Relevance: mains: Current affairs analysis
It is about two years since UDAN was conceived. The Union Government’s flagship regional Connectivity scheme has, by now, become an important means for making low cost flying available to people in smaller Indian cities. In these two years, the scheme has brought first time air connectivity to people of 35 tier-II and tier-III cities the scheme starts now to link tourist places and international destinations.
- Since the last 10 years, air traffic has grown three folds in India and it has the potential to be among the global top three nations in terms of domestic and international passenger traffic.
- There is a need to promote the growth of the Indian aviation sector in a significant manner as the development of this sector has a multiplier effect on the economy.
- In 2016 Government of India launched the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) to provide an ecosystem for the harmonized growth of various aviation subsectors like airlines, airports, cargo, etc.
- The policy envisions creating an eco-system to make flying affordable for the masses and to enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022.
Making Air Travel Convenient:
- UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) is a fulcrum under NCAP to make air travel convenient and affordable for the common man in small cities, and through this, push regional growth.
- UDAN addresses the challenges relating to the issue of lack of infrastructure and affordability by upgrading the airports and cutting down on the cost of operations by extending various incentives to airlines and thus making air tickets affordable.
- The scheme is, therefore, crucial for ensuring that the Indian aviation sector’s success story touches one and all and the tier-II and tier-III cities also join the aviation revolution.
Salient Features of RCS-UDAN:
- The Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN intends to enable air operations on unserved routes connecting regional areas, promote balanced regional growth and make flying affordable for the masses.
- RCS-UDAN, which would be in operation for a period of 10 years, envisages providing connectivity through revival of existing air-strips and airports.
- Financial stimulus in the form of concessions from Central and State governments and airport operations and the Viability Gap Funding to the selected airlines to kick-off operations from unserved / underserved airports, so that the passengers fares are kept affordable.
- RCS-UDAN is a demand driven scheme where the interested airlines and helicopter operators are selected through competitive bidding process.
- The fare for one hour journey of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30-minute journey on a helicopter would be approximately Rs.25,000, with proportionate pricing for routes of different stage length / flight duration.
- On RCS route, the minimum frequency would be three and maximum of seven departures per week in other than priority areas.
Implementation Mechanisms:
- Implementation challenges not only involve monitoring and assisting for revival of airports but also facilitation for obtaining Air operator permits for selected airlines and helicopter operators under the scheme.
- Few small airline operators who have bid under UDSN are facing teething problems due to their limited capacities.
- Availability of qualified crew is also a major challenge for airlines and significant efforts are needed to create a pool of skilled professionals.
- A positive outcome of UDAN also includes the regulatory framework for ‘no-frill airports and ‘aircrafts-centric security’ approach which has cut down the cost of infrastructure and operations that will help sustainability of air connectivity to smaller cities.
Desirable changes in future UDAN is poised to offer wings to the common man to fly, literally.