Union Government sets up inter-ministerial panel to monitor UDAN

The Union Government in the second week of April 2017 set up an Inter-Ministerial Monitoring-cum-Coordination Committee to monitor the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.

The scheme seeks to make flying affordable by connecting unserved and under-served airports.

Duties of the panel

• The panel would be responsible for coordination among stakeholders, including state governments, for "time-bound" implementation of the scheme.

• It will also monitor the schemes of promotion of regional connectivity by way of revival of unserved and under-served airports/airstrips and RCS-UDAN.

• The Inter-Ministerial Monitoring-cum-Coordination Committee will be chaired by Civil Aviation Secretary.

• The Committee would have representations from the ministries of finance, defence, home as well as petroleum and natural gas.

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman, representatives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) apart from officials of airlines and states concerned would also be part of the panel.

The UDAN scheme

• UDAN is regional Air Connectivity Scheme, which seeks to make flying affordable by connecting unserved and under-served airports.

• Under the scheme, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has awarded 128 routes connecting 70 airports to 5 airlines.

• In the flights operated under air connectivity scheme, around 50 per cent of the seats will have a fare cap of Rs 2500 per seat/hour.

• The operators of such flights will be extended viability gap funding for which money is partly raised through a levy imposed on flights operating in major routes.