Ministry
Ministry of Civil Aviation
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the Government of India's nodal ministry for civil aviation. It frames national aviation policy and, through the Airports Authority of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other bodies, builds and regulates airports, air traffic services and the carriage of passengers and cargo by air. It is a seat of power because it governs the infrastructure of the world's third-largest domestic aviation market — who builds airports, who operates them, and on what terms private capital enters.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi
- Budget 2026-27 (BE)
- Rs 2,102.87 crore
- Airports
- 137 airports managed by AAI; 164 operational nationally in 2025 (Economic Survey)
- Market rank
- World's 3rd-largest domestic aviation market
Role
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the Government of India’s nodal authority for civil aviation: it frames national aviation policy and administers the field through a set of specialised bodies. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) builds, owns and operates airports and manages the country’s airspace; the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the safety, airworthiness and licensing regulator; the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) sets security standards; and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) investigates accidents. Their statutory basis was re-cast in 2024 when the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam replaced the colonial-era Aircraft Act of 1934.
Civil Aviation is a seat of power because it governs the physical and regulatory infrastructure of the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market — deciding where airports are built, who is licensed to fly, and, increasingly, the terms on which private capital operates public airports. Two threads dominate the ministry’s current agenda and are what this desk tracks: the UDAN regional- connectivity scheme, which subsidises flights to smaller towns, and airport privatisation, the leasing of AAI airports to private operators under long concessions. The 2022 divestment of Air India to the Tata Group also removed the state from scheduled airline operation, leaving the ministry as policymaker, regulator and airport landlord rather than airline owner.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
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Ministry constituted at independence
Civil aviation was established as a subject of the Union government, evolving into the Ministry of Civil Aviation as the nodal authority for aviation policy and regulation.
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Air Corporations Act nationalises scheduled airlines
The Air Corporations Act, 1953 nationalised India's private airlines into two state carriers — Air India International for overseas routes and Indian Airlines for domestic — placing scheduled air transport under state ownership for nearly four decades.
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Airports Authority of India formed
Under the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994, the International Airports Authority and the National Airports Authority merged into the Airports Authority of India, the ministry's arm for building, owning and running airports.
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Delhi and Mumbai airports handed to private operators
Management of Delhi and Mumbai airports was transferred to private consortia — DIAL (GMR-led) and MIAL (GVK-led) — with AAI retaining a minority stake, the first large-scale airport PPP concessions.
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First UDAN regional-connectivity flight
The Regional Connectivity Scheme — Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), announced in October 2016, saw its first flight fly Shimla to Delhi, with a fare cap of about Rs 2,500 for a roughly 500-km leg on half the seats.
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Six AAI airports won by the Adani Group in PPP bidding
After competitive bidding, the Adani Group won 50-year concessions to operate six AAI airports — Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati — under a per-passenger-fee model; the airports were handed over from November 2020, expanding private airport operation.
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Air India divested to the Tata Group
The government completed the handover of Air India and its subsidiaries to the Tata Group after a roughly Rs 18,000-crore enterprise-value winning bid, ending nearly seven decades of state ownership of the national carrier.
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Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam replaces the 1934 Aircraft Act
The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 received presidential assent on 11 December 2024, replacing the colonial-era Aircraft Act, 1934 and re-basing the statutory footing for the regulation of aircraft design, manufacture, operation and safety.
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Cabinet approves the Modified UDAN scheme
The Union Cabinet approved a Modified Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) with a total outlay of about Rs 28,840 crore over ten years (FY2026-27 to FY2035-36), under which the government proposes to develop about 100 airports and connect new destinations.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Civil Aviation?
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the Government of India's nodal ministry for civil aviation. It frames national aviation policy and, through the Airports Authority of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other bodies, builds and regulates airports, air traffic services and the carriage of passengers and cargo by air. It is a seat of power because it governs the infrastructure of the world's third-largest domestic aviation market — who builds airports, who operates them, and on what terms private capital enters.
- When was Ministry of Civil Aviation established?
- Ministry of Civil Aviation was established 1947.
- What does Ministry of Civil Aviation do?
- Its remit covers National civil-aviation policy, development and regulation, Airport construction, ownership and management via the Airports Authority of India, Safety, airworthiness and licensing regulation via the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Aviation security (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) and accident investigation (AAIB), Regional air connectivity through the UDAN / Regional Connectivity Scheme, Airport monetisation and public-private partnership (PPP) concessions.
- What is the latest on Ministry of Civil Aviation?
- As of 2026-07-06: Cabinet approves the Modified UDAN scheme. The Union Cabinet approved a Modified Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) with a total outlay of about Rs 28,840 crore over ten years (FY2026-27 to FY2035-36), under which the government proposes to develop about 100 airports and connect new destinations.