On February 1, 2025, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the General Budget for 2025-26. While presenting the Union Budget, she announced that a modified ‘UDAN’ scheme will be launched to enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry four crore passengers in the next 10 years. The scheme will also support helipads and smaller airports in hilly, aspirational, and North East region districts. She also announced that Greenfield airports will be facilitated in Bihar. These will be in addition to expanding the capacity of Patna airport and a brownfield airport at Bihta.

 

The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) aims to improve infrastructure and connectivity in India, especially in remote and underserved regions. The first RCS-UDAN flight was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 27, 2017, connecting Shimla to Delhi. The scheme focuses on improving unserved air routes in underserved regions of the country and fulfilling the aspirations of the common citizens.

 

The Indian aviation landscape has undergone a significant transformation under the UDAN scheme. 601 routes, including helicopter routes, have been operationalised, effectively connecting states and Union Territories. Notably, around 28 percent of these routes serve the remotest locations, enhancing accessibility across challenging terrains.

 

The number of operational airports in the country has doubled from 74 in 2014 to 157 in 2024, and the aim is to increase this number to 350-400 by 2047. Domestic air passengers have more than doubled in the past decade, with Indian airlines significantly expanding their fleets.

 

A total of 86 aerodromes, comprising 71 airports, 13 heliports, and two water aerodromes, have been operationalised, facilitating the travel of over 1.44 crore passengers across more than 2.8 lakh flights. Since its inception, fixed-wing operations have covered approximately 112 crore kilometres, roughly equivalent to circumnavigating the globe around 28,000 times.

 

The other factors contributing to this rise of the aviation sector include unprecedented growth and India’s burgeoning aspirational middle class, which has rising incomes and deregulatory reforms, removal of price caps, and relaxation of ownership rules.

 

The Indian aviation sector is the third-largest domestic market globally, surpassed only by the US and China. The Mumbai to Delhi route is now the world’s third busiest. One of the primary drivers of growth in the Indian aviation industry has been the sector's liberalisation. Until the 1990s, India’s aviation sector was a “national monopoly.” In the 1990s, the Indian government opened the aviation industry to private players, leading to several new airlines' entry. Today, there are several major players in the Indian aviation industry, including IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India, and Vistara. As of the Financial Year 2022-2023, the passenger carrier IndiGo was the leader in the segment with around 54.7 percent in the market.