Parliament Question: Development of Aviation Infrastructure

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. : 76 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23rd July 2026 ) DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE 76. MS KANGNA RANAUT Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) the steps taken under Vision 2047 to position India as a global aviation hub including the dual airport strategy, development of international transit hubs and enhancement of global connectivity; (b) the details of the expansion of airports, heliports and water aerodromes under UDAN Scheme and its impact on connectivity in aspirational and remote districts, year-wise; (c) the present status of privatisation of Airports under the National Monetisation Pipeline and the measures taken to promote private investment in greenfield airports; (d) the targets fixed for increasing passenger and cargo handling capacity by 2030 and the initiatives taken to develop India as a global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub; and (e) the progress made in heliport development under UDAN 5.1 including the specific initiatives taken in Himachal Pradesh for development of heliports in tribal and remote areas such as Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur and the steps taken to strengthen helicopter services for tourism, emergency medical services, disaster response and connectivity in difficult terrains? ANSWER Minister of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu) (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ******STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 76 FOR REPLY ON 23.07.2026 REGARDING 'DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE' ASKED BY MS. KANGNA RANAUT (a): For the development of aviation hubs in the country, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has formulated an International Aviation Hub Strategy. As part of this Strategy, Hub & Spoke operations have been launched on 25.06.2026, with Varanasi as the spoke and Delhi as the hub. The Hub & Spoke model is intended to facilitate international connectivity in a phased approach. Second airports, such as Noida International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport, have been operationalised to cater to the growing air traffic requirements of the Delhi National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, respectively. (b): The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN has enhanced air connectivity in remote, hilly, island and aspirational districts by operationalizing regional airports, heliports and water aerodromes. ; Since the inception of the UDAN Scheme, a total of 679 RCS routes connecting 95 unserved and underserved airports (including 17 heliports and 02 water aerodromes) have been developed / operationalized across 34 States and Union Territories in the country. The year-wise details of 95 aerodromes including heliports developed / operationalized across the country under this scheme is at Annexure-A. (c): Under the National Monetisation Pipeline, proposal for 'in-principle' approval for leasing of 11 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports has been taken up. To promote private investment in airport infrastructure, including in Greenfield airports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has permitted 100% FDI in Greenfield and Brownfield airport projects. 'In-principle' approval has also been granted for development of Greenfield airports under PPP mode at Kannur, Durgapur, Mopa, Navi Mumbai, Bhogapuram and Noida (Jewar). (d): Upgradation/ Modernization of airports to handle increasing passengers and cargo volumes is a continuous process and is undertaken by AAI and other Airport Operators from time to time depending on the availability of land,commercial viability, socio-economic considerations, traffic demand and willingness of airlines to operate to/from such airports. The Government has taken various measures to create a conducive environment for the development of aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector in the country and to reduce the foreign exchange outflow, as under: (i) The new MRO Guidelines announced on 1st September, 2021 which inter-alia abolish royalties and create transparency and certainty in land allotments for MROs at Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports, (ii) The revised MRO Guidelines provide for extension of land lease agreements of MRO operators by an additional period of 15 years upon completion of the initial 15-year lease term, (iii) On the taxation front, Government has reduced the taxes (IGST) on imports of aircraft components and aircraft engine parts to 5%, to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic aerospace industry. GST on MRO has been reduced from 18% to 5% with full Input Tax Credit. Further, transactions sub- contracted by foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMS)/MRO to domestic MRO are treated as 'exports' with zero-rated GST, (iv) In Union Budget 2024-25, the period for export of goods imported for repairs has been extended from six months to one year while the time-limit for re-import of goods for repairs under warranty has been extended from three to five years, (v) Addendum to MRO Guidelines 2026 issued on 20.02.26 provides moratorium period and rent-free period for MRO operators constructing new hangars at AAI airports directly incentivising capital-intensive hangar infrastructure investment, (vi) As part of Union Budget 2026-27, Nil Basic Customs Duty (BCD) has been provided for components or parts including engines of aircraft for manufacture of aircraft and for manufacture of parts for manufacturing the said aircraft. Further, BCD exemption for parts, testing equipment, tools and tool-kits for MRO of aircraft, components or parts of aircraft has been extended till 31st March, 2028. Safran has set up Safran Aircraft Engine Services India (SAESI) at Hyderabad with an Initial investment of Rs. 1,300 crore, which is one of the largest global aircraft engine MRO facilities in the world. (e): Under the UDAN 5.1, five heliports namely Champawat (Uttarakhand), Munsyari (Uttarakhand), Bageshwar (Uttarakhand), Reckong Peo (Himachal Pradesh) and Shimla (Sanjoli) (Himachal Pradesh) have been operationalised. ******Annexure-A List of 95 RCS aerodromes operationalized calendar Year wise S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation Calendar Year 2017 (Total 16 Nos. including 5 Underserved and 11 Unserved airports) 1. Kadapa (Round- 1) (Underserved) 27-Apr-2017 2. Shimla (Round- 1) (Unserved) 27-Apr-2017 3. Nanded (Round- 1) (Unserved) 27-Apr-2017 4. Bhatinda (Round- 1) (Unserved) 27-Apr-2017 5. Gwalior (Underserved) (Round- 1) 31-May-2017 6. Kandla (Round- 1) (Unserved) 01-Jul-2017 7. Porbandar (Round- 1) (Underserved) 10-Jul-2017 8. Pondicherry (Round- 1) (Underserved) 16-Aug-2017 9. Mysore (Round- 1) (Unserved) 02-Sep-2017 10. Ludhiana (Round- 1) (Unserved) 02-Sep-2017 11. Vidyanagar (Round- 1) (Unserved) 21-Sep-2017 12. Bikaner (Round- 1) (Unserved) 26-Sep-2017 13. Jaisalmer (Round- 1) (Unserved) 29-Oct-2017 14. Agra (Round- 1) (Underserved) 08-Dec-2017 15. Jalgaon (Round- 1) (Unserved) 23-Dec-2017 16. Ozar (Nasik) (Round- 1) (Unserved) 23-Dec-2017 Calendar Year 2018 (Total 18 Nos. including 8 Underserved and 10 Unserved airports) 1. Jamnagar (Round- 1) (Underserved) 17-Feb-2018 2. Mundra (Round- 1) (Unserved) 17-Feb-2018S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation 3. Diu (Round- 1) (Underserved) 24-Feb-2018 4. Salem (Round- 1) (Unserved) 25-Mar-2018 5. Pathankot (Round- 1) (Unserved) 05-Apr-2018 6. Kolhapur (Round- 1) (Unserved) 08-Apr-2018 7. Tezpur (Round- 2) (Underserved) 26-Apr-2018 8. Shillong (Round- 1) (Underserved) 26-Apr-2018 9. Bhavnagar (Round- 1) (Underserved) 01-May-2018 10. Adampur (Round- 1) (Unserved) 01-May-2018 11. Hubli (Round- 2) (Underserved) 14-May-2018 12. Jagdalpur (Round- 1) (Unserved) 14-Jun-2018 13. Prayagraj (Round- 2) (Underserved) 14-Jun-2018 14. Kanpur (Chakeri) (Round- 1) 03-Jul-2018 (Unserved) 15. Jorhat (Round- 2) (Underserved) 01-Aug-2018 16. Jharsuguda (Round- 1) (Unserved) 22-Sep-2018 17. Pakyong (Round- 2) (Unserved) 04-Oct-2018 18. Kishangarh (Round- 2) (Unserved) 08-Oct-2018 Calendar Year 2019 (Total 10 Nos. including 6 Underserved and 4 Unserved airports) 1. Pantnagar (Round- 1) (Underserved) 04-Jan-2019 2. Lilabari (Round- 2) (Underserved) 15-Jan-2019 3. Pithoragarh (Round- 2) (Unserved) 17-Jan-2019 4. Kannur (Round- 2) (Unserved) 25-Jan-2019 5. Belgaum (Round- 3) (Underserved) 01-May-2019 6. Kullu (Round- 1) (Underserved) 13-May-2019 7. Durgapur (Round- 1) (Underserved) 25-Jun-2019S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation 8. Hindon (Round- 2) (Unserved) 11-Oct-2019 9. Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) (Round- 3) 22-Nov-2019 (Unserved) 10. Dimapur (Round- 3) (Underserved) 07-Dec-2019 Calendar Year 2020 (Total 9 Nos. Unserved airports) 1. Bidar (Round- 1) (Unserved) 07-Feb-2020 2. Sahastradhara - Heliport (Round- 2) 08-Feb-2020 (Unserved) 3. Chinyalisaur – Heliport (Round- 2) 08-Feb-2020 (Unserved) 4. Gaucher – Heliport (Round- 2) 08-Feb-2020 (Unserved) 5. New Tehri – Heliport (Round- 2) 29-Jul-2020 (Unserved) 6. Srinagar – Heliport (Round- 2) 29-Jul-2020 (Unserved) 7. Statue of Unity (W) (Round- 3) 31-Oct-2020 (Unserved) 8. Sabarmati River Front (W) (Round- 3) 31-Oct-2020 (Unserved) 9. Darbhanga (Round- 1) (Unserved) 08-Nov-2020 Calendar Year 2021 (Total 12 Nos. Unserved airports) 1. Hissar (Round- 2) (Unserved) 14-Jan-2021 2. Bilaspur (Round- 1) (Unserved) 01-Mar-2021 3. Bareilly (Round- 2) (Unserved) 08-Mar-2021 4. Kurnool (Round- 3) (Unserved) 28-Mar-2021S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation 5. Rupsi (Round- 4) (Unserved) 08-May-2021 6. Passighat (Round- 4) (Unserved) 24-May-2021 7. Tezu (Round- 4) (Unserved) 15-Aug-2021 8. Haldwani – Heliport (Round- 2) 08-Oct-2021 (Unserved) 9. Sindhudurg (Round- 3.1) (Unserved) 09-Oct-2021 10. Kushinagar (Round- 4.1) (unserved) 26-Nov-2021 11. Mandi - Heliport (Round- 2) 09-Dec-2021 (Unserved) 12. Rampur – Heliport (Round- 2) 14-Dec-2021 (Unserved) Calendar Year 2022 (Total 5 Nos. Unserved airports) 1. Gondia (Round- 4) (Unserved) 13-Mar-2022 2. Keshod (Round- 2) (Unserved) 16-Apr-2022 3. Deoghar (Round- 4.1) (Unserved) 12-July-2022 4. Jeypore (Round- 1) (Unserved) 03-Aug-2022 5. Almora – Heliport (Round- 2) 26-Aug-2022 (Unserved) Calendar Year 2023 (Total 6 No. Unserved airport) 1. Rourkela (Round- 1) (Unserved) 07-Jan-2023 2. Hollongi (Round- 4.3) (Unserved) 15-Jan-2023 3. Jamshedpur (Round- 1) (Unserved) 31-Jan-2023 4. Cooch Behar (Round- 1) (Unserved) 21-Feb-2023 5. Utkela (Round- 1) (Unserved) 31-Aug-2023 6. Shivamogga (Round- 4.1) (Unserved) 21-Nov-2023S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation Calendar Year 2024 (Total 12 No. including 1 Underserved & 11 Unserved airport) 1. Champawat – Heliport (Round- 5.1) 22-Feb-2024 (Unserved) 2. Munsyari – Heliport (Round- 5.1) 22-Feb-2024 (Unserved) 3. Aligarh (Round- 2) (Unserved) 11-March-2024 4. Azamgarh (Round- 2) (Unserved) 11-March-2024 5. Chitrakoot (Round- 2) (Unserved) 12-March-2024 6. Shravasti (Round- 2) (Unserved) 12-March-2024 7. Jiribam Heliport (Round- 2) 13-March-2024 (Unserved) 8. Tamenglong Heliport (Round- 2) 13-March-2024 (Unserved) 9. Agatti (Round- 5) (Underserved) 18-April-2024 10. Moradabad (Round- 2) (Unserved) 10-August-2024 11. Rewa (Round- 4.1) (Unserved) 25-Nov-2024 12. Ambikapur (Round- 4.2) (Unserved) 19-Dec-2024 Calendar Year 2025 (Total 05 No. including 5 Unserved airport) 1. Nainital Heliport (Round- 2) 12-Mar-2025 (Unserved) 2. Bageshwar Heliport (Round- 5.1) 12-Mar-2025 (Unserved) 3. Amravati (Round- 3) (Unserved) 16-April-2025 4. Datia (Round- 4.2) (Unserved) 31-May-2025S. No. Airport Date of operationalisation 5. Purnea (Round- 5.0) (Unserved) 15-Sept-2025 Calendar Year 2026 (Total 05 No. including 5 Unserved airport) 1. Reckong Peo Heliport (Round- 5.1) 21-Jan-2026 (Unserved) 2. Shimla (Sanjoli) Heliport (Round- 5.1) 21-Jan-2026 (Unserved)