New Dehli 21 July.UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted periodically for covering more destinations/stations and routes. Four rounds have already been concluded under the scheme so far.
An airport which is
included in the awarded routes of UDAN and requires upgradation/ development
for commencement of RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) operations, is developed
under "Revival/upgradation of unserved and underserved
airports/heliports/water aerodromes" Scheme. The Government of India has
approved a budget of Rs. 4500 crore for revival of existing unserved/
underserved airports/airstrips of the State Governments, Airports Authority of
India (AAI), Public Sector Undertakings and Civil Enclaves.
Further, Government of
India has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield
Airports across the country namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and
Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in
Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar
(Rajkot) in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool)
in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala
and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. So far, eight Greenfield airports
namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal and
Kushinagar have been operationalized.
More than one crore
air passengers have availed benefit of the UDAN scheme since its inception. The
scheme focuses on the connectivity between the Tier-2 and 3 cities in the
country and number of beneficiaries will increase manifold as the connectivity
improves between unserved and underserved airports.
