PM opens 3 airports in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh under UDAN scheme
- October 21, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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PM opens 3 airports in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh under UDAN scheme
Sub: Schemes
Sec: Eco
Context:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated three airports across the country in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja, Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa and Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur.
- The Maa Mahamaya Airport at Ambikapur in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh is the first airport in Chhattisgarh’s northern tribal belt.
- The airports have been developed under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) of the Central government.
About UDAN Scheme:
- UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) is the Government’s initiative improve infrastructure and connectivity in India, especially in remote and underserved regions.
- It aims to make air travel to India’s tier II and tier III cities affordable to Common man.
- Under the scheme, the Government offers incentives to airlines to flag off new flights to neglected smaller cities and towns by providing Viability Gap Funding to make these operations profitable.
- It is a vital component of India’s National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016, launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on October 21, 2016, with a 10-year vision.
- The first RCS-UDAN flight was inaugurated in 2017, connecting Shimla to Delhi.
Various versions of UDAN Scheme:
- UDAN 1.0: Awarded 128 flight routes to 70 airports, including 36 new ones.
- UDAN 2.0: Announced 73 underserved/unserved airports, incorporating helipads.
- UDAN 3.0: Introduced Tourism Routes in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.
- UDAN 4.0: Focused on North-Eastern Regions, hilly states, and islands.
UDAN version 5 series:
- UDAN 5.0: Focus on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats) aircraft.
- UDAN 5.1: Aimed at enhancing helicopter operations.
- UDAN 5.2: Aimed at improving connectivity to remote areas and boosting tourism with small aircraft (<20 seats).
- UDAN 5.3: Launched in January 2024 to revive previously discontinued routes.
- UDAN 5.4: Ongoing bidding for additional connectivity opportunities.
Achievements of the scheme:
- RCS-UDAN has enhanced last-mile connectivity and given significant boost to tourism.
- The scheme has catalysed the growth of the civil aviation industry over the past seven years, enabling new airlines like Flybig, Star Air, IndiaOne Air, and Fly91 to establish sustainable business models. This has fostered a supportive ecosystem for regional airline operators.
- RCS-UDAN has successfully connected 34 states and UTs, operationalizing 86 aerodromes, including ten in the Northeast.