What Nirmala Sitharaman Announced for the Aviation Sector in the Union Budget 2026?

What Nirmala Sitharaman Announced for the Aviation Sector in the Union Budget 2026?
Saheel Singh
By Saheel Singh
Senior Content Writer
02 Feb 2026

Budget 2026

Aviation

Indian Aircrafts

Airports

Passenger Traffic

Finance Minister of India, presenting the Union Budget 2026, announced basic customs duty exemption on raw materials for the manufacturing of aircraft parts for upkeep, repair and other units in the defence sector. 

Other initiatives include incentives for the indigenization of seaplane manufacturing and subsidies for seaplane flights.

The minister also announced an exemption from basic customs duty on components used in the manufacturing of civil and other aircraft.

Sitharaman said the government has chosen reform over rhetoric. She added that India will be stepping towards becoming a Viksit Bharat.

This was Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget, bringing her closer to former PM Morarji Desai's record of 10 budgets. 

India's civil aviation, ports, and shipping sectors will experience sharp expansion by FY31, driven by growing demand, infrastructure development and policy support, the Economic Survey said, highlighting the urgent requirement for capacity additions to keep pace with traffic growth.

The Economic Survey FY26, presented on Thursday, projected passenger traffic at Indian airports to surge from 412 million in 2024-25 to 665 million by 2030-31. It said civil aviation in India is "on a continuous growth trajectory, supported by a conducive policy environment, growing demand and steady infrastructure growth."

Source: NDTV

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Budget 2026

Aviation

Indian Aircrafts

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Passenger Traffic

Saheel Singh
Saheel Singh
Senior Content Writer

A dynamic and seasoned content writer with 6 years of experience curating content for different platforms. With the knowledge of all the cogs of content writing and SEO, he has served in various industries. He believes that content is the kingpin, and if penned well, it has a lasting impact on the minds of the readers. Apart from content creation, he is also an ardent poetry lover and performer. He has two publications of his poetry collection, namely Alfaaz and Chestha

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