Regional Connectivity Scheme- Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik Completed 8 Years

On 21st October 2024, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN, or “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik,” spearheaded by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), celebrated the completion of 8 years in service to the nation. Union Minister, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, MoCA attended a special event celebrating 8 successful years of RCS-UDAN.

• 21st October 2024 marks the 8th anniversary of RCS UDAN, which was launched on 21st October 2016.
• RCS UDAN was a vital component of India’s National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016 launched by MoCA in 2016 with a 10-year vision.
• Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM) of India, inaugurated the first RCS-UDAN flight, connecting Shimla to Delhi on 27th April 2017.

Key Features:

i.A Market-Driven Approach: The scheme operates on the market-driven approach, where airlines assess demand on specific routes and submit proposals during the bidding rounds. The scheme incentivizes airlines which provide connectivity to underserved regions by offering them support via Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and various other concessions provided by airport operators, the central government and state governments.

ii.Support Mechanism: The Government of India (GoI) has implemented various supportive measures to attract airlines to operate flights in less attractive markets.

• Airport Operators: They provided exemption to RCS flights from landing and parking charges, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) does not levy Terminal Navigation Landing Charges (TNLC) on these flights. Also, a discounted Route Navigation and Facilitation Charge (RNFC) is applied.
• Central Government: For the initial 3 years of the scheme, excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) purchased at RCS airports is capped at 2%. The GoI has also encouraged the airlines to enter code-sharing agreements to expand their reach.
• State Government: Various state governments have committed to reducing VAT on ATF to 1% or less for period of 10 years and providing essential services such as security, fire services, and utility services at reduced rates.

Key Benefits of the Scheme:

i.Increasing demand for new aircraft: The RCS-UDAN scheme has played a crucial role in revitalising the civil aviation industry in India. Various regional carriers such as Flybig, Star Air, IndiaOne Air, and Fly91 have benefitted from the scheme.

• The incremental expansion of the scheme has generated an accelerating demand for new aircraft, concurrently widening the spectrum of airports deployed. At present, various ranges of aircraft (including helicopters, seaplanes, and 3-seat propeller planes, among others) such as Airbus 320/321, Boeing 737, ATR 42 and 72, DHC Q400, Twin Otter, Airbus H130, among others is actively serving on the RCS routes.

ii.Promoting Tourism: The scope of RCS-UDAN is not just limited to offering last-mile connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, but it has also contributed significantly to promoting the tourism sector in India.

• The scheme has covered various religious destinations such as Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh (MP)), Deogarh (Odisha), Amritsar (Punjab), and Kishangarh (Ajmer, Rajasthan).
• The tourism sector in the NE region is witnessing a significant upsurge due to the introduction of Pasighat, Ziro, Hollongi, and Tezu airports, fostering greater accessibility.

iii.Boosting Air Connectivity: So far, the RCS-UDAN scheme has connected regional air connectivity across 34 states/UTs. Also, 10 airports have been operationalised in the NE region along with 2 heliports.

Various Versions of the UDAN Scheme:

i.UDAN 1.0: Under this version of the scheme, 5 airline companies were given the charge of 128 flight routes to 70 airports (including 36 newly made operational airports).

ii.UDAN 2.0: The MoCA has announced 73 underserved and unserved airports and for the 1st time, helipads were also connected.

iii.UDAN 3.0: The MoCA in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), has announced to inclusion of tourism routes in the scheme. Other than Seaplanes for connecting water aerodromes, various routes in the North-East (NE) region came under the ambit of the scheme.

iv.UDAN 4.0: To boost the connectivity in NE regions, hilly states and islands, the operation of seaplanes and helicopters is incorporated in the scheme.

v.UDAN 5(5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4): 

• UDAN 5.0: The MoCA has removed the cap of 600 kilometres (km) and there is no restriction on the distance between the origin and destination of the flight.
• UDAN 5.1: This version is dedicated to expanding helicopter services in hilly regions to boost tourism, hospitality, and local economic growth.
• UDAN 5.2: It was launched to enhance connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and to provide impetus to the tourism sector through small aircraft (less than 20 seats). Under the scheme, small aircraft operators are allowed to operate a maximum of 40% of annually quoted RCS seats and a minimum of 10% of annually quoted RCS seats in any given quarter.
• UDAN 5.3 and UDAN 5.4: The MoCA has invited bids under UDAN 5.3 and UDAN 5.4 from all categories of airline operators. UDAN 5.3 was launched in January 2024, while UDAN 5.4 is expected to launch soon.

Some of the Key UDAN Airports:

i.Darbhanga Airport (Civil Enclave): It is located in Bihar, and commenced its 1st flight from Delhi on 9th November 2020. At present, this airport serves as a gateway for 14 districts in North Bihar, connecting major cities like Delhi, Mumbai (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Kolkata (West Bengal (WB), and handles more than 5 lakh passengers in Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24).

ii.Jharsuguda Airport (AAI Airport): It became operational in March 2019, serving as the 2nd Airport in Odisha. It connects the region to Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru (Karnataka), and Bhubaneswar (Odisha).

iii.Pithoragarh Airport: It is located in Uttarakhand and became operational in January 2019. At present, it connects to Dehradun and Pantnagar.

iv.Tezu Airport: It is located in Arunachal Pradesh (AR) and commenced operations in August 2021. It connects Guwahati, Jorhat, and Dibrugarh, handling nearly 12,000 passengers in FY24.

Key Accomplishments:

i.The Civil Aviation sector in India has undergone a significant transformation under the RCS-UDAN scheme. So far, 601 routes, including helicopter routes, have been operationalised, around 28% of these routes have served the remotest locations.

ii.As on 31st August 2024, 583 RCS routes have commenced operations connecting 86 aerodromes including 71 airports, 13 heliports and 2 water aerodromes.

iii.Over 1.43 crore passengers have availed of the benefits of the RCS-UDAN scheme.

iv.So far, more than 2.8 lakh flights have operated under the UDAN scheme.

v.The Government of India (GoI) has allocated Rs 4500 crores for the development of airports in the country under the scheme, of which Rs 3,751 crores have been utilised since its inception in 2016.

vi.As per the MoCA, the number of airports operational in the country has doubled from 74 (in 2014) to 157 (in 2024) and the GoI aims to increase the number airports to 350-400 by 2047.

vii.Due to the GoI led key initiatives civil aviation sector, airports in cities like: Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad have achieved Level 4+ as well as higher Airports International Council (ACI) Accreditation and have become carbon neutral.

Key Facts:

i.India is the world’s 3rd largest aviation market and the aviation sector in India has shown significant growth, with a 15%Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) increase in total passengers handled at Indian airports reaching 37.6 crore in FY24.

• The domestic air passenger traffic handled increased by 13% Y-o-Y to 30.6 crore, and international passenger traffic handled increased by 22% Y-o-Y to 7 crore in FY24.

ii.Air Cargo handled at Indian airports increased by 7% Y-o-Y to 33.7 lakh tones in FY24.

iii.Since 2014, 12 Greenfield airports have been constructed/operationalised and 48 airports/ airstrips have been constructed by AAI.

• Recently, GoI has approved 21 greenfield airports across the country and operationalised new terminal buildings to increase the passenger handling capacity.

Recent Development:

i.On 20th October 2024, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 3 new airports namely, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh (UP), which are developed under the RCS-UDAN scheme, from Varanasi, UP.

ii.On 21st October 2024, Union Minister K. Rammohan Naidu announced that the GoI has decided to extend the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN for another 10 years i.e. until 2036.

About Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA):
Union Minister- Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Constituency- Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh (AP))
Minister of State (MoS)- Murlidhar Mohol (Constituency- Pune, Maharashtra)