Infrastructure
SpiceJet’s Bombardier Q400 (@CanadainIndia/Twitter)
The government on Monday (13 February) informed the Parliament that 73 airports have been operationalised under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme till January this year.
The Regional Connectivity Scheme - UDAN - was launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in October 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses.
UDAN is a market driven scheme, under which the interested airlines, based on their assessment of demand on particular routes, submit their proposals at the time of bidding.
"As on 31.01.2023, a total number of 73 unserved/underserved airports including nine heliports and two water aerodromes have been operationalised, since 2017, under the UDAN scheme," Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation General (Retired) V K Singh said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister further said that the UDAN is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time for covering more destinations/stations and routes under the scheme.
The minister said that UDAN is a self-financing scheme.
"VGF [Viability Gap Funding] amount of around Rs 2,355 crore has been released to selected Airline Operators as on 31.01.2023 for the operation of UDAN flights," he added.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest