On 21st October 2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) celebrated the 9th anniversary of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) in New Delhi, Delhi.
Exam Hints:
- What? UDAN scheme 9th anniversary
- Launched in: October 2016
- Objective: Connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, improve existing ports and develop new ones
- Connectivity: 649 routes operationalised, 15 helicopters, 2 water aerodromes, facilitating 1.56 lakh passengers
- UDAN 5.5: Introduced Comprehensive Guidelines for Seaplane Operations in August 2024.
- Funding: 80:20 and 90:10 for NE and UTs
Key Highlights
Key People: The celebration was chaired by Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary of Civil Aviation and attended by Vipin Kumar, chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other senior officers of the Ministry.
About UDAN scheme
Launched in: The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi launched the RCS-UDAN scheme on October 21, 2016.
Objective: This scheme aims to democratize aviation by making flying accessible and affordable for all.
- It was conceptualised with a 10-year vision, to connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities through a market-driven yet financially supported model.
Components: The first one is to improve the existing airports and develop new ones for faster regional connectivity.
- The second one is the addition of new, capped airfare and financially viable regional reel roots.
Funding: The funding pattern between the Centre and the States is in the ratio of 80:20, however, for the NE States and Union Territories (UTs), it is in the ratio of 90:10.
Connectivity: Under the scheme, 649 routes have been operationalized connecting 93 unserved and underserved airports, including 15 heliports and 2 water aerodromes, facilitating over 1.56 crore passengers through 3.23 lakh UDAN flights.
- To support airline operators and regional infrastructure, the Government has disbursed more than Rs. 4,300 crore (cr) as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and invested Rs. 4,638 cr in airport development under RCS.
- The Secretary reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to continue the scheme beyond April 2027 through an Expanded UDAN Framework, focusing on connectivity with hilly, North-Eastern, and aspirational regions, and the development of around 120 new destinations.
UDAN 5.5: A key recent initiative has been the introduction of Comprehensive Guidelines for Seaplane Operations in August 2024, and the launch of the UDAN 5.5, a special bidding round for seaplanes and helicopters.
- Under this round, Letters of Intent have been issued for 150 routes connecting 30 water aerodromes across various coastal and island regions.
Evolution of UDAN
UDAN 1.0 (2017): The landmark flight took off on April 27, 2017, connecting the serene hills of Shimla to the bustling metropolis of Delhi.
- Five airline operators have been awarded 128 routes connecting 70 airports, including 36 newly added airports under the scheme.
UDAN 2.0 (2018): In this, the scheme expanded to include 73 underserved and unserved airports.
- For the first time, helipads were also connected into the UDAN network.
UDAN 3.0 (2019): Tourism routes in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) were introduced.
- Seaplane operations were incorporated and several routes in the NE Region came under the ambit of the scheme.
UDAN 4.0 (2020): This phase focussed on hilly regions, NE States, island territories and enhanced emphasis on helicopter and seaplane service.
UDAN 5.0: Under this phase, the focus is on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats) aircraft.
- VGF to be provided was capped at 600 km (kilometre) stage length for both Priority and Non-Priority areas which was earlier capped at 500 km.
- The earlier stage length cap of 600 km was waived off and there is no restriction on the distance between the origin and destination of the flight.
Viability gap funding: The VGF Scheme aims at supporting infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall marginally short of financial viability. The total VGF under the scheme does not exceed 20% of the total project cost, however, the Government may decide to provide additional grants up to a limit of a further 20%.
About Ministry of Civil Aviation
Union Minister – Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Constituency- Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, AP)
Minister of State (MoS): Murlidhar Kisan Mohol (Constituency- Pune, Maharashtra)
