As part of the 2008 Greenfield Airports Policy (GFA), the Department of Civil Aviation granted approval in principle for the creation of 21 new airports.

21 airports are approved including seven designated green international airports. These are Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Noida-Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh, Karaikal in Pondicherry, and Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat. And the 14 other approved airports include Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Dagadarthi and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgadesh Apur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. It should be noted that several airports, including Durgapur, Shirdi, Kannur, Pakyong, Kalaburagi, Orvakal (Kurnool), Sindhudurg, Kushinagar, Itanagar, Mopa, and Shivamogga,

The remaining entirely new airport projects will be funded by the respective airport developers.