Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2026 today, announced basic customs duty exemption on raw materials for the manufacturing of aircraft parts for maintenance, repair and other units in the defence sector.
Other initiatives include incentives for the indigenisation of seaplane manufacturing and subsidies for seaplane flights.
The Finance Minister also announced basic customs duty exemption on component parts for the manufacturing of civilian and other aircraft.
Sitharaman, in her speech, said that for the Union Budget 2026, the government has chosen the path of reforms over rhetoric. She added that India will continue to take steps towards becoming a Viksit Bharat.
The Union Budget 2026 is Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget, bringing her closer to former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's record of 10 budgets.
India's civil aviation, ports, and shipping sectors are set for sharp expansion by FY31, driven by rising demand, infrastructure creation and policy support, the Economic Survey had said, while underlining the urgent need for capacity addition to keep pace with traffic growth.
The Economic Survey FY26, tabled in Parliament 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 sustained growth trajectory, supported by a conducive policy environment, rising demand and steady infrastructure expansion."
