very little bitumen. Lower vacuum residue after distillation.

HEAVY CRUDE

More bitumen yield

Higher vacuum residue content — preferred feedstock for bitumen production.

3–8%

bitumen yield per tonne of crude (varies by type)

150–170°C

storage temperature to keep bitumen pumpable

INNOVATION

Bio-bitumen from rice straw — a dual fix

CSIR-CRRI and CSIR-IIP Dehradun have jointly developed bio-bitumen technology that converts rice straw (parali) into bio-oil, blended into road-grade bitumen. Three pilot NH sections have already been laid for assessment.

★

Saves Rs 4,500 crore in forex

A 15% blending of bio-bitumen in road construction could save approximately Rs 4,500 crore in foreign exchange annually.

◆

Tackles stubble burning too

Uses parali (rice straw) — the same agricultural waste that causes severe winter air pollution in northern India when burned in fields.

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Unveiled Jan 6, 2026 — 3 pilots on NHs

Three pilot test sections on National Highways laid by CSIR-CRRI and CSIR-IIP, Dehradun to assess field suitability.

5. According to data available with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of MoPNG, bitumen imports began in 2001-02, at around 9,000 tonnes. A significant increase was recorded in 2013-14, when 2.46 lakh tonnes were imported — more than double the previous year’s import volume. This doubled again by 2014-15, reaching 5.17 lakh tonnes, and continued increasing.

How is the West Asia conflict affecting Bitumen and PMGSY ?

1. The government has a target of building 10,000-km of highways in the ongoing financial year 2026-27. Additionally, 17,365 km of roads remain to be constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase-III, a flagship scheme for rural infrastructure.

2. Bitumen imports have taken a hit after the  war, with road construction companies and contractors raising concerns over low supplies and increasing prices with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and state road agencies.

3. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) data, India imported 2.36 lakh tonnes of bitumen in April 2026, compared to 2.97 lakh tonnes imported in April 2025 and 2.74 lakh tonnes imported in April 2024.

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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has granted relief measures of force majeure and price adjustment to highway contractors in light of war-related disruptions.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Bio-bitumen as an alternative

1. To address stagnant domestic production and increasing imports, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, have jointly developed a bio-bitumen technology which uses rice straw (parali) to produce Bio-oil. This is further blended to produce bio-bitumen.

2. The technology was unveiled on January 6. So far, three pilot test sections on National Highways have been laid to assess the suitability of bio-bitumen in road construction.

3. The government is projecting it as a dual solution to reduce import dependence and address winter pollution in northern India, where stubble burning is a contributor. It has also claimed that a 15% blending of bio-bitumen would save around Rs 4,500 crore in foreign exchange.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements, with reference to bitumen:

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1. Bitumen is primarily obtained as a residue during the refining of crude oil.

2. Heavy crude oil generally yields more bitumen than light crude oil.

3. More than 90% of India’s bitumen imports come from countries in West Asia.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Answer Key

(c)

(Sources: Amid West Asia conflict, bitumen woes hit India’s road infrastructure push, How war in West Asia is taking a toll on India’s road construction push)

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