• In her Budget Speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a modified UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme to enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry four crore passengers in the next 10 years.

• Sitharaman said the scheme has enabled 1.5 crore middle-class people to meet their aspirations for speedier travel.

What is UDAN scheme?

• UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016.

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the RCS-UDAN scheme on October 21, 2016. The first RCS-UDAN flight was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 27, 2017 from Shimla to Delhi.

• The primary objective of the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) is to facilitate and stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable. 

• The first UDAN flight took off on April 27, 2017 connecting Shimla and New Delhi.

• The regional connectivity scheme will be applicable on route length between 200 to 800 km with no lower limit set for hilly, remote, island and security sensitive regions.

• The scheme is for a period of 10 years. 

• RCS-UDAN is a demand-driven scheme, where airline operators undertake assessment of demand on particular routes.

Promoting affordability of regional air connectivity is envisioned under RCS by supporting airline operators through:

i) Concessions by central government, state governments and airport operators to reduce the cost of airline operations on regional routes.

ii) Financial support (viability gap funding or VGF) to meet the gap, if any, between the cost of airline operations and expected revenues on such routes. 

• UDAN has so far connected 88 airports and has helped operationalise 619 routes.

• A total of 64 helicopter routes, 53 tourism routes and 90 routes connecting the northeast region have been operationalised till date.

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