Aviation in India

In March 1953, the Indian Parliament passed the Air Corporations Act by which the eight domestic airlines operating independently at that time were merged into two government-owned entities.

De-regulation in the 1990s opened the industry to private players who cater to majority of the traffic as of 2023, handling more than 200 million air passengers annually.

Indian army, navy and coast guard also maintain air infrastructure in a supporting role.

The first commercial aviation flight in India took place on 18 February 1911 from Allahabad to Naini, a distance of 9.7 kilometres (6 miles), flown by Henri Pequet using a Humber biplane carrying 6,500 pieces of mail.

[3] In 1915, Tata Sons started a regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras marking the beginning of air transportation in the southern part of India.

[4][5] On 15 October 1932, Indian aviator J. R. D. Tata flew a Puss Moth aircraft carrying mail from Karachi to Juhu aerodrome, Bombay; and the aircraft continued to Madras, marking the beginning of Tata Airlines which later became Air India, the flag carrier in 1946.

[3] In 1940, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was set up at Bangalore and India's first aircraft rolled out for test flight in July 1941.

[3] Until 1990, international aviation was restricted to the airports in four major metros of India, viz., Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.

[3] In 2004, Government of India approved setting up of the first airports with private partnership at Hyderabad and Bangalore.

[29] The UDAN regional connectivity scheme, launched in 2016, planned to develop a sustainable air network in over 400 tier-2 cities across India.

[32] The President of India serves as the ex-officio commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces, with the Ministry of Defence responsible for policy.

[33] The armed forces operate a fleet of fighter, transport, helicopters, tankers, AWAC, reconnaissance aircraft and Unmanned aerial vehicles.