In news : On the commencement of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has proposed about 392 routes under UDAN 4.1 bidding process.
A brief note on UDAN 4.1
- It focused on connecting smaller airports, along with special helicopter and seaplane routes.
- It has proposed some new routes under the Sagarmala Seaplane Services in consultation with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
- The special UDAN 4.1 bidding round invites bids for priority routes which have not been covered under UDAN so far.
- This bidding round also includes routes specially requested by the State governments / UT administrations and earlier cancelled/terminated routes.
- Under UDAN 4.1 ome of the operational flexibilities are extended to Airlines to ensure suitable operation models to connect smaller cities/ airstrips
- Operations under Non Scheduled Operator Permit(NSOP) will be allowed for seaplane, fixed-wing aircraft, Helicopters forRegional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Routes awarded under this round
The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)
- It is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) envisaged to make air travel affordable and widespread in the country.
- The scheme intends to boost inclusive national economic growth, employment opportunities, and air transport infrastructure development across the nation.
- Current status: Till date, 325 routes and 56 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme.
Various phases of UDAN
- UDAN 1.0: Phase 1 of the scheme was launched in 2017. Six airports of North-east were opened under UDAN; the airports of North-east include- Shillong, Dimarpur, Imphal, Silchar, Aizawl and Agartala were connected.
- UDAN 2.0: It aimed to connect 43 airports and helipads with priority to the North-East and the hill states.States with maximum number of airports and helipads could see activation under UDAN 2 scheme.
- UDAN 3.0: The priority in this phase is connecting tourist destinations. Routes for auction in this phase will include popular tourist destinations such as Mahabodhi temple in Bihar, Ajanta and Ellora in Aurangabad and Hampi in Karnataka and others.
UDAN 4.0: The focus of this round would be mainly on connecting north-eastern states, hilly states, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and islands
Source: PIB
