The ministry of civil aviation launched Krishi UDAN 2.0 scheme under which cargo-related infrastructure will be built in airports of northeast, hilly and tribal regions to assist farmers in transporting agri products.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had first announced the scheme during her Budget speech on February 1, 2020.

Key points on Krishi UDAN 2.0:

• Krishi UDAN 2.0 lays out the vision of improving value realisation through better integration and optimisation of agri-harvesting and air transportation and contributing to agri-value chain sustainability and resilience under different and dynamic conditions. 

• The scheme proposes to facilitate and incentivise movement of agri-produce by air transportation.

• The enhanced version of the Krishi UDAN scheme was formulated with support from AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited (AAICLAS) — a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Airports Authority of India and Invest India, India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, under the ministry of commerce and industry. 

• It will be implemented at 53 airports across the country mainly focusing on northeast and tribal regions and is likely to benefit farmers, freight forwarders and airlines. 

• Airports for implementation of the scheme are selected with the aim of providing benefits to the entire country. These airports not only provide access to regional domestic market but also connect them to international gateways.

• The ministry of civil aviation plans to pilot the scheme for six months. It will introduce amendments based on results of the evaluation and consultations with other stakeholders.

• Various government departments and regulatory bodies, under the newly launched scheme, will collaborate with the civil aviation ministry to provide freight forwarders, airlines and other stakeholders with incentives and concessions to carry more agriculture products.

• The scheme aims to channelise the immense potential of Indian agriculture with the logistical help of civil aviation towards the goal of doubling farmers’ income and making them self-reliant. 

• The scheme will help alleviate wastage of farm produce, increase value of farm produce and link them to global markets, thereby making Indian agriculture more sustainable and profitable. 

How will it be implemented?

Facilitating and incentivising movement of agri-produce by air transportation: Full waiver of landing, Parking, Terminal Navigation Landing Charges (TNLC) and Route Navigation Facilities Charges (RNFC) for Indian freighters and P2C (passenger aircraft that are being used to just transport cargo) at selected airports of Airport Authority of India. It will primarily focus on northeast, hilly and tribal regions.

Strengthening cargo related infrastructure at airports and off airports: Facilitating the development of a hub and spoke model and a freight grid. Airside transit and trans-shipment infrastructure will be created at Bagdogra and Guwahati airports, and at Leh, Srinagar, Nagpur, Nashik, Ranchi, and Raipur airports as a part of focus on northeast, hilly and tribal districts.

Cargo terminals will be established at the airports in Agartala, Srinagar, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Hubli, Imphal, Jorhat, Lilabari, Lucknow, Silchar, Tezpur, Tirupati and Tuticorin within 2021-22.

In 2022-23, the cargo terminals will be established at airports in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jharsuguda, Kozhikode, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajkot and Vijayawada to assist transportation of agri produce. 

Concessions sought from other bodies: Seek support and encourage states to reduce sales tax to 1 per cent on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) for freighters/P2C aircraft as extended in UDAN flights.

Resources-pooling through establishing convergence mechanism: Collaboration with other government departments and regulatory bodies to provide freight forwarder, airlines and other stakeholders with incentives and concessions to enhance air transportation of agri-produce. 

Technological convergence: Development of e-Kushal (Krishi UDAN for Sustainable Holistic Agri-Logistics). Platform to be developed to facilitate  information dissemination to all the stakeholders. Furthermore, integration of e-Kushal with National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is proposed.

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