Udan Yojana

Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), the flagship programme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has completed 5 years of success since the launch of its maiden flight by the Prime Minister on 27th April 2017.
The scheme was launched on 21 October 2016 with the objective of fulfilling the aspirations of the common citizen by following the vision of ‘UdeDeshka Aam Nagrik’ with advanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in Tier II and Tier III cities.
RCS-UDAN was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration under the Innovation category for the year 2020.
In the last five years, UDAN has significantly increased regional air-connectivity in the country. There were 74 operational airports in 2014. This number has now increased to 141 due to the UDAN scheme.

What is the UDAN scheme?

UDAN Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme called Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik . Its aim is to make air travel to Tier II and Tier III cities of India more affordable for the general public.
The central government will give 2% excise duty on value added tax (VAT) and one-tenth of the service tax as well as liberal code sharing for regional connectivity scheme airports.
A Regional Connectivity Fund will be set up to finance the scheme through specific flights.
According to the government, if the passenger load factor remains high, the VGF will be reduced and then phased out after three years when the route becomes self-sustaining.

The main goal of the UDAN Scheme is to make air travel more affordable and widespread.
UDAN Scheme (UDAN Scheme in Hindi) is a part of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) .
UDAN Scheme (UDAN Scheme in Hindi) is jointly supported by the Government of India and the State Governments.
Travel to rural cities has also been made very affordable by the UDAN Scheme

Beneficiary Airports :

The UDAN project aims to connect unserved and underserved airports in the country by reviving existing airstrips and airports.
The project will cover 410 airports/airstrips in two categories, of which 394 are ‘unused’ and 16 are ‘unfit’.

Implementing Agency :

The Airports Authority of India-AAI under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is in charge of implementation of the scheme.

Bidding Stages :

Initially, three separate rounds of bidding for the order award will be completed by the end of 2018.

Length of favorable path:

The system will apply to routes ranging from 200 to 800 kilometres in length, with no reasonable restrictions imposed for hilly, rural, island or security-sensitive areas.

Creation of Fund:

A Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) will be set up to fund the scheme by a tax on certain flights.
The fund is planned to receive 20% contribution from the states. The fund will get 10% contribution from the North Eastern states and Union Territories.

Equal allocation:

The allocations will be appropriately distributed across the five regions of North, West, South, East and North East with a cap of 25 per cent for balanced regional development.
Due to capacity limitations, routes will not be available at major airports like Delhi, Mumbai and Pune under this scheme.

Incentive amount :

This initiative encourages airlines to launch additional flights to smaller towns and villages by offering incentives to make these operations affordable.
Such assistance will be phased out after three years when the route is estimated to be self-sustaining.

investment funds :

AAI plans to invest ₹17,500 crore in upgrading airport infrastructure by 2019–20.

Number of flight ‘ seats and departures ‘:

Under the scheme, a minimum of 5 and maximum of 13 seats have been fixed for helicopter operations in flights.

The frequency of flights on each such route will be thrice a day, with a maximum of seven departures per week.

This is a ten-year project. This scheme is part of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP ), which was announced on 15 June 2016.
Airlines participating in the UDAN system under the scheme are selected through a competitive bidding process.
By encouraging domestic airlines to fly more regional routes, the scheme seeks to put smaller cities and isolated regions on the aviation map.
The state government has extended some of the measures for a period of ten years, including reduction of GST by one per cent to facilitate refuelling facilities, coordination with oil companies, provision of land for the airport and trained security personnel and utilities at subsidised rates.
Route Navigation Facility Charges (RNFC) will be levied on AAI UDAN-RCS flights at a reduced rate of 42.40 per cent of the normal rates.
Regional Connectivity Fund provides financial support, called Viability Gap Funding (VGF), to the selected airline operator under this scheme for operating RCS flight(s).
By regulating the rates at Rs 2,500 per seat per hour, the government hopes to make the Udan scheme more affordable.

The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik scheme (UDAN) allows passengers to travel to and from remote airports such as Hubli and Baldota in Karnataka, Burnpur in West Bengal, Darbhanga in Bihar, Hisar in Haryana and others.
The UDAN Scheme initiative helps India’s aviation business by allowing small and first-time operators to participate in the rapid growth of passenger traffic.
Airlines must compete for exclusive rights to fly regional routes opened up by the plan.
Strong regional connectivity is also expected to help the economy of rural locations that make it to the new aviation map of the country.
The scheme aims to address the issue of virtual airports and also provide cost savings on travel.
The scheme encourages airlines to launch new routes to under-served smaller cities and towns by offering viability gap grants (VGF) to make these operations affordable.

The full form of the UDAN scheme is “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik.”

The UDAN scheme is related to regional air connectivity and development of regional airports in India.