Why UDAN 4.0 is a massive boost for Atmanirbhar Bharat
Under UDAN 4.0, a total of 18 unserved/underserved airports will now be connected to metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, etc
Shashank Shekhar
Aug 28, 2020
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Expanding connectivity in the remote and treacherous terrains of the hilly regions of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has added 78 new routes under the fourth round of the regional connectivity scheme — Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN).
According to the ministry officials, the Northeast region, hilly states and islands have been given priority in the approval process for the new routes. The list of approved routes includes 29 served, eight unserved (including two heliports and one water aerodrome), and two underserved airports. An underserved airport does not have more than seven scheduled commercial flight departures per week while an unserved airport has had no scheduled commercial flights during the past two flight schedules approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
“UDAN 4.0 is ready to go. Seventy-eight additional routes have now been approved, taking the total number of sanctioned routes to 766,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on Twitter. A total of 18 unserved/underserved airports will now be connected to metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, etc.
RCS UDAN flies higher!#UDAN 4.0 is ready to go.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 25, 2020
78 additional routes have now been approved, taking the total number of sanctioned routes to 766.
18 unserved/underserved airports would be connected to metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, etc. pic.twitter.com/Vda7qgEfN6
Puri pointed out, "The economic and tourism opportunities that these flights will offer to the regions will contribute towards the making of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The economic & tourism opportunities that these flights will offer to the regions will contribute towards the making of an #AtmaNirbharBharat.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 25, 2020
India’s civil aviation sector has been at the forefront of efforts against COVID-19 & has contributed positively to the economy.
According to the new plan, unserved airports at Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh), Rupsi (Assam), Bilaspur (Chattisgarh), Hisar (Haryana) and Minicoy (Lakshadweep) will get air connectivity. Misa and Geleki in Assam will be connected by helicopters while Kavaratti in Lakshadweep will be connected by water aerodrome.
Overall, 766 routes have been sanctioned so far under the UDAN scheme. Commenting on this development, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said, “MoCA had launched the fourth round of UDAN in December 2019 with a special focus on the Northeastern region, hilly states and islands. The awarding of these 78 routes under UDAN 4.0 is in line with the Act East Policy of the Central government.”
"The ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) has awarded the Bilaspur-Bhopal route to Alliance Air RCS-UDAN. Operations are likely to commence shortly. This connection will considerably boost economic activity in Bilaspur which is an important commercial hub of Chhattisgarh," announced Puri.
MoCA has awarded the Bilaspur-Bhopal route to @allianceair under #RCS-UDAN. Operations are likely to commence shortly. This connection will considerably boost economic activity in Bilaspur which is an important commercial hub of Chhattisgarh.@bhupeshbaghel @ChouhanShivraj pic.twitter.com/Gq0m7pep5t
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 25, 2020
“The airports that have already been developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are given higher priority for the award of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the scheme. Under UDAN 4.0, the operation of helicopter and seaplanes has also been incorporated,” Padhee said.
Under the Udan scheme, financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports and keep airfares affordable.
To improve regional connectivity, the Narendra Modi government had launched the UDAN scheme in 2016.
The approved regional connectivity scheme includes
S.No RCS routes
1 Guwahati To Tezu
2 Tezu To Imphal
3 Imphal To Tezu
4 Tezu To Guwahati
5 Guwahati To Rupsi
6 Rupsi To Kolkata
7 Kolkata To Rupsi
8 Rupsi To Guwahati
9 Bilaspur To Bhopal
10 Bhopal To Bilaspur
11 Hissar To Dharamshala
12 Dharamshala To Hissar
13 Hissar To Chandigarh
14 Chandigarh To Hissar
15 Hissar To Dehradun
16 Dehradun To Hissar
17 Kanpur(Chakeri) To Moradabad
18 Moradabad To Kanpur(Chakeri)
19 Kanpur(Chakeri) To Aligarh
20 Aligarh To Kanpur(Chakeri)
21 Kanpur(Chakeri) To Chitrakoot
22 Chitrakoot To Prayagraj/Allahabad
23 Prayagraj/Allahabad To Chitrakoot
24 Chitrakoot To Varanasi
25 Varanasi To Chitrakoot
26 Chitrakoot To Kanpur(Chakeri)
27 Kanpur(Chakeri) To Shravasti
28 Shravasti To Varanasi
29 Varanasi To Shravasti
30 Shravasti To Prayagraj/Allahabad
31 Prayagraj/Allahabad To Shravasti
32 Shravasti To Kanpur(Chakeri)
33 Bareilly To Delhi
34 Delhi To Bareilly
35 Cochin International Airport(CIAL) To Agatti
36 Agatti To Cochin International Airport(CIAL)
37 Aizawl To Tezpur
38 Tezpur To Aizawl
39 Agartala To Dibrugarh
40 Dibrugarh To Agartala
41 Shillong To Passighat
42 Passighat To Guwahati
43 Guwahati To Passighat
44 Passighat To Shillong
45 Guwahati To Tezpur
46 Tezpur To Guwahati
47 Guwahati To Misa(Heliport)
48 Misa(Heliport) To Geleki
49 Geleki To Jorhat
50 Jorhat To Geleki
51 Geleki To Misa(Heliport)
52 Misa(Heliport) To Guwahati
53 Agatti To Minicoy
54 Minicoy To Agatti
55 Agatti To Kavaratti
56 Kavaratti To Agatti
57 Guwahati To Shillong
58 Shillong To Dimapur
59 Dimapur To Shillong
60 Imphal To Silchar
61 Silchar To Imphal
62 Shillong To Guwahati
63 Agartala To Shillong
64 Shillong To Imphal
65 Imphal To Shillong
66 Shillong To Agartala
67 Imphal To Shillong
68 Shillong To Silchar
69 Silchar To Shillong
70 Shillong To Imphal
71 Shillong To Dibrugarh
72 Dibrugarh To Shillong
73 Delhi To Shimla
74 Shimla To Delhi
75 Diu To Surat
76 Surat To Diu
77 Diu To Vadodara
78 Vadodara To Diu
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