The Ministry of Civil Aviation's flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik) was unveiled to enhance air connectivity to regional airports in small towns. The scheme, launched in 2016, aims to make flight services accessible to common citizens by focusing on developing infrastructure and air connectivity.
UDAN was introduced with a 10-year vision on October 21, 2016. Jointly funded by the Government of India (GoI) and state governments, it is part of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP). Under the scheme, state governments are bound to offer free security fire service, and utilities at concessional rates and reduce VAT on ATF to 1%. The Centre also offers various concessions including a 2% excise on Value Added Tax (VAT) and discounted service tax.
The UDAN scheme is applicable on flights covering between 200 km and 800 km with no such lower limit for hilly, remote, islands and security-sensitive regions. Under the scheme, the flights are bound to connect at least one RCS airport (underserved and unserved airports).
In its first 5 years, UDAN has served over one crore passengers. It helped in starting 425 new routes covering 58 airports, 8 heliports and 2 water aerodromes. The first RCS-UDAN flight was launched in 2017, connecting Shimla and Delhi.
In the Budget for 2023–24, the UDAN scheme has a budgetary allocation of ₹1,244.07 crore, doubling that of 2022–23. As part of the Budget, the government announced a plan to revive 22 airports and begin operations on 100 RCS routes in 2023–24. The higher allocation was significant in light of the government's push to expand regional air connectivity. The Finance Minister, in her budget speech, outlined the revival of 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advanced landing grounds.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
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