SchemesThursday, 26 March 2026·The Hindu
Union Cabinet approves Modified UDAN for 2026-27 to 2035-36 with ₹28,840 crore outlay
The Union Cabinet approved Modified UDAN for ten years from FY 2026-27 to 2035-36 with an outlay of ₹28,840 crore.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In March 2026, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Modified UDAN scheme for FY 2026-27 to 2035-36 with a total outlay of ₹28,840 crore.
Key specifics
- The scheme aims to develop 100 airports from existing unserved airstrips over the next eight years.
- It provides O&M support for three years, capped at ₹3.06 crore per annum per airport and ₹0.90 crore per annum per heliport or water aerodrome.
- About 200 modern helipads are planned at ₹15 crore each, especially in hilly, remote and island regions.
- Viability Gap Funding of ₹10,043 crore is allocated over the 10-year period for regional routes.
- The scheme includes procurement of two HAL Dhruv helicopters for Pawan Hans and two HAL Dornier aircraft for Alliance Air.
Exam lens
Scheme and infrastructure question type: outlay, target airports, helipads and indigenous aircraft; remember ₹28,840 crore, 100 airports, 200 helipads, HAL Dhruv and HAL Dornier.